Customer Reviews

Live Shit: Binge & Purge

5 star:		(140)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Simply put, this is the best box set I've ever owned. Granted, I'm a huge Metallica fan and I'm probably inclined to fall in love with anything they release. But Metallica rips it live, and this box set showcases over eight hours of that. On both the CDs and DVDs (a Mexico City show on the CDs, and full Seattle and San Diego shows on the DVDs), you hear a completely different side of the band. While their studio recordings are tight and emotional, their live set conveys the sense that Metallica have fun when they play live. There is a certain leaning toward improvisation that makes listening to these tracks a blast.

The sound quality isn't as good as on S&M, probably because these shows were recorded in the early nineties, and the high-budget production of that era falls short of what you can expect of live recordings from the past few years. But it's still great to listen to a different interpretation of their songs. When they play live, their tunes sound different than their studio counterparts, but this is actually a positive thing; there are certain moments when they let things hang, and then pummel the tension whenever they feel like it, which gives the sets kind of a jammy feel. Hetfield's comments to the crowd are left in, which was the only dissapointing thing about S&M; it's great to hear James interact with the crowd. As he pumps them up, you feel energized as well.

The show from the Black Album tour is impressive, but the direction is somewhat choppy. The ...And Justice For All show is directed brilliantly, and their set comes across as very epic and powerful.

Like I said, best box set I've ever owned. And it's loads cheaper than the VHS version, so I'd recommend this to any hardcore Metallica fan, or anyone who loves hearing quality live albums.

I'd missed out on the chance to see Metallica live during this tour in support of the band's eponymous 'Black Album', so Live Sh*t: Binge & Purge is probably the closest I'll come.

This former boxed set is now available in two formats -- a double-CD case and a DVD-style longbox. As far as I can tell from their descriptions, the contents are the same, and typical of Metallica, they give you loads of material for a pretty good price -- three live CDs and two concert DVDs for only a little more than the price of two DVD movies.

The good points:

- The three live CDs span a broad range of songs from the band's history, rather than obsessively focusing on the Black Album.
- The sound quality of the CDs is quite good.
- The performances, especially James Hetfield's vocals and rhythm guitar, are searing.
- The DVD concerts are pretty well shot, if a little bit rough on the editing front. I'd always had reservations about getting this set because I was worried the concert footage would wear thin very quickly, but the band's fiery performances, the inventive staging (such as when Lars Ulrich runs across the stage in the middle of "The Four Horsemen" and jumps onto another kit at the other end) and multiple cameras helped make the viewing experience engaging.

The bad points:
- No booklet. I think they should have made the package a little bigger, a small boxed set, and included the booklet.
- The sound on the DVDs is horrible. I've never heard a professional music-DVD release with so many volume fluctuations and bad sound cuts. It's like listening to a live CD with the engineer whipping the faders up and down for no reason. The vocals are muddy, the lead guitar mixed too far back, and all of the tracks on the DVD sound like they have foam in front of the speakers.
- The format I'd bought, the double-CD case, is just not enough to hold five discs. They should have designed a special Digipak, or used three double-CD jewel cases.
- The live CD contains far, far too much crowd noise, banter and moments of waiting for the music. In a concert setting this might be okay, but as a listening experience, it's dreary to listen to a solid minute and a half of war sound effects before "One" can begin. They should have been more diligent with editing.
- No bonus materials. The videos from the Black Album, and especially the legendary music video for "One", would have made very enticing bonus materials for this set.

Despite its shortcomings, this was the last major official release from Metallica before it entered its bitterly contested 'Load/Reload' phase, so as a document of the band's history, this set is invaluable.

There is SO MUCH included on the DVDs and CDs that I've had the set for a couple days and still haven't gotten through it all!!
One more DVD to watch! The (all LIVE) music includes songs from KILL 'EM ALL through METALLICA, and it rocks thunderously hard!!!
The DVD quality is excellent. The CDs sound great! A MUST for all Metallica fans!

If you buy only 1 thing from Metallica- make it this 3 cd, 3 video set!!! 'Nuff said

Well, I've read through all of the other reviews, and I'm not sure that any of them except for the first even come close to doing this set, no pun intended, justice. First, I'll start off on the Seattle show, since it's the earliest dated. Great quality, excellent stage setup, and they make it fun by slightly altering the lyrics in some songs to make jokes, as in "Seek and Destroy". I personally liked this show a lot better than the others because it was released before the black album and has more of the classic stuff that they never play in full anymore (like Blackened and ...And Justice For All to name a few). Next, the San Diego show. Yes, James playing the drums was interesting, and to tell the truth, he isn't that bad at them. My guess is Lars gave him lessons sometime. Kirk Hammet gives some top-notch guitar solos, including one where he plays it with his butt. You read right, he takes the guitar, puts it behind him, and rubs the strings against his butt. The scary thing is, he actually makes it sound good, like he actually practiced doing that ahead of time. Lastly, the Mexico City show. 3 cds, the longest show in the set, but definitely worth listening to. My only complaint with the collection is how in the San Diego and Mexico city shows, how they cut "Master of Puppets" short, stopping before the guitar solo interlude. Aside from that, a complete masterpiece, showcasing how powerful of a live band Metallica really is. It also contains many of their forgotten classics that they don't play live anymore, such as Fade to Black, Last Caress, Blackened, and Whiplash. If you're a fan of the old Metallica, and for some reason don't already own this set, I highly urge you to buy it, although I recommend the dvd version only due to the fact that it's cheaper. And some of the complaints (pages falling out of the book) have been fixed; the entire book is under the special features in dvd disc 2. Either way, it's worth every last penny that you're spending.

With 3 VHS tapes (2 concerts) from 1989 and 1991, this is a metal thrashers dream. The 3 CDs that are included have a great sound quality and is COMPLETELY unedited ! You also get a nice book to go with them and other memorabila. (Not worth mentioning, but nice to have)

The concert CDs, although great to have it complete, could have been edited in the gutiar solo part. That is the only weak spot in the entire set. Other than that, no other complaints...

The first video is from the JUSTICE tour and I have never seen a band so ELECTRIFYING ! The energy they put out is unbelievable...The crowd is high-strung, and the song arrangements are great. I have NEVER heard or seen anything like the version of CREEPING DEATH included on this video ! It made me want to get up and chant just watching it on TV (Im 33 years old). FANTASTIC !

Jason almost steals the show with his energy and repore with the crowd. He is a master at what he does. My hats off to him for APPRECIATING the audience like he does - Not many rock stars do that.

James has fun with the crowd during SEEK AND DESTROY...A most MEMORABLE moment. Who says the Metallica boys dont have a sence of humor ?

This is a box set that every EARLY Metallica fan would ever want...WARNING to those who like a more suttle Metallica: This is thrashing at its best - Slower and mellower stuff is tough to find here. No MAMA SAID or HERO OF THE DAY cuts - Or any other type of song like that, for that matter.

ASTOUNDING ! I might add that its also great to see a live version of THROUGH THE NEVER..Has to be seen and heard to believe !

Live Shit, is quite possibly the largest, grandest, and best live set ever released. I think this was Metallica's great triumph featuring all kinds of shit from the likes of ...And Justice for All, Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Kill Em' All, and the Black Album. From the footage of the Damged Justice tour in Seattle to the other videos and CD's showcasing the Nowhere Else to Roam tour this is the true Metallica fans dream come true. And you get to draw some cool shit with the stencil and impress your friends with the replica snake pit pass on top of that!!!! And if that wasn't enough you can hear Jason Newstead singing on " Seak and Destroy" and witness James Hetfield's vulgar stage show!!!! As I said, a true Metallica fan's dream!

This box set is amazing. It contains material up to the Black Album, in 3 CDs and two DVDs. How do you do that? I love it. Metallica is so much better live. Also, the origional book is on DVD 2, and you can make a screen saver with it if you have a DVD-ROM server in your computer. I also really like the "Scary Guy" stencil that comes with the box set, it's pretty big too. This also comes with a amazing textured Metallica sticker which says:

I WAS ON STAGE WITH METALLICA

91-92

IN THE SNAKE PIT

AS A SPECIAL GUEST OF:
METALLICA

This is also green and white, with a big picture of the "Don't Tread On Me" snake from the Black Album.

One word describes this release - HUGE! It comes in a huge box, shaped like a band's footlocker. There's a huge nine hours of music inside the box, including a huge triple CD live album and three video tapes of live footage, along with an old back stage pass, a book full of hundreds of pictures and Metallica related documents, and a scary guy stencil. Forget the videos and the packaging, let's concentrate on the live album.

Anyone who has ever seen Metallica can attest to how tight the band are as a live unit, and it shows. There's hardly a slip to be detected anywhere in the entire album. It's not a one shot demonstration of the band however, as it was gathered from five nights in Mexico in 1993. The breaks are hard to find though.

And how does Metallica rate live? A fan really could not ask for much more in a live album. A faithful journey through Metallica's first five albums, a few covers, reinterpretations of some older songs, an excellent showcase of the talents of the band members, James Hetfield's corny but friendly stage banter, and a big dose of plain old heavy metal.

Highlights: the insane reaction of audience members Hetfield grabs to help with singing Seek And Destroy; the addition of the unlisted So What?; Jason Newsted's vocals and the extra gear of Whiplash; Kirk Hammett hitting the solo to One almost note perfect; the near on religious rapture of the entire audience at hearing Metallica live.

One small criticism: the bass and guitar solos by Jason and Kirk both show their utter mastery of their respective instruments, and hold your attention throughout the almost 19 minute break, but why so long? Perhaps cut it back to 10 minutes and throw in another song, like "Fight Fire With Fire" or "Disposable Heroes" or "Leper Messiah".

Every fan of Metallica needs to hear this. It puts the stodgy, overblown orchestral theatrics of S&M firmly in its place. This is THE definitive Metallica live album. It really should have been given a wider release than this oversized shoebox.

This is a great set for any metal fan, especially a fan of Metallica. You get to watch Metallica at the height of their musical peak. The DVD in Seattle from the ...and justice for all tour is probably the best live DVD I have ever witnessed. The two live sets from the black album are great too. There are only two small things that bother me about this set.
A. on the live cd's, the songs do not start and stop where they should (it does not matter if you are listening to it through, but if you listen to one track at a time)
B. there are some tiny problems with the DVD; there are some parts where the color looks a little fuzzy-ish because of a glare and also there is a part or two where the audio volume swells down for a few seconds. The problems with it do not outweigh the awesomeness of it in any shape or form.