Today, July 25, marks the 25th Anniversary of the release of Metallica’s debut album, KILL ‘EM ALL.  Originally released by then fledgling Megaforce Records, KILL ‘EM ALL heralded a major shake-up in the Old Guard of Metal.  These acne-pitted youngsters in ripped-up jeans and sleeveless t-shirts turned up the heat a notch or three on the Iron Maiden’s, Ozzy’s and Judas Priest’s of the world.  A combination of NWOBHM, punk and good ol’ American kick-assness, KILL ‘EM ALL still stands as a testimony to what being young, hungry, drunk and pissed-off can accomplish.  As opposed to, say, LOAD or RELOAD, which stands as a testimony to what being middle-aged, sober, mellow, rich art-collectors can accomplish.

Let’s also not forget original lead-guitarist, Dave Mustaine, who co-wrote a lot of the tunes on KILL ‘EM ALL.  It’s too band the rest of the band woke him up at 6 AM to send him back home from New York to California on a Greyhound bus before he could record a lick for the album.

Here’s to ya, Young Metallica!  Cheers!*

Metallica and Me Part Three: Butt Pride

From the song Where Ever I May Roam – Metallica’s Black Album

 Words and Music by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich 

 “…And the road becomes my bride

 I have stripped of all but pride 

 So in her I do confide 

 And she keeps me satisfied 

 Gives me all I nreed” 

 I can’t hear this lyric without replacing the words “all but pride” with “all butt pride”. 

 Pride in ones butt.  Isn’t that one of the 7 deadly sins? 

I can’t help but(t) wonder what was going on in the studio, no one was giggling like a pack of 5^th grade boys making poop jokes while Hetfield was yelling “all butt pri-da”?

“Uh, take 27, Mr. Hetfield, better sing that lyric again, heh heh”

This was a band once compared to the Great Slayer and the Mighty Megadeath.

The band responsible for Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightening, and Master of Puppets.

Butt then.. Butt Pride.

And I would like to add my favorite comments from the YouTube page

• Skiddledeedoo - sounds gay already…. when will they go back to the Master of the puppets sound? or the and justice for all sound?
• mullen2105 - MEADETH IS BETTER! JKJKJKJKJK i had to say that just becuase, this album will own with their better sound, and it will blow megadeth off the map BECAUSE THEY SUCK!
• snwrist - Megadeth rules, and you deserve to die fag.

Yup. That pretty much sums it up.

Metallica and Me Part 2: Enter the Sell Out

In August of 1991, Metallica released their “Black Album”.  Some time previous to that, they cut their hair and started wearing makeup.  Not Kiss style makeup, more Dave Navarro style make up.  They also were no longer a Metal band, they were a Rock band.  This wasn’t a bad thing for them, because it sold a bunch of albums.

The first song I heard a song off this album was Enter Sandman, I think on MTV .  No longer restricted to Headbanger’s Ball, Metallica was now a MTV darling.  The trimmed facial hair and eyeliner helped.

My Metal Friends were bummed.  The mighty had fallen.  Maybe this was just a phase and the thrash metal Metallica soon would return.

More Rock singles followed Enter Sandman: The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters, Wherever I May Roam, and  Sad but True.  Six minute plus power ballads.  Yuck.

Nope, not a phase.  This was Metallica.  A kinder, gentler Metallica.

Later in the summer of 1991, a band fronted by some dirty left handed kid from Aberdean WA released an album with a baby on the cover chasing some money under water.  Grunge was about to sell a butt load of albums and make some money.  Metallica’s spies in the industry had seen this coming.  They had sold out.

This didn’t make me like Metallica any more or less.  My liking Metallica less stage was coming soon.

Below is what the Black Album would look like if viewed in the dark

Download Enter Sandman

Download the Black Album

Metallica and Me
Part One: Battery

I have never been a big Metallica fan. I have never owned or been in possession of a Metallica album, tape or CD. Many of my friends listened to Metallica, but they never were a band I was into.

My earliest Metallica memory was the vision of the full back patch of Master of Puppets that Dieter Hutnick had on his denim jacket. Dieter was a couple years older than me, but we had homeroom together. He sat in front of me and I would stare at the patch and try to count the crosses. I could smell the sweet odor of cigarettes and pot smoke as Dieter hung his head, sleeping thru homeroom.

Besides casual encounters with Metallica, my next strong memory came many years later. I had friends much older than me, they could get alcohol, we drank and listened to loud music. I remember listening to Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightening. One of my friends had a clever joke, a drinking game he called Battery. The rules were simple, listen to Battery and drink every time they sang the word “Battery”. It was an effective game and good for a laugh.

Around the same time, I remember watching the video for “One” on Headbangers Ball. I think it was the hair flipping (forward to 4:40 in the video) and horrible drum sound that turned me off.

Next Metallica and Me. Part Two: Enter Sandman