3 Mind-Blowing Epics by Metallica

While Metallica blows minds with its Life Burns Faster Sphere residency, I wanted to highlight a few of the band’s greatest epics. A single Metallica track is often packed with a multitude of movements that would make for separate compositions by lesser bands. So, say your prayers, little one; here’s a short primer on three of Metallica’s countless masterpieces.

“One”

Metallica’s 1988 masterpiece opens with explosions, machine-gun fire, and a helicopter that pans across the speakers from left to right. In the nearly eight-minute crushing ballad, James Hetfield vividly describes the injuries of a World War I soldier. The war veteran has lost his limbs, his ability to see, hear, or speak. It’s a bleak tale that also became the band’s breakthrough hit.

With its stark music video, the song challenged the assumption that audiences weren’t ready for something so dark and complex. Meanwhile, the track slowly transforms into blistering heavy metal, led by the rapid-fire riffs of Hetfield. Propelling the entire tragedy is Lars Ulrich, whose gymnastic double-kick drumming remains a highlight at Metallica concerts.

“Master Of Puppets”

By 1986, Metallica weren’t a mainstream band. But they were getting close. And they were going to do it on their own terms. The title track of Metallica’s third album features a relentless barrage of riffs that requires a special kind of endurance. Though the tempo doesn’t share the breakneck pace of their debut LP, Kill ’Em All, “Master Of Puppets” is no less furious. It became the last album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died while touring with the band in Sweden. An utterly genius composition topped off with one of Kirk Hammett’s finest guitar solos.     

“Seek & Destroy”

Here, Hetfield sings about a group of deranged predators in search of violence. But in hindsight, it also feels like a metaphor for how Metallica would forever change rock history. Borrowing from their musical heroes, Diamond Head, the band’s thrashing tune stood apart from similar acts in the early 80s. Hammett wasn’t the only guitarist who could shred, but his solos remain as iconic as Hetfield’s vocal delivery. “Seek & Destroy”, like the rest of Kill ’Em All, is the forceful sound of a counterculture beginning its rise from the underground. Metal up your a** indeed.

Photo by Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns