Metallica - "Six Feet Down Under" CD EP Review ~ BrooklynRocks: NYC Music Blog

Monday, October 04, 2010

Metallica - "Six Feet Down Under" CD EP Review

Ever wonder what a dodgy sounding Metallica bootleg would sound like? The new "Six Feet Down Under" EP gives you a chance to find out! Getting a bit more serious, while this disc was released to commemorate Metallica’s Australia/New Zealand tour, it really serves no purpose (outside of a potential drink coaster) as the disc’s eight tracks cover no new ground.

The tracks were culled from live recordings from Metallica’s last four tours of Australia. The first four tracks are from audience tapes (and sound as such) but the sound quality radically improves with the last four tracks which are from the soundboard.

Here is the complete track list:

01. Eye of the Beholder - Recorded live on May 4, 1989 at Festival Hall in Melbourne
02. ...And Justice For All - Recorded live on May 4, 1989 at Festival Hall in Melbourne
03. Through the Never - Recorded live on April 8, 1993 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth
04. The Unforgiven - Recorded live on April 4, 1993 at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne
05. Low Man's Lyric (Acoustic) - Recorded live on April 11, 1998 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth
06. Devil's Dance - Recorded live on April 12, 1998 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth
07. Frantic - Recorded live on January 21, 2004 at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney
08. Fight Fire With Fire - Recorded live on January 19, 2004 at the Entertainment Centre in Brisbane

While it is commendable that this “EP” runs for over 50 minutes, I can’t get past the bad sound on the first half of the disc. I also find it hard to believe that these are the best recordings or most interesting song selection from the band’s previous runs through Australia. I did a quick search through YouTube and the free downloads on LiveMetallica.com and here are some better sounding live versions (though only the YouTube video is from Australia) of pretty much all of the songs on "Six Feet Down Under".

1989 Tour: Erwin Center, Austin, TX 2-3-89

1993 Tour: County Fairgrounds, Middletown, NY 6-17-94

1998 Tour: Great Woods Center, Mansfield, MA 7-19-98

2004 Tour:



For $16.98 (the price on Amazon), you would be better served downloading a soundboard recording of one of the current Australian shows on LiveMetallica.com.

Links:
Metallica