I guess I was such a black album girl for so many years … and I have my ambivalence about Load, although it doesn’t send me into a frothing angry wi-ku fit like some other fans … and their live double album with the San Francisco orchestra remains one of my favorite albums ever, and not a week goes by that I don’t listen to at least HALF of it … so I guess I forgot about Master of Puppets for a while. Re-discovery time. I love it. What a great album. I have been listening to it on eternal repeat for about a week now. I’ve been writing in the park these days, slathered in SPF 800, listening to Master of Puppets, as I wrestle with the writing demons and struggle to put it all together. I find as I get more and more introspective, my music choices get more and more aggressive. When I’m weepy and morose, the last thing I want to do is pop on Joni or Tori, although I understand people who want their music to reflect their inner life. Not me. If I go on a crying jag of week-long proportions then there I am listening to Eminem, Queens of the Stone Age, Green Day (some of it – the loud hard stuff), and Metallica. It’s not that it’s invigorating or it “cheers me up” – it’s just that it’s a nice counterpoint to the interior storm somehow. How on earth could I have gone so long flat out FORGETTING about Master of Puppets? Lars, James, Kirk … my deepest apologies. “Orion” is the one that it is really striking me lately. I can’t get enough, and somehow I feel like I never really heard it before.
I listened to ‘Master of Puppets’ on a loop when I lived in France. I don’t think their influence can be overstated. You listen to EVERY HARD ROCK BAND OUT THERE and they are all little mulleted metal heads who learned to play by imitating ‘Leper Messiah’.
Amazing.
Hi, Bren! I love that you, too, couldn’t get enough of Master of Puppets at one point. I think you were the one who originally gave me your copy of Load to check out – this was years ago!
Miss you so much!!
Miss you too!
I went Metallicrazy for several years but have slightly stopped paying attention…something I know will change at some point.
Love the idea of you in the park furiously writing to Metallica!
Did you see the Metallica documentary? sooooo awesome. Fascinating.
I have not but it is on the list. I have seen snippets and I can’t wait to get all weirded out about the therapist!
They just played their first concert in years in LA around the corner from my house at The Wiltern…it was a fundraiser for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music which was founded by Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. You should have seen the TORRENT of humanity that descended on my neighborhood.
MY. FAVORITE. METALLICA. ALBUM. EVER!!!!!!!!!
Master of Puppets is absolutely, freaking amazing!And since you thanked the three guys (James, Kirk and Lars), let me also add a thought for Cliff Burton, who was the bassist of the band at the time, and if I am not mistaken he was responsible for much of the sound of this incredible album.
I still remember the concert the guys played here in Buenos Aires in 1999 – I went BERSERK when they played “Master of Puppets” and I almost died of the adrenaline shots coming from my body when they finished with “Battery”. I am still in awe of their power live.
And I agree with you on the type of music to hear when you’re going through an interior storm… I don’t know what it says about my state of mind right now, but I discovered a CD with a compilation of 15 arias from Wagner operas – and I am listening to that NON-STOP. Let me tell you, by the way, that I had never ever listened to any classical music. But this guy? He could write some powerful music, let me tell you!!!
Wow – Metallica and Wagner… I am insane.
Metallica, Wagner, and Norma Jean.
I knew there was a reason I liked you from the second you started commenting on my blog, Ceci!
Yes – I should have mentioned Cliff!! I would so love to see them live. Must be amazing – not just them, but the energy of the crowd!!
I love that feeling of “rediscovering” old albums I used to listen to a lot. You know how you get kind of sick of things and put them away for a while and then…one day you just fall in love all over again. Kind of an eternal sunshine sort of thing. It just happened for me, when I pulled out my old copy of REM’s Automatic for the People, which is so old, I still only have a cassette copy. This means, of course, that the moment I started really getting into it, the machine ate the tape. Must go get the CD. Master of Puppets, too. That’s an old one I still only have on tape.
Emily – The tape recorder ate Xanadu AND Automatic for the People?? Your machine is totally demonic!
I have that album in my car.
I love that album.
…I fucking LOVE that album.
I think it’s track 11….I’ve wanted to storyboard/choreograph the most amazing gunfight to that song.
Something about that album makes me want to speed, and fight, and run, and… well… do exciting things.
…I wonder if there’s a bathroom around here…
Damn, what a great album. I couldn’t agree more.
wutzizname:
I’ve wanted to storyboard/choreograph the most amazing gunfight to that song.
You should totally do that!!
Within weeks of each other, Sheila. I might need therapy for it if this keeps up. I’m not sure it’s the work of Satan so much as the age of the tapes. It seems like I get some old relic gnawed up in there once a month at least these days.
Seriously, you need to like burn some sage or something to clear it of demonic power!
I’ve already spoken with a priest about an exorcism. He is requesting permission from the Vatican this very moment.
Well, you have to believe we are magic, after all.
AND I’ve got some dancin’ to do. Demonic stereos tend to get in the way of that.
I love how “got some dancin’ to do” is some kind of threat to that guy. hahahaha
Or how you can write a post about a Metallica album and the conversation can naturally drift to a Tubes song on the Xanadu soundtrack. “Luv-ah, I won’t take a backseat TONIGHT.” Yeah you will if I say so, buster. I mean, the tone of that song actually makes me ANGRY at times.
Hahahahahahaha
I know – he’s such a bully! Like, fine dude … Do your dancin’ just stop YELLING AT ME
Hahaha. I just went over to Youtube to watch the video for this and the comments are hilarious. There are actually these passionate Xanadu fans all talking about how great the movie is and how that song is so genius. They’re not being tongue-in-cheek and they’re not talking about it as if it were a so-bad-it’s-good thing. They actually think it’s a great movie and song.
People are @#$%ing weird.
Yeah, really. I love Xanadu but I would never ever defend it as a great film. Roller derby Greek goddesses? WHAT????
They were muses, Sheila. Muses. I’m sorry to be pedantic, but this detail is very important, because were it not for the inspiration of said muses, Sonny the under-appreciated painter would never have realized his dream of opening up his very own roller disco with the help of Gene Kelly.
I absolutely adore it when you get pedantic about Xanadu. Nothing gives me more joy.