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Thursday, November 30, 2017

Metallica - All Nightmare Long



For the longest time I have had mixed feelings about Metallica. I love Metallica, they are the premier American metal band, and more so than any other band they brought metal music to the mainstream. I love Metallica’s first five albums, and there are good number of really goods songs on their sixth and seventh album. However, Metallica did sell out.

Selling out is a controversial and complicated thing, as the nature of it is largely subjective. Some die hard fans think the slightest change in a band’s lineup or musical stylings is an automatic sign of selling out, some defend a musical group they love even when they blatantly start doing indigent things solely for money. I do not feel that Metallica sold out when they made their first music video for the song “One,” that was just them finally having the resources to do something artistic like they never could before, and the “One” music video is freaking epic. I do not feel that James Hetfield wanting to sing a country song was him selling out, that was just some strange different thing he wanted to do. I do not feel that having he Black album produced by a different production company was selling out, that was just that next logical move for the distribution of their music.

I think the movement Metallica sold out was when they promised to perform a live concert of their new album, the Black album, and they just played the CD for everyone instead. I mean, what the fuck was that about? Maybe they were not totally corporate whores at that point, and the Black album is amazing, but that moment, that was the beginning of the end.

Then Napster happened. I respect that Ulrich did not want his music stolen, but talk about fighting against technology, and talk about unappreciation for the real goal, which is sharing your art with the world. The point is, Metallica made it clear they cared more about money than making music and while Load and Reload had some great songs, there was a big dip in overall inspiration and quality. Then “St. Anger” came out in 2003, and I thought I was just about finished with Metallica forever.

If all you want is money, then I am specifically not going to buy your music. Your head is in the wrong place. Go home Metallica, you’re drunk.

So… I sort of have mixed feelings about Metallica. On one hand I love them, and their earlier music is some of the most important metal music ever. On the other hand, they behaved like such sad prostitutes for such a long time and the music they made was really bad probably because of it.

In 2008 “Death Magnetic” came out, and despite everyone telling me it was pretty good, I put off listening to it for six or seven years. When I finally did listen to it, I was forced to admit that it was pretty good. It was not a return to providence like “Master of Puppets” but it was a huge step back in the right direction. To recover from the cringe that was “St. Anger” Metallica had to go back, to go forward.

I have made it pretty clear what early day Metallica charms me the most, their obsession with death, and deeper than that, their interest in horror of the Lovecraft variety. What better way to return to form than to have Metallica write a new song about cosmic horror.

The single song I took the greatest liking to from “Death Magnetic” was easily “All Nightmare Long.” Long before I began to dissect the lyrics, as is my want, I could feel a Lovecraft vibe. Metallica had worked such magic in “The Call of Ctulu” and while being fundamentally a very different song “All Nightmare Long” had that same dangerous ambience. I could tell it was a Lovecraft inspired song, even before I dove into the lyrics.

As it turns out “All Nightmare Long” is about the Hounds of Tindalos. I have read every story by Lovecraft… and I had no idea what the Hounds of Tindalos were.

"Hound of Tindalos"
by Mike Franchina
As it turns out the Hounds of Tindalos are not from a Lovecraft story, but are from a story by Frank Belknap Long and later these creatures were folded into the Lovecraft mythos by August Derleth, and I had to look all that up. Apparently, Lovecraft did mention the extra dimensional beings in “The Whisper in Darkness” but I do not remember that.

The Hounds of Tindalos exists outside of space and time and they hunger for something in human life that makes them hunt out humans once they can make a connection to them. If I am understanding what I have read online correctly they are creatures of sharp angles and can therefore pass through any angle less than a hundred and twenty degrees, whatever the hell that means exactly. I suppose rational do not apply to abominations from other dimensions.

Like a lot of creatures of otherworldly terror, the Hounds of Tindalos are very mysterious, even in the stories specifically about them. The appearance of the Hounds is unknown as no one who has ever seen them has survived but apparently their appearance is somewhat bat like, and the name comes more from their nature than their form. But how does Metallica describe this?

“Hunt you down without mercy,
Hunt you down all nightmare long.”


This is an amazing chorus whether you know about the terrible Hounds of Tindalos or not. Some determined killer unrelenting hunting down their prey, possibly during sleep, possibly during a waking nightmare; either way this is intense and exciting, and it makes for a great metal song.

“All Nightmare Long” is pretty great for a few reasons but it represents hope. How does a nightmare song about being mercilessly hunted down by otherworldly monsters represent hope? The content is not hopeful, the existence of the song itself is hopeful, just as “Death Magnetic” is an album of hope. Metallica needed to go backward to go forward. By returning to form, even just a little there is the new hope that future Metallica songs will be good, and maybe they can add to their already impressive catalogue.

Now all I have to do is listen to “Hardwire… to Self-Destruct,” maybe I’ll get around to it in six or seven years.

Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.

- King of Braves

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Metallica - The Thing That Should Not Be



I find Metallica a difficult band to talk about. A band of Metallica’s success, quality and legacy, has lots to talk about, and I know a lot about them, however the gulf between what I know and what hardcore Metallica fans know is sizeable. It is like talking about the Beatles, there are some people out there that know so much about them, it feels almost pointless to try to contribute anything new to the conversation.

You know what I also know a lot about, H.P. Lovecraft.

I wrote what I would consider to be my best Music In Review to date in 2013, and it was focused around Metallica’s “Call of Ktulu.” I combined my knowledge of heavy metal music and horror literature to create what I think is a nice commentary on both subjects. So, I feel like I should continue to play to my strengths.

I think it is safe to say that Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” is one of the greatest metal albums of all time, and I believe it is the most beloved album by Metallica fans. Basically no one needs me to elaborate further on that point.

Within the album “Master of Puppets” the two most popular songs are “Sanitarium” and the title track “Master of Puppets.” Obviously both songs are fantastic. “Sanitarium” is about being in an insane asylum, and poses the interesting situation that a sane person could be unjustly placed with the asylum and the life they live there within would drive them insane, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Master of Puppets” meanwhile is about drug addiction, and the drug is the master and user is the puppet, a very metal piece of poetry. Again though, no one needs me to point out how awesome these two songs are or what they are about, they are both infamous and everyone knows how fantastic they are.

Does everyone know “The Thing That Should Not Be?” I mean does everyone know what the thing that should not be is? Because I can help with that.

“The Call of Ktulu” may have been the first Lovecraft inspired song by Metallic but not the last. Traces of Lovecraft are in many of Metallica’s songs, and mostly with similar themes like insanity, like the afore mentioned “Sanitarium.” The song “The Thing That Should Not Be” is rare insofar that is explicitly mention beings and other things in it’s lyrics from Lovecraft’s works. Every line in fact appears to reference something from the Cthulhu mythos.

“Messenger of fear in sight,
Dark deception kills the light.”


This opening line is a touch vague, as there is a lot of dark deception in a lot of literature, horror and otherwise, Lovecraft or not. However, I suspect this is a reference to Nyarlathotep. Nyarlathotep is the message of the father god Azathoth. Nyarlathotep is a shape shifting, mind reading, trickster sort of like a much crueler and much more monstrous version of Loki from Norse mythology.

"Deep One" by Kingovrat
“Hybrid children watch the sea,
Pray for father, roaming free.”


This is a reference to the deep ones. In the book “Shadow over Innsmouth” it is discovered that the people of Innsmouth, a fictional new England town, obtain their wealth several generations ago when a sea captain made a deal with the deep ones, these andromorphic frogs with fish faces who dwell at the bottom of the ocean. In exchange for wealth, the deep ones wanted Innsmouth’s women, and thus the descendants of Innsmouth, the current generation, were mixed raced slimy hybrid frog people. The praying for father, roaming free, is possibly a reference to Cthulhu, the god the deep ones worship, however I suspect it is a reference to Dagon, the original frog/fish monster man Lovecraft created in the book of the same name. Also, Dagon is mentioned briefly in “Shadow over Innsmouth” where he is referred to as Father Dagon.

“Fearless wretch,
Insanity,
He watches,
Lurking beneath the sea,
Great old one,
Forbidden site,
He searches,
Hunter of the shadows is rising,
Immortal,
In madness you dwell.”


It is possible the chorus could be taken to be either Dagon or Cthulhu, but I suspect the mention of things like “immortal” and “great old one” is more likely to be in reference to the elder god Cthulhu, with the “forbidden site” being the lost city of R’lyeh, the very place Cthulhu rests.

"The Crawling Chaos"
by Ramsimation
“Crawling chaos, underground,
Cult has summoned, twisted sound.”


The Crawling Chaos is the title and description used to describe the afore mentioned Nyarlathotep. While being a shapeshifter his true form is a tripodal worm like monster with no discernable neck or eyes, with a writhing mess of tentacles and indeterminate number of arms sprouting from his body. When taken a more human form he leads the cult of Azathoth.

“Out from ruins once possessed,
Fallen city, living death.”


This is most likely a reference to Cthulhu and the lost city of R’lyeh. I suppose it is possible that it could be reference to “The Nameless” city, another dead city and title of another Lovecraft book.

“Not dead which eternal lie,
Stranger eons death may die.”


This verse is a modification of:

“That is not dead can eternal lie,
And with strange eons even death may die.”


This passage is from the Necronomicon and appears to a few Lovecraft stories, most notably “The Call of Cthulhu,” and also “The Nameless City.” The passage is about the old gods, and how they cannot die and are merely resting, in the case of Cthulhu, which is doubtlessly the elder god Metallica is singing about, the great monster sleeps beneath the sea, undying and when enough time has passed he will awaken and horrors unimaginable will be wrecked upon the world. Even death may die? Maybe this is to suggest a fate far worse than death? Perhaps there is an end even to the elder gods if enough time and strange events were to pass?

And lastly:

Cthulhu by unknown
“Drain you of your sanity,
Face the thing that should not be.”


Given the strong presence of Cthulhu in this song, and his overall popularity and obvious influence on Metallica, the thing that should not be, could conceivably be Cthulhu.

However, the crawling chaos, Nyarlathotep was also mentioned, and it is sort of strange to say this, but Cthulhu is physically the most human looking of all of Lovecraft’s elder gods, the easiest to visual make sense of. So perhaps the thing that should not be is the cult leader, Nyarlathotep, in this true form as an incomprehensible mass of nonsense.

There is still another possibility, Azathoth. Azathoth true form is even harder to describe or make sense of than Nyarlathotep’s, and it is effectively his cult that has been mentioned whenever Nyarlathotep is referenced as the leader thereof in this song. Azathoth is the most powerful elder god, with it being believed that all of reality is simply his dream and should he ever awaken all of reality would cease to exist. That is certainly a thing that should not be.

We could also invoke Yog-Sothoth, whose appearance is an insanity inducing storm of tentacles, eyes and teeth, but he is not mentioned anywhere in the song, even tangentially, so it is highly doubtful Metallica is referring to him.

It is not entirely clear what the thing that should not be is, because there are so many things in Lovecraft’s works that should not exists even within the crazy continuity he had created. However, the best guess is probably Cthulhu.

So, let’s recap; the obvious, Metallica, great band, “Master of Puppets” is an amazing album and the title track and “Sanitarium” are great, probably the best songs off the album. The less obvious is “The Thing That Should Not Be” is possibly the third best song on the album “Master of Poppets,” and the very thing that should not be is most likely Cthulhu.

I hope I helped.

- King of Braves