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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Metallica-Metallica (Classic Albums) (Warner Vision) (2001)

Metallica-Metallica (Classic Albums) (Warner Vision) (2001)

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Released 23-Jul-2001
Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Music	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-James and Lars Discuss Songwriting Featurette-Drum Recording Techniques Featurette-Kirks Guitar Solo: Wherever I May Roam Featurette-Jason Talks About Featurette-Bob Rock in the Desert Featurette-The Mix, The Masters and the End of the Story Featurette-The God That Failed Discography
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	49:43 (Case: 93)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Matthew Longfellow
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	James Hetfield Lars Ulrich Kirk Hammett Jason Newsted Bob Rock
Case	Amaray-Transparent	Starring
RPI	$39.95	Music	Metallica

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

Metallica are one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time. They helped define the genre, along with the likes of Megadeth and Anthrax. Much of this success can be attributed to their phenomenal self-titled album - also known as The Black Album.

I have been a great fan of Metallica for many years. Admittedly, I came in late on the scene around the time of their ... and Justice For All album. Since then, I have acquired all of their early albums up to and including Black. I am not a great fan of their more recent albums with the exception of S & M, an exceptional concert performance. This DVD is an excellent documentary-style look at the effort put in to the Black album and the changes that were required amongst the band.

This DVD is not a music DVD as such, more a musical documentary. It contains snippets of the most popular singles released with the Black album along with a behind-the-scenes look at the production and development of the album. If you are after a music DVD of Metallica then don't get this DVD. If you want an interesting, and insightful, look into the workings of the band and how they produce their albums, then get this DVD.

This is an excellent DVD that provides a lot of food for thought, combining brand new interview footage with archival footage to excellent effect. There is even footage of demos recorded for the Black album.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

This is an excellent video transfer. Archival footage is sometimes of a poorer quality than the contemporary recordings but this is to be expected and is not the fault of the transfer.

This feature is presented in the 16x9 enhanced ratio of 1.78:1.

Sharpness throughout the transfer is excellent. The feature has most likely been recorded on a HDTV format so there is excellent detail throughout. Some of the archival footage is not as sharp due to age and poor filming techniques. Mild grain is also noticeable in this footage.

Colour is perfectly rendered throughout with only slight problems in some of the live footage under stage lighting.

There were no MPEG artefacts noticeable in the interview footage. There are a few scenes taken from the S & M concert that contain mild aliasing. Film artefacts were non-existent - most likely due to the HDTV recording of the source material.

There are no subtitles on this disc, contrary to the packaging that states there are subtitles available in six languages.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

This DVD has an aggressive audio mix. Although this is not a music DVD, the music components are sonically impressive. The interviews are clear and easy to understand throughout the feature.

There is only one English DD 2.0 soundtrack on this DVD recorded at 192kbps.

Most of this DVD is dialogue-driven given the nature of the musical documentary. Fortunately, dialogue is always clear and easy to understand throughout. Lip synch is fine throughout with no deviations.

The musical snippets presented throughout this transfer are of exceptional quality. It is just a shame we don't get to hear more of them. The snippets that are given leave you hankering for the rest of the song.

Due to the nature of the feature there is no need for surround activity. They consequently laid dormant throughout.

There is no discrete subwoofer channel in this transfer, but do not despair as the sub gets a hefty workout. Lars Ulrich going nuts on the drums is sure to have the bass thumping into your chest and the deep tones of Jason Newstead's bass guitar will get your windows rattling.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

There is a healthy selection of "Extras" on this DVD. These are not really extras, just snippets of interviews that could not be slotted into the main feature. All the extras have the same high quality audio and video as the main feature.

Featurette - James and Lars Discuss Songwriting (13:01)

This is an in-depth look at the duo driving Metallica and the way the band works.

Featurette - Drum Recording Techniques (8:55)

Shows how much effort is put in to recording Lars' drumming to get the "perfect" sound.

Featurette - Kirk's Guitar Solo: Wherever I May Roam (3:26)

A short piece showing what Kirk does best.

Featurette - Jason Talks About "My Friend of Misery" (3:14)

Jason's second only song in which he has full writing credits.

Featurette - Bob Rock in the Desert (1:09)

Want to know how Bob Rock became Metallica's Producer? This will tell you the whole story.

Featurette - The Mix, The Masters and the End of the Story (8:59)

The Black album almost never hit the shelves. Find out why here.

Featurette - The God That Failed (4:45)

Insight into James' extremely religious upbringing and how this affected him.

Featurette - Discography

All of Metallica's albums up to 2001.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

Nothing

The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

Everything

As far as I can tell this DVD is not available in R1, event though this is a zone free DVD.

Summary

Metallica-Metallica (Classic Albums) is an interesting and informative documentary, presented on a technically excellent DVD. The only thing I would have liked to see is complete versions of all the tracks being talked about, rather than snippets.

The video quality is excellent.

The audio quality is excellent.

The extras are very interesting, even though they are really a part of the main feature.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output
Display	RCA 80cm. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Amplification	Onkyo TX-DS787, THX Select
Speakers	All matching Vifa Drivers: centre 2x6.5" + 1" tweeter (d'appolito); fronts and rears 6.5" + 1" tweeter; centre rear 5" + 1" tweeter; sub 10" (150WRMS)

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