Metallica are probably given more attention than any other metal band. Other than Ozzy solo and w/Black Sabbath, it's hard to think of more universally-admired headbangers (You don't hear people say, "I'm not much of a metalhead, but I like Slayer.") Nearly all the respect they get comes from their actual music--how Kill 'Em All was faster and louder (and better) than anything that came before it, how the Black Album broke metal into the mainstream, how ...And Justice for All's ambitious compositions took them to a new level of musicianship, how Ride the Lightning reinvented thrash metal and Master of Puppets perfected it, etc, etc, etc. But not enough people realize that Metallica are as much of a powerhouse lyrically as they are musically--they're not intellectuals, but lyrically they're more profound than 'intellectual circle' groups such as Pavement and the Flaming Lips. Plus, the fact that they addressed inner human turmoil, the flaws in the justice system, and the atrocities/necessities of governments and war distinguished them from the hair metal legions as much as the fact Metallica's music was harder, heavier, and defiant of conventional song structures. It's no wonder that young Kurt Cobain was putting Metallica songs on mix tapes in the late '80s.
A strong testament to the greatness of Metallica's (specifically, James Hetfield's) lyrics comes from the Philosophy and Pop Culture series, which has previously explored the intellectual depth of 'The Simpsons,' Star Wars, and Bob Dylan, among others. The Metallica installment, subtitled A Crash Course in Brain Surgery, is a fine piece of summer reading, perfect for both die-hard Metallica fans and people who want to know more about the band without getting into the music, which can be pretty intimidating.
Various authors and professors cooked up twenty chapters that philosophize Metallica and Metalicize philosophy. Several writers, including series editor Will Irwin, write about James Hetfield's philosophical lyrics, including his skepticism and rejection of Christian values ('The God that Failed'), the struggle of morality ('Unforgiven'), the search for authenticity ('The Struggle Within'), and nonconformity (see Metallica's career). The mind/body relationship explored in 'One' and the search for meaning in life in 'Fade to Black' are topics that philosophers have tackled for a long time, and the eloquence and simplicity (as in saying something profound in a simple way) with which Metallica take on these subjects is as awe-inspiring as their ability to turn out the sickest hooks in metal history. As writers, Metallica face many of the thoughts and sentiments that Nietzsche, Kant, Kierkegaard, and others struggled with, and coupled with the fact that their music rocks, that's why so many people like them. It's also part of why people don't like Metallica--like Socrates, Metallica have long been accused of corrupting the youth, and as with Socrates, people are slowly realizing that gadfly/rebel James Hetfield had it right.
A few writers in Metallica and Philosophy look at Metallica's history to raise questions--is the band that made Kill 'Em All the same band that made St. Anger? What, if anything, do fans and Metallica owe each other? None of the writers are blindly in love with the band, and the Napster fiasco, unflattering moments in Some Kind of Monster, and their mediocre recent albums are all explored with good measure. This is part of how the book does Metallica justice--no band that's as willing to expose the dark underbelly as Metallica is deserves anything less. Compare their depiction of narcotics in Master of Puppets vs. the glam bands', or Metallica's depiction of themselves in Some Kind of Monster vs. self-consciously malevolent black metal bands, and it's apparent that this band doesn't sugar-coat anything. Neither should anyone analyzing them.
There are a few factual errors in the book (one author confuses 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' with 'One,' another refers to 'Megadeath'), but those are forgivable since the book was clearly written by people who know and worship Metallica. The few mistakes can be taken as mind-slips and not as indications of the authors' naivite. In other words, there's nothing on the level of the metal experts at Time Magazine mixing up the Black Album with ...And Justice for All in their recent All-Time 100 Albums list.
Metallica and Philosophy is a great read, and highly recommended to the philosopher who wants to better understand Metallica and the headbanger who wants a better grasp on philosophy.
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