Enter Night_ A Biography of Metallica - Mick Wall [229]
It was as much about Bob Rock not being there, as Rick Rubin being there, James had told me earlier that same day: ‘I think Bob had gotten comfortable. We had gotten too comfortable with each other, especially going through all of the emotional draining of St. Anger. We learned so much about each other, we were too close, I think. It was good to move on and I think Rick Rubin is the exact opposite of Bob Rock. The fact that we were able to sit down and write ourselves, somewhat pre-production ourselves, do things for ourselves without Rick Rubin babysitting or sitting over our shoulder the whole time, that was where we were able to try our wings out again and fly as a band, after all these near-death experiences of the Monster movie and St. Anger. So it was the right thing at the right time. Not to talk bad about Bob whatsoever, because he’s taken us places that we never would have gone before. We’ve learned so much from him.’ But this, suddenly, was different. It had to be.
Old friends had their own views. Flemming Rasmussen describes Death Magnetic as ‘a good step in the right direction’, but adds: ‘I think they should have called me. You know, if they want to do an album like that, why don’t they fucking just call me?’ He added: ‘It doesn’t sound nowhere as good as Ride or Master, for sure, no.’ Could he ever really see himself working with them again, though? ‘I’ve got no idea. I hope so.’ Xavier Russell offers a similarly cautious response: ‘I think it’s a lot better than their recent albums. It is a sort of return. Some of it’s even a bit earlier than Master of Puppets.’ The trouble, says X, is that ‘You hear it through and think that’s quite good. Then after it’s finished you think: can I remember any of the songs?’ Geoff Barton says, ‘I hate the production. If they’re attempting to reactivate the spirit of 1986 they’ve done quite a good job. But I don’t think it’s all there, to be honest.’ He adds: ‘The strange thing is to see the band going almost full circle and becoming nostalgic about those days.’ When Geoff interviewed James about the album, ‘[he] was very, very nostalgic about the thrash days. Metal Hammer had just produced a thrash special and he had a copy of it and he was looking at it and there were almost like tears in his eyes.’
The success of Death Magnetic was about more than just the strength or otherwise of the songs, of course. It was about simple old-fashioned marketing and promotion – it’s no good having the Second Coming if no one is there to see it – delivered in a thoroughly modern way. Months before the album was shipped out to stores, a new website, www.missionmetallica.com, was launched, in anticipation of both internet piracies – now, almost a decade on from Napster, a part of everyday life – and to maximise interest in owning a ‘hard copy’ (i.e. record or CD) of the forthcoming album. Initially offering visitors to the site behind-the-scenes insights into the recording, including contact with producer Rubin, it also promised a veritable treasure trove of exclusive content, such as fly-on-the-wall video footage, audio clips of works-in-progress and archival photos from their time in the studio. The 350-plus minutes of footage would eventually reach nearly ten million people across 161 countries. There was also an exclusive for the fan club – or, Mission Metallica members, as they were now dubbed – with the album being streamed a day before its official worldwide release, thus building a priceless word-of-mouth buzz among the internet community. Mission Metallica members also got first dibs on buying tickets for the forthcoming tour. On top of this, fans could