One of my favorite songs by Metallica (excluding my other favorites) is "Slither." Yes people, I listen to music other than Lady Gaga and No Doubt, thank-you-very-much. I remember listening to and discovering this song online when I was sixteen and trying oh-so-hard to fit in and listening to the terrible music on the radio and honestly? It just spoke to me. I recently re-discovered it, mainly because I hadn't really deviated from my current playlist on my iPod, and secondly 'cause they is so much fucking music on it that I can't even. I can never find anything, I don't even know.
DISCLAIMER: Before any hardcore Metallica fans (if they even visit this page) start attacking me, I am not saying that ReLoad is their best album or anything akin to that. I am Switzerland in Metallica arguments. I know everyone has opinions on Metallica as of now, but I am simply stating that "Slither" is one of my favorite songs, and I will now discuss it.
Anyway, I was listening to it tonight, and kept thinking about it's meaning. The line "There ain't no heroes here" always really resonated with me, because of my lack of heroes growing up. Now don't take that in a sad pathetic way, because I don't mean it as such. I simply mean it in that I never really had anyone I wanted to look up to, in all seriousness, and even IF I did, they'd probably disappoint anyway. Lolz. Going back to the song, the line "Don't go looking for snakes, you might find them" always seemed like a warning sign. Like, don't go fucking with things you cannot handle, because they might jump out and bite you. But listening to it tonight, it made me think of "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid," by The Offspring.
DISCLAIMER #2: I am not comparing the two bands musically in anyway, just thematically in this one song. Also,
INTERLUDE #1: Now listening to "St. Anger." Lolz
With a deeper listening, Slither could be about a terribly evil person warning off someone; kind of saying: "I'm a bigger monster than you, I WILL EAT YOU." Think "Snake in the Grass" if you're listen to "Slither," especially the line "Don't go looking for snakes, you might find them." The song "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" is about exactly the same thing; a terribly manipulative person totally fucking up others for the sheer pleasure of it. Well, maybe not the same thing. In "Slither," the narrator is mostly warning someone off, whereas, in the other song, the narrator is basically just painting the guy as asshole, or, conversely, praising him. Seems more of the first one to me, though.
INTERLUDE #2: No listening to: "Ride the Lightning." One of my other favorites.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts on one of my favorite songs. You have contrasting opinions, go ahead and voice them!
Tl;dr: Slither is a fucking awesome song.