Gelap Pekat

Grindcore, sering di singkat menjadi grind, adalah gabungan dari beberapa musik ekstrim: inspirasinya dimulai dari beberapa genre musik populer yang sangat cepat (seperti mengasah) industrial, extreme metal dan hardcore punk. Walaupun gaya musiknya yang amat sangat tidak disukai, pengaruh grindcore menyebar ke pelosok dunia musik, terutama power violence, avant-garde jazz, musik industrial yang sangat komersil dan genre-genre nu metal.

Grindcore di golongkan dengan distorsi berat, gitar dengan stem yang rendah, tempo yang ekstrim, sering diiringi degan beat-beat yang meledak, lagu sering berakhir tidak lebih dari dua menit (beberapa sering juga amat panjang) vokal penuh dengan geraman dan teriakan nada tinggi, hampir mirip dengan crust punk. Lirik selalu bertemakan dari sosial dan politik (Napalm Death), kematian dan darah (Carcass) dan humor (Anal Cunt).

Akar sejarah dan pengaruhnya

1980s

Genre musik ini berkembang selama pertengahan tahun 80-an di Inggris oleh Napalm Death, selanjutnya di ikuti oleh teman sejawatnya dari Inggris Carcass, Terrorizer dari Amerika dan Agathocles dari Belgia. Nama "grindcore" diperkirakan di ucapkan oleh mantan drummer Napalm Death, Mick Harris. Ketika di tanya tentang istilahnya, dia mengatakan sebagai berikut:
“ Grindcore came from "grind", which was the only word I could use to describe Swans after buying their first record in '84. Then with this new hardcore movement that started to really blossom in '85, I thought "grind" really fit because of the speed so I started to call it grindcore. ”

Sumber lain menyangkal pernyataan Harris. Didalam artikel majalah Spin di tulis tentang sebuah genre, Steven Blush menyatakan bahwa "orang yang sering menyebutkan" untuk menyuarakan style grindcore adalah Shane Embury, basis Napalm Death sejak 1987. Embury mengusulkan pada pernyataan dirinya sendiri tentang bagaimana "sound" grindcore seharusnya:
“ As far as how this whole sound got started, we were really into Celtic Frost, Siege - which is a hardcore band from Boston - a lot of hardcore and death-metal bands, and some industrial-noise bands like the early Swans. So, we just created a mesh of all those things. It's just everything going at a hundred miles per hour, basically. ”
Pelopor grindcore, Napalm Death, formasi ke-8.
Dari kiri-kanan: Lee Dorrian, Shane Embury, Bill Steer, Mick Harris

Pendiri Earache Records Digby Pearson setuju dengan Embury, mengatakan bahwa Napalm Death "put hardcore and metal through an accelerator". Pearson, bagaimanapun grindcore "wasn't just about the speed of [the] drums, blast beats, etc." Ia menyatakan bahwa "it actually was coined to describe the guitars - heavy, downtuned, bleak, harsh riffing guitars [that] 'grind', so that's what the genre was described as, by the musicians who were its innovators [and] proponents."

Beberapa kunci personel grup disebutkan oleh anggota dan mantan anggota Napalm Death pertumbuhannya dipengaruhi oleh band-band seperti Discharge, Lärm, Amebix, Repulsion, Throbbing Gristle, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles and the aforementioned Siege, Celtic Frost and the Swans. Post-punk, such as Killing Joke dan Joy Division, juga di sebutkan sebagai pengaruh di awal kelahiran, berikutnya di sbutkan dalam setengah DVD Scum Napalm Death reissue.

Grup seminal grindcore yang lain adalah Assück (Florida), Sore Throat (UK), and Brutal Truth (New York).

1990s

Scott Hull adalah pemain grindcore terkenal sejaman, melalui partisipasinya di Pig Destroyer dan Agoraphobic Nosebleed. The Locust juga pemain grindcore terkenal.


Gaya Musikal

Stem gitar nada rendah
Vynil side A dari debut Scum Napalm Death, di set standard tuning sementara di side B gitars distem dengan nada rendah menjadi 2½ steps. Album kedua mereka dan Mentally Murdered EP di stem menjadi C#. Harmony Corruption, penawaran ke tiga mereka, d stem tinggi menjadi a D. Sahabat grindcore Carcass juga merendahkan nadanya - khususnya a B. Bolt Thrower lebih merendahkan nadanya dari Carcass, menjadi 3½ steps down (A). Godflesh, awalnya memainkan grindcore scene, salah satu stem mereka B atau C sharp.

Lagu-lagu berdurasi pendek

Salah satu karakteristik dari grindcore dan genre-genre yang berhubungan adalah lagu yang berdurasi pendek (microsong); lagu berakhir dengan cepat. Pada tahun 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records Brutal Truth mencatat rekor "Video Musik Terpendek" untuk "Collateral Damage" ditahun 1994, lagu berdurasi hanya 4 detik. Di tahun 2007 Napalm Death mencatat rekor terbaru untuk video "You Suffer" sebagai "Video Musik Terpendek" hanya berdurasi: 1.3 detik.

Tema Lirikal

Lagu-lagu selalu bertemakan anti-rasisme, feminisme, anti-militerisme, dan anti-kapitalisme. Grup Grindcore lain seperti Carcass bertemakan seputar pembusukan mayat dan darah. Karya-karya Carcass terkadang di identifikasikan sebagai asal muasal goregrind, yang selalu menampilkan tema-tema jasmaniah.

Warisan

Walaupun genre non-komersil yang sengaja dibuat, pengaruh grindcore dengan cepat menyebar melalui hardcore dan dunia metal.

Power violence, lebih metal ketimbang grindcore, meskipun demikian, tetap terpengaruh oleh banyak band-band sebelumnya.

Band Industrial metal bands sepert Fear Factory telah menyebutkan bahwa kita berhutang kepada genre ini selama bertahun-tahun.

Beberapa band nu metal juga menyatakan pengaruh style permainannya: Wes Borland, gitaris Limp Bizkit seorang fan Carcass.

Chris Fehn percussionis Slipknot's #3, juga mengatakan Carcass mempengaruhi style pada bandnya.

The Panacea, seorang musisi breakcore terkenal, menyatakan dirinya sebagai "the digital version of Napalm Death"

Andrew W.K. sering membicarakan dengan antusias tentang kecintaannya terhadap Napalm Death.

Mantan gitaris Napalm Death, Justin Broadrick, berkarir memainkan industrial metal bersama Godflesh. Mick Harris, dalam proyek post-Napalm, Scorn, dengan singkat mengeksperimenkan gaya ini.

Doom metal adalah bentuk dari musik heavy metal yang sangat khas, mempunyai tempo yang sangat lamban, stem gitar yang rendah dan suara gitar lebih tebal atau lebih berat dari suara genre metal yang lainnya. Musik dan lirik cenderung menimbulkan perasaan putus asa, rasa takut dan berharap akan terjadinya ajal/malapetaka.[1]

Genre ini sangat kuat dipengaruhi oleh karya awal Black Sabbath,[1] yang telah membentuk sebuah prototipe untuk doom metal dengan lagu-lagu yang berjudul "Black Sabbath" and "Into the Void". Selama pertengahan awal tahun 80an,[1] sejumlah band dari Inggris (Pagan Altar, Witchfinder General) dan band dari Amerika (Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Trouble) mendefinisikan doom metal sebagai sebuah genre yang berbeda.

Death metal adalah sebuah sub-genre dari musik heavy metal yang berkembang dari thrash metal pada awal 1980-an. Beberapa ciri khasnya adalah lirik lagu yang bertemakan kekerasan atau kematian, ritme gitar rendah (downtuned rhythm guitars), perkusi yang cepat, dan intensitas dinamis. Vokal biasanya dinyanyikan dengan gerutuan (death grunt) atau geraman (death growl). Teknik menyanyi seperti ini juga sering disebut "Cookie Monster vocals".

Beberapa pelopor genre ini adalah Venom dengan albumnya Welcome to Hell (1981) dan Death dengan albumnya Scream Bloody Gore (1987). Death metal kemudian dikembangkan lebih lanjut oleh band-band seperti Carcass, Morbid Angel, Entombed, God Macabre, Carnage, dan Grave.

Di Indonesia, genre ini diawali pergerakan dan perkembangan-nya di tahun 1990-an dengan band thrash metal Rotor di Jakarta dan beberapa band pioneer death metal lainnya di daerah lain, seperti Adaptor dari Jakarta , Insanity dan Hallucination dari Bandung, Death Vomit dari Jogjakarta , Slow Death dari Surabaya, kemudian berkembang dengan band band berbahaya dan bereputasi internasional, Jasad , Disinfected,dan Ancur dari Bandung , Siksa Kubur , Funeral Inception dari Jakarta dan Cranial Incisored dari Jogjakarta

Beberapa subgenre death metal:

* Melodic death metal - heavy metal dicampur dengan beberapa unsur death metal, misalnya death growl dan blastbeat
* Progressive death metal - gabungan antara death metal dan progressive metal
* Brutal death metal - gabungan antara grindcore dan death metal
* Slam death metal - gabungan antara metalcore/groove metal dan death metal
* Death/Doom - gabungan antara doom metal dan death metal
* Blackened death metal - gabungan antara black metal dan death metal

Gothic metal adalah sejenis musik metal yang biasanya (namun tidak selalu) memakai dua orang vokalis. Pertama vokal wanita dengan suara soprano, lalu vokal kedua adalah vokal pria dengan gaya vokal dari musik black atau death metal (sehingga gaya vokal seperti itu banyak disebut sebagai vokal 'Beauty and the Beast'). Lirik-liriknya kebanyakan bernuansa pagan, kemuraman, kegelapan. Aliran musik ini paling populer di Eropa, meskipun jumlah penggemar mainstream (kalangan umum) tidak banyak.
Band yang terkenal dalam jenis musik ini adalah : Theater of Tragedy, Lacuna Coil, Trail of Tear

Gothic Metal, Gothic Doom Metal & Gothic-Operatic Power Metal.

Gothic Metal ialah musik metal yang berasaskan riff guitar seperti musik Thrash/Heavy Metal yang agak bermelodi redup serta diadunkan dan disadurkan dengan unsur-unsur keyboard dan synth, serta lirik metafora/puisi yang menjurus kearah kegelapan,kemuraman dan pagan seperti band My Dying Bride Paradise Lost Anathema->ini band doom yang berpengaruh pada gothic ! dan kemudian dikembangkan oleh band sepertiEvereve dan Crematory.

Daripada musik akar Gothic Metal inilah muncul pula aliran Gothic Doom Metal dan Gothic Operatic Power Metal. Pembawa musik aliran Gothic/Doom yang terkenal ialah Theatre of Tragedy, mereka ialah band Gothic Doom Metal yang pertama yang memperkenalkan konsep “Beauty and the Beast act” iaitu konsep nyanyian yang menggabungkan suara growl seakan-akan Death Metal yang digandingkan dengan suara Mezzo-Soprano penyanyi wanita, bunyi guitarnya agak keras dan berat(Doom). Nightwish pula adalah contoh terbaik band Gothic Operatic Power Metal yang menggabungkan musik Power Metal yang diadunkan dengan keyboard/synth serta lirik yang berlatarkan Gothic serta nyanyian soprano yang menonjol daripada penyanyi wanita.

Sekarang agak banyak kekeliruan yang timbul antara Operatic dan Gothic. Operatic Metal ialah seperti yang dibawa Therion dan Nightwish, yang menggabungkan unsur-unsur Simfoni Orkestra dan vocal Soprano. Vocal wanita dalam aliran Gothic pula lebih kepada Mezzo-soprano (ton nada suara yang rendah, seakan-akan suara nyanyian biasa).

Adalah penting untuk diingatkan bahawa Gothic Metal adalah berbeda daripada apa yang dibawa oleh band mainstream My Chemical Romance

Dengan diawali intro 'Ecstasy of Gold', inilah penggalan cerita ringan dari seorang [mantan] fans grupband Metallica. Seperti layaknya penggemar yang fanatik, berlebihan dan nyaris menjadi 'groupie'. Ada satu masa di mana seorang fans musti mengejar pengalaman yang indah dan seru. Sekalipun itu harus bertindak nekat, bodoh dan konyol. Juga sedikit tampak naif, childish, dan fetish. Hingga tiba-tiba merasa dikhianati, lalu marah dan memilih untuk murtad. Pengalaman baik atau buruk kadang memang perlu diceritakan. This is a Metallica fans story based on his own words. And why so serious?!...

Pertama kali tahu dan mengenal Metallica?! Mmhh, sulit diingat kapan tepatnya. Tapi yang pasti masih awal-awal masa seragam putih-biru alias SMP, sekitar tahun 1989 - 1990. Yah, itu tidak lama setelah saya mengenal musik keras. Ini juga tidak lepas dari jasa kawan sebangku SMP yang pertama kali mengenalkan saya kepada band-band keras, sekaligus sahabat saya sampai hari ini. Namanya Asrofin alias Wencling. Thanks to you dude!...

Album Metallica yang pertama kali saya beli adalah Master of Puppets di lapak kaset bajakan sekitar Toko Buku Siswa [Malang]. Harganya cuma tiga ribu perak. Mutu rekamannya tidak terlalu bagus. Sampulnya adalah hasil foto reproan.

Tidak lama, di tempat yang sama, saya juga membeli The Best of Metallica, sebuah kaset C-90 yang berisi koleksi lagu dari tiga album pertama mereka. Kayaknya sih ini rekaman bootleg. Sebab tidak pernah ada dalam diskografi resmi Metallica.

Gara-gara dua kaset bajakan itu saya jadi suka dan nge-fans ama Metallica. Mulai memproklamirkan diri sebagai seorang metal militia dan metallikatz. Hidup saya mulai berubah...

Selanjutnya saya selalu membeli semua kaset Metallica yang asli di toko kaset. Baik itu versi album, live, kompilasi, maupun singel yang cuma 3-4 lagu itu. Mulai dari era Kill 'Em All sampai kepada Black Album. Komplit!...

Lima album pertama Metallica adalah favorit saya semua. Tidak ada yang lebih baik, dan tidak ada yang lebih buruk. Dulu kalau sendirian di kamar pas malam hari, saya sering memutarnya secara berurutan, mulai dari Kill Em All sampai Black Album.

Sampai hari ini, belum pernah ada album thrash metal sebaik Master of Puppets, tidak juga Reign In Blood-nya Slayer!...

Lagu The Thing That Should Not Be adalah salah satu track metal paling elegan yang pernah saya dengarkan.

Setiap mendengarkan lagu Creeping Death, tepatnya di bagian tengah lagu yang klasik itu, saya selalu mengucapkan koor "Die! Die! Die!" dalam hati, seakan ikut berteriak di konser mereka.

Awalnya lagu Helpless, Am I Evil dan The Wait saya kira lagu asli ciptaan Metallica, ternyata bukan yah?!...

Menurut saya, album And Justice For All adalah salah satu pionir dan landmark bagi musik progresif metal dan math-metal. Semua lagunya bernuansa epic!..

Lagu One sering saya bayangkan cocok jadi soundtrack film Platoon. Yah, pas intro perang dan suara baling-baling helikopter itu...

Saya kenal Pushead dari Metallica. Dari sleeve cover And Justice For All tepatnya, atau artwork yang dinamai Hammer of Justice.

Black Album kayaknya bisa jadi rekaman cadas yang paling easy listening yang pernah ada di muka bumi.

Sampai pada Black Album, saya ingin tanya kepada anda ; Adakah band metal di planet ini yang sukses secara musikal dan komersil seperti Metallica?!

[ya, oke, saya tahu jawaban anda...]

Rata-rata untuk setiap album Metallica saya pernah membelinya sebanyak tiga kali - terpaksa gara-gara rekaman itu hilang, dipinjam tidak kembali, atau rusak.

Saya bisa memainkan full lagu Nothing Else Matters, Fade To Black, dan Enter Sandman dengan gitar bolong. Juga potongan intro Seek and Destroy, serta petikan akustik Master of Puppets dan One meskipun gak sempurna.

Semua koleksi rekaman Metallica saya adalah format kaset. Gila, sampai hari ini saya tidak pernah punya apalagi membeli satu pun CD Metallica. What a bad fans?!...

Kamar saya dulu sempit. Cuma 4 x 2 meter. Hampir seluruh dindingnya tertutup poster band. Maaf, cuma ada poster Metallica, band lain gak boleh, hehe.

Hey, bukan poster import yang gede dan berkualitas baik itu. Melainkan poster berbahan kertas karton biasa yang sering dijual di kaki lima. Poster-poster Metallica itu saya beli di pinggir jalan seharga 250 - 500 perak pada jaman itu.

Saat itu, fanatisme yang berlebihan terhadap Metallica ternyata bikin saya kurang 'menguasai' Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, atau Testament.

Sejak SMP sampai SMA saya suka mencoret-coret buku sekolah saya dengan logo klasik Metallica maupun judul lagu-lagu mereka.

Gara-gara suka Metallica, saya jadi ikut sentimen dan gak suka sama Dave Mustaine. Juga sebisa mungkin mengabaikan Megadeth!...

Saya dan teman-teman sempat kecanduan potongan rambut skin, yaitu sisi rambut yang ditipiskan seperti potongan Jason Newsted paska Black Album.

Cliff Burton dan Jason Newsted adalah member Metallica favorit saya!

[yang berarti tidak ada lagi personil favorit dalam formasi Metallica saat ini?!]

Saya dan seorang kawan sering iseng membanding-bandingkan suara setiap penyanyi. Kami sempat punya tebakan ; Siapa penyanyi Indonesia yang suara vokalnya mirip James Hetfield?! Jawabannya adalah Sawung Jabo!

[gak percaya?! Bandingkan aja suara mereka berdua!...]

Era awal 90-an ada band lokal namanya Nevermind dan Meteor. Saya suka nonton dua band ini karena mereka selalu mengkover lagu-lagu milik Metallica. Btw, drummer Nevermind itu akhirnya kita kenal sebagai Ravi, gitaris Extreme Decay.

Saya dan kawan-kawan dulu gemar naik gunung. Kami pernah naik gunung Panderman [2200mdpl] yang terletak di sebelah barat kota Malang dengan membawa poster flag Metallica hanya untuk foto-foto. Weird?!...

Saya, Budi dan Feri adalah tiga sekawan yang berangkat dari Malang untuk nonton konser Metallica di Jakarta [1993]. Pas hari H, saya terpaksa berbohong kepada ayah saya kalau mau nonton film midnight di bioskop. Sorry dad, it's Metallica!...

Kami bertiga benar-benar perjuangan untuk nonton Metallica. Naik kereta kelas ekonomi, duit pas-pasan, dan tidak punya kenalan di Jakarta. Benar-benar bonek, Modal nekat!...

Sebelum show, kami sempat jalan-jalan ke Blok M sekedar untuk mencari suvenir yang berbau Metallica, seperti kaos atau postcard.

Di Lebak Bulus kami sempat terjebak di tengah 'perang' massa vs aparat, menerobos barikade, kucing-kucingan sama petugas, sampai kepala kegencet pintu masuk. A near death experience?!...

Tapi akhirnya kami ada di dalam arena menjadi saksi hidup konser Metallica - dan segala kerusuhan yang ada di luar stadion. Fight fire with fire! Haji kami mabrur!...

Potongan tiket konser Metallica masih saya tempel di belakang pintu kamar. Di sebelahnya juga saya tempel postcard Master of Puppets yang dibeli di Blok M.

Menuju konser Metallica adalah perjalanan 'tour' saya yang kedua, setelah berangkat ke Surabaya menonton konser Sepultura [1992] bersama Wencling.

Saya tidak pernah punya kaos original atau import Metallica. Cukup sulit mencarinya pada saat itu. Kaos-kaos Metallica yang pernah saya beli itu produk lokal dari C59 atau More Shop [Blok M, Jkt].

Saya bahkan pernah membeli kaos One warna putih di Mitra Department Store Malang!

Kaos Metallica favorit saya sebenarnya adalah Sad But True. Itu loh yang gambar dua tengkorak saling berhadapan dan biasa dipakai Jason Newsted ketika manggung. Sayang, sampai sekarang belum kesampean punya kaos itu!...

Akhirnya saya sempat punya kaos Metallica yang orisinil [import] berdesain Ride The Lightning yang didapatkan teman saya, Plecie, dari kios pakaian bekas. Tapi entah di mana kaos itu sekarang...

Gara-gara terpengaruh oleh penampilan Metallica, saya juga jadi suka memakai kaos hitam polos dan jins hitam ketat.

Bacaan favorit saya tentang Metallica adalah Hai Klip edisi Metallica yang diterbitkan oleh Majalah Hai menjelang band itu show di Jakarta [1993]. Saya sampai beli dua kali, dan keduanya hilang tanpa jejak. Cari lagi mana mungkin ada...

Ketika saya tinggal di Bandung, kaset bootleg The Best of Metallica itu saya berikan pada Alan, gitaris Tympanic Membrane. Ternyata dia juga fans Metallica, selain Carcass dan Bad Religion katanya.

Album Metallica yang terakhir kali saya beli adalah kaset Garage Inc di lapak kaset bekas di stadion Gajayana Malang. Sekedar ingin tahu seperti apa Metallica kalau mengkover lagu orang...

Saya tidak pernah membeli album Load [1996] sampai St.Anger [2003]. Mendengarkannya pun nyaris gak mau!...

Sejak album Load keluar, saya menyatakan diri bukan fans Metallica dan putus hubungan dengan mereka. Kadang saya anggap band ini udah tidak ada dan layak diimbuhi kalimat [RIP] alias Rest In Peace di belakang nama mereka - untuk sementara sih, sampai mereka rilis karya yang bagus dan 'normal' kembali!...

Saya sempat membenci Lars Ulrich ketika Metallica bersengketa soal mp3 dan menuntut Napster. Sebab saya merasa tidak ada yang salah dengan mp3 dan file-sharing. Lars aja yang kelewat sok dan arogan...

Kasus sengketa Metallica versus Napster sempat akan jadi topik skripsi saya pas kuliah di fakultas hukum. Tapi sayang gak jadi, karena di Indonesia saat itu belum ada peraturan hukum di bidang terkait [tehnologi informasi, internet, mp3].

Proyek S&M bersama pasukan orkestra-nya Michael Kamen itu lumayan. Cukup kreatif dan sensasional...

Saya punya DVD bajakan Some Kind of Monster tapi hanya saya setel sepotong-sepotong dan belum pernah ditonton secara lengkap.

Metallica di era St.Anger adalah blunder terbesar mereka. Mendengarkan album itu rasanya seperti mendengarkan band baru yang ingin menjadi the next Limb Bizkit atau the next Linkin Park!...

Blunder Metallica lainnya adalah ketika mereka semua mencukur pendek rambutnya dan merekrut Rob Trujillo sebagai bassist. Avril Lavigne di konser MTV Icon?! Bah!

Saya tidak suka sama bassist berperawakan gorila, Rob Trujillo. He's a lucky bastard. Tambah benci lagi karena dia suka pake celana pendek selutut pas manggung. Metallica with short pants?! Damn you!

Ada ribuan bahkan jutaan band yang mengkover lagu Metallica. Dalam berbagai versi dan genre. Tetapi hanya beberapa yang menjadi favorit saya, antara lain Whiplash [Motorhead, Kiss of Death], Motorbreath [Jeruji, 3rd], dan One [Korn, MTV Icon].

Band lokal yang selalu mengingatkan saya pada Metallica adalah Roxx, Rotor, Nevermind, Meteor, Jeruji, dan Seringai.

The next Metallica is Mastodon!... bukan Trivium apalagi Avenged Sevenfold!

Saya baru tahu kalau ada situs penggemar Metallica di Indonesia [fansite]. Cek aja di http://www.indonesiapullingteeth.com/.

Saya pertama kali mendapatkan album Death Magnetic seminggu yang lalu dalam format MP3 yang dibawa Yoda ke rumah. Langsung saya setel bersama Budi dan Feri. Ini takdir yang menarik. Sebab kami bertiga juga yang sama-sama nonton konser Metallica bareng di Jakarta, tahun 1993 lalu. Thanks meister Yoda!

Saya menaruh harapan yang sangat besar ketika mendengar berita bahwa Rick Rubin akan memproduseri album Death Magnetic. Sebab Bob Rock selalu gagal selepas Black Album.

Sudah seminggu terakhir ini saya selalu memutar Death Magnetic dan lagu-lagu lawas Metallica. Demi sebuah nostalgia dan tuntutan berwacana...



Setelah Death Magnetic apakah saya masih menolak Metallica atau musti kembali menjadi fans mereka?! Well, sampai pada baris terakhir ini saya belum memutuskan...

Waiting for the one
The day that never comes
When you stand up and feel the warmth
But the sunshine never comes
No the sunshine never comes

post by Samakh

Idhar Rez
DAR Mizan


"Banyak informasi yang bisa didapatkan dari buku ini, terutama dunia musik independent," kata Helvi Sjarifuddin, punggawa dari label FFWD records. Buku ini bisa jadi panduan bagi anda para pemain band yang ingin mencoba peruntungan di belantara industri musik. Apalagi jika band anda itu so-called-indie yang baru lahir dan ingin berkembang lebih jauh. Saatnya anda tunjukkan segala potensi dan kemampuan. Jangan meniru band-band independen senior yang gagal, tanpa karya dan tanpa apresiasi. Menjadi band indie itu mudah, tetapi jadi band indie yang 'sukses' itu memang butuh perjuangan panjang. Keringat, usaha dan kerja keras. Juga modal dan kesempatan sebagai pendukungnya. Buku karangan editor Rpple Magazine ini cukup komplit berisi tentang ; sejarah industri rekaman, mengenal manajemen rekaman, mengintip cara produksi, cara mendistribusikan rekaman, hingga cara promosi yang efektif. Segala tips dan trik ada di sini. Buku terbitan DAR Mizan ini juga dilengkapi dengan list tempat-tempat rekaman dan distribusi di tanah air. By the way, bukan berarti buku ini semacam 'kitab suci' atau tutorial seperti buku-buku program komputer di mana anda harus menjalani semua tahapan tehnis yang ada. Sama sekali bukan. Yang perlu anda lakukan adalah mengadopsi segala konsep yang menurut anda paling baik, lalu kembangkan sendiri di dalam lingkungan scene musik anda. Setiap daerah memiliki karakteristik scene dan industri musik yang berbeda-beda. Infrastruktur yang tersedia juga bermacam-macam. Lakukan saja secara efektif dan efisien mungkin. Kuncinya tetap optimis, bertindak positif dan terus berkarya. Tanpa manajemen dan promosi yang efektif, karya musik yang bermutu belum tentu jadi jaminan sukses bagi band. Maka jangan berdiam diri dan menunggu untuk ditemukan! Tidak ada salahnya belajar dari buku ini, daripada mendengar celotehan musisi band senior yang gagal, frustasi dan tidak melakukan apa-apa. Read and learn. Jika anda sudah menjalankan segala metode dan trik dalam buku ini namun band anda masih gagal, maka janganlah berputus asa. Mungkin band anda belum beruntung hari ini. Atau mungkin tuhan punya rencana lain hingga anda memang tidak ditakdirkan menjadi rockstar?!... [livingOz]

Tulisan ini saya tulis pada tahun 1998 bersama [alm] Ivan Scumbag di Kaum Kidul, di kamar Ivan, di bawah pengaruh vodka, leksotan, dan ganja. ini adalah tulisan meracau. Sampai sekarang saya tak tahu ini menceritakan soal apa. Tapi yang jelas ini menceritakan kebanggaan kami akan Burgerkill. ini juga refleksi lain dari lagu "Blank Proudness". Saya sangat yakin, beberapa kalimat yang tercantum di artikel ini asalnya akan saya masukkan sebagai lirik lagu "Blank Proudness". Saya memberi judul tulisan ini "Insane We'll Meet Again", terinspirasi dari penggalan lirik lagu "Crystal Ship"-nya The Doors - sementara Ivan memberi judul tulisan ini "Scum On Feel the Noise!". Saya akhirnya memuat dua judul itu. So, inilah, tulisan kami berdua...

We preach riot, hatred, self-loathing, bloody revolution and complete contemp for compromise. We have more energy and anger and intelligence than anyone in this whole cursed world, refusing to get on the anarcho/squat/shit treadmill. We wanna be the biggest rock nightmare ever and we wanna take all the nation with us. We'll do whatever is required and give you the biggest ever post humous record sales We've spray painted our school shirt to wipe out the brainwash and the boredom. We are he scums that remind people of misery. When we jumped on the stage, it's not a rock or hardcore cliché, but the geometery of contempt. We've seen so much energy at raves but also too much love. It's so nice to see young people enjoying themselves and keeping out of trouble. We don't display our wounds, we shove them in people's faces. We are young beautiful scum pissed off with the world. All we've ever wanted is the reality of oblivion to get the jackplugged to hell. There is more self-hate in this band than you can realize. And if you keep on following our footsteps, then you'll find that we hate ourselves totally.

Everybody in the nation is turned on by the happy-Monday-shit-music because of the lifestyle. But, we have the songs and ideas to back it up?because we are the most original lifestyle and band on the world. By denying ourselves a past, we are trying to find a worthwhile present out of this junky wreckage of life. We are the guitar edge of 90's youth enfranchisement but for us, life is still repetition, humiliation, boredom. You can't dance if you allow reality to eat in your thoughts. Just the same as you can't stage dive. We kick them away. So you better listen to this shit or you fuck off. Wipe out the aristocracy, now kill! Government and country dump the scum falg and we drowning in manufactured ego fuckers. Boredom bred the thoughts of throwing bricks and we've been down for so damn long. We feel like rest of this country by banging our head against the wall.

We are the the suicide of non-generation. We are as faraway from anything in time as possible. We ruined everything?when fresh faced the little boys in gaudy t-shirt's made exciting rocks and hardcore which they were convinced would shame the world into improvement. Retrogressive, exciting and inspired. You'll probably hate us. We're not in the personal entertainment. We aren't wallowing in any music paper's freaks. We might sound like the last 30 years of rock or sound like year 2100 of rock, our mind and soul addresses the issues of universal mind.

It's a search. A frantic search for the absolutely nothing. An opening of one door after another. As yet there's no consistent phyilosophy or politics. Sensousness and evil is an attractive image now. The snakeskin that will be shed sometimes. Works, performs of a striving for metamorphosis. Dark life, the dark side of life, the evil things, the darkside of the moon brokenthru to some cleaner, freer realm.

It's a purification ritual in the alchemical sense. First you have to have the period of disorder, chaos, refusing to a primeval disaster region. Out of that, you purify the elements and find a new seed of life which transform all life, all matter, and all personality until finally you emerge and marry all those dualism and opposites. Then you're not talking about evil and good anymore but something unified and pure. Our music and personalities as seen on the performs are still in the state of chaos and disorder with maybe an incipient element of purity kind of starting. Lately, when we've appeared in person, it's started to merge together. The city is looking for a ritual to join its fragment. This is just like a sort of the electric wedding ritual. And we are too. Insane we'll meet again.

[Kims & Scumbag]
Ujungberung, circa 1998

One cannot contemplate rock music without viewing its roots; that being said, its roots cannot be viewed without analyzing their origins in turn, and the political circumstance which shaped their public image.

Derived from English drinking songs, Celtic folk music, German popular music including waltzes and the proto-gospel singing of Scottish immigrants, "country folk" music had been an aspect of American culture since the early days of the Republic, but as it existed in country and not city was rarely recognized by cultural authorities of the day. Further, once new populations became empowered and replaced the old, most of this history was forgotten.

In part, the reason for this was political: the members of society who advanced American popular music as an artform were not of the original Northern European population, nor were they disposed toward thinking benevolently toward the same; further, they needed to invent something which, like advertising throughough the 1950s, presented itself as an oppositional alternative to the "traditional, boring" way of doing things (early advertising extolled the virtues of its products, while later advertising promoted products as part of a lifestyle which had to demonstrate both novelty and uniqueness to have value as a replacement for the traditional, boring, and otherwise effective way of doing things; this transcendence of function for image has fundamentally shaped American character). As a result, the mythos of blues as a solely African-American artform, and the denial of the Celtic, English and American folk influences on both blues and rock music, was perpetrated as a marketing campaign with highly destructive results for all involved.

The blues was not formalized until it was recorded, and at that point in time, a fixed structure was imposed on it based on the interpretations of others. Broadly stated, it used a minor pentatonic scale with a flatted fifth, constant syncopation, and distinctive "emotional" vocal styles. Of all of its components, none were unique, nor was its I-IV-V chord progression unique to the blues. To view it from an ethnomusical perspective, the blues is an aesthetic (not musical) variation on the English, Scottish, Irish and German folk music which made up the American colloquial sonic art perspective since its inception. From a marketing perspective, however, the blues had to be marketed as a revelation from the downtrodden and suffering African-American slaves, so that it might maintain an "outsider" perspective which, to people bored with a society based on money and lacking heroic values, might appear more "authentic" than their own.

When country music was re-introduced to the then-standardized blues form, the result was called rock music. Its primary difference from country was in its use of vocals which emphasized timbre over tonal accuracy, and the adoption of a more insistent, constant syncopated beat. While German waltz and popular music bands had invented the modern drum kit and developed most techniques for percussion, their music and that of their country counterparts in America tended to use drums sparsely, much more in the style of modern jazz bands than in the ranting, repetitive, dominant methods of rock music. However, it is hard to find someone in a crowd of mixed caste, race, class and intellect for whom a constant beat is intellectually and sensually inaccessible, so it was adopted as a convention. Much as the standardization of the blues took diverse song forms and brought them into a single style, rock swept a wide range of influences into a monochromatic form.

Some historical backfill is worth noting here. The Celtic folksongs of Ireland and Scotland had two main influences: the pentatonic drone music of the Semitic "natives" of the UK, namely Scythians and the diverse groups forming "Picts," and the Indo-European traditional music which is continued in India today. The melodies, including pentatonic variations of many different forms (many of which include the flatted fifth or modal analogue), are almost contiguous such that a player of Indian classical music and a Celtic folklorist can complete each others' melodies in the traditional manner. Similarly, pentatonic music also derived from the Indo-European tradition was present in Germany, most notably in the biergartens and public ceremonies requiring simple music that everyone could enjoy. These musics employed improvisation, as did classical playing from the previous four hundred years; when these historical facts are recognized, American popular music can be identified as the marketing hoax that it is.

The consequences of this hoax have been a persistent blaming of white Americans for "stealing" a black form of music that never existed, and in return, a condescension toward traditional forms of music of all races that became identified with, and scorned as, a black form of music. As we shall see, marketing has both shaped the American experience and contributed to longstanding internal conflicts without resolution. In terms of popular music, marketing is important precisely because it insists on standard forms; they are easy to reproduce without requiring any particularly unique talents on the part of performers, producers, marketers or audience. This has caused an increasing simplification of music while marketing has grown correspondingly more savvy and, like American advertising as a whole, has grown away from focus on the product to focus on lifestyle associations unrelated to the product.

However it arrived, blues-country became "rock" in the 1930s-1950s mainly because of technology. Adolph Rickenbacker invented the electric guitar in 1931, and recording equipment advanced from the primitive to the cheaper and more portable units brought on by vacuum tube and then transistor technology. Additionally, microphones improved, especially those which could capture the nuances of voice. Louder guitars and vocals required the simple shuffle beats of blues drumming to gain volume, prompting a revolution in drum kit assembly. As a result, the simple blues-country hybrid became a marketing standard known as "rock 'n' roll," then "rock," as it was absorbed into the American mainstream. The earliest bands lacked much in the way of style, but wrote complacently harmonizing pieces based on the European popular music of clubs in the 1930s (much of jazz is based upon the same music). As time went on, the stylings - appearance, performance and cultural positioning - of the music became more advanced, and the songs themselves became simpler and more like advertising jingles.

SLIPKNOT ANNOUNCES
U.S. ARENA HEADLINE TOUR

BAND RETURNS HOME IN SUPPORT OF
ALL HOPE IS GONE

2009 MARKS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
OF BAND'S LANDMARK DEBUT ALBUM



New York, NY - Grammy-award winning hard rockers Slipknot announced today their first U.S. headline tour in support of their #1 album All Hope Is Gone. The tour, which kicks off on January 23rd in St. Paul, MN, will hit 33 cities across the country, and include an historic stop at New York's Madison Square Garden, a first for the band. Coheed and Cambria and labelmates Trivium round out the bill.



Frontman Corey Taylor says of the trek, "2009 is the 10 year anniversary of the world's first taste of this band. To celebrate we are coming back out with a killer tour, a couple great bands and the same ferocity with which we attack life. We want all of our maggots to come and celebrate with us, because if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been here for 10 years. Get ready for chaos!"



A special iTunes presale will start on December 3 and will be open to those who took part in the band's digital album presale earlier this year. Internet presales via Ticketmaster, will commence on December 5, and the majority of dates will go on sale December 6.



The All Hope Is Gone World Tour marks Slipknot's first headline run in America since the release of the album in August. The band is currently playing to sold out arenas on the other side of the globe; including stops in Russia, Japan, Australia, Europe and wrapping in the United Kingdom with three sold-out nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Preceding All Hope Is Gone's #1 debut, the band held the headline slot on this summer's sold-out inaugural Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, which drew the biggest crowds to a metal festival since Slipknot played Ozzfest in 2004.



The latest single from All Hope Is Gone, "Dead Memories" is quickly climbing the charts at rock radio with current positions at top 20 at Active rock and top 40 at Modern Rock. The video, directed by P.R. Brown and Slipknot's M. Shawn Crahan, is in Elite 8 rotation at MTV2 and sitting at #3 on Fuse's Viewer Choice Countdown.



To celebrate the tour, Hard Drive, hosted by Lou Brutus will be airing a Slipknot All Hope is Gone World Tour Special from December 3rd-6th on radio stations all across the country. The special will feature exclusive live tracks from their current tour as well as candid interviews and other surprises.



The band has also launched a new website, allhopeisgone.com to coincide with the launch of the tour. All pre-sale and onsale information will be made available there.



The dates are as follows:



01/23/09- Xcel Energy Center - St. Paul, MN



01/24/09- Sprint Center - Kansas City, MO



01/25/09- Mid America Center - Council Bluffs, IA



01/27/09- Alliant Energy Center Memorial Coliseum - Madison, WI



01/28/09- Wells Fargo Arena - Des Moines, IA



01/30/09- Allstate Arena - Rosemont, IL



01/31/09- The Palace of Auburn Hills - Auburn Hills, MI



02/02/09- Peoria Civic Center - Peoria, IL



02/03/09- Pepsi Coliseum - Indianapolis, IN



02/05/09- Madison Square Garden - New York, NY



02/06/09- Tsongas Arena - Lowell, MA



02/07/09- Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ



02/09/09- Greensboro Coliseum Complex - Greensboro, NC



02/10/09- Cricket Arena - Charlotte, NC



02/11/09- Bi-Lo Center - Greenville, SC



02/13/09- 1st Mariner Arena - Baltimore, MD



02/14/09- Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY



02/15/09- Sommet Center - Nashville, TN



02/17/09- Gwinnett Center - Duluth, GA



02/18/09- UCF Arena - Orlando, FL



02/19/09- Pensacola Civic Center - Pensacola, FL



02/21/09- Concrete Street Amphitheater - Corpus Christi, TX



02/22/09- Nokia Theatre - Grand Prairie, TX



02/23/09- BOK Center - Tulsa, OK



02/25/09- Verizon Wireless Theater - Houston, TX



02/26/09- Verizon Wireless Theater - Houston, TX



02/28/09- El Paso County Coliseum - El Paso, TX



03/01/09- Freeman Coliseum - San Antonio, TX



03/03/09- Denver Coliseum - Denver, CO



03/04/09- Tingley Coliseum - Albuquerque, NM



03/05/09- Jobing.com Arena - Glendale, AZ



03/07/09- The Forum - Inglewood, CA



03/08/09- Cox Arena - San Diego, CA



03/10/09- Citizens Business Bank Arena - Ontario, CA



03/11/09- ARCO Arena - Sacramento, CA

Tapi ini belum semua
Bila ada yang mau memberi info
kirim email ke moslemmilitia@rocketmail.com



2nCuk
Aaarghhh
Ababil (Idn)
Abettor of Satan
Abhorred Despiser
Absolute Defiance
Adaptor
Alien Scream
Antraks
Armageddon Holocaust
Arwah
Asphyxiate (Idn)
Aura 13
Authority
Balthazor
Banaspati
Bandoso
Bangkai
Barzakh (Idn)
Bealiah
Beside
Betrayer (Idn)
Black Ramstein
Blasphemous (Idn)
Bleeding Corpse
Bleeding Flesh
Blood Vomit (Idn)
Bloody Gore
Bloody Terror
Brutal Corpse
Brutal Cremation
Brutal Torture
Burgerkill
Caliber for the Heroes
Candle Light
Castigation
Cemetery (Idn)
Coitus (Idn)
Corporation of Bleeding
Cranial Incisored
Cranium (Idn)
Cremated (Idn)
Cremmature
Criminal Vagina
Crucifix (Idn)
Crusade (Idn)
Cuntopsy
Dajjal
Damnation (Idn)
Dark Aeon
Dead Theory
Dead Vertical
Death Harmonic
Death Vomit (Idn)
Decomposed (Idn)
Deformed Inside
Delirium Tremens (Idn)
Demonstrom
Desecration (Idn)
Deviated Symphony
Devoured (Idn)
Dhemit
Dictator (Idn)
Digging Up
Dirty Infamous
Disagree
Disinfected
Divine (Idn)
Doctor D
Dreamer (Idn)
Drop
Drosophila
Dry
Durna
Elmeod
Emptys
Eternal Bleeding (Idn)
Eternal Madness
Excision (Idn)
Extreme Vaginal
Fadihat
Fallenlight
Fear Inside
Flesh Filth
Forgotten (Idn)
Friday 13th
Funeral Inception
Gagak Bulan
Geboren
Gelap
Gelgamesh
Genderuwo
Generators
Gethebong
Godless (Idn)
Godzilla (Idn)
Gondho Mayit
Gondo Mayith
Gonorrhoea (Idn)
Gorog
Grausig
Grave Dancers
Grind Buto
Growl (Idn)
Hard to Kill (Idn)
Hell Gods
Herodias
Holy Terror (Idn)
Horrible
Human Target (Idn)
Hysteria (Idn)
Iconoclasm (Idn)
Ijajil
Immortal Rites (Idn)
Impious (Idn)
Imprecatory (Idn)
In Loving Memory (Idn)
Incerse
Infected Tendence
Infernal Desire
Inferno (Idn)
Infinity Path
Inhumanity (Idn)
Injected Sufferage
Injector
Innerbeauty
Insan Iblis
Insanul Maut
Jagal
Jasad
Jihad (Idn)
Kantong Simayit
Katarak
Kekal
Kendath
Keramat
Kesurupan
Killed on Juarez
Killharmonic
Koma (Idn)
Kranda Mayat
Kremush
Lamphor
Lord Symphony
Maggots Colony
Maia
Makam
Mannequin
Manomomicron
Mantra (Idn)
Matirasa
Mayat
Mobilizer
Morbiddust
Morbifik
Mortal Scream
Mortality (Idn)
Motordeath
Mummy
Muntah Kawat
Mystical (Idn)
Mystis
Naked Truth
Necromancer (Idn)
Nefarious Crypt
Neurotic of Gods
Nicronomodez
Nocternity (Idn)
Nocturnal Heresy
Nocturnal Orchestra
Nosferatu (Idn)
Noxa (Idn)
Over Death
Panic Disorder
Parau
Parson of Death
Pejah
Perfect Maggots
Perish (Idn)
Pernicious Hate
Phobia (Idn)
Power Metal
Proletar
Purgatory (Idn)
Qishash
Radical Corps
Rajam
Rajasinga
Rever
Ritual Orchestra
Rotor (Idn)
Rotten Corpse (Idn)
Sadistis
Sajen
Sakratis
Salient Insanity
Santet
Santhet
Scatter All Over
Scratch (Idn)
Sekarat
Septicemia (Idn)
Seringai
Severe Carnage
Sickmath
Siksakubur
Sinusitis
Slowdeath
Sottish
SoVT
Speedkill
Straightout
Sucker Head
Suffer in Crease
Suku Qlawu
Syndrome (Idn)
System Error
System of Hate
Tengkorak
Thandus
Thirsty Blood
Thrashline
Torture (Idn)
Total Anal Infection
Total Rusak
Total Tragedy
Tragang
Tragical Memories
Tragyst
Transcendus
Trauma (Idn)
Traxtor
Triple Six
Tripple Six
Troops of Brutality
Tympanic Membrane
Umbra Mortis
Unseen Darkness
Vagina Corpse
Valiant
Venduzor
Vexation (Idn)
Victime of Rage
Vile (Idn)
Warhead (Idn)
Zhalim
Zi Factor
Ziarah
Zorboothus

Want to find info about metal band
check "here"

Ini merupakan sebuah cerita pendek dari 12 tahun perjalanan karir bermusik dari sebuah band super keras yang telah menjadi fenomena di populasi musik keras khususnya di Indonesia. Sebuah band yang namanya diambil dari selewengan sebuah nama restaurant fast food asal Amerika, ya mereka adalah Burgerkill band asal origin Ujungberung, tempat orisinil tumbuh dan berkembangnya komunitas Death Metal / Grindcore di daerah timur kota Bandung. Band lulusan scene Uber ( nama keren Ujungberung ) selalu dilengkapi gaya Stenografi Tribal dan musik agresif yang super cepat, Jasad, Forgotten, Disinfected, dan Infamy to name a few.

Burgerkill berdiri pada bulan Mei 1995 berawal dari Eben, scenester dari Jakarta yang pindah ke Bandung untuk melanjutkan sekolahnya. Dari sekolah itulah Eben bertemu dengan Ivan, Kimung, dan Dadan sebagai line-up pertamanya. Band ini memulai karirnya sebagai sebuah side project yang ga punya juntrungan, just a bunch of metal kids jamming their axe-hard sambil menunggu band orisinilnya dapat panggilan manggung. Tapi tidak buat Eben, dia merasa bahwa band ini adalah hidupnya dan berusaha berfikir keras agar Burgerkill dapat diakui di komunitasnya. Ketika itu mereka lebih banyak mendapat job manggung di Jakarta melalui koneksi Hardcore friends Eben, dari situlah antusiasme masyarakat underground terhadap Burgerkill dimulai dan fenomena musik keras tanpa sadar telah lahir di Indonesia.

Walhasil line-up awal band ini pun tidak berjalan mulus, sederet nama musisi underground pernah masuk jajaran member Burgerkill sampai akhirnya tiba di line-up solid saat ini. Ketika dimulai tahun 1995 mereka hanya berpikir untuk manggung, pulang, latihan, manggung lagi dst. Tidak ada yang lain di benak mereka, tapi semuanya berubah ketika mereka berhasil merilis single pertamanya lewat underground phenomenon Richard Mutter yang merilis kompilasi cd band-band Bandung pada awal 1997. Nama lain seperti Full Of Hate, Puppen, dan Cherry Bombshell juga bercokol di kompilasi yang berjudul "Masaindahbangetsekalipisan" tersebut. Memang masa itu masa indah musik underground. Everything is new and new things stoked people! Tidak tanggung lagu Revolt! dari Burgerkill menjadi nomor pembuka di album yang terjual 1000 keping dalam waktu singkat ini.

Setelah mengenal nikmatnya menggarap rekaman, anak anak ini tidak pernah merasa ingin berhenti, dan pada akhir tahun 1997 mereka kembali ikut serta dalam kompilasi "Breathless" dengan menyertakan lagu "Offered Sucks" didalamnya. Awal tahun 1998 perjalanan mereka berlanjut dengan rilisan single Blank Proudness, pada kompilasi band-band Grindcore Ujungberung berjudul "Independent Rebel". Yang ketika itu dirilis oleh semua major label dengan distribusi luas di Indonesia dan juga di Malaysia. Setelah itu nama Burgerkill semakin banyak menghias concert flyers di seputar komunitas musik underground. The Antics went higher, semakin banyak fans berat menunggu kehadiran mereka diatas panggung. Burgerkill sang Hardcore Begundal!

Disekitar awal tahun 1999, mereka mendapat tawaran dari perusahaan rekaman independent Malaysia, Anak Liar Records yang berakhir dengan deal merilis album Three Ways Split bersama dengan band Infireal (Malaysia) dan Watch It Fall (Perancis). Hubungan dengan network underground di Malaysia dan Singapura berlanjut terus hingga sekarang. Burgerkill menjadi langganan cover zine independent di negara-negara tersebut dan berimbas dengan terus bertambahnya fans mereka dari negeri Jiran. Di tahun 2000, akhirnya Burgerkill berhasil merilis album perdana mereka dengan title "Dua Sisi" dan 5000 kaset yang di cetak oleh label indie asal Bandung, Riotic Records ludes habis dilahap penggemar fanatik yang sudah tidak sabar menunggu sejak lama. Di tahun yang sama, band ini juga merilis single "Everlasting Hope Never Ending Pain" lewat kompilasi "Ticket To Ride", sebuah album yang benefitnya disumbangkan untuk pembangunan sebuah skatepark di kota Bandung.

Single terakhir menjadi sebuah jembatan ke era baru Burgerkill, dimana masa awal mereka lagu-lagu tercipta hasil dari pengaruh band-band Oldschool Hardcore, Name it: Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Sick of it All, Insted, Etc. Seiring dengan waktu, mereka mulai untuk membuka pengaruh lain. Masuklah pengaruh dari band band Modern Metal dan Newschool Hardcore dengan beat yang lebih cepat dan lebih agresif, selain itu juga riff-riff powerchord yang enerjik menjadi bagian kental pada lagu-lagu Burgerkill serta dilengkapi oleh fill-in gitar yang lebih menarik. Anak-anak ini memang tidak pernah puas dengan apa yang mereka hasilkan, mereka selalu ingin berbuat lebih dengan terus membuka diri pada pengaruh baru. Hampir semua format musik keras dilahap dan di interprestasikan kedalam lagu, demikianlah Burgerkill berkembang menjadi semakin terasah dan dewasa. Lagu demi lagu mereka kumpulkan untuk menjadi sebuah materi lengkap rilisan album kedua.

Beberapa Mainstream Achievement pun sempat mereka rasakan, salah satunya menjadi nominator Band Independent Terbaik ala majalah NewsMusik di tahun 2000. Awal tahun 2001 pun mereka berhasil melakukan kerjasama dengan sebuah perusahaan produk sport apparel asal Amerika: PUMA yang selama 1 tahun mensupport setiap kali Burgerkill melakukan pementasan. Dan sejak Oktober 2002 sebuah produk clothing asal Australia: INSIGHT juga mensupport dalam setiap penampilan mereka.

Pertengahan Juni 2003, Burgerkill menjadi band Hardcore pertama di Indonesia yang menandatangani kontrak sebanyak 6 album dengan salah satu major label terbesar di negeri ini, Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia. Dan setelah itu akhir tahun 2003, Burgerkill berhasil merilis album kedua mereka dengan title "Berkarat". Lagu-lagu pada album ini jauh lebih progressif dan penuh dengan teknik yang lebih terasah dibandingkan album sebelumnya. Hampir tidak ada lagi nuansa straight forward dan moshpart sederhana ala band standard Hardcore yang tercermin dari single-single awal mereka. Pada sector vocal dengan tetap mengedepankan nuansa depresif dan kelam, karakter vocal Ivan sang vokalis Bengal lebih berani dimunculkan dengan penulisan bahasa pertiwi dan artikulasi kata yang lebih jelas. Dan di sector musik pun, Toto, Eben, Andris dan gitaris baru mereka Agung semakin berani menjelajahi daerah-daerah baru yang sebelumnya tidak pernah dijajaki kelompok musik keras manapun di Indonesia.

Sebuah kejutan hadir pada pertengahan tahun 2004, lewat album "Berkarat" Burgerkill masuk kedalam salahsatu nominasi dalam salah satu event Achievement musik terbesar di Indonesia "Ami Awards". Dan secara mengejutkan mereka berhasil menyabet award tahunan tersebut untuk kategori "Best Metal Production". Sebuah prestasi yang mungkin tidak pernah terlintas di benak mereka, dan bagi mereka hal tersebut merupakan sebuah tanggung jawab besar yang harus mereka buktikan melalui karya-karya mereka selanjutnya.

Di awal tahun 2005 di tengah kesibukan mereka mempersiapkan materi untuk album ketiga, Toto memutuskan untuk meninggalkan band yang telah selama 9 tahun dia bangun bersama. Namun kejadian ini tidak membuat anak-anak Burgerkill putus semangat, mereka kembali merombak formasinya dengan memindahkan Andris dari posisi Bass ke posisi Drums dan terus melanjutkan proses penulisan lagu dengan menggunakan additional bass player. Sejalan dengan selesainya penggarapan materi album ketiga, tepatnya November 2005, Burgerkill memutuskan kontrak kerjasama dengan Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia dikarenakan tidak adanya kesepakatan dalam pengerjaan proyek album ketiga. So guys...these kids always have a great spirit to keep blowing their power, dan akhirnya mereka sepakat untuk tetap merilis album ke-3 "Beyond Coma And Despair" di bawah label mereka sendiri Revolt! Records di pertengahan Agustus 2006. Album ketiga yang memiliki arti sangat dalam bagi semua personil Burgerkill baik secara sound, struktur, dan format musik yang mereka suguhkan sangat berbeda dengan dua album sebelumnya. Materi yang lebih berat, tegas, teknikal, dan berani mereka suguhkan dengan maksimal disetiap track-nya.

Namun tak ada gading yang tak patah, sebuah musibah terbesar dalam perjalanan karir mereka pun tak terelakan, Ivan sang vokalis akhirnya menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya ditengah-tengah proses peluncuran album baru mereka di akhir Juli 2006. Peradangan pada otaknya telah merenggut nyawa seorang ikon komunitas musik keras di Indonesia. Tanpa disadari semua penulisan lirik Ivan pada album ini seolah-olah mengindikasikan kondisi Ivan saat itu, dilengkapi alur cerita personal dan depresif yang terselubung sebagai tanda perjalanan akhir dari kehidupannya. "Beyond Coma And Despair" sebuah album persembahan terakhir bagi Ivan Scumbag yang selama ini telah menjadi seorang teman, sahabat, saudara yang penuh talenta dan dedikasi dengan disertai karakter karya yang mengagumkan. Burgerkill pun berduka, namun mereka tetap yakin untuk terus melanjutkan perjalanan karir bermusik yang sudah lebih dari 1 dekade mereka jalani, dan sudah tentu dengan menghadirkan seorang vokalis baru dalam tubuh mereka saat ini. Akhirnya setelah melewati proses Audisi Vokal, mereka menemukan Vicki sebagai Frontman baru untuk tahap berikutnya dalam perjalanan karir mereka.

Dan pada awal Januari 2007 mereka telah sukses menggelar serangkaian tour di kota-kota besar di Pulau Jawa dan Bali dalam rangka mempromosikan album baru mereka. Target penjualan tiket di setiap kota yang didatangi selalu mampu mereka tembus, dan juga ludesnya penjualan tiket di beberapa kota menandakan besarnya antusiasme masyarakat musik cadas di Indonesia terhadap penampilan Burgerkill. A written story just wouldn't enough, tunggu kejutan dan dengarkan album baru mereka, tonton konsernya dan rasakan sensai musik keras yang tak akan kamu lupakan...BURGERKILL HARDCORE BEGUNDAL IN YOUR FACE, WHATEVER!!!

Check out at http://www.burgerkillofficial.com

17 April 2008
Lahirnya Bentuk Ketidak Jelasan Baru Di Negara Yang Sangat Tidak Jelas Ini.

Musibah terbesar tragedi konser berdarah 9 Februari lalu telah kita lewati dengan duka yang sangat mendalam. Segala bentuk kekhawatiran, dan dilema akan imbas buruk pasca tragedi tersebut tanpa terasa semakin memaksa kita terdiam menunggu tanpa tau harus berbuat apa. Pencekalan musisi dan penyempitan ruang kreatifitas oleh berbagai pihak yang juga menimpa komunitas kita menjadi salah satu contoh yang sangat ditakuti juga memprihatinkan bagi kami. Ditambah dengan mayoritas pemberitaan miring di media-media yang berkesan sepihak dan memojokan yang akhirnya menimbulkan stigma dangkal akan ketidak pahaman di sebagian besar benak masyarakat atas apa yang kita kerjakan. Ideologi kita akan sebuah musik, gaya hidup, dan pola berfikir kembali disalahkan dan dikambing hitamkan oleh mereka baik di masyarakat dan pemerintahan. Seolah-olah kita adalah pihak mutlak yang harus bertanggung jawab dari sebuah musibah yang sama sekali tidak pernah kita inginkan, dan hak akan kebebasan berekspresi yang selama ini telah kita nikmati bersama terpaksa mengalah telak ditemani ribuan pertanyaan di kepala akan ketidak adilan. Yah setidaknya hal tersebut adalah realita perjalanan hidup yang sangat kami rasakan kedalamannya sampai saat ini... oleh karena itu kami memohon maaf yang sebesar-besarnya kepada teman-teman atas terjadinya kekosongan aktifitas di situs kami beberapa waktu lalu.

So... Here's some news from us. Saat ini kami masih disibukan dengan penggarapan project DVD Documentary yang lumayan lama tertunda dikarenakan sebagian data yang rusak termakan virus dan harus diperbaiki total. Hingga saat ini kami telah sampai di proses perampungan story line dan selanjutnya akan masuk ke proses editing akhir , yah... mudah-mudahan saja DVD ini dapat kita nikmati hasilnya di akhir tahun 2008 ini. Selain itu kami juga sedang menyibukan diri dengan mengumpulkan beberapa materi baru untuk album ke-4 yang rencananya akan kami rekam di awal tahun 2009 nanti, dan satu buah video live dari materi baru kami "Divine Shine" sudah dapat kalian simak di halaman media situs ini. So... Formasi baru, spirit baru, ide-ide baru dan harapan baru menjadi modal utama dan tantangan tersendiri bagi kami dalam menggarap serta menganalisa semua materi didalamnya, walaupun sama sekali belum bisa dibayangkan akan seperti apa jadinya. But... We promise you to have the most brutal and heaviest album we ever wrote, so keep pray and wish all goin' well. Keep smokin' this beautiful land with our dreams and passion, Thanks bro...

29 November 2007
"Beyond Coma And Despair" Masuk Dalam 150 Album Terbaik Indonesia Sepanjang Masa Versi Majalah Rolling Stone Indonesia !

Rasa syukur yang berlimpah kami panjatkan kepada Allah SWT, yang telah memberi rizki dan pengalaman-pengalaman terbaik dalam perjalanan karir bermusik kami. Tepatnya di halaman belakang markas Rolling Stone di daerah Kemang Jakarta, menjadi tempat yang sangat bersejarah bagi kami setelah majalah musik no.1 di Indonesia ini menobatkan album "Beyond Coma And Despair" menjadi salah satu dari 150 Album Indonesia Terbaik Sepanjang Masa dimulai era tahun 1950 hingga 2007. Sebuah pencapaian terbesar sepanjang 12 tahun perjuangan kami, kerja keras kami dalam mengolah visi dan misi untuk dituangkan pada sebuah karya yang bisa dinikmati semua kalangan musik Indonesia.

Di pesta kecil peluncuran majalah edisi tutup tahun ini, kami juga diberi kesempatan untuk tampil secara akustik bersama pengisi acara lain diantaranya Sore, White Shoes, Netral, Cokelat, Plastik (reuni), Flowers (reuni) dan Pas Band yang tampil spesial dengan menghadirkan drummer Richard Mutter (ex-Pas Band) sebagai penutup acara. Kamis malam yang juga diwarnai suguhan alkohol dan bir dingin terasa sangat bersahabat, dimana sangat ramahnya musisi2 senior indonesia yang hadir dan ikut bersantai menikmati hidangan dan suguhan acara dari tuan rumah. Ya akhirnya kami berhasil menunjukan taring kami di depan para musisi-musisi Indonesia sebagai pembuktian eksistensi komunitas musik cadas di industri musik Tanah Air. Dan sambutan dari para tamu pun sangat melegakan, mereka dapat menghargai dan menikmati musik kami walaupun hanya dalam format akustik he he he. Maybe someday we will show you the real deal, so prepare for the next one bro!

Terimakasih yang sebesar-besarnya kami ucapkan kepada Tim Rolling Stone Indonesia yang telah bekerja keras memberikan informasi dari riset terbaik, dan ikut menjaga kualitas musik karya anak bangsa dengan budaya berkompetisi secara sehat melalui media tulis. Mudah-mudahan di kedepannya akan semakin banyak lagi media lain yang juga peduli dengan bhinekanya karya musik Indonesia yang patut kita banggakan. Thanks and keep smokin'to Rolling Stone Magz! Fuck yeaahhhh...

KOIL berdiri pada tahun 1993, dengan formasi : Otong (vokal), Doni (gitar), Imo (Bass), Leon (Drum). Sejak awal berdiri Koil memutuskan untuk membuat dan memainkan lagu-lagu ciptaan sendiri. Keputusan ini merupakan hal yang kurang lazim saat itu , karena kebanyakan band saat itu lebih sering membawakan lagu orang lain.


Sejarah dan perjalanan band
Dengan usaha keras akhirnya Koil berhasil menciptakan beberapa buah lagu dan pada tahun 1994 dengan dana yang minim Koil bisa masuk studio rekaman dan merekam sekitar 8 buah lagu. Kemudian lagu-lagu itu dirilis dalam single yang berjudul "Demon From Nowhere". Kaset ini hanya diedarkan terbatas, selain karena keterbatasan dana juga karena saat itu Koil kesulitan untuk mendapatkan tempat untuk menjual kaset tersebut. Satu-satunya tempat yang mau memasarkannya adalah Reverse Outfits, sebuah toko kepunyaan Richard Mutter ( ex drummer Pas band)

Pada tahun 1996, seorang produser bernama Budi Soesatio dari label Project Q (label yang mengeluarkan album Slank 1-3) tertarik untuk merilis album Koil dan mengkontrak Koil sebanyak 2 album. Maka pada bulan September 1996 KOIL merilis full albumnya yang pertama yang berjudul “KOIL”, lagu-lagu di album ini sebagian diambil dari single Demo From Nowhere.

Album ini mendapat tanggapan positif dari khalayak musik Indonesia terutama pencinta musik rock, karena musik dan lirik nya dianggap tonggak baru dalam kancah musik rock Indonesia. Musik yang diusung Koil adalah musik rock yang dipenuhi dengan sampling sampling suara . Sampling itu tidak hanya berasal dari instrumen musik tapi juga dari suara-suara yang ada disekitar kita seperti suara air, suara besi dipukul, suara panci dipukul suara-suara binatang, suara orang pidato, dll, yang digarap dengan penggunaan teknik sampling yang apik . Dari segi lirik, penulisan lirik-lirik yang mengekspresian kekosongan hati, kegelapan dan kehampaan cinta yang dituangkan dalam bait-bait lirik berbahasa Indonesia,menjadi suatu nilai plus bagi koil karena lirik bahasa Indonesia masih jarang dipakai untuk jenis musik rock seperti Koil.

Kerjasama Project Q dan Koil sebenarnya masih menyisakan 1 buah album lagi tapi karena dihadang krisis moneter menyebabkan Project Q tidak dapat memproduksi album ke-2 Koil. Akhirnya pada tahun 1998 Koil memutuskan untuk keluar dari Project Q.

Setelah keluar dari Project Q, Koil merilis single Kesepian ini Abadi di bawah label Apocalypse Record. Sebuah label yang dibuat oleh Otong (Koil) dan Adam (Kubik). Kaset single ini pun diedarkan secara indie melalui jaringan distro-distro underground yang saat itu sudah mulai banyak bermunculan di kota-kota besar,

Dirilisnya album ini membuat nama Koil kembali naik ke permukaan ditandai dengan banyaknya tawaran manggung yang datang. Seiring dengan itu, Koil mencoba konsep baru dalam pertunjukannya yaitu dengan memasukan unsur-unsur lain dalam pertunjukannya yaitu fashion dan tarian . Unsur fashion yang mendapat perhatian besar dari Koil adalah penggunaan kostum khusus dalam setiap penampilannya.. Kostum dari kulit, berwarna hitam , penuh asesoris logam , sepatu boots tinggi , membuat penampilan Koil berbeda dengan band-band lainnya. .Ditambah lagi dengan aksi para penari wanita yang berpakaian seksi membuat pertunjukan semakin menarik. Hal ini akhirnya menjadi trademark bagi Koil, sebagai band rock pertama di Indonesia yang memadukan fashion, tari dan musik pada saat manggung.

Setelah merilis single ini, Koil kembali masuk studio rekaman untuk menyelesaikan materi lagu untuk album berikutnya, diselingi juga dengan membantu para musisi lain diantaranya meremix lagu dari Puppen, Burger Kill, Jasad. Lagu-lagu Koil juga masuk di beberapa kompilasi seperti : Best Alternative Indonesia ( prod Aquarius Musikindo), Ticket To Ride ( Spills Record), Kompilasi Viking-Persib.

Pada bulan Februari 2001, setelah melewati perjuangan keras yang penuh tantangan seperti kesulitan dana rekaman, minimnya peralatan musik, teknologi rekaman yang baru , dalam pembuatan album akhirnya Koil merilis full albumnya yang ke-2 yang berjudul Megaloblast dibawah label Apocalypse Record. Album ini berisikan 10 buah lagu dan berbungkus artwork kover yang sangat apik, berwarna dominan putih bergambar muka seorang wanita.

Pada saat pertama dirilis pendistribusian kaset ini dilakukan hanya lewat jaringan distro-distro underground di Jakarta dan Bandung ,pemesanan melalui pos, dan beberapa toko kaset . Cara ini terpaksa ditempuh oleh Koil yaitu untuk menekan biaya pendistribusian Tapi walaupun dengan cara seperti ini album Megalobalst dapat terjual sekitar 15 ribu kopi (sebuah angka yang cukup besar untuk ukuran indie label dan cara pendistribusian seperti ini ).

Angka penjualan ini didukung oleh promo yang gencar yaitu dengan membuat ribuan poster dan baligo yang di pasang di jalan-jalan utama, untuk melakukan promosi seperti ini Koil dibantu banyak pihak seperti distro-distro, radio, majalah, dan yang mengundang kontroversi adalah bantuan dari Restoran McDonalds Cihampelas Bandung (restoran McDonalds dimusuhi komunitas underground di bandung saat itu). Store Manager restoran McDonalds saat itu adalah Wisnu Aji Nugroho aka Wayank ( pendiri band/clothing citysounds ) kabarnya adalah sahabat koil

Setelah itu untuk menambah tingkat penjualannya, Koil membuat video klip untuk lagu Mendekati Surga dan klip itu dikirim ke MTV , tidak disangka-sangka ternyata klip itu mendapat tanggapan positif dari pihak MTV . (saat itu MTV belum menayangkan klip-klip band indie). Setelah beberapa kali ditayangkangkan, klip ini mendapat respon yang sangat tinggi di MTV, (bahkan menurut pihak MTV melebihi request terhadap lagu Linkin Park) , Hal itu membuat pihak MTV mengundang KOIL untuk tampil dalam acara MTV Musik Award 2003.

Melihat potensi ini, pada bulan Oktober 2003 sebuah label yaitu ALFA RECORD menawarkan kerjasama untuk merilis kembali album Megaloblast dengan pendistribusian yang lebih luas yaitu seluruh Indonesia. Akhirnya pada bulan Desember 2003 album Megaloblast dirilis kembali dengan penambahan 2 buah lagu remix dan perubahan artwork kover album, menjadi berwarna hitam, oleh karena itu album ini sering disebut MEGALOBLACK. Untuk menambah tingkat penjualan, Koil membuat 2 buah video klip lagi yaitu untuk lagu Kita Dapat Diselamatkan dan lagu Dosa Ini Tak Akan Berhenti. Kedua video klip ini di buat oleh rumah produksi “Cerah Hati”.

Peredaran kaset Koil secara nasional membuat orang makin mudah mendapatkan kaset Koil maka dengan sendirinya penjualan kaset Koil terus meningkat. Keadaan ini membuat Koil semakin dikenal di dunia musik Indonesia, sebagai salah satu band indie yang dapat disejajarkan dengan band-band major label. Prestasi Koil ini mendapat perhatian dari majalah Times Asia, sehingga dalam salah satu tulisannya menyebut Koil sebagai salah satu band rock masa depan Indonesia,

Pada tahun 2003-2004 Koil banyak diundang untuk tampil di acara-acara seperti Nescafe Musik Asik, Ulang tahun ke -20 tahun Slank di Stadion Lebak Bulus, Pekan Raya Jakarta dan Pensi-Pensi SMU di Jakarta dan Bandung.

Di pertengahan tahun 2005 sekitar bulan Juni, Koil merilis 2 buah single terbarunya yang berjudul Hiburan Ringan Part 1 dan Hiburan Ringan Part II. Single ini masuk dalam soundtrack film horror berjudul ’12:00 AM’. Masih di bulan yang sama , Koil membuat klip dari lagu Hiburan Ringan Part II. Untuk mempromosikan single terbaru ini Koil tampil di acara PESTA INDOSIAR, Kuta Karnival (Bali) untuk acara Oakley dan The Beat Rock Fest. Kemudian di Jogja pada acara Star On Campus.

Saat ini Koil baru saja menyelesaikan album terakhirnya dan sedang melakukan "KOIL BLACKLIGHTSHINESON TOUR 2008"2008.
Anggota
J.A. Verdijantoro (Otong) - vokal utama (1993-sekarang)
Donnijantoro - gitar, vokal latar (1993-sekarang)
Ibrahim Nasution (Imo) - gitar, vokal latar (1993-sekarang)
Leon Ray Legoh - drum (1993-sekarang)
Adam Joswara - gitar bas, vokal latar (2007-sekarang)
Diperoleh dari "http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koil_(band)"
Diskografi
1994: Demon From Nowhere
1996: Koil
2001: Megaloblast
2007: Blacklight Shines On

Album Burgerkill bertajuk Beyond Coma and Despair sudah rilis di Australia via label Xenophobic Dist. Video klip Shadow of Sorrow dan Angkuh juga mulai diputar di teve-teve nasional di sana. Lagu Agony Remain Insane dan We Will Bleed malah masuk Chart Top5 di radio lokal Australia. Tahun depan Burgerkill akan tour di Aussie!...

Ex-Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler, who entered a "no contest" plea to a charge of heroin possession at the Los Angeles Superior Court last Friday (November 14), has said he'd love to rejoin his old band.

The tub thumper, who was sacked from Guns N' Roses in 1990 over drug problems, issued the following statement via his lawyer, Barry Gerald:

"When he gets sober [Guns N' Roses will] accept him into the band and then they'll do a comeback album and a world tour - that's the dream of Steven Adler."

Adler will reappear in court on December 12 for sentencing.

In related news, former GN'R / current Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash and his wife have released a video backing gay marriage.

The clip, which can be viewed below, features the guitarist playing the American national anthem while his wife, Perla Hudson, urges viewers to "Say no to hate and yes to equal rights."

"I married my sweetheart, you should be able to marry yours too," she adds.

Sometimes after interviewing and hanging out with a band for a big feature, you come back, look over your notes, listen back to your tapes, and you're like, Shit, I got nothin'. What the hell am I gonna put in this story? Then there are times, when you have such a wealth of material that you're like, What the hell am I gonna leave out? Such was the case when I returned from spending two days with Metallica down in Nashville, Tennessee, for our cover story on them in the new issue of Revolver, on newsstands everywhere now. From hours of interviews to endless anecdotes (like the time, during our photo shoot, that Lars' youngest son popped in and asked his dad why he was wearing makeup. Lars explained that everyone wears a little powder and touch-up for shoots, to which little Ulrich responded: "That's sad." Everyone in the room laughed, and Lars sighed, "Thanks. Way to make me feel less like a sad, old man."), whittling all the material down to a tight, streamlined story was tough. But thanks to the Interweb, all the extra shit need not go to waste. So I'll be posting the best of the rest of my chats with the Metallica dudes right here, a different dude each week?so make sure and check back. First up was the newest member of the band, bassist Rob Trujillo; next, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and then drummer Lars Ulrich. Finally, up now, frontman James Hetfield.

REVOLVER When's the last time you played a venue this size? [At the time of this interview, Metallica had just finished playing an approximately 150-person-capacity Nashville, Tennessee, club called the Basement...which you should know already, if you've read the Revolver cover story.]

JAMES HETFIELD Let's see. That size. Let's see. Metal Joe's Basement?that was actually a basement. I guess the Fillmore is not that small for sure. What's the last time we played...I mean, that just totally reminded me of Kill 'Em All, completely. You know, you can only play a little more than 45 minutes, supporting Raven on the "Kill 'Em All For One" tour, in '83, going across the States in a Winnebago. I think we played probably 45 minutes, something like that, before them. Sweaty, hot, just fun. Couldn't hear what the hell I'm singing. Couldn't hear anything except volume.

I was talking to that guy [Ron from New York...again, read the cover story] that you called out during the show, who followed you guys through Europe. He told me that this was his 102nd Metallica show.

It's bordering psycho. [Laughs] It's kind of scaring me. You know, it's like, Dude, don't you have a girlfriend or something? You know, settle down somewhere. I was joking with him, saying "Where is everyone from?" and I was like, "You don't know where you're from; you're all over the place." But it is so unbelievably cool to walk out onto the stage?besides just walking on the stage, how cool that is?and you see this guy down in the front, and he's been to, like you said, the last hundred-and-something odd shows and has not missed a show. And you look down and there he is, Ron in his wife-beater, right in the front. He's got this lockdown technique where no one gets around him or by him. He just locks down, and there he is up against the barricade. He's rocking the whole time. He's a pretty big guy, so he can get up there, but he beats us to the shows. I was like, How do you get there? We leave before you and you're there before us. That's crazy. That's dedication.

One of the things that really struck me about this show was the almost family-like vibe. Almost as soon as you guys came in and started interacting with the crew and with the fans and with each other, and then interacting onstage as a band, it really felt like a get-together of this big?or not so big, in this case?extended Metallica family. Is that sort of how you feel about it?

Oh, yeah. We're all there for the same reason. We're looking for happiness and a release and some kind of an acceptance in a group, you know. We're all having a blast, and the music brings it, you know. And the energy that just goes back and forth, you know, you can't describe it. I don't know where you could create that anywhere else. Some other artists, say, that paint or create sculptures or do something, their ultimate thing is that they finally finished their sculpture and they go put it into a room, you know, and people come by and look at it. I guess that's the ultimate for them, but for us, you know, we create a song that is in us, and it moves with us. And we play it, and people take it with them. And it creates certain feelings. It's something that they get to do, too. You know, they get to sing it and, you know, this is...I can't think of anything better to do in life.

I know that the mission statement behind this new album was to kind of try to tap into the early hunger of albums like Master of Puppets. But obviously, that's kind of impossible to do, so what is the hunger now? What, if anything, does Metallica feel like they need to prove now?

What do we need to prove? We need to prove that it lives in us. It's not so much our career; it is our life. Besides being a dad and being a loving family, I don't know what else I would do. If I wasn't doing this, I would be trying to do it, simple as that. What are we hungry for? There's always something: the hunger to write the better album, the hunger to write the better song, create the ultimate lyric, get the ultimate guitar sound. I mean, I'm never satisfied. I go back and listen to some of these records and go, Man, no, no. Yeah, the songs are good, but the sounds.... Always, always striving for the better something. Some of it's the perfectionist in us. Then I guess also the other thing is survival. A band like us being together, you know, 26, 27 years. It doesn't happen every day. There's not a whole lot of bands that can claim that. We're pretty fortunate we've stayed kind of a household name for that amount of time, and to still be loving it and doing it and being pretty much the same guys in the band, and we're sitting here on a bus doing it again. [Both laugh] It is a nicer bus than in 1983. We have doors that I push a button, they go woop, they close; you've got direcTV; you've got high def; you've got microwaves. You know, there's a shower in the bus! [Laughs] Not saying that there aren't bands out there that pay dues, but this is pretty nice.

Are you guys kind of surprised that this many years later you are still the biggest metal band in the world?

Oh, yes and no. I mean, we don't take it for granted. It is a huge gift and the dedication that we put into it is what we get out. It's as simple as that. If you put hard work or hard dedication or, you know, focus your powers and your ideas to something, you'll get results. If you start taking it for granted, you know, and get absorbed, self-absorbed in the material objects that come to you because of that, then you might not stick around. You know, we've gone through those points, each one of us at different times?you know, the Porsche and the this and that. Everyone kind of just slaps each other around and says, "Hey, wake up!" The real thing is the gift of creation and connection with someone that understands your music or needs it for an energy. But, yes and no. We're somewhat surprised but not, because this is what we wanted to do; Lars and I especially, you know. Lars, in high school, he had drawn that "Metal up your ass." Thunderfuck, I think, was the name of the band. Metallica, I think, is a little better name. [Laughs] I don't think Thunderfuck would...I wouldn't be sitting here having an interview with you after 27 years. But it's a vision, and it's still in our vision.

What did you think of Rick Rubin's mission statement, his mantra of "Go back to what you were thinking with Master of Puppets," when you guys first started working on this new record?

It's tough, you know. It's really tough. We know so much. We know how to get sounds. We know how to manipulate what we need here. We know how to make a song that's OK into a song that's pretty good?it might not be great but pretty good. Oh, man, how do we erase the knowledge and do something very, very now but with the essence of Puppets? How do you get the essence of Puppets? Difficult, but OK, we both have egos. Metallica has an ego. Rick Rubin has an ego. Yes, he's "Zen master" and all of that, but when Rick Rubin shows up, he's Rick Rubin and he's coming in. He wants to be respected. I think Metallica in the past has been really good at unshining the ego of others, you know. Stripping people down. It's kind of one of our things. We worked with Rick long enough we'd probably be doing this, you know, dragging him down. There's something great about ego obviously, but if it gets in the way of creation then it's not good. But the guy has got an amazing discography, great track record. It's not luck. The guy knows what he's doing. So for us to trust enough, and for us to be able to get as much of our input in there as possible. Every idea was tried. It just took longer.

I have to ask this, as a fan: Did you have much interaction with Rick when you tracked your vocals for the first Danzig record?

Ah, yes. [Thinking] Yeah. Yeah, he was there. That was the first time I actually worked with him. I showed up, I was more in awe of "Hey, that's Danzig!" I don't remember what the direction was. "OK, yell it more. OK, try singing it more. OK, try this." We just did a bunch of different stuff and said, "OK, that's it." "OK, thanks. We'll call you." [Laughs]

To what extent do you guys keep up with what's current in metal? And to the extent that you do, why do you do it? Are you a fan of newer stuff? Is it kind of part of your job, do you think, to stay tuned into what's going on?

That's pretty interesting. It's very interesting because I think Lars and Kirk are very knowledgeable magazine-wise. Maybe Kirk because, you know, he's just obsessive-compulsive. He's just got to have a magazine all the time, you know: Rolling Stone, or Revolver, or whatever it is, keeping up on all this stuff. And it's weird because it's like, yeah, this is my gig, this is my life. But I don't really read who's going out with who, and who put out what, or, hey, he's jamming with that. I kind of hear it secondhand from the guys. I don't know. There's probably a part of me that just really despises gossip, and when news and gossip fuse, it kind of bugs me. So, I don't really keep up with all of this stuff. Just like, if I was a mechanic, would I be reading car magazines all the time? I don't know. I'm not a mechanic but I like car magazines. There's some guy that works in a shop, I'm sure he's reading the metal mags. But I do know what I like. I hear bands. I browse through stuff, hear a name of this band, OK, check 'em out. There is stuff that I really like. And there's stuff you rediscover, like I'm just going through this phase: The Bay Area was frickin' amazing in '84, '85. That era is like, holy smokes, man. The decade back from Ride the Lightning, it was going on. Obviously before that there was Exodus and all this stuff, but, boy, it was huge, huge then in the Bay Area. We're so proud of being a part of that and kind of getting nostalgic about it. But this band Machine Head, the two of the guys who were in Vio-lence [frontman Robb Flynn and lead guitarist Phil Demmel], we just did some dates with them over in Europe. And man, I couldn't get enough. It was unbelievable.

Yeah, they rule.

They're so heavy, and super-friendly. They get it, and they love it. The last album, The Blackening, unbelievable. Unbelievable sound, power. It sounds like a band on fire. They have really turned it on again for me. And then this band Mnemic, which, you know, I like. We've done some other shows with them. There's a lot of real intense stuff out there that I like. Sometimes vocals really do turn me off, you know.

Yeah, me, too.

It'll go from [growls] to [in high-pitched voice] la, la, la. And then all of a sudden, whoa, what happened? The pop chorus came in. It's like, wait a minute, you guys are still a little too attached to nu-metal. It's like, ugh, it's so predictable. It gets old very quick. But dude, there are some insane players out there. These, what I call "bedroom guitar players," you know, obviously DragonForce, stuff like that but not just them. There are so many, and not just guitar players, drummers are blowing me away with their feet, with their hands, they are the Yngwie of drummers. Almost to the point that it's too good. It's too unbelievably precise. It's like, oh no, it's prog rock again. But it's unbelievable to hear some of these guys play together.

Well, you guys' new record seems to be more technical than ever. Is that something where you feel that you were being pushed by this newer generation into proving you could top that, or is it more organic?

I think there's no lack of that in our catalog. ...And Justice for All was kind of our show-off record, I'd say. But just trying to get 16 riff CDs into 11 songs. So we gotta take eight riffs and just shove them into that. That's not new for us either, trying to shove as many riffs into one song as possible. And that was probably something that I'm guilty of winding Kirk up with. You know, "Wow, did you hear this guitar player? Check it out!" Or seeing these dudes on the instructional videos. "OK, play it faster," wirrreeww. "OK, faster,"wirr. "OK, faster," rirrr. Like, holy shit. I think it really made Kirk step up. He's playing really amazing, again. I think it's great to hear Kirk doing solos, again. But yeah, there's the Thin Lizzy dual guitar going on. I've always loved doing it. I mean, as soon as [Metallica's original bassist, the late] Cliff [Burton] showed me what a harmony meant, that was it.

REVOLVER You guys all seem to be getting along really well these days.

LARS ULRICH Yeah, you know, the main question I get fed every day is this thing about, Is the band still in some kind of turmoil? And it's like, That was fucking six years ago. That's a fucking career and a half for most people. That's a lifetime. Six years ago?it's a long time and things aren't like that anymore. ["Performance-enhancing coach"] Phil [Towle] always said that the work we were doing on the St Anger project, the real benefit to that was not gonna be on the St Anger record, it was gonna be on the next record. And he was right about that. It's been a real chill experience for the last couple of years, you know. There's been no psychiatrist, there's been no film crew, there's been no producer hanging around; it's just been us. Kirk hasn't even been there long because he's been living out mostly in Hawaii, and Rob's been there. But it's been pretty chill and it's been real nice. Just low key, everybody's kind of getting along and having fun. But like, the St Anger stuff and the movie, and the whole thing, you know, that's lifetimes ago. You know what I mean? I can understand people sitting and going, "Last thing we heard from Metallica was you yelling 'Fuck!' in James' face," but, you know, six years ago?in Metallica years, it's many lifetimes ago.

How has Rob's presence affected you guys' creative process?

He's great. In moving the process forward, he's so effortless and so easy to, kind of, have around. He's just a good vibe. So, when we've been working, he kind of moves with us really quick. He throws his two cents in once in a while. He's very quick. When me and James are working on an idea, we're kind of like, OK, try it this way and try it that way and try that. It just moves really quick and he can kind of move with that and also be a little bit of a balancing point between different ideas and different kinds of energies. It's like a Zen thing. I dunno if Zen and heavy metal go together, but there's something there, I'm telling ya. [Laughs] It's like a vibe that just works. It's hard to explain. And also, I don't want to be disrespectful to Jason Newsted. Because Jason Newsted really put a lot of effort into this. Fifteen years. He dedicated his whole life. It's difficult to talk about how great Rob is without dissing Jason Newsted, and that's not fair either.

Have you had any contact with Jason?

Yeah, I saw him at a System of a Down show two years ago. Great to see him. Hung out. Bullshitted. He keeps a pretty low profile. I don't see him a lot. It's not 1983. It's not like, I'll see you over at the show. It's not like that. But, you know, I saw him at System. It was cool to see him.

How are you feeling about the new record?

I don't think the world needs another fucking band member telling the fucking rest of the world how awesome their new record is, how it's the best thing they've ever done. How it's the heaviest thing they've ever done. And how everybody's just gonna fucking flip when they hear that album. I don't need to read another fucking quote from me about that. I feel great about it. Ask me six months from now. I'm too close to it, man. Yeah, I know that there's some people out there that are like, What's taking so long? and this and that. You know, it takes its time. There are no issues. It's been a really stress-free experience. An analogy is, say that, whatever number you put on it, it's an arbitrary number, let's say it takes a thousand hours to make a Metallica record. It still takes the same thousand hours. When we've worked, it's moved along fast. But the thousand hours has been spread out over two or three years instead of over a year because we don't work 18-hour days. We don't work six days a week. We don't want to tour every three months and we don't want to play European festivals every summer. We go to Japan and we go to South Africa and we take care of our kids. So, the people I've played it for like it: I played it for Bob Rock. He liked it. I played it for my dad; he liked it. I played it for, you know, [Alice in Chains'] Jerry Cantrell and Mike [Inez], and John [Dolmayan] from System, and a few of the hood rats, and they all like it. They all say the same thing. They all say it sounds like Metallica. That's the biggest compliment you can get, you know. [Laughs] When I sit and listen to it through other people's ears when I play it for other people, it sounds really, really lively to me, like guys are sweating, playing together for a live gig. It's not put together on a computer. It's the first record that we've made since Kill 'Em All that wasn't made to a click track. I hear that. It's a little loosey-goosey in a lot of places, and I hear that and I like that.

We did a story with King Diamond a few years ago where he was expressing his frustration with the fact that no matter what new record he makes, it's always going to be compared to Abigail, and Abigail isn't even a record anymore, it's, like, a landmark in metal history. You know, even if he made a record better than Abigail, it wouldn't be better than Abigail. Do you guys feel similarly conflicted about Master of Puppets and the, sort of, fetishization of that album?

That's a great question. It's a great point. I mean, yeah, as somebody who's got their feet obviously where you have them, yeah, of course. It's hard, but it's been part of the Metallica experience. You can sort of trace it back to Ride the Lightning. You can sort of, trace it back to the famous intro of "Fade to Black" when all the hardcore Slayer fans were jumping off bridges and slitting their wrists or whatever. It was an acoustic guitar at the intro to "Fade to Black." It seems like since then, part of the Metallica experience is 10 percent of dissent. It's part of the ride. At different times the numbers maybe go up and down. At different times, it affects you more or whatever, but it's always been there. There's always been somebody who's got a problem with something we do, and that's just part of it. You know, these new records, or what we're wearing, or what we're saying. What the fuck? It's part of Metallica. At different times and different period of my life you go through periods where it can hurt you, then you're fucking fucked. Not giving a fuck, going all the way and not giving a fuck, man. But the computer's brought in a whole new thing. Back in the day, it's like somebody talks some shit, you know who it is, you know where to find them. Now, it's like people sit there and kind of hide behind their anonymity and their computer. It's a different thing. It's OK. Listen, I get it more than most people. I'm a pretty perceptive guy. I hear what people say and I know where you live [Both laugh]. But, listen, I've said this before and you know, if?we've made what, nine records??if Reload is considered the worst, I'll put Reload up against anyone else's worst record. Seriously, that's the kind of kindergarten, sandbox shit in me. A lot of our fans really like it. I think there's some great songs on it. We've been playing "Devil's Dance" in the last few weeks; we've been playing "Memory Remains." Fucking "Fuel." OK, maybe not our best one, I mean, it's not bad. I mean, shit, we could have edited a few of the songs off. But rather that and a track record of running around and searching for all these different things and trying all these different things than putting out the same fucking record in a different sleeve every two years. You know what I mean? I'm proud of what we've done. Sure, a few blunders along the way. Bad white leather jackets or something. But I think, all in all?shit, dude, 25 years, 26 years, 27 years, that's not a bad track record. So, the fetishization of Master of Puppets...you know, I get it. Shit, at least we have a Master of Puppets. At least we have a Black Album. It's pretty cool. It's nothing bad. Shit, you know, a quarter of a century.

Yeah, it is pretty amazing. One of the things that I've been asking all the guys is, Are you kind of shocked that you're still the biggest metal band in the world? That no one's knocked you guys off the top?

[Laughs] What a strange question. Shocked? I don't know. There's not very much that shocks me. We're just doing what we do. I don't know. I have so much love and respect for so many other artists out there. There are so many bands that fucking get my dick hard every day while I watch them play or listen to them or whatever. Knocked us off? We're fortunate. We've got Machine Head, who are, like, the coolest of the cool and whose records I love. And you sit there and you tour with them for two weeks in Europe like we just did. I get off the bus and have a drink of Gatorade and the four members of Machine Head are, like, staring at me. [Drops jaw in expression of awe.] It makes you step up and bring it up a notch. You know what I mean? I listen?Iron Maiden put out a song a couple of months ago. It was awesome. I dunno. You're the journalist. You answer the fucking question. [Both laugh]. I think that we're just fortunate that a bunch of our shit somehow resonates with a lot of people and a bunch of our shit has found a way to end up being kind of timeless. We're lucky with that. You know, you go out and tour all the time. You play different songs. You play different set lists. You do all the things that?you do as much as we do, you want to keep the experience as new and exciting to keep doing what you're doing to the best of your ability. But, dethroning?I dunno. I can't answer that. [Laughs]

Well, let me put it this way, what I was sort of getting at is that in some ways, you would want, for the scene or for the genre or whatever, to inspire bands of that sort of caliber and, you know...

Well, that's a different thing. I think between Mastodon, Bullet, Machine Head, Trivium, the Sword, there are a lot of great bands. It's about...I have a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old; when I was 9 years old, the first thing I did in the morning was put a record on. I sat there and read the fucking sleeve notes. I studied the lyrics. Now with Game Boys and fucking this and that, I don't know if kids are as into music as we were when we were growing up. I don't know. It doesn't feel like it. You've got all these great bands but nobody breaks out. You've got MTV, you've got radio, everything's different. The landscape is different. It's a different generation. People don't sell 20 million. Back in the day, like, fuck, Megadeth went double platinum for three or four records in a row. Dave Mustaine was, like, on MTV. Slayer. It was something that was going on. Now it's a different thing, different numbers, different perceptions. Certainly in Europe, you go up to Finland or Sweden or some of those places, you know, things are nutty. People are showing up. But it's difficult to answer your question because it becomes about theories, it becomes about analogies, it becomes about the numbers and, fuck, I don't know. When I listen to the Sword record in my car every day, it gets my dick hard. I don't sit there so much and think about whether they're dethroning or have potential to dethrone Metallica or anybody else. I don't put myself on that pedestal. I just sit there and go, What a great fucking record. I'm really happy that I have that in my car.

You just mentioned, like, the change in the market and videogames and the Internet and all that. It seems like you guys are trying to tap into that a little bit with Guitar Hero and with that Mission Metallica sort of thing. Is it a whole new game?

I think increasingly so. I mean, the Guitar Hero stuff, it's fucking heaven-sent. I mean, it's priceless. I mean, to sit there and to play these games with my twins. It's awesome. My kids love Deep Purple. They love Black Sabbath. My 6-year-old, his favorite song over the last couple of weeks is "Mississippi Queen." It's awesome that they have access to get inspired like that. It's great that over the last few years that something great and positive has come out of videogames. I mean, my kids are way more into music just on the back of the Guitar Hero stuff than they were a year ago. You know what I mean? It's awesome. It's also a great thing to share. I mean, Internet, duh, of course. That's a no-brainer. We completely champion the Internet. I mean, five or six years ago, one of the biggest perceptions about that [Napster situation] was, Metallica hates the Internet. That's the biggest load of bullshit. We use the Internet to communicate with our fans. I don't pat myself on the back often, but I will pat ourselves on the back and say I do believe our website, you know, is one of the best of any band's out there in terms of communication with our fans. That's the link to the fans. We do everything we can. We have great people running these websites and communicating with the fans. Internet, of course. Mission Metallica, Guitar Hero and things, all this stuff. Of course.

So, 27 years later, how does this shit stay exciting for you?

You know, it goes through cycles. There are times where I look back on things where?I mean, the best thing that came out of that whole meltdown in '01/'02 was the fact that somehow we all walked away at different times but we came to the conclusions ourselves, we came to the facts ourselves, which is that we walked away with our eyes much more open to the moment and much more open to what was going on. Shit was just so fucking out of control in the '90s. I mean, we put four records out in four years. Think about that. Four years in a row we put a record out '96, '97, '98, '99, and everything that comes in the wake of it. We just never paused long enough to fucking appreciate it. It's really that simple. Now, you sit there and go, This is all so fucking cool. It's a rare thing. Three, four months ago I was down in L.A. and James had just started singing, and I was down with my lady and he was working down there and he sent me a text and he was like, "I heard you're in L.A." I'm just kind of chilling with [girlfriend, actress] Connie [Nielsen]. And he's like, "Come up." So I went up and just sat around and we had lunch together and I sat around while he was singing. It was like, This is really cool. And then the next day he was like, "You gonna come up again today?" and I was like, "Yeah." People start seeing us and going "You guys hang out together? That's great, because people don't do that." It's awesome. We fucking appreciate it. It's just fun. And the thing is, you know, I've, like, no aspirations outside of Metallica. If somebody said to me, "I hereby sentence you to not be in Metallica," or said, you know, "You can't make music with James Hetfield anymore," I think I'd just walk away. I think I'd throw myself into making movies or painting or something else. But it's also, I think that in some way, there was a point probably about halfway through that experience where I sort of resigned myself to the fact that there was a really good chance that it was not gonna work itself out. I prepared myself for the fact that it's been a great ride, but I'm not sure I can continue if it becomes conditional. I don't work real well with rules. Rock and roll is supposed to get away from that shit. Rules and conditions, I was like, "Oh, I dunno, boys." I kind of had to resign myself to look back and maybe it's not gonna go on anymore, and maybe because of that, that's why these days seem so awesome.

REVOLVER So, the big thing with you on the new album is that the solos are fucking back, man.

KIRK HAMMETT Yep, I'm playing my ass off and it feels good. You know, in retrospect, when I think about it, the last time I did solos for an album was on Garage Inc., which was 1998, 1999. As I was, like, recording the solos and listening to them back, I was like, Whoa, my playing style has totally changed. I went into a couple of different directions since the last time I was playing solos. So, when people hear it, it's gonna be a different sort of approach for me. It sounds similar to what I used to do. I'm really psyched about that and just curious as to what people are gonna say about how my style changed. It'll probably run the gamut from "Ah, it's really fucking great," to "Ah, he fucking sucks." So, I'm ready for it all. That's just the way it is. Especially with the Internet now. I mean, everyone's a critic nowadays whether they're qualified or not.

Do you read that shit online?

I don't read that shit because I was reading something about eight years ago; this guy was just tearing up the band, and somehow, some way I found out that this guy who is tearing up the band and he's saying all this crap, he's 12 years old! [Both laugh] So I don't read it. I don't read the Internet shit because, like I said, everyone's a critic whether they're qualified or not. You just have to follow your instincts and make sure you're doing the best you can possibly do.

Did you feel sort of vindicated that fans and critics all pretty much called bullshit on the lack of solos on St. Anger?

It was definitely a big surprise to me. I had no idea that people would miss guitar solos that much. There's no way I could have known that. It was a major uproar. I mean, I can understand from the audience point of view, but even the critics! Even the critics, who spent a large amount of time fucking saying, "Yeah, you know, those guitar solos are such a wank thing." All of a sudden, they're saying, "Where are the guitar solos?" So, it is frustrating. But, at this point in time, I don't give a fuck. You really can't, especially these days.

There's that little scene in Some Kind of Monster, and your comment turned out to be really prescient, because now it seems like we're in, like, a new hey-day of solos.

I don't know if that videogame has anything to do with it or not, but if it does, thank God. God bless it. Because we need more fucking musicians.

So, this new breed of shredders and soloists, did they, like, sort of light a fire under your ass, in terms of your playing for this record?

Just the fact that people are soloing again and doing it really well has totally lit a fire underneath my ass to the point where I went back to all the bands and all the guitar players that influenced me greatly and just started listening to the things that really moved me when I was younger and discovered that that stuff still moves me now. I got a lot of inspiration from just listening to that stuff. It was just a cool thing because I thought that listening to all that stuff was part of my past and it wasn't capable of influencing me anymore. But I couldn't have been more wrong. When it came time to record solos, I was just very, very inspired by the past, my own past, and what's going on now in the present: The fact that kids are playing great guitar solos and people are listening?and listening enthusiastically.

When I talked to James, he said he was kind of egging you on in terms of your playing.

Oh, yeah, totally. He was like, "Come on, man, play some stuff that you'd hear on an old Thin Lizzy album" or something. Or, "Play some [UFO/Scorpions guitarist Michael] Schenker stuff." And I'm like, Yeah, fuck yeah. Because he and I, we came from the same batch of influences and the same era of music, so we could totally relate. When he throws out something like Michael Schenker, I know exactly what he's talking about. But it's great when other band members egg you on because it makes you, sort of, rise to the occasion and it makes you step up. It's great. When I'm really, really in the moment in the studio, it's like being onstage. I'm fucking running around and fucking playing my ass off like there's a fucking audience in the control room. Usually, there's just the engineer and maybe Lars or James or Rob or whoever. It's a good thing, man. It's a good thing that we're back to guitar solos again. But it's a good thing that St Anger was made the way that it was because if we had made it any other way we might not have finished it and might not be together as a band today. So, I will go on the record to say that there was a reason why there were no guitar solos on the album, and not because of some trend or something; it was more so that we wanted to come across as a band. No one was outshining anyone else and no egocentric sort of, like, spotlights put on anyone, which is what we had to do back then because of the situation. It was such a tender situation that if we would have let it go in an egocentric direction, there might have been a big flare up and we potentially could have broken up.

I know that kind of the mission statement producer Rick Rubin gave to you guys was to try and tap into the spirit of when you guys were writing albums like Master of Puppets, and to not be afraid of referencing your classic albums. Previous to Rick's suggestion that you work that way, had you guys been conscious of doing it the other way and trying not to repeat yourselves?

Oh, yeah. I mean, that's what the whole '90s were. From "The Black Album," to Load, to Reload, to the S&M thing, we were consciously, subconsciously, I think a little of both, trying to distance ourselves from the music we made in the '80s, and that's what we came up with in the '90s. Also, there came a point where we just didn't feel comfortable playing the way we played in the '80s in the '90s. But now that we're opening our minds up to that '80s way of thinking again, it's...what we created in 2008 sounds completely new and fresh. It sounds somewhat familiar, but it's that kind of familiarity that you can't quite put your finger on. You know? I mean, it's like when you write a great riff. You're like, Fucking hell, have I heard that before? And you just search and search and you've never heard that before. The first time I played the riff for "Of Wolf and Man," I showed it to those guys and I said, "Well, there's a familiarity about it but I can't figure it out." And they said, "Really?" Because it didn't sound like anything that they could think of. So, that's a good thing.

You had your first child during the making of this record, right?

Yeah. I managed to build a house, have my first child, and my second child is due next week. [Since the interview, Hammett's second son, Vincenzo Kainalu, was born on June 28.] So these last three years have been very, very fruitful for me in that I built a house, had two children, and managed to make an album. For a fucking hack who likes to sit around and play guitar, I think I've been pretty productive.

How has becoming a dad changed your perspective on things?

Well, I found another source of inspiration for me, as far as doing guitar solos. I just really, really wanted to do a good job, so later on when my son is older and can understand, I can say, "Listen to that son. I'm playing that way because you were inspiring me very much to do the best that I could." So I could later on say, "Listen to that, son. That's the result of being inspired by you so you can listen to how much effect you had on my life in the studio when you were, like, six months old."

That's really cool.

I get real emotional when I talk about that. But that was one of my main inspirations.

Something I was really impressed by, just at our photo shoot today, was that there were an iPod playing the whole time, and you guys were, like, identifying shit, had strong opinions on shit. It seems like you guys are pretty tapped into what's going on in metal.

'Cause we read Revolver, bro. [Both laugh] You know, we're musicians. We're in it. People give us CDs all of the time. You hear stuff. I have friends that go, "Hey, you gotta hear this, man. It's really great." You know, it hasn't stopped. It never stopped, really. We never really stopped listening to modern stuff. We've seen a lot of bands come and go that we love, and that's a shame. And it's weird when you just think, Wow, remember when we used to tour with them. They're so fucking great. Why can't they get their shit together now? You know, there's some of that. But there's a lot of great bands out there nowadays who we like and are more than happy to give the opportunity to tour with us because that usually helps any band no matter who they are. But yeah, we're pretty tapped in. I mean, we pretty much know what's going on. I mean, you have to. If you don't you're gonna be out of touch and you're just gonna get stuck with one world view, and that world view will be immensely irrelevant.

Considering that you guys are so tapped in, are you guys shocked that you're still the biggest metal band in the world?

I'm pretty shocked, yeah. I think about it a lot. I think, Will there ever be a band like us to follow in our footsteps? But then I think about it and I thought, Was there a band to follow in the footsteps of the Rolling Stones? Was there a band to follow in the footsteps of Led Zeppelin? So, maybe I'm just thinking the impossible. But there still needs to be a new modern band that has the impact, and they haven't showed up yet. Or maybe they're out there and I just haven't heard them yet. Do you know what I'm talking about?

At Revolver, we have this conversation all the time, and it's weird because it seems like there's been bands that seem like they have the potential?you know, Pantera, Lamb of God...

...Slipknot, Korn, yeah. But it just doesn't happen for whatever reason. My brother-in-law came up to me and was like, "Are there any bands who are in their 20s that you guys are intimidated by?" And I thought about it long and hard and I'm like, "No." I wish there was, you know. I wish there was because it would give us a nice challenge and motivate us to maybe step up to their plate, whatever their plate might be. It just hasn't happened yet. And if it has happened, maybe it went by so quickly that we didn't notice. I dunno. I don't have an answer to that question. I mean, changes in the market, situations with the record companies, I think that that has a lot to do with it, but really, it just has everything to do with sitting down and writing good songs.

REVOLVER So I guess you deserve all the credit for the new Metallica record, Death Magnetic?

ROB TRUJILLO Yeah, give me all the credit, man. I'll just take it all. I accept. [Laughs] No. You know, the greatest thing about this body of music is that it was a very collaborative effort. Lars and James, definitely. When those two go at it, whether it's head butting or anything, there's just something magical. It's a great honor for me to be able to experience the building and creating process of Metallica through Lars and James. It's like going to the greatest university of music, the highest standard of rock-and-roll education.

From what I've heard, most of these songs sort of grew out of the jam room. Is that true?

A lot of them did. The seeds came from the jam room. But then sometimes that evolved into a different riff or groove or whatever. It's interesting for me because over the course of the, I don't know, couple of years or whatever we were touring, a lot of where I was coming from was just trying to concentrate on learning the catalogue. You know what I mean? These guys were like, "Why don't you get this new riff?" and I'm just going, "Man, I gotta learn 'Phantom Lord'" or, you know, "Metal Militia" or something.

Yeah, well, these last few years you guys have been pulling, like, every old song out of the vault.

That just kind of became the new theme; it was like, Let's play songs that we never played. Let's mix it up. Let's do it sort of spontaneous. So it was always a challenge, and I was always trying to stay three steps ahead. It was difficult to do that. I feel much more comfortable now because I'm in tune with the catalogue. We've been doing it a while now, so I'm all right. At the same time, though, obscure songs like "Dyers Eve," you know, I was able to motivate the band to play a song like that, which had never been played. A couple of years ago we toured Master of Puppets, kind of a 20th anniversary of the album, and we played the entire album top to bottom live. And that's something?you know, "Orion" had never been played live?so that was a wonderful experience for us.

I was at the Download Fest performance, and I have to admit I had a little glint in my eye during "Orion."

It was a special moment for us. It also coincidentally happened when we were creating a lot of the new music for this album. I feel that the spirit and some of the dynamics and the vibe and the arrangements live in what we're about to release. I'm not saying it sounds like that. I'm saying there's something there that kind of goes hand in hand with what we've created out of that old-school magic.

How long would you say it took before you felt truly comfortable as a member of Metallica?

Well, I know that the guys in the band really wanted me to feel comfortable from the beginning, they did. And that's a hard thing to do. You're talking about a band that's been around for over 25 years, and you can't just walk into a situation like this, especially when an album's being created. You've got opinions and you can share them and they're open to that, which is great. It was an honor for me to be a part of the writing process. Back in the day it was, like, Submit your cassettes to Lars and James; they'll listen to your riffs. See you in six months. But they wanted me there all the time. Kirk was having his first kid, so he wasn't there a lot of the time. He was in Hawaii. So, I was there, and sometimes I was the mediator. So, obviously, I will offer suggestions when I really feel necessary. I'm not gonna just butt into their magical moments or their head-butting contests sometimes. You gotta just let those guys run with it. You gotta be able to kind of cater to and balance that creative spirit that they have. It's intense; it's been there forever. It's the magic of Metallica; the way they arrange songs, their music. It's great. Definitely, they wanted me to feel comfortable to the point where there was the whole money issue [as captured in the documentary Some Kind of Monster, Metallica gave Trujillo a million-dollar signing advance]?I mean, I would have done it for free. Come on, this is Metallica. I mean, when they called me to audition, I was like, "I would love to come in and play 'Battery' with you guys and send me home, I don't care. I get to jam with Metallica."

Has it been weird for you with this "Mission Metallica" thing, on top of Some Kind of Monster? The fact that basically since you've been in Metallica, there's been cameras around all the time?

When I first joined the band?actually, not even when I first joined the band?when I was going for my first audition, I was being driven to the studio and I get a phone call and they say, "Oh, by the way, you don't mind the camera thing, do you?" And I'm just kind of like, "Oh, what do you mean?" "Well, there's gonna be a film crew there documenting all of this. That's cool, right?" [Laughs] "I guess so," you know.

You're not gonna say no.

Yeah, what am I gonna say? And it was weird for me because prior to that, with Ozzy, they were filming his TV show, and I was trying to stay away from those cameras. You didn't see a whole lot of me in that series because I was trying to avoid the cameras. And all of a sudden it's like, well, I was thinking to myself, You're not gonna be able to avoid this. They're making this documentary and there's just too much involved with filming the audition process, the whole thing. So, I had to kind of live with it. It's strange. A lot of what's been captured for "Mission Metallica" is not, like, really a film crew. It's just a couple of cameras set up, like Big Brother's watching you. So it's a little easier than having four guys follow you around in your face the whole time. The beauty of the "Mission Metallica" deal is that there's definitely some special moments captured. The creation of this music, some of that as far as the recording goes, and funny moments, a lot of funny moments, which is good. Believe it or not, there's a lot of humor that kind of goes hand in hand with Metallica, just tons of it. Lars, James, and Kirk are funny guys, man. I've had the good fortune to work around some humor, whether with Ozzy or whatever, but Metallica is hilarious at times.

To what extent have you had to adjust to a new level of celebrity? Are you recognized on the street now a lot more often?

It's very interesting. In San Francisco or in Los Angeles, people are cool. No one's, like, running up to you and acting crazy. When you're in other parts of the world, it's very different. My wife and I tried to grab lunch in Ireland and we had these cats following us around. And it's great, you appreciate that, but at the same time you also want them to respect your privacy. There are times when people, especially when they're drinking, it gets to be a bit much. Overall, it's been pretty good; people have been pretty respectful. I'm starting to understand it a bit more. At first I didn't see it; I didn't see that there was a change. Maybe I didn't want to accept it. I feel that overall I'm pretty grounded. That's one of my things; I always try to keep two feet on the floor. Even when I got the gig, I was like the boy in the bubble. Don't let the outside world kind of affect me and my focus and what I have to do. I can only give 100% and do the best I can. No matter how much money or fame or fortune, to me, there's always gotta be a work ethic with Metallica. These guys, they thrive on a strong work ethic. Whether it's songwriting or putting the show together, or the flow of the show, just stuff like that. And you can't really cut corners because they're not into that. So I always really try to stay focused. I didn't know what was going on in L.A. because I was in San Francisco, but I know there was probably a lot of people really excited because of where I'm from and this is Metallica. When I got back to L.A., whenever I'm in L.A., again, people are cool, man. I'll be walking down the street or walking my kid down by the beach or something and you'll get the "METALLICAAAAA!" and that's the extent of it. It doesn't get too much crazier than that. And the other side of that, too, is the house that I was living in then, yes, there were people that occasionally drove up or would kind of stare in or, you know, knock on the door. People from high school would show up that I hadn't seen since I was 17 years old. Maybe they had a bit of a drug problem or whatever and are borderline on the streets. That thing actually happened to me a couple of times; that was really, really weird. Overall, it hasn't been that bad. At a certain point, you go, Wow, OK, this is Metallica, I'm in Metallica, and you know, people are gonna want pictures or autographs, and you gotta try and do the best you can. That's the bottom line. They're your fans. We always do meet-and-greets for our fans; we never stray from that. It's really important. We do the best we can.

[Brandon Geist]
Executive Editor of Revolver Magazine