I can only imagine what the experience was like for those who cued up Queen’s Sheer Heart Attack on Nov. 8, 1974, and heard “Stone Cold Crazy” come blasting out of the speakers.
Fans of their first two records certainly wouldn’t have been surprised by a heavier tune. There were plenty of metallic sounds on Queen II, a personal favorite of mine. But this was something completely different. This was a sound, like much of Queen’s genius, that was nearly a decade before its time.
If you had to pinpoint when thrash metal was born, there’s no better place to start than with “Stone Cold Crazy.” It was released nearly a year before Black Sabbath’s proto-thrasher “Symptom of the Universe” yet “Stone Cold Crazy” fits the genre so well that Metallica later covered the song pretty much note for note — and it sounded tailor-made for them. I’m guessing there’s not a thrash guitarist out there who hasn’t played that riff a few times and wished he had written it.
The real argument is in the energy and aggression of the song itself. “Stone Cold Crazy” opens with Brian May leaning on the whammy bar, then Roger Taylor smacks his snare the first time to signal things are about to blow up. That’s followed by the high-speed main riff with a chunky guitar sound from May that rips your face off.
Taylor’s frenetic drumming matches the intensity. A little later on the track, May returns to melt the face he’s ripped off with some smoking lead lines laden with trippy effects. It’s one of the rare instances in Queen’s history where the flamboyant Freddie Mercury takes a back seat to the primal power of May’s guitar.
The song’s simplicity adds to its strength. One could make a good argument that “Ogre Battle” from Queen II had the first thrash sounds, but they were couched in the over-the-top theatrics to which the band was always prone. “Stone Cold Crazy,” on the other hand, had one purpose — to kick ass and the hell with even bothering to take names. Mission accomplished.
- The ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ Song That Confirmed Queen’s Metallic Genius - November 8, 2024
- Blackberry Smoke – ‘Be Right Here’ (2024) - June 10, 2024
- Why That Self-Titled 1994 Album Is the Best Motley Crue You Never Heard - March 18, 2024
