Metallica - Biography

Last Editor: william2000co				Metallica Biography -   Name : Metallica Profession : American heavy metal band

Metallica Trivia -

Band consists of singer/guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bass player Robert Trujillo. [2003] Here are the complete lineups of Metallica: Mark I - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals; Rhythm and Bass Guitars), Lloyd Grant (Lead Guitar), Mark II - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals; Rhythm Guitars), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Ron McGovney (Bass Guitar), Mark III - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Rhythm Guitars), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Ron McGovney (Bass Guitar), Jef Warner (Vocals), Mark IV - Same as Mark II, Mark V - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals; Rhythm Guitars), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Cliff Burton (Bass Guitar), Mark VI - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals; Rhythm Guitars), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar), Cliff Burton (Bass Guitar), Mark VII - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar), Cliff Burton (Bass Guitar), John Marshall (Rhythm Guitars - Stood in for James' guitar while his broken arm healed), Mark VIII - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals; Rhythm Guitars), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar), Jason Newsted (Bass Guitar), Mark VIIII - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar), Jason Newsted (Bass Guitar), John Marshall (Rhythm Guitars - Stood in for James' guitar while his burnt [Some luck huh!] arm healed), Mark X - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals; Rhythm Guitars), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar), Bob Rock (Bass Guitar), Mark XI - Lars Ulrich (Drums), James Hetfield (Vocals; Rhythm Guitars), Kirk Hammett (Lead Guitar), Rob Trujillo (Bass Guitar).

Metallica Detailed Biography -

Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in October 1981. With 57 million albums sold in the United States (RIAA Total Sales), and 40 million albums sold outside the US , the total number of album sales is approximately 100 million. With the release of their most successful album to date, 1991's Metallica, the band has become the most commercially successful heavy metal act in history, as well as the 18th biggest selling act in American music history. After building a following through its role in the development of modern heavy metal, especially thrash metal, (considered, along with Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax as one of the "big four" of thrash metal) in the mid-1980s, the band broadened its audience in the early 1990s. Accordingly, the band stood as the most commercially visible example of the metal genre for most of that decade. In contrast, Metallica's vastly increased commercial success was accompanied by stylistic changes that fostered accusations of "selling out." In 2003 Metallica released its 8th studio album, entitled St. Anger, a collection of the most aggressive music they had written in a decade, to deeply divided critical reviews, though their 2004 "Madly In Anger With The World" tour in support of the album remained very successful. Metallica was formed in Downey, California in 1981 by drummer and former tennis prodigy Lars Ulrich and guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, who met after each had separately placed classified advertisements in the American publication The Recycler. James Hetfield responded to Lars Ulrich's call. Bassist Ron McGovney was an original member, and the band used a few transient guitar players, such as Brad Parker and Jeff Warner. Their first session played was in Lars Ulrich's garage. At that time there were only three members, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, and Lloyd Grant. Ron McGovney joined a few days later. Metallica got its name when drummer Lars Ulrich was helping San Francisco-area metal promoter Ron Quintana pick out a name for a new magazine to promote metal and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands. Quintana came up with a suggestion "Metallica," but Lars quickly suggested another and decided to use that name for the band he and James Hetfield had just started. In early 1982, Metallica recorded "Hit the Lights" for the first Metal Massacre compilation. Guitarist Lloyd Grant was brought in to do the solos on the track but was never a full member of the band. Desperate for a full time lead guitarist, Ulrich posted an ad in the local newspapers. Dave Mustaine from Huntington Beach, California, a guitarist from the band Panic responded, and upon arrival started a sound check. Ulrich and Hetfield were so impressed with Mustaine's warm up and equipment that they asked him to join before actually auditioning. A few months later the band recorded a full demo, No Life 'Till Leather, which quickly drew attention on the underground tape trading circuit. Conflicts with Mustaine eventually caused McGovney to leave the band, and he was replaced by Cliff Burton from Castro Valley, California, lured from his band Trauma in exchange for the other members of Metallica relocating to the San Francisco area. Upon arriving in El Cerrito, California, the group quickly built a healthy local following in the Bay Area Thrash Scene via word-of-mouth and live performances. Metallica then traveled to New York in 1983 at the urging of local promoters Jon and Marsha Zazula, and after a few gigs the band signed with the Zazulas' brand new label, Megaforce Records. Shortly after arriving in New York, Mustaine was fired due to various disruptive, unproductive behaviors all related to alcoholism and other addictions. Kirk Hammett was drafted from Exodus to replace him. Mustaine would go on to create the thrash metal band Megadeth. A pupil of Joe Satriani, Hammett brought to the band a more melodic and progressive guitar style quite different from Mustaine. This would become more apparent after Ride the Lightning, the first album to feature Hammett's songwriting. Metallica's first album, Kill 'Em All, was released in 1983 on Megaforce Records. The album set the template that they would follow throughout the 1980s, prominently featuring the heavy vocals and aggressive rhythm guitar of James Hetfield. Kill 'Em All did not have huge sales after its inititial release, but it did establish Metallica a loyal fan following in the growing 'underground metal' scene. A year later Metallica released their second 'Megaforce' album, Ride the Lightning. The new album expanded their form with longer songs that featured lyrical and instrumental growth that rose above some of the playing on Kill 'Em All. Perhaps the most significant feature of Ride the Lightning was the inclusion of "Fade to Black", a slower, more introspective song that mused on the thoughts of someone contemplating suicide. Indeed "Fade to Black" is the first such song in a tradition that would come to include "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" and "One". The inclusion of these slower, introspective songs distinguished Metallica from most other thrash metal bands such as Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth. Some fans saw Metallica's formation as a direct reaction to the prevalent rock and roll music of the early 1980s. Inspired by bands such as Motörhead, Diamond Head(declaring in the sleeve notes of 1998's Garage Inc. that "two heads were better than one"), Saxon and other bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They also took inspiration from hardcore punk bands like the Misfits and Discharge. By putting all these elements together, Metallica was single-minded in their desire to break the grip of soft metal on heavy metal fans. After signing a major label deal with Elektra Records in 1984, Metallica released a new album entitled Master of Puppets on February 21, 1986. The album is regarded by many fans as their best work and is considered by some to be the greatest heavy metal album of all time. Despite the fact that no singles were ever released for the album, the band received some minor airplay from album tracks "Master of Puppets" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)". The supporting Damage Inc. tour was very successful and the album charted at number 29 on the Billboard Top Album Charts. On September 27, 1986, during a European leg of shows, bassist Cliff Burton was killed in Ljungby, Sweden when Metallica's tour bus skidded off an icy road and flipped over. Burton was thrown out of the window, and the bus landed on top of him. It is uncertain if Burton was deceased at this point or not. A winch that was being used to lift the bus off of him snapped, resulting in the bus crushing him a second time. This incident had adverse effects on the members of the band, and they resorted to excessive consumption and abuse of alcohol. The band's future was left in doubt following Cliff's death. The three remaining members knew it would be Cliff's wish that they carry on. And with the blessing from Cliff's family the band decided to continue and seek a replacement. Auditions began almost immediately. Among the most promising of the auditioneers was a young Les Claypool, a childhood friend of Hammett's. The band liked Claypool but claimed his style was "too funky". Claypool would go on to form the highly successful funk metal group Primus. Three weeks after Burton's funeral, Jason Newsted, formerly of Flotsam and Jetsam officially joined Metallica on October 28, 1986. With Newsted, the band finished the Damage, Inc. tour in the early months of 1987 Following the tour the band quickly recorded The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited in July of that same year. This EP continued Metallica's fascination with covering songs by relatively obscure (to American audiences) British metal and hardcore bands. In 1988 the band recorded ...And Justice for All. An album full of some of the band's most structurally complex music, it was the first 'true' studio album released following the death of Cliff Burton. Jason Newsted was listed as bass player on the album's credits but very little bass was audible during playback of the album. Some have speculated that this was done intentionally by the original members of the band as a reaction to the death of Cliff Burton (or perhaps as a way of hazing Newsted). The most likely reason, as mentioned by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in subsequent interviews, was that Newsted wasn't present in the mixing sessions. As such he wasn't able to input his opinion on the final mixing process. ...And Justice for All was a milestone in the history of metal. Noting its intense focus on topics related to personal control and independence, many writers celebrated the album (and, by extension, Metallica itself) for the way it appeared to divorce hard rock from the blues in ways bands such as Mötley Crüe or Poison resisted. Although the song-writing was praised, the production of this album was heavily criticised as Lars Ulrich's drums clicked more than thudded and the guitars had a thin sound. James Hetfield excelled himself, however, with some of the tightest guitar rhthyms recorded in metal music. Kirk Hammett's solos were innovative and Lars' drumming incredibly complex. Because of the complexity and length of the songs, in fact, the band would later (in the mid-90's) cease to play most of them live. Metallica's first music video appeared, for the morbid but accessible World War I-themed "One". Featuring clips from the film Johnny Got His Gun film based on the Dalton Trumbo book, it was popular on MTV and gained the band considerable additional exposure. The album also contained their last instrumental to date, "To Live Is To Die". It was a sort of tribute to Cliff Burton and contained unused riffs written by him and a poem also written by him and read by Hetfield. Importantly, Metallica never lost interest in always providing fans with a sensational live act. They retained their original humility and sense of humor and occasionally gave the fans a 'band-switch' treat. That is, the song "Am I Evil" would be played with James on drums, Kirk on bass, Jason on guitar, and Lars doing the singing. In 1991, the self-titled album, Metallica (popularly known as The Black Album) broadened the band's horizon again. The record was co-produced with Bob Rock, whose resume included work with Hard rock acts The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and many others. The album featured a black cover that evoked humorous comparisons to Spinal Tap. The majority of the making of the Metallica album and the following tour was recorded, of which around four hours were used in the documentary A Year and a half in the life of Metallica. The album featured the hit "Enter Sandman", which exemplified the radically pared-down style of songwriting across the album; it became Metallica's best-known song and has been used by wrestlers and baseball players as their theme music. Another hit was "Nothing Else Matters", a more plaintive, acoustic ballad that outraged some of their more hardcore fans. The album was a massive crossover hit, bringing Metallica firmly into the mainstream, and it was with this album that the band first encountered significant accusations of having "sold out." This album had been preceded by a cover of Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" which was contributed to a special album commemorating Elektra's 20th anniversary and which James Hetfield, together with Queen's remaining band members performed live at the The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Metallica also played a set at the concert. Charges of selling out would follow Metallica throughout the 1990s, to which the band often joked that they did indeed sell out — each and every date of the tour. Indeed the tour following the Black Album was especially successful and eventful. Many dates were held with no opening act, instead showing an introductory film that included interview footage filmed during A Year and a Half... not included in the film, and other footage of band members' antics backstage. The best-known incident during this tour was a pyrotechnics accident in 1992 in Montréal while Metallica was performing a series of joint shows with Guns N' Roses. Hetfield suffered severe second and third degree burns to his left arm during the opening of "Fade to Black", leaving him unable to play guitar for a portion of the tour (Subsequently, former Metallica roadie and Metal Church guitarist John Marshall filled in while Hetfield continued to sing). Guns N' Roses played three songs after the incident, but lead singer Axl Rose's throat was in severe pain after the short set; unable even to hear himself, Axl left the stage. The premature end to the show provoked widespread rioting.