yeah finally............well....................actually nothing very great about me writing this. any person who has known me for 10 minutes can tell that i am a heavy metal fan. another half an hour and he/she would come to know that my favorite band in the world is the mighty METALLICA. one of the big four thrash gods, they virtually invented grunge back in the early nineties.
Metallica are:
james hetfield
lars ulrich
kirk hammett
cliff burton (dead)/jason newsted(left the band)/rob trujillo
its not so much of the statistics that this band has created that captures me. its obviously the music. right from their first album "kill 'em all", they have been one of the most tight and creative (and not to forget...................brutally fast) bands the world has ever seen. before all the death metal non sense even started. actually those cookie monster music men owe a lot to metallica and slayer for where they stand. "hit the lights" their first track on the metal massacre compilation was the genesis of what was going to be an epic journey. they matured through "ride the lightning". and then the world just could not resist the onslaught of their epic "master of puppets". a momentous album. it really opened up the world stage for them. blowing bands like ozzy osbourne off stage while supporting them. that was what was going on. the blitz continued with "...........And Justice for all". one of the best core thrash metal albums of all time. and then was the time of nuclear "metallica" destruction. with the eponymous album a.k.a. "the black album", metallica proved that they were the best. on top of the world. the heaviest and the loudest. three years of touring to support the black album. and then came "load" and its kid brother "Reload". a little change in the musical direction, but very "metallica" nonetheless.
nostalgia reigned on "Garage Inc..." with them playing covers of their idols like motorhead. as if this was not enough, they went ahead and collaborated with the San Francisco symphony orchestra to create the timeless "s&m". a masterpiece that album , just like all the others. and after jason newsted left , the band went through another makeover. rediscovering themselves and their drives .most expected the band to fall apart. but they came back stronger than ever. with "st. anger" they planted a strong fist on the faces of doubters and hecklers. ditto with the documentary "some kind of monster". once again at the top. reigning proudly.
enough of the timeline nonsense. i mean all know about it. they are not the worlds greatest heavy metal band for nothing. well what really gets my goat is the way these people make their music. they don't have the "best guitar solo player in the world" or the "fastest drummer in the world". just a plain insane drive to make metal music. and get it out to people. and if they do not pay attention, just play louder and faster. away from the greasy spandex and pink glam metal bands and into normal jeans , tees and crates of beer, these guys at anytime could crack you up with their metal attack. be it the lyrics (mostly by james hetfield) or the solos (mostly by kirk hammett) or the mixing and production arrangement and of course drumming by lars ulrich, the music is very heartfelt. it will touch a vein, strike a chord with everyone of us. faster tunes like battery and blackened. melodic ones like "one". slow and balladic ones like "nothing else matters" and "the call of the ktulu". they have done everything. and they could because they knew what they were doing and how they were doing. they did not allow the outside world to interfere with the metalli-world that they had created . and being gutsy enough to keep room for innovation on every album. i am sure people will find this point very relevant in the black album - load- st. anger transition period. and people loved everyone of them. and of course the awards kept coming all the time.
so , you can listen to metallica and open up to a complete new world of heavy music or stay ignorant and at peace. but that does not bother me. they are in the studio putting the finishing touches to their latest album. and when it comes out i am going to buy it and be happy that they are still out there alive and well and kicking ass. and me rocking to their tunes. Nothing else matters. \m__m/. hail metallica!!
p.s. : April 7th has been proclaimed as "Official Metallica Day " by Willie Brown , the then (1999) mayor of San Francisco.
