“The Four Horsemen” by Metallica - Passionately Loving Metal (Reaction & Reflection)

Can God be found in Heavy Metal? Two passionate lovers of metal, Pablo and Father Oskari, react to tunes unearthing meaning and exploring big themes in Heavy Metal inspired by their Catholic faith.

Check out more videos in this series:
   • Passionately Loving Metal  

00:00 Who we are and what we're up to
01:30 How Fr Oskari got into metal
01:50 Metal is an "educated taste" like classical music
02:05 Metallica's early, raw style
02:36 Play the song - Reaction and reflection
03:37 The genius of Lars Ulrich's drumming
05:05 James Hetfield's early singing style
07:11 Discussing the lyrics
09:45 Dave Mustaine and the Megadeth connection
10:40 The Four Horsemen in the Book of Apocalypse
14:55 Cliff Burton and echoes of Sweet Home Alabama
15:28 They were teenagers, inventing this genre!
15:50 Classical music after electricity
18:10 Heavy Metal wrestles with great existential topics and faces them head-on
21:11 Kirk's legendary final solo!
21:50 Metallica then and later?
22:38 Final thoughts

Welcome to Made for Glory! In this first episode of our new passionately loving metal series, we react to and analyze the legendary Metallica classic, "The Four Horsemen," from their debut album Kill 'Em All.

As lifelong fans of Heavy Metal and now Christians, we dive deep into the fascinating intersection of the metal genre and faith. The powerful, raw lyrics of "The Four Horsemen" directly reference the Biblical Apocalypse and the Book of Revelation (Chapter 6).

We explore how themes of suffering, judgment, death, and the end times —found prominently in the Bible—are wrestled with in the lyrics and music of Metallica's Thrash Metal. We discuss the controversial nature of the four horsemen (Conquest, War, Famine, and Death) and their meaning in Scripture.

Why do these powerful, existential themes appeal so strongly to young metal fans? We share our own experiences growing up as metalheads and how this music confronts the profound questions of life, death, and mortality.

We also provide a detailed breakdown of this essential 1983 Thrash Metal classic, offering an enthusiastic appreciation for the early, raw talent of the band members.
Lars Ulrich's Drums: Fr Oskari, a former metal drummer, defends Lars's energetic and simple-yet-effective drumming on this track, highlighting his musical genius and sense of rhythm.
Raw Energy: A look at the aggressive, youthful Thrash sound that launched Metallica, including James Hetfield's unique early vocal style and the band's compositional skill that went beyond their technical ability at the time.
The Dave Mustaine Connection: We discuss the track's origins, including its original arrangement by former Metallica guitarist and future Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine, and how the lyrics were re-worked by Hetfield.
Kirk Hammett's Solo: An appreciation of the complexity and classical influences in Kirk Hammett's iconic guitar solo.

Join the Conversation!
What other classic or recent Heavy Metal songs have strong religious or existential themes that we should listen to and analyze? Let us know in the comments below!

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