. . .
…And Justice for All sounds like it looks: cold and gray. It’s wall-to-wall grim, which didn’t jive with the Metallica I read about as a kid. That Metallica wore shades and maniacal grins, and was sometimes called Alcoholica. James Hetfield’s “More Beer” Gibson Explorer was often on display. Nuclear scientists on record, party animals in real life – it didn’t quite compute.
“The Frayed Ends of Sanity” is the closest AJFA gets to solving that equation. It’s actually kind of fun. It makes me smile – not in a derisive way, but because it’s “so grim, so true, so real” that, like with many hopeless situations, my ultimate reaction is to laugh. Black jeans and black humor go together well. I imagine James Hetfield mentally high-fiving himself as he finishes writing, “Height, hell, time, haste, terror, tension / Life, death, want, waste, mass depression”. That rolls off the tongue so nicely. Yet it’s ridiculously ambitious; most of us don’t go to work each day tackling these topics. That Hetfield bought these ideas and resold them at a profit – both commercially and artistically – is a feat.
Then there’s that intro chant, lifted from The Wizard of Oz. That’s a genius non sequitur on one hand, and completely appropriate on the other. Was Hetfield slyly referencing his Cowardly Lion appearance at the time? I doubt it, but it worked, it works, and it always will.
. . .
The Wizard of Oz – The Castle of the Wicked Witch
. . .
Finally, there’s 4:04. That’s a turning point in the song, which has built up to it with chewy chromatics spurred on by Lars Ulrich’s jaunty downbeats. Anything could happen at that point, which is one of the beautiful things about heavy metal. With most other kinds of music, when change is a-comin’, you know what it’ll be. Typically it’s a guitar solo or a bridge with a key change; in the early-’90s, it was often a rap coming out of nowhere. Metal’s not immune to these things, but Metallica in their prime bucked trends; every song on their first four records has its own identity.
So what we get is yet another riff. It’s a wrist-snapping gallop tossed off with deceptive ease, and it’s absurdly bad-ass. It’s not really necessary, but it feels great and adds more possibilities. The band runs with these possibilities, harmonizing the riff and modulating it while Kirk Hammett does his typical whammy bar/triplet routine. Then, another left turn: a NWOBHM riff executed with utter precision (a very Megadeth move, incidentally), which eventually backs down into the main riff.
This is quite the ride: fun to hear and fun to play. But what’s that? Metallica have never played this song in its entirety live??? Clearly they don’t favor it for some reason. But that just means that their Metallica is different from my Metallica, which is different from every one of yours. That’s frustrating for fans who like to canonize things – but it’s also why Metallica has so many fans in the first place.
. . .
“The Frayed Ends of Sanity”
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. . .
METALLICA: THE FIRST FOUR ALBUMS
“Harvester of Sorrow
“The Shortest Straw”
“One”
“Eye of the Beholder”
“…And Justice for All”
“Blackened”
“Damage Inc.”
“Orion”
“Leper Messiah”
“Disposable Heroes”
“Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”
“The Thing That Should Not Be”
“Master of Puppets”
“Battery”
“The Call of Ktulu”
“Creeping Death”
“Escape”
“Trapped Under Ice”
“Fade to Black”
“For Whom the Bell Tolls”
“Ride the Lightning”
“Fight Fire With Fire”
“Metal Militia”
“Seek & Destroy”
“No Remorse”
“Phantom Lord”
“Whiplash”
“(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth”
“Jump in the Fire”
“Motorbreath”
“The Four Horsemen”
“Hit the Lights”
. . .
To reach the age of 33, and learn that the opening chant on Frayed Ends of Sanity is a reference to the Wizard of Oz…
I’m 33 also and I’ve been listening to this for exactly 20 years now. My world is turned upside down by this. Or perhaps I’m just mildly surprised. One of those.
I too am 33 and never knew that intro was from Wizard of Oz! Yowsers. Any more 33yos out there having lived 20 years without clocking this??
I fit the bill perfectly on all counts. 33 now, listening to this since the age of 13 and learned about the Wizard of Oz reference just now. I bet you there’s a legion of us…
This is my least favorite song on the album, and always has been. It’s probably in part because of the Wizard of Oz thing, but it just seems dull compared to the rest of the record.
I live in a world where “The Wizard of Oz” and the first four Metallica albums have been some of the most life-defining art I’ve ever experienced. It all makes sense. Gargantuan riff…
Ah, sweet blessed neurosis…
You know, this album really sees Metallica exploring various mental states – see frayed ends, harvester, and dyers eve. Ooh, that’s some dark stuff. I can’t help but wonder: given the level of detail and accuracy of said states’ incorporation into a song, is it safe to assume that James wrote from first hand experience? If he did, then wow, I can’t believe that the band managed to put out such huge records in spite of this psychic burden on their frontman. Or maybe it was because of that burden? Genius.
Another fantastic write up. But as we’re getting towards the end of Justice, I gotta say I can’t wait to see Cosmo’s “Dyers Eve” analysis. The song has always struck me as incredibly bizarre–you have a band/lead singer peaking in terms of popularity, stage presence, musical power, etc. The last songs on Metallica’s first three albums have been all about power and assassin-like control. And the last song on Justice? A punky, confused screed about Jame’s parent issues.
Sorry, totally off the topic of Frayed Ends of Sanity…but I’m just itching to hear what people thing of Metallica’s “last true thrash song.”
Doye, it is one of the most compelling tunes ont the album. Uh, why mow Cosmo’s literary lawn and let him write it, brah?
That riff cosmo talks about is probably my favorite metallica riff. so good.
I never sat down to listen to AJFA straight through until I was quite a bit older, so I still remember hearing this for the first time. The intro was a genuine “BWHAAAAT?” moment. And it is funny. Actually it’s hilarious — that they’d throw this in, this random piece of pop culture from however many years ago, and they just swirl it into the mix of their otherwise bleakest album. More proof of the absurd brilliance they were (unknowingly?) channeling on these first four records. And, yeah: I had no idea it came from Oz. But it felt so damn familiar, like Hall of the Mountain King or something equally ubiquitous. They stole something essentially timeless, and created something timeless. Why the fuck not?
Great writeup, great song, and great fucking riffage at 4:04.
Incredible solo right after the awesome riffage at 4:04 (if that doesn’t make you move you’re body, you’re dead). At 4:47 there’s a phrase that sounds like fake rock guitar. Ya know the over polished production found in Stan Bush’s Transformer’s music. That fake crap that makes you want to throw up saccharine. Anyway, that phrase actually works because of the dry production. It’s blistering!
HOW HAVE SO MANY OF YOU NOT SEEN “THE WIZARD OF OZ” AT LEAST ELEVENTY BILLION TIMES? WHAT PLANET IS THIS!?!!??!?!?!?!
No shit, what the fuck??
I’m 36. I heard AJFA before seeing The Wizard of Oz, but those were both back in high school. My ears perked right up when I first saw those freaky fuckin’ soldiers chanting Metallica. Funny thing was, when I first heard OO-EE-OOH it felt like it was an homage to something. So, it was more a relief that the mystery was finally solved.
What I’ve discovered watching this video is that there’s an almost identical scene on Lord of the Rings, with Golum and the hobbits.
One of my favorites by Metallica. Some pretty awesome riffs throughout the song. That laugh at the end is quite cheesy but it works.
Is the Wizard of Oz movie really the first place that this chant appeared?
1939. I remember reading at the time that Metallica paid an exorbitant amount of money to MGM for the rights to use that little bit in the beginning of the song.
I remember the chant originally being in LL Cool J’s I’m The Type of Guy (or whatever it’s called, have a listen)
Listening to this for the last 20 years and realising the intro comes off the wizard of oz is just funny.
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after the drum fill, about 4:14 in is the best fucking metal riff ever!