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Metallica
The Legend |
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| In 1980, a man named Lars Ulrich placed a want ad looking for a guitarist to form a band. James Hetfield responded to the ad, but nothing came of it then. Two years later, Ulrich contacted Hetfield and the two finally met. With bass player Ron McGovney, they formed Metallica. After their first live performance in 1982, guitarist Dave Mustaine joined the band and the foursome began local gigs in the L.A. area. The group recorded the song "Hit the Lights" which would later be pivotal in their first album. James and Lars grew unhappy with McGovney, and while in San Fransisco, met up with Cliff Burton. Burton was the bass player in a group named Trauma. He agreed to join the band if they moved to San Fransisco, which they did. Mustaine departed through the wishes of the band, and he later formed Megadeth. Metallica found his replacement (from the group Exodus) in Kirk Hammet. The group landed a record deal through a New Jersey-based company called Megaforce Records. The recorded their first two albums, Kill Em All (1982) and Ride the Lightning (1984) under Megaforce. Metallica then signed with Elektra Records and produced their third album, Master of Puppets (1986). Tragedy struck in 1986 when Cliff Burton was killed in a bus accident in Sweden. The band was touring when their bus flipped over an icy road. Though devestated, the band held tryouts for the bass position and found Jason Newsted who already knew all of their songs. The group released their fourth album, ...And Justice for All (1988) which received a Grammy nomination for Metallica. Metallica's style changed with the decade. Shorter songs and more concise arrangements. With a new producer, Metallica released their self-titled album, often referred to as the Black Album (1991) due to its cover. This album spent months on the Billboard charts and sold over 10 million copies. In 1994, Metallica released a box set of live performances. Appropriately named Live Sh*t, this quickly became a collector's item. In 1995, Metallica released their fifth album, Load. They toured with their new music for 2 years and in 1997, theirs was the fourth highest grossing tour of the year. Metallica released Re-Load in November of 1997 and began touring again in 1998. Just last year, Metallica released Garage Inc., an updated double-disc of their rare Garage Days Re-Revisited EP. Its firsts week out, Garage Inc. racked up almost half-a-million dollars in sales. Next for Metallica is the recording of their album with the San Francisco Symphony, rumored to be named "Symphonica". The Symphony aided Metallica in the song, Nothin Else Matters (Black Album, 1991). Recording started in April so look forward to seeing that on the shelves in the future. |
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