“a staccato hit, three more accents, then the infamous descending chromatic riff”

My brother, Dante, runs one of my favorite blogs focusing on Metal, and recently featured an interview he held with former Iron Maiden and Wolfsbane singer, Blaze Bayley. It intimate and revealing look into his struggles.

Rock Nightmare: “interview with blaze bayley”

Another of my favorite Metal blogs has been running a series of ruminations on individual songs from Metallica’s first four albums. A few entries that are must reads – not because they express exactly why *I* had thought those songs so interesting, but because they might pique your interest if you’ve never really listened to them, or if you are fan, provide you with a new perspective (he’s also a guitarist so there is that ingredient as well). Among my favorites:

“Seek and Destroy” – A Metal anthem.

“Escape” – On asserting individuality.

“Fade to Black” – A song that hasn’t aged as well, that lifts up musically, while lyrically is about giving up.

“For Whom The Bell Tolls” – An analysis of the music, rhythm, speed, and lyrics and how they work so well together.

“Creeping Death” – Again you have a synthesis of music and lyric that few bands could muster.

“Disposable Heroes” – A powerful anti-war song. From a thrash metal band. Not what people who don’t listen to Metal would expect.

“Master of Puppets” – Where the title of this post comes from. Brilliant analysis of a brilliantly structured, visceral song about drug addiction and being manipulated – a theme of the album.

“Sanitarium” – Probably my favorite Metallica song and as his analysis puts it, “thus ends the greatest side to the greatest metal album ever.”

“One” – Metallica’s “Stairway to Heaven”. What is required to play a song like that night after night. Do you think you’d be up for it convincingly? How good are your acting chops?

Invisible Oranges sometimes features guest writers, and recently Beth Winegarner who wrote about the issues with Metal’s culture and women – and most important – steps to improve it.

YouTube: “Metallica – Creeping Death (Moscow, 1991) HD”