my original draft of yesterday's deep purple post had the line "the song has no slow, mournful lament - they were trying to get the message to you".
and that reminded me where i got that phrasing from.
Oh, through the mist and the madness
We're trying to get the message to you
metallica's first album, kill 'em all, was made by four teenagers who wanted to play heavy metal as fast as possible. they loved hardcore punk and british heavy metal, and combined the two of them to make one of the first albums in the genre of "thrash" metal. the production is rough and raw, the riffs are simple and speedy, and the solos are all pentatonic shredding, but it's so much fun.
this song, metal militia, is the last one on the album. it's a vivid closing statement - the members of metallica portrayed as vicious soldiers of metal, conquering the land and controlling the people. the song rushes along, moving from frantic riff to frantic riff and only pausing to introduce new speedy sections. by the time it fades out, with the sound of marching and bombardment, its message is clear: metallica was trying to make an impact.
given that the album shipped three million copies over the following 16 years, it's safe to say they succeeded.