Metallica

Most songs are in the usual rock metre of common or cut time although some songs are in ľ or 6/8. At the end of some 4/4 phrases a ľ or 2/4 bar is used to push the beat. The rhythm, in the first few albums, was typically very fast with its roots being spawned from British Punk Rock. As Metallica produced more albums the speed was drastically reduced and the punk beat was used less regularly in the place of slow rock ballads and standard rock drumming. Because a double-kick drum is used, the backbeat is extremely strong.

As with rhythm, Metallica became more advanced in their use of pitch and harmony. In their beginning albums, the pieces were most often in E, E flat or D minor (very common to heavy metal because of the range of guitars (E flat and D minor are played as E minor but the tuning is dropped to achieve a thicker sound) ). This was the case until quite recently (approx. 1994) where Metallica started to experiment with different chordal bases. Although Metallica based their songs in E minor, chromatic chords are used very frequently because ‘if it sounds good, use it!’. Their non-modal styles of playing could also

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be attributed to their lack of formal musical knowledge (as with most heavy-metal guitarists). It has some significant differences from the previous two, quite similar albums.

Dynamics and Expressive Techniques

Dynamics

Through the ‘evolution’ of Metallica, dynamic usage changed quite a bit. To add a different colour, the vocalist sometimes doubles his voice (through overdubbing) or gives his voice a slight flange. As Metallica released more albums, the texture of songs became thicker with more compression technologies. The original recording has a much thinner texture than better in slightly more recent live recordings as compression technologies and James’ vocal skills have drastically improved and Lars’ drumming style changed and improved. The difference between the music on either side of this album is so great that many fans only listen to pre “Metallica” Metallica.

Specific study

Master of Puppets(1986)

The title song of Metallica’s third album, Master of Puppets is about the traps of drug addiction and the controlling affect it has on peoples lives.

The song begins with an instrumental introduction. This song shows how highly influntial the speed/thrash metal style has been on modern death and especially black metal styles. ” The orchestra changed the texture of the songs from homophonic to polyphonic, by creating counter melodies, often giving songs a very different feeling, such as in “ Hero of the Day”, where the counter melodies make it sound far more emotional. Layered Dynamics are used at the start of the song. The songs builds up in texture and intenstity and then gradually decreases in texture until the dramatic ending.

The Rhythm guitar often plays in unison with the lead guitar but usually the rhythm guitar is extremely basic because the vocalist plays the rhythm and complex chords would be difficult to sing and play at the same time.

Approximate Word count = 2672
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)

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