Word: banding
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Metallica has survived every heavy-metal cliche known to man. The original bassist, Cliff Burton, died in a horrendous 1986 tour-bus accident. In 1991, seven years after This Is Spinal Tap, the band put out its own black album. A year later, lead singer James Hetfield was nearly immolated onstage by some bad pyro. Metallica has even committed the ultimate sin of heavy-metal piety: the classical album, with the sheepish help of some cellists in the San Francisco Symphony...
...that on its 11th record, St. Anger, Metallica is in position to do something original? Largely because it has not only survived all the cliches; it has survived, period. Metallica is the first credible heavy-metal band to reach something approaching middle age, and after years of alcoholism, Hetfield, 39, says he's not only sober but also serious about making an album that deals with his new adult identity and responsibilities. St. Anger starts promisingly enough with Frantic, which has Hetfield growling over a classic, violent speed-metal riff, "If I could have my wasted days back/Would...
...course, it helps that Metallica is one ferocious band. In the five years since their last record, guitarist Kirk Hammett and drummer Lars Ulrich have clearly been listening to lots of System of a Down--loud-soft dynamics are all over St. Anger. But no one in music is better at whipping up hurricanes out of thin air than these two, and even though most songs clock in at well over seven minutes, they never lose tension or focus. St. Anger will absolutely rock your head, though it would have been nice if it wanted a piece of your brain...
...some, Beyond are the greatest Chinese rock band ever. To others, they are inglorious, latter-day sellouts. Indisputable, however, is Beyond's surprising longevity in Hong Kong's fickle music scene. In May the band celebrated their 20th anniversary with five capacity concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum, and they've added three more shows at the same venue for this weekend. There is good reason for the hype: the concert series represents the first time the band has performed together since they took a solo-career sabbatical...
...fans, the shows have been especially poignant. Late vocalist Wong Ka-kui?killed in an accident in 1993 at the age of 31?has been resurrected in the form of a life-size video projection, alongside his former band mates. This eerie guest appearance takes place during the performance of Wong's Fighting War for 20 Years. "Ka-kui played the music on an acoustic guitar and hummed along. We added our instruments and sang the lyrics," says bassist Ka-keung, Wong's 38-year-old brother. "This then became a song that our full band performed...