Satan's Luau

Being that I still feel a bit out of sorts ... I bring you a review of Metallica's A YEAR AND A HALF IN THE LIFE OF ... Parts I and II ... and you thought you had escaped me meandering on about the band, the myth, the legend ... ha

A YEAR AND A HALF IN THE LIFE OF ... Parts I and II: A for content, D- for DVD

I guess I should preface my comments by saying that I originally bought this as a two pack VHS set way way back close to 10 years ago ... but the case had cracked on one of the tapes pretty much rendering it a good coaster for drinks only ... frustratingly unplayable NO MO on the good ol VHS ... so I recently went to replace it with the DVD edition

Okay, we haven't talked about Cunning Stunts yet ... but some of you friends have it and know that it was and is one of the best DVDs to capture the cool features of what you can do with a DVD ... you know, multiple channels, camera angles, etc ... and beyond that, it is a fun concert video to watch of the LOAD years ... did I just say that ... ha ... anyways

So here's my take on Year and a Half ...

Its a documentary film that pretty much covers Metallica from when they started the recording process for (Smell the Glove, err umm) The Black Album all the way through about half of their marathon 2 or 3 year world tour (I can't remember offhand ... you have an Internet, you are on it now ...ha)

My first impressions in seeing it again in FULL for the first time in many many years is that this is a documentary with musical aspects ... in other words, it don't sound great, and perhaps never was meant to sound great ... it is just a history of the band during this period of their career and interestingly tracks some key world events at the time ... invading Iraq (THE FIRST TIME, odd coincidence ...
new album, Iraqi invasion ... ha)

Ok, so its kinda FILMY looking, in other words, grainy and it don't sound all too happening (... but not Cliff Em All not too happening) ...

All that being said, its a really good documentary ... you get a really interesting look at the making of the Black album, get interview impressions, and footage of life with the band in the studio, on the road, in Larz car .... everywhere imaginable ... and the guys in the band are hilarious people

So what can you expect ... well, about the product you would get if a camera crew just followed your monkeybutt around all day and night with the camera running ... like RealWorld before it got superKamehamehastale

But you do get all the Black album music videos ... surprisingly these sound great ... so uneven production ... my guess is they spliced it between doc footage ... not my choice of how to do it ... but the vids are great in and of themselves and provide a changeup from just watching the film endlessly

DVDs are known for special features, content, etc ... the only special feature you get here is pick which Part to play ... I or II ... and pick a chapter ... so its just barely better than a videotape

Ok, so what's the attraction here? It's really the FILM itself ... vicariously go along throughout the recording process ... see everything from arguments to fROCkups to raw ideas to the finished product ... interesting stuff ... then get a flavor for every aspect of touring from lunatic fans, to set up and breakdown, soundcheck, etc.

So basically the two parts go like this, Part I: making the record; Part II: the neverending Nowhere Else To Roam support tour ... including really interesting sections on the tour with Guns N Roses and the Montreal incident where James got burned up by a pyro accident

I think the bottom line is this ... if you like interesting documentaries, this one is a really really good one ... if you like the band, hell, so much the better for you ... it is a really nicely put together thorough, interesting, informational documentary which still to this day exceeds my expectations of what a good documentary should look like and be like

I'm not really certain if you should buy this one or rent ... it is barely a DVD ... it is a DVD but likely not what you all expect from the format ... but the film itself is so good that if you rent it to see it, you'll enjoy a great doc ... if you buy, you can enjoy over and over again

(ed.note: on a side note, the makers of the documentary on the West Memphis Three and The Blair Witch 2 are filming a doc of the making of St. Anger, so we at the Luau are looking forward to that film being released soon ... if you saw Paradise Lost or its sequel, you know these guys can put together a doc film ... can't wait)