Posted August 15, 2011 at 7:51 am | No comments
“Master of Puppets” begins with two of Metallica’s most recognizable riffs, one moving right into the other in typical Metallica thrash fashion. As the second track and title track of Metallica’s third studio album, 1986’s Master of Puppets, the song is distinctive for its extended, almost tender instrumental section that serves as a bridge for the otherwise driving headband-inducing riff fest. Late bassist Cliff Burton has said that “Master of Puppets” is one of his favorite Metallica songs, and his definite favorite from that album. Featuring some great melodic solo work from Kirk Hammett, “Master” is about how when people become addicted to drugs, the relationship flips, with the drugs as the master and the person as the puppet.
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Posted August 14, 2011 at 7:51 am | No comments
One of metal legends Metallica’s most well-known songs, “For Whom The Bell Tolls” is a lesson in writing ominous heavy metal music. While Metallica are known for their fast-paced thrash metal, they slow it down to a crawl for this superheavy buzz saw of a tune. The song, which was the third single from their 1984 album Ride the Lightning, is based on the novel For Whom The Bell Tolls by author Ernest Hemmingway about the immorality of modern warfare. You’ll have to tune your guitar a little sharp to play completely in tune with this song, as Metallica tuned up a little to be in tune with the tolling bells at the beginning.
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Posted August 13, 2011 at 7:51 am | No comments
“Don’t Tread On Me,” the sixth track from Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album, is an odd one for Metallica, as it quotes “America,” the popular song from the famous musical West Side Story. Of course, the Metallica song is much more metal than the showtune. The lyrics, as any history buff can tell from the title, expound on themes of the American Revolutionary War. Metallica never play the song live, probably because James Hetfield doesn’t care much for the song, as he has revealed in interviews. “Don’t Tread On Me” does have a sick solo by Kirk Hammett, however, who uses the hell out of his wah-wah pedal to great effect.
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Posted August 12, 2011 at 6:27 am | No comments
“Cyanide” was the third single from Metallica’s 2008 album Death Magnetic, which was seen as a return to form and their early thrash metal roots. The song kicks off with a high energy, wah-fueled introduction that quickly gives way to a surprisingly grooving series of hard rock-inspired riffs under lyrics about suicide and death. About halfway through, the heavy metal riffage gives way to a key change, moving to a softer, yet ominous bridge with Hetfield playing clean guitar chords. This calmer section is short-lived, however, as Kirk Hammett rips a disgusting solo over a series of changing keys, which leads back to the previous verse and chorus, closing with the opening section that introduced the song.
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Posted August 11, 2011 at 6:27 am | No comments
“Blackened” is the first song on Metallica’s iconic album, …And Justice For All. It features a minute long intro that gives way to a much heavier rest of the song, as Metallica so often does, but the band must play a prerecorded intro when playing “Blackened” live. This is necessary because the introduction part on the recording is actually a layered chorus of harmonized guitars played backwards, which would be impractical, although not impossible, to pull off live. The song describes the end of days from some sort of worldwide catastrophe, which reflected fears at the time of nuclear winter from hostile relations between the nuclear powerhouses USSR and the USA.
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Posted August 10, 2011 at 6:27 am | No comments
Metallica’s “Battery,” from their 1986 album Master of Puppets is one of their fastest songs, tearing through five minutes of lightning-fast riff-based thrash metal. Like many Metallica songs, however, it starts with a calm acoustic guitar intro by James Hetfield (who is classically trained). More layers are added on one by one until the rest of the band comes in with much heavier parts. Once they hit the speed metal riff, they do not return to the calmness of the intro, favoring the power and speed of their signature thrash metal. The title “Battery” doesn’t refer to any electricity or Duracell-related themes, although it might seem like it would from other Metallica material (Ride the Lightning comes to mind). Instead, the lyrics refer to “battery” as in “assault and battery,” or the criminal offense for physically attacking someone.
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Posted August 9, 2011 at 6:27 am | No comments
“Am I Evil?” is a song originally by Diamond Head, a heavily influential heavy metal band from Britain, generally regarded as one of the key groups of the new wave of British heavy metal. The song was made famous by metal giants Metallica through their cover, which appeared on the 1988 reissue of their iconic album Kill ‘Em All and plenty of live shows over the years. Metallica has also covered many other Diamond Head songs in concert, including “Sucking My Love” and “The Prince.” Of the Diamond Head version, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has said it is “the heaviest song that’s ever been recorded.”
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Posted August 8, 2011 at 9:00 am | No comments
“All Nightmare Long” is the fifth single from Metallica’s most recent release, Death Magnetic, and features nearly eight minutes of Metallica’s unique brand of destructive thrash, but with a heavy lean towards more progressive metal than they have been known for in the past. It is one of the songs from Death Magnetic that helped Metallica get back in the good graces of fans after their somewhat disappointing 2003 album St. Anger. Learn this song to get a quick, hard schooling in thrash riffage from guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett, who throw down like no other for this marathon headbanging session.
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Posted August 7, 2011 at 6:27 am | No comments
As Metallica’s fifth longest song, “…And Justice For All” is really difficult for the band to play live due to its complexity and layered nature. Although they vowed never to play it again live in 1989, Hetfield and company have been bringing it out again in recent tours, and it appears on their live DVD “Orgullo, Pasión y Gloria,” which was recorded in Mexico during touring in support of Death Magnetic, the metal juggernauts’ most recent effort. The song, which is the eighth track from the album …And Justice For All, gets its title from the last four words of the United States Pledge of Allegiance and plays off the idea that those words are a sick irony.
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