Welcome to The Saw’s Butcher Shop! It’s Ya Girl! And today, The O.G. Metalhead (aka, my dad) has the next installment of the series – The O.G.’s Personal History of Metal – up on the block. 1986 was an informative year for him. Metallica, a move to another state and the struggles with isolation because of the move further solidified his Heavy Metal identity. Check-out Part V (5) of The History of Metal!
On April 17, 1986 we were, again, heading to the arena to see OZZY. He had another (new) band with him, and that band would forever change the trajectory of Heavy Metal; for me, personally, and for the genre as a whole. I remember, as we were standing in line that night, waiting to get into the venue, that a lot of people were wearing Metallica t-shirts. I had no idea who they were, but their fans seemed to out-number OZZY’s, at least according to the fan’s shirts!
I would later find that Metallica had two albums out already, and they were with OZZY on this run supporting their new album – Master of Puppets – on the Damage Inc. Tour. So, most of the bands we had seen over the years had big stage productions (especially Iron Maiden and KISS). Even OZZY’s stage show was filled with props and various “side-shows.” Metallica had drums, amps, monitors, a mic and stand, and a huge banner backdrop of the Master of Puppets album cover. That was it! However, we were not prepared for what we were about to witness when the band hit the stage!
I am at the age, now (53), where my memory isn’t what it used to be. But that night is forever burned into my mind! The lights dimmed, and “Ecstasy of Gold” was the audio played to begin Metallica’s show. When the lights rose at the first chord, the band was on stage, and opened with “Battery.” As you can imagine, it was the hardest, fastest, and heaviest thing I had ever heard! Honestly, I was dumbfounded! I just sat there, trying to take in what I was witnessing. It was just the four members (including Cliff Burton – it was a few months later that he would be killed in the bus crash in Europe), but it was the most incredible thing I had ever seen. And the music!! It was a punch in the face! When the song ended, we just sat there looking at each other; starting to feel the energy of the music, we became ecstatic.
The set list that night:
- Battery
- Master of Puppets
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- Ride the Lightning
- Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
- (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth – the incredible Cliff Burton bass solo
- Thing That Should Not Be
- Fade to Black
- Seek & Destroy
- [first encore] Creeping Death
- Am I Evil?
- Damage Inc.
- [final encore] Whiplash
I will never forget that show. It changed everything for me. Metallica were the greatest thing I had ever seen, but especially that I had ever heard! This was it! This was the thing that was missing! My musical taste had begun to trend heavier – with Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost, and Metal Church, etc. – but that night, with my introduction to Metallica, nothing but speed and heavy riffs would satisfy. It wouldn’t be until 1988 that I would discover Kill’em All, and it would be after, …And Justice for All, while I was in Germany, that I would discover Ride the Lightning.
It turns out that I would need Metallica and my Heavy Metal identity to survive (as it were) 1986. In the fall my father retired from his work at the bank and my family moved to his hometown in NC. I was 16, which is a tough age on its own, but to move to a new state at that age – leaving everything I knew – was very hard. And to move from NY to NC was even harder, and a definite culture shock.
I had extended family in NC – my father’s family – and that was helpful, when I saw them. The school year of my Jr-year of high school had already begun, so on top of it all I was at a new school as “the new kid,” beginning the year late. I had a cousin, a year ahead of me, at my new school. We would ride together in the mornings and back home, again, in the afternoons. He was a metal head, so we’d jam on our rides. This pattern went for a few months, until he graduated early and left by the beginning of 1987.
Everyone else my age, that I met in NC, were (apparently) stuck in a time warp! If I’d listen to music with them, they would play Lynyrd Skynyrd and various other Southern Rock; Boston, Led Zepplin, and the like, as their form of “heavy music.” When it was my turn to DJ, I’d play Metallica (of course), Metal Church, Anthrax, Megadeth, and so on. They could not grasp what was happening! They could not relate, at all, to the “noise” I had selected. We could find some common ground – like Maiden or Priest – but true, real Heavy Metal had not entered the picture for (most of) them.
My appearance and the way I dressed was completely alien to them. I had long hair, earrings, black t-shirts (usually band shirts), jeans, and a leather jacket and a denim vest (with patches all over it – later, it would be considered a “Battle Vest”). They wore (mostly) Polo shirts (even the females), and winter jackets that I wore when I was in Elementary school! Remember that, “cool” was a part of my Metal culture. For the most part, these people just were not “cool” to me! I was 16/17 years-old, my Metal identity (and “cool”) was everything to me. And the culture shock of NC instilled that pride even more. With few friends and the subsequent sense of isolation, I turned to Metallica and Heavy Metal; I turned inward to find my place.
My Senior Year of High School (1988), was much better. That was because another “new kid” had moved to the school, and we became best friends. He was a metal head, with long hair, and the metal form of dress. Our favorite album that year was Kill’em All, which we had on repeat the whole year. We were nearly inseparable! In school, they called us, “The Rock-N-Roll Express.” No one else looked like us, at least at the beginning of the year. Later, suddenly, there were a handful of kids that adopted the Metal style, so that there were quite a few of us in the smoking area for lunch. It was a welcome turn of events to me. For the first time since moving to NC I had really bonded with “my own kind.” And today I am still friends with many of these folks. Metal was/is our bond.
I cannot fail to mention one other event in this season (1986-1988) that was foundational and inspirational for me: Christmas of ’86, my extended family had a party. I have another cousin (a drummer), who gifted me a tape that was transformational; almost as much as my Metallica experience. In 1986, Slayer released, Reign in Blood, probably (IMO) THE greatest Metal album ever. It was the tape my cousin gave me for Christmas, and I listened to it so much that I, literally, wore it out! That album was an important building block in my formation, and a major player during my inward turn of identity.
I also must say: My “home life” was great. My parents (and sister) were awesome and patient. I don’t think they understood my music and lifestyle, but they were fully supportive in the obvious struggles that I was going through. Home was a “safe place,” and that notion is something I’ve always tried to instill for my kids (as The Saw knows). It is important that you have a place where you feel safe; a place where you can be yourself. Home with my family, and Metal, were that “place” to me. I could weather any and all storms because of that firm foundation.
So, this season for me carried a strong sense of isolation, which drove me inward for identity, and really formed my “friendship” with Metal and everything that it entailed. Leaving NY in 1986 through leaving NC in 1988 to join the ARMY, here are the albums that were important to me:
- Metallica – Master of Puppets (1986)
- Slayer – Reign in Blood (1986)
- Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying (1986)
- Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time (1986)
- Dark Angel – Darkness Descends (1986)
- Metal Church – The Dark (1986)
- Nuclear Assault – Game Over (1986)
- Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction (1987)
- Anthrax – Among the Living (1987)
- King Diamond – Abigail (1987)
- Testament – The Legacy (1987)
- Def Leppard – Hysteria (1987)
- Savatage – Hall of the Mountain King (1987)
- Motley Crue – Girls, Girls, Girls (1987)
- Manowar – Fighting the World (1987)
- Grim Reaper – Rock You to Hell (1987)
- Death Angel – The Ultra-Violence (1987)
- Metallica – …And Justice for All (1988)
- Slayer – South of Heaven (1988)
- King Diamond – Them (1988)
- Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
- Testament – The New Order (1988)
- Danzig – Danzig (1988)
- Megadeth – So Far, So Good… So What? (1988)
- Kix – Blow My Fuse (1988)
In the fall of 1988, Metallica were back on top (for me) with the release of …And Justice for All. I had graduated high school and enlisted in the ARMY. I still hadn’t settled in NC, yet, and I didn’t desire to be back in NY, either. So, the ARMY seemed like the best thing for me – “see the world” was the selling-point at that time. I would soon find my “need” for Metal once again. I would also encounter resistance to my Metal identity from the U.S. ARMY (at least some of my NCOs). And, while in Europe, I would be introduced to another kind of Metal – Death Metal.
Until the next time…
The OG
The Series:
The History of Metal with The OG – Part I
The OG’s Personal History with Metal – Welcome to the 70s – Part II
The Saw's Butcher Shop Radio Show 