I didn't pay much attention to thrash metal until the video for Metallica's One was released in January, 1989. MTV seemed to play it all the time, for weeks on end. I thought it was the coolest video and coolest song ever made, and I became a fan right then. Better late than never. I love how pissed off Lars Ulrich looks as he bangs the drums. He's like, yeah, I could probably beat Stefan Edberg at tennis with one arm behind my back. James Hetfield has a cool pissed off look too.
One is based on the anti-war book Johnny Got His Gun, and clips of the film are included in the video. I have not read the book or seen the movie. Why not? No idea. The main character in the story goes to war and is gravely injured. He ends up paralyzed and helpless, just like a wartime novelty. It makes a powerful statement about war, and what a messed up thing it is. What's it good for? Nothing. It's disgusting and sad and it makes me sick to know that my country invests so much in perpetuating it.
The song begins with the sounds of gunfire and someone yelling. At 0:19 a clean guitar starts us off. A second lead comes in at 0:37, then drums at 0:54. At 1:14 the drums settle into the groove. I love the delicately cascading guitars at 1:32, like renaissance fair lutes. Hetfield's vocals come in at 1:45:
I can’t remember anything...the first and second verses play nicely with our ears, but then the chorus hits at 2:12 with classic metal riffery:
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me...the delicate riffs come back in for the next verses, and then back into the chorus.
At 3:14, Kirk Hammett plays a clean solo to complement the airy music. Then things pick up at 3:36, as though we have been climbing a tall roller coaster and are just about to head around the bend and into the first drop. At 3:53 the guitar layer processing begins. The harmonics build up, each one supporting the next like a concrete block tower. The structure starts to become unstable at 4:19, as Lars starts to tear it all down with his double kick drumming.
At 4:36 the machine gun riffing kicks in, and at 4:54 Hetfield begins to rage with the Darkness imprisoning me section. We are now in full thrash metal territory, and the lyrics are horrifying.
This is a major brainf*ck. No wonder the poor guy wants to die. The tempo picks up at 5:20 and we cruise into a tremendous Kirk Hammett guitar solo at 5:46. Totally kicks. My favorite moment in the solo is at 6:14, that stop and start riff is great. The great thing about Metallica is that, even though they could have ended the song by fading out there at 6:27 or so, at 6:35 they tack on another section as if they were adding an addition to a house. Brilliant artists. Really convinced me that metal is as important a musical genre as any other.
No comments:
Post a Comment