Metallica is my favorite band. There, I said it. Since I was a teenager, I have listened to heavy metal music. Iron Maiden, Kiss, Anthrax, Motley Crue, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, and Guns n Roses were bands blasting on my headphones. Would explain some of the hearing loss as I got older, or maybe I just use it as an excuse when I'm not really paying attention. Anyways, as great as all those bands are, Metallica was my favorite. I own all their albums and have seen them live at least four or five times. Over the years, I have listened to them less and less, but whenever I want some pounding heavy metal, I listen to them on my IPOD.
If you know Metallica, you will know that they are not a Christian band. Don't know what their true views are on Christianity and if any of the members are believers, maybe some, maybe none of them. But, you can easily say that you wont hear them on your local Christian radio station.
So, you might ask me "Chris, how do you hear God while listening to Metallica?" Granted, they didn't write their songs intent on worship (although being in a mosh pit is its own kind of religious experience). But, you can hear some of their views on religion or outright stories in their music. Also, when listening, different songs or lyrics can trigger one to think or hear God speaking through it. The song may not contain anything specifically, but you can start thinking of God in those moments.
Metallica has several songs that trigger this for me. Songs like "One", "The God that Failed", "Thorn Within", "Leper Messiah", and "Creeping Death" all hold aspects where you can see (or read into) places where God is or is needed. (Creeping Death is all about Israel and Egypt and the plagues in Exodus - it also has a great sound). However, I want to talk today about their song "Master of Puppets"
If you know Metallica, you will know that they are not a Christian band. Don't know what their true views are on Christianity and if any of the members are believers, maybe some, maybe none of them. But, you can easily say that you wont hear them on your local Christian radio station.
So, you might ask me "Chris, how do you hear God while listening to Metallica?" Granted, they didn't write their songs intent on worship (although being in a mosh pit is its own kind of religious experience). But, you can hear some of their views on religion or outright stories in their music. Also, when listening, different songs or lyrics can trigger one to think or hear God speaking through it. The song may not contain anything specifically, but you can start thinking of God in those moments.
Metallica has several songs that trigger this for me. Songs like "One", "The God that Failed", "Thorn Within", "Leper Messiah", and "Creeping Death" all hold aspects where you can see (or read into) places where God is or is needed. (Creeping Death is all about Israel and Egypt and the plagues in Exodus - it also has a great sound). However, I want to talk today about their song "Master of Puppets"
End of passion play, crumbling away
I'm your source of self-destruction
Veins that pump with fear, it's sucking darkest clear
Leading on your deaths' construction
I'm your source of self-destruction
Veins that pump with fear, it's sucking darkest clear
Leading on your deaths' construction
Taste me, you will see
More is all you need
Dedicated to
How I'm killing you
More is all you need
Dedicated to
How I'm killing you
Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master, master
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master, master
Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind, and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Twisting your mind, and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Needlework the way, never betray
Life of death becoming clearer
Pain monopoly, ritual misery
Chop your breakfast on a mirror
Life of death becoming clearer
Pain monopoly, ritual misery
Chop your breakfast on a mirror
Taste me, you will see
More is all you need
Dedicated to
How I'm killing you
More is all you need
Dedicated to
How I'm killing you
Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master, master
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master, master
Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind, and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master, master
Twisting your mind, and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master, master
Master, master
Where's the dreams that I've been after?
Master, master
Promised only lies
Where's the dreams that I've been after?
Master, master
Promised only lies
Laughter, laughter
All I hear and see is laughter
Laughter, laughter
Laughing at my cries, fix me
All I hear and see is laughter
Laughter, laughter
Laughing at my cries, fix me
Hell is worth all that, natural habitat
Just a rhyme without a reason
Never ending maze, drift on numbered days
Now your life is out of season
Just a rhyme without a reason
Never ending maze, drift on numbered days
Now your life is out of season
I will occupy
I will help you die
I will run through you
Now I rule you too
I will help you die
I will run through you
Now I rule you too
Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master, master
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master, master
Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind, and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Twisting your mind, and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you can't see a thing
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
Just call my name, cause I'll hear you scream
Master, master
[laughter]
Songwriters
Kirk Hammett;Clifford Lee Burton;Lars Ulrich;James Hetfield
The song obviously references how drugs can control your life and ultimately destroy it. That whatever controls you dictates every move you make. There's a phrase "blinded by me, you cant see a thing" which is appropriate for someone in the throes of addiction. That it's the only thing you see and you cant see anything else.
One day as I was listening to this song, it dawned on me that this is similar to our sinful nature and behaviors. That our sin can master us and dictate our lives. Controlling all our actions like a puppet master would. There's the line "source of self-destruction" - just like sin which ultimately destroys. "Dedicated to how I'm killing you" - when we are bogged down and trapped in our own sin patterns, we continue our spiral regardless of the consequences to our lives. Sometimes, we hold onto our sin patterns, a dedication to them, even when we know they are wrong. Maybe, we are afraid to change or afraid of what we will need to do if we decide to change. It could cost us, even though it might be good for us. Perhaps, we will justify it or water it down as not really a "bad" thing. Defending our sin because it fills something we cannot believe can be filled elsewhere.
Finally, you see in the lyrics where the speaker asks the master what happened to his dreams and all that was promised were lies. Isn't that what happens when we listen to ourselves or the enemy's voice rather than God's? That what we were hoping for ended up only being lies - leaving wreckage in its wake.
But, who should be our true master? Jesus is referred to as Master at various times. This sometimes denoted a honorific title for a religious teacher. A master is someone who is control of something, people, or a situation. When you give up control, you would want to place yourself in a situation where you will be safe. You wouldn't want to be put into a terrible situation. Yet, we do this all the time when we make something other than God the master and ruler of our lives. Because those other things are finite and will eventually run out on you. An addict is not satisfied, after a while, with the amount of their addiction. They will seek more and more of it to satisfy their soul. Then, when they build a tolerance to that level, they will want more. When you want more, you will do more to get that and place yourself in dangerous places to feed that hunger. The master here is more of a parasite draining life until the victim is useless to it.
This is the opposite of what letting God be the master of your life is like. God brings life and well-being, not death and destruction. God does not treat us as puppets, swaying and bouncing at his whim - a lack of control in our lives. God gives us purpose and direction - a plan for our lives. A life that will thrive and not just survived. Let God reign in your life and see what happens.
Kirk Hammett;Clifford Lee Burton;Lars Ulrich;James Hetfield
The song obviously references how drugs can control your life and ultimately destroy it. That whatever controls you dictates every move you make. There's a phrase "blinded by me, you cant see a thing" which is appropriate for someone in the throes of addiction. That it's the only thing you see and you cant see anything else.
One day as I was listening to this song, it dawned on me that this is similar to our sinful nature and behaviors. That our sin can master us and dictate our lives. Controlling all our actions like a puppet master would. There's the line "source of self-destruction" - just like sin which ultimately destroys. "Dedicated to how I'm killing you" - when we are bogged down and trapped in our own sin patterns, we continue our spiral regardless of the consequences to our lives. Sometimes, we hold onto our sin patterns, a dedication to them, even when we know they are wrong. Maybe, we are afraid to change or afraid of what we will need to do if we decide to change. It could cost us, even though it might be good for us. Perhaps, we will justify it or water it down as not really a "bad" thing. Defending our sin because it fills something we cannot believe can be filled elsewhere.
Finally, you see in the lyrics where the speaker asks the master what happened to his dreams and all that was promised were lies. Isn't that what happens when we listen to ourselves or the enemy's voice rather than God's? That what we were hoping for ended up only being lies - leaving wreckage in its wake.
But, who should be our true master? Jesus is referred to as Master at various times. This sometimes denoted a honorific title for a religious teacher. A master is someone who is control of something, people, or a situation. When you give up control, you would want to place yourself in a situation where you will be safe. You wouldn't want to be put into a terrible situation. Yet, we do this all the time when we make something other than God the master and ruler of our lives. Because those other things are finite and will eventually run out on you. An addict is not satisfied, after a while, with the amount of their addiction. They will seek more and more of it to satisfy their soul. Then, when they build a tolerance to that level, they will want more. When you want more, you will do more to get that and place yourself in dangerous places to feed that hunger. The master here is more of a parasite draining life until the victim is useless to it.
This is the opposite of what letting God be the master of your life is like. God brings life and well-being, not death and destruction. God does not treat us as puppets, swaying and bouncing at his whim - a lack of control in our lives. God gives us purpose and direction - a plan for our lives. A life that will thrive and not just survived. Let God reign in your life and see what happens.
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