During the Spring of 2011, when it was announced that Lou Reed and Metallica would soon release a collaborative album, nearly everyone collectively mouthed "what the fuck". All we had to go by was 2009 footage of Lou Reed performing the Velvet Underground classic "Sweet Jane" with Metallica at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, which was I discussed the future collaboration with friends and the Lou Reed and Metallica fans in my group of friends agreed that this album was a bad idea. However, I quickly understood why this collaboration existed once I looked at both of these artists catalogues.
They had nothing to lose at this point of their careers.
Both of these artists were pioneers in someway, but by this point in time, both were far and away from that Golden era.
Between the two, Lou Reed is undoubtedly the superior, most consistent, and more influential artist to Rock music as a whole, nonetheless Metallica is still a pioneering group for Thrash Metal. However, by this point Metallica had cast away most of their reputation as a pioneering Thrash group with the Black Album and the following three albums forever damaged their reputation in the Metal community. Lou Reed on the other hand never sold out and instead killed any sense of popular by releasing a collection of guitar feedback called Metal Machine Music, which made Reed to remark once "I don't have any fans left after Metal Machine Music". Nonetheless, Reed managed to put out a steady of stream of decent albums with a few highs that were masterful (New York) and lows that were dreadful (Mistrial). While Lou Reeds last serious effort prior to this project, Ecstasy is, in my opinion, is one of the great break up albums of all time, which could easily sit alongside Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreaks, and the Cure's Disintegration. Metallica's Death Magnetic, on the other hand, is an inconsistent victim of the Loudness war that tries so hard to be …And Justice for All? combined with Black Album but fails in both categories as it is neither as complex nor emotionally involved as Justice and is neither as catchy and fun as the Black Album. Regardless of the quality of the album, it went double platinum Thus, at this period of time these two artists had nothing to lose by collaborating with each other.
In September of 2011, Loutallica released the first and only single from the soon to be infamous collaborative album, Lulu. The album that is still and will be the one of the most infamous albums of the 2010s
The single was called "the View", which drew near universal panning from the listening audience. Many criticized it for Lou Reed's near rambling, poor vocals, repetitive riffs, and lack of cohesion and coherence in the song writing.
Out of that same group of friends that I mentioned prior, I was the only one who, with out any sense of irony or sarcasm, enjoyed the song.
I found the Black Sabbath styled main riff to be haunting and created this atmosphere to the song, while Lou Reed sounded like an crazed Evangelical minister telling his flock that he would have have them "doubting every meaning they amassed", "give up their life of reason" for this person, and finally, ask his flock to give up everything they own "to worship someone who actively despises them. I even enjoyed that burst of slight Thrashery near the end, that many felt was completely out of place. While James Hetfield's comical vocal performance ("I AM THE TABLE"), which is far and away removed from his fantastic performance in "One", but regardless does not detract from the songs quality that much, and the lyric makes much more sense in the context of the album than as a standalone song. (One of the protagonists feels that he is being treated as if he were just an object, which Lou uses the table as a recurring metaphor in this album)
Lou Reed's performance I find to be incredible, this is the voice of withered, beaten, and defeated man who has has every hope, dream, and wish crushed by the weight of the world. I can't imagine, James Hetfield, or someone else delivering these lyrics without that agonizing performance behind, as it rob these lyrics of the anxiety that it contains. Hence why James Hetfield's vocal performance comes off as comical in this album ("I AM THE TABLE"), these lyrics have to delivered with a weary conviction, otherwise they come off as ridiculous or inane, but to me Reed's withered and decrepit vocals make it work.
The album is performed in the style of this track: Lou Reed performing spoken word poetry that describe themes of bondage, unrequited love, promiscuity, and power over Metallica jam sessions that occasionally foray into the Avant Garde side of rock. The closest musical equivalent I can describe it to is a combination of the Velvet Underground's "the Gift" and "Sister Ray". To simply put it, it is a challenging and unforgiving album to the listener.
Once the album eventually dropped during the fall, it was met with mostly negative reviews from both fans and critics. Many dismissing it outright without bothering to listen to the hour and a half long album.
While others bashed it, immediately, upon first listen, I found this album to be a fantastic collaboration, that pushes Metallica to experiment more with a slight flirtation with noise, and Lou Reed to be the Lou Reed that everyone loves: the one that tries, in someway, to piss everyone off .
The album is at its weakest during the first half of the album where it feels at it's most elongated, bloated, and "first draft"-esque; however it is not completely horrible at any point. "Mistress Dread" and "Pumping Blood" still remain as intense as Metallica thrashes out solid Metal riffs. Some of them, I consider some of Metallica's best work since "…And Justice", "Mistress Dread", "Cheat On Me" and "Pumping Blood" contain riffs that wouldn't look at of place from "…And Justice" and prove that Metallica can still put out great Thrash.
The opener "Brandenburg Gate" recalls both "Berlin" and "Lady Day" as it combines both the thematic depression and regret of "Berlin" and the emotional intensity of "Lady Day". Instead of young Lou Reed's angst and fear of the future, in "Brandenburg Gate" Reed is aged and well aware of his surroundings as he waxes poetically about sex and early Horror films.
"Iced Honey" is a groovy little number that reflects some of the better bluesy and groove filled moments from ReLoad , but much like "Devil's Dance" and "Better than You" it feels like a drag until the slight tempo pick up near the end.
On disc 2, the album unleashes it's true depressing theme of unrequited love, and for a few moments it proves that a Lou Reed and Metallica collaboration is not at all ridiculous.
"Frustration" contains some of the best Thrash riffs that Metallica has written since the Black Album, wether that is a testament to Metallica's lack of quality since the Black Album or the disappointment that was Death Magnetic, is up for debate, what's not for debate is the quality that it manages to marry Lou Reed's "Waves of Fear" and Metallica "…And Justice For All" in the former's emotional intensity and latter's musical intensity.
"Little Dog" continues the theme but in a far more harrowing nature, as Lou Reed further emphasizes that the speaker is the submissive and receptive partner in this relationship, nothing more than a little dog.
"Dragon" is the narrators unleashing fury and raising hell against this world that has backstabbed and mistreated them for their entire lives. Both Metallica and Lou Reed unleash their pure fury as the track cresendos into a near shouting match between Kirk's and James's guitar riffs and leads and Lou Reed's voice who does not sound at all feeble and weak as in previous tracks, but filled with passion and pure unmitigated anger toward's the speakers partner who has power over them. Kirk's performance in this track is also surprisingly solid and has a guitar solo that genuinely sounds Avant Garde
The closer "Junior Dad" is divided into two sections. The first section is the crown jewel of the 2nd cd. It is an intensely powerful dirge exploring Lou Reed's tragic relationship with his father and the mental toll that it had on him. This section is by far the highlight of the album. The vocal performance by Reed is one of the best I've heard from him, easily hist best performance post-Blue Mask. For Metallica, it is the best ballad they have ever performed. It blows "Nothing Else Matters" out of the water, and it beats "Fade to Black" by a quarter of an inch.
The second half of "Junior Dad" is a slow string piece that acts as a coda to the album. It's a fairly decent track, but I find my self turning it off before it finishes completely .
With the dead of Lou Reed in 2013, I feel that this album will be re-evaluated in the next few years. I can easily see this becoming something of a cult record. Either to enjoyed as a solid album as I see it, something to laugh at, or as a test for the unsuspecting listener. Either way, every one can agree that on this album, Lou Reed did what he did best for one last time: he forced people to leave their comfort zones. Albeit, for few moments, if it was their musical tastes or social views with his masterful storytelling, powerful guitar work, and his unique, half-sing. Lou Reed was a master and he is missed greatly.
There is another thing that we can all agree on.
It's better than Lou Reed's foray into Rap
Final Grade: 7.9/10- B-
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