Classical Composer Reacts to Disposable Heroes (Metallica) | The Daily Doug (Episode 412)

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

James Hetfield never gets enough credit for his lyrics. Fantastic choice.

[@ephesians.6]

He gets quite a bit actually. Not back then very much, but definitely nowadays. And especially since he got sober.

[@greggygrogaments]

As the biggest metal band ever I think he gets plenty of credit lol.

[@poornoodle9851]

Agree! And metal as a genre doesn’t get enough credit for tackling difficult subject matter.

[@ephesians.6]

@@greggygrogaments agreed

[@ali965]

my favorite songwriter of all time. his lyrics all through the 80’s and 90’s are some of the most heartfelt and true lyrics i’ve ever heard

[@jochencooper2751]

The whole album is a timeless masterpiece and Disposable heroes is one of the best Metal songs ever,saying that every song on MOP is an all time classic

[@atgimm2090]

Ride the lightning, master if puppets and justice for all is my all time favorite 😍

[@jochencooper2751]

@@atgimm2090 the first 4 albums are all classics in their own right

[@Rewolweri]

My fav Metallica song, such an underrated piece

[@jochencooper2751]

@@Rewolweri brutally beautiful

[@rv8026]

Their best song imo. I've been waiting for you to do this one. Thanks very much.

[@gilbertsanchez5583]

James Hetfield originally got the idea for this song by listening to a football commentator calling the players “Disposable Hero’s” referring to their short careers and then being replaced by others. He then had the idea to intertwine that to soldiers in battle.

[@FloridaHammer]

Hypnotizing Power documentary?

[@chupachuuups706]

I think the track’s title comes from “Fahrenheit 451”. I think it’s about book burning or firefighters. Or it contains both, idk.

[@cringecentral_]

@@chupachuuups706it’s not

[@jfernsten]

Disposable Heroes is one of the tracks that ties the entire album into symphony category. The first rhythm riff is 3/4 (triplet, triplet, 1-2-3-4), while the chorus is straight double strike until the last note of the section, which is held for twice the length of the others. The 3/4 time shows up in many of the tracks. Playing this song will either break your wrist, cause every vein in your forearm to bulge like the Hulk's, or both. Again, I suspect Cliff was trying to kill Lars.... Lyrically, Metallica and Iron Maiden broke conventions by not writing about drugs, dating, driving; both took on more serious subjects and classical literature. When I saw them in 2009, they played everything 25% faster than the studio versions in perfect cohesion. For 3 hours. And were fined by the city of Boston for exceeding permissible noise levels. Intense doesn't cover a live Metallica experience.

[@9xqspx6]

Most thrash metal bands of the era had society-critical and political lyrics, it's not just Metallica. How about Overkill's song, Infectious from 1991 with lyrics like: "I'm a wartime killer. I'm a man. I'm a peacetime killer! Doin' the best, the best I can. I adapt to nothing, and nothing pleases me. I'm a loaded pistol! Just you wait and see."

[@Johnny_GC]

@@9xqspx6 this is from 1986. Metallica wrote about soldiers and war even in 1984 in For Whom The Bell Tolls.

[@lucashermo2875]

Personally, I hate when they play faster than the original recordings, it's just off putting.

[@Kriegter]

@@Johnny_GC no remorse 1983

[@Johnny_GC]

@@Kriegter true, No Remorse is different tho. "No Remorse, no repent, we don't care what it meant". It's not about the struggle of being a soldier, just like the other one I mentioned.

[@DornishVintage]

Cliff Burton's influence on these albums can't be underestimated. Metallica took a different turn after him. Successful, yes. But I still miss what it could have been with him.

[@TheCyberMantis]

Let's be honest, Metallica went down the toilet after Cliff died.

[@BucsFanO22]

@@TheCyberMantis That's pretty disingenuous honestly. Metallica was still incredible for many years after Cliffs death, and even their weaker albums are pretty good. They just aren't incredible like their first few records.

[@DrSkeff]

Totally agree, I had the pleasure of seeing them twice on this tour in the U.K. before they took their tragic trip to continental Europe. RIP Cliff.

[@Kriegter]

@@TheCyberMantis overexaggeration

[@efogg3]

@@Kriegter more like facts

[@joecrowaz]

When this came out, I was recording and producing a lot of Metal bands in Phoenix Arizona. One day, before a session with one of the local bands, the Bass player handed me this album on cassette as an example of how they would like to sound. The band was Flotsam and Jetsam. The Bass player was Jason Newsted. Ironic, no? 😈

[@Farewelltokingz]

F o r e s h a d o w i n g

[@philipstalter4448]

Wow

[@tallycahamuhlhetru26]

❤❤❤❤

[@euan1234]

Nice!

[@spacejesus4747]

Goddamn I love Jason

[@ryanlogan35]

Master of Puppets is a true masterpiece of an album hence the reason it’s in the library of congress

[@ephesians.6]

Amen!!!

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

Indeed.

[@EgoChip]

It's a pity they don't actually listen to the lyrics.

[@LeoHoxtonI]

Nah, 1/2 is regression crap and fluff, and there's enough push-back and critique to say that's right.

[@matthew6427]

@@LeoHoxtonI There will always be critics who critique things poorly. It doesn't really mean much, besides voicing their own opinions. That's valid, everyone has their own opinions but you know the saying about opinions & a-holes. Music is art and art should move you & make you think. This song (& record) does that. I know people who only listen to boy bands, or listen to Disney. It doesn't mean they're wrong because some critic said it's garbage. That music just happens to speak to them somehow. Live & let live 🤷‍♂️

[@noname4751]

There isn't a more iconic metal moment then when James screams "I was born for dying".

[@raulio81]

We all are. We all are soldiers of clay un war with life and s### in some way but for me this song, like whole album, will always be fully about drugs and addiction. Those crosses remind me of all friends died in battles, not only in war, which we had here in 1990s, but also from drug abuse...

[@MrKittles1123]

BACK TO THE FRONT

[@felixnewman2473]

To live is to die.

[@rustinpeace770]

Yawn.

[@benekatop]

Yes there is. When Tom Araya said "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

[@scottjohnson2525]

I’ve always considered For Whom the Bell Tolls, Disposable Heroes, and One to be Metallica’s great anti-war trilogy

[@GTRrocker84]

Confusion is good as well

[@daveelson213]

@@GTRrocker84 i find song utterly boring. its the only song on hardwired i skip. riffs are good but cant stand the lyrics. same old shit.

[@princemjbp695]

The Day That Never Comes

[@spacejesus4747]

@@daveelson213 bruh 50 percent metallica songs have the same topic of the lyrics

[@spacejesus4747]

Hero Of The Day too

[@yucawhotv6714]

My uncle passed away recently at 94. He was a Korean War vet. I feel identified with this song, because he got wounded in combat, brought to a hospital in Japan, then brought "back to the front". No "Purple Heart"... No nothing. He served for the 65th Infantry Regt, 3rd Division. He's in peace now after all the nightmares he lived. RIP,, CPL Félix Rivera

[@machupikachu1085]

Damn. He deserves to be remembered indeed. Thanks for sharing that.

[@kgot7436]

Get with the army heraldry dept. if they can find his records and show he wounded, you can get his PH awarded posthumously.

[@fbettr2627]

Wow! You uncle was a hero (a person who risked his life for others). Thank you, CPL Félix Rivera, for your courage, services to your country, and for everyone's freedom. God bless you!

[@e_knees8816]

“The God that failed” is one of their deepest songs, but it requires some context on James Hatfield’s history, specifically about his mother.

[@ali965]

james hatfield is my favorite drummer

[@e_knees8816]

@@ali965 lol

[@filrut]

@@ali965 He's the best drummer in Metallica

[@nihilist1680]

@@filrut He's my favorite table.

[@eirik3938]

@@nihilist1680 I AM THE TABLE

[@randywebb7103]

Cliff Burton's influence and knowledge of music theory is all over master's, and ride the lightning. His presence is sorely missed.

[@metalmike570]

I wonder if he fulfilled his purpose in life and then was supposed to die, like predestination. I say it because topping the two albums Ride The Lightning and Masters of Puppets is probably impossible. After this one there was And Justice For All, and then the Black album. They are equally great though too.

[@a.s.vieira7846]

When I've heard at 16 never thought a classical composer would some day analyse a thrash metal song (and apreciatte!) as a song made by good musicians. The quality of the Four Horsemen was always there. We always knew that but the world just discover it decades after.

[@sbanta22]

i remember thinking the vary same thing

[@IanWrigleyNZ]

Ahh but there you have the truth of it: Metal is complex layered and detailed with key changes time signatures and the many facets of instrumental genius just as you would see in an orchestra. It's the natural progression. You can bet that Amadeus would have been into the heavy stuff if they had amplification and electricity.

[@ChrisGieger]

As usual, you nailed it. Every little purposeful detail: The intro that sounds like machine guns, the 3/4 change to keep you on edge, the incredibly powerful first-person point of view lyrics. You don't have like this music (like I do) - but your breakdown should really make most people appreciate it.

[@Applecornflakes]

well said

[@Hoscitt]

I absolutely love the sneering 'back to the front' at 10:34 where it drops to a single vocal track. One of my favourite 'tallica moments 👍🤘

[@LaSDetta]

"Left to die with only friend Alone I clench my gun" Just chilling...

[@scottjohnson2525]

This whole album is worth the listen. It was the first metal album entered into the library of congress national recording registry as “culturally and historically significant”.

[@andysalter7192]

Fun fact- this song was originally about Football players , how they are " Disposable Hero's " and are thrown away as soon as they get useless. It was changed to War later but his original concept was inspired by watching the NFL ( James is a HUGE Raiders fan ) .

[@jessemendez7715]

There is a real cool fan made documentary called “Hypnotizing Power” about Master of Puppets and all the songs. It’s fucking great!

[@chopperdeath]

Makes sense.

[@coutinhothrash666]

This song is an orgy of guitar riffs...savage! And the lyrics are heavy!

[@opiumdennis7249]

well said!

[@Tesserex]

6:15 I love how the lyric is about a ticking clock, and then Lars's fill following it is the staccato crashes to match.

[@TheMajesticGG]

I always thought that was a nice touch

[@blackcurtainshoen5524]

Exactly💪

[@manixpc]

One of the greatest riffs of all time. James has actually said that football players who put their bodies on the line were the inspiration for the lyrics. But lyrics that open up your imagination, that’s the sign of great lyrics.

[@tallycahamuhlhetru26]

No. I'm pretty sure he said the lyrics can also be applied to those who play for the NFL.

[@klmrk9961]

@@tallycahamuhlhetru26 James always try to make the lyrics open to interpretations

[@mfree80286]

@@klmrk9961 James and Lars are also classic legpullers. James in particular will absolutely notice an interviewer is taking him or themselves too seriously and come up with something completely off the wall.

[@e_knees8816]

The Chorus in this song is one of the catchiest things I have ever heard.

[@machupikachu1085]

Not a Michael Jackson fan I see...

[@e_knees8816]

@@machupikachu1085 I sure am, but he can’t beat the classic “Back to the Front”

[@metalmike570]

@@e_knees8816 Just Beat it.........back to the Front!

[@ephesians.6]

I literally cried through this whole reaction. Watching it with you, the magnamity of war, the fact that it is part of Cliff Burton's swan song...all of it. This is something I feel honored to share with you Doug as well as everyone else who watched it. Also, as crazy as it seems and as many times as I have listened to this song (thousands at least!), I have never noticed that the beginning is meant to sound like machine gunfire. You never know, even as a diehard Metallica fan, what you're gonna learn on any given day here on The Daily Doug. God bless our soldiers living and fallen...and my two nieces overseas serving our country (one in Djibouti and one on her way to Kuwait) in the US Air Force 🇺🇸 🪖 🙏

[@9xqspx6]

Seems like the machine gun sounding guitars were not the only thing you missed about this song...

[@ephesians.6]

@@9xqspx6 not quite sure what that means, but thanks!

[@9xqspx6]

@@ephesians.6 You cheer on your nieces going overseas for military service, while this song calls them "servant" and "blind man", pointing out that they don't even have a remote clue why they are sent to where they are sent to or why they are doing that they are told to do. They are the same puppets of manipulation as the soldiers Metallica was talking about nearly 40 years ago. Controlled, used and abused, just the same way.

[@F1stzz]

@@9xqspx6 actually it's not only guitars, but mainly - drums that sound like it

[@9xqspx6]

@@F1stzz True! But that was beside my point.

[@MarmiteTheDog]

You asked how powerful this would have been in concert... I saw them in London on this tour in 1986 just days before Cliff left us, and the power of the band was staggering. I've seen them a few times since, but they never matched the perfection of 1986.

[@heatnationwpb]

The fact that they had the thoughtfulness and awareness to write these songs and lyrics, at such a very young age, just astounds me.

[@Alex-om2jt]

Art and Talent

[@sinahejratypoor8598]

That's mostly because of cliff's extraordinary knowledge 🔥

[@Biden_Cult_Morons]

They were all wise beyond their ages, especially Cliff.

[@jyutzler]

"Alright, I'm ready!" *boom* the verses start. He's on their wavelength.

[@abimaelmarquez2757]

the C-sharp arrangement is thanks to Kirk Hammett. It was a riff that he brought from his old band. It has been very interesting how James Hetfield was able to incorporate it into that song.

[@penoyer79]

could have been lars too... he's got an ear for piecing riffs together.

[@abimaelmarquez2757]

@@penoyer79 could also be, anyway, in their contract with metallica the two own half and half of the band, according to the copyright of most of their songs. 👍👍

[@Maggai]

Glad to see someone give credit to Kirk! Kirk has written so many great riffs, and James gets all the credit... Except for Sandman, which seems to be the only one people know Kirk wrote.

[@lasershow017]

@@Maggai kirk gets alot of credit wdym those solos didn't write themselves!

[@metalmark1214]

This song goes the direction of "Hey you are expendable, go out there and die for me" Metallica's answer to Black Sabbath's War Pigs on steroids I'd go with Welcome Home(Sanitarium) next off this same album. Think Doug would like that one. We better not give Doug any Kreator, lol.

[@9xqspx6]

How about some Xentrix or Sacrifice?

[@OfMaceAndMen]

@@9xqspx6 Doug'd have a field day with For Whose Advantage?

[@9xqspx6]

@@OfMaceAndMen That's an awesome album!

[@Johnny_GC]

I'd go with The Eye of the Beholder, such an underrated song with amazing lyrics about freedom

[@Stryker2203]

This is one of the most underrated songs from Metallica. Next song you could check is The Outlaw Torn

[@decoeric]

Outlaw Torn is one of my all time favorite metallica tunes. A couple of those that fly under the radar. Fixxxer, Outlaw Torn and Bleeding Me are so GD good.

[@cristiangalvez1101]

Yes! S&M 1999 ❤️🤘🏼

[@metalmark1214]

I'd go with Welcome Home(Sanitarium) next off this album. In line with Ozzy Diary of a Madman subject matter.

[@Flatallica]

Underrated by whom? Its a classic masterpiece with any 'Tallica head I know..

[@Devypocalypse]

Underrated? It's on their most universally acclaimed and beloved album and been an acclaimed piece since day one.

[@higgledypiggledycubledy8899]

One way to interpret that ending on C# rather than E is that no, you don't get to go back home, things aren't resolved, there's just an abrupt ending - it's cut short like the life of soldiers.

[@machupikachu1085]

That's a cool way to look at it.

[@Maggai]

Absolutely, a pretty common thing to go for in metal songs. Yes this sounds ugly and weird, because that's how life is.

[@noonesfang131]

I think it was on the extra features on the S&M DVD that James was telling a story of how Michael Kamen was mentioning some of the interesting time changes on some Metallica songs and started analyzing it. When James admitted to knowing basically no music theory and he wrote those time changes to "freak people out".

[@morsteen]

Yup. I remember that clip as well. James basically said that the orchestra members were having a hard time with changes and time signatures and stuff,..and asked him for advice and he was like "I have no idea what time signature we're in, we just put the riffs together and make sections and play it" which is true. When you don't know shit, you just make sections and tell each other stuff like "ok this is the riff, played this many times. That is ONE section. Play section 2 times. The transition is the riff cut in half, playing that 3 times equals one transition." Stuff like that.

[@nachomagallanico]

The C sharp riff that Doug remarks shows exactly how ignorant is James about theory, and that's one of the greatest things about Hetfield, a guy kowing theory would be very resistant to put that C sharp in a E minor Key. It sounds out of structure, but the way that Hetfield puts all together make it work as hell.

[@MrYinkaOyewole]

@@morsteen facts

[@Glave027]

Early Metallica sounds almost like someone gave James one lesson and taught him the E minor scale. He took it home and practiced and thought "This is boring, what if I play this note also?"

[@metalmike570]

What James has you can't teach - totally born with it, everything about the guy. Same thing with Ozzy!!

[@IgnacioCentu96]

This is the hidden banger from MoP. My god, the ending is fucking epic

[@9xqspx6]

When the drums "fall apart", that's pretty heavy. Dig!

[@chadgrov]

Only if you’re new to the band I’ve known how good this song was since I was 11 and got MoP on cassette in 1996.

[@alienmenace5205]

EPIC IS THE WORD!!!

[@emir-op5zl]

ending is the best part

[@ChristTheSword]

Master Of Puppets is the greatest Metal album of all time. Just incredible composition skills for a bunch of 21 year olds.

[@ayaanbretmitchell9830]

Why does everyone say this. They were like 24

[@murk4552]

@@ayaanbretmitchell9830 even then holy shit man, they were super advanced for their age

[@metalmike570]

On the 8th day; God created Metallica!

[@ayaanbretmitchell9830]

@@metalmike570 People have said it from the dawn of time and it's still true. Metallica only had 4 albums. After that they lost their way after James lost his voice/hair came off and Jason left. People say genius (yes) but they were only genius's for 10 years (83-93) and they've been this new Metallica for 30 years!!! Try and fathom that for a moment. Their greatness for for a very short time. Btw I'm a Metallica fan since late 80s but don't like the new stuff.

[@metalmike570]

@@ayaanbretmitchell9830 Some of the younger generation / millennials love The Load and Unload albums, they're alright. And Death Magnetic does have teeth. I do know what you mean though. What's happening to Metallica happens to every band, but most of us fans love the fact that hey are still around and almost all original members. Even the newest bassist has like 17 years in. This band loves to tour - and they compromise their own lives to do that just like only the best bands in the world. They are one of the best bands in the world and new album is in April and tour too. I'm going to go this time!!

[@migueltay2803]

I´m not even a big Metallica fan, but this is one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time.

[@metalmike570]

Yeah you gotta admit this is a freight train of a song.

[@GRChrzak]

This is the first song I heard, March 1990. I had never heard anything as fast or heavy. Changed everything.

[@dathorndike4908]

Lars is so brilliant here. All the little fills and different drum styles he incorporates in this one song are so spectacular I find myself always focusing on the drums when I hear this song.

[@Metal_God]

Peak Ulrich.

[@machupikachu1085]

I agree. Lars' drum tech played really well on this album! 🤣

[@murk4552]

@@machupikachu1085 Lmao, but seriously, MOP had his most creative and most unorthodox drumming in their discography. I never heard drummers improvise other guitar solo rhythm section.

[@TheKereberus]

One of the best Metallica songs. So many good riffs.

[@TheEnnisfan]

I was 15 when Master was released. My mind was blown. I kept the cassette in my Walkman for months! No one does the metal gallop better than Metallica. Master is a masterpiece of an album. Still relevant & hard hitting to this day. Metallica forever! 🤘🤘🤘

[@joepalmer3795]

One of the things I find so amazing about this song is that structurally it's nearly identical to Yes' Heart of the Sunrise. In this era while everybody was crediting Metallica with being the premier thrash band they actually pretty heavily prog influenced. Of course in the 80s metal and prog were in 2 separate world, and prog was "a dead dinosaur" so nobody would mention that. But really prog metal is being invented right here, along with some other bands in that era.

[@TheSlysterII]

Great point Joe, and it's great to see prog metal is still going strong today with newer bands taking it to a new generation. I grew up with prog, and to hear bands like Opeth embracing it is only a good thing.

[@Kylora2112]

They threw an allusion to Tom Sawyer in Welcome Home. And it wouldn't surprise me if Metallica; as Rush, Zeppelin, and Diamond Head fans; got into Queensrÿche's and Fates Warning's first two albums.

[@footnotedrummer]

These lyrics have always been chilling. Hetfield deserves all of the credit he gets. He's an amazing artist (Showman, Player and Lyricist) IMHO.

[@bigge7661]

Don't forget one of the most Powerful line verses by James. "Finished Here, Greetings Death,He's Yours To Take Away."

[@Frostrazor]

This song is a masterpiece and in my top 5 songs by Metallica all time! "Back to the front" is a notorious line yelled by Patton, and brought to fame in the movie of same name by George C. Scott. Interestingly enough he was also credited with saying: "You don't win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by making you enemy die for his country".

[@Nissardpertugiu]

The drumming is freaking amazing in that era. The break down with the syncopated ride snare tom parradidle is just perfect .

[@metalmike570]

Definitely Lars at his best on this.

[@craiglindecamp9589]

Another thrash metal classic with a similar theme is Slayer’s “Mandatory Suicide”

[@joecrowaz]

I've personally dared Doug to do Slayer 😈

[@F1stzz]

Damn, that's one banger of all 'em bangers for sure 🤘🏻

[@dizzle7558]

War Ensemble perhaps?🤔

[@TheBsparks72]

Other Slayer may have the intensity and war theme, but lyrically yes Mandatory Suicide is the closest.

[@pauloakley2124]

The album is pure class. Not a weak song on it. 👌

[@concretmixer]

I was in The Navy stationed on an LST with Marines when this album came out, and they absolutely loved this song.

[@MrNobody-fk7fc]

This is my favorite Metallica song of all time! That riff that comes in around the 30 second mark is beautiful!

[@chiyanrealestate]

To me this is the best drumming Lars has ever done

[@k3digichaos]

i got this album in 86. Been raging to this digesting every lyric and mentally viewing the video for every song... metal was uncool when i got into it then it exploded. Metallica = biggest act ever.. This is a great channel with your own musical background. The reaction during intro when you sat up and pondered the sudden change in tempo.. great open mind man. The backdrop for the Master tour looked amazing for 1986 lol Wed December 10 1986

[@dizzle7558]

Nice D.R.I. symbol there↖️😎

[@mournblade1066]

"Creeping Death" is their absolute best song. It's quite possibly the most badass heavy metal song of all time. It's about the Ten Plagues from the Book of Exodus.

[@ephesians.6]

I keep waiting for a remix of Ride The Lightning where you can hear the bass better when James and Kirk (mainly James's) distortion kicks in. Cliff was doing some AMAZING things behind the guitars. So much theory. Maybe they're waiting for my birthday to release it haha. 😏

[@clintonjames8322]

We grew up with a fundamentalist Mom who believed that metal was satanic. She was going to throw away my brother's copy of Ride the Lightning and he pulled out the lyric insert and showed her that Creeping Death was from the Bible and she let him keep it. Death and plagues are ok if god is the one delivering them I guess.

[@mournblade1066]

@@clintonjames8322 Show her the lyrics to some Ozzy-era Black Sabbath tunes. More than a few are not only anti-Satanic, but actually pro-Christian as well. (Geezer Butler, the primarily lyricist, is a devout Catholic.)

[@craiglindecamp9589]

I got to sing that 10 feet from James in State College 2018!!! Such an incredible show

[@sergiocortez7600]

@@clintonjames8322 I remember a dude in college saying that Sign of the Cross and Hallowed be thy Name by Iron Maiden were satanic and blasphemic. Both songs are actually prayers, and really strong ones. A lot of faith in those lyrics. People were confused in ignorance just by the skulls in the album covers. 🤘

[@ShawnLightfootMusic]

I love that you chose this song Doug. I've shared my opinion with so many people over the years that James really doesn't get the accolades he deserves as a lyricist. Ever since this song first came out, it blew me away. The lyrics against the backdrop of that machine gun rhythm is so powerful. Master of Puppets - which speaks to drug addiction is another lyrical and musical masterpiece IMHO. Hearing your comments during Disposable Heroes was so cool, because they so accurately captured my sentiments on it, so it really resonated.

[@rodrigorivera2941]

Hi doug. If you enjoyed that 3/4 patterns you shuld listen "The Frayed Ends of Sanity", it's a real time signatures and bpm chages roller-coaster. As the title "suggests " it deal with insanity, therefore very heavy lyrically. Kepp it coming with good stuff.

[@r3ngokuking]

From a guitar player's perspective...this song is truly insane when you realize James plays that blistering pace on rhythm with ONLY downstrokes. The man was an absolute MACHINE on this record!

[@JamesWilliams-zh3on]

He is a machine live too. Right hand of steel!

[@nodaysback1]

One of Metallica's greatest! The *Back To The Front!* part reminds me of when Patton slapped a "Shell-Shocked" soldier and threw him out of the field hospital and called him a coward.

[@peterricard7483]

I remember in 11th grade we read Johnny Got His Gun. And our teacher even had a project for us that had to do with the relation of the book to the Metallica song “One”. Was one of the only times I got a good grade cuz I had just started listening to Metallica that year hahaha

[@israelquezada9936]

Doug, I recommend you Haggard's music, they're from Germany, Symphonic metal with medieval instruments. You should review their songs All'inizio È La Morte, Of A Might Divine and Eppur Si Muove.

[@bizarrandbeautiful]

I agree... Doug you should review their entire album ¨Eppur Si Muove¨, it's the best from them. They sing in English, but they also sing in Italian and German.

[@Back2VinylLP]

Eppur Si Muove is an amazing album, full of great symphonic and opera arrangements.

[@lestatdark2621]

Yes, Doug is a classical music composer, he should review more of those European Symphonic metal groups. Haggard is an awesome group. Also he should react to their album ¨Awaking The Centuries¨

[@filrut]

He absolutely needs to do Therion as well since they created Symphonic Metal

[@ellesartelcontar153]

This album is immortalized and archived in the library of Congress. That fact alone says how good it is.

[@metalmike570]

And their new album will be out in April!!

[@beatmet2355]

They haven’t performed this a lot live, but their 2009 Mexico City performance is pretty impressive. Kirk pretty much plays the solo note for note. And Doug, if you look close at the MOP cover, there’s a set of dogtags and hanging off one of the crosses. Also, a helmet on another.

[@ThoArtOne]

if you're pointing to the fact that even in studio he wasn't able to play note for note, then yeah, in that sense Kirk played "note for note" as in studio

[@beatmet2355]

@@ThoArtOne 😂 that doesn’t make sense, but ok

[@ThoArtOne]

@@beatmet2355 no it doesn't! After I heard his standalone guitar tracks from the studio mix. Check it out

[@beatmet2355]

@@ThoArtOne “pretty much note for note” doesn’t mean exactly. Of course, he’s not going to perfectly replicate it. That’s why I said that.

[@ThoArtOne]

@@beatmet2355 he wasn't able to play it clean not in studio neither live, that's what I meant. So he played live pretty much as in studio, but I wouldn't call it note for note, not pretty much, not perfectly

[@beirch]

I love seeing Doug's reaction to the transition at 8:04, cause that's one of my favorite parts of the song, and it really does illicit that sort of reaction. Such an unexpected and very cool twist.

[@sergiocortez7600]

I love this song. As a guitar player, this song requires a significant work on the right hand with the palm mute in the verses. Also, the lyrics are awesome. So fantasticly deep.

[@lasershow017]

Yes the fast paced sweep picking between 2 strings is not as easy as it looks

[@BlackieNuff]

Holy crap, I've been listening to this song since it came out and it never occurred to me that opening riff might be emulating gunfire in combat.

[@dawidgarstecki8553]

Doug should definitely review Fade To Black, as soon as possible. And I suggest live version.

[@DovahVokuna]

I agree. That song is another masterpiece. Dark, beautifull, heavy, sad all at the same time.

[@commiellama]

But not the one they had to cut short

[@dawidgarstecki8553]

Lincoln 2018, the best live Fade To Black performance ever.

[@swegme5005]

@@dawidgarstecki8553 kirk did butcher the solo though

[@ali965]

i did NOT expect you to react to this song because i didn’t think it would suit your style, but this is my favorite song off of the album. the transitions, the speed, the lyrics, it’s the quintessential metallica song in my opinion.

[@treypav]

This is my favorite Metallica song ever, thank you for doing it!

[@kingv911]

James Hetfield has stated the lyrics could apply to any situation in which people are used and tossed aside when not of use anymore. He got the idea for the lyrics from listening to a TV sportscaster calling used up American football players being treated like "disposable heroes": the NFL taking advantage of these young players and then tossing them aside once their bodies are damaged and used up.

[@rodrigost.3324]

one of my favorites of this MASTERPIECE album , after ORION ( the best of all time), of course !!! And Lars ( yes LARS) did a fantastic work on this track too !!!

[@guyfyffe5920]

First song I ever heard from them. 6th grade recess, 1989. I instantly loved how the guitar sounded like a machine gun. Hooked ever since. 🤘 RIP Cliff 🤘 Fucking masterpiece of an album. Jesus.

Really enjoy you reactions, they are pretty objective and gives us the context (musically) of the songs you reacted to. Keep going!!

[@danthemanlevitan36]

I have to admit I about spit out my drink laughing at your quote "they ain't happy about this situation..y'all" great stuff and so well put :)

[@DaRkAlVaRu]

It is indeed powerful live, I had the fortune to enjoy that song live in Lima, Peru.

[@fathalfbreed]

Well said Doug. These lyrics have moved me since I was 13 years old.

[@rocon86]

This song sends shivers down my spine, it is so good. Classic album from a great band.🤘

[@thehealingprocessbandofficial]

BACK TO THE FRONT! This song and Frayed Ends of Sanity are the best in their discography in my opinion. Very interesting analysis Doug, and you're the first "reaction" guy I see who actually pays attention to the lyrics in a metal song. To be honest I think your reaction videos are the only one worth watching on KZbin as you really add something to the listening esperience instead of just saying WOW, I'M CRYING, THAT'S SO WONDERFUL. Besides, your knowledge and "ear" are incredible, it's a pleasure to see you react to these "rawest" songs

[@joemaurone7923]

"Back to the front": that line reminds me of Kubrick's film PATHS OF GLORY, with Kirk Douglas, in the way that the soldier in the trenches during WW1 were treated by high command as "disposable heroes", and treated as cowards for retreating during an unwinnable battle... (Not to mention "Us and Them" by Pink Floyd, with the line "Forward! He cried from the rear, and the front rank died...")

[@catmanduu66]

One of my favorite songs. I was serving in the Marines at the time this came out. Lot of meaning for us even then. We were lucky. I got out before our current never ending wars started.

[@muchozorable]

Dr Doug you're the best! I very enjoy watching your videos in the late evening (22:03 in Poland), just to end a day in companion to a great dude and awesome music :D

[@TKCoutside]

I remember it like it was just yesterday. San Diego sports arena, Ozzy Osborn, The Ultimate Sin Tour, Metallica opened, the album and the live show for Master of Puppets was mind blowing and life changing, the influence radically changed my guitar playing for the better as well. Chop your breakfast on a mirror was a terrible life choice for me around this time. Years later the reality of how horrible this was helped me quit. Metallica f’d up with the whole Napster thing. We’ve all moved on, water under the bridge… They definitely have proven they are here to stay. Mad respect 👊🏼💯 (Plot twist; After coming to the realization this was killing me, I joined the military only three years later 😳🤯🤪)

[@cameronfowler7361]

Same - was up front for this whole show at San Francisco Cow Palace. Was incredibly powerful.

[@seanfitzgibbons3749]

Yep, saw them in Louisville, KY. On the Ozzy tour. 7/26/86. Almost 2 months to the day before Clift died. I was 15, it was my first concert … it truly changed my life. Along with Pantera ,they are still my favorite band. RIP Cliff, Dime, Vin.

[@mcdingus5081]

I saw them on the same tour in '86 in Milwaukee. First time I heard their spaghetti western intro (first time I saw them live) and remember how powerful that was. Gotta give credit to Ozzy for basically treating them like they were a second headliner- they had a decent set with the album cover crosses and plenty of room. That doesn't happen too often any more. After this tour they were pretty much a headline act going forward.

[@TKCoutside]

@@seanfitzgibbons3749 Oh yeah, shit, totally spaced that. Cliff died only a short while after the album dropped/during the tour. Jason was a great new addition, imagine if Cliff hadn’t died though 🤔😢🤷‍♂️

[@alexandre_am]

"One" is another great song about war, an absolute Metallica classic, and almost a sequel to the topic of "Disposable Heroes". The videoclip of the whole song, with footage from the movie "Johnny Got His Gun" would make a great reaction!

[@moldgrim1]

Doug already did that one, although a live version from Metallica S&M.

[@impalethenazarene]

The best song on the greatest thrash metal album ever created...period...set the standard, still holds up today \m/>

[@eichs22]

I had the distinct pleasure of hearing this live several years ago. It was absolutely massive

[@Canute_]

"Left to die with only friend-- alone I clench my gun" Always hits hard no matter how many times I hear it

[@lukewoodworth2101]

Easily in my top ten Metallica songs list...gives me chills every time

[@DayInTheLifeOfAl]

It’s nice to see a fresh take on a song I have really enjoyed (and played on guitar) since ‘86. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@Williamswartz]

I think the main inspiration for this song was when James was watching a football game and watching them get injured then pumped full of drugs to get back out and play but wrote the lyrics to a more serious topic

[@petsounds3612]

Thanks you for elevating the beauty and poignancy of James's lyrics--an often overlooked aspect of the band imo. Great video

[@woodguy76]

This video shows that quality music resonates with music lovers no matter the style or preferences.

[@StronkiTube]

When I originally started listening to Metallica, this was actually one of the songs that didn't really catch my attention much. Thankfully some years later I actually researched the lyrics and meaning and started to really love this song so much. I also really love how you mentioned the start of the song being like gunfire. I actually never caught that detail, very cool, and another reason to appreciate this masterpiece.

[@MrRSCHECK]

Yes, the whole Master of Puppets album definitely addressed various forms of control. Lepper Messiah, Master of Puppets, Sanitarium...

[@johnpetkos5686]

I've been listening to this music 23 years, and I get the chills EVERY time.

[@fzr1000981]

The reaction at 11:25 is priceless, thank you Doug

[@firststep7750]

Cliff Burton's influence on MOP is HUGE!

[@michaelmichael1001]

Flemming Rasmussen, the producer of Master of Puppets and their previous album Ride the lightning, is genious

[@JosesAmazingWorlds]

I prefer his work on Blind Guardian’s Imaginations from the Other Side

[@MARSHOMEWORLD]

This is Far and Away one of Metallica's greatest compositional efforts and you can truly hear the mind of Cliff Burton at work in the way it modulates so smoothly in and out of the two primary keys. Not to mention how to fit in the the proper amount of beets to make a stanza or the musical phrase work even though it needs to temporarily extend past the standard time signature. They were truly on fire at this point in their career, really a high-water mark.

[@blacklion401]

One of my all time favorite Metallica songs 🤟🏻

[@jrc-kb3ug]

This is one of my favorite Metallica songs and favorite Kirk solos. The interlude where they switch from off to on beat leading up to the solo is just so brutal and punchy (I feel like I have watched tons of covers, all playing it incorrectly). And then when the solo mirrors the interlude when it also switches to on beat. It plays like some epic soldier march, desperately marching into one final battle. Love it!

[@lukeizabelle2131]

This might be their masterpiece just as Achilles Last Stand is Led Zeppelin's masterpiece (I mentioned Led Zeppelin too because both songs remind me more or less of each other)

[@thewhitetogrey]

They have quite a few masterpieces

[@lukeizabelle2131]

@@thewhitetogrey That's for sure but for me this is their Magnum Opus and I would even add Master Of Puppets (the song I mean)

[@krs16891]

I've been a Metallica fan since roughly 1984..... never cease to be amazed and touched by so many Metallica songs especially the older I get..... nice to see people are finally giving James Lars Kirk Cliff Jason and Robert the love and respect they have always deserved

[@tinalouisestagg]

Thank you so much for doing these videos, Doug. As someone with a background in music history, theory, arranging, composition, sight reading, sight transposing, and singing, I spent years telling people that as heavy as Metallica’s music may be, it has a close connection to classical forms. Symphony and Metallica proved me right, but your refined ear and sense of timing is an excellent music lesson for us all.

[@ericreitzel2155]

Doug, you have perfect pitch, and open mind, and a love for music. Super great analysis and we love your appreciation for all music. Beautiful and back to the front my dude, you rock

[@fabiolignelli7372]

It's amazing and surreal how Metallica created such sacred albums, pure diamonds, especially Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets, which yielded and yielded fruits until today and I think forever. I bought and listened to these records and realized at the time how perfect these records were. Of course I loved and love other bands like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Slayer, Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory, etc, etc, etc. A combination of exceptional factors helped to make these records appear in the Metal world. One of them was the production by Flemming Rasmussen and recording at Sweet Silence studio in Denmark. And the band with an absurd creativity. With Cliff Burton. Etc., etc., etc. I find it very interesting today that different people are discovering and being impressed with the huge amount of exceptional Heavy Metal records, especially from the 80s.

[@mcdingus5081]

Yeah, those two albums are just so perfect. Ride the Lightning will always be my favorite- just 'cause I played the living snot out of it in my bedroom as a 15 year old- and Fade to Black was the first song I ever heard from them. Contrary to popular belief, they did get a fair amount of radio play on a lot of rock stations with that song. They fooled a lot of program directors with that acoustic intro. They were so good at creating what were really pretty and emotion hitting tones with the acoustic- following it up with a real ying/yang effect right into gut punching overdriven rage. That was just not something that was really done before them. In fact, the intro to the whole Ride the lightning album is still one of my favorite intros ever.