1981 Lars Ulrich, a Dane abroad in Los Angeles and would-be tennis pro meets up with James Hetfield, a.k.a. "The Angriest Kid in the World." The pair form a band and call it Metallica (so old people wouldn't mistake them for an old-time jazz ensemble). Other players include a bass player, Ron McGovney, and a lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine. 1983 After two years of sticking out like a sore thumb on the scuzzy LA glam metal scene, Metallica relocates to San Francisco to hook up with a new band member, eccentric bass genius Cliff Burton. The band then boots Mustaine and moves to New York with new guitarist Kirk Hammett in tow to record their debut LP, appropriately entitled Kill 'Em All. Marked by speed, energy, and twisted innocence, Kill 'Em All blows the tired, brain-dead heavy metal genre all to hell. 1984 Metallica's much-awaited second album, Ride the Lightning, is released. The album--all rage and black fury--begins, shockingly, with acoustic guitar. (Afterward, 3,000 other bands steal this idea and follow suit.) Despite a solid wall of disinterest from commercial radio, Ride the Lightening goes gold and spends 50 weeks on Billboard's Top 200. 1986 The good news: Metallica's third release, Master of Puppets, redefines "thrash metal" (an unfortunate appellation) with its inexorable, intense, melodic sound. Without the dubious benefit of singles or videos--vanities Metallica remains uninterested in--Master of Puppets sells a million copies in the U.S. alone. The bad news: While on their first headline tour of Europe, Metallica's tour bus skids off an icy Swedish road. Cliff Burton is killed instantly. Despite the grief shared by remaining members of the band, there is no doubt that Metallica will carry on. "Cliff would have been the first one to be pissed off if we didn't," says Lars. Weeks later, a new bassist is found in Jason Newsted.
VH 1 has set the date for the Metallica edition of Behind The Music. The show will air on Sunday November 22nd. Please check your local listings for show times.
Oct 14th – The Plant Recording Studio. Metallica today completed the recording and mixing of 11 new cover songs for the upcoming double CD entitled ‘Garage Inc.’ Produced by Bob Rock, Lars and James. ‘Garage Inc’ contains a total of 27 cover songs. In addition to the 11 cover songs, ‘Garage Inc.’ will include 16 other cover songs that have been released throughout Metallica’s existence in one part of the world or another. These 16 songs include the tracks from the 1987 released ‘Garage Days Re-Revisited’ EP, which has been unavailable since 1989. ‘Garage Inc.’ is due for release in North America on November 24th and in the rest of the world on November 23rd. The complete track listing is as follows: Disc 1 Free Speech For The Dumb (Originally recorded by Discharge) It’s Electric (Originally recorded by Diamond Head) Sabbra Cadabra (Originally recorded by Black Sabbath) Turn The Page (Originally recorded by Bob Seger) Die Die My Darling (Originally recorded by The Misfits) Loverman (Originally recorded by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) Mercyful Fate - Featuring Evil, Curse of the Pharaohs, Satan’s Fall, A Corpse, Without Soul and Into The Coven (Originally recorded by Mercyful Fate) Astronomy (Originally recorded by Blue Oyster Cult) Whiskey In The Jar (Originally recorded by Thin Lizzy) Tuesday’s Gone (Originally recorded by Lynyrd Skynyrd) The More I See (Originally recorded by Discharge) Disc 2 Helpless (Originally recorded by Diamond Head) The Small Hours (Originally recorded by Holocaust) The Wait (Originally recorded by Killing Joke) Crash Course In Brain Surgery (Originally recorded by Budgie) Last Caress / Green Hell (Originally recorded by The Misfits) Am I Evil? (Originally recorded by Diamond Head) Blitzkrieg (Originally recorded by Blitzkrieg) Breadfan (Originally recorded by Budgie) The Prince (Originally recorded by Diamond Head) Stone Cold Crazy (Originally recorded by Queen) So What (Originally recorded by The Anti-Nowhere League) Killing Time (Originally recorded by Sweet Savage) Overkill (Originally recorded by Motorhead) Damage Case (Originally recorded by Motorhead) Stone Dead Forever (Originally recorded by Motorhead) Too Late Too Late (Originally recorded by Motorhead)
As well as covering songs, Metallica's also being covered. Apocolyptica has a new album out called Inquisition Symphony it features all cello versions of One, Nothing Else Matters, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Fade to Black along with other tracks. Primus has a version of The Thing That Should Not Be on their Rhinoplasty EP. Two Metallica covers appear on the upcoming Extreme Championship Wrestling album due this October, Enter Sandman by Motorhead and Phantom Lord by Anthrax.
Cable music television channel VH 1 recently spent time filming and interviewing Metallica and a few other notables from the band's history. This will be a part of an upcoming Behind The Music program on Metallica. Behind The Music is a fairly extensive program that peers deep into the subjects history. Other recent subjects for the show include Ozzy Osbourne and KISS. We will announce a show date as soon as it is made available to us. Expect to see many figures in Metallica history including the band, Ray Burton and Dave Mustaine.
