Before Nirvana changed pop culture, they, like other indie and alternative rock bands, were anti a lot of things.
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One of them being anti-corporate rock. Eventually, they became the thing they opposed but they were clearly uncomfortable with their rising fame. But Metallica didn’t begin in the mainstream either. They were part of an underground and misunderstood group of kids attracted to loud and fast guitars.
Rock and roll is a reactionary game. From Little Richard to The Who, generations of rock musicians have raged against the machine until they became the machine.
Though some may be surprised to hear that Kurt Cobain was a Metallica fan, both legendary groups had much in common.
A Metallica Fan
Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett revealed Cobain’s favorite Metallica song. He said, “Kurt was a big Metallica fan. He loved ‘Ride the Lightning,’ and he loved ‘Whiplash.’” Hammett said Cobain attended a Metallica show in Seattle in 1992 and stood near the stage, waving his arms toward the guitarist.
Cobain waved Hammett over and asked, “Are you guys gonna play ‘Whiplash’ tonight?” They did, though it wasn’t the first time the two met. Hammett said they became friends in 1989 after Nirvana had released Bleach.
In a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Hammett said “Whiplash” was Cobain’s favorite Metallica song and added that he also loved “Ride the Lightning.” Listening to Nirvana’s early recordings, you can hear the influence of heavy metal on songs like “Negative Creep” and the double-bass drumming in “Scoff.”
Mosh Pit
“Whiplash” appeared on Metallica’s 1983 debut, Kill ’Em All. The speed metal anthem stands as a tribute to heavy metal fans who (literally) whip themselves into a frenzy, moshing, and banging heads to their favorite jams.
If you’ve ever done this activity, you’ve most likely awoken the next morning afternoon with a sore neck. This is when your concert experience feels like a car accident.
James Hetfield sings You’re thrashing all around / Acting like a maniac. Sounds about right.
In a kind of full circle moment, Motörhead, one of Metallica’s primary influences, covered “Whiplash,” and their version earned a Grammy in 2005 for Best Metal Performance.
Late at night, all systems go
You’ve come to see the show
We do our best, you’re the rest
You make it real, you know
Slow and Low
While Metallica and others were speeding things up, Cobain had followed the lessons of Melvins, reducing the tempos into sludging stoner rock. However, Cobain wouldn’t change music history until he borrowed the Pixies’ quiet-verse-and-loud-chorus song arrangement to write “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
He admittedly tried to write a Pixies song. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” created a culture shift, similar to how Metallica had changed heavy metal with their first two albums.
To readers who didn’t come of age in the ’90s, many then placed themselves in musical silos. Music scenes shaped identities. As more artists began sampling and mixing genres—like hip-hop and hard rock—siloed groups and scenes became more open to each other.
It’s unsurprising today to hear that Cobain loved Metallica. But back then, someone from a punk rock background liking a mainstream heavy metal band would have been considered traitorous. If you think this sounds absurd, it was.
Not So Different
Metallica also understood the power of the quiet/loud format. Think of the acoustic intros to “Fight Fire With Fire” and “Battery.” Or Metallica’s first ballad, “Fade to Black.”
Before stoner metal became grunge and before grunge made its way to suburban malls, these were youth movements for outsiders. They were subcultures just like the thrash metal kids in California.
So it isn’t too hard to imagine a young Kurt Cobain cranking Kill ’Em All or Ride the Lightning.
Photo by Ross Marino/Icon and Image/Getty Images
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