A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica is, besides being a
mouthful, a
documentary exploring the lives of producer
Bob Rock and the members of the former
speed metal band as they record the self-titled but coloquially named
Black Album.
It's pretty well done, over all. If you're a musician, a Metallica fan, or interested in the recording process this will entertain you. There are some really hillarious moments:
- James, on Bob's advice, experiments with alternate end-of-line-expressions (traditionally "Yeah!" or "Yea-eh!") such as "Womahn!" which results in him looking absolutely ridiculous.
- Lars is is frustrated as he is doing nothing having recorded the drum tracks months earlier. He demands entertainment, and one of his lackeys returns with literally a garbage bag full of porno mags. Unsurprisingly, Lars is impressed.
If anything, this documentary really helped me to understand why the
Black Album was so different to all of their
previous albums. You can really see how their attitudes changed and how the former
Guns 'n' Roses producer's influence directly affected their music.
You can also witness just how much of a bunch of yokels the Metallica boys are. Not a glimmer of style in any one of them, but I suppose that's all part of the appeal.
Director: Adam Dubin
Producer: Juliana Roberts
Format: VHS
Running Time: 96 minutes (approx.)