# SDTM: Metallica/ Blackened, Crank it up twice and Gregs Best MET Score

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2017-08-07  
**Duration:** 21m 47s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkfKod8YCmk

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## Analysis

A Straight Down the Middle Twitch stream featuring gameplay on Stern's Metallica pinball machine. The host plays through multiple balls attempting Crank It Up modes and the Blackened wizard mode, with detailed commentary on shot sequences, multiball mechanics, and game rules. Notable achievement: reaching Blackened wizard mode for the first time on stream.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Hitting the target between Sparky's feet counts for two shots; hitting his toes counts for one shot — _Host explaining Metallica playfield mechanics during gameplay_
- [MEDIUM] Casket multiball requires hitting approximately 50 shots on the coffin target, making it the hardest multiball to achieve in Metallica — _Host speculation during gameplay about multiball difficulty_
- [MEDIUM] Crank It Up mode involves hitting every shot on the game; not considered the best or worst wizard mode — _Host commentary on Crank It Up gameplay_
- [MEDIUM] Blackened wizard mode requires completing guitar pick shots four times to reach the full wizard mode, which is 'near impossible' — _Host description of wizard mode progression_
- [LOW] Ghostbusters has 'the most horrific first ball' compared to Metallica — _Host opinion comparing two games_
- [LOW] Someone requested McDonald's pinball as a dream theme during a top-ten dream themes show — _Host anecdote about audience suggestions_
- [MEDIUM] Host achieved a personal best score of 247 (possibly 247 million points) on this Metallica machine — _End-game scoring display and host commentary_

### Notable Quotes

> "There is a target between Sparky's legs that if you hit the target between his feet, it counts for two shots. and if you hit his toes, it's just one shot."
> — **Host (SDTM)**, Early gameplay
> _Detailed explanation of specific Metallica playfield mechanic_

> "Crank It Up is nothing special. It's just you're hitting every damn shot in the game. Not the worst mini The Wizard, but it's not the best."
> — **Host (SDTM)**, Mid-game analysis
> _Assessment of Crank It Up mode design philosophy_

> "See, you've got Blackened, and I don't know the difference, other than you pick a few different songs to pick from I think Inner Sandman that was the only time you could hear it on here"
> — **Host (SDTM)**, Blackened mode explanation
> _Host uncertainty about Blackened mode rules and features, possibly due to recent code changes_

> "See, you gotta go through this four times to get to the full The Wizard mode, which is like near impossible."
> — **Host (SDTM)**, Late game
> _Description of wizard mode difficulty progression_

> "I'm shaking. I apologize. Fucking sick. Never been there."
> — **Host (SDTM)**, Upon reaching Blackened
> _Emotional reaction to first-time achievement of wizard mode on stream_

> "Jason's going to be mad if I put a Golden Cue down on his game."
> — **Host (SDTM)**, Mid-game
> _Reference to game ownership/rules_

> "I only had time for one cup of coffee because I didn't want to leave. I felt kind of good playing"
> — **Host (SDTM)**, Outro
> _Host engagement and enjoyment with the machine_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Metallica | game | Stern Pinball machine; primary game featured in stream |
| Ghostbusters | game | Stern Pinball machine; compared to Metallica for first ball difficulty |
| Crank It Up | product | Wizard mode in Metallica requiring all shot hits |
| Blackened | product | Wizard mode in Metallica; reached for first time on stream |
| Sparky | product | Toy/target mechanism in Metallica with distinct foot/toe shot mechanics |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Pinball streaming show on Twitch |
| Waspy | person | Viewer/subscriber mentioned; scheduled for Ghostbusters stream next day |
| Jason | person | Appears to be owner/caretaker of the Metallica machine used |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Metallica pinball machine mechanics and rules, Crank It Up multiball/mode gameplay, Blackened wizard mode achievement, Playfield shot sequences and strategy
- **Secondary:** Sparky toy mechanic and targeting, Multiball difficulty tiers (casket multiball hardest), Code updates and rule changes (Jason's modifications)
- **Mentioned:** Twitch streaming community and viewer engagement

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Host demonstrates enthusiasm and enjoyment playing Metallica, particularly emotional upon achieving Blackened wizard mode for first time. Some frustration with specific shots and ball drains, but overall tone is upbeat and engaged. Expresses appreciation for machine quality and gameplay flow.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Straight Down the Middle maintains active Twitch streaming schedule with viewer subscriptions and chat interaction, scheduled content programming (Ghostbusters streams), community feedback integration (confidence: high) — Thank yous for subs, scheduled streams announced, audience dream theme requests mentioned
- **[sentiment_shift]** Positive community reception of Metallica as engaging, replayable machine with accessible first-ball gameplay (for this player) and achievable wizard modes, though some modes (casket multiball) remain extremely difficult (confidence: medium) — Host excitement, repeat plays, achieving first-time wizard mode, positive scoring comparisons
- **[gameplay_signal]** Metallica code includes detailed shot-value mechanics (Sparky foot/toe distinction for 2x/1x multiplier), multiball difficulty tiers, and potentially recent rule adjustments by machine owner (confidence: high) — Detailed description of Sparky mechanics, references to Jason's code modifications, uncertainty about Blackened rules possibly indicating recent changes
- **[technology_signal]** Host notes speaker/subwoofer quality issues on Metallica machine; attempted to hide subwoofers at cabinet base due to poor sound output, eventually had to remove them (confidence: high) — 'I had the sub down in that cabinet down at the base and they just didn sound right. I knew that they wouldn't, but I wanted to be able to hide them, so I had to pull them out just because the sound was shit.'

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## Transcript

 Oh! BWAH! Hey! Thank you for the sub, Waspy. You don't have to do that, man. Never saw a snake puke before. Ugh, such a good first ball on that one. Okay, we're doing crank it up on this one, man. This is the one easily. This is the weird thing about between this and Ghostbusters, is Ghostbusters always had the most horrific first ball. Would achieve nothing on this one. Well, I always have a good first ball for the most part, and then every ball thereafter sucks. I can hit that damn mystery scoop all day long, except for when I need to. And there is a target between Sparky's legs that if you hit the target between his feet, it counts for two shots. and if you hit his toes, it's just one shot. Didn't get a lucky bounce earlier. Block his push. Throw the switch. Let's get down! Go for it! Okay, so we need, we have enough electric chairs, we just need everything else. Got our coffins. We got our grave markers. So we just need that key snake again. Oh, man. Oh, man. Ass in the morning. Is that what that is? I've only got six snakes? Is that what that says? Dang it. That's going to be rough. Try for a... There we go. I'll try to get those grave markers down and try to get that multiball that'll help quite a bit oh come on come on baby Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh Let go Let go Been there. Got one! Oh, Snake. Shoot the piston target. This damn game is going to be forever. Oh, McDonald's pinball. You know, somebody, we had a top ten dream themes that we did a show on, and somebody actually had requested that one of their dream themes was like a McDonald's pinball. That's no lie. So maybe there's a calling for it. Not bad. I got visions. Oh, can I talk to you, boo? I got a vision. Gasoline. Give me five, give me five, what y'all done done done? Two more. Maybe if we just bash the shit out of Sparky here, we're going to go into a second Sparky multiball and then maybe we can catch that fucking snake out of that. There we go. Yeah, we'll catch the snake out of this one and then we should be good for crank it up. Crank it up is nothing special. It's just you're hitting every damn shot in the game. Not the worst mini wizard, but it's not the best. Oh no, come on. Okay, here we go, finally. Just gotta get that bitch in that hole now. Go to your hole! I'm not sure if you can go into crank it up out of this multiball or not. Because I don't see it. It's not lit, so I'm assuming no. Oh, there it is. Well, no. I had to guess. I can't go into it with this. So I can't go into it for the next time. Damn, we've had such a long ball that we're about to do the blackened. Oh, there we go. Here you go, Wasp. Finally. So see, you've got, and I don't know the difference, other than you got a few different songs to pick from I think Inner Sandman that was the only time you could hear it on here but like I said Jason had moved some stuff around So you complete items. I think I'm wanting to go for those two snake shots right now. And now that snake shot is lit. So I hit that guy. Got that one. This stuff is kind of roving too there. Oh no! See what I said? I can have a damn, just crazy ball times and then I get in to crank it up and I just lose it. But you know, I don't think we're too far from a second crank it up. And we've got a pretty damn good score going on ball two. It's amazing. amazing keep hitting all those shots we ought to be there in no time which is pretty awesome man shoot the ramp I don't know what happens when I light Metallica. Do you hit those ramps when that's going on? No. Okay, say it again. A casket multiball is kind of hard because you're hitting like 50 shots or something stupid on that coffin to be able to light that multiball. So it's the hardest multiball to get. And we might get blackened in this game. Because all we got to do is light Kurt. So we've, we just gotta get the grave markers and we're gonna go back into our second crank it up. Okay, now we can go back as soon as I guess we lose these balls, then I can hit it in that scoop and start another crank it up. Jason's going to be mad if I put a GC down on his game. Probably the best game I've ever had on here. Not saying much. But I'm fucking lighting it up. Woo! Woo! I just want to hit those targets. I want that black in two. Okay now let's get in that fucking suit. Woo! See, you gotta go through this four times to get to the full wizard mode, which is like near impossible. No, I've got two subs. Those are two subs on the outsides. And then my surrounds are back here. Ooh. Damn it. No, come on, come on, save it, save it. Yes. I don't care as long as I get that ball back. I don't know what I screwed myself out of there. Come on, Kurt. How many of those fucking tabs do I have to hit to make that happen? yeah I actually had the sub down in that cabinet down at the base and they just didn sound right. I knew that they wouldn't, but I wanted to be able to hide them, so I had to pull them out just because the sound was shit. Oh, I can get the crank it up again? Get in there, you motherfucker. Oh, we're still in! Crank it up, I guess. I didn't even continue to clap that. So maybe... Ugh, didn't get in that marker. No! Oh, ball we're on. Oh my god we still got we still got one more ball. Whoo! I need to get to work. But who cares? Still going for black and the cap this shit off. If I can get the black and the cap this off, I am going to be fucking ecstatic. That was a kick-ass shot. Nooooo! Oh, we did it! We're at Blackened, I don't know, I guess. Or we're not at Blackened. Are we at Blackened? this? You see that DMD? Oh we are at Blacken. I'm shaking. I apologize. Fucking sick. Never been there. Oh I'm shaking, sorry. Okay so we got to hit those guitar picks again. I guess than that achieves blackens. We got one more. Got it. Oh, so I gotta hit them all. One more time for every person. Let's get that fucking multiball going. If we get that multiball going, then we are... Oh, still, whatever. That was freaking awesome. Enter your initials. Lady Justice Champion. I don't know what the hell that is, but I'll be a lady. Lady Justice. justice. Man, I thought I got on the leaderboard. I only had 100 and something and got on the leaderboard before. It's 247, man. That wasn't bad. We got to do blackened a little bit. Yes, that's the initials. So true, so true. Yeah, dude. Thank you guys for tuning in to Straight Down the Middle Pinball on Twitch and having a coffee with me. I only had time for... Oh, there's some duct tape. I only had time for one cup of coffee because I didn't want to leave. I felt kind of good playing, but I'm going to get another cup of coffee. I hope you guys have an amazing work week. That's for damn sure. Kick your morning off right with some Metallica. And look forward to Waspy tomorrow night at 8 o'clock doing some Ghostbusters. And then Wednesday at 8 o'clock doing some Ghostbusters Eastern time. Thank you guys for tuning in. Love you guys.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: abdc3387-e6c8-4695-8514-207c9edd9536*