Metallica

Metallica is an American Heavy Metal band originally from Los Angeles, but based in San Francisco since February 1983. It was founded in 1981 in Los Angeles by Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, who would be joined by Dave Mustaine and Ron McGovney. These two musicians were later replaced by the guitarist Kirk Hammett and the bassist Cliff Burton respectively, Dave Mustaine was fired a year after joining the band due to his excessive addiction to alcohol and his violent attitude, being replaced by Kirk Hammett (former guitarist of Exodus). Ron resigns from the band due to the bad behavior of Dave Mustaine, which was violent and troublesome when he was under the influence of alcohol. It is then, after contacting Cliff Burton that the band moves to San Francisco. (It should be noted that Ron knew he was going to be fired and replaced by Cliff Burton). On the other hand, on September 27, 1986, it was the death of Cliff Burton in a bus accident in Sweden, during one of his tours, this led to the entry of Jason Newsted into the group, who, after his abandonment fifteen more years Later, he would be replaced by the current bassist, Robert Trujillo.

To date, the group has released 10 studio albums, the last of these being Hardwired... to Self Destruct which was released worldwide on November 18, 2016, although through their social networks they announced a new upcoming album for 2023 titled 72 Seasons. Metallica's total sales exceed 90 million, and they are considered part of the big four of thrash metal, along with Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax. In addition, the group has won numerous music awards, including nine Grammys, two awards from the music network MTV, two awards from the American Music Academy (American Music Awards) and two awards from Billboard magazine, in addition to belonging since the year 2009 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a star on the Kerrang! magazine's Walk of Fame.

History

Beginnings

First contacts

Metallica's history is considered to have begun in 1980 when young Lars Ulrich, originally from Gentofte, Denmark, moved with his family to Los Angeles. The son of professional tennis player Torben Ulrich, Ulrich had developed a huge fondness for heavy metal during the 1970s, when the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) was booming on the European underground scene. With his transfer to the United States, planned by his father with the original objective of preparing a career in professional tennis, Ulrich's hobby would practically become an obsession, which was concentrated especially in unknown groups of the new current. english. His priority upon arriving in Los Angeles was to exploit his musical ability along with other young people, which led him in 1981 to publish an advertisement in the Recycler magazine, in which he requested a guitarist to form a band with influences from the NWOBHM bands, specifically their favorite bands: Diamond Head, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden and Tygers of Pan Tang. Young James Hetfield, the son of a trucking company owner and an opera singer who raised his children Christian Science, responded to his ad. They began rehearsing together and, although Hetfield was initially not convinced by Ulrich's playing, they eventually formed a band. The key to this union was the song he had reserved for his friend Brian Slagel, founder of the record company, then newly created, Metal Blade Records, in the first compilation that the label would publish, entitled Metal Massacre.

The name of the band was the idea of a friend of Lars named Ron Quintana, who had "Metalmania" and "Metallica" as possible names for a new music zine, although he was more inclined towards the latter. Ulrich liked "Metallica" that he quickly recommended (to Quintana) that he call & # 34; Metalmania & # 34; to the fanzine. Thus, the Ulrich and Hetfield band took the name Metallica.

Initial line-up and first songs

Ulrich moved into the premises that Hetfield owned with his friend Ron McGovney, who came from a wealthy family that owned numerous properties. Hetfield asked McGovney to play bass in the band and offered to teach him. Contrary to rumors, Ron was not the designer of the Metallica logo. In an interview with the band on ABC, James Hetfield himself claimed to have drawn it from a simple sketch. After incessant attempts to find a solo guitarist influenced by Motörhead and Iron Maiden, they found Lloyd Grant, a young Afro-descendant guitarist with whom they played the first Metallica demo, entitled Hit the Lights (1981). Lloyd, who planned to stay a little longer in the band, was soon replaced by Dave Mustaine on lead guitar, thus completing the first Metallica formation, since in Mustaine they found the ideal person to close the formation. The first step was the recording of the theme for the first installment of Metal Massacre. The chosen one would be "Hit the Lights", a song that came from Hetfield's previous band, Leather Charm, considered one of the first songs of thrash metal.

Metallica's live debut would take place on March 14, 1982 at the Radio City club in Anaheim, in a performance in which the band's lack of stage experience caused serious problems. Two weeks later they would have the opportunity to make amends by opening two nights in a row for the English Saxon at the local Whiskey-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles. It should be noted that within the booklet of the cover album that the band made in 1998 entitled Garage Inc, the notes that Ulrich himself took at that time on the march of these two concerts can be found, including the setlists. of both nights and the impressions of the drummer on the march of the same.

The disappointment that these two bad concerts caused the band made them reconsider hiring a vocalist while Hetfield and Mustaine were the two guitarists in the band. For this, Sammy Dijon, ex-vocalist of the band Ruthless, was hired, who carried out some tests but was not finally admitted into the group, for which he was fired. In April 1982 another guitarist, Damien Phillips (real name Brad Parker), was hired to act as one while Hetfield concentrated in front of the microphone, but he too was fired after his first performance with the band due to Mustaine's refusal. to have a third guitarist.^{[citation needed]} Several singers were later considered, including John Bush, future lead singer of Armored Saint, and Jesse Cox of Tygers of Bread Tang. None were admitted, which is why Hetfield took over both second guitar and vocals from that moment on. In a rehearsal done at Lars Ulrich's old school, the vocalist was Jeff Warner, who is said to have been turned down because he was too out of tune ^{[citation needed ]} .

Ultimate Formation

With the release of Metal Massacre in July 1982, the group, after rejecting the version of "Hit the Lights" appeared in it because she was completely out of step with what her new sound was, she decided to record her first demo, entitled No Life 'til Leather, the first stanza of the song Hit the Lights. Seven songs would be part of this demo, among which is a much more powerful and accelerated version of "Hit the Lights". With an increasingly tight concert schedule, Hetfield and Ulrich began to consider replacing McGovney. Years later, he said in an interview that the rest of the band let him take care of everything. It is at that moment when the problems with Dave Mustaine begin to appear, derived from an extremely violent character coupled with the extreme consumption of alcohol and drugs. Aware of Metallica's need to recruit a new bassist, Brian Slagel recommends Lars and James the band Trauma, who had just released one of their songs in the second installment of Metal Massacre. Hetfield and Ulrich would be totally impressed with the skill and stage presence of their bassist, Cliff Burton, immediately offering him to join Metallica, which Burton would initially reject.

Kirk Hammett.

Even with McGovney in their ranks, they would record a live demo on November 29 of the same year (1982) at The Waldorf in San Francisco, which would receive the name Live Metal Up Your Ass and in which they would premiere the song "Whiplash", unpublished until then. The concert would open for Exodus, whose lead guitarist, a young Kirk Hammett, would make a great impression on James and Lars Ulrich, who, faced with growing problems with Mustaine, began to consider him a perfect replacement. Shortly thereafter McGovney decided to leave Metallica upon hearing that they had been establishing contacts with Cliff Burton, to join Phantasm, contrary to popular belief that he was fired. He later stated: "I've never heard 'You're fired'" or something like that from them. I resigned, although it is obvious that, even if I had not resigned, they were going to fire me anyway". At the same time, Cliff Burton, who was having problems with Trauma due to the direction the rest of the members wanted to take with respect to his music, decided to join Metallica. The bassist's only non-negotiable condition was that the band move to San Francisco, where the new sounds related to thrash were beginning to generate a legion of followers who received the name of the "Bay Area Bangers". In any case, Hetfield, Ulrich and Mustaine were already thinking about moving to San Francisco, since they had observed the energy and enthusiasm of that city's thrash scene, as well as the fact that the Los Angeles scene was dominated by more and more famous glam metal, with bands like Mötley Crüe, Dokken, Quiet Riot, Cinderella and Ratt.

Kill 'Em All

In early 1983, manager and concert promoter Johnny Zazula (with the help of his wife) contacted the group to offer them a transfer to New York, with the idea of organizing several concerts on the East Coast. and, if all went well, record an album. After accepting the offer, Metallica began the trip on April 1, and after crossing the entire country, they established their new place of residence in the Music Building in New York, a building in the one that they cohabited with several rock bands, among which was Anthrax, initiating friendship and camaraderie between the two groups.

Ten days after his arrival in New York, the situation with Mustaine became untenable, so Hetfield and Ulrich surprised a newly awakened Mustaine to announce that he was out of the group and that the bus would be leaving shortly that they had reserved for their return home (later Dave would found Megadeth). The members were already prepared for this. Zazula was asked to contact Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett about joining the band. At first, Kirk believed Zazula's call was a joke, but eventually agreed. Simultaneously with Dave's expulsion, Kirk Hammett was leaving Exodus and preparing to leave for New York, arriving late that night. early morning. A student of Joe Satriani, Hammett would introduce a more melodic, technical and stylized sound in Metallica, which would become apparent from the group's second album, since the first one was composed in its entirety at the time of its entry. The new guitarist's debut would take place at the New York "Showplace" opening for The Rods.

After a month of rehearsals, Metallica would finally enter the "Music America Studios" to record their first album. The tracklisting would be practically the same as that of No Life 'til Leather, including as novelties the song "Whiplash", already featured on Live Metal Up Your Ass, and the bass solo that Burton used to play in concert, under the name "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth". In addition, a revamped version of the theme "The Mechanix" would also be included, adding new riffs and renaming it "The Four Horsemen". studies and resident engineer. His work raised suspicions on the part of the group due to the difference in criteria regarding the sound of the album that the band wanted to print for him.

After six weeks, Metallica's first album would be released in July under the name Kill 'em All. Said name (Kill them all) came from a phrase by Cliff Burton because of the anger that the group caused by the refusal of various record distributors to market the album with the title that the group wanted to give it, Metal Up Your Ass (Metal through the ass). Zazula, unable to find a record company interested in releasing the album, finally opted to found his own label, Megaforce Records. The figure of 17,000 copies sold in the first two weeks was achieved, and above all, Kill 'em All notably contributed to extending Metallica's good reputation, receiving an avalanche of favorable reviews for part of the press, which was already beginning to see them as the initiators of a new current in metal. Later, the number of copies sold of the album would reach 300,000.

As a form of promotion, Zazula would organize a joint tour with Raven, Quiet Riot and Y&T that would take them all over the United States, consisting of 35 dates and dubbed the Kill 'em All For One Tour (the album Raven was promoting was called All For One). Later, and after several concerts in San Francisco, New York and Boston, and practically coinciding with the release in Europe of the single "Jump in the Fire" by the Music for Nations label, on February 3, 1984 the European tour Seven Dates of Hell began, in which they are in charge of opening Venom for the English, having as a highlight the participation in the Aardshock Festival in the Netherlands, playing to over 5,000 people, the largest audience they had ever had.

Ride The Lightning

After the tour, Metallica would enter the Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen on February 20 to record their second album, with the entire production burden falling on resident engineer Flemming Rasmussen, who had previously worked with bands as Mercyful Fate and Rainbow and later with Sepultura, Danger Danger and Blind Guardian. Zazula's tight budget became the main problem during the recording of the album, which went on at a frenetic pace for less than a month, ending on March 14, only interrupted by the failed Hell tour. On Earth with The Rods and Exciter, finally canceled due to poor ticket sales. To the considerable evolution shown in these songs was added the latent rumor that the group was working on a ballad, which caused some agitation within the most extreme sector of the band's fans.

Ride the Lightning, the name that the album would finally receive, would mean a great change in the sound of the band, which entered much more melodic terrain. The composition work had the collaboration of Burton and Mustaine. The rumor was also confirmed the inclusion of a ballad, which would receive the title of "Fade to Black". It was written by Hetfield, inspired by the theft of equipment that the gang suffered on January 14 of that same year (1984).

The band's first appearance on stage after recording would take place in two sold-out shows at the London Marquee, after which they would do various concerts in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The highlight of this tour would come on August 3rd at the "Roseland" in New York, where they would have a first contact with the Elektra Records label, and in which, after the concert, they would begin negotiations with Peter Mensch and Cliff Burnstein from the Q-Prime agency, which would finally end up buying Metallica's contract from Johnny Zazula. It is probably this fact that would encourage the band's conversations with Elektra, who would end up signing them on September 12 after signing a contract in which the group was granted absolute artistic control over their career.

Elektra's first move after recruiting Metallica would be to reissue Ride the Lightning under her label on November 19, alongside Music for Nations, with whom Zazula had a deal still in place after the signing by Elektra, released in Europe the single "Creeping Death", which would contain the suite The Garage Days Re-visited, made up of the versions "Am I Evil? &#3. 4; of Diamond Head and "Blitzkrieg" of the band with the same name. In turn, a new European tour begins, this time coordinated by Q-Prime with Robert Allen as tour manager, which began in the French city of Rusen on November 16 and ended at the London Lyceum in London on November 20. December after having visited France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Finland and England with enormous public success.

After the European tour ended, and after a break for Christmas, Metallica began on January 11, 1985 a tour of the United States and Canada together with Armored Saint, Helix and the W.A.S.P. by Blackie Lawless, with whom the band had several frictions due to the alleged ego of said frontman. It would be during this tour when the band began to be known as "Alcohólica" for his excesses with alcohol. To this would be added the sign that they placed on said bus, "Don't laugh, sir. His daughter is probably in it & # 34;, which gave an idea of the casual attitude of the group. After more than three months on the road, the tour would end at Portland's Starry Night Club.

Master of Puppets and the death of Cliff Burton

Pencil in Sweden, in memory of Cliff Burton.

After two years on tour, they returned to Sweet Silence Studios. From there arose Master of Puppets, one of the most praised albums in heavy metal, the title track of the same name is considered by many followers of the band as the best of Metallica. The album has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide to date, despite the fact that it only reached number 29 on the Billboard chart in its day.

The album's presentation tour began in the summer of 1986 with rhythm guitarist John Marshall, since Hetfield had broken his wrist in a skateboard accident. On said tour, this time in Europe and with Hetfield recovered, the tour bus was circulating on the Swedish roads at 6:15 a.m. on the morning of September 27; Cliff was sleeping in Kirk Hammett's assigned bunk (because the latter had lost in a bet), and suddenly the bus overturned near the town of Ljungby, while Hammett, Ulrich and Hetfield did not suffer worrying physical damage, the bus fell on the bassist's body, after being thrown out of the window, causing his death instantly. According to the driver, the bus skidded due to ice sheets on the road, which caused it to overturn; Hetfield, furious at what happened, tried to hit the driver, being stopped by his companions. He later traveled a considerable distance up the road looking for the license plates, but found nothing. At Burton's funeral, the song "Orion" was played.

His death caused the suspension of the band's tour and the withdrawal of the three remaining members to think about their future. Finally, and after consulting the relatives of the late bassist, they decided to continue with the band's musical career, and recruited bassist Jason Newsted from the band Flotsam and Jetsam, instead of Cliff, a position for which Jeff Pilson also opted. among more than 40 musicians. The following year the band would return to Europe to complete the tour with their new bassist.

In his first performance with Metallica, Newsted played a bass solo, sparking outrage among the band's fans, who viewed this as disrespectful to Burton.

Garage Days Re-Revisited and...And Justice For All

In 1987 they would release a major cover album of the bands that influenced them titled Garage Days Re-Revisited to introduce Newsted to the band's fans. The name comes from the recording sessions of said album in Ulrich's garage. A year later they would release a new album, titled ...And Justice for All. It is his darkest album, with a sound dominated by dense and very accelerated drum rhythms, of great complexity. Despite what it might seem, it is a less melodic work than its predecessors, with a negative atmosphere, and lyrics closer to social, political and even ecological criticism ("Blackened"). The songs "One" (song with the first video clip recorded by the band, collecting scenes from the movie Johnny took his gun; with this video clip, the band began to gain fame in the mainstream, "To Live Is to Die" (dedicated to Cliff Burton based on the sketches of a song he was composing in which a poem composed by the late bassist is heard despite being an instrumental theme), "... And Justice for All' and 'Blackened'.

This production marked a milestone in the equipment of Metallica's guitars, since they left their full Marshall valve stacks, going on to use the Mesa Boogie, obtaining a much more aggressive sound. Some of the few critics the album received are based on, despite the evolution, the low quality in the production, pointing out the "fine buzz" of the guitars, the "clickeo" of the battery, and the low volume of the bass, which is almost not perceived, being impossible to see at many times. Despite these characteristics, the album has sold more than 8 million copies to date, despite having almost no promotion without any type of impact on television channels such as MTV.

Metallica performance in 1989 on Damage Justice Tour

Thanks to this work, Metallica received their first Grammy Award nomination in 1989, in the category of Best Hard Rock/Metal Vocal or Instrumental Performance. Against all odds, the winner of the award was the album Crest of a Knave by Jethro Tull, who did not attend the gala. Lars Ulrich would refer to them after winning the Grammy in 1992 in the same category for the group's self-titled album: "We want to thank Jethro Tull for not having released any albums this year".

Metallica

Their next album, called Metallica but known as the "Black Album" was released in 1991 and produced by Bob Rock, who he has worked with Bon Jovi, Tankard and Mötley Crüe, among others. With songs like "Enter Sandman", "Sad But True", "The Unforgiven", "Wherever I May Roam" and "Nothing Else Matters", sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week in the United States, reaching the top spot on the Billboard chart, thanks in part to its more commercial nature. Only in that country, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified fourteen million copies sold since its launch. The popular name of the album The Black Album (The black album) comes from the cover, which only contains the Metallica logo in the upper left corner and the drawing of a snake in the lower right corner, all on a black background. Hetfield later explained this composition, saying that the band wanted people to focus on the music on the album, rather than the symbolism or artistic design. The song "Enter Sandman" it is ranked #408 among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time on Rolling Stone's list.

Later, the band went on the Wherever We May Roam Tour, which lasted two years. Roses. On August 8, 1992 in Montreal, Canada, during this tour, Metallica's performance ended abruptly due to a firework exploding during the song "Fade To Black" under James Hetfield, causing him severe burns. Also, vocalist Axl Rose's throat condition prevented him from playing Guns N' Roses. Metallica's brief performance and the cancellation of the Guns N' Roses provoked the anger of the fans, who caused multiple damage and some were injured in the incidents.

In 1993, the band released the box set Live Shit: Binge and Purge, which contains three CDs and two video concerts recorded in Mexico City, Seattle and San Diego. It was originally released as a cardboard box as if it were tour equipment. Apart from the CDs and DVDs, the box contains additional material such as a seventy-five page color book.

Load, Reload, Garage Inc. and S&M

James Hetfield acting on Cardiff during the promotional tour Load (1996).

Their self-titled album, popularly known as the Black Album would mark a turning point in Metallica's musical career, and their two consecutive albums titled Load (1996) and ReLoad (1997), whose styles are identical to each other since they were intended to form the same double album, are totally dominated by a sound that many former followers considered as more commercial and very softened with less harsh lyrics., closer to the alternative metal that triumphed at that time. Perhaps the most striking change for their followers was the change in image: they cut their hair and changed the easily recognizable logo that identified Metallica. This was also reflected in the change of record label, since the relations between Elektra Records and the band ended after almost ten years receiving only 14% of Metallica's net profits, although they would end up resuming their contract shortly after. The success of both albums did not it was as forceful as the one on the black album. Many teenagers became fans of Metallica, at the same time that many of their former fans found themselves largely 'betrayed' by the band. by the new direction taken by the group, which since then has fueled a great controversy. At the Grammy Awards they entered the Heavy Rock category for the first time instead of Heavy Metal, as was the case before the aforementioned Load. That same year the Finnish band Apocalyptica debuted with their homage to Metallica Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, which was basically an album of covers of Metallica played solely on cellos.

In 1998, they would make a new work similar to Garage Days Re-Visited titled Garage Inc., although this time it would be a double album of versions of themes of quite different styles. diverse that influenced the band in its already long career. While the first disc featured versions recorded for the album's release, disc two contained the entire Garage Days Revisited from the "Creeping Death" single, and the Garage Days Revisited. Days Re-revisited, plus various covers from B-sides and an excerpt from Metallica's Motörhead cover concert for Lemmy Kilmister's 50th birthday on December 4, 1995 at the Whiskey-A-Go- Go. The "Holy Roller" of Nazareth and "Round and Round" de Ratt was the winner of a Grammy Award in the category of Best Heavy Metal Performance in 2000.

The following year (1999) they would record a live concert, titled S&M, in collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Kamen, who had made the orchestral arrangements. for "Nothing Else Matters" in The Black Album. In this double album you experience the mixture of music from Metallica songs with orchestral arrangements. In addition, two new songs specially composed for the occasion would be presented, "No Leaf Clover" and "- Human", extracting the first of them as the second single from the album.

Conflicts with Napster

Lars Ulrich.

In April 2000, Metallica sued Napster, the company that created the homonymous program that allowed the exchange of music in MP3 format, for violation of copyright, since a version of the song was still in the works for the film Mission Impossible 2, "I Disappear," was playing on US radio. Two weeks later, Dr. Dre was also suing the company. Napster had already been accused by the RIAA in 1999 of violating intellectual property laws and serving as an asylum for music piracy on the Internet, in addition to the fact that some universities had asked to ban the program, since it slowed down their networks.

By May 2000, Napster blocked the passwords of more than 35,000 users provided by Ulrich and who had obtained Metallica songs. Chuck D., Helix, Motley Crue, Exumer and Courtney Love spoke in favor of Napster and proclaimed the opportunity it meant for consumers and artists. For Chuck D., Napster was a reaction, "the biggest musical phenomenon since the Beatles," "the industry has prided itself on guiding audiences; for the first time the fans of the band have had the technology before the industry".

In its defense, Napster claimed that it served only as a conduit for information. In June of that year, the RIAA asked to remove all content belonging to the major record labels from Napster. In September of the same year, Metallica and Dr. Dre sent letters to Harvard, Columbia, and other universities asking them to restrict access to the show. In October, the Dave Matthews Band became the first group to allow a song to be distributed via Napster, with the permission of his company.

The controversy would cease in July 2001, when the band postponed all complaints against Napster, alleging that it was doing more harm than good to the group's image.

St. Anger and Some Kind of Monster

Robert Trujillo.

In 2001, bassist Jason Newsted, who had previously had serious discussions with the other members about his projects outside the group, would leave Metallica citing physical exhaustion and personal reasons. Shortly after, in the controversial interview conducted by Playboy to all the members of the band separately several months before, it would be discovered that one of the main reasons for the bassist's departure was Hetfield's resounding refusal to release the album by Echobrain, the alternative band of Newsted. After a long selection process in search of a replacement, and in which musicians such as Twiggy Ramirez were considered, Robert Trujillo would be hired, who had been a bassist for Suicidal Tendencies, Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne in their performances at straight. It should be noted that Jason Newsted, after leaving Metallica, belonged for a time to Osbourne's band, in which Mike Inez, a member of Alice in Chains, was a member and who was also rumored to be a substitute. This same year the satirical tribute band was created, Beatallica, which fuses the music of The Beatles and Metallica. They had a legal problem with Sony, which owns the rights to the Beatles' material, but were helped by Lars Ulrich.

Concert in Madrid on 22 June 2003.

Before Trujillo's entry, the band had recorded the album St. Anger, with Bob Rock back as producer. The latter plays the bass due to the difficulties in finding a new bassist. As peculiarities of the album, the absolute absence of guitar solos stands out, and a completely new and equally controversial drum sound that resided in the snare drum, which had a metallic harmonic instead of the dry wood used until then. The video for the album's title track was shot at San Quintin prison. There were many other difficulties in the production of the album, due to reasons such as the rehabilitation process of Hetfield, who had started having problems with alcohol after a trip to Siberia where, according to him, his only drink was vodka.

In 2004, the documentary Some Kind of Monster would be released, which narrates the production of St. Anger in the midst of discussions and problems after Jason's departure and the rehabilitation of James Hetfield, whose passion for alcohol was already known. Jason Newsted and his band Echobrain (Lars and Kirk go to one of their presentations, they head towards the dressing rooms and when they arrive, Jason had already left) and one of his first guitarists in the group, Dave Mustaine, who chats with Lars about topics such as his stay in Metallica and his career in Megadeth. Within the documentary, the group relies on a therapist to solve the previously mentioned problems. Robert Trujillo's first moments as Metallica bassist are also shown, including his audition to join the group.

Death Magnetic

In 2006, the band went on the Escape from the studio 06 tour, where they played the entire Master of Puppets album in commemoration of their 20th anniversary. During this tour, the band performed two new songs: "New Song (Death is not the End)" and "The Other New Song (Vultorous)". These 2 mentioned songs were edited and released on the album Death Magnetic (2008), being Death is not the End "The end of the line" and Vultorous "All Nightmare Long".

On December 4, 2006, a compilation of all his videos from 1989 to 2004 was released, titled The Videos. This includes all of his videos from & # 34; One & # 34; to "Some Kind of Monster" and, as a bonus, the two versions of the video for "One", the theatrical version of "The Unforgiven" of eleven minutes, the trailer of the documentary Some Kind of Monster and also, for the first time on DVD, the introduction of 2 of One. Kirk and James also appeared on Metalocalypse and the entire gang on The Simpsons, who would also appear in the movie Get Thrashed. A year later, the group recorded Ennio Morricone's version of "The Ecstacy of Gold", which appeared on the tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone. Then, in the months of June and July, they went on the Sick Of The Studio 07 tour.

Entrance to the Metallica concert in Bogotá, corresponding to its World Magnetic Tour in 2010.

The band began recording the album Death Magnetic on March 14, 2007. It features Rick Rubin as producer, replacing Bob Rock, who had held the position for over 15 years.. The album is finally released on September 12, 2008. Some dates have been set for their 2008 tour, and previously, they participated in Getafe's Electric Weekend, headlining along with Rage Against the Machine.

In addition, the band participated in the Iron Maiden tribute album Maiden Heaven, performing the song "Remember Tomorrow" along with bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Dokken. Metallica today, has sold more than 100 million albums and has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

The official website has confirmed that the group has been inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame, and that they were nominated in two categories (Rock Out and Headliner) at the MTV Europe Music Awards as well as invited to perform live within the MTV Latin American Music Awards, which took place inside the Auditorium of the University of Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

In September 2008 they began the World Magnetic Tour, visiting countries in Europe, North America, Central America, South America, Asia and Oceania. This tour lasted until November 2010, raising millions of dollars and gathering millions of fans around the world, but not before James Hetfield promised that they would return.

Lulu and Beyond Magnetic

On October 31, 2011, they released the concept album Lulu with Art Rock and alternative rock singer Lou Reed, being perceived in poor taste by many of the band's fans.

On December 5, 2011 Metallica performed 4 concerts in San Francisco celebrating their thirtieth anniversary as a group, inviting artists such as Dave Mustaine, Jason Newsted, among others. Metallica announced by the end of 2011 that they would release four unpublished songs belonging to the recordings of the Death Magnetic album.

In January 2012, after having announced the four unreleased songs from Death Magnetic's recordings, an EP entitled "Beyond Magnetic" which contains the four previously unreleased songs announced. This EP upon its release received mostly favorable reviews.

Blackened Recordings, Metallica: Through the Never and concert in Antarctica

On February 7, 2012, Metallica announced that they would be starting a new music festival called Orion Music + More, which took place on June 23 and 24, 2012 in Atlantic City. Metallica also confirmed that they would headline the festival on both days and present two of their most critically acclaimed albums in their entirety: The Black Album in one night and Ride the Lightning in the other. In a July 2012 interview with Canadian radio station 99.3 The Fox, Ulrich said that Metallica would not release their new album until at least early 2014. In November 2012, Metallica left Warner Bros. Records and launched an independent record label., Blackened Recordings, which will produce the band's future releases. The band has acquired the rights to all of their studio albums, which will be reissued through the new label. The blackened releases will be licensed through Warner's subsidiary Rhino Entertainment in North America and internationally through Universal Music. On September 20, 2012, Metallica announced via their official website that a new DVD containing footage from shows they performed in Quebec in 2009 will be released in December; fans would have the opportunity to vote for two setlists that would appear on the DVD. The film, titled Quebec Magnetic, was released in the United States on December 10, 2012.

In August 2013 the 3D film Metallica: Through the Never was released, starring Dane DeHaan while Nimród Antal wrote and directed it. It was published under the Blackened Records label.

Carlini Base of Argentina in Antarctica.

On December 8, 2013, the band performed a concert at the Argentine Carlini base, to "raise awareness of the importance of Antarctica for the planet." There were approximately one hundred attendees, including personnel from other nearby bases such as Uruguay, Chile, Poland, South Korea, Russia, Brazil and Germany. A rigorous protocol on environmental impact was followed and no amplifiers were used during the recital, the public was able to listen through headphones.

"Lords of Summer"

Lars Ulrich in an interview made by Metal Hammer revealed that the band plans to release a new album by the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017, without specifying details, just saying that the new material «...it feels heavy, energetic, loud, it's fast, it's rock, it's crazy...". The album will be sold under the band's record label.

On June 20, 2014 Metallica released their new single "Lords of Summer", which they premiered on March 16 during a South American tour in the city of Bogotá, Colombia called "Metallica By Request", based on the idea that the concert attendees themselves, months before the recital, receive a code to vote online for the songs they wanted to hear. The idea was very well received by the band's followers, and the same tour extended to South America, Europe and Canada, visiting countries like Ecuador and Paraguay for the first time, and appearing twice in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Hardwired... To Self-Destruct

On August 18, 2016, the name of the studio album called Hardwired... to Self-Destruct was revealed, which was released on November 18, 2016.

Metallica announced that they would travel to the United States in the summer of 2017 for the WorldWired Tour. The stadium tour also includes Avenged Sevenfold, Volbeat and Gojira as support acts. On August 7, 2017, Metallica was invited back by the San Francisco Giants for the fifth "Metallica Night" annual with Hammett and Hetfield performing the national anthem. In January 2018, the band announced that they would reissue the $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited on April 13 for Record Store Day, and the sixth "Metallica Night&#34.; The annual was also announced a few weeks later, this time in April, with all proceeds going to the All Within My Hands Foundation, which the band created in late 2017. In February 2018, the band announced a second set of tour dates. tour of North America, most of which they had not visited in thirty years.

S&M2 and 72 Seasons

In March 2019, Metallica announced that their WorldWired Tour would continue in Australia and New Zealand in October with Slipknot and Ratt in support. Later that month, the band announced that they would perform at the grand opening of San Francisco's new Chase Center with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in September to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album S&M. The commemorative shows, titled S&M2, will feature arrangements of the original S&M concerts, as well as new arrangements for songs recorded from then, and they will be conducted by conductor Edwin Outwater and the music director of the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas. In July, the band announced that the shows would play in more than 3,000 theaters worldwide on October 9, with tickets going on sale in August. Later that month, Metallica announced a set of South American tour dates for April 2020 with Greta Van Fleet in support.

In an interview with Australian magazine The Music in March 2019, Robert Trujillo said that Metallica had started working on new material for their next studio album. "I'm excited about the next record because I think it will also be the culmination of the two [previous] records and another journey. There's no shortage of original ideas, that's the beauty of being in this band'. He estimated that the album would be released "much sooner than the previous two did." This time I think we'll be able to jump in faster and jump into the studio and start working. We've all promised to get this going sooner than later'. In an interview with Australian magazine Mixdown the following month, Kirk Hammett said the band had tentative plans to enter the studio after the conclusion of the WorldWired Tour. He said: "We're in our third year since Hardwired . Maybe we can focus a little more and go to the studio a little earlier". After not writing anything on Hardwired... to Self-Destruct , Hammett said of his ideas for the new album: “I've got a lot of material. I've overcompensated so I'm ready to go anytime'.

On November 28, 2022, the band released the single "Lux Æterna", announcing their eleventh studio album 72 Seasons, due for release on April 14 of 2023.

Sound and influence

Although Metallica initially played thrash metal or sometimes speed metal, especially on Kill'em All, over the years their sound has changed, especially in Metallica (The Black Album) , in which they took a more mainstream sound. However, the most important change occurred from 1996, with the publication of Load, in which you can hear a sound that is much more arranged and close to hard rock and alternative metal, as well as being able to appreciate the clear aesthetic change of the band, much more neatly dressed, abandoning their long hair and his torn and worn jeans. The group's musical influences can be seen on the cover album Garage Days Re-Visited, where they cover songs by bands like Diamond Head, possibly their biggest influence, or The Misfits, although they must also be included within of his influences bands like Black Sabbath, Angel Witch, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Venom, Quiet Riot, Kix, Ratt, Nazareth, UFO, The Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Praying Mantis, Exodus, Accept, Kiss, Motörhead, Van Halen, Saxon, AC/DC, Mercyful Fate, among others.

In addition, Metallica has influenced bands such as Apocalyptica, Vain Pantera, Kreator, Ratt Machine Head, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Sepultura, Winger, The Darkness, Slipknot, Korn, System of a Down, Dream Theater, As I Lay Dying, Avenged Sevenfold, Steelheart, Trivium, Pretty Boy Floyd, Mastodon and Tesla

Controversies

Sound and aesthetics

With the release of the album Ride the Lightning, many followers of the band were disenchanted by the ballad "Fade to Black", since for the most extreme followers of the genre, thrash metal bands shouldn't write "mainstream" as is the case of said topic; However, with the publication of the band's self-titled album, this controversy intensifies due to the sound closer to Heavy Metal than to Thrash Metal present in the album, and until then in the band's previous works a faster and more abounding sound abounded. frantic on the vast majority of issues. The change in the group's sound came from the hand of Bob Rock, the record's producer, who had previously worked with bands like Bon Jovi, Tankard or Mötley Crüe, all of them with a large number of albums sold behind them. Despite this controversy, this was the band's most successful work in sales, with more than 7 million copies sold in the US alone, despite the fact that these followers described them as "sellers" for this fact.

Even with Bob Rock in their ranks, the group records Load and ReLoad, two albums that present a much more accessible sound to the general public, which ended up being breaking the relations of the most intransigent followers of the formation given the character close to hard rock of both works. In addition, the fact that the band headlined alternative festivals such as Lollapalooza helped them gain detractors. St. Anger provided a much harder sound under production again by Bob Rock, who also plays bass due to the band's difficulty in finding a bassist to fill in for Jason Newsted's departure. This album also did not convince most of the band's fans due to its orientation towards nu metal, the lack of virtuosity from Kirk Hammett, who does not perform any solo on the entire album, and the sound of the drums.

However, the 2008 album Death Magnetic was mostly positively reviewed as it contained a greater Thrash Metal influence than any album since The Black Album.

This reception was repeated again with a studio album called Hardwired... to Self-Destruct, which was released on November 18, 2016 and received acclaim from critics and fans.

Jason Newsted

Jason Newsted.

Jason Newsted joined the band as a substitute for the late Cliff Burton, idolized by fans, so many of these fans did not welcome the arrival of another bassist to the group. In addition, his playing was criticized when compared to Burton's virtuosity, since the latter played the bass with his fingers instead of a pick, as Newsted did. After his arrival, the group released ...And Justice for All , in which Newsted's bass sound is almost inaudible. On one occasion, during the presentation tour of said work, the remaining members of the group threw all their personal belongings out of the window of the hotel where they were staying. According to his own statements, Newsted explained: "It was my dream came true. If you're going to fill Cliff Burton's shoes, you have to be resilient" found his own project, which he called Echobrain. His replacement was Robert Trujillo, who added a harder sound to the group having belonged to hardcore punk bands like Suicidal Tendencies or Infectious Grooves, although perhaps the main factor for Trujillo's hiring was his style and ability to play bass, with fingers just like Burton. James Hetfield would say in an interview that "his fingers looked like spikes, they were like Burton's". In a statement after his departure from the band, Newsted stated: "Metallica has two monsters that control, and it is very difficult to get something good in that monopoly".

Dave Mustaine

Dave Mustaine, former Metallica eguitarist and then Megadeth founder, at a concert with that band in 2009.

The most famous controversy in the band's career came from the dismissal of Dave Mustaine, the group's first guitarist and later founder of Megadeth, after violent and irresponsible behavior within the band. In 1983, in New York, Mustaine has a discussion with Hetfield and Ulrich when the band was going to meet with producer Jon Zazula. The gang, already fed up with Mustaine's addictions, surprised him right up in the morning saying that he was out of the gang, being fired and embarking on a two-day trip to Los Angeles, during which he decided to found a new band to get revenge on his death. dismissal. He stated: "After getting fired from Metallica, all I remember is he wanted blood, his own." He wanted to be faster than them.” Shortly before this, Mustaine had several problems with Ron McGovney, Metallica's first bassist, which ended with his departure before the guitarist left. At that time, Mustaine caused all kinds of mishaps to the other members of the group due to his addiction to alcohol and drugs, with which he was fired from Metallica, introducing Kirk Hammett. Hostilities between Megadeth and Metallica lasted for several years. In an interview with James Hetfield in 1999, he said: "We are not enemies and we are not friends, and I think it is better to leave it at that. During those years we were all drunk and having a good time, but he took it too far. He was a really excessive person who had to push everything to the limit, which included alcohol and drugs & # 34;.

When the band asked Mustaine to feature an interview between himself and Lars Ulrich in the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster, the guitarist refused, but Metallica included the interview. Mustaine said that was "the ultimate betrayal," and he has given up hope of recording anything with the band members.

However, at the Sonisphere festival in 2010, Dave Mustaine took the stage alongside Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax to perform a cover of Diamond Head's "Am I Evil? &#3. 4;. Megadeth has started to tour the world with these 3 bands under the name "The Big 4". But it must be clarified that Dave Mustaine said that at that time he had therapy for the problems he suffered in his neck and he had to rest, Dave had rejected the opportunity to play with the other bands just because of the problems, but the manager from Metallica called him "m*ricón" which bothered him and he said that the therapies could wait, so he told the manager that he would play at that festival.

And in 2011, Mustaine made several guest appearances at Metallica acts celebrating their 30th anniversary, where Mustaine hugged the other members and played songs like Phantom Lord, Jump in the Fire, Metal Militia and Seek & Destroy.

Other activities

Since 2009 Metallica has actively contributed to the investigation to clarify the crime of Morgan Harrington, a 19-year-old teenager, a fan of the band, who disappeared that year during the concert they gave in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her body was found months later and her killer has yet to be identified. Two days after Harrington's disappearance, James Hetfield contacted her parents and offered her help. Since then, he has spearheaded public announcements and videos calling for witnesses in the case, and assisted the FBI in the search. In addition, the gang as a whole added $50,000 to the reward, a figure that rose to $150,000, created a $50,000 student fund in memory of the deceased, and donated $40,000 to the student fund for the medical wing of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University created in Honor Morgan Harrington. This last sum came from the special sale of T-shirts with the legend "Enter Sandman".

In 2017, they created the "All Within My Hands" Foundation, which is dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting education for job qualification, the fight against hunger, among other critical aspects.

Members

Current Formation

• James Hetfield - Voice, rhythmic guitar (1981-presente).

• Kirk Hammett - Leading guitar, choirs (1983-present).

• Robert Trujillo - Electric bass, choirs (2003-present).

• Lars Ulrich - Battery (1981-present).

Previous members

• Cliff Burton † - Electric bass, choirs (1982-1986; his death).

• Dave Mustaine - Leading guitar, choirs (1982-1983).

• Jason Newsted - Electric bass, choirs (1986-2001).

• Ron McGovney - Electric bass, choirs (1981-1982).

Session/Tour Musicians

• Bob Rock - Electric bass, choirs. (2001-2003).

• Lloyd Grant - Leading guitar, choirs (1981-1982).

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

• Kill 'Em All (1983)
• Ride the Lightning (1984)
• Master of Puppets (1986)
• ...And Justice for All (1988)
• Metallica (1991)
• Load (1996)
• ReLoad (1997)
• St. Anger (2003)
• Death Magnetic (2008)
• Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
• 72 Seasons (2023)

Awards