(Credits: Far Out / Kreepin Deth)
Sun 14 December 2025 17:45, UK
There’s been the running joke for years that Lars Ulrich’s most challenging Metallica songs are the band’s entire back catalogue. Throughout Metallica’s evolution, many capable drummers have called Ulrich’s talents behind the kit subpar, with the band themselves even trying to sack him in the late 1980s. While Ulrich kept the Metallica train rolling through every iteration of the group, one of their more complex works still trips him up.
Then again, Ulrich has never been one for practising. Considering his role in the public eye and doing most of the press work, Ulrich is likelier to talk on a phone or do interviews in the minutes before getting into the tuning room. Even though that behaviour may be infuriating for many artists, Ulrich’s passion for it has turned the band into the cultural juggernaut they are today.
Once Cliff Burton passed away, though, even Ulrich wasn’t sure where to go. Burton had been an integral part of the band’s sound, and even though Jason Newsted fit like a glove, it would never be the same without Burton’s signature licks. Times were also changing in the metal scene, and Metallica was looking to go the extra mile on And Justice For All.
Written in memory of their fallen bass player, the band pulled out all the stops for their new album, looking to create the most ambitious songs they would ever make. Being much closer to progressive metal than traditional thrash, most songs breach beyond six minutes, with every riff being more challenging than the next.
Storming out of the gate, ‘Blackened’ set the tone for the entire project, from the opening swell of guitars played backwards to kicking into the main riff in 7/4 time. This would also be Newsted’s first contribution to the band, coming up with the signature guitar figure and the complex time signature that runs throughout the verses.
Even though Ulrich had been known for his relentless playing throughout Master of Puppets, he still confesses to having a hard time playing ‘Blackened’ live, saying: “You have to really stay on top of all the starts and stops and tempo changes. Here it comes. Four bars away, I hope I don’t screw this up”.
The constant switching of tempos wasn’t by accident, either. When sculpting the arrangements, the band often threw riffs together to get their ideas out, making for songs that ran like medleys despite being part of one central theme. Even though the band had set another solid benchmark for themselves at the end of the 1980s, they knew they needed guidance when working on their following projects.
Jason Newsted spoke to Songfacts about the origin of the song: “We were in my one-bedroom apartment. I had my little four-track Tascam set up in the corner of the bedroom, and we were jamming on our guitars, just playing through some riffs. I played that ‘Blackened’ riff, and he goes, ‘Dude, what is that?’ Because it was really pretty crazy. The original thing is a very fast alternating thing. Man, it’s pretty tricky, actually. I mean, the one that ended up on the record is pretty tricky, too, but the original one is really tricky.
He picked up on that and we recorded that bit. And he goes, ‘Let’s build it to this, and build it to this.’ It was a moment. I was actually composing a song with James from Metallica and he was approving my riffs and saying, ‘This is going to be a Metallica song.’ That was a big, big moment for me. We had already been on tour together, and so I had a giant Damage Inc. tour poster on my bedroom wall right above my little station where I had my speakers and my little four-track and the two or three guitars in my collection.
And there we were, I could paint that picture for you very plainly. It was a very, very big moment for me, because I was getting approved from The Man to have my first chance on having one of my compositions on a Metallica record. So that was a very special time.”
Considering the long runtimes and Ulrich sabotaging Newsted’s bass parts on the album, Bob Rock was brought in to produce their next record, taking them to heights they would have never dreamed of on The Black Album. Although specific album cuts like ‘One’ and ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ have become mainstays of the band’s live show, Ulrich is more likely to be thinking what the next part of the song comes next whenever ‘Blackened’ appears on the setlist.
Related Topics