Lars is an average drummer but a way above average composer of metal songs and THAT is why they are the biggest metal band ever. Lars is heavily involved in all aspects of composition. Even the guitar riff ideas.
hes kinda metallicas ringo. nothing he does is too terribly crazy, but it always supports the song and he's inspired tons of players to pick up a pair of sticks and hit shit. and any musician that can inspire someone to become a musician is a treasure.
Average drummer who lead a new style at the time.. Unique style and average don't go together very well . Composing and performing Battery and many others songs requires an above average level. Lars murdered that song many decades and years in encore with 2h30/40 in the legs. Who's average could do that each night for 280 gigs a year ?
I remember. Sitting in the backseat of my father‘s car on the way home from the shops on a Saturday in 1987..remember the excitement, the start the acoustic guitar and was looking sideways… Then it happened.
Although there are other influential elements, Battery is the audience; the fans that power the band. The energy that keeps the band going. It's an homage to the fans.
Based on all the Radiohead stuff Judson likes to play on piano - I bet my whole left thumb that he would love 'Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing' - you should both react to that!
Dont apologise for stopping and analysing on the fly, love to hear your thoughts as and when they form. Cheers 🤟🏻 Dunno if you've done it already but can't help thinking you may prefer 'sanitarium', as the composition is a little more interesting.
Battery also plays into the anti-war themes of the album as a military battery. I love that Judson brought up ambiguity in lyrics as one of the hallmarks of a good song. This is one of the measures (one might even call it a great measure) of quality across all literature. The way this song encapsulates those themes in the performance is great as well. The chaotic aggression of everything going wrong (or right) all at once whether that be on stage with the fans, the pains of growing up, or the madness of battle, especially prefaced with a false calm, makes this a standout track.
It was him doing it without a pick, combined with the others auditioning struggling a bit with getting it right, at full speed, for the whole song without running outta gas.. I mean Pepper Keenan was their original frontrunner, and he's not even a bass player. Which was his prime reasoning for convincing them to hold tryouts instead of handing it to him right away..
It's specifically about Battery street in San Francisco, where they played a lot of their early shows. But also about their relationship with other bands in the scene, and fans to an extent, like you said.
Saw this tour back in 1986 when Metallica opened for Ozzy. I remember my friends and I were still in the tunnel when they opened with Battery. I remember frantically running to our seats as they played.
The opinion about Lars came around Napster and his cockiness. Kirk is one of the best, he can play anything and he fits the roll in Metallica very well and James and Lars really has an influence on what goes in the songs.
James said the intro is from staying up late, the tv station would sign off with a musical piece and it gave him the idea, slow building into powerful, and thats how he wanted to start the album and live shows.
Its about the driving force behind their music. They have said its about the needing the positive and the negative for it to work. I hope you guys get to experience The Warning soon. They have everything Judson likes without the stuff he doesn't. I would bet 20.00 that he will like or love every song of theirs.
I can supply you with a fun fact too. Did you know that jazz musician Dexter Gordon was Lars’ Godfather? Gordon spent a large part of the 60s and 70s in Copenhagen and struck up a friendship with Lars’ dad Torben who passed away in December.
Another great reaction! I didn’t hear anything from Metallica until the 90’s when I was a teen but Ride the lightening was one of my first 5 cd purchases.
True! I remember my older borther buying rude on cd, and I thought it was a new cd, especially trapped under ice as I considered being a new song of theirs x)
I love primus, probably more than most, but I'm sure Judson has heard at least some of their stuff.. maybe not the deep cuts, but given his love of 90s alternative music, I'd think he's been exposed to at least all the stuff they made videos for.. they're not so metal that he'd avoid them, like he had with the bands that were definitely in the genre.. if he did, it's due to their weirdness more than anything else, I'm sure
@@The_Masked_1der give hime some anyway :) i really dont care if he is aware of any other things he was exposed to in this channel. He is just original.
one of my favorite bands! definitely an acquired taste if you don't outright like them from the get-go John the Fisherman Welcome to this World Mr. Krinkle good places to start
@@lopa-u9f Tommy The Cat, Sgt. Baker, or To Defy The Laws Of Tradition would be good as starters too.. anyone who likes any of those will find that there's a ton more good songs once you go down the rabbit hole, embrace the weird, and Sail the Seas of Cheese like the rest of us big fans.. You'll most definitely find out the answer to why they've been successful, and Is It Luck? 😏
I got the privilege to hear this played live for the very first time to an audience on New Year's Eve at the Bill Graham Civic. What a show! The line up was amazing: Exodus, Metal Church, and Megadeth. We got to hear half of Master about six months before it was released. One of the most metal shows ever.
Wow, that must have been incredible. I saw Megadeth and Exodus way after that prob in 2003 or 04 and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. I was floored how good Exodus was live, and obviously Dave was just a juggernaut on stage
Like Ringo from The Beatles. Also, Lars is a co-writer/ arranger of most of the songs-so no Lars and the band sounds very different. As far as Kirk? There are more proficient or “better” guitarists, but he’s for sure among the better out there and at that point its up to individual taste and opinion.
@@dan.j.boydzkreationz that was a reference to a joke told about the Beatles. I thought it was a real quote from John later, but was shown the original as made by a comedian. It's a good joke too, cause I got 0 respect for Ringo. Lars on the other had, I've grown to appreciate more over the years. Back in the day I attributed the composition of the drum parts to a committee. They were so good, I assumed that they were worked on by Lars shopping the ideas to friends (as one sometimes did back then), his dad, James and whoever was producing the albums. I made the same (incorrect) assumption about Nick Mason, only to realize later that they both just were really good at composing drum parts for songs. They had the ability (like Bill Ward for example) to look at the song as a whole and determine the best way to fill out the sound needed for that song. Most people never consider stuff like that, but yet feel qualified to judge people's drumming. LOL
@@dan.j.boydzkreationz also, every drummer has to be a better drummer than they were when they first started. It's a fallacy to assume people are just that good at something so hard, without lots of practice.
I think it is easy to forget the time and what the music scene was back at the time. When this came out and we were listening it on our walkmans this was amazing!!
Back in the 80's, i had MOP on album. I preferred albums to CDs as it was easier (and cheaper) to just rip them to cassette tape, and have 2 full albums on a single cassette tape. And then listen to it on your walkman/portable cassette player. Or boom box if out with friends.
LPs and cassettes were great because it took effort to skip a song. I think a lot of people would have skipped Leper Messiah and Thingy if they could just hit next. And those two songs would have never received the recognition they have now.
@@MatthewC137 I bought it on cassette because my boom box only had cassette and I didn't have a connector for my. CD Walkman. I did buy the CD a week or so later though.
Lars first really got hate after Napster stuff. He also around the late 90s got 'lazy', especially live. He's actually been getting better live lately, putting more energy in to the sets. I don't remember much 'hate' in the 80s against him specifically, of course there wasn't the internet in the 80s. I had internet use since '90, usenet metal groups didn't really diss him from my memory of it.
Some glad you guys found your way back to Metallica! You guys did No leaf clover which is from 99. Show him The Memory Remains ....he won't see it coming
80s Lars was a decent and sometimes innovative drummer and a true powerhouse live. When you saw Metallica live in the 80s, you walked out of the concert wooed and impressed with his drumming. He perfected his style of playing "with" the song, accentuating the rhythm, always mixing it up with cool fills and breaks. With the Black album, everything came together and Lars delivered a flawless performance on every track. He owes his reputation to a bunch of factors, one being that he's really smart, a great businessman, but also very opinionated and he could come across as arrogant at times. Then Napster happened. Then their style changed. In comes a sloppiness, maybe a lack of originality, taking shortcuts, not playing his signature fills, maybe laziness, maybe didn't like practicing so much, partly because of age, partly because of having peaked and lack of aggression, and the crazy touring schedule. Plus the constant improvising live, "Larsisms", tempo irregularities, sometimes ruining a perfect performance with silly fills, being bored having to play the same songs the same way, every night, for decades. I can still appreciate Lars as the person who activated James and kept the band going, as a good arranger and the "brain" of Metallica. We owe him many moments of pure joy, and that's ultimately how he will be remembered in Metal history.
I just made a comment before seeing this. He also got 'hate' from my memory with the Napster stuff initially, and I remember St Anger and 'the snare drum' continued the hate. I don't recall much with load/reload, but I had dropped off Metallica for a while post black album (was a HUGE fan in the 80s).
@@jeffmoppi Nobody cared about the bass on AJFA being turned lower than usual when it was first released. Over time it's turned into a tired meme. Listen to other music released in 1988; a lot of it sounds worse than AJFA from a production standpoint (I love Operation Mindcrime but the production is awful, very unbalanced and distorted) And a lot of metal released from '89-'94 was clearly influenced by AJFA (especially Terry Date's sort of "trademark" production style at that time was clearly ripping off the dry and "tight" sound of AJFA).
That was a fun conversation. I did not expect this reaction at all. Before the track started, I thought Judson was going to love it. The real reaction and conversation that ensued was far more interesting. The verse riff is one of James’ best ever in my opinion, but the critique of the drumming is fair. After not hearing the track for quite a long time, the poorly executed drumming stands out. We’ve been spoiled throughout the years by drummers that are much better.
Lars is always slightly behind the beat. There are some videos out there of Dave Lombardo of Slayer filling in and it is the heaviest Metallica ever sounded.
I think that most people don't realize that what really makes Lars great is the fact that he made metal drumming so accessible to play. He is the perfect gateway into metal and that why is almost every metal drummer out there has found their way into metal
Had no idea CD's were a thing that early. I thought they came in the early 90's. Then again, I guess it took a while for them to become a standard world wide. This song is a such a fkn classic. And for some reason it's twice as a good live. Probably because it sounds more organic.
Funny thing is I think there were only a few dozen or maybe a hundred or so CDs until the late '80s or early '90s. That's about the time it really starting to take off. I think The new Pink Floyd album I got on CD.
87 Sentra hatchback with a removable Alpine tape deck and a sun roof. This whole album, and a cassette single of One with The Prince on the B-side. Oh, and their cover of Stone Cold Crazy on some compilation tape.
I used to loathe Battery when I was younger thanks to my friends always playing it on Rock Band 2. I agree with the build up to witnessing Master of Puppets, it's life changing. Definitely need to check out some newer stuff, Spit Out the Bone is pretty decent.
This is my favorite Metallica song. There are so many great songs on this album. It opens with this one and ends with an evn more powerful song "Damgage,Inc". It is my favorite album by them. this and "Ride" are 2 of the greatest metal albums ever!
We could bring in records to listen to while running at the beginning of gym class, I was in 7th grade and it was 1986. Someone brought this album in and we ran to it. That was my introduction to Metallica.
Do you guys have a Patreon where we can suggest songs? Cuz I have no idea why you guys haven’t and I NEED you to do Periphery (Ragnarok), Northlane (Bloodline or actually even better…Carbonize), Erra (Dementia), Volumes (Edge of the Earth), Tesseract (Nocturne)…that kinda stuff.
Such an influential song from such an influential album. I see the intro as an intro to the album, not just the song. Think we've gone soft do you? Well get a load of this!
Back in days, I remember I was scared by the water balloon effect of many metal songs: some songs started with fine acoustic parts only to impress you some seconds later with powerful riffs. It was a somewhat childish trick but it kinda worked on teens like me
14:51 conservative people - probably. But most likely a reference to glam rock music and style that was culturally dominant at the time. They were so very much the opposite of that and it caught on like wildfire. The disenfranchised youth gravitated very heavily towards metallica and thrash metal in general and it became a huge phenomenon in the world of music.
Battery is fun the way the reverse blast beat has crash accents on the off beats matching the crazy main riffs accents, making your brain switch it around, causing even more confusion. They also do that on Fight Fire With Fire, where both the main riff and the bridge/solo are fun. Some people want to be haters and say Ulrich sucks or doesn't play the songs like he's supposed to. Ulrich never claimed to be even a good drummer, has never really practiced, and his album performances are touched up and edited to make them work the best. So what? He could hardly ever play those songs perfect live, neither could the rest of the band, but the feelings associated with those songs, and the energy and rawness they bring to the scene makes it work.
CD version a year later maybe ? I have CDs from beginning 80's, Im assuming they brought it out on the newer platform CD as quick as possible, Am I wrong ?
How cool would an episode of Great Measures be with brother cameos, if theyre all musically inclined or interested. Between the two of you there ought to be enough to pick from it seems.
cliff should get the most credit for his work on this, his tone is so clean and punchy compared to the other albums. his timing and dynamic control is epic, to play along with the gallop riff and give it a feel where it hits hard on the count. drives the riff. further i think Judson got it right with his heavy hand comment but applied to cliffs bass work, he did it purposely.
Omg that intro hit hard.. Why u do that lol gdi ;-; This kind of music, is what makes metal heads calm in nature, cause this is an outlet like much of metal is, throw your aggression out, punch a wall, than grow up as calm as ever
Great review as always. I see Judson liking some of the songs of Metallica from the 90s, not just the Black Album but also from Load and Reload and he probably must know a lot of the hits, of course for the normal metalhead fan the first 4 will always be peek Metallica and metal in general. :) Lars is getting the job done, he's not doing anything special or complex normally. However, I think he does get a lot of hate, most of it is probably backlash to the Napster days. Kirk is a great solo guitarists, I don't hear a lot of people say he's overrated. However, from what I know James writes most of the rhythm and actual music and Kirk is the "solomaster". James is, in my opinion, one of the top rhythm guitar players/writers in history. P.S. It's a bit irrelevant and I recommended it few times. :) I suggest to check out Wintersun - Sons of Winter and Stars (the live studio version), it's very epic melodic death metal with incredible orchestral parts (on playback). I think Judson might like it ;)
Are there better drummers? Yes. This particular album completely changed heavy music forever. No other drummer could fit this band in the way Lars fits. The musical world was never the same. Cannot kill the family!!!
Imagine going from listening to radio-friendly top 10 hits all day long back then to hearing this for the first time. Granted.. had already been introduced to Black Sabbath, Dio, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, AC/DC, etc.. so the transition was easy for me. After this album dropped and I heard this song for the first time.. followed by the title track.. I was a devoted fan of this genre from that day forward. Also.. tis song is more about unrestrained energy.. in all it's forms. At least that is my take on it.
On the subject of Lars.... and really the entire band individually. None of them are 'the best' or even nearly 'the best' at their respective instruments. There are many players who are better at each instrument. They are, however, among the best respectively. What they bring is attitude and devotion to the band and music itself. They bring the energy.. and if any of them were 'the best' it would be all about that individual and not the band. I believe this.. coupled with good songwriting, incredible stag presence, high energy, etc.. is what propelled them into the #1 spot for many years.. especially during the infancy of this genre. This is just my personal take on the situation.. yours may vary.
Lars is kind of a punching bag for people. Who knows if they can even drum themselves. But he does exactly what the song needs, he doesn’t overplay, and more than anything he is the real musical one in the band. Hes the one that arranges and has the ear for what works and whats catchy. In some ways its kind of the opposite when people complain that a famous producer with 1000 hits doesnt play an instrument like Rick Rubin.
Back then when when it was new, they were untouchable,Lars was amazing,Kirk was laying down some really iconic and rememberable solos,James was a riff master and cliff was the classically trained one who showed james and kirk harmonies and his contributions are a big part of Metallica's sound. When he died so did a big part of Metallica. And Justice for all was a great album but the magic that was Burton was gone. Then the change happened and they toned everything down and shortened their songs and simplified their riffs,drum parts and solos which worked very well for them achieving mainstream success but long gone were the days of pushing the boundries and being pioneers. As far as today's standards go Lars is overrated,Kirk's solos are boring. James is the strongest link in that band but his writing style is coming from a very wealthy,sober way of life and has lost his edge. When they started they were hungry,angry and had something to prove now they have so much money and have been at it for so long ,the fire is out. Their stomachs are full and they're not angry. They've managed to stay relevant due to marketing tactics and the lingering hope from fans that the next album is going to be where master left off but the reality of it is Cliff is gone and James,Lars and Kirk are different people now.
Hay guys, love your chemistry. If monsieur Judson wants some new Metallica, why don't you give him some Load (king nothing, ronnie) or Reload (fuel, memory remains) before hitting him with the post St.Anger good stuff?
Interesting discussion! Just adding my point of view on Lars: He is an amazing musician, and probably a good drummer. While many players out there can play Metallica drums, he's the one coming up with it and makes it fit the song. I think its two very different things!
![Metallica - (Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth [Pianist continues his exploration of heavy metal]](/img/n.gif)
Lars is an average drummer but a way above average composer of metal songs and THAT is why they are the biggest metal band ever. Lars is heavily involved in all aspects of composition. Even the guitar riff ideas.
Yep, have the same opinion
hes kinda metallicas ringo. nothing he does is too terribly crazy, but it always supports the song and he's inspired tons of players to pick up a pair of sticks and hit shit. and any musician that can inspire someone to become a musician is a treasure.
Just get him out of the final mix booth
@@dustinwainwright6429 truth!
Average drummer who lead a new style at the time..
Unique style and average don't go together very well .
Composing and performing Battery and many others songs requires an above average level.
Lars murdered that song many decades and years in encore with 2h30/40 in the legs.
Who's average could do that each night for 280 gigs a year ?
I wish to erase my memory and listen to this masterpiece for the 1st time again and again.
Nothing compares to the 80's in terms of great music being made.
I remember. Sitting in the backseat of my father‘s car on the way home from the shops on a Saturday in 1987..remember the excitement, the start the acoustic guitar and was looking sideways… Then it happened.
I’m always saying this about the music from my childhood (80’s-90’s). What I wouldn’t give
I say this all the time about things....especially albums, concerts and movies...lol
Had it in my car for 6 years straight. Love it when Damage Inc is done and Battery starts again
"What's fixin' to happen?"
"....what?"
That was my favorite part
I just lost it there 😆
Haha, he totally dropped into the groove before the groove dropped in, and Jud caught it.
It’s how we’s Rednecks talk…
Although there are other influential elements, Battery is the audience; the fans that power the band. The energy that keeps the band going. It's an homage to the fans.
Based on all the Radiohead stuff Judson likes to play on piano - I bet my whole left thumb that he would love 'Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing' - you should both react to that!
Dont apologise for stopping and analysing on the fly, love to hear your thoughts as and when they form. Cheers 🤟🏻
Dunno if you've done it already but can't help thinking you may prefer 'sanitarium', as the composition is a little more interesting.
good one
Battery also plays into the anti-war themes of the album as a military battery. I love that Judson brought up ambiguity in lyrics as one of the hallmarks of a good song. This is one of the measures (one might even call it a great measure) of quality across all literature. The way this song encapsulates those themes in the performance is great as well. The chaotic aggression of everything going wrong (or right) all at once whether that be on stage with the fans, the pains of growing up, or the madness of battle, especially prefaced with a false calm, makes this a standout track.
Fun fact. Robert Trujillo, their current bassist chose this song for his audition and crushed it.
They were mind blown and he got the job.
this song isn't a difficult bass song for metallica
And he was SUPER hungover when they did it.
I'm a big fan of Suicidal.
It was him doing it without a pick, combined with the others auditioning struggling a bit with getting it right, at full speed, for the whole song without running outta gas.. I mean Pepper Keenan was their original frontrunner, and he's not even a bass player. Which was his prime reasoning for convincing them to hold tryouts instead of handing it to him right away..
Robert chose this song for his audition cause he'd already played and recorded it for a Metallica tribute album.
Ol Judson’s trolling on another level
Thank you Judson
I think this song is about their relationship with their fan's and the energy between the two
It's specifically about Battery street in San Francisco, where they played a lot of their early shows. But also about their relationship with other bands in the scene, and fans to an extent, like you said.
Yeah you’ve got it. That’s kind of been their official explanation of the song’s meaning.
I always thought the lyrics was about being in the mosh pit
Oboe is this bozo
Saw this tour back in 1986 when Metallica opened for Ozzy. I remember my friends and I were still in the tunnel when they opened with Battery. I remember frantically running to our seats as they played.
You could re-record that whole intro section today and it couldn't possibly sound better.
The opinion about Lars came around Napster and his cockiness. Kirk is one of the best, he can play anything and he fits the roll in Metallica very well and James and Lars really has an influence on what goes in the songs.
People didn't realize Lars was 20 years ahead with Napster
Fits the role yes. One of the best no
Play anything except those notes in between in Some Kind of Monster 😉
James said the intro is from staying up late, the tv station would sign off with a musical piece and it gave him the idea, slow building into powerful, and thats how he wanted to start the album and live shows.
Its about the driving force behind their music. They have said its about the needing the positive and the negative for it to work.
I hope you guys get to experience The Warning soon. They have everything Judson likes without the stuff he doesn't. I would bet 20.00 that he will like or love every song of theirs.
Absolutely, they are amazingly good and talented!
I can supply you with a fun fact too. Did you know that jazz musician Dexter Gordon was Lars’ Godfather? Gordon spent a large part of the 60s and 70s in Copenhagen and struck up a friendship with Lars’ dad Torben who passed away in December.
Great opening on the piano
Another great reaction! I didn’t hear anything from Metallica until the 90’s when I was a teen but Ride the lightening was one of my first 5 cd purchases.
True! I remember my older borther buying rude on cd, and I thought it was a new cd, especially trapped under ice as I considered being a new song of theirs x)
Can we please give PRIMUS a listen. I just want to see the look on Judson's face. He seems to like bass lol
I love primus, probably more than most, but I'm sure Judson has heard at least some of their stuff.. maybe not the deep cuts, but given his love of 90s alternative music, I'd think he's been exposed to at least all the stuff they made videos for.. they're not so metal that he'd avoid them, like he had with the bands that were definitely in the genre.. if he did, it's due to their weirdness more than anything else, I'm sure
@@The_Masked_1der give hime some anyway :) i really dont care if he is aware of any other things he was exposed to in this channel. He is just original.
one of my favorite bands!
definitely an acquired taste if you don't outright like them from the get-go
John the Fisherman
Welcome to this World
Mr. Krinkle
good places to start
@@lopa-u9f Tommy The Cat, Sgt. Baker, or To Defy The Laws Of Tradition would be good as starters too.. anyone who likes any of those will find that there's a ton more good songs once you go down the rabbit hole, embrace the weird, and Sail the Seas of Cheese like the rest of us big fans.. You'll most definitely find out the answer to why they've been successful, and Is It Luck? 😏
I got the privilege to hear this played live for the very first time to an audience on New Year's Eve at the Bill Graham Civic. What a show! The line up was amazing: Exodus, Metal Church, and Megadeth. We got to hear half of Master about six months before it was released. One of the most metal shows ever.
Wow, that must have been incredible. I saw Megadeth and Exodus way after that prob in 2003 or 04 and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. I was floored how good Exodus was live, and obviously Dave was just a juggernaut on stage
@@thefinaldispatch I also saw Exodus with Arch Enemy on the aircraft carrier Hornet.
This was my first ever CD purchase :)
Yes it is
@@SNKNostalgia haha what
@mummriken99 Master of Puppets you silly person
@@mummriken99 Master of Puppets
There may be better musicians out there but without Lars and Kirk Metallica wouldn't be Metallica.
for sure.
Like Ringo from The Beatles.
Also, Lars is a co-writer/ arranger of most of the songs-so no Lars and the band sounds very different.
As far as Kirk? There are more proficient or “better” guitarists, but he’s for sure among the better out there and at that point its up to individual taste and opinion.
Dunno, they literally had to teach him to be a better drummer than he originally was. Hetfield; "he isn't even the best drummer in Metallica"
@@dan.j.boydzkreationz that was a reference to a joke told about the Beatles. I thought it was a real quote from John later, but was shown the original as made by a comedian. It's a good joke too, cause I got 0 respect for Ringo.
Lars on the other had, I've grown to appreciate more over the years. Back in the day I attributed the composition of the drum parts to a committee. They were so good, I assumed that they were worked on by Lars shopping the ideas to friends (as one sometimes did back then), his dad, James and whoever was producing the albums. I made the same (incorrect) assumption about Nick Mason, only to realize later that they both just were really good at composing drum parts for songs. They had the ability (like Bill Ward for example) to look at the song as a whole and determine the best way to fill out the sound needed for that song.
Most people never consider stuff like that, but yet feel qualified to judge people's drumming. LOL
@@dan.j.boydzkreationz also, every drummer has to be a better drummer than they were when they first started. It's a fallacy to assume people are just that good at something so hard, without lots of practice.
I think it is easy to forget the time and what the music scene was back at the time. When this came out and we were listening it on our walkmans this was amazing!!
Nice opening with Videotape!!!
Back in the 80's, i had MOP on album. I preferred albums to CDs as it was easier (and cheaper) to just rip them to cassette tape, and have 2 full albums on a single cassette tape. And then listen to it on your walkman/portable cassette player. Or boom box if out with friends.
LPs and cassettes were great because it took effort to skip a song. I think a lot of people would have skipped Leper Messiah and Thingy if they could just hit next. And those two songs would have never received the recognition they have now.
I believe Tchaikovsky’s 1812
Overture was also in the mix
For early CD releases…
Bloody hell. I got the chills when I heard Videotape. Haven’t heard that in a LONG time. I’ll go ‘looking for where the one is’ again.
In 1986 most people bought this album on vinyl.
Everyone I knew bought it on cassette.
@@MatthewC137 I bought it on cassette because my boom box only had cassette and I didn't have a connector for my. CD Walkman. I did buy the CD a week or so later though.
Lars first really got hate after Napster stuff. He also around the late 90s got 'lazy', especially live. He's actually been getting better live lately, putting more energy in to the sets. I don't remember much 'hate' in the 80s against him specifically, of course there wasn't the internet in the 80s. I had internet use since '90, usenet metal groups didn't really diss him from my memory of it.
Videotape is one of my all time favorite Radiohead songs, love to hear Judson cover it at the beginning. Always tugs at the heartstrings.
Some glad you guys found your way back to Metallica! You guys did No leaf clover which is from 99. Show him The Memory Remains ....he won't see it coming
One of the greatest albums of all time!! In my opinion 😊
With Children Of Bodom - Follow the Reaper
80s Lars was a decent and sometimes innovative drummer and a true powerhouse live. When you saw Metallica live in the 80s, you walked out of the concert wooed and impressed with his drumming. He perfected his style of playing "with" the song, accentuating the rhythm, always mixing it up with cool fills and breaks. With the Black album, everything came together and Lars delivered a flawless performance on every track. He owes his reputation to a bunch of factors, one being that he's really smart, a great businessman, but also very opinionated and he could come across as arrogant at times. Then Napster happened. Then their style changed. In comes a sloppiness, maybe a lack of originality, taking shortcuts, not playing his signature fills, maybe laziness, maybe didn't like practicing so much, partly because of age, partly because of having peaked and lack of aggression, and the crazy touring schedule. Plus the constant improvising live, "Larsisms", tempo irregularities, sometimes ruining a perfect performance with silly fills, being bored having to play the same songs the same way, every night, for decades. I can still appreciate Lars as the person who activated James and kept the band going, as a good arranger and the "brain" of Metallica. We owe him many moments of pure joy, and that's ultimately how he will be remembered in Metal history.
I just made a comment before seeing this. He also got 'hate' from my memory with the Napster stuff initially, and I remember St Anger and 'the snare drum' continued the hate. I don't recall much with load/reload, but I had dropped off Metallica for a while post black album (was a HUGE fan in the 80s).
@@undinism69 I mentioned Napster, but the snare drum sound is another important detail. Also, the injustice against Jason might have played a role.
@@jeffmoppi Nobody cared about the bass on AJFA being turned lower than usual when it was first released. Over time it's turned into a tired meme. Listen to other music released in 1988; a lot of it sounds worse than AJFA from a production standpoint (I love Operation Mindcrime but the production is awful, very unbalanced and distorted) And a lot of metal released from '89-'94 was clearly influenced by AJFA (especially Terry Date's sort of "trademark" production style at that time was clearly ripping off the dry and "tight" sound of AJFA).
@@ryanjacobson2508 I didn't say it mattered in the 80s.
That was a fun conversation. I did not expect this reaction at all. Before the track started, I thought Judson was going to love it. The real reaction and conversation that ensued was far more interesting. The verse riff is one of James’ best ever in my opinion, but the critique of the drumming is fair. After not hearing the track for quite a long time, the poorly executed drumming stands out. We’ve been spoiled throughout the years by drummers that are much better.
Lars is always slightly behind the beat. There are some videos out there of Dave Lombardo of Slayer filling in and it is the heaviest Metallica ever sounded.
@@chairmanofthebored6860 He's waaaay behind the beat. Slightly behind the beat is Gene Hoglan aka The Atomic Clock.
I think that most people don't realize that what really makes Lars great is the fact that he made metal drumming so accessible to play. He is the perfect gateway into metal and that why is almost every metal drummer out there has found their way into metal
Had no idea CD's were a thing that early. I thought they came in the early 90's. Then again, I guess it took a while for them to become a standard world wide. This song is a such a fkn classic. And for some reason it's twice as a good live. Probably because it sounds more organic.
Funny thing is I think there were only a few dozen or maybe a hundred or so CDs until the late '80s or early '90s. That's about the time it really starting to take off. I think The new Pink Floyd album I got on CD.
The very 1st cd I ever saw was Master of Puppets...it was 1987 and I was in the 8th grade...😂😊😮😢
Lepper Messiah reaction would be interesting to see
Yup, one of the first 4 Metallica albums on headphones an blasting some Wolfenstein 3d… those were the days.
I first saw a CD player in 86. Stevie Ray Vaughn - College Station TX. I used to blast Battery in my 88 Sentra in Pontotoc Co.
87 Sentra hatchback with a removable Alpine tape deck and a sun roof. This whole album, and a cassette single of One with The Prince on the B-side. Oh, and their cover of Stone Cold Crazy on some compilation tape.
I used to loathe Battery when I was younger thanks to my friends always playing it on Rock Band 2. I agree with the build up to witnessing Master of Puppets, it's life changing. Definitely need to check out some newer stuff, Spit Out the Bone is pretty decent.
This is my favorite Metallica song. There are so many great songs on this album. It opens with this one and ends with an evn more powerful song "Damgage,Inc". It is my favorite album by them. this and "Ride" are 2 of the greatest metal albums ever!
Richard should react to a Radiohead song!
13:48
I always think like that
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
This is the way. Only the way!
We could bring in records to listen to while running at the beginning of gym class, I was in 7th grade and it was 1986. Someone brought this album in and we ran to it. That was my introduction to Metallica.
One of the greatest intros ever composed, what can you say 😀
Hey I got a shout out for Videotape! You are welcome Richard
Are you as handsome as your brother?
@@sxelady I think that’s more subjective.
@@tupeloriver7204 then i’m gonna need a lil cameo from you sir.. to compare yalls piano playing and whatnot..
Well that will up to the higher ups inviting me on.
Best Metallica album…technically/musically speaking it checks all the boxes !!! And ima give most that credit to Cliff!
78 / 5 000
this is my youth. this is my youthful madness. it's my youthful mutiny.
this song is awesome
Do you guys have a Patreon where we can suggest songs? Cuz I have no idea why you guys haven’t and I NEED you to do Periphery (Ragnarok), Northlane (Bloodline or actually even better…Carbonize), Erra (Dementia), Volumes (Edge of the Earth), Tesseract (Nocturne)…that kinda stuff.
Vektor would also be a fun reaction for Judson
First cd was 52nd Street by Billy Joel.
Such an influential song from such an influential album. I see the intro as an intro to the album, not just the song. Think we've gone soft do you? Well get a load of this!
Back in days, I remember I was scared by the water balloon effect of many metal songs: some songs started with fine acoustic parts only to impress you some seconds later with powerful riffs. It was a somewhat childish trick but it kinda worked on teens like me
14:51 conservative people - probably. But most likely a reference to glam rock music and style that was culturally dominant at the time. They were so very much the opposite of that and it caught on like wildfire. The disenfranchised youth gravitated very heavily towards metallica and thrash metal in general and it became a huge phenomenon in the world of music.
Battery is euphemism for the energy the fans bring
I wore the print off this cassette listening to it so many times.
Please show Judson "one" off of and justice for all!!!! Best tallica song
Battery is the energy of your soul. You can’t kill him because energy cannot be destroyed.
Battery is fun the way the reverse blast beat has crash accents on the off beats matching the crazy main riffs accents, making your brain switch it around, causing even more confusion. They also do that on Fight Fire With Fire, where both the main riff and the bridge/solo are fun.
Some people want to be haters and say Ulrich sucks or doesn't play the songs like he's supposed to. Ulrich never claimed to be even a good drummer, has never really practiced, and his album performances are touched up and edited to make them work the best. So what? He could hardly ever play those songs perfect live, neither could the rest of the band, but the feelings associated with those songs, and the energy and rawness they bring to the scene makes it work.
Great vid! Once again I’m requesting something from Primis for both of you to listen
B batteries are still made and sold - producing 1.5 volts and 8350 mAh
When I first bought this album, it was only available in cassette and vinyl. That's a long time ago!!! I was 14 years old.
CD version a year later maybe ? I have CDs from beginning 80's, Im assuming they brought it out on the newer platform CD as quick as possible, Am I wrong ?
Album perfection 🔥🔥🔥🤘🤘🤘
My favourite reaction to date :)
The first album on cd was brothers in arms, dire straits
been awhile since judgeson went on a lengthy tangent. noice.
also 29:28
Haha, I've been waiting on this banger
How cool would an episode of Great Measures be with brother cameos, if theyre all musically inclined or interested. Between the two of you there ought to be enough to pick from it seems.
The first 4 are their best
I think Judson would love him some Load/ReLoad era 'tallica. Maybe a little Outlaw Torn or Carpe Diem, Baby. Do it up, Richard.
cliff should get the most credit for his work on this, his tone is so clean and punchy compared to the other albums. his timing and dynamic control is epic, to play along with the gallop riff and give it a feel where it hits hard on the count. drives the riff. further i think Judson got it right with his heavy hand comment but applied to cliffs bass work, he did it purposely.
Good start with my favorite album
... I could never find anyone better than me dammit! He is so damned right!
Omg that intro hit hard.. Why u do that lol gdi ;-;
This kind of music, is what makes metal heads calm in nature, cause this is an outlet like much of metal is, throw your aggression out, punch a wall, than grow up as calm as ever
Great review as always.
I see Judson liking some of the songs of Metallica from the 90s, not just the Black Album but also from Load and Reload and he probably must know a lot of the hits, of course for the normal metalhead fan the first 4 will always be peek Metallica and metal in general. :)
Lars is getting the job done, he's not doing anything special or complex normally. However, I think he does get a lot of hate, most of it is probably backlash to the Napster days.
Kirk is a great solo guitarists, I don't hear a lot of people say he's overrated. However, from what I know James writes most of the rhythm and actual music and Kirk is the "solomaster". James is, in my opinion, one of the top rhythm guitar players/writers in history.
P.S.
It's a bit irrelevant and I recommended it few times. :)
I suggest to check out Wintersun - Sons of Winter and Stars (the live studio version), it's very epic melodic death metal with incredible orchestral parts (on playback). I think Judson might like it ;)
Are there better drummers? Yes. This particular album completely changed heavy music forever. No other drummer could fit this band in the way Lars fits. The musical world was never the same. Cannot kill the family!!!
Could be assault and battery. Could be a battery as in military. Could be power source.
Havent heard the battery street reference. Love that.
The start of the track is to manually get you into the mindset they want you to be in to maximise the punch when the heavy comes in.
Imagine going from listening to radio-friendly top 10 hits all day long back then to hearing this for the first time. Granted.. had already been introduced to Black Sabbath, Dio, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, AC/DC, etc.. so the transition was easy for me. After this album dropped and I heard this song for the first time.. followed by the title track.. I was a devoted fan of this genre from that day forward.
Also.. tis song is more about unrestrained energy.. in all it's forms. At least that is my take on it.
On the subject of Lars.... and really the entire band individually. None of them are 'the best' or even nearly 'the best' at their respective instruments. There are many players who are better at each instrument. They are, however, among the best respectively. What they bring is attitude and devotion to the band and music itself. They bring the energy.. and if any of them were 'the best' it would be all about that individual and not the band. I believe this.. coupled with good songwriting, incredible stag presence, high energy, etc.. is what propelled them into the #1 spot for many years.. especially during the infancy of this genre. This is just my personal take on the situation.. yours may vary.
Great interpretation, Judson.
"The “B” battery was a high voltage battery used n old tube-powered radios."
One of the best metal songs ever! Master of puppets is one of the best albums ever
Give the man some Load era.
He's urging for it.
I seen this concert live they actually open for Ozzy
Play him the official music video to “Unforgiven”!!!!
CDs weren’t out yet. Justice was the first CD release.
CDs absolutely existed by 86. Now maybe MoP didn't get released on CD at the time, but there were others.
Lars is kind of a punching bag for people. Who knows if they can even drum themselves. But he does exactly what the song needs, he doesn’t overplay, and more than anything he is the real musical one in the band. Hes the one that arranges and has the ear for what works and whats catchy. In some ways its kind of the opposite when people complain that a famous producer with 1000 hits doesnt play an instrument like Rick Rubin.
The b battery exist. Is the 3LR12 ; 4.5volt.
buckethead-jordan, live at the culture room
Great song on this album, but i still prefer "Damage Inc." Anyway, i am happy to continue joining your trip through good music.
52nd Street was the first cd and I had no idea, all this time
Should give Pink Floyd Echoes live in pompeii a listen if you hadn't already.
Back then when when it was new, they were untouchable,Lars was amazing,Kirk was laying down some really iconic and rememberable solos,James was a riff master and cliff was the classically trained one who showed james and kirk harmonies and his contributions are a big part of Metallica's sound. When he died so did a big part of Metallica.
And Justice for all was a great album but the magic that was Burton was gone. Then the change happened and they toned everything down and shortened their songs and simplified their riffs,drum parts and solos which worked very well for them achieving mainstream success but long gone were the days of pushing the boundries and being pioneers. As far as today's standards go Lars is overrated,Kirk's solos are boring. James is the strongest link in that band but his writing style is coming from a very wealthy,sober way of life and has lost his edge.
When they started they were hungry,angry and had something to prove now they have so much money and have been at it for so long ,the fire is out. Their stomachs are full and they're not angry. They've managed to stay relevant due to marketing tactics and the lingering hope from fans that the next album is going to be where master left off but the reality of it is Cliff is gone and James,Lars and Kirk are different people now.
This is what he feeds on, little bunny needs an, energizer battery!
I thought I’ve seen a thing where James says battery is about how Metallica feeds off both the positive and the negative. Could be wrong.
Hay guys, love your chemistry. If monsieur Judson wants some new Metallica, why don't you give him some Load (king nothing, ronnie) or Reload (fuel, memory remains) before hitting him with the post St.Anger good stuff?
Interesting discussion! Just adding my point of view on Lars: He is an amazing musician, and probably a good drummer. While many players out there can play Metallica drums, he's the one coming up with it and makes it fit the song. I think its two very different things!
"Like I got off your mom" 😂 I love it.