Heavy metal giants Metallica have not stopped pumping out the music, even during COVID-19 lockdowns.

The quartet have given fans a rare treat with a re-imagining of 1988’s Blackened, from the …And Justice For All album, recorded in four separate locations. The video dropped last week, showing the band performing each of their parts separately from their homes during isolation. The result is a beautifully haunting rendition of a much-loved track and always fan favourite.

Blackened feels like the most incredibly apt song for them to choose for this project. The lyrics are eerily spot on with how distressed and fearful the world has become in the wake of the dreaded coronavirus. How deeply everyone has been affected, with Metallica being no exception. Still reeling after needing to cancel their New Zealand and Australian tour dates late last year, the metal legends had intended to perform at five US festivals which were then also cancelled. But the enraged desperation of the Blackened we are familiar with takes a very different turn in the band’s isolation version.

Lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield opts for an acoustic guitar and gentler vocal tone than what we are used to. Lars Ulrich shifts to a lighter touch on the drums and Robert Trujillo complements the softer feel with more subdued bass picking. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett rounds out the track with his signature bluesy metal playing style and delivers that famous solo perfectly. Every part fits together flawlessly, almost giving us the sense that this was the way Blackened was intended to be played all along. 

Blackened used to feel like an anthem of rage and despair, the perfect fit for the angsty, growling Justice album. While the lyrics have of course remained the same, the quieter feel to this new version seems to speak to the sadness of the current state of the world. Yet even as you listen to it, you can’t help but feel a lingering sense of hope and positivity somehow. It’s a strange sensation and one that is difficult to describe. There is genuine comfort in the knowledge that the music is still out there, being created. That isolation cannot defeat these iconic metal legends. That they’ll keep giving us music no matter what. And that’s pretty damned awesome.

 Rock      Metal 

Author: Harley Houghton

Harley Houghton is a writer and blogger, based in Melbourne, Australia. Her passions include music, especially metal, gaming and comics. Check out her blog www.harleysmadhouse.com and follow her on Twitter.