METALLICA – Out Of The Loop

Out of the Loop is yet another behind the scenes look at the creation and tumult of the most notorious band of the last three decades. Despite the backlash over their opposition to internet music sharing and latest offering, Metallica is still the band people place in high demand. One might think after the release of Some Kind of Monster that there wasn’t anything else to learn about everyone’s favorite Metalli-cats. However, when you are the one of the biggest money-making machines on the planet, there is always a story to dig up about you from somewhere.

In Out of the Loop, there is a plethora of past acquaintances that are ready to add their recollection and insight to the Metallica story. There are those who remember a pre-Cliff Burton Metallica, and those who knew Cliff when he fronted the band Trauma prior to joining Metallica. Many of the stories come from the people who were in bands that have shared the stage with Metallica and witnessed the mayhem up close.

Especially interesting are the tales of Dave Mustaine, Metallica’s original guitarist who went on to form Megadeth. Often heard is the ill-fated tale of Dave’s trip to New York; here gathered are many tales of a reckless Dave who taunted and terrorized those around him with his outlandish drunken behavior. More than one story corroborates that Mustaine was doomed by his own inner demons.

Although it is a very complete history of the band, there is nothing groundbreaking in Out of the Loop. Stepping away from the inner sanctum of the group and talking to those who were there, but weren’t actually a part of the machine that is Metallica, offers a unique perspective to this overly analyzed band. Metallica is the biggest band in existence and according to MTV, they are even Icons. You can’t expect less in these commercial-driven days than complete over-saturation. For an unauthorized version of their story, this is a much better history of it than, say, VH1’s The Making Of series, with some seriously credible people who know the state of Metal and where it was at when Metallica broke the mold. Not as slick as record company production, but just as much bang for your buck.