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Metallica

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Metallica is an American heavy metal band of the 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s.

Formation and early work

Metallica was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981 by drummer and former tennis protege Lars Ulrich, and guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, who met after each had separately placed classified advertisements in the American publication The Recycler. The band got their name when drummer Lars Ulrich was helping friend and soon-to-be Megaforce Records owner John Zazula to pick out a name for the magazine he was planning to promote Thrash metal and the NWOBHM(New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) bands. Zazula came up with a suggestion: "Metallica." Lars quickly suggested another and decided to use that name for the band he and James Hetfield had just started.

The band's first demo, "No Life Til' Leather", featured Lloyd Grand on guitar; Grand was soon replaced by Dave Mustaine, the guitarist and singer who later went on to form Megadeth. Guitarist Jef Warner and Bassist Ron McGovney were brief members, and Mustaine soon departed due to personal tensions with the other members. Bassist Cliff Burton was the next to join, and would remain a member until his untimely death in 1986. Mustaine was replaced by guitarist Kirk Hammett, who first performed in concert with Metallica in 1983.

The group relocated to San Francisco and eventually built a healthy local following via word-of-mouth and live performance bootlegs which, somewhat ironically in light of later events, were encouraged by the band. In 1983 the band signed with a small local label, MegaForce, who would release their first two albums. The first album, Kill Em All set the template that they would follow throughout the 1980s, strongly featuring the heavy vocals and rhythm guitar of James Hetfield. The next, Ride The Lightning expanded and improved their form with longer songs featuring both instrumental pyrotechnics and lyrics which rose above some of the more puerile songs on Kill 'Em All.

Metallica's formation was seen by some fans as a direct reaction to the prevalent rock and roll music of the early 1980s. Inspired by bands such as Diamond Head and Saxon, the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal, as well as hardcore punk like the Misfits and Discharge, Metallica were single-minded in their desire to break the grip of soft metal on heavy metal fans.

Signing to a major label Elektra Records in 1986, Metallica went on to produce another album, Master Of Puppets, regarded by some of their fans as their best work. The same year the band's bassist Cliff Burton perished in a coach-accident during a tour. The band eventually found a new bassist in Jason Newsted, and in 1988 they recorded the album entitled ...And Justice For All. As a preliminary effort with their new bassist Newsted, Metallica produced what would be a quarter of their album "Garage, Inc.," in the form of The 9.98 CD: Garage Days Re-Visited. The rest of the entire second CD was recorded on and off during in 1989, resulting in some of their most famous live cover songs such as "So What," (also the name of the Fan Club newsletter), and "Am I Evil."

In 1990, their self-titled album broadened the band's horizon again. Although still heavy rock, the record was produced with more of a pop sheen, and with a black cover that was a sly nod to Spinal Tap, featured the hits "Enter Sandman", which featured their by-now trademark style, and "Nothing Else Matters", an acoustic ballad that outraged some of their more hardcore fans. Nevertheless, the album was a massive crossover hit, and brought Metallica firmly into the mainstream.

Burnt out from years and years of touring upon the Black Album's success, Metallica took a respite until late 1995, when they came back into the studio with a new zest for recording. Ulrich and Hetfield, both of whom were very strict on Hammett and Newsted in previous endeavours, loosened the reins somewhat. Some have said that their new albums, Load and Reload were alternative rock-influnced, but others disagree, citing the band's hard touring, hard knocks, and hard liquor as factors in the "softness" of these albums. "Alcoholica's" reputation was catching up to them; they received flak for cutting their hair, a symbol many hardcore thrash fans saw as an earmark of Metallica going soft, but as Metallica themselves say, "The Hair doesn't make the band."

During 1998, Metallica formed a double CD in the form of Garage, Inc. an album of Metallica's favorite covers, ranging everywhere from Danzig to Bob Seger. Garage, Inc. was Metallica's take on Metallica's favorite music. A further venture with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra leader Micheal Kamen, who worked with Metallica as far back as the "black album", met mixed reviews, as did Metallica's hair-cut incidence. Having (some of them) reformed their former locks, Metallica produce the live album with a full symphonic arrangement of classic Metallica tunes going as far back as Ride the Lightning, in addition to having two new.

Napster controversy

Lars Ulrich found himself a new enemy, alienating himself further from the long-haired hard rockers and anti-Classical Thrashers in the form of every teenage boy on the face of American in his clash with the internet file sharing network Napster, claiming it was "sickening to know that our art is being traded like a commodity rather than the art that it is." They managed to set forth action that eventually led to the fall of Napster. Some have commented that Metallica's slogan could easily be "Destroying competition for 20 years." Metallica successfully took the evil sheen and feathered hair out of thrash music, pushing the competition to another level of success.

Before they went into the studio to record their next album in 2001, Jason Newsted signaled that he would leave the band. Producer Bob Rock is played bass during the recordings and Newsted was eventually replaced by ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Rob Trujillo. In 2003, Metallica released their ninth studio album, St. Anger, which debuted at number one on the album charts but has also received harsh criticism for its underproduced sound and lack of guitar solos by Kirk Hammett.

The band has, to date, received 6 Grammy Awards.

Band Members

Former Band Members

Discography

Metallica's albums (in chronological order):

The band also contributed one track, "I Disappear", to the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack.

See also: Megadeth
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