Metallica fans become proactive with regards to Bob Rock

Thought that this was rather interesting.
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Several "longtime loyal" fans of METALLICA have launched a petition to force a split between METALLICA and producer Bob Rock on the grounds that his "contributions" to the group's songwriting/recording process are "quite wrong and have been getting worse as time goes on." An open letter to METALLICA from the petitioners reads as follows:

"We, the longtime loyal fans and friends of METALLICA and their music, would like to see a major change with the upcoming album. I know it will be a hard thing to do, but we feel it is time to sever your working relationship with Bob Rock.

"Don't get us wrong, some of us like a few (very few) contributions Bob Rock has made to METALLICA. Unfortunately one thing we can all agree on is nothing has been the same since he joined the ranks as longtime METALLICA producer. We are not criticizing Bob Rock on his technical skills as he has mastered his sound. We just feel that his contributions to help craft a METALLICA song are quite wrong and have been getting worse as time goes on.

"From 'Kill 'Em All' through '?And Justice For All', the albums are timeless and we can listen to them over and over. Although Bob Rock's first producing effort with METALLICA, 'The Black Album', may have sold the most copies worldwide, it doesn't mean the album is the most musically pleasing. As much as we support METALLICA, most of us listen to the first few albums much more. The songs were simple and overproduced.

"'Load' and 'Reload' were examples of not having any control. The music was all over the place and Bob Rock went with the same sound plan as he has done for all of METALLICA's albums. We heard this sound yet again on the first disc of 'Garage Inc.' We have watched the videos of Bob Rock telling METALLICA horrible suggestions in the studios while we cringe knowing it is the wrong decision. Keep in mind, Bob Rock was in a band or two himself when he was younger. The reason no one knows this is because his bands failed because he cannot craft a good song let alone a help craft a good METALLICA song.

"Then we are left with 'St. Anger'. It is completely unlistenable and this is the album that Bob Rock had most of his influence. Not only in production but the songs are all a mess as well. Every song could be cut down by about 3-5 minutes simply by cutting out most of the repetition. Bob Rock didn't realize that repetition of one riff over and over for 10 minutes doesn't make a song a pleasingly structured song. The sound, as everyone can agree, did not break any musical barriers, it just made the album worse. Even Bob Rock can do better than this.

"We understand and appreciate the time and effort Bob Rock has put into METALLICA. By your own admission, you state METALLICA is a hard band to work with. We appreciate him being there to keep the band together at a personal low point of their career to help them carry on as a four-piece. But we feel the day has come.

"We are excited to hear the next studio album with the addition of masterful bassist Robert Trujillo. We hope it breathes new songwriting life into the band. All we ask is you take our suggestion seriously for the sake of the band and your fans. Please end your working relationship with Bob Rock as producer and let's enter into a new phase for METALLICA."

To view and/or sign the petition, click here.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...wsitemID=31690

This is so dumb, do they think a band that sues there own fans are gonna listen to what they want??

And also Metalligreed is about the money now, and thats what a Bob Rock album delivers by the bucket-load, even if it sucks.

If I remember right, back in '97 (or whenever it
was - probably earlier), Metallica's official
website was one of the first (pre-porn) websites
to have the audacity to charge its viewers a
pay-as-you-go sum: You can only view so much with-
out given us your credit card details, etc., etc.
Metallica's existence has been soley predicated
and motivated on cash for (almost) a decade.
It was probably a fluke that Rock managed to
winkle out of them an album as 'classic' as the
'Black Album'. And even that whole aesthetical
concept, of course, is festooned in unoriginality
and plagarism.

By exclusively blaming Rock for the devolution
of Metallica's song writing talents, without
first recognising all the addiction-related
shit with prefigured it, is, not only naive,
but selectively amnestic.

So Metallica made a qausi-punk album ('St Anger')
with purposefully low-tech production. So what?
'Load' was great. 'Reload', not so great. The
next album (with Rock) may be better than all
three, maybe worse, nobody should really care,
except Metallica, because it's them that has
to live with the consquential results. Oh, and
the corporate machine (and Metallica's fiscal-
centric disposition) behind it. $ whores.

D.

<font color="#FF0000" size="1">[ January 22, 2005 03:11 PM: Message edited by: Deviant D ]</font>

Okay, I'll agree it's well written aside from a few sections. On so many levels I find this to be bullshit. Being from Bob's hometown, I know a lot about the guy.

Bob started out in Vancouver as a musician/producer in The Payola$. He was a major behind the scenes player in the city's punk community, producing early releases from DOA,SubHumans,Art Bergmann etc. He had quite a successful run in The Payolas "his band" in the early eighties. He produced Motley Crues biggest CD ever, The Cult's biggest CD ever. He engineered the biggest Whitesnake CD ever. The combined sales of all the Metallica CD's he's produced is well over 20 million.

To say he can't write a good song is so asinine and a slap in the face to anyone who knows a thing about music. That part in the article is where I laughed out loud and this petition lost any credibility. The Payola$ "Eyes Of A Stranger" and "Where is this love" are brilliant songs that he co-wrote. If your songs are shite, there is not much a producer can do other than bring in other writers. David Lee Roth's "a little ain't enough" is a prime example.

Metallica, were a big band before Rock was involved. Rock propelled them into a massive band with his direction. Now I know being hugely successful doesn't equate quality. On that note, it is ultimately the artists responsibilty to take hold of the reigns if they feel they are moving in the wrong direction. Metallica fans have always been anti Bob Rock. If musicians don't experiment and dabble in different directions they become like a stagnant pool of pond water. Everyone had written off Green Day a few years back after they did Warning. Now they have the No.1 CD in several parts of the world.

Now I don't like all of Bob's stuff. But their is no denying the man's mastery of a mixing console and bringing out the best a band can give him at the time. If the band can't deliver blame the band.


The guys production and engineering credits speak for themselves.

Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation (engineer)
American HiFi - American HiFi
Blue Murder - Blue Murder
Bon Jovi - Keep the Faith
Bon Jovi - New Jersey (engineer)
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (engineer)
Bryan Adams - On A Day Like Today
Cher - Love Hurts (Track 2)
David Lee Roth - S Little Ain't Enough
Electric Boys - Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride
Kingdom Come - Kingdom Come
Metallica - Garage
Metallica - Load
Metallica - Metallica - The Black Album
Metallica - Reload
Metallica/SanFrancisco Symphony - S & M
Motley Crue - Decadence - Greatest Hits
Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
Motley Crue - Motley Crue
Nina Gordon - Tonight & the Rest of My Life
Our Lady Peace - Gravity
Paul Hyde - Living Off the Radar
Quireboys - Bitter, Sweet and Twisted
Skid Row - Subhuman Race
Tal Bachman - Tal Bachman
The Cult - Beyond Good and Evil
The Cult - Sonic Temple
The Cult - The Cult
The Moffatts - Submodalities
Tonic - Head On Straight
Veruca Salt - Eight Arms to Hold You

<font color="#FF0000" size="1">[ January 22, 2005 03:27 PM: Message edited by: Sandy Hazard ]</font>

LMFGDAO!!!...This is the funnies thing I've ever heard. Why don't they petition against something more important.
For Metallica?...HAHAHAHA...Had a good laugh with this one.

Metallica fans - or the fan who wrote that at
least - believed Metallica to be 'out of control'
around the time of 'Load'. What, all of them? All
of Metallica? They were all under the influence of
some inter-stella mind-ray? This is bollox, of
course. - Metallica knew exactly what they were
doing. It's the self-delusion of Metallica not
knowing what they were doing, I think, which
bugs the fans more than anything else. They hate
themselves for thinking the way they think. This
is self-hatred. Self-hatred transfered onto
Metallica.

Let's destroy and forget this crap.

D.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Deviant D:
By exclusively blaming Rock for the devolution
of Metallica's song writing talents, without
first recognising all the addiction-related
shit with prefigured it, is, not only naive,
but selectively amnestic.

---

<font size="4" face="Arial"><font color="#purple">Well said D., and this made me laugh...</font>

I'm not saying this is valid, true or correct,
but it seems the most plausible explaination.

Why blame the band (for their short-comings) when
you can blame the producer? etc. Why blame myself
(for my social, political, personality short-
comings) when I can blame my teachers, professors
and parents? This is atypical, self-pitying
negation which American rock currently thrives
on.

D.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Deviant D:
I'm not saying this is valid, true or correct,
but it seems the most plausible explaination.

Why blame the band (for their short-comings) when
you can blame the producer? etc. Why blame myself
(for my social, political, personality short-
comings) when I can blame my teachers, professors
and parents? This is atypical, self-pitying
negation which American rock currently thrives
on.

D.

---

<font size="4" face="Arial">I completely agree with you, When I said it made me laugh. I didn't mean that disparagingly. The way you word things are very clever and make me chuckle sometimes.

I was only refering to my explaination, dude,
not your reaction to it. [img]wink.gif[/img]

BTW, your (Glitzine profile) dotcom link doesn't
work.

We should also talk about video/music production at
some point. I'm still eager to do something for
you guys.

D.

<font color="#FF0000" size="1">[ January 22, 2005 08:18 PM: Message edited by: Deviant D ]</font>

Looking at the list of Rock-produced discs, I gotta say that I like almost nothing on that list.
Not saying that makes him a bad producer at all, just saying....

I don't know, I think it is a brilliant idea. It is well written and not offensive at all. They get their point across, and do a fine job of not being rude, at all. Plus they make some very good points. I doubt Metallica will listen to them, but they got their point out there and had their say in an intelligent way. If it does garner as many signatures as it could, and Metallica doesn't listen, then it shows that hey have truely lost touch with their fans, and said fans can then move on and forget about the band that supposedly cares about them, in Metallicas words.

I agree with Carl. The band probably won't give two shits about this but it does ultimately make the intended point.

I thought Scott Humphreys (sp?) produced, Motley Crue 94