Video: Metallica – “Screaming Suicide”

Directed by Tim Saccenti. From 72 Seasons, out April 14.

A new Metallica song isn’t something we’d typically share, but really I’m just using it as an excuse to make sure that you’ve read the terrific profile by Amanda Petrusich in the New Yorker. It’s really good.

Metallica was never my scene. The dudes in my high school who wore Metallica t-shirt were weird…in a scary way. And the punks I washed dishes with who appreciated them at the time were more edgy than I was comfortable with; there was a guy in the kitchen who had tweaked his boombox to play a little faster so the thrash would sound even more intense. Pretty sure that’s what got us banned from bringing our own music to work. From then on it was just the Top 40 radio that the cokehead cooks liked.

But my closest cousin was a metalhead and a guitar virtuoso. He had a band called Mastermind that covered “Whiplash” and even a femme like me had to admit it was cool. And then there was the roadtrip in college where some pals and I drove all the way to Arizona without stopping. I remember waking up from a short nap in the back seat as the sun was coming up over the desert. It was my turn to drive but I could barely keep my eyes open. Someone popped Kill ‘Em All into the tape deck and cranked it up and we made it to our destination without crashing.

And at Lollapalooza 2015 I hadn’t even intended on sticking around for the headliners, but — as I said then — you know how it is:

It’s Lollapalooza. You’re there. You’re grabbing some Anheuser-Busch “craft” beers next to Perry’s stage, checking out some Carnage, and it’s like, you don’t want to just go home… And you’re obviously not going to watch Sam fucking Smith… So yeah, let’s just check out a couple minutes of Metallica. And the next thing you know, you’re realizing what an uptight little dick you’ve been for the past 30 years and it becomes crystal clear that Metallica is a great fucking band! (Or a great “ducking” band, as your iPhone will autocorrect your text to your pal who has loved Metallica all along.) James Hetfield is an awesome frontman, totally charming and gracious but still sincere and 100% metal. I still might not consider myself a fan, but I’d definitely cross the street to see them again if I get the chance.

So yeah, I’m not a real fan, but I appreciate what they do. And this new song sounds pretty cool.

And — again — you should totally read Amanda Petrusich’s New Yorker piece.