My Music Monday: Metallica
Welcome to My Music Mondays. Each week I will be delving into my music collection and looking at a new artist going somewhat randomly currently but eventually from A to Z. I’ll examine why I first started listening to them, my favorite album and my top 10 songs for the artist. As my music collection is pretty extensive and I have a lot of one offs, I have set a qualification to be featured here. That is that I have to have at least two albums of the artist’s music before they can be considered. This week I look at Metallica.
I had a choice of which band to do today. On one hand, Pearl Jam’s “Ten” is being re-released tomorrow and the album is being released on Rock Band tomorrow on XBOX Live and Thursday on the PSN. On the other hand, this coming Sunday Guitar Hero: Metallica releases and I was asked specifically by a friend to do a special My Music Monday: Mettallika edition. I know that is spelled wrong, it ties into the request….
Anyway I was turned on to Metallica somewhere around eighth grade and my freshman year of high school. At the time I was big into the 80s hair metal scene, bands like Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Europe and Poison were in my tape deck along with Guns N’ Roses. I spent a lot of time listening to those bands and watching their videos on MTV. Then one day I caught the brand new video for “Enter Sandman” and I was hooked. I fell in love with the Black album and quickly began looking into their prior works, to which I was turned onto some of the most heavy, yet melodic music I had ever heard.
I have been a fan for nearly 20 years now and have had the pleasure to see them live a couple times, each of which was a special occasion. The best time I ever had though was during a free concert that the band held in the parking lot of the CoreStates Center, which they entitled the Million Decibel March, was held in November 1997. The concert was insane and at one point I was within just a couple feet of Kirk Hammett, by far the best free concert I have ever been too.
Favorite Album: Master of Puppets
If I had to choose only a handful of albums as my all time favorites, Master of Puppets would be on that list. In my opinion it may be the best metal album ever put together.
10 Favorite Songs
10. Bleeding Me
9. The Call of Ktulu
8. One
7. Wherever I May Roam
6. Nothing Else Matters
5. Master of Puppets
4. Enter Sandman
3. Orion
2. Fade to Black
1. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
So what do you think of Metallica?
My Music Mondays: Apocalyptica
Welcome to My Music Mondays. Each week I will be delving into my music collection and looking at a new artist going from A to Z. I’ll examine why I first started listening to them, my favorite album and my top 10 songs for the artist. As my music collection is pretty extensive and I have a lot of one offs, I have set a qualification to be featured here. That is that I have to have at least two albums of the artist’s music before they can be considered. This week I look at Apocalyptica.
Note: My last entry in this feature, at that time called My Music: A to Z, was back in September when I looked at my favorite band Guns N’ Roses. Since then I have gotten some additional music that qualifies for the feature and they are going to kick off the first couple of weeks, thus Apocalyptica this week.
I like classical music. I like Metallica. Apocalyptica started as a cello quartet that played classical covers of Metallica songs hence I like Apocalyptica. Over the last decade Apocalyptica has evolved from a talented group of cello players with a Metallica fetish to a full fledged rock act, complete with guest vocalists and a percussion section. If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing their music, do yourself a favor and give them a listen, at the very least you should be impressed even if you don’t like the music.
Favorite Album: Inquisition Symphony.
While their album “Plays Metallica by Four Cellos” is awesome, Inquisition Symphony expands on their work there and the band really starts to come into their own, even if the best songs on it are still Metallica covers.
10 Favorite Songs
10. Hall of the Mountain King
9. I Don’t Care (feat. Adam Gontier)
8. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
7. S.O.S. (Anything But Love) (feat. Christina Scabia)
6. The Unforgiven
5. Nothing Else Matters
4. I’m Not Jesus (feat. Corey Taylor)
3. One
2. Fade to Black
1. Farewell
So what do you think of Apocalyptica?
Chris’s Personal Bests of 2008: Music
This year (or I guess it is last year now) I spent far less on music than I have in past years only picking up about 29 albums and about 200 or singles but I still have an opinion based on that so let’s get to it.
2008 seemed to be a renaissance for a great many older artists, some hit and some didn’t but the weakest one of the year goes to Def Leppard’s “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge”. I truly think Def Leppard may have died because this isn’t even a shadow of their former works.
And now onto the best.
(more…)
