Heavy Metal Music

I grew up listening to a lot of heavy metal music. Not just only is that what I listened and or currently listen to. I tend to listen to every type of music depending on my mood I guess I can say. My parents reminded me that when I was about three years old they would blast music and I would sit in the living room and head bang like a crazy kid. I ended up remembering doing that exactly how they said I did. I love music so much and I use it for many things. When I’m stressed I will listen to a lot of music to relieve it. Sometimes in the evening I will go outside, sit on the porch swing, and listen to music for hours. Music can do a lot of things for people, it can depress you, make you sad, and happy. People say slow sad songs is for when you’re depressed and hardcore fast songs are for when you’re pumped up. I use music for those things as well, but most the time I just listen to anything I want to hear. I listen to rap, country rap, country, rock, classic rock, alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal, death metal etc.

The main heavy metal bands I listen to are Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, and White Zombie. I have many more but I’m just going to talk about some of those specific bands. I started out with Metallica, listening to them since I was little. Most of what I know is my own common knowledge I’ve got from other people or doing research along time ago that I can remember.

“Metallica was formed October 15, 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. During the very beginning Cliff Burton was born February 10, 1962. On that same year of November 18 Kirk Hammett was born. March 4, 1963 Jason Newsted was born. August 3 James Hetfield was born and last but not least Lars Ulrich was born December 26, these were the main members of Metallica. 1982 was the year Metallica actually took off. By the end of that year they would have played their first headlining gig, changed their bass player, recorded four demo tapes and had their first appearance on an official record (Metal Massacre). March 14 Metallica played their first gig. December 28 1982 was the day when Cliff Burton joined Metallica after persuading them to relocate to San Francisco, this was Cliff’s deal for joining the band. That led to Metallica musically reaching a stage they may not have reached if Cliff had not joined the band his influence was immediately noticeable.” www.metallicaworld.co.uk/Band%20History.htm

1983 was the year that Metallica really made an impact. They ended up moving to San Francisco during February and played their first show on March 5 at the Stone a now legendary venue for Metallica. Kirk Hammett’s band Exodus opened for them on what was to be Cliff Burtons first gig with Metallica. It was on the move from LA to SF that the band got a little bit, too personal a view into Dave Mustaines life style. It was decided as soon as they reached SF that they needed to have a new guitarist.They already knew Kirk Hammett and it was decided to replace Dave with Kirk. On April 1 Kirk Hammett was asked to join the band. Dave Mustaine played his last gig with Metallica on April 9. It was only on April 11 that the band actually told Dave he was out of the band and gave him a coach ticket back home to LA.

Cliff Burton (playing Live)

1983 James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and Cliff Burton.

September 27, 1986 Cliff Burton was killed in a bus crash on his way down to Copenhagen. The band then returned to America with disbelief. They started to audition new bassists. Jason Newsted from Flotsam & Jetsam filled the place. To make this into a long story short long after Jason Newsted was the bass player he got kicked out and then they brought in a guy who is still in the band to this day and his name is, Robert Trujillo. To not drag on this long story of their whole life I will skip to 2016. Metallica just came out with a new album called, Hardwired. I actually just bought the album and I love it. Older Metallica does in fact sound better because James Hetfield’s voice was of course younger and sounds more raspy. As James got older his voice matured more and got a little deeper and had a different sound. Don’t get me wrong, he still sounds great and I will always be a Metallica fan till the day I die.

The next band I’ve listened to since I was little right next to Metallica would be Pantera. Pantera to me is an amazing band. I’ve heard almost all of their songs, their one of my favorite bands. Pantera kind of describes me in most of their music. Not just by lyrics but by sound and how they approach themselves. Pantera was one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, and the most important metal band of the 1990s. But Pantera also endured a long, almost secret existence for much of the 1980s. In their 1980’s their music had more of the high pitch vocal sound that was famous in that time era, along with their big hair. To compare Vocalist David Peacock’s voice would be to say it sounds like Judas Priest’s Vocalist voice. 1986 after David was no longer was in the band, then came Phil Anselmo up until 2003 when the band was stopped. The band was stopped because their was an obsessed fan by the name of Nathan Gale shot lead guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell and killed him at a concert. This was a tragedy and put many fans to silence. Dimebag was Phil’s best friend and who he called a brother. Phil and the band decided not to go on with Pantera because it wouldn’t have been the same without Dimebag. In my own opinion, yes Dimebag was a legend and was a very good Guitarist. I myself wish Pantera would have went on because not just me but millions of other fans love Pantera and would have liked to see them go on but I do understand how they feel about not wanting to keep going because no one could replace Dimebag in their eyes.

(R.I.P)

To conclude my article to you I want to tell you a few things that you might not know about Metallica and Pantera. I do my research on music and I get most my information from movie documentaries, so I know what I’m talking about but there is things that I’m still learning and don’t know about. What I’m about to tell you I forsure didn’t know.

Cliff Burton the first bass player of Metallica was actually killed on a tour bus accident 1986. It was no normal car accident and it’s very unfortunate that he’s not with us anymore. The drummer Lars Ulrich is actually an avid art collector. He sold a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting ‘(Untitled) Boxer’ for $13.5 million. Ex-Pentagram member Joe Hasselvander believes that the reason Cliff Burton died was because the Metallica bassist was in possession of tarot cards that dated back to the Salem witch trials and were covered in human blood. That is weird.. But that’s his own thoughts. Some word on Pantera would be,

‘Power Metal’s’ final track, ‘P*S*T88’ features Diamond Darrell, as he was then known, on vocals. Darrell successfully auditioned for Megadeth’s vacant lead guitar position in 1989, but he couldn’t convince Dave Mustaine to also hire his big brother Vinnie Paul, Darrell decided to carry on with Pantera instead. If you’re wondering what Megadeth is, It’s another heavy metal band that is one of my favorites and Dave Mustaine started that band after he was kicked from Metallica.

(Dave Mustaine) -Megadeth Vocalist and guitarist.

R.I.P to:

Clifford Burton and Darrell Abbott

-To live in the hearts of others is never to die-