Most people who barely even know me,know that I am a die hard metfan.though debatable,most people know that metallica is one of the biggest metal band ever.but here in india,people are not into metal music and even those who are somehow manage to hate metallica for some reason or the other.i have been asked many times why I love it so much(I almost worship their music).so I finally decided to write a blogpost…..here it is :P
I,unlike most people,who tend to look for good music or meaningful lyrics(or both if their really choosy),I on the other hand,try to associate the songs I listen with particular emotions or events(Which basically are pointers for emotions)….its almost like a tagging kinda system with me.when I am really fucked up,I even resort to music like those of celine dion or deana carter.when in a peppy mood,I go in for joe satriani or eddie van halen.
We all know,as we grow up,we go through periods of different pre-dominant emotions in our life.i started listening metal when I was 6(yea I know my ears are prolly damaged beyond repair by now),and quite understandably back then the only emotion I could feel strongly enough was excitement and the enjoyment rooting from noise-i.e. I spent hours on as I lay dying,arch enemy and other senseless growling waale songs.the guitars SEEMED fast and difficult to play(they are the easiest songs ever) and that kinda high was enough to satiate me.as I grew up and started err…..staring at chicks,I guess…..and started associating with the “BOY-GIRL” stuff,I entered the world of scorpions and dire straits.bryan adams was lurking somewhere around the corner too.
Cutting long story short,when I entered the “vmc phase” of my life,that is preparing for iitjee,most people never understood my way of approaching life.i agree that iit was and is a major motivation to study,but I only studied wht I found interesting and scored well in that part,leaving out the rest.i always treated studies just like my music or anyother thing in life that is important to me-BUT NOT SOMETHING MY LIFE REVOLVES AROUND.i think that my life revolves around spontaneity and fun.i am fidgety and unpredictable.but my parents obviously wouldn’t agree to this completely(their parents……they tend to do weird stuff…….).so all that I could do was sit on my table and listen to music or watch movie…….hehe…….
This is where comes in the purest emotion…..ANGER.beleive or not,rage is the only emotion which can and does exist independently,u need not be jelous or fear something to be angry.you can be simply angry-at least I can be.i am angry with the society for the way they have made education in our country,I am angry with the way we have to choose an engeneering in the beginning of college eventhough all that we know about computers vs mechanical is-COMPUTER KI DEMAND ZAADA HAI……THAT’S NOT HOW WE FUCKING MAKE ENGENEERS....THATS NOT HOW WE FUCKING MAKE STUDENTS.i am angry with a lot of different things,for a lot of different reasons......
After two years in this prison,having stared at the dead,expressionless,emotionless faces of iit rank 1 and rank 2 for 2 years,the predominant emotion in me is rage.rage fuels me now,and this is where metallica comes in.WHEN I FEEL ENRAGED AND ALL I CAN THINK IS “FUCK IT ALL”,IS WHEN I SEE THEIR LEAD MAN JAMES HETFIELD,SHOUTING AT THE TOP OF HIS MASCULINE VOICE-“FUCK U ALL,I AM GONNA DO WHAT I WANT TO,WHAT I THINK I SHOULD NOT WHAT I AM SUPPOSED TO……..”
One of their albums called ST.ANGER was released back in 2004 when metallica was going through its bleakest phase as a band(not commercially)…..they hadn’t released an album in 5 years,no stage shows since 3 years and their relations were at an all time low.james,the frontman was struggling with problems like “alcohol and other undisclosed addictions”-to quote the man himself.their long time bassist,Jason newstead had just left-he just fled off what he thought was a “SINKING SHIP”…….
James hetfield spent over year and a half in rehab,where as he said-“these people don’t just stop the surface,they go in deep,really deep…..until there is nothing much left in you and you have no other option but to re-explore and restart your life as a new person….which is exactly what an arrogant and stuck up person like me needed” .For this album,they hired a war bunker at the presidio in san Francisco to rediscover themselves just like they had,back in 1981 when there’s was just another garage band.arrogant and egotistical as they were,they came in to the presidio without a single riff(a guitar piece) or any basic skeleton for the songs or the album.they sat there without any professional equipment except their guitars,drums and very basic recording instrument….no effects…..pure music…. FUELED WITH ANGER…..
As there was no equipment to really edit the music,the drums,which are naturally louder,sound a lot different in this album.this is a really rough around the edges kinda album,just how I love it-more like “fresh from the oven”,no producer or sound artists to mess it up and make it sound like what “people” wanna listen to…..it was what they wanted us to hear,not the other way round.
the drums are loud,and u can actually here the noise of the drumsticks hitting the snares(a drum component) and the screeching sound of the pick,scratching against the electric guitar strings.its like a concert but with retakes-PURE METAL.
The lyrics written by james,who in that period was just looking for somewhere to vent out his anger.he used this album for that purpose,he actually uses the words “flush it out” in 2 diff songs.this is the only album in which they did NOT omit the F-words.and it totally adds to the feel of the album(don’t even try to say that using the word to feel light inside is an immature concept).the album is RAGE,RAGE AND RAGE.the fast and hard music riffs,drumsticks hitting hard on the snare’s tight taught,membranes.....guitarists playing so hard that there hands start aching and james shouting at the top of his voice in the studio,every fucking word that he wants to say,makes this album an invincible legend in my heart and mind.I have learnt in these years that is very important to tap ur anger to be successful.
To top it all,when I hear metallica,I feel that there isn’t just rage,there is hope that they will come out of the shit they have put themselves in.it is this perfect combination of anger and hope….IT IS THIS UNNAMED FEELING….that according to me,makes metallica my favourite band,which would be an extreme understatement.i have heard many other band like slayer,children of bodom,cradle of filth,opeth,ac dc and a really long list,BUT NONE OF THEM HAVE THIS INFINITE AMOUNT OF ENERGY OR THE HOPE,AS MENTIONED ABOVE.
To conclude,I would like to say,that its not the best guitarist,drummer or the vocalist that makes the best band.its the combined effort.its how they feel about themselves and other band members.coz if that was the case my friend,there would be nothing like improvement,it will be a world ruled by talent,and even if it was true,in a world full of averages,with just one “best”,this would be a minority opinion and thus,strongly put down.
I eat,drink and sleep metallica,I feel their music rushing through my veins,and I could make you feel even a fraction of what I feel for them,I am pretty sure u would soon be downloading their music.
This is the part where I sign off.this certainly is not one of my funniest post,but believe me,it certainly is one of my most heart felt article.the one that I can relate the most to my life.SO,DON’T JUST WASTE YOUR RAGE,USE IT FOR YOUR OWN GOOD……….
Phew!!!! Intense(MY FEEL KILLER SENTENCE)……Cant help it…..gotta end it on a light note :P
