For those of you looking to support a great cause then head on over to Metal Club to learn how you can be cool to your local record stores.  There you can find a list of independent CD stores that have exclusive heavy metal releases.  One such release is Metallica Live At Grimey’s. I just picked up my copy yesterday afternoon from Looney Tunes in Babylon, New York for only $9.99.

This recent music partnership is great for the fans of hard music and of course the shops.  Metallica’s disc features a secret Nashville show that the band played in June 2008, a few months prior to the release of Death Magnetic, in a club known as The Basement.

It features nine classic tracks in an intimate setting.  This show is a pleasant departure from the structured arena gigs that Metallica has been accustomed to playing.  James Hetfield and the band offer amusing stage banter between songs (such as referencing the band’s Mesa Boogie guitar amps to joking about playing a showcase gig for the record company).  In the beginning, James jokes about playing a new song then leads the band into Kill Em All’s “No Remorse.”

After “For Whom The Bell Tolls” the band jams to “The Frayed Ends of Sanity” with everyone singing off beat and out of tune.  This shows the band can still have a great time in the basement club setting.  The two best performances from the nine track affair are of “Harvester of Sorrow” and “Motorbreath.”

The only negative part of the disc is the mixing.  After playing the album in two different cars and my home stereo, there is too much distortion on the final mix.  It makes Death Magnetic sound like a perfectly mixed record.  However, the overall positive vibe and feeling of the Live At Grimey’s makes it all worth the fuzzy trouble.

Track Listing:

  1. “No Remorse”
  2. “Fuel”
  3. “Harvester of Sorrow”
  4. “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”
  5. “For Whom The Bell Tolls (The Frayed Ends of Sanity Jam)”
  6. “Master of Puppets”
  7. “Sad But True”
  8. “Motorbreath”
  9. “Seek and Destroy”