When I was in high school Metallica was one of my favorite bands. I can remember sitting in my bedroom listening to And Justice For All and thinking to myself “this is the pinnacle of Heavy Metal, there is no way Metallica will ever be able to top this”. Unfortunately, I was right. Although other bands picked up where Metallica had left off, the archetypical metal band went on to be, well… something else. I liked the Black Album but it was disappointing compared to earlier efforts and subsequent albums were alienating to the metal faithful like myself. Lars and company then went on to become the most vocal opponents to Napster, completing their transformation from rebellious rockers to establishment goons. I was shocked, upset, and I ultimately felt betrayed, vowing never to spend another cent on anything stamped with the name Metallica. Although I still listened to their previous albums, I felt that I could no longer support the band I had loved in any way. Now along comes Some Kind of Monster, a documentary showing the band hard(ly) at work on their St. Anger LP. I had heard a lot about this movie from friends and I looked forward to seeing the band at their lowest ebb. From all accounts the band comes off looking at turns pathetic, insincere, and washed up. And in the beginning hour of the film I would agree. I can’t tell you how many times I laughed at the absurdity of the way the band members interacted, Lars and James in particular seem more self absorbed and less sure of themselves than most adolescents. However, something interesting began to happen once they began searching for their new bassist. The whole tenor of the film seemed to change. I started to actually like these guys again. I don’t know what the original purpose of the film was, but somehow, seeing the band struggle and falter, but ultimately pick themselves up and get going again was actually inspiring. I could throw in a dozen cliches, but the fact is, seeing this film was cathartic for me. I’m not saying I totally forgive Lars, Kirk, and James for not realizing their full Heavy Metal potential, but maybe, just maybe, I can let it go. Seeing them take the stage at the end of the film was nothing short of triumphant and I actually wished I was there. Hell, maybe I’ll even go out and get St. Anger… OK, maybe not.

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