Deep Cuts: Metallica- Dyers Eve

The first Metallica album I ever heard was And Justice For All and from that point I was hooked. I was only 4 at the time but, it all made so much sense to me. Throughout the years of me listening to the album, I’ve come to love certain songs a ton. One of which is “Dyers Eve.” The songs lyrics is a rant from Hetfield to his parents and it’s such a poignant rant too. Musically, this song rips. It’s a “thrashterpiece” of epic proportions. Interestingly too, this song was debuted live in 2004, sixteen years after it was recorded, at a show in Los Angeles during the bands 2004 Madly In Anger With The World Tour. Also, as an album closer, what a way to end it on.

Metallica- Dyers Eve:

Metallica- Dyers Eve (Live At The Forum, 2004):

Alternate Versions: Metallica- Sad But True

Metallica’s “Sad But True” is one of the best tracks on their “Black Album.” It’s one of those songs that when they play it live, it’s even bigger than the studio version. A few days ago, Metallica announced a huge deluxe version of their now legendary “Black Album.” In this edition, there will be tons of bonus tracks including demos and alternate versions of songs. To get things going, the first one the band released is this badass version of “Sad But True.” According to the notes, this was take number 36 of the song and features a bunch of different things.

Metallica- Sad But True (Take 36- February 5th, 1991):

Deep Cuts: Metallica- The God That Failed

Metallica’s “Black Album” has so many hit songs it’s not even funny. Even with all those, there’s still some other gems that are often overlooked like this deep cut, “The God That Failed.” This song has an interesting story behind it as it’s based on James Hetfield’s experience with his mother’s death and her beliefs in Christian Science to rid her of the cancer that was killing her. This isn’t the first song nor the last to touch on this subject in the Metallica catalog. Another interesting fact about the song is that, this song was never released as a single, but was the first of the album’s songs to be heard by the public. “The God That Failed” has been played live over 100 times since the release of the “Black Album.”

Metallica- The God That Failed:

Memorable Live Performances: Metallica- Live Seattle 1989

Back in 1993, Metallica released their live box set, Live Shit Binge & Purge. It was the bands first official live release and the contents of this set are truly something special. Besides the live audio CD’s/cassettes, there were 2 filmed shows in the box set as well. One from the LA Sports Arena in 1992 and another that has now become legendary from Seattle in 1989. The Seattle show in particular was from the bands Damaged Justice tour. This show is an absolute gem not only for the set list but for the unholy and ruthless approach the band had at the time. It’s all right there from the way the band played to their attitude. It’s truly one of those shows that if I had a time machine, I would most certainly go back and see. If you’ve never seen this, you are in for quite a treat. If you have, well, watch it again because it’s awesome!

Metallica- Live at Seattle Coliseum 1989:

 

 

Best Guitar Solos: Metallica- The Unforgiven

Metallica’s “Black Album” is quite a classic at this point. Not only did it mark a shift in style but, it’s also a game changer. Think about it, it truly is a game changing album when you examine the album. That’s a topic for a different day and one that will come up soon on Audioeclectica. There are a ton of songs on that album that deserve more acclaim and to be played live. One song that has been a staple for the most part since the album was released in 1991 is “The Unforogiven.” That song is absolutely epic. The melodic nature of the song and power that is emitted in this one is astounding. The other thing about this song that stands out is the guitar solo. Damn this solo is so good. Kirk Hammett really nailed a perfect complimentary solo to go along with the song. The video is pretty awesome too.

 

Metallica- The Unforgiven I:

Soundtrack Only Songs: Metallica- I Disappear

Metallica’s “I Disappear” from the Mission Impossible II soundtrack. The song that started the whole talk about illegal downloads and music on the internet and in the end, Lars was right. But, that’s not what this topic is about. One day I will go into more detail about my thoughts on that whole thing. This is about the song itself. Written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, this song is quite an interesting one. It’s got a bit of a “Black Album” meets Load/Reload vibe to it. Definitely not one of their best but, it’s still got a fun vibe to it. I remember the video to this song being pretty decent too. Another fun tidbit about this song is that since its release, Metallica has played it live 92 times (the most recent being in 2013).
Metallica- I Disappear (Video):

 

 

 

I Disappear (Live):

 

Great Music Videos: Metallica- Until It Sleeps

Metallica have long had an interesting history with music videos. Their first “real” video was made for “One” back in 1988, and that really started the train moving. Then as “The Black Album” was released and was making history (and still is to this day), they band really stepped up their game with their videos. In 1996, as the band was beginning to release their very underrated album Load, they stepped a little out of their comfort zone and released one of their best music videos. The Samuel Bayer directed video for “Until It Sleeps” made and left quite an impact on the band and its fans. Not only did the song show a different direction musically but, the visual aspect that accompanied the song was right along with that. Lyrically, the song is about James Hetfield’s mother’s battle with cancer and the ensuing anger that he felt as she was going through it and losing her battle with it. The video is quite intriguing as a lot of it deals with the “Fall Of Man.” A lot of the imagery was also taken from various paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, as well as other surrealist art pieces. The video would go on to win Best Rock Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. This video is truly one of the best the band has put out.

 

Metallica- Until It Sleeps:

Alternate Versions: Metallica- Bleeding Me from S&M

Metallica’s “Bleeding Me” is one of the best songs the band has ever written. There is no denying it. Everything about this song is simply perfect. It’s also one of those songs that the band really needs to start playing live a lot more. This alternate version is from the S&M album. What conductor Michael Kamen did with the orchestral arrangement is absolutely lovely and deep.  I’ve personally always loved this record. “Bleeding Me” from this album is truly amazing and epic which takes the song to a whole new level. So, enjoy this gem of an alternate version.

 
Metallica- Bleeding Me from S&M:

 

 

Great Music Videos: Metallica- One

It’s really interesting and crazy to think that the first music video Metallica ever did was on their fourth album And Justice For All for the song “One.” I remember seeing it for the first time when I was about four years old and thinking that this was awesome. This video was without a doubt groundbreaking at the time as well as responsible for the beginning of making Metallica a household name.

The video for “One” was directed by Bill Pope and Michael Salomon and it debuted on MTV, January 20th, 1989. Something else that is quite interesting about this video is that there were three versions made. The first (the longest, album version) contained scenes of both the band and scenes from the film Johnny Got His Gun. The second was simply a shortened version of the first, and the third, often known as the “jammin’ version”, lacked scenes from the movie (the song and video fades at the last bridge in the third version).

“One” was the perfect song and video to really introduce Metallica to households across the world. The video to this day almost 30 years later is still impactful and chilling, which is what makes it such a great video.

 

Metallica- One (from And Justice For All):