“Metallica, one of the biggest selling acts in American history, was born on October 28, 1981, when drummer Lars Ulrich and guitar player/singer James Hetfield got together via Ulrich’s LA Recycler newspaper ad” (“History”). Afterward, the line-up for the band consisted of Lars Ulrich the drummer, James Hetfield the frontman, Dave Mustaine the lead guitar, and Cliff Burton the bassist. After the band decided to part ways with Mustaine for his reckless acts, Kirk Hammett then received a phone call inviting him to try out for the band. After Hammett passed the tryouts, the band began to create albums such as Kill ‘em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. Subsequently, tragedy struck in 1986 when their tour bus crashed and killed Cliff. The replacement bassist, Jason Newstead, stayed with the band up to 2001, until the band chose their permanent choice, Robert Trujillo (Prato, “Kirk”).
This website gives information about the band members and the band in general. Its main point is to rank the top five songs that embody what gives Metallica its sound. The musical elements that each song was ranked with are timbre/tone, rhythm, dynamics, and texture. Each song on the list is accompanied by an explanation of each element, as well as lyrics and selected portions of the song to back up the information provided. It is important to note that these songs were not ranked because of their popularity but because they upheld the musical essence that gives Metallica its signature sound.
Top 5 Judging List
Timbre/Tone
This musical element is defined as “ something with a steady periodic sound. A musical tone is characterized by its duration, pitch, intensity, and timbre” (Roederer). It will have to show a crucial sound that Metallica gives and should be able to showcase one or multiple various emotions portrayed by the band.
Dynamics
This musical element is simply defined as the volume of the notes being played in a song. Some of the top songs on the website's list include changing dynamics throughout a singular track. With this in mind, those changes have enabled the song to land on a higher rank in the list.
Rhythm
Masterclass writes that “rhythm is the pattern of sound, silence, and emphasis in a song. In music theory, rhythm refers to the recurrence of notes and rests (silences) in time." It will have to show Metallica’s combination of vocals and other instruments combining to give the signature rhythmic pattern that listeners enjoy.
Texture
This musical element can be defined as the layering and combination of rhythmic or harmonic pieces in a track that can create thick or thin “textures.” What is to be looked for is generally thick textured songs that have great variations in riffs on all instruments.