If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m a huge Metallica fan. My room is plastered with flags, posters, merch – you name it. I wanted to try my hand at a more casual and personal piece, and I started thinking back on my first time seeing Metallica at the same time; put two and two together and here we are – ‘The Memory Remains…’, a story-esque stream of consciousness of what Metallica means to me.

Metallica have had an immense impact on my life, so it seems fitting to go right back to the start. Being surrounded by Metallica posters and their music daily as a young child may have influenced my tastes ever so slightly, so you have my parents to thank for the ‘tallica-crazed ‘superfan’ you see before you. The ‘Enter Sandman’ music video is one of my earliest memories, so take from that what you will.

High school was, like most, when my tastes really started developing. ‘Death Magnetic’ came out a year before I started ‘big school’ (aye – “you’re so young!”) but I was mostly into a random mix of stuff – I hadn’t really found what I was really into just yet. As I got into heavier and heavier music I decided to educate myself properly on the band I’d been listening to secondhand and loved for years prior – Metallica.

I’ll not bore you with the details, but for the most part up until the end of GCSEs my secondary school experience majorly sucked. I only talk to two people from my entire 5 years there now, and have deliberately tried to forget most of it. Throughout those shitty times however, my love for metal grew stronger through the years. It was both a distraction and an outlet for my frustrations. Despite listening to a vast array of bands, Metallica always stood out and spoke to me the most. Whether I was listening to ‘St. Anger’ after a shit day on the train home when I was pissed off, getting lost in songs like ‘Fade to Black’ and ‘One’, or being blown away by the ferociousness of ‘Dyers Eve,’ ‘Damage, Inc.’ and ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ – Metallica got me through each day.

Fast forward to now. As I sit here in my room listening to ‘Battery’ across from my aforementioned flags, figures and records – it’s safe to say Metallica have remained a huge part of my life.

Even though I’ve ‘grown up’ with a full-time job and plans to move out and get a car, listening to Metallica still gets me through difficult times.

It ain’t all bad though.

I’ve had some great times. I got to see Metallica for the first time with my dad in The Genting Arena, Birmingham in October 2017. The day we saw them – 30th – was exactly 25 years to the day since my dad’s first time seeing them in The Point, Dublin in ’92. Considering I’ve shared most of my ‘Metallica experiences’ with my dad – first learning their songs on guitar, watching Live Shit: Binge and Purge and Some Kind of Monster for the first time, the release of ‘Hardwired… To Self-Destruct’ – that was pretty poignant. (We made a cool flag to show that.)

Seeing Metallica live was indescribable. I’ll probably write a full account of the day soon as I’m sure it’d be too lengthy for this. If I had to describe it in a couple of words – life-changing. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more.

All in all, their music is close to my heart. I adore all kinds of music and have various other favourite bands, but few really resonate with me the way Metallica do.

And that brings us to ‘death’ in the infamous “Birth, School, Metallica, Death” slogan.

Well, I like to think I’m not dead.

Unfortunately I have nothing poignant to say here other than if I die, bury me with my Metallica records. And my cut-off. Cheers.

I’ll finish this off with a photo of me shortly after the release of Hardwired last year:

YEEAAAAH!