How Metallica became embroiled in a brutal Texan murder: “Shit going on”
One of the most important things that musicians want is to be able to form a connection with their fans. However, this connection isn’t always a positive one, as Metallica found out the hard way.
A lot of the time, when you write a song that touches upon something such as loneliness, love, or longing, people will latch onto the track’s meaning and project the thoughts within the song as their own. This is nothing new; people have always found connections with songs, and they use those connections as a way to feel close to their favourite artists. This is usually a wholesome experience, but not always.
The themes of heavy metal have always had undertones of darkness, doom and aggression. This isn’t to say the genre is a violent one, and whether or not it is damaging to people is a debate that has raged on for decades. However, with distortion, guitars tuned down half a step, and chaotic rhythm sections, it’s difficult to escape the fact that there is a tenacious element to the music. That element is often reflected in the lyrics that bands write for their heavy metal songs.
Metallica have a plethora of songs, some of which have sweet-sounding lyricism, meanwhile others are a touch more aggressive. One of those aggressive songs landed them at the centre of a murder investigation in Texas, as it was revealed that after shooting someone and throwing their body into a field, the murderer quoted a Metallica lyric.
In August 1984, Troy Kunkle and three of his friends drove from their homes in San Antonio, Texas, to spend a day at the beach. There, they got drunk, high and decided they wanted to rob someone. On the drive home, they picked up Stephen Horton, a stranger, and demanded that they give them his wallet. Horton refused, so Kunkle shot him in the head and threw his body in a field.
Allegedly, after shooting Horton, Kunkle sang the lyrics to Metallica’s ‘No Remorse’, “Another day, another death, another sorrow, another breath”.
Lars Ulrich didn’t find out about the murder trial until they arrived in Texas, and their manager told him. “We pulled into Corpus Christi, Texas, and woke up with a call from our manager who said there’s some shit going on,” recalled Ulrich.
Adding: “[Kunkle] got sentenced to death […] And there was this big yahoo when he stood up in the courtroom and quoted the lyrics again. But, believe me, it’s not something I had a day-to-day interest in.”
It seems that Kunkle really felt a connection to the lyrics of Metallica as he was adamant in constantly quoting their work. The band found themselves in the crossfire of the court case, as concerned parents worried that their music might be changing their children into murderers. Of course, there was no obvious link established between the lyrics of ‘No Remorse’ and the actions of Kunkle.
It seems after many years on death row, the murderer shed his adoration of the band, as when he was given one final chance to speak before receiving a lethal injection, he decided not to quote Metallica a third time.
Instead, he said, “I love you and I will see all of you in heaven”.
