1983: Metallica - “Phantom Lord”

Like many youngsters, one of my first serious brushes with music was with Metallica, becoming obsessed with their heavy, melodic, and ambitious (for mainstream standards) music. Tracing their history back from their humble beginnings as a garage outfit to the biggest band in the world, I got to know their desire to unite their love for NWOBHM bands like Angel Witch and Diamond Head with punk and hardcore of the day, an approach that soon put them ahead of the metal curve and influenced a generation of loud and fast aspiring musicians to make the sickest, most blistering music they could. I also learned about their volatile guitarist Dave Mustaine who got kicked out, became bitter about it, formed Megadeth, and fueled a war that lasted for much of both band’s careers. One of their most brilliant moments together that exemplifies their fusion of styles is “Phantom Lord,” an early song that eventually turned up on their debut album Kill ‘Em All with Mustaine’s replacement, Kirk Hammett, handling the lead guitar work.

Just a couple of months ago, Metallica celebrated their 30th anniversary with a series of concerts, inviting many artists to play with them — everyone from King Diamond to Lou Reed — and, sure enough, the long awaited reunion with Dave Mustaine happened on the last night. After the insults, the drugs, the fights, and difficult personalities, the band finally played together and that little part of me that remains 11 years old — the one who was in complete awe discovering a world of sound away from the bland and typical and craving something loud and crazy — couldn’t pick his jaw from the floor or keep his eyes from watering; I really couldn’t believe my sight. There they were, playing “Phantom Lord” together, with all the frenetic riffs, shouts, and fast rhythms that still sound dark, violent, amazing, and vital, the way it was supposed to happen in a different world where Mustaine, Hetfield, and Ulrich remained together. A world of “if” that’s not real but showed its face for one brief moment in time.

DeLorean

There’s a lot of good music out there, and it’s not all being released this year. With DeLorean, we aim to rediscover overlooked artists and genres, to listen to music historically and contextually, to underscore the fluidity of music. While we will cover reissues here, our focus will be on music that’s not being pushed by a PR firm.

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