By: Beste Tatlican
Featuring Metallica’s innate ability to evoke a personalized sense of connection to music no matter who’s listening
Did someone say Grammy Winner? Yep, that’s Metallica.
Recently the band won a Grammy for their eleventh studio album, “72 Seasons.”
If you randomly heard “So close, no matter how far,” and you have at least the smallest interest in music, you would be able to point in the direction of Metallica.
If you were a bit more of an involved fan, maybe you would recognize the words leading up to the heavenly guitar riff going into the legendary solo in the middle of the song: it goes something like this: “Never free, never me, So I dub thee unforgiven.” If you’re intrigued, it gets better. I suggest you turn on The Unforgiven II, or even spicier, The Unforgiven III as you keep reading.
Now, if you hear something along the lines of “In a mirrored room, all alone I stand” and immediately know “that’s from that new Metallica album!” I have nothing much to teach you actually, you’re pretty cool. If you’d like to lecture me, instead, on that specific scale in that specific solo or the drums on your favorite tune, I will be all ears. Let me just go grab my coffee and a speaker so we can nerd out fortissimo-ly please.
For me, it all started in 7th grade when I first properly listened to Nothing Else Matters. Yes, it might be a popular song from Metallica, but any artist can tell the value of a song when they see it. Some of the most popular classics now were revolutionary in their time (and still are).
Time went on, I reflected, and realized that since these things don’t tend to happen linearly, but in conjunction with a few other things, such as your typical adolescent experience of middle and high school, music tastes mix together at the end of the day. You get inspiration from your siblings, mom, dad, grandma, and whoever is willing to pass down a part of themselves to you. Then in high school, while driving to school yourself for the first time, you feel a sense of accomplishment. A sense of belonging, again reflecting on your day. That’s what Metallica was to me. Of course, they have no idea about any of these mundane details, but I am sure from the bottom of my heart that they don't do any of it just for the money or fame.
Metallica’s music is so genuine, and comes from the heart, that no matter what you’re feeling at the moment, it will complement the mood. Sadness, longing, happiness, excitement, focus, belonging, chilling, better yet, you name the feeling. If you only focus on the music, it will clear your head. If you focus on the lyrics, it will provide a poetic outlet and give rise to a view on how beautiful life is and how those same lyrics might have a completely different meaning to two people at different times in their lives– coming from different backgrounds, experiencing maybe the same heartbreak, or same kind of rainy day. That’s metallica. It’s not just a “heavy metal” band. It’s not just “rock.” It’s not just a logo on a shirt that people wear because they like the aesthetic of listening to a cool music band. Metallica is love. Metallica is the epitome of success. It is balance. But even if you don’t play an instrument, I know that sometimes finding a band that makes you feel music is the first step. So go, listen! As Rob, Metallica’s bassist said in the recent Grammy’s speech: “Create[ing] music together. Keep those instruments in your hands, let’s keep the youth making music, and keep[ing] the dream aliiiiive!” If it wasn’t obvious, I felt pretty inspired to write this after hearing his short and effective, but sincere speech. He emphasizes love, family, passion for collaboration in music, and emits humility with every word that comes out of his mouth. It’s only fitting, for someone representing such a highly regarded band in such an environment. Right now, if you want inspiration, I suggest you go watch a clip of his speech, and follow it up by delving into the world of the expressive melodies of Metallica.