The Metallica album inspired by Stephen King
Horror writer Stephen King has an open love for rock music. To give that sentiment genuine kudos, the author once tweeted: “I believe I’ll have a heavy metal weekend, starting with Slayer, Sabbath, and Motorhead. Saving Metallica & Priest for Sunday”. Furthermore, his love for the punk rock band Ramones led to the group writing the song ‘Pet Sematary’ in what is a shared appreciation that links two behemoths of popular culture.
The song arrived as a single from the Ramones’ 1989 album Brain Drain and was originally written for the Stephen King film adaptation of the same name. Of course, it would become one of the Ramones’ biggest radio hits and was a staple of their concerts during the 1990s.
Referring back to Kind, the author has also inspired the heavy metal American outfit Anthrax in writing ‘A Skeleton In The Closet’ through his novels, as well as working with AC/DC on the film Maximum Overdrive.
However, one of King’s most known associations with heavy rock music comes from Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who has been so immersed in King’s writing that a singular line inspired a whole album name and design. “One huge thing about my personal connection with Stephen King occurred when I was reading a chapter in The Stand,” the lead guitarist revealed.
This personal connection derives from the band’s sophomore album Ride The Lighting. This record was released Friday, July 27th, 1984, by Megaforce Records and was a showcase of the band’s musical growth and lyrical sophistication. Ride The Lighting was met with positive reviews and received praise for outdoing its predecessor, Kill ‘Em All. The LP is also the second of three Metallica albums for which the late Cliff Burton provided bass.
Hammett revealed the connection between the album and King’s novel The Stand, which is a post-apocalyptic tale about a pandemic’s aftermath, comes from an interesting choice of wording by a character. “The chapter had a guy in prison who was waiting to Ride The Lightning, and I just thought: ‘Oh my God, what a cool collection of adjectives and nouns that is,'” Hammett shared.
This character is Lloyd Henreid, who is imprisoned and about to be executed by an electric chair. The musician then added how, “I told [the band’s singer] James [Hetfield], and he thought the same, and the rest is Metallica history!”
Fans can see this connection in the album art itself, as the cover depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. This artwork was designed by AD artists and is one of the most’s signature designs. Later, Hammett advises fans of the band to “pick up a copy of The Stand if you’re obsessive enough and find the chapter about a guy on death row where King actually writes the words”.
As mentioned, King is a tremendous fan of rock and heavy metal, which is something Hammett recognises and appreciates. He shares how “over the years, I’ve been aware that Stephen King is a fan of Metallica, he was a fan club member I know.”
The guitarist then added a sweet detail: “As a token of my appreciation I ended up giving him a piece of art, a Famous Monsters cover painting.”
If this one crossing between the author and the band has led either fanbase for more, Hammett also confirmed he hopes another creation comes from the duo again. “I wish we knew each other better,” he said, “Because I think we’re two peas in a pod except he writes words and I write music.”
The Stand was also adapted into a miniseries in 1994, with Mick Garris as director and Gary Sinise and Rob Lowe among the cast members. With King writing the teleplay himself, fans and critics warmly received this first adaptation. In fact, the project was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, winning two for its makeup and sound mixing.
A second adapted drama miniseries was released in 2020 and aired on CBS All Access (now known as Paramount+). It stars James Mardsen and Whoopi Goldberg, with Amber Heard also appearing. However, it struggled to finalise a director as many floundered with the project, including Ben Affleck. Unlike its predecessor, this modern retelling of King’s work failed to garner positive reviews.
