Travis Miguel/Atreyu: How Metallica Influenced My Life
By Atreyu’s Travis Miguel
My Introduction:
Growing up a child of the 80’s, like most people in my age group, a lot of the music I was exposed to came from MTV (when MTV was 90% music videos). That being said, anything I knew about metal also came from MTV, which mostly consisted of big hair and spandex…until I saw the video for “One” by Metallica. It was black and white, dark and depressing and I was instantly fascinated with it. I didn’t know music could be like that. It was different. It was real. It was the first time I had ever heard double kick drums, chugging guitars, and snarling vocals. Metallica sent me on my way.
My First Metallica Show:
The first time I saw Metallica was definitely surreal for me. It was the summer of ’93 at Cal State Dominguez Hills with Suicidal Tendencies, Fight, and Candlebox opening. Metallica opened with their cover of Budgie’s “Breadfan” and the whole sea of people went nuts. Seeing my favorite band in the flesh killing it onstage took a minute for me to wrap my prepubescent head around. I think I’ve seen Metallica live about 10 times since, give or take. One of the perks of playing festivals is that you end up playing with some of your favorite bands.
What They Have Taught Me:
Metallica has influenced me as a musician in seemingly a million different ways, but now that I’ve got a number of years under my belt as a musician I think the most important lesson I’ve learned from Metallica is to not take what I get to do for granted and strive for longevity. Metallica has been a band for 35 years and obviously still going strong. They could very well hang up their collective hats and call it a day, but they’re still out there kicking ass.
On the New Record:
I’m definitely digging what I’m hearing from Hardwired…to Self Destruct. I hear a lot of throwbacks to the …And Justice for All era, which, personally, is one of my favorite albums period
Five of My Favorite Tracks:
“Dyers Eve” — If there’s one word I could use to describe this song, it would be — pissed. It’s fast and unrelenting. Oddly, whereas most people cite Master of Puppets as their favorite Metallica album, …And Justice for All is the album I hold near and dear to my heart and “Dyers Eve” is a definite highlight.
“Sad But True” — A Metallica staple. It’s slow, heavy, and catchy. It was the song that taught me the “not-everything-has-to-be-200mph-to-be-good” lesson.
“Trapped Under Ice” — I heard this song for the first time in a long time a couple of weeks ago and I realized how much of an underrated deep cut this song is…it’s one of many actually.
“Orion” — This song is a journey. It has everything. Peaks and valleys. Highs and lows. It even has a bass lead…not bad for an instrumental.
“The Wait” — Granted, this a cover, but it’s a damn good one. Through Metallica, I learned about bands like Discharge, The Misfits and Killing Joke.
~Travis Miguel
In collaboration with Jeff Gorra — Artist Waves
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