Battery (song)
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| "Battery" | ||
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| Cover of Master of Puppets | ||
| Song by Metallica | ||
| from the album Master of Puppets | ||
| Released | February 21, 1986 | |
| Recorded | Sweet Silence Studios Copenhagen, Denmark September-December, 1985 | |
| Genre | Thrash metal | |
| Length | 5:12 | |
| Label | Elektra Records | |
| Producer(s) | Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen | |
| Master of Puppets track listing | ||
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"Battery" is the opening track of Metallica's 1986 album Master of Puppets. As with the opening track from Ride The Lightning, Battery begins with a slow, clean guitar part. In this case, as many as five acoustic guitars are layered harmonically before the drums and bass come in with distorted guitars playing a more melodic version of the acoustic part. This lasts until 1:06, when the guitars cut into a very fast minimalist thrash metal riff that is the basis for the rest of the song. In live concerts, the beginning is not played by the band (due to the aforementioned fact - 5 guitars!) but instead the actual recording is used (recently dropped 1/2 step in key, since the band tunes 1/2 step down).
In keeping with the general "control" theme of Master of Puppets, the lyrics of "Battery" discuss the control that anger can have over one's behavior. The title refers to "battery" in the sense of "assault and battery", as shown by these lyrics: "Smashing through the boundaries / Lunacy has found me / Cannot stop the battery". The song is an indirect tribute to the Old Waldorf Club in San Francisco on Battery street.
- The song is actually a tribute to the band's fans (as cited by Lars himself in Kerrang! magazine)
"Battery" is still an almost constant part of the band's live set list, frequently as the opening or closing song. In some cases, it is also used as a song before the intermission. When played, the song may stop before the interlude, and James asks the crowd "Are you alive?... How does it feel to be alive?" and followed by the solo played by Kirk.
[edit] Covers
- This song was covered by the band Machine Head for Kerrang!'s Master Of Puppets: Remastered.
- This song was adapted for Metallica's 1999 S&M concert; it was used as the second encore after "Enter Sandman."
- on "Animetal Rebirth heroes", Animetal uses the riff for "Battery" throughout the entire song "Touch" with some changes in between.
[edit] References
- ↑ "Battery" song info at Encyclopedia Metallica
| Metallica |
| Members |
|---|
| James Hetfield - Kirk Hammett - Robert Trujillo - Lars Ulrich |
| Former members: Cliff Burton - Dave Mustaine - Ron McGovney - Jason Newsted |
| Discography |
| Albums and extended plays: No Life 'Til Leather - Kill 'Em All - Ride the Lightning - Master of Puppets - Garage Days Re-Revisited - ...And Justice for All - Metallica - Load - ReLoad - Garage Inc. - S&M - St. Anger - Some Kind of Monster - Ninth studio album |
| Videography |
| DVDs and videos: Cliff 'em All - 2 of One - A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica - Live Shit: Binge & Purge - Cunning Stunts - S&M - Classic Albums: Metallica - The Black Album - Some Kind of Monster - The Videos 1989-2004 |
