THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HEAVY METAL’S GREATEST BAND MUSIC SPOTLIGHT™ THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS INSIDE MOMENTS WITH THE GROUP OVERCOMING A TRAGIC LOSS All About Their New Album 4 YEA 0 RS OF HITS Star/a360media Specials Display Until 9/4/23 U.S. $13.99 Updated Special Edition
James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton prepare to rock the stage in Zwolle,Netherlands, on Feb. 11, 1984.
MUSIC SPOTLIGHT™ THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HEAVY METAL’S GREATEST BAND
4 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA Frontman James Hetfield and guitarist Kirk Hammett perform together during a 2004 Metallica show in Australia.
5 PG. 6 Heavy Heroes Forty yearsinto theirlegendary career, Metallica stillrulesthe heavy metal universe. PG. 8 Seek & Devise LarsUlrich meets JamesHetfield in 1981 and a new band issoon born. PG. 14 Go for the Kill Metallica releasestheir debut album, Kill ’EmAll, helping to usher in American thrash metal. PG. 20 Obey YourMaster The band’s Master of Puppetsis arguably thrash’s greatest album. PG. 26 Tragic Loss of Cliff Burton The life and death of one of metal’s greatest bassists, and how Metallica soldiered on without him. PG. 32 JusticeIs Served With new bassist JasonNewsted aboard, the group winsits first Grammy, a yearlaterthan hoped. PG. 38 Enter“Black Album” Metallica goesfrom metal heroes to rock gods, thanksto one of the highest-selling albums ever. PG. 80 Metallica’s Momentous Songs We highlight a standout tune from each of the band’s10 albums. PG. 84 Around the World With the Band Metallica earns a Guinness World Record by becoming the first act to play allseven continents. PG. 88 Wherever TheyMay Roam Outside of music, the guys hit the slopes,catch some waves and collect everything from cars and art to horror memorabilia. PG. 92 MetallicaMerch The thrash band’s officially licensed merchandise rangesfrom hockey jerseysto Monopoly to whiskey. PG. 94 Quiz’Em All! How well do you know Metallica? Test your knowledge on the metal titans with these 20 questions. PG. 96 Toastingthe Band Celebrities and fellow musicians like Lady Gaga,Dave Grohl, Shakira and more pay tribute to the legendary Metallica. PG. 44 Jump in the Fire A co-headlining tour with GunsN’ Rosessoundsincredible, until much of it goes wrong. PG. 50 “Alternica” The guyscut their hair and release back-to-back albums to mixed reviews. PG. 56 21st-Century Monster As JasonNewsted exitsthe band and Robert Trujillo enters, a documentary exposesthe inner turmoil within Metallica. PG. 62 Anger & Death The band puts out two albumsin the first decade of the 21stcentury, but another album with Lou Reed provesto be a bust. PG. 68 The Big 4 Metallica entersthe Rock&RollHall of Fame, and teams up with fellow thrash legends Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax for a history-making tour. PG. 74 Hardwired to Rulethe World Theirfuture remains bright asthe guysrelease their10th album and embark on a massive world tour.
6 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA ven before he joined the band, Kirk Hammett knew Metallica was something special. “We were all looking for the most extreme stuff…. Then this band came into town called Metallica,” he said in the book Louder Than Hell. “That was the sound that everyone was looking for but no one could actually execute. There were pockets of bands in L.A. and New York that played heavy metal, butit was Metallica that broughtit up to the nextlevel.” It’s been 40 years since singer-guitarist James Hetfield answered Lars Ulrich’s classified ad in TheRecycler looking for “other metal musicians to jam with,” and so much has happened within the world of Metallica since their initial meeting. A band that once sold their raw demo via mail order and tried to steal a keg attheir first-ever gig has become a juggernaut with six straight No. 1 albums and millions of fans who fill arenas around the world. But as with any band that has survived as long as Metallica has,they’ve endured all manner oftrials and tribulations, most notably the death of bassistCliff Burton. Other setbacks have included battles with addiction and internal squabbles that became headlines, as well as scenes in a documentary. Yetthrough it all, Metallica continues to find that next level—and they have done it on their own terms. Their hard-nosed determination, work ethic and talent pulled them from the underground metal scene allthe way to theRock & Roll Hall of Fame. And along the way,they’ve influenced multiple generations of artists, while also becoming one of music’s most charitable acts. This special publication can’t come close to telling the full story of Metallica’s rise to the pantheon of rock gods. Whatit does attemptto do is capture the unflagging energy,the unrelenting power and the unstoppable fire that has fueled this band from the very first notes they played together in 1981. Metallica reigns supreme 40 years into a legendarycareer.
7 Metallica’s current lineup features Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.
8 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA A young drummer named Lars moves from Denmarkto California, takesout a newspaper ad, meets a guitarist named James. Here, thestoryof howMetallica cametogether. BYCHUCKARMSTRONG ith dreams of pursuing a tennis career like his father and grandfather, 16-year-old Lars Ulrich moved to Newport Beach,California, from Denmark in the summer of 1980. A year later, Ulrich’s dreams took a drastic turn as he placed an ad in the alt-weekly newspaper TheRecycler, looking for new friends with whom he could form a band. “Drummer looking for other metal musicians to jam with,” it read. “Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden.” Though clear and succinct,the ad didn’t garner much attention. As legend has it, only two people responded to Ulrich’s plea for metalheads to come together to celebrate the music ofthe new wave of British heavy metal. One ofthem was a long-haired, guitar-playing teenager from SouthernCalifornia named James Hetfield. As Metallica biographers Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood told the story,there was no “intangible magic present when James Hetfield first encountered Lars Ulrich.” The drummer recalled a similar feeling, admitting, “We had a jam and not much materialized.” A few months later though—after Ulrich took a trek to Europe to attend countless metal shows and even follow Diamond Head on tour—the two reconnected. “When I came back to America in October of ’81 I was kind of energized from hanging outin Europe and then I called up James,” Ulrich said in the Metallica biography Enter Night, “because I thoughtthere was something interesting about him and he seemed like he was pretty 1 2 3 4
1. Metallica founders Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield bond during the band’s early days. 2.Hetfield and Ulrich ham it up behind Kirk Hammett. 3. A very young Ulrich plays tennis in his native Denmark. The drummer originally planned on pursuing a careerin the sport until heavy metal took over. 4. A flyerfor Metallica’s first-ever concert, which took place on March 14, 1982, at the Radio City club in Anaheim, California. The band played nine songs that night. 5. Metallica’s Cliff Burton, Hetfield and Ulrich engage in a night of heavy drinking during the band’s early days of partying. 6. The original Metallica lineup of bassist Ron McGovney, guitarist Dave Mustaine, the drummer Ulrich and frontman Hetfield. 5 9
into the same stuff I was into.... In each other we found something thatjust connected with something deeper.” That connection led to an official offer made to Hetfield on Oct. 28, 1981,to form Metallica. Soon after,the two placed another ad in The Recycler,this time looking for a lead guitarist. By the end ofthe year,they hooked up with Dave Mustaine. Still needing a bassist, Hetfield reached outto his friend and former bandmate Ron McGovney, who answered the call. The seeds of Metallica were planted and quickly began to sprout. On March 14, 1982, at RadioCity in Anaheim,California,the band played its first show. “I was just singing,” Hetfield remembered in an interview with Kerrang! magazine. “There were a lot of people there, maybe 200, because we had all my school friends and all Lars’ andRon’s and Dave’s buddies. I was really nervous and a little uncomfortable without a guitar.” The setlistfor that show included Metallica originals “Hitthe Lights” and “Jump in the Fire” mixed in with covers from bands like Diamond Head, Sweet Savage and Blitzkrieg. “Our trick back then was notto tell people thatthese songs were covers,” Ulrich explained in Enter Night. “We letthem assume they were ours. We just didn’tintroduce them, so we never actually laid claim to them, but…well, you getthe idea.” Hetfield admitted the show wasn’t as great as they expected. “We were really disappointed afterwards,” he said. “Butthere were never as many people atthe following shows as there were atthat first one.” Any disappointmentfelt by the band would soon disappear. Only a couple of weeks later, Metallica’s second and third shows found them opening for Saxon at Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. “Saxon were one ofthe biggest, most exciting [and]influential hard rock bands in the U.K.[and] Europe,” Ulrich posted on social media decades later. “All in all, an incredible nightfor ’Tallica.” Days after the Saxon shows, Metallica puttogether their first demo tape of all original songs, Power Metal, featuring “Hitthe Lights,” “Jump in the Fire,” “The Mechanix” and “Motorbreath.” Power Metal was recorded in McGovney’s garage, preceding Metallica’s best-known demo tape, No Life ’Til Leather, which hit the streets on July 6, 1982. But on June 14, Metallica had a track on a legitimate album, notjusttheir DIY tapes. The first-ever Metal Massacre compilation was released, and Metallica— misspelled as Mettallica—closed the album with “Hit the Lights.” The rest of 1982 found Metallica playing 1. California native Hetfield was already sporting long hairin his school yearbook photo. 2. Baby Lars Ulrich cracks a smile years before he would move from Denmark to California. 3. Future Metallica bassist Jason Newsted is seen wearing glasses at school in his native Michigan. 4.Hammett didn’t quite look like a rock star yet in his yearbook photo. 5.Original Metallica lead guitarist and future Megadeth frontman Mustaine offers a serious look. 6. Bassist Burton poses for his yearbook picture. 7.Hammett is seen playing guitar as a youngster. 8. Burton displays a pensive look in high school. 10 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA 1 2 3 6 5 4
• Thefirst chance that anyone outside of L.A.’s underground rock scene had to hearthe music of Metallicawas through a 1982 compilation of unsigned bands puttogether by journalist and metalhead Brian Slagel. DubbedMetalMassacre,the collection introduced acts likeRATT, Steeler, Black ’N Blue and CirithUngol. Tucked away atthe end was a quartetfrom L.A. listed on the first pressings ofthis release as “Mettallica”with theirthrash anthem “Hitthe Lights.” Atthe time ofthis recording, Metallica wasn’t even really a band. LarsUlrich and JamesHetfield had been pounding some material into shape but had yetto bring in a properlead guitarist or bassist. So forthis first version of “Hitthe Lights,”Hetfield handled allthe bass and rhythm guitar parts, with the ripping solos on the track provided by LloydGrant, an expatfrom Jamaicawho was one ofthe first musicians thatUlrich jammedwithafterhis familymovedto theU.S. The compilationwas an instant smash,with Slagel and his newlabel MetalBlade quickly selling all copies ofits first pressing. Exciting as thatwas, a second pressing meantthat Metallica had a second chance to make a first impression.Using his friendshipwith Slagel as leverage,Ulrichwas able to swap in a re-recorded version of “Hitthe Lights”— featuringDave Mustaine andRon McGovney. MetalMassacre has since become a crucial part ofthe band’s lore, so much so that during the band’s 30th anniversary shows in San Francisco in 2011, Metallica brought Mustaine,Grant and McGovney onstage for a rousing rendition of “Hit The Lights”—all in tribute to Slagel and his early support ofthe band.—RobertHam METAL MASSACRE 11 8 7
12 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA more shows, celebrating the factthey were on Metal Massacre, and parting ways with McGovney, only to welcomeCliff Burton into the band—all before the year ended. The following year, Metallica planted their roots in San Francisco, saying goodbye to Mustaine after his alcohol abuse became a detrimentto the band, and welcoming in Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett. Though it seemed like an easy decision for Hammett, his brothers in Exodus weren’t as enthused. “I told the guys in Exodus and they were pissed,” Hammett admitted to Metal Hammer. “They were pissed. I remember [singer] Paul Baloff was so pissed that he poured a beer over my head. He said, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this, Kirk,’then poured his beer over my head. I justtook it.” With Burton and Hammett on board,things moved quickly for the quartet. By May,the band signed with MegaforceRecords and they hitthe studio to record Kill ’Em All, which was officially released on July 25, 1983. Jon Zazula, founder of Megaforce, recalled being blown away when he heard the band’s No Life ’Til Leather demo. “It was just so amazing,” he told Consequence of Sound. “I stood there stunned, because music is my life. Everything was going off in my head.… And I said I’ve gotto getinvolved with this.” In fact, Zazula took out a second mortgage in order to properly marketthe record. Though it would be a few years before the record would crack the Billboard 200 chart,the band’s debut album was met with much critical acclaim. In the firstissue ofthe magazine Metal Forces, reviewer Bernard Doe enthusiastically noted that Kill ’Em All is “notfor the faint hearted” and went on to exclaim thatitis “one ofthe most awesome, fastest and heaviest pieces of vinyl I’ve ever heard.” Most awesome. Fastest. Heaviest. Those words would go on to describe many steps taken by Metallica in the coming years, as they helped usher in a new subgenre called thrash metal. Though there would be some significant and life-changing obstacles ahead ofthem, nothing would slow down Metallica from achieving massive success and fame. All because a young drummer was justlooking for some fellow metalheads to jam with him. 1. Metallica’s classic lineup of Hetfield, Burton, Ulrich and Hammett: The foursome would record the band’s first three legendary albums. 2. The Metallica lineup of Burton, Ulrich, Hetfield and Mustaine are seen chilling out in an early publicity shot. Burton had replaced McGovney and Mustaine would soon be replaced by Hammett. 3. The famed Whisky a Go Go on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles is where Metallica played some of their earliest shows, including opening for the band Saxon. 4. Fans hang out with Hetfield during the early days of Metallica’s rise to fame. 1 2
•Openingwith the chaos of guitars and drums crashing together, “Hitthe Lights” sets an unforgettable foundation for Metallica’s mostfamous demo tape,No Life ’Til Leather. Though the track doesn’t sound too farfrom the version that ended up on Kill ’EmAll,this demo captures JamesHetfield still trying to figure outwho hewas as a singer. Original Metallica bassistRon McGovney recalled thatit didn’ttake long forHetfield to growinto the vocals thatfans knowand love today. “He later figured that he didn’t sound like [DiamondHead’s] SeanHarris, so he decided to sing gruffer,” said McGovney, via the Metallica biography EnterNight. Recorded on July 6, 1982, at Chateau East Studio in Tustin, California,No Life ’Til Leather findsHetfield, McGovney,Dave Mustaine and LarsUlrich finding theirway. Even early on in the life of Metallica, itwas clearto everyone in these demos thatthe bandwas destined for metal greatness. Well, itwas clearto almost everyone. “After hearing the tapes,[High Velocity label owner] Kenny [Kane]realizedwe weren’t a punk band, so he ended up not being interested,” said McGovney. “Sowe took the tapes,which eventually became the No Life ’Til Leather demo.” The cassette’s track listincludes “Hit the Lights,” “The Mechanix” (spelled “Mechanics” on the demo), “Motorbreath,” “Seek & Destroy,” “Metal Militia,” “Jump in the Fire” and “Phantom Lord.” As soon as the cassette hitthe streets, itwould be traded over and over.Ayear later,theywere signed to MegaforceRecords and soon afterthat,their proper debut album,Kill ’EmAll,was melting faces left and right.—ChuckArmstrong NOLIFE’TIL LEATHER 13 4 3
14 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA “We werejustgoingfor it. We were happytobethere and happytobe recorded. Kill ’Em All is imperfectbut that’s what makes itperfect.” — K I R K H A M M E T T Go for theKill THE BAND RELEASES ITS DEBUT ALBUM, KILL ’EM ALL, HELPING TO USHER IN AMERICAN THRASH METAL. BYROBERTHAM Shortly before recording Kill ’Em All, Metallica solidified theirlineup as (left to right) bassist Cliff Burton, guitarist Kirk Hammett, drummer Lars Ulrich and frontman James Hetfield. ere it notfor the intervention of Barry Kobrin, who founded the company Important Record Distributors in the late 1970s, rock fans around the world would still be speaking in breathless, awestruck tones aboutthe firsttime they heard a groundbreaking thrash record called Metal Up Your Ass. That was the name that Metallica had planned for their debut album, with the blessing of Jonny Zazula, the man who founded Megaforce Records and signed the quartetto his fledgling label after hearing the group’s now-legendary demo No Life ’Til Leather. But it was Kobrin who pointed outthat, with its intended
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16 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA 1. Metallica members Hammett, Hetfield and Ulrich rehydrate in their dressing room backstage at a February 1984 concert in the Netherlands. 2. Guitarist Hammett focuses onstage during a January 1984 Metallica show in Munich. 3. A shirtless Hetfield hams it up for the camera backstage in Munich. title,the album would never get stocked in big record stores across the United States. “Cliff Burton was sitting there with the whole band when they gotthe news,” Zazula told the authors of Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal, “and out of frustration he just said, ‘Kill ’em all, man. Just kill ’em all!’” Getting Metallica to the moment when their bassist cemented the title oftheir 1983 debut was a whirlwind. Just weeks before they setfootin Music America Studios inRochester, New York,to startlaying down the album’s tracks,the band created a deafening amount of buzz in the metal underground thanks to their demo and had been coaxed to the EastCoast by Zazula with the promise of shows and studio time. Weeks later, Burton, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield fired guitarist Dave Mustaine due to his erratic behavior fueled by excessive drinking and drug use. Within days, then-guitaristfor Exodus, Kirk Hammett, was auditioning to be Metallica’s new lead guitarist at The Music Building in Jamaica, Queens, where the band had been crashing and rehearsing. “They said, ‘What do you wanna play?’ and I instantly went for the easiest song to play, which was ‘Seek and Destroy,’” Hammett remembered during an interview with Gibson TV. “I remember playing and I couldn’t understand why Lars and James kept on looking at each other and smiling…. I later found out that it was because they were just so happy that it sounded so good, right from the start.” Hammett was thrown into the deep end, learning Metallica’s setlist and putting his own stamp on Mustaine’s established solos. By the end ofthat week, he was making his first onstage appearance with the band. And within a month, he and the rest of Metallica had decamped to upstate New York to record their debut. Sessions for Kill ’Em All were equally hectic. Working with PaulCurcio, a producer who had made his name with the Grateful Dead and Santana, Metallica had three weeks to pound together its first album. Luckily,the band was tight and well-rehearsed after weeks of work at The Music Building and live shows around the East Coast. As their buddy Scott Ian of Anthrax wrote in his memoir, I’m the Man: The Story of ThatGuy From Anthrax, about watching the band rehearse, “Itliterally seemed like flames were coming out oftheir fingertips. They were so ready to seek and destroy. Every time I heard them, I was totally inspired.” SLEDGEHAMMER TIME! Metallica’s debut studio album, Kill ’Em All, was released on July 25, 1983. The band had originally intended to title the album Metal Up Your Ass. 1 2
17 •Fewlineupchangeshavehadamore profoundeffect onthe course ofheavymetal than Metallica’sdismissal offounding guitaristDave Mustaine,whowas replacedby KirkHammett ofthebandExodus.Rather abruptly, Mustainewas shippedback to Los Angeles fromNewYorkCity onabus justprior to a recordingsessioninApril1983. Buttheworldhadn’theardthe last ofDave Mustaine. For years to follow,themusician harboredresentmentforhis removalfrom Metallica andthe seemingly spontaneous way itwashandled. Indeed, as a key songwriterformuchofthe band’s earlymaterial, Mustaine’s feelings of betrayalweren’t entirelymisplaced.Butfrom nearly killingoriginalbassistRon McGovney bypouringbeer onhis amplifiedbass— jolting McGovney across the room—tohis confrontationalbehavior andexcessive drinking,hewasfiredfromMetallica as they soughttoprogressprofessionally. Mustainehas since acknowledgedthathis behaviorwasn’tideal,tellingMetalHammerin 2016, “Inretrospect,Igetit:If you’vegot a guy thatgets violentwhenhegetsdrunk, andhe’s kindadrunk24/7,thenhavinghim aroundyouallday longprobably isn’t goodforbusiness.” Mustainewouldgo onto formandfront Megadeth, achievingsuccess that,whilenot on Metallica’s scale,fallswithinthe illustrious “BigFour” ofthrashmetal alongside Metallica, Slayer andAnthrax.—JonHadusek MEGA- DEPARTURE DAVE MUSTAINE IS FIRED FROM METALLICA. 3
18 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA Metallica broughtto the table all seven songs found on their No Life ’Til Leather demo and three newer tracks: “(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth,” an instrumental written by Burton and driven by his intricate bass work, “NoRemorse” and the breakneck thrasher “Whiplash.” The sessions were lean and fast. According toCurcio, the guitar parts were all recorded using one amplifier, a Marshallthat Hetfield had customized by Jose Arredondo, a tech who worked closely with EddieVan Halen.(This amp was stolen from the band’s van soon after the sessions outside a gig in Boston.) As Music America Studios was builtin a former mansion,the drum tracks were captured in the building’s ballroom— an all-wood space that Ulrich swears was haunted. “I had to have someone else up there the whole time I was recording,” he told Metal Hammer. “My cymbals would start spinning for no reason.…It was scary.” The pace of recording also leftHammett no time to overthink his guitar solos, or fix any mistakes that he made along the way.They had to knock these songs out and getthem finished.The guitarist has said thatthe sour notes he heard in his solo in “Seek and Destroy” haunted him for years, but as time has passed, he’s become more forgiving and accepting ofthe album’s audible flaws. Still, Metallica did take issue with whatCurcio and engineerChris Bubacz did to the album after the fact. While the band did have a chance to beef up the sound of Hetfield’s guitars after the initial mix,they were allegedly barred from the final mixing sessions, and rankled by certain effects that were tossed into the final product. Even so,the mere achievement of completing a full-length album leftthe band thrilled and inspired for what might come next. “It was an amazing feeling,” Hammett told Metal Hammer in 2019. “I remember talking to Cliff…about how excited we were to finally make an album, to have it on vinyl, to actually hold it and look at the cover. At one point, he went, ‘I wonder what the second album is gonna be like? I wonder what the third album is gonna be like?’” Kill ’Em All was released by Megaforce on July 25, 1983, and it became an instant sensation among the global metal scene. In the debutissue of U.K. fanzine Metal Forces, critic Bernard Doe gave the album a perfect 10 out of 10 score, calling it “one ofthe most awesome, fastest and heaviest pieces of vinyl I’ve ever heard. Metallica deliver their metal with such power, speed and precision thatthey make a lot of other socalled heavy metal bands seem quite tame and feeble.” Or as late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell putit in Louder Than Hell, “[It] was the first really consistent thrash album where every song was just a razor blade and the whole record was one direction…. They wrote fantabulous songs and it made me motivated. It made me wantto tear something up.” 1. Bassist Burton and singer-guitarist Hetfield play in Germany during the early days of Metallica. 2. The cover of Heavy Tales, the 2019 autobiography by Jon Zazula, aka Jonny Z, who signed Metallica to his label Megaforce Records and released the band’s first album, Kill ’Em All. 3. Guitarist Hammett performs at a Metallica concert in Munich in early 1984. 1
19 “Iclearlyremember Cliff[Burton]and I [thinking], ‘We’re gonna destroy! Let’sgo!’” —J A M E S H E T F I E L D 3 2
Followingthe triumphant Ridethe Lightning, Metallica would deliver the genre-defining Masterof Puppets and lift thrash metal to new artistic heights. BY JONHADUSEK The band poses backstage at a gig in Chicago in April 1986, one month afterthe release of their epic third album, Master of Puppets.
22 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA or their third full-length album, Metallica soughtto expand on the progressive and artful flourishes of sophomore effortRide the Lightning.Released in 1986, Master of Puppets stands as an even more ambitious leap in song arrangement,technicality and intensity. Not only does the album tout epics like the title track and the instrumental “Orion,” but also some of Metallica’s most brutal thrashers in the form of “Battery” and “Damage, Inc.,” songs that would foreshadow the band’s next musical chapter and the sound of extreme metal in general. Therefore it’s not surprising that Master of Puppets always turns up on “best metal albums of alltime” lists—often in the top spot. The album’s influence on heavy metal remains profound. A hype built on touring and two excellent records launched Metallica to the forefront ofthe ’80s thrash scene, both in the Bay Area and abroad. Metalheads worldwide were now listening to Metallica, and Master of Puppets arrived with much anticipation. A better selling and more visible LP compared toRide the Lightning, it also served as the initial introduction to Metallica for many fans and, by extension, a gateway to more extreme metal sounds. “I think Master of Puppets signifies for a lot of people, and it does for me as well,the pinnacle oftheCliff Burton era with Metallica,” James Hetfield told San Francisco’s KPIX5. “But also it was still rebellious; it was still four of us in a van outto conquer the world.” Indeed, the opening salvo of “Battery” is a skullcrusher that signaled a new benchmark in thrash. Gone was the thin production of previous albums, replaced with a beefy mix that captured the full breadth of Metallica’s cacophony. It was produced by Flemming Rasmussen, who also helmed Ride the Lightning and carried over the warm analog sound. Honed on the road, the performances on “Battery” reach a physical apex that’s rarely been matched by any band. The precise rhythms and airtight guitar tracking preempt the death metal of the latter decade 1
23 •If 1983’s Kill ’EmAll was the introduction to a vital new voice in the metal scene and 1986’s Master of Puppets was proofthat Metallica was capable of writing complex yet still headbanging epics,the album that came in between, sophomore effort Ride the Lightning, was the perfect bridge. Released on July 27, 1984, almost a yearto the day afterthe rising metal outfit dropped its debut effort,the band’s second LPwas, in part,the product of a nonstop touring schedule that helped solidify the quartet’s creative and personalrelationships.While two tracks featured elements held overfrom the dayswhenDave Mustainewas in the fold,the restwere fresh compositions—the majority co-writtenwith their new member, guitarist KirkHammett. Recorded inDenmarkwith the help of veteran producer FlemmingRasmussen, Ride the Lightning showcased some different sides of Metallica’s collective musical personality. As if daring theirfans to flinch,they opened the album with an acoustic guitarinterlude, and closed outthe first side ofthe LPwith “Fade to Black,” a power ballad that explores themes of depression and suicide.Along the way,the quartet hit upon some nowsignature moments, like Cliff Burton’s spiraling bass melody in “ForWhom the Bell Tolls” and the “Die!Die!Die!” chants that cut through the bridge of “CreepingDeath.” Ride the Lightning also proved to be the album that helped launch Metallica into the next phase oftheirfabled history.Afew months afterits release,the groupwould sign with ElektraRecords,which helped push the album into the Billboard charts. Ride the Lightning also helped Metallica cementtheir reputation as a force to be reckonedwith in the metalworld.According toHammett, when Mercyful Fate guitarist MichaelDenner heard “ForWhom the Bell Tolls,” he said, “I thought Mercyful Fatewas the heaviest band in the land, butIthink now Metallica is the heaviest band in the land.”—RobertHam LIGHTNING STRIKE and early 1990s, ascending thrash to a newfound level of technical proficiency. Whereas “Battery” hones the thrash template to almost athletic perfection,the epic title track, “Master of Puppets,” reinvents it entirely. Metallica constructed a lengthy multi-movementtrack even grander than “Creeping Death”and “The Four Horsemen.” “Speed isn’t everything in thrash,” Kirk Hammetttold the Damage Inc. fanzine in 1986. “You’ve gotto have something behind the speed as well.” Enter “Master of Puppets,” a grim warning againstthe darkness of drug abuse. The bombastic riffs and twisting arrangement create a nightmarish atmosphere not unlike a classical piece by Beethoven or Wagner. The notes, if not a literal representation, conjure the emotions and imagery ofthe lyrics in a transportive way. It’s the perfect Metallica song, from Hammett’s incredible solo to the iconic stop-start chorus: “Obey your master/Master/Master of puppets is pulling your strings/Twisting your mind and slashing your dreams.” 1. Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett entertains a venue packed shoulderto shoulder with headbanging fans during a concert. 2. A representative forthe Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) holds up a copy of Metallica’s Ride the Lightning at a Senate hearing in 1985. The committee accused the song “Fade to Black” of promoting suicides among teenagers. 2
24 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA The inherent escapism makesMaster of Puppets almost cinematic, with each listen opening the grim world portrayed. “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” paints the scene of a mental institution, with Hetfield’s vocals hinting atthe melodic direction the band would explore further in their career. The yearning ofthe protagonist who pleads “leave me be” comes through in his delivery, and it’s these details that make the album so evocative. It’s also proof ofthe band’s growth as performers and recording artists. This kind of scene setting and immersion takes accomplished musicianship. Side B ofthe album follows the same maximal complexities laid out on “Master of Puppets” and is driven by the pounding bass of Burton, who benefits the mostfrom the album’s thicker production. Metallica sharpened their skills in the practice room and on tour, so when they arrived in the studio,they were printing the ultimate version ofthe song. Rehearsal versions of “Disposable Heroes” are blinding and unhinged—technically perfect—butit’s the final version thatillustrates how far Metallica had come since their formation. While other thrash bands (or even an early Metallica) would simply record the rehearsal version,they instead had the tactto slow the track down in the studio, rendering Hetfield’s barks of “Back to the front!” even more effective in the context ofthe song. The riff-laden “Leper Messiah”—which Dave Mustaine claims to have co-written—and instrumental opus “Orion” slow the pace to a mid-tempo that might have alarmed some thrash fans atthe time. However, as with “Disposable Heroes,” these trudging speeds suit the material, especially “Orion.” Burton shares a songwriting credit with Hetfield and Lars Ulrich on whatis Metallica’s finestinstrumental composition. Almostliterary in its sonic tapestry, Metallica dabbles in tonal beauty on “Orion,” crafting an eight-minute journey that’s neither prog nor speed metal, but something unique unto itself: “post-thrash,” if you will. The album could have ended on that. But almost like a “thanks for listening” track, “Damage, Inc.” sends us off with one of Metallica’s most ravaging anthems. After the grandiosity of “Orion,” the sheer brutality is jarring, adding to the surprise effect. In a way, it comes full circle, back to the thrashing madness that kicked off with “Battery” and completing the magnum opus. Tragically, it would be the last album to feature Burton, though his legacy lives on through enduring masterpieces such as Master of Puppets. 1. Lars Ulrich drums during a Metallica show at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion on April 5, 1986. 2. James Hetfield wows fans during a Metallica performance. 1 2 HEAVY CROSSES TOBEAR Metallica’s 1986 album Master of Puppets has proven to be a thrash metal classic.
Ulrich (center) offers up a silly face as he and his Metallica bandmates (Hammett, Cliff Burton and Hetfield) strike a pose for a group photo.
26 Cliff Burton died in a fatal bus crash in Sweden while Metallica was on tour in 1986.
Theguys areforced tosoldieron without thebeloved musician, whois considered oneof heavy metal’sgreatestbassists. BYCHUCKARMSTRONG orn in 1962,Cliff Burton’s firstintroduction to music was not heavy metal or rock ’n’ roll, but rather, classical music. Thanks to his father’s appreciation ofthe genre, Burton found himselftaking piano lessons before ever picking up a bass guitar. Butthings changed when he was 13 and his 16-year-old brother, Scott, died suddenly of a cerebral aneurysm. “After his brother died,” Burton’s mother, Jan, remembered in an interview with Thrash Metal magazine, “he said to a couple of people, ‘I’m gonna be the best bassistfor my brother.’” She went on to admit that her son didn’t seem to have much talent at first, but it was clear he was dedicated to getting better. As the lessons continued and he outgrew his teachers, Burton eventually landed with a jazz bassist who brought him back to classical music,teaching him how to read sheet music. “He was with him for a long time,” Burton’s mother said of her son’s new instructor. “Then he really outgrew him,too. He really got so good that he didn’t need that anymore. He really did sit down and study and play Bach. He loved Bach.” Burton’s father,Ray, remembered when his son made the decision that music was going to be his full-time job. “When he was about 21 or 22, he said, ‘I’m going to be a professional musician. I’m going to make my living as a musician,’”Ray recalled in the same magazine interview. “And that’s what he did.” Prior to joining Metallica,Cliff played with future Faith No More members “Big” Jim Martin and Mike 27
28 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA Bordin in the band EZ Street. He was also a member of the band Trauma, recording “Such a Shame” with them for the 1982 Metal Massacre II compilation. Later that year, Burton played the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles with Trauma, and Metallica’s James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich were in the audience. “His style was just so awesome,” Exodus singer Steve “Zetro” Souza said of Burton in the book Birth School Metallica Death. “So radical. I think people thought he was justtoo much for [Trauma], maybe.” The two Metallica members tracked him down and asked him if he’d be interested in taking overRon McGovney’s spot on bass in their band. Dave Mustaine remembered this vividly. “[Burton] was brilliant,” he said in the same book. “The firsttime I saw him play, I knew he was something special, and so did Lars and James, which is why they began surreptitiously courtingCliff whileRon McGovney was still in the band.” Burton was an official member of Metallica before the year ended, with its members agreeing to move their home base from Los Angeles to Burton’s home of San Francisco in order to convince the bassistto join them. On March 5, 1983, Burton made his debut with Metallica at The Stone in San Francisco, and his incredible instrumental bass solo, “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth,” made its debutthat night,too. Following a blistering performance of “Seek and Destroy,” Hetfield introduced Burton as “The MajorRager” as he tore into his nearly five-minute bass solo. From that moment on,there was no question of Burton’s fit with Metallica, and no disputing his chops on the bass. A few months later, “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth” landed on Metallica’s debut LP, Kill ’Em All, Burton’s only songwriting credit on the album. The following year, he’d be credited with much more on 1984’sRide the Lightning, including having a hand in another instrumental, “TheCall of Ktulu.” Then, in 1986, Burton’s talent was forever immortalized with his contribution to Master of Puppets, including the instrumental masterpiece “Orion.” “[‘Orion’ is] an eight-minute instrumental piece comprising an opening actthatthrobs like the banks of a swollen river,” biographers Ian Winwood and Paul Brannigan illustrated, “and a middle section of such restrained and melodic beauty thatits template is one that seems to have been set by Pink Floyd more than it does Black Sabbath.” Months following the release of Puppets, Metallica toured Europe in support of the album. On the night of Sept. 26, 1986, trying to decide who would get to sleep in which bunk on the tour bus, Kirk Hammett and Burton drew cards. Burton drew the ace of spades, which meant he got to pick, and he chose Hammett’s bunk. “WhenIcameto, I heard everyone screaming, but I didn’t hearCliff. And Iinstantly knewsomething waswrong. ” — K I R K H A M M E T T 1
29 1. Bassist Cliff Burton and frontman JamesHetfield perform live onstage during an outdoor Metallica concert in theU.K. 2.A memorial stone for Burton sits nearthe site ofthe 1986 bus crash that killed him in Ljungby, Sweden. The stone was dedicated to Burton by fans of Metallica in September 2006, 20 years afterthe iconic metal bassist’s passing. 3. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Burton andHetfield raise a toastto each other with drinks in hand in 1984. 4. Burton poses with his parents, Jan and Ray. Jan passed away in 1993, while Ray lived until 2020, helping to keep his son’s legacy alive and attending many Metallica events and concerts along the way.He once said of Hetfield,Ulrich,Hammett and his son, “They were a marvelous team.” 2 4 3
“ImissCliff alot.Ithink about him quite often.... He’s here inspirit. ” —J A M E S H E T F I E L D
31 • The passing of CliffBurton left a void in Metallica, but the band trudged on, seeking a replacementforthe irreplaceable.After considering a number of players—including Megadeth’sDavid Ellefson and Primus’ Les Claypool—the band settled on Flotsam and Jetsam bassistJasonNewsted. ItwasNewsted’s commitment to the role, in addition to his musical chops,thatwon him the spot.After studying Metallica’s setlistfrom theirtour opening forOzzyOsbourne, Newsted had learned each ofthe songs, much to the surprise of that much more baffling. Though hewas given the spotlightwith the LP’s brutal opening track, “Blackened”—Newsted’s first writing creditforthe band—the decision to obscure his bass in the mix symbolized a disconnect between the bassist and his fellowbandmates. Still,Newsted’s contributions during Metallica’s prime years can’t be understated.His bass playingwas restored on “The BlackAlbum” in 1991 and features in some ofthe band’s well-known songs like “Enter Sandman.”He had his road-dog yearswith the group,too, touring relentlessly aswell as tapingvarious liveperformances such as the symphonic S&Mand the career-spanning Live S---: Binge&Purge. Newstedworked on Load and Reload before exiting the band in 2001, as explored in the 2004 documentary SomeKind of Monster. Still, his nearly 15 years in Metallica yielded many classic albums and recordings, surely cementingNewsted’s place in heavy metal lore.—JonHadusek LarsUlrich.” Two days later, Newstedwas invited to join the band after a joint agreement between the members of Metallica andBurton’s parents, Jan andRay. “You are the one,”Burton’s mothertoldNewsted, hugging him. “Please, be safe.” Facedwith the incredible expectations ofreplacing Burton,Newsted made his live debutwith Metallica onNov. 8, 1986, and his first studiowork with the band can be heard on 1987’s The $5.98 E.P.—Garage DaysRe-Revisited.Notably, Newsted’s bass playing on the covers EP offered a more direct and rugged style of playing compared toBurton’s more note-driven prog tendencies. Newsted often compared his own playing to that ofrhythm guitar and he laid down a thick low-end on the five-song release, particularly on an excellentrendition of Budgie’s “Crash Course inBrain Surgery.” That makes the absence of Newsted’s basswork in the final mix of 1988’s…And Justice forAll JASON NEWSTEDJOINSTHEBAND AFTER CLIFF BURTON’S DEATH, METALLICA QUICKLY FILLED THE MASSIVE VOID WITH AN EAGER BASSIST FROM MICHIGAN. Hammett wasn’ttoo annoyed, he recalled in an interview withVH1. “I said fine,take my bunk. I’ll sleep up front; it’s probably better anyway,” he said. In the morning hours of Sept. 27, as Metallica made their way from Stockholm toCopenhagen,their tour bus drove off the road and flipped on its side. With Burton sleeping on a top bunk,the crash sent him through the front windshield, and the bus eventually rolled on top of him. “I gotthrown out of my bunk and knocked unconscious for three or four seconds,” Hammett said. “I saw the bus lying right on him. I saw his legs sticking out. I freaked.…I already wanted to killthe [bus driver].” The driver claimed the bus hit a patch of black ice, resulting in the loss of control. The tour was canceled, butittook days for the news ofthe crash and Burton’s passing to make its way to fans. On Oct. 7, Burton’s life was celebrated as his body was cremated, with his ashes scattered near his home in CastroValley,California. Then, on Oct. 28, Hetfield and Ulrich invited Jason Newsted to Tommy’s Joyntin San Francisco to offer him the job as Metallica’s bass player. Decades later, near the crash scene, fans erected a memorial headstone. “Cannotthe kingdom of salvation take me home”—lyrics from ...And Justice forAll’s “To Live Is to Die”—is inscribed on the stone.
32 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA I s S e r ve d With n e w b a s sis t Ja s o n Ne w s te d o n b o a rd,Me tallic a c r afts th eir firs t alb u m sin c e th e s a d p a s sin g of Cliff B u r to n. BYJO N H A D USEK y 1988,the global landscape of heavy metal had drastically changed, due in no small partto the contributions of Metallica and their peers. Extreme metal filled the underground, and what was once a small group of Bay Area bands was now an identifiable subculture the world over. Blue jeans, leather jackets, disheveled hair and plenty of beer: Heavy metal had arrived and it was here to stay. It also began to assume various forms, as diverging subgenres became distinguished.
33 Metallica’s ...And Justice for All lineup of frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Jason Newsted and drummer Lars Ulrich pose backstage at the 1987 Monsters of Rock music festival at Castle Donington in England. In a bold move, Metallica would accentuate and emphasize the densely composed thrash of Master of Puppets with an even more intense and uncompromising album. In an age of mellow glam metal…And Justice forAll arrived with a cold, urban aesthetic and downrighticy production. The tracks weave and wind through chugging palm-muted riffage and melodic lead work that exemplified just how far Kirk Hammett had come since joining the band in 1983. It’s the most progressive and extreme effortin Metallica’s discography, and atthe time,their most modern in sound and approach. “We just wanted to be as weird as we could,” Hammett said ofthe album in a 2020 interview with the Let There
34 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA 1. A shirtless Hetfield sings in front of a rowdy crowd at a Metallica show in the late 1980s, as security guards try to keep the fans at bay. The band toured relentlessly in support of ...And Justice for All, with their 1988 to 1989 Damaged Justice tour lasting an entire year. 2.Newsted plays with Metallica in 1989. The bassist had joined the band in late1986, following the tragic death of Cliff Burton. The album ...And Justice for All marked Newsted’s first studio LP as a member of Metallica. Be Talk podcast. “And atthat particular pointin time, a lot of what was popular then was music that really showed off musicianship.” The album marked the band’s first with Jason Newsted, and it could be argued thatthe bassist’s greatest creative contribution to Metallica is the lead track, “Blackened.” This unrelenting blaster sets the table for the songs thatfollow. The smothering treble ofthe production—a conscious choice, as will soon be explained—creates a stark sonic palette of rhythm guitars and cracking snare. Lars Ulrich’s new and improved technical drumming style is perhaps the most noticeable update, adding a progressive elementthat aligns with Metallica’s affinity for long multipart songs. The title track is one such epic tune, with James Hetfield’s chugging palm mutes entwining with Hammett’s leads—an early template for the “groove metal” style many bands adopted in the years to follow. “I think at one point Lars was taking drum lessons from Joe Satriani’s drummer [Jeff Campitelli],” Hammett said, “and he had just a whole new perspective and approach on his drums, and so we wanted to implementthat musicianship into the sound, and that’s what became …And Justice forAll, basically.” The lyrics again focus on the dark elements ofthe human condition, politics and psychology, sometimes all at once. There’s no suspension of disbelief or escapism; rather, …And Justice forAll is rooted in bleak reality. For example,the album’s centerpiece, “One,” portrays a World War I soldier who loses his limbs, eyesight and hearing to a land mine explosion and begs God to take his life. A painfully emotional music video accompanied the track and was in heavy rotation on MTV’s Headbangers Ball program, driving home the song’s story, which is based on the 1938 novel JohnnyGot His Gun by Dalton Trumbo (the video also used footage from the 1971 film ofthe same name). It’s a harrowing achievementin Metallica’s canon. However, by this pointin the album, an adeptlistener might recognize the dissonance in the sound mix (the inharmonious effect of various instruments). …And Justice forAll is marked by a distinctlack of bass frequencies, for which Newsted is the unfortunate victim. Only a thin remnant of his bass work can be heard, carved out by equalizer adjustments or simply a near-muted volume level. Over the years,there have been theories as to why Newsted’s bass was muted— HANGING IN THE BALANCE Hetfield and Ulrich worked with artist Stephen Gorman forthe cover of ...And Justice for All, which depicts a restrained and cracked statue of Lady Justice. “Sowe’returning the high end upmoreandmore andmore,and all ofasudden, lowend’sgone. ” —J A M E S H E T F I E L D 1
35 •...AndJustice forAll, Metallica’s fourth studio album, sold nearly2million copies inthe four months afterits release inSeptember 1988.Alot ofthe album’s success came thanks to “One,” releasedas a single inearly1989. Havinglong subsistedonsupport frommetalheads, Metallica startedto garner serious airplay onrock radio with“One,” an antiwar screedtold fromtheperspective of a soldierwho lost his limbs andhis ability to see and speak as a result of combatinjuries. More importantly,thegroupwas introducedtomillions ofnewfansbyfinally utilizingthepower of MTV. Forthefirsttime in their career,thequartetmade amusic video, turningina starkblack andwhite clipthat featuredthebandplayingthe song, interspersedwithscenes anddialogue from the1971filmadaptationofJohnnyGotHis Gun. The videowas aninstant smashand MTV putitintoheavy rotation. “One”became the group’sfirst Top40single,peakingatNo.35 onBillboard’sHot100. The success ofthe single soonhelpedusher Metallica into themusicalmainstream.In 1989,theGrammys invitedthebandto perform“One” attheir awards ceremony— the same yeartheRecordingAcademy introduceda category forBestHardRock/ MetalPerformance. That year…AndJustice for Allinexplicably lost outto thenot-very-heavy Jethro Tull albumCrestofaKnave. Metallicawas soonvindicatedfortheir initialGrammy snub.In1990,HardRock and Metalhadtheir ownindividual awards, and Metallica tookhome the MetalGrammy for “One.” Thebandhas sinceput eightmore Grammys ontheirmantlesnextto amyriad of other awards.—RobertHam “ONE”OFMANY 2
36 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA Drummer Ulrich (top), guitarist Hammett (middle) and frontman Hetfield (bottom) each meet with fans during a Metallica show at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, on March 9, 1989, in the midst of their Damaged Justice tour. apparently lowered by Hetfield and Ulrich during the mixing process. Some say it was a cruel hazing ritual enacted upon the newcomer who replaced the late Cliff Burton. The more likely reason is that the aforementioned treble-heavy sound suited the atmosphere of the songs, which do conjure a particular harshness. As Hetfield explained in an interview with Metallica fanzine So What!, it’s also possible that they’d pulverized their ears to a point where they couldn’t hear that the bass was mixed out. “I will say, it was not all about, ‘F---[Jason]. Let’s turn him down.’ That’s for sure,” Hetfield explained ofthe lack of bass. “We wanted the best-sounding record we could make. That was our goal. We were burnt. We were frigging fried. Going back and forth [between touring and mixing the album]. Playing a gig. No earplugs, no nothing. You go back into the studio, your hearing is shot. If your ears can’t hear any high end anymore, you’re gonna turn it up.... So I know that played a bigger partthan any hazing or any ill feelings towards Jason, for sure. We were fried. We were burnt.” Sound mix semantics aside,the songwriting on Justice makes it a thrash classic. Fan favorite “Harvester of Sorrow” is crushing and concise, showcasing Hetfield’s “ooo-aahh” vocal inflections, which would become more common in future songs. The vintage thrasher “The Frayed Ends of Sanity” then leads into the band’s next instrumental opus and a tribute to the late Burton, “To Live Is to Die” (mirroring the sequencing on Master of Puppets as “Leper Messiah” led into “Orion”). A chiming acoustic intro fades into the story-like piece, which is wordless exceptfor a bit of spoken word written by German poet Paul Gerhardt. It’s a touching tribute that evokes the Metallica instrumentals Burton helped pen while he was alive. And justlike “Damage, Inc.” offered a thrashful farewell on Master of Puppets, “Dyers Eve” functions the same on Justice, concluding another masterpiece that quite literally sounds like none other. The album’s influence would be seismic, as many mainstream and underground metal bands turned away from hair spray and satanic/gore posturing for more worldly lyricaltopics and technical musicality. Metallica had long since proved that extreme metal could connect with people on a cerebral, even socio-political level, and they cemented thatfact with ...And Justice forAll. Now, fans could directly relate to the songs, a different sort of escape than the hedonism promised by glam metal or the role-playing of inverted crosses and spikes. Even Metallica’s fashion, mostly the streetwear ofthe time (torn jeans, big sneakers, etc.), could be seen as an influence on the grunge and death metal bubbling in the underground, soon to be unleashed atthe turn ofthe decade. The band was on the threshold of a major commercial breakthrough. The mainstream was ready for the mighty Metallica.
37 Metallica’s members hang out backstage at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, in August 1989. The band was in the midst of the yearlong Damaged Justice tour.
The storyofoneof thebestsellingrecords in the historyof music, and
how itpropelled theband from metal favorites torockgods. BY CHUCK ARMSTRONG
40 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA rior to 1991, Metallica had forged a significant stake in the heavy metal history books. With four full-length albums and the massive Damaged Justice world tour under their belts,the future looked big and bright for the thrash legends. Butthere was one reality they faced: Their fandom resided largely in the metal community. Though fans and the press loved Metallica,their music was being played on only a handful of radio stations and they had just one music video in their catalog. As a new decade was underway, Metallica decided to change their focus for their fifth album. “After listening to the [...And Justice forAll] album, it was pretty apparentthat we needed some kind of guidance,” James Hetfield remarked with a laugh in a ClassicAlbums documentary. “I’m not knocking it. It was right atthe time and itfelt good. But you can absolutely tell who was producing and mixing the thing. The drums are really loud. The guitars are really loud. That would be me and Lars [Ulrich].” As Metallica embarked on recording their Justice follow-up,they enlisted the help of BobRock, who, in 1989, produced MötleyCrüe’s wildly successful Dr. Feelgood. “I wentto see them on the Justice tour when they playedVancouver,”Rock said in the same documentary. “A couple of months later,their management contacted my manager about mixing the next album. After seeing them I told them I don’t really wantto mix it. I wantto produce it.” As Dr. Feelgood proved,Rock was a producer who knew how to make hit albums and songs that radio loved. WithRock in the mix, a fifth member, of sorts, was added to the band, and the foundation for Metallica’s self-titled effort—which would become lovingly known as “The Black Album”—was laid. “He was brutally honest with us,” Ulrich admitted. “[He’d say,] ‘You guys have not captured what you do live on a record yet,’ and we were like, ‘Excuse me?’” Hetfield added, noting that Rock “instantly had a vision on where these things could go.” Simply put,Rock’s vision was to expand every sound to the max, as evidenced on the album’s opening track, “Enter Sandman.” Kirk Hammett came up with the song’s iconic riff, and as music journalist David Fricke putit, “It was smart. It had a futurist quality to it. It wasn’tlike anything you heard on old heavy metal records. It wasn’tlike anything on the radio.” As “Enter Sandman” made its way into the world— released as the record’s first single on July 29, 1991—it reached No. 16 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chartin the United States and would eventually be considered one ofthe greatest rock songs ever. To this day, itis viewed by many as Metallica’s signature song, notjustfor the infectious riff, but also for Hetfield’s dark lyrics. 1. Bassist Jason Newsted performs with Metallica at the 1991 Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in England. 2. Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield also play onstage at the Monsters of Rock festival. 3. A massive crowd enjoys Metallica’s November 1992 show at the Sheffield Arena in England. 4. Lars Ulrich and Hammett show off Metallica’s Moonman trophy at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. 5. “Black Album” producer Bob Rock (farright) and Alice in Chains guitarist-singer Jerry Cantrell (nearleft) help honor Metallica for “significant career achievements” with the ASCAP Creative Voice Award in 2004. 1 2
41 41 “Thiswasthe beginning ofthe’90sand allthe pop stuff,the hairstuff... wascomingto anend. ” — L A R S U L R I C H 3 4 5
Metallica’s “Black Album” lineup of Hetfield, Hammett, Ulrich and Newsted sport their best “formal” wearin 1990.
43 In an interview with Uncut, Ulrich explained, “It was the last song James wrote lyrics to. So in the spring of ’91 he came in with these lyrics about crib death—the line ‘Off to never never land’ was originally ‘Disruptthe perfectfamily.’ Nice, friendly feel-good lyrics!” Rock noted that he pushed Hetfield to rewrite the song: “I just said, ‘You’re selling the song short, it’s so easy to just go to simple stuff like that, butit’s harder to come up with something good that means something.’ I think that was the beginning oftrying to give James the confidence to reach for more.” Hetfield and company continued to reach for more as they constructed a near-flawless LP that stands as one ofthe biggest rock albums of alltime thanks to unforgettable tracks like “Sad But True,” “The Unforgiven,” and “Wherever I MayRoam,” along with black leather classics like “Holier Than Thou” and the power ballad “Nothing Else Matters.” “We knew we were onto something,” Ulrich told author Mick Wall. “There was aboutto be a changing of the guard…. All of a sudden all ofthe 16-year-old kids were ready to embrace differentthings.” The drummer later remarked in the book Louder Than Hell, “I know deep in my heart and soulthatit was the direction we wanted to try and go,the only thing we hadn’t explored.” When the album Metallica was released on Aug. 12, 1991, it debuted atthe top ofthe charts in the United States and Britain.Robert Palmer ofRolling Stone gave the album four stars out of five, saying, “The new record’s textures and audio depth of field are a revelation.” In 2018, “The Black Album” hit a historic milestone: It celebrated its 500th week on the Billboard 200 chart. In the U.S. alone, Metallica is the highest-selling album ofthe SoundScan era, with roughly 17 million units sold. “I can’t figure out who the hell is buying it,” Hammett admitted in Louder Than Hell. “My theory is that people are just wearing out their CDs and buying it for all their friends.” The album’s influence on rock, and its power in cementing the legend of Metallica, is still going strong. Remastered editions of songs from the “The Black Album,” along with The Metallica Blacklist, a tribute featuring covers ofthe LP’s songs by Ghost, Weezer, MileyCyrus and more, were setto drop on Sept. 10, 2021. The band also announced a podcasttaking fans behind the scenes ofthe making ofthe iconic album. NONE MORE BLACK The cover artwork for Metallica (enhanced here) appears all black upon first glance, which drew comparisons to a famous scene in This Is Spinal Tap.
James Hetfield plays onstage with Metallica in 1992, just a few months after sustaining severe burns to his arm in a pyrotechnics accident.
n May 12, 1992, the music press of Los Angeles were summoned to The Gaslight in Hollywood for an announcement that would send a shock wave through the world of rock music: Metallica and Guns N’ Roses were going to hit the road together for a 26-date co-headlining tour through North America. Everything aboutthis decision, revealed by Lars Ulrich and GN’Rguitarist Slash that spring afternoon, was made using sound logic. Even with the rise of grunge, buoyed by the success of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s Ten, Metallica and Guns N’Roses were stillthe biggest hard-rock bands on the planetin 1992. Both were riding high thanks to the massive sales of their respective 1991 albums, Metallica (aka “The Black Album”) and Use Your Illusion I&II, and subsequent concerttours. And, as a true marker ofthe times, you couldn’t spend any significanttime watching MTV before a video from either band popped up in the Metallica co-headlines an ill-fated tour with Guns N’ Roses, asJames Hetfield is literallyburned onstage. BYROBERTHAM 45
46 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA Hetfield is seen backstage at a September 1992 concertinOakland, California, where he describes and treats the burns he suffered during a pyrotechnics mishap at an August show in Montreal. Afterthe accident, John Marshall filled in on guitar while Hetfield handled vocals only forthe remainder ofthe tour. Opposite: The band poses in Berlin in November 1992. rotation. It certainly didn’t hurtthatinitial estimates indicated that each show on the co-headlining tour was poised to rake in upward of $1 million. Beyond the financial windfallthey would receive,this was also the fulfillment of a longtime desire by the two bands to join forces for a tour. The groups had gotten to know each other when Metallica was in L.A. recording ...And Justice forAll, and GN’R were skyrocketing to fame following the release ofAppetite for Destruction. They became fastfriends and mutual admirers. “I’ve always wanted to play with these guys, ever since we metthem,” Ulrich told the assembled press at The Gaslight. “I’m the one who had allthe late-night conversations with the various members of Guns.… Taking the two biggest bands from one genre of music and putting them together is unprecedented.” What also felt out ofthe ordinary was how willing Metallica was to play before Guns N’Roses every night. Their respective camps had hammered out allthe other important details: This was a co-headlining show, which meant each band would play a fulltwo-hour (or more) set, and they would each carry their own stage setup, complete with pyrotechnics and differentlighting rigs. If that meant upward of an additionaltwo hours between each band to swap everything out, so be it. It was thatlast pointthat helped Metallica happily take the earlier settime. As Slash putitin his 2007 memoir, “They wisely opted to play first so as to avoid being pulled down by our bulls---.” For the first month ofthe tour, which kicked off on July 17, 1992, atRFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Metallica stayed true to their workmanlike tendencies, hitting the stage attheir scheduled time and storming through a two-hour setthat pulled from all five ofthe band’s studio albums. As critic Bruce Britt, covering the opening night ofthe tour for the LosAngeles Daily News, wrote, “Metallica seems fully aware thatthis tour presents a marvelous opportunity…. Their set was simply superb—more than 90 minutes of nonstop musical mayhem.” Things only
47 “Theflamefrom hell justcomes moving down thestage, 8 feet tall, and justcompletelyengulfs [Hetfield].” — L A R S U L R I C H
48 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA began to go awry toward the end of July when GN’R vocalist AxlRose started to develop some throat problems and a run of shows had to be rescheduled. The situation turned ugly for Metallica when the tour reached Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on Aug. 8, 1992, but not due to any fault oftheir own. Before showtime, the band’s pyrotechnics expert walked the band through some changes to the set with a new effectthat would burstforth during “Fade to Black.” What he didn’t make clear was thatit was in addition to a previous effect. So atjustthe wrong moment, James Hetfield walked right into a flame. As Ulrich told MTVin an episode of Live ’N’ Loud, which was covering the big tour, “The last couple of seconds before the cue, I could justtellthat he shouldn’t be standing where he was standing.” Hetfield suffered second-degree burns on his left hand and arm, with his skin, as bassist Jason Newsted putitto reporters later, “bubbling like on the Toxic Avenger.” Hetfield was rushed to Montreal General Hospital for treatment and his bandmates, apologizing profusely to the crowd of 54,000 fans, cutthe set short. The tour managers did their bestto hustle Guns N’ Roses to the stage, butinstead the band somehow dragged outthe break even longer. So whenRose stopped their performance after less than an hour, citing technical problems and his ailing throat,the already agitated audience responded by rioting. When the dust settled,the stadium and nearby shops suffered nearly $1 million in damages and a dozen people were arrested. Though Hetfield recovered enough to resume touring abouttwo weeks after the incidentin Montreal, he couldn’t play guitar as his ailing left arm was wrapped from his biceps to his fingers with protective gear. Unwilling to lettheir fans down,the group broughtin their former roadie and then-MetalChurch member John Marshallto play rhythm guitar while Hetfield stalked the stage and sang. Besides growing tensions between Metallica and GN’R (not to mention some issues between Rose and the tour’s opening act, Faith No More), the rest of the tour dates continued without incident. By the time their co-headlining jaunt ended on Oct. 6, 1992, at Seattle’s Kingdome, Metallica felt like they had won the battle and the war. As Hetfield would tell writer K.J. Doughton for his 1993 book Metallica Unbound, “It was pretty difficult. But overall, it was good for us, I think. We did snatch a lot of Guns N’Roses fans by the neck and kinda showed them whatthis was all about. I guess they thought Guns N’Roses were the heaviestthing on the planet, and they...found out wrong.” “Wewere having major problems getting onstage on time....Metallica wasnota band to pullthat kind of s---atall. ” — G U N S N ’ R O S E S G U I T A R I S T, S L A S H
49 Metallica’s Hetfield exchanges pleasantries with Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan at a RIP! magazine party in 1990, two years prior to the two bands embarking on theirtourtogether.
50 MUSIC SPOTLIGHT | METALLICA FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF THE MASSIVE “BLACK ALBUM,” THE MEMBERS OF THE BAND CUT THEIR HAIR AND RELEASE LOAD AND RELOAD TO MIXED RESULTS. BYROBERTHAM “You can onlybe what thepublicthinks you arefor solongbeforeitbecomesboring.” — K I R K H A M M E T T