Frayed Ends

Some people come out of the womb banging their head. I wasn't one of those. My journey through music was and continues to be a diverse one.But for the majority of people that know me, know me as a metal head, a head banger, etc. I wasn't always one though.

I got into Metal around my Freshman year in High School. I was into the grunge and the alternative stuff still, didn't real dig the heavy stuff. During the year I became friends with this transfer kid who was into punk and metal. I remember walking home one day listening to The Misfits and Iron Maiden. From there it was all downhill. I fell in love with the music, the complex rhythms, the bass lines, it was like discovering the best thing ever. I'm not even sure what Misfits record it was, might have been Collection I, and I think the Maiden record was Number Of The Beast. Over time I started to get into other Metal bands. Eventually I stumbled onto Metallica and that's where the beast grew.

I was aware of Metallica for some time now, their monster 'Black Album' was still being played in heavy rotation some 4 years after it's release. Now of course any metal head has a point where Metallica started to suck. Most people say the 'Load' era, others the 'Black Album', for me I don't really have a point. Each record has a high point and a low point. I got more and more into the band and started to abandon listening to grunge and alternative. It was time to update the collection some. The first Metallica record I bought was '...And Justice For All'. Bought it at one of the best record stores in the states, Poobah's. Seriously if you ever find yourself in California, do yourself a favor and check out Poobah's. Used to be a little house out in Pasadena crammed wall to wall with vinyl and CDs. I haven't been to their new shop yet, the old one was a trip. I came home threw the record on and I think my jaw hit the floor. I memorized the lyrics, I played the shit out of that CD, so much in fact I actually had to replace it a few years back. From there I was hooked, I got into many other bands because of Metallica, too many to name. I'm still a huge Metallica fan and finally got around to seeing them a few years back in AZ. Great show, great band.

So the selection is sort of a play on my first metal record. The great complaint about the Justice record was you couldn't hear the Bass. Granted this was the first album after Cliff died and they had a new Bassist in Jason Newstead. Whether or not the bass was purposely turned down remains up for debate. But years ago a bootleg surfaced called '...And Justice For Jason'. It was the same record with one adjustment, the Bass was turned up so you could hear it. Record actually sounded better too. Useless fact for the selection. The guy that apparently put this together is a roadie for System Of A Down. Enjoy...

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