My thoughts on Metallica possibly nearing the end (Part 1)

Metallica photo taken by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

Recently, James Hetfield of Metallica hinted and began to give out feelers to fans that he is starting to feel too old already to play Metal ! Whew, that hit me really hard. I can only surmise, though, what he means and what this could hold for the band’s future.

That piece of news is a shocker and it dawned on me that one of our favourite bands from our childhood may no longer be around in the very near future. This is something that I never thought could happen any time soon… because if you have followed the career of Metallica as I have… there was no clear indication that “retirement” was even in the realm of that possibility for them… not just yet.

That Metallica would stop performing, touring, and releasing records will be a huge loss; it will be like losing a vital piece of a glorious era in modern music that gave birth to so many iconic and legendary bands. Metallica ceasing to exist will leave a stupendous void in the music industry that can never be filled in by any other band ! Why so ? Simple.

There is no other band that comes close to what they have accomplished since they started in 1983 and to what they have stood for.

To the uninformed, Metallica are certified Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. And, indeed, without doubt, they will go down in history as one of the most influential and important bands ever.

For those who were already around during the prime of this legendary band and have dismissed Metallica as just another of those heavy and dark bands who bring nothing but noise … boy, how wrong and off­track you are ! Yup, I intentionally (not loosely) append the word legendary to Metallica because­­by all accounts­­they are. Only a complete ignoramus, or much worse, someone else who has never ever bothered to listen to the music of Metallica will shamelessly put down the band without even thinking. These are the kinds of people­­and I am sure there are more­­who would even dare to question the legendary status of this band. When your mind is so closed and you only listen to music that is easily and conveniently fed to you through social media, then you have no business dissing Metallica because you know nothing. Perhaps, there are those of you who prefer listening to “canned­sounding” music, overly produced tracks which bury the artists’ true sound, and bizarre songs with lyrics full of sexual innuendos which mercilessly corrupt the minds of our youth, especially of pre­teens.

But I ask, will any of those artists you blindly follow be around thirty plus years from now, as Metallica have been ? Will those artists still be here once the current trend they are riding fades out ? Will those artists continue to have relevance decades after ?

Indeed, it would be much better for all of us to develop a discerning ear because the reality is that pop music can often be so expendable and recycled at times that they lack any real emotion and depth to their songs. I am not saying all are like this. Probably, around 70 percent are so which makes for a terrible statistic by any standard.

That is why I still listen to bands like Metallica.

***End of Part 1