‘He lost his icon status when he left Metallica...’
Metallica is a band I’ve always admired from afar. I love a few of their albums and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing them live a couple of times, but I’m not an expert by any means, which probably explains why I’ve never got around to watching Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, despite its stellar reputation. What follows is a brutally honest and candid account of a band in crisis…
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is a chronicle of the two years spent recording their ill-fated eighth album, St. Anger. During this period, bassist Jason Newstead left Metallica, singer James Hetfield went to rehab for alcohol addiction and the band employed a psychotherapist to help them work through their issues. This groundbreaking documentary from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky redefined what a music doc could be, and the result is something really special indeed.
While the actual music is pretty shitty, getting to see the inner workings of such a massive band is truly fascinating, and each member of Metallica, plus their producer Bob Rock, brings their own personality to a film that is shot through with authenticity. Despite running at nearly two and a half hours, Some Kind of Monster remains compelling and captivating throughout and provides a genuine insight into what it would be like to be in one of the biggest rock bands in the world. In many ways, Some Kind of Monster acts as an appropriate bedfellow to Peter Jackson’s recent The Beatles retrospective Get Back – both demonstrate a band at breaking point, both offer a warts-and-all portrayal of four men with huge egos and huge personalities, the only difference is the music.
As a final note, I would add that you definitely don’t have to be a Metallica fan to enjoy Some Kind of Monster, this is a fantastic documentary in its own right. Don’t miss it.