The Videos 1989-2004

Music videos have recently been going out of vogue and have traditionally been underused by metal bands and particularly by the genre's most popular groups. Metallica is overall a positive exception and this collection is actually quite entertaining with a running time way above two hours.

The band's first music video might also be its most popular one. It offers scenes from the gripping anti-war movie Johnny Got His Gun intertwined with the young band performing in an abandoned warehouse. The shots in black and vibe add a visual atmosphere to the already emotional epic ''One''.

The band continued to experiment with the music video genre with its epic ballad ''The Unforgiven'' that is also featured in its theatrical version of eleven and a half minutes on this release. The cryptic short movie in black and white shows a young boy who becomes and adult and later on an old man who desperately tries to carve an opening into a stone wall all his life.

Another intriguing music video was made for the moody ''Until It Sleeps'' that shows the band members wearing heavy make-up and struggling with inner demons in a visually stunning way. Just like the song itself, the music video is an acquired taste but it certainly is very unique.

The same could be said about the music video for ''The Memory Remains'' where the band plays in a revolving room while guest singer Marianne Faithfull makes an appearance as enigmatic host of said room.

The music video for the Bob Seger cover ''Turn the Page'' is maybe the most intense one on this compilation. It shows the everyday life of a prostitute who lives in cheap hotel rooms and dances in filthy strip clubs while her young daughter follows her everywhere. In a few intersected interview clips, the prostitute claims she would make the same life choices again but her voice is cracking and she is looking down which implies that she is lying to herself. At the end of the clip, the prostitute gets sexually abused by one of her clients while her daughter watches in a closet and comforts her saddened mother after the event. This music video offers a lot of food for thought and leaves the spectator on an uneasy note.

A final interesting music video is the one made for single ''I Disappear'' that was made for the soundtrack of Mission: Impossible 2. It shows the band playing on a rock formation in Arizona which is the opening location of said movie. The performance is intertwined with scenes where the different members must escape dangerous situations such as getting out of a crumbling building or facing an angry crowd leading to a claustrophobic experience.

The quality of Metallica's music videos is overall excellent despite a few boring clips that only show the band performing on stage or in studio. Fans of the band and those who value the underrated art of music videos should purchase this release alike. Since the band continued to make numerous music videos in recent years, here's hope that this release will have its sequel in a few years. I would certainly purchase that one as well. If you look for another band that highly valued the art of music videos, check out Red Hot Chili Peppers' Greatest Videos.

Seems that Metallica must've really enjoyed making the video of One, because once that happened the floodgates opened. They've made four (four!!) videos per album since and assuming there's another Death Magnetic single that trend will continue for a while yet. A video coItllection was always inevitable; although it's a bit of a shame that they didn't wait for another album; considering some of the Death Magnetic being their best video material for some time.

It doesn't take a genius to work out that most of the songs on here are going to be somewhat bad. None of the truly interesting songs on the Loads are represented here, neither the more interesting Garage Inc. covers (why wasn't there an Astronomy single?), with the whole thing rounded out by a bunch of really bad St.Anger radio edits which seem to cut out the songs' better parts with admirable consistency.

It's strange that despite how blalantly commercial (or at least accessible) most of the songs on here are, most of the videos are actually pretty good. From the "jason smearing goo on himself" in Until it Sleeps, to the rather depressing Turn the Page video wherein a prostitute gets raped in front of her kid, to the excellent St.Anger video; it all looks pretty damn good and has a streak of artistry that the songs themselves lacked somewhat. Memory Remains is a stand out for me; nostalgia value aside (the videoclip was the first metal song I heard, and subsequently got me into the whole genre) it's a great video clip and a pretty cool song; the revolving room telling of the heady ups and downs of stardom and is just a damn cool effect all round. Not surprising, but the production values are amazing and there's no expense spared.

The downside to the whole thing is generally the videos for the Black Album. The long, experimental and completely left-of-field uncut Unforgiven version aside (a real oddity for a massive band to do something this unusual) it's all rather boring and rock star-ish; getting all sensitive in the studio to Nothing Else Matters, rocking out to the crowd with Sad But True and Wherever I may Roam. Perhaps using videos as a way to chart a band's integrity isn't quite right; regardless the videos here definitely suggest the band lost it's way for a few years.

Stating the obvious here but you've got to be quite a Metallica fan to watch this; very little of the golden era is represented. Decent value for money, seeing as it comes with Two of One as well. It's a shame they didn't start making videos earlier, that's all.

Well here you have it, all the Metallica videos on one DVD. Your probably wondering why the hell you should get this DVD when you can see everyone of their videos on youtube for free. Well I wanted this DVD because Metallica is my favorite band, and I could have all the video's on one disc and watch them anytime I choose to do so.


The pro's and cons of the DVD. Well the main pro is all the music videos are on one DVD and you can access them easily. However a con is most the videos are from the Load era to St. Anger era of Metallica which are Metallica's weakest albums. The best videos are the earliest ones including "One, Enter Sandman, Sad but True, and Where ever I may roam" Some of the weaker ones are "Hero of the day, Until it Sleeps, and Mama Said" which is a sad sight for the once great metal band. Another bonus of the DVD is the bonus features, however their nothing to write home about, There is The Unforgiven (Theatrical Version) which is kinda drawn out and boring. There is also a jammin version of 'One" which is alright, and a nice introduction about the video for "One" by Lars Ulrich himself which gives you some insight on the video. Lastly there is a trailer for the "Some Kind of Monster DVD" which in reality is just an advertisement to make you buy that DVD, and shouldn't even be mentioned as a bonus.

Overall its a very basic DVD with all the Metallica music videos released thus far and should satisfy any die hard Metallica fan.