I think we all view them as sell outs... of course we would. We don't make millions of dollars every year. I personally can't stand to listen to their new stuff. It literally does sound like a bunch of banging noises. But I think they were trying to experiment in an open market and try to hit a new genre or style.... and well.... they missed. When you're Metallica you can do those types of things and still be a great band. I do have to say that they St. Anger songs sounded 40 times better live than they did on the album. It's pretty bad though when you're playing a concert to promote your newest album and you only play 2 songs off of it..... I thank them. Maybe Metallica just proved a point by saying that well known musicians can sell crappy albums and still go platinum... maybe they got so caught up in the Napster war that they intentionally made an album that no one will ever download.... but still will go platinum because of the massive following of Metallica fans.... I don't know. I think they were a great band... and still are. The music isn't gone, they just have to find it again... or atleast try something different than what they did on St. Anger.... they're not what they use to be at all.. Lars is slow... Kirk abuses his wah pedal (still shreds though)... James' voice is sketchy at times.... Newstead is gone... Trujillo is the man on Bass... he's half the age of the rest of them...

I don't see how they've "Sold out" though... they all still are endoresed by the same gear companies that they've always been with... they just have capitalized on merchandising and the use of internet marketing to make their live shows available for purchase....

Metallica is Metallica... sell out or not.... I still love them