 |
Many thanks to Umlaut for providing me with this curio. It’s a two-song demo from early 1983 — see full details here — Metallica’s first recording with Cliff Burton, and the only recording featuring both Burton and Dave Mustaine. You can download it here.
No Remorse (demo w/Mustaine)No Remorse (Kill ‘Em All w/Kirk Hammett)
When Umlaut sent me the link, he said, “It’s interesting… always sparks a debate about whether Mustaine was ‘better’ for Metallica than Kirk… but hindsight is 20/20.” Honestly, that issue has never crossed my mind. Megadave’s personality was too big for Metallica. There’s no way the band would have lasted as long or found the success it did if he had stayed.
Plus, this demo shows that at the time, they didn’t lose much by dropping him. It’s unfair to compare a demo to a produced recording, but, still, the differences are worth noting. Let’s take “No Remorse,” which has solos at the beginning and a little after three minutes in. Mustaine’s solos don’t really say anything, whereas Hammett’s have fluidity and direction. Interestingly, Hammett’s second solo builds off of Mustaine’s ideas. I wouldn’t change a thing about it, though it is interesting to hear this alternate universe version.
I don't think there's any point in thinking about how 'things could have been' and it certainly hasn't done Mustane any favors psychologically speaking, but perhaps this artifact and others from that time explain pretty clearly how Burton and Mustane held most of the talent in the band. James Hetfield was at one time a terrific rhythm guitarist yes but it was the legacy of others that still makes Metallica relevant to the tastes of metalheads.
thank you for posting this! nice read!
Kirk's playing has obviously digressed and really hit its plateau by RTL. MegaDave, conversely, has only gotten more focused and "distilled."
MegaDave's writing possibly could have helped the band steer clear of its atrocious post-Burton recordings but, as Telemachus says, it's all conjecture and essentially worthless.
I think the argument exists because Dave was one of the priniciple songwriters on some of the early tracks. In naturally rolls into the larger argument of 'What if Metallica had stayed true to their thrash roots?'
While I can't say I agree with any of the above comments, I will say that Kirk Hammett was always the more lyrical and engaging soloist. Mustaine's solos, however, work much better in the context of Megadeth where he often played alongside another more lyrical, Hammett-esque lead guitarist as his foil. Cosmo hits the nail on the head: how long could the ego of another songwriter, let alone one as salty as Mustaine, have been appeased alongside James Hetfield. Dude was fated to start his own band.
And come on…he went from being a so-so lead guitarist to a definitive rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter – top 5 easily in thrash. From a fan's perspective, the "what if?" question is "what if things hadn't worked out so well?"
Thanks Umlaut, for letting us gain access to your Metal treasure troves.
did somebody up there say conjecture?? this is metal/thrash right? quit geekin' out and fucking thrash out…enough analysis. thanks for the d/l of the demos man. shit rips!!
Right on, brah!!111 Meat-ulll!!111
Metalsucks reposted this. A commenter linked to this Metallica demos page:
http://demos.metpage.org/
Here's a link to the guy's comment in case you wanna Facebook him:
http://ow.ly/1oU8tB
Stew – If Ride the Lightning is a plateau for Hammett, that's a hell of a plateau. I'd plump more for Burton and not Mustaine as a necessary positive influence upon the band. Master of Puppets has no Mustaine songwriting credits and doesn't exactly suffer for it.
devon – Thanks for the heads-up and for the link. That's quite a treasure trove there!
It is indeed a hell of a plateau, and I never said Mustaine was a positive influence on the band.
Master of Puppets has not aged well. The standout tune being Burton's "Orion," which sounds enough like RTL's ilk to be misconstrued as an outtake from those sessions.
I have only a question.
Is legal to download the Demos of Metallica? They have any copyright about this demo?
My question is only for known.
I would say yes. They own the copyrights to the songs, but those do not need to be enforced here, since no one is covering them, playing them on the radio, etc. If there are any copyrights on the recordings, the band would not enforce those because these were demos, meant to be given away freely.
Thanks for the answer.
I think you're right, because a demo is recorded only for be given free to the labels and to pass in hand of many people to find a label or some help.
There is something addictive about Metallica. Kirk really knows his stuff.
This is a great website guys. Keep it up!
I hope there will be no copyright problems here, but still I will download it.
i cant beleive i stumbled onto your post..thanks so much!!! i am going to have to sign up 2 ur RSS feed so i can keep updated with your post…thanks Again
Thanks, mate! I was looking for EXACTLY the information provided above. And love the discussion… Cliff (still) rules.
Download somehow didn’t work anymore but got the “tape” anyway, courtesy of friend o’mine!
As much as some say that Metallica is lacking the same ‘oomph’ that it used to, Death Magnetic isn’t totally terrible. I know we miss the days of Cliff, but they have still managed to produce some good music since.
I MISS CLIFF SO MUCH! Metallica has gone downhill ever since.