Lou Reed’s Vocals Removed from Metallica-Only Version of ‘The View’

The debate-sparking vocals of Lou Reed have been separated from Metallica's backing music in a new fan-created edit of the Loutallica track 'The View.' This brutally efficient new edit instead focuses almost entirely on James Hetfield's brief vocal interlude and some bitchin' guitar work from Kirk Hammett.

Many people, ourselves included as you can tell by our review of the real version of 'The View,' have been somewhat confused about how Reed's off-kilter, half-spoken vocal style is supposed to mix with Metallica's metallic fury.

Well now, some creative fan, a fellow reader of MetalInsider.com, solved this problem by sending the site their own drastically pared-down edit of the song, removing Reed's verses entirely. This does cut three minutes of rather bizarre, partially off-key vocalizing off the plate, but it doesn't help Hetfield's remaining "I am the tablet / These ten stories / ...I am the table" rant make any more sense.

We still commend Metallica and Reed for embarking on this bold and clearly left-of-center project together, and we hold out hope that the rest of the 'Lulu' album, for which the Nov. 1 release date is fast approaching, will reveal more rewarding results when heard as a unified whole.

Listen to the Metallica-Only Version of 'The View'