Is Slash the Worst Decision Maker in Rock History?

[sleeper]

Really? You seem to be making one for him saying he was there to promote his non-existent solo record. It's an excuse, not a valid reason for exactly why I've already stated - no product=nothing to promote.

Ali

I made no excuse I stated a fact. He promoted his solo on AI!

[D]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

Wonder why Chinese Democracy had no hit singles in the US? not cause the material but cause Axl didn't play the game.

it isn't bout quality of anything anymore and that is sad.

[Limulus]

Slash's plan was originally to release his record way earlier by the way. so the promoting thought/AI is fine.

[jacdaniel]

I know this because you cannot promote a record that doesn't come out for a year. The record didn't exist, and wasn't close to existing at that point. It's called common-sense.

Im probably risking starting a huge argument here... but if you cant promote a record that isn't coming out for a year, well then why on earth were Guns N Roses touring in 2002, 2006 etc  when CD wasnt released until late 2008.

By the logic above, they were obviously just touring for money and/or exposure?

[Jdog0830]

Everyone makes mistakes first off Slash use to be a bad drug addict last time I checked people that had problems with drugs tend to not make the best decisions. Slash has a big ego like every well liked rock star nothing new about him wanting to take the spot light but yeah I admit Slash has made a few uncool decisions in the past.

The Glee idea would not have been a bad idea simply to reach out to the younger generation of kids that arent rebels. Even though I have no interest in the show at all because high school is enough drama and that show seems to feed off it 

[Bodhi]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

[LongGoneDay]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

It was definitely painful to watch Slash on the same stage as T-Pain and Foxx and whomever else. It's painful to listen to anything Metallica has released since the black album though in my opinion. They are a shell of what they used to be, and I understand that the same thing can be said about most bands, especially bands lucky enough to stay together as long as they have. Death Magnetic was a decent attempt, but I don't think I'll revisit it anytime soon. Everything they have put out since 1991 is completely forgettable. Point is, I'll deal with watching Slash get on stage with a tragedy like T-Pain every now and again if he's also going to put out quality records. Something Metallica lost interest in doing long ago. Better yet though, I'll try and avoid the Fergie collaborations, and stick to buying the records!

Metallica doesn't have that fire on stage anymore either. Megadeth continue to blow them off the stage, even with Mustaine's revolving lineups.

[sleeper]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

Metalica is Metalica they do not need to get there name in public to sell their product everyone knows the name already. If they needed to you might see James working with Fergie or T-Pain. The funny thing is their fans might not even know who James is. They might have to be told "James is from Metalica". As far as the SB they have not been asked and Slash was.

[jacdaniel]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

Yeah but they're Metallica.  They are one of the biggest metal bands of all time.  And Guns N Roses are a huge band too, one of the best of all time.  Bands with such a reputation can sell records and stadiums by name alone.  

Whereas Slash is a solo guitar player at the moment.  He doesnt have the resources of such a huge brand name to back him.  He didnt have a label and a major PR campaign.  So what can he do?  Well, if you have the contacts appearing at the grammies and on AI to promote your work is a good idea.  But there is always a chance that the organisers are gonna want a Guns song.  

The point is, its a lot more difficult to promote your music when your a solo guitar player then when your in an already huge band.  

[Bodhi]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

It was definitely painful to watch Slash on the same stage as T-Pain and Foxx and whomever else. It's painful to listen to anything Metallica has released since the black album though in my opinion. They are a shell of what they used to be, and I understand that the same thing can be said about most bands, especially bands lucky enough to stay together as long as they have. Death Magnetic was a decent attempt, but I don't think I'll revisit it anytime soon. Everything they have put out since 1991 is completely forgettable. Point is, I'll deal with watching Slash get on stage with a tragedy like T-Pain every now and again if he's also going to put out quality records. Something Metallica lost interest in doing long ago. Better yet though, I'll try and avoid the Fergie collaborations, and stick to buying the records!

Metallica doesn't have that fire on stage anymore either. Megadeth continue to blow them off the stage, even with Mustaine's revolving lineups.

Very interesting view on Metallica.  I feel that Metallica is one of the few bands to NOT lose it with age.   I for one  rank "Death Magnetic" on the same level as their first 5 records.  I will give you that St Anger was terrible, but if you took the top 12 songs off of the "Load" and "Re-Load" albums and made them one album you have another record on par with the first 5.   I also saw Metallica 5 times on the "Death Magnetic" tour, they are a fucking machine on stage.  While the Load years are my least favorite, there is that evolving thing again that I love, they proved they are not just a thrash band like Slayer.  Are there last few albums as good as the first 5?  No, but whose is?  Whose records are as good as the first 5 Metallica albums?  While they are not as good, there are songs on there like "My Apacolypse", "All Nightmare Long", "This was just your Life", "Fuel", "Devils Dance" that are all just as good, and mix into their sets perfectly.

[Bodhi]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

Metalica is Metalica they do not need to get there name in public to sell their product everyone knows the name already. If they needed to you might see James working with Fergie or T-Pain. The funny thing is their fans might not even know who James is. They might have to be told "James is from Metalica". As far as the SB they have not been asked and Slash was.

Is that a bad thing that T-Pain fans might not know who James is?  James would put a bullet in his head before he worked with T-Pain, and you know it.

My whole point was Metallica doesn't let their art suffer, you wont be seeing B-Real do a guest spot on any Metallica record, because they have integrity.  People call the Load/Re-Load records sell out records, but they were still heavier than most "heavy" music that came out in the 90's, besides Pantera.


How many guest spots have you seen members of Metallica do in the last 30 years?  There is an unwritten rule in Metallica that you live, eat and breathe Metallica.  Thats why they gave Jason so much shit for wanting to do a side project.  James wouldn't allow it.  That is a good thing in my opinion.

[LongGoneDay]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

It was definitely painful to watch Slash on the same stage as T-Pain and Foxx and whomever else. It's painful to listen to anything Metallica has released since the black album though in my opinion. They are a shell of what they used to be, and I understand that the same thing can be said about most bands, especially bands lucky enough to stay together as long as they have. Death Magnetic was a decent attempt, but I don't think I'll revisit it anytime soon. Everything they have put out since 1991 is completely forgettable. Point is, I'll deal with watching Slash get on stage with a tragedy like T-Pain every now and again if he's also going to put out quality records. Something Metallica lost interest in doing long ago. Better yet though, I'll try and avoid the Fergie collaborations, and stick to buying the records!

Metallica doesn't have that fire on stage anymore either. Megadeth continue to blow them off the stage, even with Mustaine's revolving lineups.

Very interesting view on Metallica.  I for one thing rank "Death Magnetic" on the same level as their first 5 records.  I will give you that St Anger was terrible, but if you took the top 12 songs off of the "Load" and "Re-Load" albums and made them one album you have another record on par with the first 5.   I also saw Metallica 5 times on the "Death Magnetic" tour, they are a fucking machine on stage.  While the Load years are my least favorite, there is that evolving thing again that I love, they proved they are not just a thrash band like Slayer.

Don't get me wrong, I love Metallica, I just haven't been impressed w/their recent work. I really enjoyed Death Magnetic the first time I listened to it, but it didn't stick. I think it was the lyrics I couldn't get past. They are one of the best heavy metal bands of all time no matter what they put out as far as I'm concerned. Kill em All through And Justice for All are epics.

I saw them a couple years ago, and it was definitely a good show. It's probably not fair to compare them to Megadeth, live.
I agree about Slayer. I really felt bad for them. When I caught the Rust in Peace tour, Slayer was the headliner for some reason. 2 of my friends fell asleep during their set.

[Limulus]

eh, Load and Re-Load dont have to be mentioned. the black album was the first step reaching a wider audience for Metallica - when the first 4 albums more have been Speed Metal. Remember Lars Ulrich saying never doing videoclips? tons of stuff like that from Metallica....that much about integrity of Metallica  

live.....i dont think loosing Newsted/getting the Sucidal T. bass player was a good step + Hetfield's voice is shot most of the time.
gotta add that Lars U. is one of the uncoolest guys in metal/hard rock to me.

and Slayer are just allmighty Slayer....more sticking true to their musical roots than bands like Metallica, Megadeth or GN'R. Slayer always have been more aggressive and brutal, thats what they think their place is.

[jacdaniel]

Worst decision maker in rock history --->  Lars Ulrich! 

Im sorry but suing your own fans is pretty low regardless of the circumstances.

[Bodhi]

Worst decision maker in rock history --->  Lars Ulrich! 

Im sorry but suing your own fans is pretty low regardless of the circumstances.

I think Lars' bank account might disagree with your worst decision maker title you want to give him.  The dude shits gold, Metallica has done just about everything right the past 30 years.  I agreed with him then about Napster and I still do. You can't just walk into a Best Buy and take anything you want, why is it ok to do it over the computer?  I believe in paying an artist for their work, albums are so cheap there is no excuse to steal them.

[Ali]

I know this because you cannot promote a record that doesn't come out for a year. The record didn't exist, and wasn't close to existing at that point. It's called common-sense.

Im probably risking starting a huge argument here... but if you cant promote a record that isn't coming out for a year, well then why on earth were Guns N Roses touring in 2002, 2006 etc  when CD wasnt released until late 2008.

By the logic above, they were obviously just touring for money and/or exposure?

Yes, they were touring for money and/or exposure or just to get out on the road and tour.  They were not promoting CD since it was still years away from release.

Ali

[Ali]

Really? You seem to be making one for him saying he was there to promote his non-existent solo record. It's an excuse, not a valid reason for exactly why I've already stated - no product=nothing to promote.

Ali

I made no excuse I stated a fact. He promoted his solo on AI!

He was promoting a product that at the time didn't exist?     If you say so.  I'm sure that promotional appearance was fresh in consumers' minds a year later when the record actually came out 

Ali

[sleeper]

its all a moot point anyway. if AI ask Slash to appear on such and such episode... He can't exactly be picky or selective and say, NAH invite me back next year.

Music business is a shitty dirty game.. U gotta do some shit u don't want but is necessary

remember on Some Kind of Monster when they had Metallica reading that terrible Radio ad and said if they didn't do it, radio would fuck them over on their album? thats Metallica.

apples and oranges once again.  Metallica had to "play the game" to get their record played.  Their art was not being compromised.  "Death Magnetic" is a great record, and did not hurt their credibility.  You didn't see James Hetfield on stage with Fergie or T-Pain for Christs sake!!!  You will never see that.  You can critique their albums anyway you want, but they will never be caught dead in some cheesy super bowl spot.  You don't have to do these lame publicity stunts  to sell records.  Metallica sells more records than EVERYONE, and have for the last 20 years.  "Death Magnetic" sold half a million in a 2 day sales week in 2008 (it came out on a friday) and debuted at the top of the Billboard Charts and stayed there for a month.

Metalica is Metalica they do not need to get there name in public to sell their product everyone knows the name already. If they needed to you might see James working with Fergie or T-Pain. The funny thing is their fans might not even know who James is. They might have to be told "James is from Metalica". As far as the SB they have not been asked and Slash was.

Is that a bad thing that T-Pain fans might not know who James is?  James would put a bullet in his head before he worked with T-Pain, and you know it.

My whole point was Metallica doesn't let their art suffer, you wont be seeing B-Real do a guest spot on any Metallica record, because they have integrity.  People call the Load/Re-Load records sell out records, but they were still heavier than most "heavy" music that came out in the 90's, besides Pantera.


How many guest spots have you seen members of Metallica do in the last 30 years?  There is an unwritten rule in Metallica that you live, eat and breathe Metallica.  Thats why they gave Jason so much shit for wanting to do a side project.  James wouldn't allow it.  That is a good thing in my opinion.

I guess it is Metalica's loss if that is how they feel. I'm sorry I do not see the problem with musicans working out of their comfort zone. That is what makes them grow and that is what Slash does and will continue to do. If it bothers you this much don't buy anymore of his music because things are not going to be different with him. And I can only hope that James would not put a bullet through his head for any reason. His wife and children might take exception.

[sleeper]

Really? You seem to be making one for him saying he was there to promote his non-existent solo record. It's an excuse, not a valid reason for exactly why I've already stated - no product=nothing to promote.

Ali

I made no excuse I stated a fact. He promoted his solo on AI!

He was promoting a product that at the time didn't exist?     If you say so.  I'm sure that promotional appearance was fresh in consumers' minds a year later when the record actually came out 

Ali

It was fresh in my mind!

[Bodhi]

I do not see the problem with musicans working out of their comfort zone. That is what makes them grow and that is what Slash does and will continue to do. If it bothers you this much don't buy anymore of his music because things are not going to be different with him. And I can only hope that James would not put a bullet through his head for any reason. His wife and children might take exception.

Some of you are missing the point of the thread here.  I am a huge fan of Slash.  He is just making shitty fucking decisions lately, and it is frustrating.  If he weren't making albums I liked it would be so much easier to ditch his ass, but the truth is I thought the solo album was really good.  It is frustrating as a fan of Slash to see him continue to embarrass himself.  This streak of bad decisions he is on is not something that just us on the boards are talking about, it is a pop culture reference now thanks to South Park picking it up.  I'm sure the guys from South Park have not analyzed every decision Slash has made the last decade, but they certainly saw enough to realize he is being fucking lame lately.