I am inspired to write this post because last time I heard and re-discovered for myself Metallica’s “Of Wolf and Man” song.
I remember that I first heard this song in 1992. It was one year after Metallica released its one of the most famous albums, “The Black Album.” I was seven years old. Since that time, I was periodically re-discovering this album for myself. For me, it is undoubtedly one of the best, energizing albums whichever appeared. I know that some, I would call them “old school” Metallica fans, insist that this album changed the band forever. It was a crucial point in the band’s history. The album somehow changed direction in their artistic, musical approach.
Nevertheless, I am not a diehard Metallica fan. Thus, I am focusing on what I hear. The fact is that during listening to this album, I often receive some spectacular inner powers of creation and imagination. The “Of Wolf and Man” song is not the exception.
I believe that we can interpret the lyrics of the title song in many various ways. We can see this song as a terrifying horror movie, or as an allegory of people’s having two different souls and opposing characters.
I want to stress that this song always provides me with incredible energy. It gives me the power to start doing something in my life. For example, to be active in the sport and widely understood self-development. This development is mainly connected with artistic passion. For me, one of the quotes in the song: “So seek the wolf in thyself,” is the essence of why I want to develop my hobby until the end of my life.
Of course, we can interpret the words in many different ways, for example, that we should behave in our lives more aggressively to find some answers to our existential questions.
But, this interpretation is only one among many other possibilities. For me, the song also tells us not to forget about nature living in us. We should not ignore the primordial roots and instincts which still exist in us. The more we are aware of such an existence, the more appropriately we can subjugate those instincts.
I believe that creating art can somehow spark and develop in us some spiritual and supernatural elements and instincts. That is why all the great artists (e.g., Hieronymus Bosch, Frederic Chopin, Fyodor Dostoyevski, Salvador Dali, Stanislaw Lem, Zdzislaw Beksinski, Michael Jackson or David Bowie) saw and knew much more than their contemporaries. They were looking for this proverbial wolf in their imagination, mind, and soul. I want to do the same; I want to find the proverbial wolf in myself. That is why I am periodically coming back to the “Of Wolf and Man” song.
