Metallica coming over for Diwali? What a blast! But more of the wallet busting type, as Indians gear up for a more festive-than-usual festive season
Could you still be cheap when a chance to live a dream presents itself? That’s a tough choice for Indians because, honestly, we don’t have very big dreams.
Anyway, Metallica touring the country for the first time has stirred a lot of feverish excitement. Longtime fans of the band, who number in the millions here, are committed to do whatever they can to be a part of this one.
This despite the fact that their tour dates are crammed right between Diwali and the inaugral Indian GP, which has the makings of a huge dilemma, since a lot of Metallica fans must love fast cars and vice versa. And Diwali is all pervasive, so there is no escaping that.
It’s a good thing, maybe; lungs will be too choked with cracker fumes to be smoking drugs at the concert. One less worry for the overworked Delhi Police. But just to get those juices flowing, here are – arguably – Metallica’s top five great songs. Lend a ear..
1. CALL OF KTULU
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The way we were; drunk and virtous. This is a personal favourite from Metallica’s most critially acclaimed album, Master of the Puppets. It was a Dave Mustaine composition, which is why it’s not performed live, almost ever, since his exit from the band. But it’s a good trace to where this band comes from.
2. RIDE THE LIGHTNING
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This song is anthemic for different people for different reasons. For some, it’s the rank best metal song of all time, but for the less emphatic, it’s about Cliff Burton’s sublime opening bass riff, that sounds so much more than a bass riff. An old favourite, expect them to unleash it sometime when they take centrestage here.
3. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
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Oh, this song has been sung by every wannabe rockstar worth his wannabe salt. And that’s because of its chillingly soothing melody. I bet James Hetfield surprised himself, even. It was also a profound coming-of-age for Kirk Hammet, who people started believing in after his gnawing solo right at the death.
4. TURN THE PAGE
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Whatever they did, Metallica did turn around this hopelessly downtempo Bob Seger single into an enduring heavy metal classic. Also because of the disturbing music video accompanying it, starring pornstar Ginger Lynn Allen as a god-forsaken prostitute/stripper single mom. The lyrics finally found their resonance in Hetfield’s vocal chords and it all made sense.
5. I DISAPPEAR
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There must be a better Metallica song than this, surely. But this is propaganda, because this song almost has historical significance. Apart from being one of the few tasteful things to come out of Mission Impossible 2, this was a brilliant song from a band clearly on the wane. It was like they’d temporarily transformed themselves into their vintage selves, just to give John Woo something to make his quasi-kung fu movie look a little cooler.
