Metallica first found commercial success with the release of its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), which is cited as one of the heaviest metal albums and the band's best work. The band's next album, ...And Justice for All (1988), gave Metallica its first Grammy Award nomination. Its self-titled fifth album, Metallica (1991), was the band's first not to root predominantly in thrash metal; it appealed to a more mainstream audience, achieving substantial commercial success and selling over 16 million copies in the United States to date, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era. After experimenting with different genres and directions in subsequent releases, Metallica returned to its thrash metal roots with the release of its ninth album, Death Magnetic (2008), which drew similar praise to that of the band's earlier albums. This was followed by the band's 10th studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), with its 11th album, 72 Seasons, releasing in 2023.
In 2000, Metallica led the case against the peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, in which the band and several other artists filed lawsuits against the service for sharing their copyright-protected material without consent, eventually reaching a settlement. Metallica was the subject of the acclaimed 2004 documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which documented the troubled production of the band's eighth album, St. Anger (2003), and the internal struggles within the band at the time. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band co-wrote the screenplay for and starred alongside Dane DeHaan in the 2013 concert film Metallica: Through the Never, in which the band performed live against a fictional thriller storyline.
Metallica has released 10 studio albums, four live albums (including two performances with the San Francisco Symphony), 12 video albums, a cover album, two extended plays, 37 singles and 39 music videos. The band has won nine Grammy Awards from 23 nominations, and its last six studio albums (beginning with Metallica) have consecutively debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Metallica ranks as one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold over 125 million albums worldwide as of 2018. Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines such as Rolling Stone, which ranked the band No. 61 on its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list. As of 2017, Metallica is the third-best-selling music artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, selling a total of 58 million albums in the United States.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallica
Studio albums
Kill 'Em All (1983)
Ride the Lightning (1984)
Master of Puppets (1986)
...And Justice for All (1988)
Metallica (1991)
Load (1996)
Reload (1997)
St. Anger (2003)
Death Magnetic (2008)
Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
72 Seasons (2023)
Rebel of Babylon
Metallica Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just float away
Rebel is it hard to leave
What makes you stay?
Go take your poison ink
Sign life away
Then take your dirty spoon
Dig your grave
Rebel grips the bottle tight
Just floats away
Rebel finds it hard to leave
What makes you stay?
He takes the poison ink
Signing life away
Then takes the dirty spoon
And digs his grave
Let this dark shine
Let this dark shine
Let it shine bright
Don't let it burn out tonight
Kill me one more time
Stigmata
Kill me one more time
Neo martyr
Gonna die young
Gonna live forever
Kill me one more time
Rise up
Rebel of babylon
Renegade fights the fight
That no one wins
He claims a crown of thorns
To pierce the skin
He climbs his crucifix
And waits for dawn
Thinks they'll remember him
After he's gone
Let this dark shine
Let this dark shine
Let it shine bright
Don't let it burn out tonight
Kill me one more time
Stigmata
Kill me one more time
Neo martyr
Gonna die young
Gonna live forever
Kill me one more time
Rise up
Rebel of babylon
Rise up
Rise up
Resurrection
The rebel fights the fight
That no one wins
To claim a crown of thorns
To pierce his skin
Climbs his crucifix
And waits for dawn
He looses consciousness
The myth lives on
Let this dark shine
Let this dark shine
Let it shine bright
Don't let it burn out tonight
Tonight
Kill me one more time
Stigmata
Kill me one more time
Neo martyr
Gonna die young
Gonna live forever
Kill me one more time
Rise up
Rebel of babylon
Rise up
Rise up
Resurrection
The lyrics of "Rebel of Babylon" by Metallica are about a rebel who is stuck in his addiction and is unable to leave it behind. The lyrics describe the rebel's struggle with addiction through imagery of drugs, alcohol and self-destructive behaviour, such as digging his own grave. The song also touches on themes of martyrdom and resurrection. In the end, the rebel is unable to overcome his addiction and is seen as a martyr, who is remembered even after his death.
The first verse is quite straightforward, describing the rebel's grip on his addiction and the way he tries to escape reality by drinking and floating away. The second verse talks about the consequences of addiction and the way the rebel signs his life away just to get a fix. The third verse is more complex and deals with the themes of martyrdom and resurrection. The rebel is willing to die for his addiction, but he also believes that he will live forever as a legend.
The chorus is repeated several times throughout the song, emphasizing the rebel's mantra to "let this dark shine" and not to let his addiction burn out. The bridge of the song talks about the rebel's willingness to die for his addiction and the way he hopes to be remembered as a martyr after he's gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Rebel grip your bottle tight
The rebel tightly holds onto the bottle.
Just float away
The rebel drinks to escape reality.
Rebel is it hard to leave
The rebel finds it difficult to move on.
What makes you stay?
The rebel is stuck and unable to leave due to something holding them back.
Go take your poison ink
The rebel signs a contract without understanding the consequences.
Sign life away
The rebel signs a contract that takes away their freedom.
Then take your dirty spoon
The rebel uses drugs to cope with the pain.
And dig your grave
The rebel's choices lead to self-destruction.
Let this dark shine
The rebel tries to find a way to stand out in the darkness.
Let it shine bright
The rebel wants to be noticed and remembered even after they are gone.
Don't let it burn out tonight
The rebel fears being forgotten and wants their legacy to live on.
Kill me one more time
The rebel struggles with pain and wants it to end.
Stigmata
The rebel identifies with the suffering of a martyr.
Neo martyr
The rebel sees themselves as a modern-day martyr for their cause.
Gonna die young
The rebel lives recklessly and without fear of death.
Gonna live forever
The rebel wants their legacy to endure beyond death.
Rise up
The rebel wants to stand up to authority and make their mark.
Rebel of babylon
The rebel identifies with a city known for rebellion.
Renegade fights the fight
The rebel fights a losing battle against a corrupt system.
That no one wins
The rebel's efforts are futile and will not result in change.
He claims a crown of thorns
The rebel sees themselves as a victim of society's oppression.
To pierce the skin
The rebel's pain is real and self-inflicted.
He climbs his crucifix
The rebel takes on immense pain and sacrifice for their cause.
And waits for dawn
The rebel hopes for a better future despite current struggles.
Thinks they'll remember him
The rebel wants to be known and recognized for their efforts.
After he's gone
The rebel is aware of their mortality and wants to leave a lasting impression.
Resurrection
The rebel hopes for a rebirth and change after their death.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAMES ALAN HETFIELD, KIRK L. HAMMETT, LARS ULRICH, ROBERT TRUJILLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nino Amora
on No Remorse
im a dieharn fan of metalica