I can't get it outta my head! So here goes.......

BATTERY

Lashing out the action, returning the reaction
Weak are ripped and torn away
Hypnotizing power, crushing all that cower
Battery is here to stay

Smashing through the boundaries
lunacy has found me
cannot stop the Battery
Pounding out aggression
turns into obsession
cannot kill the Battery

Cannot kill the family
Battery is found in me

Battery

Crushing all deceivers, mashing non-believers
never ending potency
Hungry violence seeker, feeding off the weaker
Breeding on insanity

Smashing through the boundaries
lunacy has found me
cannot stop the Battery
Pounding out aggression
turns into obsession
cannot kill the Battery

Cannot kill the family
Battery is found in me

Battery

Circle of Destruction, Hammer comes crushing
Powerhouse of energy
Whipping up a fury, Dominating flurry
We create the Battery

Smashing through the boundaries
lunacy has found me
cannot stop the Battery
Pounding out aggression
turns into obsession
cannot kill the Battery

Cannot kill the family
Battery is found in me

Battery!

---------------------------

So let it be written
So let it be done
I'm sent here by the chosen one
So let it be written
So let it be done
To kill the first born pharaoh son
I'm creeping death....

The Unsung Anthems

Celebrating life is a form of release everyone loves to indulge in. People have Valentine's day, Mother's day, Father's day to remind their loved ones once a year how much they care by buying them flowers, scraps of colorful paper and flavored chocolate. For the rest of the 364 days, who gives a fuck! Then there are the intellectuals who like to sound as though their knowledge is everclear with a point of view worthy of scholars. Abstract forms of art, discussions amounting to nothing and esoteric tastes make these fools sound like they are intelligent. And then there are the wannabes. What more can I say?

There must only be a handful people thinking about the other side and contemplating what happens to those who have passed on. Am I one of them? More than the worry of what happens beyond, it is the ever passing moment of grief that I am concerned with. We live, people around us influence our lives, show us ways and then fade away. In what seems to be a flash, everything that was a part of them, their life, their very existence becomes a cold lifeless reminder of what used to be. It's just an emptiness that lingers on. Each and every item, material and article that used to be associated with that individual remains lifeless and cold. There are no changes from the final day.

And this is the cruel experience, a constant reminder that the dead are dead and gone. Nothing can bring them back; not a box of chocolates, not a bouquet of flowers and neither wails of disbelief and uncontrollable grief. So as long as the people around you who care are still alive, give them your best. It's not important to show how much you care, but to ensure that they know, you do. Even today I miss him. Every single thought, every passing moment where in I have the time to stop and think ends with a sigh of disbelief. I don't cry anymore, but I dont feel any good either.

Some Kind of Monster!

....Creeping Death....

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky... The four horsemen... High speed thrash metal... Three very gigantic egoes... A troubled talented bassist... Some kind of monster!

Perhaps the haunting of the 70's flower children with a new sound courtesy Black Sabbath, that gnarled at peace and love with its cryptic lyrics about death, voodoo and Beezelbup has never been paralleled. Yet Metallica stands as the modern day answer and a worthy tribute to a band that unleashed everything evil, green and slimy onto the music world. What Paranoid did to the 70s was what Master Of Puppets did to the 80s. The evil sound of hard rock found a new voice, a faster, harder and crunchier edge to the already menacing notes belted out over a cold Rat Salad by Toni Iommi.

Metallica is here to stay. I recall seeing the rockumentary in 1992 on MTV wherein Hetfield claimed that if the audience was not receptive enough at a concert, they played harder, faster with a deafening screech. Kill Em All, the debut album had sounds like Seek and Destroy, an anthem in itself along with the 'marching jackboots in your head' provided in the form of tracks like Phantom Lord and Pulling Teeth. The album that did it for me was 'Ride the Lightning' with tracks like Creeping Death, Fade to Black, Call of Ktulu and Trapped under Ice that were good enough to work up an army to go to battle! I consider Master of Puppets to be Metallica's masterpiece and my alltime favorite song will always be 'Battery'. Every track on this album stands toe to toe with every track on Paranoid, by Black Sabbath.

Getting back to my discussion on the documentary. The most touching moment in the film is when Lars Ulrich goes to see Dave Mustaine with Phil as a part of the band's therapy. Mustaine was always cast as the AntiChrist with his outfit Megadeth, which he formed after he was asked to leave Met because of a drinking problem. Unfortunately, many fans fail to recognise Megadeth as a force within itself displaying immense amount of lyrical talent and killer riffs making it another band to be reckoned with. Megadeth somehow always carried the 'Metallica-wannabe' title and Mustaine had to take it head first! This is the exact point that Mustaine tries to point to Ulrich at the meeting.

And then there is James Hetfield. To many Metallica fans, even me, Hetfield'll always be the quintessential vocalist/songwriter, but I must add that especially after this documentary, I can see why Jason Newstead succumbed and left Metallica. Although it must be pointed out that one can clearly see the transition for Hetfield; battling his drinking problem, trying to play the important role in his family and getting a band together to work on another album. From the days of And Justice For All, when the band produced it's first video to the days of S&M and St.Anger, Hetfield has been the frontman with nerves of steel.

All in all, the documentary is brilliant, taking a look at the personal lives of the band that has made us laugh, cry and scream with eternal lividity. A must watch for the average documentary geek and a must buy for every Metalli'fukin'ca fan!

My Roots Beckon...

We, The People

Ashutosh Gowariker has created yet another epic. 'Swades' is nothing short of a story each one of us has lived, in phases, in different contexts. From the times of examining trivial matters like worrying about your life to the times that we've shared with our loved ones.

"If you were any thinner, you wouldn't exist..."

The Machinist

Guilt can take you a long way, indeed! This movie joins my list of the best movies of all times rubbing shoulders with the likes of The Man Who Wasn't There , the best, film noir has to offer. Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik is uber-amazing! The camera work, the cinematography, the scene compositions, the clean and dirty shots; A true masterpiece! I now, truly believe that Bale is the perfect choice for Batman Begins. From playing the clean shaven Wall street yuppie in American Pyscho to the cleric who starts to 'feel' in Equilibrium, Bale has proven to be an actor with substance. He lost a good 63 pounds to fit the character in this movie and Bale looks scary indeed! I strongly recommend The Machinist to anyone who appreciates a total package with a strong undercurrent that makes you think for about four hours past your bedtime!