Metallica Is An American Heavy Metal Band. The Band Was Formed In 1981 In Los Angeles By Vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield And Drummer Lars Ulrich And Has Been Based In San Francisco For Most Of Its Career. The Band's Fast Tempos Instrumentals And Aggressive Musicianship Made Them One Of The Founding "big Four" Bands Of Thrash Metal Alongside Megadeth Anthrax And Slayer. Metallica's Current Lineup Comprises Founding Members And Primary Songwriters Hetfield And Ulrich Longtime Lead Guitarist Kirk Hammett And Bassist Robert Trujillo. Read More On Last.Fm
"The Four Horsemen" Is The Second Track On The Album. The Original Song Called "The Mechanix" Had Different Lyrics And Was Written By Mustaine During The Time When He Was In His Previous Band Panic. After Mustaine Was Ejected From Metallica He Included It On Megadeth's First Album Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! With The Title Slightly Shortened To Just "Mechanix" With The Original Lyrics And At A Much Faster Tempo. After He Left Hetfield Rewrote The Lyrics And Hammett Added A New Melodic Guitar Solo In The Middle Of The Song. This Section Is Rarely Played When Metallica Performs This Song Live. "The Four Horsemen" Is A Definite Fan-Favorite Song Of Metallica. The Title Also Served As A Source For One Of The Band's Nicknames. The Lyrics As The Title Suggests Are About The End Of The World And The Apocalypse Referring To The Biblical Text About The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse. However Many Believe The Song Is About Metallica Themselves As The "horsemen." The Lyrics Refer To The Horsemen As Time Famine Pestilence And Death. This Is A Revision Upon An Already Non-Canonical Misinterpretation Of The Biblical Passages. In The Bible The Four Horseman Are Actually Conquest War Famine And Death. During The Bridge Of The Song Bassist Cliff Burton's Voice Can Be Heard Providing The Backing Vocals.