Metallica song of the day thread: 02.10.12 Mama Said

[MasterShakezula]

Back when I was a kid and was just getting into 'real music' (music made for the sake of music, as opposed to videogame BGMs), Metallica was the first band I got into.  This was the sort of song that really made me enjoy Metallica.  At the time, I was totally amazed to hear such fast and viscous music.  Of course, I've grown into more a non-metal, soft music enjoying folk, but I still quite enjoy this song and the album it's off of on occasion.  This is probably my favorite song off of it.  Must be the ludicrous lyrics and the dissidence, sorta blues-y sounding main riff.  Also, the 7/8 section is pretty nifty. 

I still feel pretty dumb for thinking that this was the pinnacle of music at one time, though.   

[Jaffa]

I would call this the basic, quintessential Kill 'Em All song - not that it's the best song on the album, but that it, to me, showcases the core style of the album, the straightforward thrash and speed and edgy vocals.  I don't think there's really anything spectacular about it, but at the same time, I do think it's underappreciated.  It's fantastic for what it is: an adrenaline pumping, headbanging thrashfest.   

[Gadough]

Fun fact: Paulo from Trivium was originally in a band called Metal Militia.

[Fluffy Lothario]

Disposable Heroes: 9/10
My Friend of Misery: 3/10
Metal Militia: 4/10

[black_biff_stadler]

This isn't a rating thread. Just tell us what you think in a more descriptive way than sterile numbers

[JayOctavarium]

Metal Militia? Great song... one of the several songs that got me into Metallica back in the day (even though it is one of the most overlooked 'tallica song in my library... mainly because I have finally been warming up to Bob Rock Era albums)

[fadetoblackdude7]

One of the FASTEST songs in their catalog.

[Fluffy Lothario]

Fair enough.

Disposable Heroes - definitely one of the best tracks on MoP. I think either this or Orion would be my favourite on that album. Fairly impeccably structured, considering that there's no buildup, no softer "break" in the middle of the song, and it doesn't get boring for the entire eight minutes. I still can't hear that chorus without hearing "YOU'RE BACK TO FRONT" instead of the actual lyrics.

My Friend of Misery - the late Black Album is generally bad. I don't think I've heard it in five years, possibly longer, so I can't talk specifics. I just remember the lyrics in the chorus having such an awkward style (Hetfield screaming them at you when it really feels like he shouldn't be) and pacing, I struggled not to turn it off by chorus' end.

Metal Militia - I probably haven't listened to this more than two or three times, and again, possibly not in five years. It seemed one of the weaker tracks on KEA, and I can't say I ever really bothered with the weaker tracks on that album. I do recall it being fairly thick on the cliche "we are soldiers of metal, leather-wearing motorcycle-riding warriors of rock and roll" style of lyrics of a lot of classic rock and metal which are rarely anything but terrible. 4/10 might have been a bit generous.

[Progmetty]

Only during listening to Metal Militia and JitF does the voice of 12 year old screaming James annoy me a bit. But otherwise it's a great thrasher.

[TAC]

I would call this the basic, quintessential Kill 'Em All song - not that it's the best song on the album, but that it, to me, showcases the core style of the album, the straightforward thrash and speed and edgy vocals.  I don't think there's really anything spectacular about it, but at the same time, I do think it's underappreciated.  It's fantastic for what it is: an adrenaline pumping, headbanging thrashfest.   

I completely agree with this.

[Metro]

One of the songs that got me into Metallica. Another fun song to play(Hell, most of their early songs are to play). It's a shame it doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

[Ultimetalhead]

The solos definitely have that chaotic Mustaine flare to them with the funny out-of-place notes that he's used so much throughout his career that I can never tell whether he's going for off-kilter atonality or just too dumb to know how to pick the right notes for the key he's playing in.

>Plays notes outside of a basic blues scale
>Off-kilter atonality or stupid

I weep for you.

[The King in Crimson]

My Friend Of Misery: Like most songs from the Black Album, this one is good, probably one of the better songs on the album, but I never have the urge to listen to it... like ever.

Metal Militia: Unimpressive is the best word to describe this song.  It's not bad, I won't hit next if it comes up on shuffle, but I'm certainly not going to listen to it of my own volition.  It's angry and pissed off, but in a juvenile way.  Metallica have written much, much better.

[black_biff_stadler]

The solos definitely have that chaotic Mustaine flare to them with the funny out-of-place notes that he's used so much throughout his career that I can never tell whether he's going for off-kilter atonality or just too dumb to know how to pick the right notes for the key he's playing in.

>Plays notes outside of a basic blues scale
>Off-kilter atonality or stupid

I weep for you.

They flat out sound bad some times. I have no issue with thinking outside of the box but I'm not gonna automatically like it simply for the effort if it still sounds unpleasing to my ears so I don't see why you need to get snobby about it.

[black_biff_stadler]

Song for today: The Memory Remains

This one was immediately a slight disappointment for me coming on the heels of Load since I was hoping, despite knowing Reload was sloppy seconds from the Load sessions, that it would at least maybe be better than Load since I figured if Metallica considered Load to be good and I hated most of it at the time, then if they considered this stuff to be worse than Load maybe I'd like it better than Load since what they considered good at the time was very different from what I considered good.

When I first heard it I couldn't believe they'd have a leadoff single this mundane and the Marianne Faithful part was the final cruel nail in the coffin. The riffs weren't terrible but it really perpetuated the unpalatable saminess of Load (E-flat tuning, plodding mid-tempo feel, arrival of Lars' blatantly uninspired drums that at least used to be passable on earlier albums, twangy hillbilly blues licks.) I thought the video was weird and seemingly pointless but the spinning tunnel that gave off the illusion that they were actually the ones spinning was a nice touch.

All in all, I consider it forgettable and a lasting reminder of Metallica at a point in their career when they were searching for themselves for the sake of searching for themselves rather than pursuing new ideas and reaching for their full potential.

[Ruba]

Yay! The first.

I like it. It has catchy riffs and good lyrics. One of the best ReLoad songs. Though I don't really like that naa-na-na-naa-thing.

[Fluffy Lothario]

The Memory Remains isn't great, but it's listenable. It's a decent B-Side (which, coming from Reload, it is, more or less). It is a bit on the mundane side, but I really like the Marianne Faithful outro, which redeems it slightly.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Hearing this song brings back memories for me......love it!!

[Gadough]

Would have been good without the chick's vocals. They're dreadful and cringeworthy.

[wolfking]

I don't mind the song at all, but I can't stand Kirk's terrible, novice like leads, more so than normal.

[Dimitrius]

Still one of my favorites songs of the Load/ReLoad albums. I love the effect used in the video to make the band seem to be spinning around instead of the room.

[Jaffa]

Good song, but not a great one.  Even though it was one of the songs that initially helepd get me into Metallica in the first place, it doesn't hold a very special place in my heart.  It's average.  Still a fun song to listen to, but nothing too exciting. 

[Zantera]

Disposable Heroes - Pretty badass song. Has never been one of my favorites from the album, but that is mostly due to the overall amazingness the album has. Still, the song doesn't really have any weak points, and it has gotten the "classic"-status for a reason.

My Friend of Misery - It's okay. Personally I find the black album to be rather mediocre, and while I can enjoy a few songs on it, it really bothered me how they.. sold out pretty much. I'm all for trying new stuff, and that is probably why I really enjoy Load, but Black Album for me was a watered down Metallica sound, catered for the mainstream. This song isn't anything special for me.

Metal Militia - Hard to say. Has been a while since I heard Kill 'Em All, but this song to me was one of the more forgettable songs from what I can remember.

The Memory Remains - A decent song. The middle-section works well live, but the vocals on the studio version are fairly cringe worthy and bad, I think it's a solid/good song, but the fact that it's one of the hits on ReLoad speaks for itself.

[WebRaider]

Not a fan of "The Memory Remains".... very lazy chorus and drums. Vocals and phrasing in chorus are pretty bad. Guitar doesn't bother me much considering the rest of the bands utter-badness.... AND THEN... the ridiculous old lady (or is that lou reed?) singing immediately making this a sign of some bad things to come.

[Marvellous G]

The Memory Remains' outro is great with the strings on S&M, but other than that it's a perfectly inoffensive, if uninspired, mid-tempo rocker.

[JayOctavarium]

I like Memory....


(sorry folks)

[black_biff_stadler]

It's okay. We all like some unpopular things. Heck, I get urethrally fingered by diseased prostitutes sometimes.

[Dimitrius]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook....

[JayOctavarium]

I love it because its catchy.... its so bad... its good (like Fuel IMO... I like Memory over Fuel TBH.) 


oh and as my friend said a few weeks ago when the song came on in the car: "It's the whitest song Metallica has written." 

lol

[Dimitrius]

To me, the S&M version is the definite version of the song. The fan interaction instead of Faithful's cringe-worthy vocals and the orchestration Michael Kamen wrote make the song much, much better!

[Metro]

Ew.
3/10 for me

[The King in Crimson]

I love this song, but I can't say exactly why.  I've liked it since I heard it on the radio oh so long ago and I consider it one of the brighter spots on the ReLoad-Load era.  It's not my favorite, but damn if I don't crank it up when it comes on.

[Ultimetalhead]

The solos definitely have that chaotic Mustaine flare to them with the funny out-of-place notes that he's used so much throughout his career that I can never tell whether he's going for off-kilter atonality or just too dumb to know how to pick the right notes for the key he's playing in.

>Plays notes outside of a basic blues scale
>Off-kilter atonality or stupid

I weep for you.

They flat out sound bad some times. I have no issue with thinking outside of the box but I'm not gonna automatically like it simply for the effort if it still sounds unpleasing to my ears so I don't see why you need to get snobby about it.

Okay, I'll take off my snob glasses, but I don't see how calling a guitar player stupid because he plays a note you don't like is any less snobby than what I'm implying.

But it's all cool because FORTUNE FAME MIRROR VAIN GONE INSANE BUT THE MEMORYYYYYYYYYYY REMAINS----

-AH

[black_biff_stadler]

I wasn't calling him stupid but just suggesting that since it was so early on in his playing days that perhaps he was geographically noodling in a chaotic way as opposed to specifically selecting notes for added quirkiness to give the music an interesting twist. He does it fairly well with much of what I've heard him use it for in Megadeth but I'm just not sure if it's roughness he refined into something workable or just honestly playing fast stuff without actually caring about how it really affects the song.

More or less intent versus accident.

[black_biff_stadler]

Song for today: Trapped Under Ice

I like this one despite it being my second least fave on RtL. Opens up unrelentingly with that steamrolling intro including a truly intense solo. The chorus doesn't quite do the rest of the song justice for me but I love how they then throw in yet another solo. After the second chorus we get a nicely developed interlude section that has two different parts which is clearly a sign of the progressive nature their writing would explore on the next two albums and the bridge is simple and cool with the group shouts. Final solo really seals the deal showing Kirk is taking no prisoners and in midseason form.