UNTIUNTIL I T LEAPS N O T E S F R O M A L L E Y S O F
LarsLars thoughtthought thatthat iitt mightmight makemake a nicenice changechange
toto hhearear fromfrom anotheranother UUlrich.lrich. SoSo atat Lars’Lars’ specialspecial request,request, hishis fatherfather (Torben)(Torben)
wrote the following thought provoking article
exclusively for So What!
rom the alleys, it says. Alley as something that heating up, beer fl ying, slightly calmer air to be reached goesgoes betwbetween, an in-between. More concretely, through the back door, a stumble into the alley. goinggoing quickly:quickly: WhichWhich alleys,alleys, whatwhat in-between?in-between? As for Apple, it’s also easy to say, yes we’re talking com- F Between so what and so what, between issues, puter people, now they are across the alley from Slim’s, fi lling deadlines, words, the in-between where writing always seems large rooms in a rented studio-type place, setting up shop to to linger, out of breath, and close to the garbage cans. broadcast, yes webcast, Metallica. Rows of computers are But also, more concretely, the space between lining the walls, the soft clacking of keys barely Slim’s and Apple, we’re talking June 1996, warm heard over the sounds of now ‘Whiplash,’ now nights in San Francisco, a smoking alley, a mas- ‘Bells,’ coming through their own speakers and sive noise. Which Slim, what Apple? again, fraction delayed, through the walls and As for Slim’s, it’s easy to go back to a pre- alley, from the other side. If things were heat- vious issue (Volume 3, Issue 3), where Steven ing up here, it wasn’t so easy to tell, no singing Wiig’s careful coverage took us through the de- along, no puking. Screens would fl icker, a head tails, of Metallica playing a warm-up gig, a club would be nodding, a pair of eyes would drift, up setting, compact walls, Metallica Club members tempo over here would mean a sudden burst of fi lling space, sweat and song blending, things clicking.
71 remember they wouldn’t let us in for any of the of any for in us let wouldn’t I they remember studio. the in time fi rst your after recapture never can innocence of you that kind A innocent. of kind was thing whole the so crap, that of any or producing about anything know didn’t “We ’92: of November in said, having as quoted is H. released. to see want would they version of kind question of capabilities, yours or theirs, but what a be not would it sudden a of all words, other In all? at accessible be reasons, copyright for nal, sig- streaming fully a would or accessible, main re- version streaming a would long how ahead, years in perhaps pertinent more Again, signal. have accesseven to streaminga or signal, a fully not might you evening traffi particular a c up if way were say, Or, signals. incoming of full stream the enough, quickly transform handle, to able be not would computer your because sion, ver- visual jerky pretty a but version, audio live fairly a have might you home, at sitting Again, of. capable be would equipment receiving your what of accordinginterms ability, maybe your to mean according to their ability, but more even so here would less or More Internet. the on less, or more alive, come it making Slim’s, at music the of version video digitized a making it, derstand shape the binary questions of tomorrow: the ways we listen and see. on the Internet. In other words, they were working also, this evening,very to otherrulessetofmight would howwegovern travel, along withthis music, more so into the larger setting, of years to come, coming soon, where a whole evenmaybe yet’96, situationJune hand,intotheearlyat cast were ergies thesame set of questions, comparing past and present. Obviously their en- wrong? had Or radically something gone guys? their still guys four those Were direction: crucial them for particular, a in pointed seemed evening, that early attention, Their history. minute more music’s the and lore metallic of past, the of knowledge Slim’s, with at heavy hear, came to come had that Those horizons. different on set eyes would meet for a moment, in a crossing, a smoke, a brief interplay between tomorrow. more particularly, Maybe tonight. today, fljust move, Not time. But real so-called in owingly, minute. a times eleven struts, spastic in not moving, musicians four get to How computerscreen. a to on moving thisstuff get to how was concern tions brought inside ques- to Slim’sthe that evening. with Rather, as we resonating would learn, theirquite not maybe bodies their work, at briskly women and men were They side. their on wasn’t time like hurry, a zeal, certain a by quickened pace their upright, stances targeting, eyes alert, in there music? still play fuckers four Could those what: half alert, closed, half eyes cautious, somewhat stride their knowledge, metal with armed bodies air, arena of years from weathered, faces door, alley the through out, crawling warriors blackened and pale see you’d side one From ning. 72 The last linelast The reminds me of something James un- I as were, They doing? they were specifi What more cally: little A atlooking notobviously wereApple, at over work, tocame that Those orientations different where opening, an passage, a thus alley The less no cast, another enter would side, other the from alley, the Into eve- the in early still between, in this alley, the then, place strange A His mother was president, president, was mother His the fithe member common rst And I’m writing to you as as you to writing I’m And and I the one assigned to to assigned one Ithe and So I’m Lars’ father. Lars’ I’m So rinse rinse of his fan club. club. fan his of the fan-can. the something about vitamins. She asks what I’m doing, and I say that askI’m to trying wants mother.She Lars’ it’sand rings, phoneNovember, the early constraints on the signal, to refrain from giving a full stream version. put to wantmight you how seecould I Andwords.James’ of thought I But criticize,tointeresting,really was very itthere,in.let thought,be be toto I theirtheirfromwords, notcouldfromchoices. notdetectit,not notis This specifiI played,thebeingMetallicamusic, werefamiliar with that songs c were in charge of pictures, of selecting one rather than the other. If they were tobemade ortaken quickly. Two gentlemen were standing tonextme, they meansreductiona place,tookinterpretation,choosing,an amix, kind ofa neously. Whereas three were not to be broadcast, webcast. Only one. Which abletothreesee clear pictures theofband playing. Threepictures simulta- throughtheevening fortunate tothiswasright next tobeIunit, thus being videocontrolathestreeton unit, about thesize man.various atimes of At ontripods, one onthe move. signals,The aspictures would beseen across the well-known energies pumping, the bell that tolls, the fading to black. Slim’s,situationatacross,roomsover thewouldsingin along,where fans A Words.” Own 1994.) Omnibus Press Their In “Metallica: Putterford: (M. sucks!’” that God, my ‘Oh going, and album the hearing remember I that. like anything or mixes While I try torecall Whilethesetry summer I moments Apple,at sitting inSeattle, kindAinnocence.of Slim’sAt three videocameras wereoperating, two these things, years from now. Compared with the seasoned onback lookaway,perhaps toinnocence, an get we when ofriding thewaves ofthe unknown, maybe naivea clicking ment that flowed out of the Apple rooms, the charge, a kind viewpointthealley,theexcite-stillkindoftheoffrom was kindof innocence. What I’m tothen, trying portray let’s say is, faren, it also means the danger. And we know means the danger. we know it also And faren, is, reflback, continue. you again, it do you ect, go you recall, repeat, return, Likere-writing, fan. re- get you infront, andit put out takere the you If faren. written it’s father, the write you when theFanCan.rinse to assigned one the I and president, was mother His club. fifan histhe of as member common rst His worry. would mother road. the on drive hour-long the practice, band he and would makethe boys safely, from it back, and atsit, California, night wonder inif Southern would we Later Denmark. In small. small, was to dinner. close getting it’s when pieces, the up picking us And place. spreadingthing Lars is about the lids all the over much those things that I was going to get into. I said, of course I remember, but maybe it’s not so from the kitchen pots and pans, all over the floor? memberthe time when he had spread all the lids, re- you do says, She What!. So ofissue next the towrite some of that that stuff I promised Lars for But when you read it, in Danish, just like it it like just Danish, in it, read you when But Danish, In that. like still it’s sense, some In you to writing I’m And father. Lars’ I’m So he when time a to back goes course of This whole this sense, some In is. it maybe But UNTIL to Aberdeen, on that truck trip, was it not even a even not it was trip, truck that on Aberdeen, to got they time the By triples.” song the of weight the bit, a just back held tempo the With been. ever it’s heaviest the doubt, a without is True’ But “‘Sad like: issue, last the in observations pertinent some wrote Wiig Steven thought I out. selling are they here rockin’, still are they here album, sixth album, second year, that year, this of: segments into up hours these divide to one some- for silly pretty be would it mean I that By even. pretty texture the different, that not were things them, in with carrying were they whatever of go let to started room the in people the and going, got band the once words other In tune. of name songs, dateof titles, album of irrespective and made the room open up to the band’s energy limits discursive and lines across cut that ence, coher- of kind a was hold take to seemed what listeners, and band of proximity the delays, and feedbacks arena usual the for close too Slim’s at walls the locality, tight the within hour, the sincerelyundersigned, theInternet. on the we you, fuck “Load,” fuck were, you where the band to remain the same, stay where you are, Yetwanting ways. new in themselves expressing communicating times, the and with transforming, changing, were fans the how modems, and modes sharing interconnected, intersected, also they strongly how see to but apples, and fans outlooks, two the of differences the whole load to the highest bidder? Was Metallica losing it? fitheirpainting tempos, theirselling ngernails,cutting balls, their cutting theoutmusic,oftheirrightright were theseminds, guys cuttingtheir hair, wondering what it all meant. Was “Load” still metal music, was “Load” still ers, on the Internet. A small barrage of daily letters, e-mails and dispatches, theonhadparticularlycomput-we And it, constantseen concern,worry. a time, but maybe more so in the weeks and months before, there had been a wherewere, toweinreconnect theyou: withalley, June.toearlytry that At went over to Jason, and they embraced, sealing as it were: the continuation. had that moment together. Afterwards, at the end of rehearsal, Cliff’s mother happened.haddanger,thatwe it Andthere was now andknew always we momenthadtogether,aaround armsthere.wehad my And her,was I and Burton’smother Cliff member,and a Jason’sfias again,songs ing live rst fitheArea, practic-Baysmall thestudiowasbandin a the when nights rst if directly. hasn’t it even happened to you, situation, that know you sense, some in parents, as And happens. it but are way, that cover. to continue care, to way, that who obliged those as Parents of too. And mother, danger. the from course protect to one being father the thus And danger. danger, the etc. Jung, be Reich, Freud, into on, so and can Oedipus, father the how onward, and mythology Greek from UNTILStill, what to seemed take place,within even the only not experience to was then, nights, those alley the in Being I’m thinking of her loss, now years later, and I’m sharing it with you also But it happened to Cliff Burton’s mother. And I remember being there, in protect, to try you it, about do there’s can sometimes nothing you But the of aware being as think, I understood, be also can it However, outlooks...to see how strongly strongly how see outlooks...to changing, transforming changing, Be they also intersected, intersected, also they ... how the fans were were fans the how ... nights, then, was to to was then, nights, ing in the alley those those alley the in ing experience ... two two ... experience D in there. Back toin Steven’s there.Back pointlater. grease of kind the tempo-wise, heardit, ever I best the slower? That’s tad picked up from the Led Zeppelin FAQ on the Internet: “Jimmy Page joins Page “Jimmy Internet: the on FAQ Zeppelin Led the from up picked offi version here’sa correct, more Anyway, grimmer, cial.being story right the story, right the not that’s maybe wrong, that get I did Or it? get would Americans the even later that ‘a’, so an without led, to lead it didn’t and joke, self-deprecating a irony, as start that all didn’t lead, category, the the name metal, Metal, to take themthat seriously? begin we bal designs, to theUSSR)? (back fall? Like hard rock being somehow a fi xture in space, a certifi ed landscape it one meanintofold from another, like into the hard that fold, rock kind of line, like hard would torock be prior thrash (and Couldshould there)? stay time- a on like back mean it Could from. came they where mean couldn’t tar work enters Danzigland. But my friends complain the album is boring.” Cowardly Lion can really sing, and in my dreams, the looser, more bluesy gui- “…Justice”waytheme on “waiting grow “Load”to fordid. James Hetfi eld’s changeslike that, it’s like a friend dying,’ he says.” Donna Gaines adds she’s man Mack, like older fans, feels betrayed by Metallica’s “Load.” she‘When awrites: band “Although he likes the hypnotic ‘Until It MetallipaloozaSleeps,’called“Theessay anMoment,” has endtowards where the 21st-century metal DidMack come toSlim’s? Inthe Are we getting so hooked on boundaries, so carried away by our ver- our by away carried so boundaries, on hooked so getting we Are away from thrash, back towards hard back towards thrash, rock.” from away moved which album, “Black” eponymous Metallica’s with came grace from fall the that argue others metal, of death the for blameNirvana fans some adding:“While live, band the hearing to foward looks she says herself Gaines onna What does that mean “back,” towards hard rock? It It rock? hard towards “back,” mean that does What isn’t it so that the Hindenburg was this proud proud this was Hindenburg the that so it isn’t in fl down going burg ames.” page.) FAQ (Same Hinden-likethe with cover “anLP having of idea the responsiblefor was also andup made it that one the was he that claims Entwistle since sion, pronounce correctly.)” it would Americans that so ‘Lead’ from removed ‘a’ later was (The lead balloon!’ likeover a ***in’ ‘… go it’ll because, Zeppelin, Lead group the call should they that announces Moon that here is It Beck. and Page with band a forming discuss infiWho’s The of tired areghting, who Entwistle, John and Moon session this At Moon. Keith and Jones, Paul John Hopkins, Nicky Beck, Page, by recorded is song This Bolero.’ ‘Beck’s entitled Lining,’ which is backed with a composition Page Silver Ho ‘Hi entitled single solo a releases Beck Jeff year, same the of March In Joy. Of Band The in together come Bonham John and Plant Robert Games.”Yardbirds’ the for 1997, In album “Little arrangements string does Jones Paul John ber, ing Beck in November of the same year. In Decem- replac-then Beck, Jeff with guitar duallead then fi Yardbirds1966, of June The in bass, playing rst But if you stay with that cover for a moment, moment, a for cover that with stay you if But End of quote. They call this one the Moon ver- VillageVoice ofJune 16th Donna Gaines 73 German ship that had already crossed the Atlantic, in other words been till in there, at Slim’s, the band’s warming up, for its summer up, now going down in fl ames. Whereas in the Moon version the joke is tour, next door the Apple people are doing their stuff, and all maybe in the metaphor itself: Will it ever get up, being fuckin lead, being over the country reviews are beginning to appear, the fi eld of heavy metal? critics taking their shots at “Load,” the album released in the So for all of us, in Europe, in Britain, certainly in Denmark, since the S stores just the week before. Some quotes from the review by days of Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong’s fi rst visits, the problem was Ann Powers in the Village Voice are selected for several reasons. how to get it lighter, how to “swing that music.” Certainly for the horn play- Using past tense, Ann Powers fi rst gives a background, laying out a larger ers, but even more so for the rhythm guys. Certainly we had our problems view of the albums gone before: “… Metallica created a music of separation, in Denmark, but we used to feel when we visited in London, in the Fif- based on time signatures too fast or too slow for the average ear, and guitar ties and Sixties, that they had even more problems than we did: that their and vocal harmonies that echoed medieval modes and European art rock rhythm work sounded even more, well, non-arising, and in the medium instead of the blues. Within this sound Metallica embedded a mythology…” and faster tempos often metallic, a pounding, hammering away. These observations I think are well taken. In this context perhaps the In other words, although we could easily hear and perhaps respect the one about the blues is particularly worth noting. “Instead of the blues”, as degree to which a Page, a Clapton, a Peter Green could emulate the music Ann Powers says. If there’s a key point in the things I’ve tried to express in of the Black masters of the blues and related these pages it would be the following: That fi elds, it was also very obvious, sometimes Lars & Co., but in any case Lars, was inspired painfully so, what was missing. And of course primarily by musicians that were not directly we knew why men like Muddy Waters (born in turned towards Black music. You might say Rolling Forks, Mississippi, 1915), when they’d that Metallica, if its ears were turned towards come over, would look somewhat bemused, if (early) NWOBHM as a major inspiration, also not uninterested. To them we were kids, the band was at least twice removed from in more ways than one. Black rhythms. And it seemed that already To be a kid, then, at that time, and to the people they were listening to (in terms struggle with the qualities of being a drum- of being really infl uenced by them) did not mer, laying down a beat that had to be really have Black ways of playing as a fundamental solid and tensely light, ongoingly vibrant, problem, an obstacle or a concern. Maybe heavy and at the same time not heavy at all, they (NWOBHM) didn’t even hear it that way, to be working in that fi eld could be wonderful as something worth a concern, because it but also exasperating. And maybe it wasn’t wasn’t even an aspiration or an ideal. Black that different in this country. musicians were not their heroes. At least it White kids, then, not getting it up. Sound- didn’t sound that way. Whereas it did for ing like fuckin’ lead balloons? Well phrased, the generation before, Stones, Cream, Page, Keith Moon. Lead guitars, lead drums, lead Green, maybe Blackmore, etc. like the heaviest of metals, trying to trans- To return to Ann Powers and her reviewI form this state of play, see if it could be light- of “Load,” in her second long paragraph she ened up, purifi ed of its stiffness, distilled, is still looking back, I think: “... Metallica’s maybe refi ned, redefi ned, working on what mythos wasn’t psychological or personal at was still lacking, barely there. all. Instead it distilled the essences of comic A process, then, of transmuting the coars- books and horror movies and the fantastic er metals into lighter veins, of alchemy if you literature of metal itself, until it touched a will, towards silver, quicksilver, etc. And still Platonic ideal of alienation and rage. Un- not take leave of what’s there, of who you are. questionably white and male, favoring emo- In saying well said, Keith tional violence, it did nothing Moon, I have of course no way of White kids...not getting it up. to change the surface of rock. knowing if his words above have But on the more mysterious anything remotely to do with Sounding like fuckin’ lead balloons? Well level where rock jumps identity what I’ve tried to express here, phrased, Keith Moon. Lead guitars, to become a soul-transforming the turning towards Black ways tool, it pushed further, opening of phrasing fi fty, forty, thirty lead drums, lead like the heaviest of metals, up new ways to contemplate the years ago, and the obstacles extreme.” that come up with such an ap- trying to transform this state of play, In these lines you might say proach. What I would like to try that Ann Powers comes close to see if it could be lightened up, purifi ed of its now would be to connect some using a language that refl ects of those thoughts, of alchemy stiffness, distilled, maybe refi ned, redefi ned, also the alchemical approach and rhythm, to the situation in and process I was referring to June ’96, the alley. working on what was still lacking, barely there. above. Continuing in this way
74 (archetypes, death, fear, boiling, lead, etc.), via U2 she now goes into Martin’s Press) page 24. In the same work, on page six, it says: “The term “Load” itself, but unlike so many other writers she makes, I think, a per- heavy metal is said to have fi rst appeared in William Burroughs’ 1959 tinent stop: at the photograph on the cover: “… while the Irish bombar- landmark avant-garde novel Naked Lunch. It doesn’t. His 1962 follow-up, diers invoked “Exile On Main Street”’s introspection with “Achtung Baby” The Ticket That Exploded, does contain a number of references to ‘heavy (released the same year Metallica, the band’s last disc, achieved world metal.’ While having nothing to do with rock’n’roll, they somehow convey domination by boiling those old archetypes of death and fear in lead), the the right atmosphere. thrash kings adorn “Load” with Andres Serrano’s blood-and-cum splash “When Steppenwolf sang about ‘heavy metal thunder’ in their 1968 photographs. It’s an excellent choice: Serrano’s manipulation of fl eshy hit ‘Born to Be Wild,’ it may have put a bug in the ears of those fans or rock substances (piss, semen, gore) within images both tactile and abstract ex- critics who put the term to use.” actly parallels the primordial quality of Metallica’s music. They may fl aunt To this may be added a few lines from a verse, estimated to be from the their downtown duds in far too many Anton Corbijn photographs inside neighborhood of the ’70s, maybe by Thomas Norton, of Bristol in England, a the CD booklet, but Serrano’s coagulating stain still represents Metallica’s student of the master George Ripley: “Then depart them by destilling/ and enduring strength.” thow shallt see an Earth appearing/ heavy as Metall should yt be/ in the which Ann Powers continues her review from there, stating a moment later is hyd great privitie.” (From E.J. Holmyard: Alchemy, Dover Publ., p. 198). that “… it can’t be denied: there are moments In Mark Heffner’s Dictionary of Alchemy on this record that will make you shake your (Aquarian), under Georgius Agricola, the met- hips instead of bang your head.” We will not allurgist, we learn about “De re metallica” continue, although it can’t be denied that I from 1556, “in 12 books, dedicated to Duke feel her entire review is really well written. The Maurice of Saxony. This posthumously-pub- idea at this point would be to see if we could lished work was Agricola’s crowning achieve- link up the themes of alchemy and rhythm, the ment, laying fi rm foundations for the rapidly transformational processes of alchemy, of the growing science of metallurgy.” coarser metals, and the energies of rhythm, And in Alchemy: The Secret Art, by Stanislas the boiling in lead, to see if we could link up Klossowski de Rola (Thames and Hudson) there these themes with the subject of the cover, are these words associated with Dom Pernety the cover itself. The Metallica cover, as such, (p. 13): “True alchemy consists in perfecting the six albums as a series of statements, over metals, and in the maintenance of health.” the years, pointing both to the music inside, We move now to the subject of the album as protective cover, and to the process of play, cover for “Load.” There is a book called An- from album to album, as something also to be dres Serrano: Body And Soul (Takarajima tried, dis-covered. Maybe. Books) that shows the photographs of Ser- In any case, since we don’t have a larger rano from his different periods of work and footnote apparatus set up, I would like to put also contains the photograph on the cover of Tin place, as further background, as a kind of “Load,” with its full title: “Semen and Blood foundation, another couple of quotes. The III, 1990.” On the inside of the cover of the fi rst is from Lars, it relates to and expands book itself, the fi rst lines are a quotation from on the reference I made above on the letters Senator Jesse Helms. It reads: “I do not know NWOBHM, puts it in a more embodied frame- Mr. Andres Serrano. And I hope I never meet work: “What we got from Motörhead back him. Because he is not an artist. He is a jerk.” in ’80/’81 was the aggression and the en- The inside cover lines then continue: “An- ergy and the speed that Motörhead had back dres Serrano’s name became a household word then, around the “Overkill”/”Ace of Spades” on May 18, 1989, when Sen. Alphonse D’Amato albums… That’s why the band tore up a picture of the artist’s sounds so European. When I “The term heavy metal is said to have “Piss Christ” on the fl oor of the moved to L.A. in 1980, we wanted U.S. Senate. The act launched to get a band together that had a fi rst appeared in William Burroughs’ 1959 the so-called Culture Wars, a European-sounding background, landmark avant-garde novel Naked Lunch. national debate over free expres- and since I came from over there sion and federal funding of the I had a lot of the infl uences with It doesn’t. His 1962 follow-up, The Ticket That arts. But, while Serrano’s “Piss me, like Motörhead and other Christ” became widely known, bands like Diamond Head and Exploded, does contain a number of the rest of his photographic work some of the other early New Wave received scant attention.” references to ‘heavy metal.’ While having of British Heavy Metal bands.” In an essay early in this I have taken this quote from nothing to do with rock’n’roll, they somehow book called The Radiance of Red: Chris Crocker’s book Metallica: Bloodwork, the American writer The Frayed Ends of Metal, (St. convey the right atmosphere.” bell hooks (her name spelled like
75 seen as part of the procedure. Take Putterford’s book, page 9, where Lars Lars where 9, page book, Take procedure. arethe of Putterford’s part as seen yourself you that degree the to least at inclusive insistence, mitted in early Metallica? Metal up your ass seems to be a gesture, a friendly com- thetempos. even killing, killing, maybe speeds, hammering this about erupting attack, faster away, the way, British herebreed, have we a newer talked we Above blood? the to than rather side leaden the to going feel, metronomic of kind a having perhaps rhythms here go. we up death, yours, ing fuck death, the cover the music itself up,shoots rides the pulse, singing death, surviv- chair,the inside And coming pool, the etc. tohalt, a its force, onslaught of the lightning, the energies, the albums of riding the early energy, about be then two would The late. the and middle, the early, the far, so them, ahammer, as force of thrust etc. of being humanthe thatenergies chemical marriage, coming together, the already blood, of pool a in Metal s(led)gehammer. in found as led maybe real neat…”may kinda sound simple, looks it but blood of pool a in lying sledgehammer a of idea The cover… the like really “I 1983: of August in saying, as quoted is Lars book Putterford’s Mark In ways. cultural our be society, our of picture easily good quite Pretty All.” ’Em “Kill apparently called and changed be could but not, could Ass,” Your Up “Metal called be not could it in record phonograph a with bum that perspective, that kind of hindsight, not to be taken seriously. on the basis of their covers. The six albums, on the way to the seventh, from (areading in terms of the dynamics of rhythms and alchemy) of the albums, “Load,” thesecond of and he said he defi so. nitely thought strong but I want to get it out there before it starts sounding dated.” as possible. I was listening to the stuff a few weeks ago and it allstyle they’re soundsa part of reallythis whole thing, so it’s important we get it out as soon were written and recorded at the same time and in terms althoughof feel it’sand a soundnew Metallicaand record it’s really part two of “Load.”them outAll sometime the at thesongs end of next year. Iwant people to understand that the promise we made to ourselves to go in and fiis quotednish as saying: these “The main other thing rightsongs now isand to do theget tour and live up to words between “Load” and “Load.” In the December issue of between deadline and past it, between covers, this one and the next, in other the photo. Unthinkable, and yet here was the record of this transgression.’”beenjuxtaposed, they seemed to bleed into one another down the middle of uphold emotionally; they seemed natural and inviolable. But not basiconly hadsort. Categoriesthey which I long rejected intellectually,very violationa aofI observekosher asnotsuddenlythisimagelaws, struckmedo I desired to justisn’tblood.ItOnceagaindone!’ thisreaction although startledforme, butcher, my immediate reaction was ‘You don’t do this; you don’tto the mix Serrano milk photograph and “Milk, Blood (1986):” ‘As the grandson of a kosher ticArtand Uncivil Actions, to defamiliarize by provocation. In the introduction to (photographer and band). She dares to bring together the sacred andfamiliarize profane,provocation,”by whichseemsrelevantsituation our toalso here that)talks about Serrano’s work.certain Ata point she uses the phrase “de- 76 Met(all)ica. As there is led in sledgehammer, what kind of all is there is all of kind sledgehammer,what in led is there As Met(all)ica. fast the approach, sledgehammer of kind a pulse this in there is But call might you three, in them divide and albums six the take you If hereSo we have the idea of a sledgehammer, iron fi or metal, heavy st, al- an that incredible was it thought always I metaphor. as cover The Where are we? We are at the risky point where we will try to give a reading cover the in involved be would Serrano that thought he if Lars asked I So let’ssituateSo ourselves onceagain,in-between,thewhereIn we?are StevenDubin describes his own visceral response Arresting Images: Impoli- Metal Edge, Lars of Metallica is seen, way up in the right corner, across the cover. of my EPs (with several versions of ‘Roam’ plus a liveonly ‘Battery’) the “all” blues,like Blind Lemon Jefferson’s ‘Black Snake Moan.’ Onthe cover of one terms, the snake (front and back cover) would be the coiling movement of the through, slain, the word drako being Greek for serpent, snake. In rhythmical on,ofdeep-rooted confusion fi(both erce and stubborn), that must beseen pronunciation. In alchemical terms the snake on the cover would be the drag- enlistedbeencenturies, years,different,maybeforformoremechanic a in havingplay, of blackertowardsmodes openingup theit’s terms rhythmic In veils. of shedding a ignorance, of transmutation ongoing the mercury, purermetal is obtained, the transformation towards lightera form,towards (quotingtheJung),stage ofputrefactionfrom that musttake place before a gredo,Latin,from the blackening of the metal, “a black blacker than black” cards. red cards, green of thetipping scales, of 29), p. Putterford, (see fees andlegal favoritism of legality, of laws the selling, are in this soup altogether or all together, the laws of desire, of andbuying different kind, the call to justice all-embracing, the slow realization that we a of all now This all. for tojustice, call the as Justice, womanas more, And roadies. and sailors to solace gives that everywhere female the Woman, ing to a fixed regime. In political terms you feel it’s time to speak up. (left side of cover). In chemical terms you feel you must begin to change, a dy- Youbegin to see the strain of this living, always wearing the helmet of death institutionalizedground,the toholding authorityprevailing.orderyouand cemetery.In alchemical terms, you are beginning to see the hands of dogma es, the energies of the M and the A, the pointed letters, spreading theoutwhole overMetallica thename hovering like a spaceship above the rows of cross- heldthebyhands above, theall inMetallica freelysuspended onthecover, deathbeingcrosses,ofstringstheallattachedtouchedarmythe theto by situation. Us and an adversarial Them. in disgust, fiand second the ways, up, several cut sets can title nal least at or niality, thatfi finamingthe album.Where the rst of conge- own spreads title its rst of choice the choice, of freedom the oppose that those Maybe others. the Maybe all? which ’em all, Kill provocation. through familiarizing ventions, whatmade That’s the vibe. me realize to this Iwanted do shit myself.” were working on songs the – ‘Iron as Fist’ a punter, absorbing and learningthey when – 1981 in rehearsals Motorhead to been I’ve time! the all ass Diamond torheads, up their Headsfar so and I was Iron Maidens, because Mo- the from learn and I’dthere sit because exists, Metallica reasons the mond Head and Iron Maiden! That side of me has been That’s there! one of Dia- Lemmy, with 1981 in England through way his brown-nosed who guy the to talking you’re “Remember, 1992: of August in saying, as quoted is menand blood, the A pointing into a breach, an opening bay. for- logo, The the cover, now more porous, the M pointing its point into the mixture of se- breathingflfreer,pulsethe owingmoreorganically.wordMetallica, on The uation of less restrictive patterns opens up the entire field of play, the music T Blackisthe next, fi album, fth the word in the alchemical tradition is ni- introduces thus album fourth The cracked). and (bound arrives Doris Thiscontinues onthe third cover, where yousee the name Metallica un- Metal up your ass, as quicksilver, raising the temperature, boiling con- etc.). etc.). In terms of a vitalization,rhythm: further in that a contin- alchemyconiunctioandas queen, solar(king and lunar sides, in known stages andsteps its union,of processes the forces, malefemaleandof rano’s marriage the photograph,poignant Ser- in togethercoming semen and Blood inward. turned and he latest album, then, is this process continued, both extended LEAPS LEmade an incredible difference in how the rhythm tracks hold together.” the last couple of years, I think Jason’s really come more into my broughtcampdrumsthewasonandthatupbass were I more hooked up.inand But it’s guitarstwo and bass are almost as one, whereas in the traditional hard rock especiallythat,background,metalspeeddohisthewherecoming tofrom James’ left hand and focus more on my right hand. It was very hard to get him always go to James’ left hand. What we tried to do was get him to forget about contact now and we’re both more aware of what each other is doing. There’sconnectionThere’saus. moreandofgoingvibe between more eye drummer and bass player should, in the traditional sense of rhythm players. the first time I felt that Jason and I were really starting to lock in at the level a foundationsolidthatwe’dus also quiteIt’sbefore. hadnever gave It tars. gui- thecut webefore foundationtaperhythmic the onactuallyhad we so You take a record like “…Justice.” There wasn’t muchvery space left. almost an afterthought; we fit it in wherever there was a wasspace bassthe us, left backbone.inWith the bethe supposed toare bassmix. and drums the wherebands unlikemost band,this of backbone the always were tar phoneswhen we were recording was James. The drums and the rhythm gui- had on my monitor was James Hetfield. The only thing coming into my head- “…page: you have to understand that for ten or twelve years the only thing I be.” should Metallica what of a expectations There’s people’s with messing All.” likes that me of ’Em side certain “Kill than different lot a was which Lightning,” the to “Ride back way the all going that for tone the set We Metallica. with on going what’s know really never people that like really I and pigeonholed, Drummer, Modern it and about are death.” to me songs bores the what you tell and try people Some real simple. are that things into shit read to trying always are people and deep Sread the logo? How do you see the cover, the series, in retrospect? variety of future ways, not without its risks of internal fractures. How do you touching arrowpoints other sides, leaving a situation rich in possibilities, a itself, on also turningstar assembled the of sides four theinward, energy its turningofnowsome metal): its itself, CD the(andbackcoveron the on aiming arrows corner its withismerly inseen the onlylower left outwards, area where I think there are possibilites possibilites are there Ithink where area “When we first met Jason and brought him into the band, his ears would ‘“Load” was the first record where we cut the drums and then the bass, same issue, same Lars, guitars. and drums between beats, Between In holes. between albums, between in-between, the Concerning so are “Things 1990: May book, Pepperford’s in quoted H., James triples. Here’s an triples. weight the abit, just taking the tempo to its rightful place, place, rightful its to tempo the taking When the tempo is held back back held is tempo the When Nov. ’96 issue, Lars is quoted: “… I don’t like to be be to like don’t I “… quoted: is Lars issue, ’96 Nov. for development.... for its full potential. full its I want aTonyI want fi Smith action gure!!!!!!!!!” Metallica, with hell “The read: Christmas,” it For Want I All being“Re: ject sub- the Online, 17,America Nov. Sunday dated and Steve story. one by the Signed to end an putting were we as just Seattle, in here up, picked we what is This supporters. loyal and vocal most its and band the tween Nothing.” YourKing hear “Where’s her of version Crown to then: seminalthe this“Load,” possibility juices,comingof on together, a cover to song, adding a mimesis,seal of one’s and Love, Thinking own. the again of Courtney as cover terms, music in also, and shield, tection, a tension up to the release of the song itself, I thought she did that so well. with Hole, striking a stand, some sliding notes, a hurling of insults, building tion. The one who impressed me in this area was Courtney Love, I heard her direc-anticipation,further anthat’sitscymbal, restto chord,stillaalert a etc.risesand wavesToout. prepare, in(non-scripted) sound and silence, a playwith these silences, to move the whole thing along, while the applause tospeak. Inthose spaces, feelthere’sI alsohowtoroomtimeto work, and isended, andisnotquitethenext there theinterval yet:theplaylist,on so alittle related to the above: the in-between between songs, when one song such. thetempo as that, just of art an make to seemed on, early from band, Basie Count The inspired. infl be turn uenced, its in again, then, might foundation changed a such of top on work solo the And pull. and texture richer a to up it open song, fi whole the change will a up, or of notch, ber a down it taking with little a experiment to fiYet a place. never xed that’s Obviously potential. full its place, inghis and Jason’s rightful tempocomingthe to its taking together: concern- above comments relatingto Lars’ also sibilities development, for back just a bit, the weight triples. Here’s an area where I think there’re pos- impressionhuge all on us.” of and makes a contact (liner) eye of heismagician, full aroundlike crazed a Tossing before. like and(andnever hishammering guitar) hiscrows guitar the with tune in Kirk’s triples. song the of weight the bit, a just back held tempo the With been. ever it’s heaviest the doubt a without is True’ But sue 3 of I’ll SO extend the WHAT!. quote to the paragraph as a whole: “‘Sad where we might link up again with Steven linesWiig’s good in volume is-3, We all join in saluting theEditor. be- Internet, the and Metallica Between alleys. the to back Finally, pro- as cover meanings, several has course of cover word the Finally, Thein-between assuch. There’s akind we haven’t mentioned, which is Being inthe with tempo. tune, the with the crows, When tempo is held point the be would This tempos. the rhythms, the between tracks The 77