"Battery" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the first track from their third studio album ''

Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last albu ...

.''

Background and composition

The song is composed in the key of Em. It has a similar structure to the opening track of '' Ride the Lightning'' ("Fight Fire with Fire") and ''...And Justice for All'' ("Blackened"). The song begins with a clean acoustic guitar introduction before drums and bass come in with distorted guitars playing a more melodic sequence. Then the song cuts into a very fast

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

riff which is the base for the rest of the song. James Hetfield improvised the main riff to the song while relaxing in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Lyrical meaning

The lyrics discuss control of anger over one's behavior. However, the theme of the song is based around the San Francisco thrash scene in the 1980s. The most prominent club played by Metallica was the Old Waldorf located at 444 Battery Street in downtown

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The lyric "Cannot kill the family, Battery is found in me" is a statement that society doesn't understand the scene, those within it ("the family") will defend it as a show of solidarity against the

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

scene that was popular in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

area. The tone of the song is of familial ties and the positive release of energy through interest of metal.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Steve Huey called the songs "Battery" and "Damage, Inc.", "two slices of thrash mayhem".

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

's reader's poll placed Battery at number 9 on their 10 Best Metallica Songs list. ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' ranked the song number 5 on their 20 Greatest Metallica Songs Ranked list, commenting: "Echoing Ride The Lightning's superb Fight Fire With Fire in its medieval-tinged acoustic opening before bombing headlong into a masterclass in lean, taut thrash metal, Battery was the fine-tuned statement of intent from a band ready to make their serrated sound a platinum success." ''Revolver'' magazine hosted a fan poll and "Battery" was ranked number 4 out of "Top 5 Metallica Songs". '' Loudwire'' ranked "Battery" at number 7 in their "Best Metallica Songs" list. ''Billboard'' ranked the song at number 4 on their "Top Ten Greatest Metallica Songs" list.

Performances

The song was first played live on March 27, 1986 along with songs Welcome Home (Sanitarium) and Damage, Inc. "Battery" used to be a constant part of the band's live set list, frequently either as the opening or closing song. In some cases it was used as a song before the intermission in concerts. Since 2008, the song has been dropped from most set lists. When played live, the song may stop before the interlude, and James Hetfield asks the crowd "Are you alive?... How does it feel to be alive?" (This can be heard on the live album S&M) "Battery" has been played live 989 times as of September 2022.

Cover versions

* This song (along with the entire ''

'' album) was covered by Dream Theater as part of their world tour in 2002 and has been released as an official Bootleg recording. * This song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by the band

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

for ''

s ''Master of Puppets: Remastered'', and is also included as a bonus track on some versions of their album ''

The Blackening ''The Blackening'' is the sixth album by American heavy metal band Machine Head. Released on March 27, 2007, in the United States, ''The Blackening'' sold 16,000 units in its first week, and became Machine Head's third highest charting release a ...

''. * The song was also covered by the a cappella metal band

Van Canto Van Canto (sometimes stylized as van Canto) is a German a cappella metal band, founded in 2006 and composed of six singers and a drummer. Although the group is often classified as an a cappella ensemble, they use real drums in their music, inst ...

on their debut album "A Storm to Come". * On "Animetal Rebirth Heroes",

Animetal was a Japanese heavy metal band who specialized in metal covers of theme songs from classic and modern Japanese anime and tokusatsu television series. They were composed of several luminaries of the Japanese metal scene, most notably vocalist ...

uses the riff for "Battery" throughout the entire song "Touch" with some changes in between. * This song was covered by the band Ensiferum for ''Evil Ultimate Metal Covers'' No. 55. It was also featured on the single " Tale of Revenge". * Beatallica a mash-up band that combines Metallica and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

combined Battery with

The Ballad of John and Yoko "The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in May 1969. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, and chronicles the events surrou ...

to create ''The Battery Of Jaymz And Yoko'' on their '' Masterful Mystery Tour'' album. * Die Krupps covered the song for '' A Tribute to the Four Horsemen''. * This song was covered by Eric AK (Flotsam & Jetsam),

Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of American thrash metal band Slayer. He is currently playing drums with Testament, Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungl ...

, Mike Clark, and

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash ban ...

for '' Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica''. Dave Lombardo would play the song with Metallica on stage when Lars Ulrich missed the 2004 Download Festival, and Robert Trujillo would become a member of Metallica in 2003. * This song was

by Prototype for ''Phantom Lords - A Tribute to Metallica'' released by Dwell Records in 2002. * Harp tribute duo Harptallica covered the song's introduction on their album '' Harptallica: A Tribute''. * Pop-punk band

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which ca ...

borrows the line "smashing through the boundaries/lunacy has found me" for their song "Raise A Family" found on their 2000 release " Let's Talk About Leftovers." *

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...

covered the song on the second night of the band's 'One Love For Chi' concerts in 2009 with accompaniment from

of Slayer on drums, Alexi Laiho of

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sepp ...

on guitar,

of Metallica on bass,

Daron Malakian Daron Malakian (born July 18, 1975) is an Armenian-American musician. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and second vocalist of metal band System of a Down, and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwrit ...

and

Shavo Odadjian Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian ( hy, Շավարշ "Շավո" Օդաջյան; born April 22, 1974) is an Armenian-American musician, best known as the bassist of heavy metal band System of a Down. He also plays bass in a trap group called North Kingsl ...

System of a Down System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...

on guitar and bass respectively, and

Greg Puciato Gregory John Puciato (born March 27, 1980) is an American musician best known as the former lead vocalist and lyricist of the metalcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan. He is also the lead singer of the Black Queen and Killer Be Killed, in which ...

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time si ...

on vocals. * Sum 41 cover this song on their tour but they normally played the intro of this song.

In popular culture

*The song appears as one of playable tracks in '' Rock Band 2'' and '' Guitar Hero: Metallica''. *The song appears in the 2011 indie film '' Hesher''. *The song appears in the 2012 film '' Project X''.

Controversy

On August 13, 2018, a man named

Chris Watts Chris Watts (born June 16, 1965), is an American inventor, businessman, filmmaker, and visual effects supervisor. Biography Currently president of Bake Visual Effects, Inc. located in Los Angeles, California, Watts began his film career with Dr ...

murdered his family, and a report on the situation contained about how Watts googled lyrics to Metallica's "Battery" after he had disposed the bodies of his pregnant wife and kids. It stirred up controversy in the media, some reports trying to link the song to the murder.

Personnel

* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar *

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

– lead guitar *

Cliff Burton Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who was the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on ''Kill 'Em All'' (1983), ''Ride the Lightning'' (1984) ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals * Lars Ulrich – drums

References

{{Metallica Metallica songs Songs written by James Hetfield Songs written by Lars Ulrich 1986 songs