Disposable Heroes

Last updated

"Disposable Heroes"
Song by Metallica
from the album Master of Puppets
ReleasedMarch 3, 1986 (1986-03-03)
RecordedSeptember–December 1985
Studio Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen
Genre Thrash metal
Length8:16
Label
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s) James Hetfield
Producer(s)

"Disposable Heroes" is a song by American thrash metal band Metallica. It is the fifth track on their third studio album, Master of Puppets (1986). [1] The title is taken from the book Fahrenheit 451. [2] Current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo said "Master of Puppets (has) got one of my favorite songs ever by Metallica, and that song is "Disposable Heroes". So any time I can hear that particular song, count me in." [3]

Contents

Music and lyrics

Disposable Heroes features sections performed at 220 beats per minute, making it one of the most intense tracks on Master of Puppets. [4] The guitar passage at the end of each verse was Hammett's imitation of the sort of music he found in war films. [5] Drummer Lars Ulrich refers to it as an intense epic, stating, “'Disposable Heroes' is great; it’s seven to eight minutes of very intensive…and you gotta be on your toes when you play it or you’ll miss the next change." [6]

"Disposable Heroes" is an anti-war song about a young soldier whose fate is controlled by his superiors. [7] The lyrics fit well with the album's general theme of feeling helpless and imprisoned, and lack of control over one's own actions. In fact, the album cover, depicting a seemingly endless war cemetery, with each gravestone attached to the hands of the puppet master via a string (reference to title track), relates more closely to this song than to any other song from the album. [8] [9] The song also has a double meaning, with Hetfield taking the title and ideas from watching a football documentary about injured football players. [10]

"Disposable Heroes" was first demoed in mid 1985, [11] months before the recording and subsequent release of the album. In this early rendition, the song doesn't differ much from its final version, the only notable difference being the extra minute of length, due to the presence of another fast riff, which would later be omitted from "Disposable Heroes", to become part of "Damage, Inc.". Some other early versions of the song also featured on the Master of Puppets deluxe boxset. [12]

Live

"Disposable Heroes" was debuted live on September 14, 1985, in St. Goarshausen, Germany, making it the first song from the album to be played live. [13] [14] The song is featured in the video album Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México (2009) filmed in Mexico City, in which the song was played on the second of three nights at the Foro Sol. [15] The band played the song during the 2013 Revolver Golden Gods awards ceremony. [16]

"Disposable Heroes" has been played live acoustically a handful of times, all for fundraisers and charity performances. This version of the song features different riffs from the original version, but with the same lyrics. The first two times were for the Bridge School Benefit at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. [17] The band also performed this rendition at the 2018 and 2020 All Within My Hands Foundation "Helping Hands Concert & Auction", with the first being acoustic, and the second being electric. [18] [19] [20] "Here's a heavy song we did acoustic and we're doing it heavy in the acoustic version way," began James Hetfield, who then laughed, "So, I hope you're as confused as we are." Lars Ulrich then quipped, "This is really the fourth dimension, bro. Here we go, check this out." [21]

Other appearances

Disposable Heroes is featured on "Guitar Hero: Metallica", alongside 29 other Metallica songs, including 5 other songs from Master of Puppets. [22]

The Swedish extreme metal band Ceremonial Oath recorded a cover for the song on the tribute album Metal Militia: A Tribute to Metallica. [23] The entire Master of Puppets album was covered by Dream Theater as part of its world tour in 2002 and has been released as an official bootleg recording. [24]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Master of Puppets' liner notes. [25]

Related Research Articles

<i>Master of Puppets</i> 1986 studio album by Metallica

Master of Puppets is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's final album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident in Sweden during the album's promotional tour.

<i>Ride the Lightning</i> 1984 studio album by Metallica

Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with the producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair.

<i>Load</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Metallica

Load is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on June 4, 1996, by Elektra Records in the United States and by Vertigo Records internationally. The album showed more of a hard rock side of Metallica than the band's typical thrash metal style, which alienated much of the band's fanbase. It also featured influences from genres such as Southern rock, blues rock, country rock, and alternative rock. Drummer Lars Ulrich said about Load's more exploratory nature, "This album and what we're doing with it – that, to me, is what Metallica are all about: exploring different things. The minute you stop exploring, then just sit down and fucking die." At 79 minutes, Load is Metallica's longest studio album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metallica</span> American heavy metal band

Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.

<i>Kill Em All</i> 1983 studio album by Metallica

Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. After forming in 1981, Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group's No Life 'til Leather demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording. The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York. It was originally intended to be titled Metal Up Your Ass, with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. Zazula convinced the band to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hetfield</span> American musician (born 1963)

James Alan Hetfield is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionally performs lead guitar duties and solos both live and in studio. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering an advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released 11 studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays, and 24 singles. Hetfield is often regarded as one of the greatest heavy metal rhythm guitar players of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nothing Else Matters</span> 1992 single by Metallica

"Nothing Else Matters" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. A power ballad, it was released in 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album, Metallica. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, number 1 in Denmark, and reached the top ten on many other European charts. "Nothing Else Matters" was featured as a playable track in the music video game Guitar Hero: Metallica. Recognized as one of Metallica's best known and most popular songs, it has become a staple in live performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One (Metallica song)</span> 1989 single by Metallica

"One" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, released as the third and final single from the band's fourth studio album, ...And Justice for All (1988). Written by band members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, the song portrays a World War I soldier who is severely wounded—arms, legs and jaw blown off by a landmine, blind and unable to speak or move—begging God to take his life. In the music video, attempting to communicate with the hospital staff he jolts in his bed, spelling "Kill me" in Morse code. Production of the song was done by the band alongside Flemming Rasmussen. The song was the band's first to chart in the U.S., reaching number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a number one hit in Finland.

<i>Cliff Em All</i> 1987 video by Metallica

Cliff 'Em All is a compilation of video footage, and the first video album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 17, 1987, as a tribute to Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident on September 27, 1986, at the age of 24, near Ljungby, Sweden, during the European leg of their Master of Puppets world tour. Its title is derived from Metallica's debut album, Kill 'Em All. The home video also features a performance with former guitarist Dave Mustaine on March 19, 1983, shortly before his ousting from the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master of Puppets (song)</span> 1986 single by Metallica

"Master of Puppets" is a thrash metal song by American metal band Metallica, released on July 2, 1986, as the only single from the album of the same name. It was also issued as a promo single in the US by Elektra Records.

<i>Death Magnetic</i> 2008 studio album by Metallica

Death Magnetic is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 12, 2008, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, marking the band's first album since ...And Justice for All (1988) not to be produced by longtime collaborator Bob Rock and co-produced by Hetfield and Ulrich. It is also the first Metallica album with bassist Robert Trujillo, and the second to share writing credit to all of the band's members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour</span> 1992 concert tour

The Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American rock bands Guns N' Roses and Metallica during 1992. It took place in the middle of Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion Tour, promoting their Use Your Illusion I and II albums, and between Metallica's Wherever We May Roam Tour and Nowhere Else to Roam, promoting their eponymous fifth album Metallica. The tour's initial opening act was Faith No More as Axl Rose had originally wanted Seattle rock band Nirvana to be the opening act, but frontman Kurt Cobain refused.

"Orion" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their third studio album, Master of Puppets, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. There the song features as track seven, and is entirely instrumental. "Orion" was written primarily by bassist Cliff Burton. The song was named after the constellation of the same name, Orion, due to its "spacey sounding" bridge.

Sick of the Studio '07 was a 2007 concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica, which took place in Europe. The first four concerts were in festivals and the last eight in stadiums. The band held a tourname-competition among the fans and they personally chose the winning suggestion. The band did not play the "New Song" but the "Other New Song", which they had played on the previous tour, was played at the Bilbao BBK Live Festival The setlists of the tour were full of old songs. In Lisbon, Metallica performed "...And Justice for All" for the first time since October 1989.

The Damage, Inc. Tour was a concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the band's third studio album, Master of Puppets. The name of the tour is taken from the last song on the album. It began on March 27, 1986, and ended on February 13, 1987.

The Shit Hits the Sheds was a concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica, which took place in 1994. The band played in 51 shows in North America, including a performance at Woodstock '94, which had an attendance of over 300,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enter Sandman</span> 1991 single by Metallica

"Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist and guitarist Hetfield wrote the lyrics, which deal with the concept of a child's nightmares.

<i>72 Seasons</i> 2023 studio album by Metallica

72 Seasons is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on April 14, 2023, by their own record label Blackened Recordings. 72 Seasons was produced by Greg Fidelman, who produced the band's previous studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), and is the band's second studio album to be released through Blackened.

"Battery" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the first track from the band's third studio album, Master of Puppets.

References

  1. ↑ "Master Of Puppets". Metallica.com. Metallica. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ Basner, Dave (March 3, 2017). "25 Things You Might Not Know About Metallica's 'Master Of Puppets'". IHeart. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ "ROBERT TRUJILLO Names His Favorite METALLICA Album". Blabbermouth.net . Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ I-Rankin', Judge (July 1986). "Spins". Spin . 2 (4): 32. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ Wall, Mick (January 2006). "Master Piece". Guitar World : 52–61, 104–110. ISSN   1045-6295.
  6. ↑ "Lars Ulrich-Metallica Interview" (PDF). Library of Congress. May 27, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  7. ↑ "13 METALLICA Songs That Deserve More Recognition". Loaded Radio. August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ Lynch, Joe (March 16, 2022). "The 50 Best Album Covers of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2023. The gut-punch, anti-war imagery brings the lyrics of Master of Puppets gem "Disposable Heroes" to life and tips to the theme of manipulating the masses that runs throughout the record.
  9. ↑ Bennett, J. "METALLICA'S 'MASTER OF PUPPETS': THE STORY BEHIND THE COVER ART". revolver. Revolver. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kirwan, Stuart. "Hypnotizing Power: The Story of Master Of Puppets". Youtube. Youtube. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ "Metallica to Release a Deluxe Box Set of "Master of Puppets"". vintage vinyl news. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ La Gamba, Andrea (October 21, 2007). "Metallica - Disposable Heroes (Live 1985)". YouTube . Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Disposable Heroes". Metallica.com. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  15. ↑ Hart, Josh (March 22, 2012). "Metallica Post 'Disposable Heroes' Video from 'Three Nights in Mexico City' DVD". Guitar World . Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  16. ↑ "SEE METALLICA PERFORM CRUSHING "DISPOSABLE HEROES" AT GOLDEN GODS 2013". Revolver Mag. May 17, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  17. ↑ http://metlists.com/songs/disposableheroes.htm
  18. ↑ "Watch: Metallica Perform Reimagined Version of "Disposable Heroes" at Charity Livestream Concert". MetalSucks.net. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Watch METALLICA Play Reimagined Version Of 'Disposable Heroes' During 'Live & Acoustic From HQ: Helping Hands Concert & Auction'". Blabbermouth . November 14, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  20. ↑ "This is Metallica's Disposable Heroes as you've never heard it before". Louder Sound. Metal Hammer. September 20, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  21. ↑ DiVita, Joe (November 16, 2020). "Metallica Debut Reimagined Version of 'Disposable Heroes' At Livestream Benefit Show". Loudwire . Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Guitar Hero: Metallica". Metallica.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Various - Metal Militia" . Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Master of Puppets - Live in Barcelona 2002". Dream Theater. July 23, 2021. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  25. ↑ Master of Puppets (CD liner notes). Metallica. Elektra Records. 1986. 9-60439-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.