Metallica__the_Early_Days

The Godfathers of Heavy Metal: The Early Days Metallica has become a household name over the past 30 years. They revolutionized rock music in the early 1980’s. Their sound was like no other in the United States. To date, according to MTV Icon they are the 7th biggest selling band in American history(2). The group was created October 1981 in the Los Angeles area(1). The creation is thanks to drummer Lars Ulrich, who posted an ad in the local recycler looking for band members(1). A guitar player named James Hetfield answered the ad(1). After playing together only once they knew they had something, with the strong vocals of Hetfield and the percussion skills of Ulrich a legend was in the making. In addition to Hetfield and Ulrich they called upon James’ roommate Ron McGovney for the duties on bass while Dave Mustaine took the role of lead guitar(1). With these four the original Metallica was born. Metallica played only two shows with these four. They were both in San Francisco, where they played with a local band named Trauma(1). Trauma had a bass player that caught the attention of Metallica, by the name of Cliff Burton(1). The band encouraged Cliff to join Metallica, which he was willing to do but refused to move to Southern California(1). The band decided his talents were too great to pass on so they packed up their guitars and amps and moved to San Francisco(2) Metallica then recorded a demo titled “No Life ‘Til Leather”(1). It quickly became a hit in the underground scene. The demo made to into a recording shop named Metal Heaven, where owner Jon Zazula noticed the potential and encouraged Metallica to travel to New York to lay down some tracks with him(1). They agreed to make the trip. The trip showed the side of Dave Mustaine that got him kicked out of the band(1). All the band members were doing the normal 1980’s rock band things; partying, heavy drinking and drug use but Dave’s abuse to these lead to his departure from the band. Once the band arrived in New York they dropped Dave off at the bus stop to catch a bus back to Los Angeles(1). The band was now in need of a new lead guitarist. Mark Whitakker, a band roadie suggested checking out the guitarist from Bay Area band Exodus(1). Kirk Hammett, of Exodus was more than willing to come aboard, he was on the first flight to New York(2). Metallica knew they had a star on their hands, considering Hammett was taking private guitar lessons with famous guitarist Joe Satriani(1). Metallica soon released their first full length album, “ Kill ‘Em All” which had been in the works before Hammett(1). Dave Mustaine is credited with writing four songs from their first album(1). Metallica became popular not on in the United States but also in Europe, where a heavy metal movement was already going on. It was known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) (1). They then backed up their first album with “Ride The Lightning” just one year later, proving they were here to stay(1). After the release of their second album they were spotlighted by major record labels. By the end of 1984 they were signed to the label Elektra(1). They recorded “Ride The Lightning” in Copenhagen, Denmark with producer Flemming Rassmussen at Sweet Silence Studios(1) . They went right back to work on their next album “Master Of Puppets” which was recorded at the same studio but mixed in Los Angeles by Micheal Wagner(1). After the early 1986 release they toured with big names such as Ozzy Osbourne and Anthrax(1). On September 27th, 1986 while on tour in Sweden, Metallica was aboard the tour bus driving through the night to their next show when the driver lost control causing the bus to flip, killing bassist Cliff Burton(1). Earlier that evening the band had drawn cards for bunk spots; Cliff drew the ace of spades, so he chose the top bunk that was usually occupied by guitarist Kirk Hammett(1). Being in the top bunk he was ejected from the bus before it came to a stop atop his body(1). The band was distraught after the accident, Cliff was very influential in the new sound that Metallica created(1). James Hetfield still credits Cliff for the creative music style he has adapted(2). The remaining members decided to continue touring and writing music because they knew that’s what Cliff would have wanted(1). After auditioning over 40 highly regarded bassist, Jason Newsted fit the ticket to join the band(1). The band then recorded their fourth album “And Justice For All” which sent the band into huge stardom(1). According to the Metallica website the album reached #6 on the US charts and was nominated for a Grammy award(1). They also recorded their first music video with the song “One”(1). After the release in 1988 they toured while recording their fifth album(1). The next album was simply self-titled but became famously called “The Black Album” because the c.d. was solid black. This was their first album with new producer Bob Rock(1). The black album is the biggest album Metallica has ever produced, to date it has sold over 15 million copies (1). The album earned multiple noteworthy awards. The band toured heavily for the next three years which took its toll on the band members, they all felt they needed to catch up with their families and rest(1) Four years had passed since a Metallica album had been released(2). Their next album was titled “Load” which is noted to be a success in record sales but to Metallica fans they felt the new Metallica had gone “soft”, especially following the heavy, dark and powerful black album(2). The band members all showed off their new short hair, which was a drastic change from the shoulder length heavy metal hair styles of the time. So many songs had been recorded for the new sound of Metallica they decided to release another album titled “Re-Load” less than one year later(1). Metallica fans were impressed with the Load tour which is one of their biggest tours but the fans are quick to point out the success of the tour was not entirely the music but rather the technology, stunts, dual stages and the two hour plus shows(1). The next album was a double disc that included old tracks along with some new ones. It was titled “Garage Inc.”, it was a great reminder of the original heavy metal style Metallica had created(1). In the summer of 1999 Metallica collaborated with composer Michael Kamen of the San Francisco Symphony to bring a totally new sound to classic material(2). They gave symphonic instruments the chance to explode into the spaces and fill them with greater, heavier power than ever before. They later released another double disc album titled “S&M” featuring older songs being recreated with the introduction of the symphony(1). In the summer of 2000 Metallica decided to create a new tour without the promotion of a new album behind it(1). They headlined their own “Summer Sanitarium” tour which was a success but fans grew eager for a new album(1). The band had not been working on new material, instead internal problems with band members became the highlight of Metallica(3). Jason Newsted departed from the band in the summer of 2001 leaving fans wondering the fate of the band(3). Jason was never specific about the troubles within the band but rather stated that long standing issues grew out of control (3). The band then started to realize they needed to work on their personal relationships with each other(1). Later in 2001 James Hetfield felt he was in need of help to re-focus his life and career so he entered a rehab program(1). After some time off the band seemed to bond better than ever with a new motivation for getting back to their roots. The band later found a new bass player and released multiple albums from 2003 to present. The roots that Metallica planted in the 1980’s will forever change the way heavy metal is looked at. They exploded on the scene with a new fresh sound that was previously unheard. Another noteworthy mention is original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine went on to create his own very successful metal band “Megadeth” which had a similar sound to Metallica in the 1980’s(1). So whenever you hear a new rock song with the heavy, dark sound that rocks you to the core you can give credit to Metallica for bringing the metal sound mainstream. Works Cited Metallica: The Official Website, Web accessed 25 September 2011 www.metallica.com/band MTV Icon: Metallica Timeline, Web accessed 25 September 2011 www.mtv.com/onair/icon/metallica Basham, David “Bassist Jason Newsted Leaves Metallica” MTV The Magazine. 17 January 2001, Web accessed 25 September 2011 http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1438016/bassist-jason-newsted-leaves- metallica.jhtml