Now this is my kind of wedding party. Imagine this: you’re hanging out at the reception, having a drink, waiting for the newlyweds to arrive for the party. They’ve tied the knot, said their vows, and the bride looks stunning in her gown. All of a sudden, the band rips into some metal… the newlyweds walk in, and the groom takes the vocals, and the bride begins beating down on the drums to the tune of Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets.”

How awesome is that? And the best part? It’s real – check out the video at the bottom of this post!

The title character of Hesher, in the upcoming movie produced by Natalie Portman and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was inspired by the late Metallica bass guitarist, Cliff Burton. Gordon-Levitt revealed the inspiration during a recent interview, in which he discussed how he based his performance of the iconic metal god’s behavior.

Apparently, according to Gordon-Levitt, the current members of Metallica weren’t informed of the basis of the character before seeing the film, and were surprisingly reminded of the much-loved but long lost band member from years gone by. Burton is highly respected and lovingly remembered by the fans as well, so it will be interesting to see fan reaction to the performance as well.

The official website for Gibson guitars has released what they perceive to be the top 50 metal songs of all time. Gibson.com’s writers and editors worked on compiling the list over several weeks, releasing 10 entries at a time, and recently released the top 10, which declared the number one metal song to be “Master of Puppets” by Metallica.

In some ways, the number one spot for Metallica is fitting, considering 2011 is the 25th anniversary of the release of their Master of Puppets album. Having said that though, metalheads are notorious for having fierce and strong opinions about what they consider to be their “top songs,” on top of their fierce and strong opinions about what bands are or are not even metal.

Metallica
Master Of Puppets
UK
U.S.: CD | MP3
Recorded September – December 1985
Released March 3, 1986

Metallica pierced the ears of metalheads in with their 1983 debut album Kill “˜Em All; a shocking statement of intent with its aggressive, fast onslaught of sonic terror. They hurdled the “˜difficult second album’ phase with ease on the mighty Ride The Lightning, signaling a grander scope of songwriting. These were good albums, full of promising talent that metal listeners hoped would turn into greatness.

When it comes to bands, every so often everything falls perfectly into place. The best of them experience this perfect moment maybe once in their career. That one album where every song is perfectly written, each vocal perfectly pitched with lyrics encompassing and evoking an issue or time. Master Of Puppets was Metallica’s moment.

Released on March 3, 1986, Master of Puppets has never been a “˜grower’ demanding repeated listens nor has it ever been considered a misunderstood work of genius. It is an immediate album. Right from its release it was considered a great metal album and in the proceeding 25 years since its release its reputation has only grown. The songs still hold up as iconic metal tracks, with the title song still being one of the defining anthems of the genre.