#50 "Disposable Heroes" by Metallica

I'll willing to say that Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is the greatest heavy metal album of all time. It really has everything. It's heavy as hell, but also melodic. The lyrics and themes are intelligent, but there's also some intense aggression blowing out of the speakers. The performances and the production are fantastic. "Master of Puppets" is one phenomenal record.

Though it's almost cliche to say, I think it's true that Metallica's older stuff is way better than the work they've released in the last decade or so. In the years when they adamantly boycotted MTV and any sense of commercialism, they built a huge following with their authenticity. At some point, they seemed to knowingly reach for that brass ring and embraced a more mainstream sound. You could hear Metallica on the radio!?! You could see them performing on the Grammies!?! You heard "Enter Sandman" over the PA at football games!?! You could see them doing a show with a full Michael Kamen-led orchestra behind them?!? You even saw them win an MTV Icon Award!?! This was quite a change from a band whose first release was called "Kill 'Em All." And though Metallica has to be credited with bringing speed metal to the masses, the product they're marketing these days is just nothing like what they used to do.

"Disposable Heroes" has always been one of my favorite songs from "Master of Puppets." It begins with what sounds like their instruments mimicing the sound of a huge military battery. The thudding guitar and bass heavy artillery. The cymbal-crash explosions. It slows down for a second to just guitar and drums and then explodes again into the first verse. It's super-intense. The lyrics explore the idea of the young men-turned-robots who populate our military forces.... how they're "made of clay... now an empty shell. Bred to kill, not to care." We hear of the boy who was, without his realization, "molded day by day" but left to die with his only friend... his gun. It's a pretty scathing look at what happens to the young men who enlist in the armed forces in search of glory, sometimes forced to carry on some bloody family tradition. I can't imagine that this tune blasts out at any Marine barracks, though it seems to accurately capture what's happening there. Maybe it's what they should play at the recruiter's office before the next Johnny-Get-Your-Gun signs his identity away.

"Disposable Heroes" is from the album "Master of Puppets." To hear the song, click on the icon in the widget jukebox along the side of the blog.