Metallica

Released: August 21, 1987

Songwriter: Ray Phillips Tony Bourge Burke Shelley

Producer: Metallica

[Verse 1]
Look inside and you will see
The words are cutting deep inside my brain
Thunder burning, quickly burning
Knife of words is driving me insane
Insane, yeah

[Verse 2]
Raven black is on my track
He shows me how to neutralize the knife
Show to me in surgery
The art of fighting words to conquer life
Conquer life, yeah

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
Now the wicked lance of fear
Is driving from my heady mountain brain
Crash course in brain surgery
Has stopped the bloody knife of words again
Yeah, yeah, ye-yeah

Like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden before, Metallica has managed to transcend the genre from which it was originated. To their metal fanbase they are considered one of the Big Four bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer; however Metallica is also one of the most commercially successful bands in all of rock music, having sold 110 million records including the 16x platinum Metallica, which stands as both the highest selling metal album of all time and most successful album of the past 25 years.

Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles after drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advert in the classifieds newspaper The Recycler, which was answered by singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield. They were soon joined by lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who later formed Megadeth after being kicked out of the band because of his substance and alchohol abuse, and bassist Ron McGovney, a childhood friend of Hetfield. These two early members were replaced with Cliff Burton (who relocated the band to San Francisco) and ex-Exodus lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett to form the band’s classic line-up.

The band released three albums, 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, 1984’s Ride The Lightning and 1986’s Master of Puppets before the tragic and untimely death of Cliff Burton on September 27th, 1986.

more tracks from the album

Garage Inc.

From the albums

The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
Garage Inc. (1998)

Metallica popular songs

Crash Course in Brain SurgeryMetallica

Metallica

Garage Inc.