Monday, October 19, 2009

A boyhood dream fulfilled part 1, Background

When I was around eight years old, I was introduced to a sound I had never heard before that flipped my life on its head. It was the sound of Black Sabbath.

(If you are one of those judgmental types that dismisses heavy metal music as "devil music," I suggest you read no further. You may find yourself disappointed to see that heavy metal music for the most part is not "of the devil.")

But anyway, I first heard Black Sabbath when the tag team duo, The Road Warriors would run out to the ring (back in the NWA days), and demolish their opponents at an average rate of 3.5 seconds. Then, after a bunch of talk about the entrance music, I was given the opportunity to listen to the song "Iron Man," and the rest of the Black Sabbath album (yep, vinyl (which still rules by the way)) Paranoid.

Before this, I was on a steady diet of classic country and bluegrass (which I still listen to today). Black Sabbath was a gateway to Metallica, who I started listening to when I was 10.

Garage Days, Re-Revisited was the first Metallica I heard. It was $5.98, and I was able to muster up enough willpower to save my 1 dollar a week allowance to purchase the cassette. My parents rewarded my perseverance by paying the sales tax, as well as the record store markup (stupid Record Bar at the mall... there are people who still work there from back when I was a kid, but I digress... but seriously, ambition?)

Anyway, it was worth every penny. And Justice For All came out on August 25, 1988, when I was 12. To this day, I can't think of anything I have listened to more. That cassette was played more times than (I tried to think of a witty remark here but failed). It was played every day straight for at least two years.

Well, the 90s, and the first part of the 2000s weren't quite good for my heroes in Metallica. If you play the self-titled (black album) Metallica released in 1991, you can hear foreshadowing of the Mediocretallica to Craptallica years to come.

(To be continued, but for those who can't obviously see where I'm going with this, scroll down to read the spoiler)




















































almost there
























































































just about it






























SPOILER: I went to see Metallica and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen.

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