“Seek and Destroy” by Metallica

As the title of this track implies, its lyrics are based on the singer’s desire to “seek” out and “destroy” a certain enemy. However, these expressions are not meant to be taken literally. In fact what they are said to actually represent Metallica’s angst due to not being received favorable, during their earlier years, by fans of heavy metal in Los Angeles. As such it has been hypothesized that the addressee, i.e. the one whom they want to “destroy”, is actually a reference to their early musical rivals in L.A. So in that sense “Seek & Destroy” would actually be akin to a musical-battle song.

But outside of that it has a general message of hunting down an enemy and dealing with him most violently. Such is the overall theme upon which the song is based. And accordingly that is the one that is picked up on by the general audience. And the way the narrative plays out, in its most basic sense, is that the singer has beef with the addressee. Additionally it would read as if the narrator has been biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to exact his wrath. And according to the song, that time has manifested itself in the present.

Conclusion

So conclusively we can say that yes, this song is violent in nature. But it is also very generic. We say this because who the singer actually has beef with is never specified in the least (outside of a general geographical location). 

Moreover we know that generally speaking Metallica is more the advocates of peace than vice versa. So implying that this song will actually inspire someone to go out and “seek and destroy”, as Clear Channel Communications has for instance, may be a bit a stretch. Rather let’s say the primary sentiment that is being relayed is more along the lines of a very-ambiguous vengeance fantasy.

Facts about “Seek and Destroy”

This song is from Metallica’s very first album, “Kill ‘Em All”. It was released by Megaforce Records on 25 July 1983 as part of said project. And throughout the years, it has remained one of the band’s most-popular tunes. It is actually one of Metallica’s most performed songs.

“Seek & Destroy” was written by Metallica’s co-founders James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. And according to Ulrich, it was influenced by another heavy-metal song named “Dead Reckoning” by a band called Diamond Head.

“Seek & Destroy” has been heavily utilized by athletes in a wide range of professional sports. These sports range from wrestling to baseball to rugby.

Interesting to note is that in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks, Clear Channel Communications (aka iHeartMedia) had a problem with this song. Owing to that they basically blacklisted it from being played on their stations. FYI, the following Metallica songs also made it into that black list:

• “Enter Sandman”
• “Fade to Black”
• “Harvester of Sorrow”

iHeartMedia banned said songs in addition to over 150 more songs from various artists. According to them, they contained questionable lyrics and could therefore not be played in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

“Seek & Destroy” holds a unique place in Metallica’s history, as it is the first song the band recorded in a studio.