Mixture Posture

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

From the video description (not my writing below!)

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These are the original demo versions of 4 tracks that would appear on 1984's Ride The Lightning album by Metallica...

1. Fight Fire with Fire- 0:00

2. Ride The Lightning- 4:58

3. Creeping Death- 11:37

4. When Hell Freezes Over(The Call of Ktulu)- 18:45

If you're as big of a fan as I am of this early stuff, it's pretty cool hearing these classics in their primitive, more stripped down & not quite finished state... There are some noticeable adjustments they had yet to make in regard to the lyrics, the arrangements & leads... Ride The Lightning would be the 1st Metallica album in which Cliff Burton's influence really began to shine within the over all direction & sound of the band & it's cool to hear some of the early lead bass flourishes here in When Hell Freezes Over also... An increased sense/use of melody, harmony & dynamics in addition to more interesting/advanced arrangements, better production & better playing made Ride The Lightning a significant progression from Kill 'em All & in hindsight, made it clear that the brilliance of Master of Puppets was well on it's way... Ride The Lightning was also the last Metallica album to feature any of Dave Mustaine's musical contributions(Ride The Lightning & When Hell Freezes Over(The Call of Ktulu)... This is the 1st demo to feature Hammett & one can tell that he hadn't quite figured out what he we going to do on Ride The Lightning or what would be The Call of Ktulu... I recently Unearthed some of my old cassette tapes & found a bunch of old live stuff & demos that I've had since the 80s, so there may be more stuff like this to come soon... This particular demo was already posted on Youtube, but quite frankly, I thought my copy sounded better than the other one I listened to, so I figured it was only right to share...

Recorded on October 24th 1983

1. Fight Fire with Fire- 0:00

2. Ride The Lightning- 4:58

3. Creeping Death- 11:37

4. When Hell Freezes Over(The Call of Ktulu)- 18:45

James Hetfield- Rhythm Guitar & Vocals

Kirk Hammett- Lead Guitar

Cliff Burton- Bass

Lars Ulrich- Drums

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Monday, September 28, 2026

Two years ago

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNXlIeYUj-MEv2m7ss0vJm3yO9TRNiea7&si=7wtbLzbquUWsfuSQ

Not Metallica - Breakpoint (AI ALBUM)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BRAl6a6bwB0&is=-zqzhHwSD6VSwcO1

What if Metallica didn't pause when everything started falling apart?

This is the complete audio concept and alternate history of "BREAKPOINT", the lost 2001 Metallica album that bridges the massive sonic gap between Reload and St. Anger.

📖 Storyline

January 2001: Jason Newsted abruptly leaves the band. The public fallout from the Napster lawsuit is reaching a boiling point, and internal tensions between James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich are at an all-time high.

In this timeline, the band chooses war over silence.

Instead of stepping back, James, Lars, and Kirk lock themselves into a bleak, industrial rental warehouse in San Francisco. With producer Bob Rock handling bass duties, they decide to channel their unadulterated rage, panic, and isolation directly into the tape machines. They abandon the polished radio rock of the late '90s and tune their guitars down to a heavy, crushing sound, embracing the aggressive groove and nu-metal textures dominating the airwaves.

June 2001: The sessions are chaotic, dark, and toxic. Phil Towle (the performance coach) is hired early, but his presence only fuels the fire. James is battling his deepest demons, delivering his most raw, venomous, and agonizing vocal performances to date.

July 2001: Immediately after screaming the final lines of the closing track "The Bleeding Edge", James walks out of the studio and checks into rehab. The future of Metallica is completely unknown.

November 2001: With the frontman away recovering, Elektra Records rushes out the recorded tracks. Named BREAKPOINT, the album is released to a stunned global metal community. It is a messy, terrifying, and deeply human masterpiece—a sonic suicide note of a brotherhood tearing itself apart at the dawn of the millennium.

💿 Tracklist & Timestamps

00:00 1. Breakpoint

04:45 2. Commodity

09:30 3. Shadow of the Machine

14:15 4. Hollowed Ground

19:00 5. Disconnect

22:45 6. Venomous

26:26 7. Iron Will

Some Kind of Disaster!?!?

https://youtu.be/gUeminO9ot4?is=A5JNlHKlzWTksKYb

Oceans Ate Alaska

https://youtu.be/ kdAEkb3PLP4 - Oceans Ate Alaska

Favorite Detail in Avengers Endgame

Ben Sharp - "Hello Heaven, Hello" by YUNGBLUD

https://youtu.be/ XZM-CcC8lmk - Ben Sharp - "Hello Heaven, Hello" by YUNGBLUD

Sunday, September 27, 2026

40 Years Ago

Today is the 40th anniversary of Cliff Burton dying in a bus accident http://ultimateclassicrock.com/metallica-bassist-cliff-burton-dies-in-a-bus-accident. I was 16 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, 2 days (6141 days) old when he died. Today, I am 56 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, 2 days (20751 days) old.
From the description for the video below:

Cliff Burton was one of the best bass players ever. He was a big part of Metallica. He taught James about harmonies. He went to college for music. He practiced 8 hours a day. He could play bass with his fingers faster than most on an electric guitar. His death was a tragic one, which greatly effected James, Kirk, and Lars. His life was too short, like an unfinished song. Rest in peace.

This is what Metallica sounded like on September 13, 2018:

And this is what their creative process was like when recording the Hardwired to Self-Destruct album.

And here are what "Ultimate Classic Rock" named as Metallica's Best Songs on March 5, 2013, which has nothing to with the date on which Cliff Burton died. If it were my list, I would find a way to include either "The Judas Kiss" and / or "All Nightmare Long" instead of "Nothing Else Matters." I might also replace "Fuel" with "The Frayed Ends of Sanity."
10) Fuel

9) One

8) For Whom the Bell Tolls

7) Sad But True

6) Master of Puppets

5) The Four Horsemen

4) Creeping Death

3) Nothing Else Matters

2) Seek & Destroy

1) Enter Sandman

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Iowa at Michigan - 09-26-2026

https://youtu.be/ rV72P5gKqgc - Iowa at Michigan - 09-26-2026

Rocky’s Son Finally Fights Back - Rocky V

Say what you want about Rocky V and how it did at the box office and what it did for the franchise - if you are human, this is a heartbreaking scene.

https://youtu.be/ kE7LrTt3EWk - Rocky’s Son Finally Fights Back - Rocky V

Wrestlers

Marking the 40 Year Anniversary of Cliff Burton

This post is being posted on the 40th anniversary of Cliff Burton's death. He would be 63 today. RIP. This is the link to the article that was posted on the 31st anniversary of his death - Anthrax's Scott Ian Remembers Metallica's "Orion" in Reissue Essay "Seriously, did they find a bottle of Beethoven pills?" - and, in case that site no longer exists in 2026, this is the text of the article:

Metallica will be releasing their monster archival reissue of Master of Puppets on November 10 2017, basically giving everyone everything they've ever wanted in association with that totemic album. In addition to all those demos and bootlegs, it'll also include pages upon pages of writing about the impact of Master on a generation of metal musicians. Among them is Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, who wrote an essay about the instrumental "Orion" featured on the album. Today, on the 31st anniversary of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton's final show with the band, you can read an exclusive excerpt from that essay below. You can also jam to "Orion" itself after the excerpt.

"You have to remember that this was 1986 and they were breaking new ground. When I listen to a song like 'Master' or 'Sanitarium' now with 30 years of experience it's easy to see what they did. But in 1986 it was E=MC 2. It was unfathomable and I haven't even gotten to their masterpiece 'Orion' yet. Seriously, did they find a bottle of Beethoven pills? How did they have the maturity to write an eight-and-a-half-minute instrumental that works? 'Orion' is moving, it's cohesive and exciting, and it is dynamic. My ears never even had a chance to get bored because Metallica made me wonder what was coming next."