Metallica + booze + youth = some of the best music ever
Metallica + sobriety + age = terrible music
Please don't anyone lecture me about "growing with" the band. Their new stuff is a travesty and does nothing but take away from the legacy of the greatness that WAS Metallica.
Rarely can a band sustain greatness once they have achieved it. I was at a Metallica concert in Weedsport, NY when a helicopter flew over during the intro to One; it was the sickest mosh pit I have ever seen and nobody got away unscathed. Truly one of the best concerts I have seen and I have been to many. That is greatness and was lightning in a bottle.
They deserve mad props for what they did, but certainly not for what they produce now. Just my $.02.