Metallica (album) - Composition

Composition

Tempos were often slowed down in exchange for slower BPMs, while they expand its music and expressive range, said Robert Palmer of Rolling Stone. The album was a change in direction from the thrash metal style of Metallica's previous four studio albums and saw the band moving towards a more commercial heavy metal sound. Many fans consider the album to be a transition from the often ostentatious compositions of their previous releases, to the slower, divested style of the group's later albums, where "old" and "new" Metallica are distinguished from one another. Instruments unusual for a heavy metal band, such as the cellos in "The Unforgiven" and the orchestra in "Nothing Else Matters" were added at Rock's insistence. Rock also decided to raise the volume of the bass guitar, which had been nearly inaudible in the predecessor ...And Justice for All, with Newsted adding that he tried with his bass to "create a real rhythm section rather than a one-dimensional sound". Ulrich said that in his drumming he tried to avoid the "progressive Peartian paradiddles which became boring to play live" and employ a basic sound similar to The Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts and AC/DC's Phil Rudd.

The simpler approach was partially because the band felt that the songs on ...And Justice for All were too long and complex. Hetfield said that radio airplay was not their intention, but because they felt "we had pretty much done the longer song format to death," and considered a good change doing songs with just two riffs and "only taking two minutes to get the point across". Ulrich added that the band was feeling a musical insecurity — "We felt inadequate as musicians and as songwriters, That made us go too far, around Master of Puppets and Justice, in the direction of trying to prove ourselves. 'We'll do all this weird-ass shit sideways to prove that we are capable musicians and songwriters.'" - and Hetfield added he wanted to avoid getting stale: "Sitting there and worrying about whether people are going to like the album, therefore we have to write a certain kind of song — you just end up writing for someone else. Everyone's different. If everyone was the same, it would be boring as shit."

The lyrics of Metallica (written by James Hetfield) were more personal and introspective in nature than previous Metallica albums, often compared by Rock to Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and John Lennon. "Enter Sandman" is about "nightmares and all that come with them", according to Chris True of Allmusic. "The God That Failed" dealt with Hetfield's mother's death from cancer and her Christian Science beliefs which kept her from seeking medical treatment. "Nothing Else Matters" was a love song Hetfield wrote about missing his girlfriend while on tour. Hetfield said the themes were more introspective because he wanted "lyrics that the band could stand behind - but we are four completely different individuals. So the only way to go was in."