To get back into this blogging thing, I'm going to kick it off with a
Top 20 of artists that have either had a big impact on me, or that I
really just love listening to. I want to try to stick to a "least
influential to most influential" setup, but the standings are kind of
fluid; on some days I'm feeling certain artists more than others.
The
first entry is a special mention for Metallica. When I had the idea to
do this, I knew immediately that Metallica was going to be on this list.
When I got down to it, though, I kept shifting them around. Should they
be #1? Should they be lower, say #10, right in the meaty middle? Lower
than 10?
The problem with finding a place for them is that they
are the reason I play music. The Beatles might have been the first band I
was ever into, but Metallica was the band that made me sit up and go "I
want to figure out how to do that." Nowadays, little of the stuff I
write or play sounds like Metallica, but I wouldn't be writing or
playing if it wasn't for them. That's why I have such a tough time
finding a place for them, and why I have to create a special ranking
outside of the list. After all, they are the only reason this list
exists.
I believe the first Metallica song I ever heard was
"King Nothing" (not very metal, I know.) Given how massive it was, I
might have heard something off the Black Album when I was younger, but I
don't remember it if I do. What I do remember is hearing that weird
octave effect, with the slow hi-hat, then the bass line, and the guitar
hinting that something big was coming. 12 year old me thought it was the
coolest thing ever. Hell, I still listen to it and think it's a killer
song. That James Hetfield "huh" in the middle of the guitar solo before
Kirk starts wailing gets me every time.
Metallica led me into
heavy music and other bands, but I always circled around back to them. I
still find myself going back to their albums at least once a year, even
if I haven't played metal or hard rock in almost a decade. It's crazy.
They also got me to read H.P. Lovecraft, and although I have to
grit my teeth and skip over his rants about racial purity, I still love
his writing. I'm embedding a sped-up version of "The Thing That Should
Not Be", because I think it works better at this speed than the album
speed. I thought this song was sick before I read any H.P. Lovecraft.
Once I understood the references in the song, I realized how much cooler
it was.
Metallica's output has been spotty since the beginning
of the Millennium. I think that, combined with playing in metal and hard
rock bands and being like "wow, this scene is really racist and
misogynist", is what led me away from heavier music and into lighter
stuff. However, at the end of the day, they're the reason I play.
That's why they get a special spot on the list, and in my beating folk guitarist heart.
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