Metallica
Metallica
Heavy metal band
Bass Player Killed in Tour Bus Accident
New Sound Signaled Turning Point
Mythic Syntax and “Rigorous Minimalism”
“In a world of hairspray-and-mascara glam rock, I Metallica sticks out like a junkyard mongrel at a poodle show,” wrote Karl Coryat of Bass Player magazine. The San Francisco Bay Area’s Metallica, a flagship speed-metal—or “thrash”—band has emerged as one of America’s most popular heavy metal outfits, a result, no doubt, of the group’s steady maturation during the dues-paying 1980s. Metallica’s self-named 1991 release addressed the decidedly adult topics of nuclear holocaust, mental illness, suicide, and the dangers of drug addiction. Yet despite these grim themes, Metallica’s music runs contrary to heavy metal’s one-dimensional image; their sound involves more than just bone-breaking chords and fire-and-brimstone lyrics. The band has distinguished itself with a grungy sophistication well beyond the work of its predecessors. Members of Metallica are rude and cheeky, but they’re proficient. Bass Player’s Coryat attested, “Their famous ‘Metal Up Your Ass’ T-shirt ensured Metallica a notorious place in rock-and-roll history.” Taste in merchandising notwithstanding, Spin magazine’s Alec Foege called Metallica “a burnished black gem.”
For the Record…
Kirk Hammett (lead guitar; raised in San Francisco, CA; studied guitar with Joe Satriani, 1983; replaced Dave Mustaine, 1983, who had replaced Lloyd Grant), James Hetfield (vocals, rhythm guitar), Jason Newsted (bass; raised in Niles, MI; replaced Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident, 1986), Lars Ulrich (drums).
Group formed in 1981; recorded Kill ’Em All on Elektra/Asylum Records, 1983; toured with heavy-metal Monsters of Rock arena show.
Awards: Gold record for Ride the Lightning, platinum record for … And Justice for All, and double-platinum record for Metallica; Grammy Award nomination for best hard rock/metal performance, 1989, and Grammy Awards for best hard rock/metal performance, 1990, for “One,” and 1991, for “Stone Cold Crazy.”
Addresses: Record company —Elektra Entertainment, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019.
Metallica coalesced in 1981 with singer-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, bass player Cliff Burton, and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. Mustaine, who had taken over for early collaborator Lloyd Grant, was replaced in 1983 by Kirk Hammett. Their first album, Kill ’Em All, attracted droves of “head-banging” fans. The follow-up releases Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets were greeted with even more enthusiasm by the world’s heavy metal constituency, which enabled the band to strut their stuff with fellow “metalheads” on the enormous Monsters of Rock Tour. That outing featured a free concert in Moscow that was attended by 500,000 Soviet metal fans. Infamous spitoon in tow for this tour and others—band members needed a place to deposit their chewed tobacco—Metallica was increasingly credited with single-handedly revitalizing heavy metal music, paving the way for other thrash bands like Slayer and Megadeath.
Bass Player Killed in Tour Bus Accident
Tragedy struck Metallica on September 27, 1986, when the band’s tour bus went into a ditch in Sweden, killing bassist Cliff Burton. After a brief hiatus the band reassembled and began looking for a replacement for Burton. Attempting to fill the bass player’s shoes and duplicate his eccentric, unbridled style seemed impossible. Burton had never been a particularly smooth player, but other band members had not attempted to reign him in. They did try once, however, to persuade him to forego his bell-bottom jeans in favor of more traditional heavy metal garb, but quickly realized the attempt was futile; Burton was set in his ways and rarely influenced by others. In truly bizarre heavy metal fashion, one of his dreams had been to invent a gun that shot knives instead of bullets.
To refurbish their lineup, the members of Metallica decided to settle on someone completely different from Burton: Jason Newsted, then with the Phoenix band Flotsam & Jetsam. Newsted was raised in Niles, Michigan, and had decided to turn professional after playing in bands throughout high school. He told Coryat, “I heard Cliff (Burton) had died the day after the accident.… I was a huge Metallica fan at the time. When I was looking at the blurb in the paper, I was sad, but things started flashing through my mind.… I just thought if I could play ‘Four Horsemen’ once with those guys, I’d be really happy.”
New Sound Signaled Turning Point
Burton had been a remarkable soloist, but Newsted provided Metallica with a more cohesive sound. Burton’s sound had not been well-defined, particularly when he played low on the guitar’s neck. Newsted chose to mirror the band’s guitar riffs precisely instead, producing a newly unified guitar effect. This sound dominated the new band’s 1988 double album. Titled … And Justice for All, the record went platinum and earned a Grammy Award nomination, despite a dearth of radio airplay. The release of Justice coincided with Metallica’s return to its musical roots: the groundbreaking metal stylings of 1970s rock giants Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. This resolve became the cornerstone for the 1991 release, Metallica.
Still steely, but a little slicker, Metallica was produced by Bob Rock, who had also worked with metal acts Motley Crue, Loverboy, and Bon Jovi. Buoyed by the dark, driving single “Enter Sandman,” Metallica sold 2.2 million copies in its first week. Metallica’s hard-won versatility is showcased on the record with guitarist Hammett’s winsome wah-wah, and open-throated, more melodic vocals from Hetfield. The band earned Grammys in both 1990 and 1991 and effectively ascended to a new strata of heavy metal superstardom. Featured on the covers of both Rolling Stone and Spin, Metallica’s popularity seemed to know no bounds. With increased media coverage, it became clear that the band’s appeal was not narrowly bohemian, political, or reflective of any trend—except perhaps anger. Village Voice contributor Erik Davis wrote that “Metallica’s ‘image’—dark shades, frowns, and poorly conceived facial hair—allies them with a musical culture of refusal. They haven’t stopped dragging mud onto the carpet and slamming their bedroom doors without saying hello. ‘Enter Sandman’ has touched the brains of fry cooks and Bud guzzlers across the land.”
Mythic Syntax and “Rigorous Minimalism”
Analysis of Metallica’s lyrics reveals the band’s unique penchant for conjuring up the timeless grandiosity of myth by placing the object of a line before its subject: “This fight he cannot win,” and “Off the beaten path I reign” are two examples. The band’s head-banging thrash metal songs are short, but not sweet; they’re delivered with grim, tight expressions, and a minimum of emotion, which gives the impression that the entire band is grimacing. Metallica’s albums have few tender spots; songs range from the brutal “Sad But True” to the sweet and gritty “Ride the Lightning,” from the praised pagan slant found on “Of Wolf And Man” to the metaphysical musings of “Through the Never.” Commenting on their larger musical style—“Metallica’s riffs crack like glaciers”—the Village Voice’s Davis said of the band, “They hew thrash to a rigorous minimalism.”
Spin’s Foege waxed mathematic in his assessment of Metallica, writing, “At turns algebraically elegant and geometrically raucous, present-day Metallica can stop and start on a dime.” With their popularity showing no signs of flagging, their musical and lyrical virtuosity on the upswing, and their fans more crazed than ever, Metallica is a speeding bullet heading perilously close to the heads of those adults with barely tolerant, thin-lipped expressions molded onto their faces. The band’s motto, after all, is “Bang Those Heads That Don’t Bang.”
Selected discography
Kill ’Em All, Elektra, 1983.
Ride the Lightning, Elektra, 1984.
Master of Puppets, Elektra, 1986.
… And Justice for All, Elektra, 1988.
Metallica, Elektra, 1991.
Garage Days Re-visited, Elektra.
Sources
Bass Player, September/October 1991.
Newsweek, September 23, 1991.
Rolling Stone, November 14, 1991; March 19, 1992.
Spin, October 1991; December 1991.
Village Voice, September 18, 1991.
Wilson Library Bulletin, January 1992.
—B. Kimberly Taylor
Metallica
Metallica
Heavy metal group
After 20 years, ten albums, and five Grammy Awards, Metallica has more than proven its staying power as rock’s preeminent metal group. The group paid its dues during the hair band era of the 1980s, but Metallica’s 1991 release addressed the decidedly adult topics of nuclear holocaust, mental illness, suicide, and the dangers of drug addiction. Yet despite these grim themes, Metallica’s music runs contrary to heavy metal’s one-dimensional image; their sound involves more than just bone-breaking chords and fire-and-brimstone lyrics. The band has distinguished itself with a grungy sophistication well beyond the work of its predecessors to become the seventh largest selling act in the history of American music as of 2001. Members of Metallica are rude and cheeky, but they’re proficient.Bass Player’s Coryat attested, “Their famous ’Metal Up Your Ass’ T-shirt ensured Metallica a notorious place in rock-and-roll history.” Taste in merchandising notwithstanding, Spin magazine’s Alec Foege called Metallica “a burnished black gem.”
Metallica coalesced in 1981 with singer-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, bass player Cliff Burton, and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. Mustaine, who had taken over for early collaborator Lloyd Grant, was replaced in 1983 by Kirk Hammett. Their first
For the Record…
Members include Kirk Hammett (replaced Dave Mustaine, 1983, who had replaced Lloyd Grant), lead guitar; James Hetfield, vocals, rhythm guitar; Jason Newsted (replaced Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident, 1986; left group, 2001), bass; Lars Ulrich, drums.
Group formed, 1981; recorded Kill ’Em All on Elektra/Asylum Records, 1983; released multiplatinum-selling Metallica, 1991; released Load, 1996; released Reload, 1997; released S&M, a collection of concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, 1999; filed law suit against Napster for copyright violations, 2000.
Awards: Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, 1989, 1990, 1998; Best Metal Performance With Vocal, 1991; Best Hard Rock Performance, 1999.
Addresses:Record company —Elektra Entertainment, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019, website: http://www.elektra.com.Website —Metallica Official Website: http://www.metallica.com.
album, Kill ’Em All, attracted droves of “head-banging” fans. The follow-up releases Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets were greeted with even more enthusiasm by the world’s heavy metal constituency, which enabled the band to strut their stuff with fellow “metalheads” on the enormous Monsters of Rock Tour. That outing featured a free concert in Moscow that was attended by 500,000 Soviet metal fans. Infamous spitoon in tow for this tour and others—band members needed a place to deposit their chewed tobacco— Metallica was increasingly credited with single-handedly revitalizing heavy metal music, paving the way for other thrash bands like Slayer and Megadeath.
Tragedy struck Metallica on September 27, 1986, when the band’s tour bus went into a ditch in Sweden, killing bassist Cliff Burton. After a brief hiatus the band reassembled and began looking for a replacement for Burton. Attempting to fill the bass player’s shoes and duplicate his eccentric, unbridled style seemed impossible. Burton had never been a particularly smooth player, but other band members had not attempted to reign him in. They did try once, however, to persuade him to forego his bell-bottom jeans in favor of more traditional heavy metal garb, but quickly realized the attempt was futile; Burton was set in his ways and rarely influenced by others. In truly bizarre heavy metal fashion, one of his dreams had been to invent a gun that shot knives instead of bullets.
To refurbish their lineup, the members of Metallica decided to settle on someone completely different from Burton: Jason Newsted, then with the Phoenix band Flotsam & Jetsam. Newsted was raised in Niles, Michigan, and had decided to turn professional after playing in bands throughout high school. He told Coryat, “I heard Cliff (Burton) had died the day after the accident… I was a huge Metallica fan at the time. When I was looking at the blurb in the paper, I was sad, but things started flashing through my mind.… I just thought if I could play ’Four Horsemen’ once with those guys, I’d be really happy.”
Burton had been a remarkable soloist, but Newsted provided Metallica with a more cohesive sound. Burton’s sound had not been well-defined, particularly when he played low on the guitar’s neck. Newsted chose to mirror the band’s guitar riffs precisely instead, producing a newly unified guitar effect. This sound dominated the new band’s 1988 double album. Titled…And Justice for All, the record went multiplatinum by 1989 and earned a Grammy Award nomination, despite a dearth of radio airplay. The release of Justice coincided with Metallica’s return to its musical roots: the groundbreaking metal stylings of 1970s rock giants Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. This resolve became the cornerstone for the 1991 release, Metallica, also known as the ’Black’ album.
Still steely, but a little slicker, Metallica was produced by Bob Rock, who had also worked with metal acts Motley Crue, Loverboy, and Bon Jovi. Buoyed by the dark, driving single “Enter Sandman,” Metallica sold 2.2 million copies in its first week and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide since its release. Metallica’s hard-won versatility is showcased on the record with guitarist Hammett’s winsome wah-wah, and open-throated, more melodic vocals from Hetfield. The band earned Grammys in both 1990 and 1991 and effectively ascended to a new strata of heavy metal superstardom. Featured on the covers of both Rolling Stone and Spin, Metallica’s popularity seemed to know no bounds. With increased media coverage, it became clear that the band’s appeal was not narrowly bohe-mian, political, or reflective of any trend—except perhaps anger.Village Voice contributor Erik Davis wrote that “Metallica’s ’image’—dark shades, frowns, and poorly conceived facial hair—allies them with a musical culture of refusal. They haven’t stopped dragging mud onto the carpet and slamming their bedroom doors without saying hello. ’Enter Sandman’ has touched the brains of fry cooks and Bud guzzlers across the land.”
Analysis of Metallica’s lyrics reveals the band’s unique penchant for conjuring up the timeless grandiosity of myth by placing the object of a line before its subject: “This fight he cannot win,” and “Off the beaten path I reign” are two examples. The band’s head-banging thrash metal songs are short, but not sweet; they’re delivered with grim, tight expressions, and a minimum of emotion, which gives the impression that the entire band is grimacing. Metallica’s albums have few tender spots; songs range from the brutal “Sad But True” to the sweet and gritty “Ride the Lightning,” from the praised pagan slant found on “Of Wolf And Man” to the metaphysical musings of “Through the Never.” Commenting on their larger musical style— “Metallica’s riffs crack like glaciers” —the Village Voice’s Davis said of the band, “They hew thrash to a rigorous minimalism.”
Worn from touring during the early 1990s and a contract suit against Elektra, Metallica’s next release was not to come until 1996. The album Load, the longest of the group’s work with 14 songs, was a marked change in style and sound from the ’Black’ album. As described in the group’s biography at its official website, the material was “loose, powerful and eclectic, the sound thick and punchy and the image one which screamed out change and freedom from the enslavement to the Black album era.” The group built on the critical success of the album and released an additional set of Load session tracks as Reload in 1997. Instead of simply revisiting Load’s eclecticism, Reload offers “enough left curves to make it a better record,” according to All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
The late 1990s and early 2000s brought new challenges for the group, both inside the studio and out. The group toured in support of Load and Reload in 1997 and 1998, and ventured into new musical territory in 1999 with S&M, a two-disc collection of concert performances with the San Francisco Symphony. The innovative collaboration between the groups featured orchestral arrangements behind Metallica classics such as “Master of Puppets,” “One,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Sad But True,” and “Of Wolf and Man.” On April 14, 2000, the group, along with rapper Dr. Dre, filed suit against Napster, the website that facilitated the sharing of music files between personal computers for free, alleging violation of copyright laws. During a prolonged battle against the site by Metallica, Dre, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the group managed to block 300,000 users who had downloaded copies of Metallica songs. The group and Dre settled their suit against Napster for an undisclosed amount in July of 2001. Metallica said it would allow some of its music to be swapped on the site after the scheduled start of subscription service in the late summer of 2001.
In January of 2001, Jason Newsted announced that he planned to leave Metallica after 14 years “due to private and personal reasons, and the physical damage that I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love.….This is the most difficult decision of my life, made in the best interest of my family, myself, and the continued growth of Metallica,” according to comments at the Elektra Records website. The group planned to search for a replacement for Newsted.
Spin’s Foege waxed mathematic in his assessment of Metallica, writing, “At turns algebraically elegant and geometrically raucous, present-day Metallica can stop and start on a dime.” With their popularity showing no signs of flagging, their musical and lyrical virtuosity on the upswing, and their fans more crazed than ever, Metallica is a speeding bullet surely headed for continued success.
Selected discography
Kill ’Em All, Elektra, 1983.
Ride the Lightning, Elektra, 1984.
Master of Puppets, Elektra, 1986.
…And Justice for All, Elektra, 1988.
Metallica, Elektra, 1991.
Live Sh**: Binge and Purge, Elektra, 1993.
Load, Elektra, 1996.
Reload, Elektra, 1997.
Garage, Inc., Polygram, 1998.
S&M, Elektra, 1999.
Sources
Periodicals
Bass Player, September/October 1991.
Newsweek, September 23, 1991.
PC Magazine (United Kingdom), July 2000.
Rolling Stone, November 14, 1991; March 19, 1992.
Spin, October 1991; December 1991.
Village Voice, September 18, 1991.
Washington Post, July 12, 2000, p. A23.
Wilson Library Bulletin, January 1992.
Online
All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (June 6, 2001).
Grammy.com, http://www.grammy.com (June 6, 2001).
“Metallica, Dre Settle with Napster,” Netscape, http://dailynews.netscape.com/mynsnews/story.tmpl?table=n&cat=50880&id=200107130714000120526 (July 15, 2001).
“Metallica News,” Elektra Records, http://www.elektra.com (June 6, 2001).
Metallica Official Website, http://www.metallica.com (June 6, 2001).
“Napster, MusicNet Forge Deal With Strings Attached,” Billboard.com, http://www.billboard.com (June 7, 2001).
—B. Kimberly Taylor
Metallica
Metallica
Heavy metal group
Members include Kirk Hammett (replaced Dave Mustaine, 1983, who had replaced Lloyd Grant), lead guitar; James Hetfield, vocals, rhythmguitar; Jason Newsted (replaced Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident, 1986; left group, 2001), bass; Robert Trujillo (replaced Newsted), bass; Lars Ulrich, drums.
Addresses:
Record company—Elektra Entertainment, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019, http://www.elektra.com. Website—http://www.metallica.com.
Career
Group formed, 1981; recorded Kill 'Em All on Elektra/Asylum Records, 1983; released multiplatinum–selling Metallica, 1991; released Load, 1996; released Reload, 1997; released S&M, a collection of concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, 1999; filed lawsuit against Napster for copyright violations, 2000; released St. Anger, 2003.
Awards:
Grammy Award for best metal performance, Recording Academy, 1989; Grammy Award for best metal performance, Recording Academy, 1990; Grammy Award for best metal performance with vocal, Recording Academy, 1991; Grammy Award for best metal performance, Recording Academy, 1998; Grammy Award for best hard rock performance, Recording Academy, 1999; Grammy Award for best rock instrumental performance, 2000. Grammy Award for best metal performance, Recording Academy, for "St. Anger," 2004.
Sidelights
After more than 20 years, eleven albums, and six Grammy Awards, Metallica has more than proven its staying power as rock's preeminent metal group. The group paid its dues during the hair–band era of the 1980s, but Metallica's 1991 release addressed the decidedly adult topics of nuclear holocaust, mental illness, suicide, and the dangers of drug addiction. Yet despite these grim themes, Metallica's music runs contrary to heavy metal's one–dimensional image; their sound involves more than just bone–breaking chords and fire–and–brimstone lyrics. The band has distinguished itself with a grungy sophistication well beyond the work of its predecessors to become the seventh–largest–selling act in the history of American music as of 2001. Members of Metallica are rude and cheeky, but they are proficient. Bass Player magazine attested, "Their famous 'Metal Up Your A**' T–shirt ensured Metallica a notorious place in rock–and–roll history." Taste in merchandising notwithstanding, Spin's Alec Foege called Metallica "a burnished black gem."
Metallica coalesced in 1981 with singer–guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, bass player Cliff Burton, and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. Mustaine, who had taken over for early collaborator Lloyd Grant, was replaced in 1983 by Kirk Hammett. Their first album, Kill 'Em All, attracted droves of "head–banging" fans. The follow–up releases, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, were greeted with even more enthusiasm by the world's heavy metal constituency, which enabled the band to strut their stuff with fellow "metalheads" on the enormous Monsters of Rock Tour. That outing featured a free concert in Moscow that was attended by 500,000 Soviet metal fans. Metallica was increasingly credited with single–handedly revitalizing heavy metal music, paving the way for other thrash bands like Slayer and Megadeath.
Tragedy struck Metallica on September 27, 1986, when the band's tour bus went into a ditch in Sweden, killing bassist Cliff Burton. After a brief hiatus, the band reassembled and began looking for a replacement for Burton. Attempting to fill the bass player's shoes and duplicate his eccentric, unbridled style seemed impossible. Burton had never been a particularly smooth player, but other band members had not attempted to reign him in. They did try once, however, to persuade him to forego his bell–bottom jeans in favor of more traditional heavy metal garb, but quickly realized the attempt was futile; Burton was set in his ways and rarely influenced by others. In truly bizarre heavy metal fashion, one of his dreams had been to invent a gun that shot knives instead of bullets.
To refurbish their lineup, the members of Metallica decided to settle on someone completely different from Burton: Jason Newsted, then with the Phoenix band Flotsam & Jetsam. Newsted was raised in Niles, Michigan, and had decided to turn professional after playing in bands throughout high school. He told Bass Player, "I heard Cliff had died the day after the accident.… I was a huge Metallica fan at the time. When I was looking at the blurb in the paper, I was sad, but things started flashing through my mind.… I just thought if I could play 'Four Horsemen' once with those guys, I'd be really happy."
Burton had been a remarkable soloist, but Newsted provided Metallica with a more cohesive sound. Burton's sound had not been well–defined, particularly when he played low on the guitar's neck. Newsted chose to mirror the band's guitar riffs precisely instead, producing a newly unified guitar effect. This sound dominated the new band's 1988 double album. Titled And Justice for All, the record went multiplatinum by 1989 and earned a Grammy Award nomination, despite a dearth of radio airplay. The release of Justice coincided with Metallica's return to its musical roots: the groundbreaking metal stylings of 1970s rock giants Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. This resolve became the cornerstone for the 1991 release, Metallica, also known as the "Black" album.
Still steely, but a little slicker, Metallica was produced by Bob Rock, who had also worked with metal acts Mötley Crüe, Loverboy, and Bon Jovi. Buoyed by the dark, driving single "Enter Sandman," Metallica sold 2.2 million copies in its first week and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide since its release. Metallica's hard–won versatility is showcased on the record with guitarist Hammett's winsome wah–wah, and open–throated, more melodic vocals from Hetfield. The band earned Grammys in both 1990 and 1991 and effectively ascended to a new strata of heavy metal superstardom. Featured on the covers of both Rolling Stone and Spin, Metallica's popularity seemed to know no bounds. With increased media coverage, it became clear that the band's appeal was not narrowly bohemian, political, or reflective of any trend—except perhaps anger. Village Voice contributor Erik Davis wrote that "Metallica's 'image'—dark shades, frowns, and poorly conceived facial hair—allies them with a musical culture of refusal. They haven't stopped dragging mud onto the carpet and slamming their bedroom doors without saying hello. 'Enter Sandman' has touched the brains of fry cooks and beer guzzlers across the land."
Analysis of Metallica's lyrics reveals the band's unique penchant for conjuring up the timeless grandiosity of myth by placing the object of a line before its subject: "This fight he cannot win," and "Off the beaten path I reign" are two examples. The band's head–banging thrash metal songs are short, but not sweet; they're delivered with grim, tight expressions, and a minimum of emotion, which gives the impression that the entire band is grimacing. Metallica's albums have few tender spots; songs range from the brutal "Sad But True" to the sweet and gritty "Ride the Lightning," from the praised pagan slant found on "Of Wolf And Man" to the metaphysical musings of "Through the Never." Commenting on their larger musical style—"Metallica's riffs crack like glaciers"—the Village Voice's Davis said of the band, "They hew thrash to a rigorous minimalism."
Worn out from touring during the early 1990s and a contract suit against Elektra, Metallica's next release was not to come until 1996. Load, the longest of the group's work with 14 songs, was a marked change in style and sound from the Metallica album. As described in the group's biography at its official website, the material was "loose, powerful and eclectic, the sound thick and punchy and the image one which screamed out change and freedom from the enslavement to the Black album era." The group built on the critical success of the album and released an additional set of Load session tracks as Reload in 1997. Instead of simply revisiting Load's eclecticism, Reload offers "enough left curves to make it a better record," according to All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Spin's Foege waxed mathematic in his assessment of Metallica, writing, "At turns algebraically elegant and geometrically raucous, present–day Metallica can stop and start on a dime."
The late 1990s and early 2000s brought new challenges for the group, both inside the studio and out. The group toured in support of Load and Reload in 1997 and 1998, and ventured into new musical territory in 1999 with S&M, a two–disc collection of concert performances with the San Francisco Symphony. The innovative collaboration between the groups featured orchestral arrangements behind Metallica classics such as "Master of Puppets," "One," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Sad But True," and "Of Wolf and Man." On April 14, 2000, the group, along with rapper Dr. Dre, filed suit against Napster, the website that facilitated the sharing of music files between personal computers for free, alleging violation of copyright laws. During a prolonged battle against the site by Metallica, Dre, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the group managed to block 300,000 users who had downloaded copies of Metallica songs. The group and Dre settled their suit against Napster for an undisclosed amount in July of 2001.
In January of 2001, Newsted announced that he planned to leave Metallica after 14 years "due to private and personal reasons, and the physical damage that I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love.… This is the most difficult decision of my life, made in the best interest of my family, myself, and the continued growth of Metallica," according to comments at the Elektra Records website.
The group searched for a replacement for Newsted, ultimately deciding on Robert Trujillo to fill the spot. Trujillo had previously played bass in the rock group Suicidal Tendencies and backed up Ozzy Osbourne on a tour. Speaking to Charles Brookford for Bass Player, Trujillo confessed that he had a tough job ahead of him. "The biggest challenge for me is to come into a band like this and follow the footsteps of Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted. These guys are key parts of the band's history. This is a new Metallica, but they carry so much weight and I have full respect for them." Still, he concluded, "It's a great time to be a part of Metallica."
Hetfield entered an alcohol rehabilitation program in 2002, and committed himself to a sober lifestyle. When he emerged from rehab, the band began recording their next album, St. Anger, which was released in mid–2003. St. Anger was an immediate success, selling more than two million copies in less than two months. It was also a hit with critics, who praised the stripped–down urgency of the music. Brian McCollum of the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service called the bare bones approach a "dirty, jagged rattle that recalls the band's early material. The careful textures and high–end gloss that had marked Metallica's past decade were abandoned in favor of a clanging, garage–metal crunch." In an interview with Ben Wener of the Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, Hetfield credited his renewed sense of purpose and joy of playing with Metallica for allowing the band to continue through the rough patches of their two decades together. "Almost losing everything and then coming back and being extremely grateful for what is there—you know, brothers in the band—that's what it's all about."
Selected discography
Kill 'Em All, Elektra, 1983.
Ride the Lightning, Elektra, 1984.
Master of Puppets, Elektra, 1986.
… And Justice for All, Elektra, 1988.
Metallica, Elektra, 1991.
Live Sh**: Binge and Purge, Elektra, 1993.
Load, Elektra, 1996.
Reload, Elektra, 1997.
Garage, Inc., Polygram, 1998.
S&M, Elektra, 1999.
St. Anger, Elektra, 2003.
Sources
Periodicals
Bass Player, September/October 1991; August 2003.
EContent, August/September 2003.
Entertainment Weekly, June 13, 2003; June 20, 2003.
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, June 4, 2003; July 16, 2003; August 11, 2003.
Newsweek, September 23, 1991; June 9, 2003.
PC Magazine (United Kingdom), July 2000.
People, July 14, 2003.
Rolling Stone, November 14, 1991; March 19, 1992.
Spin, October 1991; December 1991.
Time, June 16, 2003.
Village Voice, September 18, 1991.
Washington Post, July 12, 2000, p. A23.
Wilson Library Bulletin, January 1992.
Online
"Metallica," All Music Guide,http://www.allmusic.com (December 1, 2003).
"Metallica, Dre Settle with Napster," Netscape, http://dailynews.netscape.com/mynsnews/story.tmpl?table=n&cat=50880&id=200107130714000120526 (December 1, 2003).
"Metallica News," Elektra Records, http://www.elektra.com/elektra/metallica/news.jhtml?qt=%22Metallica%22 (December 1, 2003).
Metallica Official Website, http://www.metallica.com (December 1, 2003).
"Napster, MusicNet Forge Deal With Strings Attached," Billboard.com, http://www.billboard.com (December 1, 2003).
The Recording Academy, http://www.grammy.com (December 1, 2003).
—B.KimberlyTaylor
Metallica
METALLICA
Formed: 1981, Los Angeles, California
Members: Kirk Hammett, lead guitar (born San Francisco, California, 18 November 1962); James Hetfield, vocals, rhythm guitar (born Downey, California, 3 August 1963); Lars Ulrich, drums (born Gentofte, Denmark, 26 December 1963). Former members: Cliff Burton, bass (born Castro Valley, California, 10 February 1962; died Ljungby, Sweden, 27 September 1986); Ron McGovney, bass; Dave Mustaine, guitar (born La Mesa, California, 13 September 1961); Jason Newsted, bass (born Battle Creek, Michigan, 4 March 1963).
Genre: Heavy Metal, Rock
Best-selling album since 1990: Metallica (1991)
Hit songs since 1990: "Enter Sandman," "Until It Sleeps," "The Memory Remains"
Equal parts punk and heavy metal, Metallica pioneered the darker and faster genres known as speed and thrash metal in the early 1980s. As the decade progressed, they emerged as the premiere underground metal band and sold millions of records despite minimal airplay on radio and MTV. After adopting a slower, simpler sound in the 1990s, the group reached a mass audience. By the decade's end, Metallica was one of music's most successful acts but had alienated much of their original core audience.
Origins
When drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist James Het-field met in Los Angeles in 1981, they decided to form a band that reacted against the style-over-substance glam metal, which was quickly gaining popularity on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. They recruited guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney and began making music influenced by British heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Motorhead, and the lesser-known Diamond Head. The latter band's driving irregular rhythms and dark tone were the most direct influence on Metallica's sound. They took Diamond Head's heavily distorted but technically precise rhythmic guitar style and sped it up to a blistering pace. By using two bass drums simultaneously, Ulrich augmented the tempo to unthinkable speeds. These elements of extreme velocity combined to develop Metallica's distinct version of speed metal.
Los Angeles was not quite ready for them, but similar-sounding metal was gaining popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band relocated there to get Cliff Burton, the bassist of local band Trauma, to join them. A solid fan base grew rapidly. Their widely circulated demo-tape, No Life 'Til Leather, prompted a record deal with underground label, Megaforce, on one condition: They must move to New York City.
Shortly after arriving on the East Coast, the band dismissed Mustaine because of behavioral problems. He went on to form Megadeth, one of the top speed-metal rivals of Metallica throughout the 1980s. The competition between the two bands was often heated and personal because of Mustaine's unceremonious departure. His replacement was Kirk Hammett.
With the lineup of Ulrich, Hetfield, Burton, and Hammett in place, Metallica released its debut album, Kill 'Em All (1983). The album creates an ominous and mesmerizing world with lightning-quick rhythms, Hetfield's coarse growl, and the use of the notably eerie Phrygian musical scale.
Underground Stardom
The band's next two albums, Ride the Lightning (1984) and Master of Puppets (1986), were more accomplished. Having Hammett from the beginning of the creative process allowed him to develop a more melodic and classically virtuosic guitar sound to complement Hetfield's pounding strums. Hetfield's vocals remained abrasive, but he introduced more melody and showed an aptitude for more conventional singing during the balladlike verses of "Fade to Black" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)." The songs dealt with suicide and mental illness, respectively, and represented a major step forward in lyrical maturity. Master of Puppets was hailed a masterpiece by even the unlikeliest critics. It cracked the Top 30 of the Billboard album chart and became the first platinum speed-metal album.
As the band's career soared to new heights, tragedy struck during a tour of Sweden in November 1986: The group's bus was in a horrible accident, and the band's bassist, Cliff Burton, was killed. After an anguished hiatus, Metallica chose to continue. Jason Newsted, a fervent Metallica fan and leader of the Phoenix-based band Flotsam and Jetsam, took Burton's place. Following a five-song EP of covers, Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987), the group released their most ambitious album to date, . . . And Justice for All (1988). With its bleak outlook at a decaying society, thin production, epic songs averaging more than seven minutes, and sophisticated compositions, it is a challenging listen. It cracked the Top 10 and swiftly went platinum.
After years of resistance, Metallica finally decided to shoot their first music video for "One," near the end of 1988. The song is based on the Dalton Trumbo novel Johnny Got His Gun, about a hospitalized war veteran who loses his sight, voice, hearing, and limbs but maintains total consciousness. Using scenes from the film version of the book and stark black-and-white performance footage, "One" was a disturbing tour de force. Medium rotation on MTV pushed the song to become one of the most unlikely Top 40 hits in Billboard history. Despite the crossover success, Metallica's uncompromising methods kept them in solid standing with their longtime fans.
Blockbuster Success
Having difficulty reproducing the complicated songs from . . . And Justice for All onstage, and uncertain how to refine its complex sound any further, Metallica decided to scale back on its self-titled 1991 release. With shortened, simplified, and significantly slower songs, it was a more straightforward album that was destined to reach a larger audience. Though the first single and video, "Enter Sandman," was ominous, its throbbing, repeated riff and verse-memorable chorus structure made it a hit. Selling a half million copies and peaking at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100, it became the group's most popular anthem.
The album's next two singles, "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters," demonstrated a commercial side of Metallica not seen before. The former features a hefty guitar crunch in the verses that leads to a gentle pop chorus. The latter is the band's first love song, complete with a string section. Only "Holier Than Thou" and "Through the Never" approach the velocity of past efforts, while "Sad but True," "Don't Tread Me," and "The God That Failed" forge new territory with bass-heavy grooves and plodding guitars. Those characteristics were indicative of much of the nu-metal to follow in the 1990s and thereafter.
Metallica's new direction naturally disappointed some die-hard fans, but it introduced the band to a substantially larger audience. Metallica debuted at number one, sold 3 million copies in its first two months, 6 million by the end of 1992, and 12 million by the end of decade. Its tremendous success generated new interest in previous albums and pushed all of them to multiplatinum status.
After incessant touring and some much-needed time off, the band felt heavy pressure to follow up their self-titled album. Instead of fearlessly trailblazing as they had always done, Metallica chose to assimilate to the 1990s alternative rock look and sound with Load (1996). The album's first video, "Until It Sleeps," presents all four members with short hair, with Hammett and Ulrich donning glam makeup. Similar images fill the album's liner notes, and the cover sports an updated, less menacing logo. They toned down the threatening, doomsday attitude and replaced it with a safer, more transparent, and occasionally bluesy sound. This distancing from the Metallica of the past surprised and disappointed many, but it did not prevent the album from debuting at number one, quickly selling 3 million copies, and yielding another gold single, "Until It Sleeps." The next year the group followed with Re-Load, a collection of songs that did not make it onto Load and some newly written material. Though somewhat of a rehash of the previous album, it offers a few new twists and found similar success.
After a five-year gap between albums in the middle 1990s, Metallica kept up an album-a-year pace in the late 1990s. Garage Inc. (1998) was a double-album of covers, some previously recorded and some new, paying tribute to artists ranging from Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd to early, more direct influences such as Diamond Head and the Misfits. S&M (1999) was another double disc that captured the band performing Metallica classics and two new songs with the San Francisco Symphony. The album once again attracted a new audience while acknowledging their classical influences. Both sold millions, garnered solid airplay, and reaffirmed the band's immense popularity, establishing them as one of the top-selling acts of the 1990s.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Metallica's headlines shifted from its music to its legal battles. The group garnered a litigious reputation by suing companies like Victoria's Secret and Pierre Cardin for trademark infringement over the use of the band's name. They also sued Amazon.com over sales of a bootleg album and released Garage Inc. partially as an attempt to prevent unauthorized dissemination of their rare material. It was no surprise then, when they filed suit against the online music distribution company Napster in April 2000 for facilitating the illegal trading of their copyrighted music. Lars Ulrich hand-delivered thirteen boxes of legal paperwork containing the names of over 300,000 users who had traded Metallica's music illegally. Though legally justified, Ulrich's antics seemed unfashionable and greedy for a rock star who had sold nearly 50 million albums. His actions caused a major backlash among some fans and fellow musicians. Metallica settled with Napster and praised them for attempting to run a legitimate business that thwarted the sharing of unauthorized, copyrighted material.
With all the distractions stalling Metallica's musical growth, and a longstanding ban on side projects, Newsted became frustrated and left the band. He promptly formed Echobrain, released an album with them, and then joined Canadian progressive metal legends Voivod. In April 2001 Metallica entered the recording studio to start work on a new album without a bassist. Three months later all progress ceased as James Hetfield entered rehab for alcoholism and other addictions. Five months later he returned to the group, and they readied an eighth studio album for 2003 release. Galvanizing speed metal into a viable underground institution, Metallica transcended its genre to become one of rock's most enduring forces. After years of boldly defining new directions in heavy metal, the band eventually made mainstream concessions to maintain longevity. Thriving long after most of their contemporaries had floundered, Metallica has left a legacy as one of the greatest rock bands of the 1980s, 1990s, and beyond.
SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:
Kill 'Em All (Megaforce/Elektra, 1983); Ride the Lightning (Elektra, 1984); Master of Puppets (Elektra, 1986); . . . And Justice for All (Elektra, 1988); Metallica (Elektra, 1991); Garage, Inc. (Elektra, 1998).
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
M. Putterford, Metallica: In Their Own Words (Chester, New York, 2000); K. J. Doughton, Metallica Unbound: The Unofficial Biography (New York, 1993).
WEBSITES:
www.metallica.com; www.metclub.com; www.encycmet.com.
dave powers
Metallica
Metallica
Metallica, pioneers of the heavy-metal school of rock known variously as speed or thrash metal. membership: James (Alan) Hetfield, rhythm gtr., voc. (b. Los Angeles, Aug. 3, 1963); Kirk Hammett, lead gtr. (b. San Francisco, Nov. 18, 1962); Clifford Lee) Burton, bs. (b. Castro Valley, Calif, Feb. 10, 1962; d. Sweden, Sept. 27, 1986); Lars Ulrich, drm. (b. Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 26, 1963). Cliff Burton was replaced by Jason Newsted (b. Battle Creek, Mich., March 4, 1963.
Distinguished by its speedy guitar playing and rapid tempos, Metallica achieved their earliest popularity through word-of-mouth communication. Revitalizing heavy-metal music without the pretense and image-pandering of glitter-rock groups while eschewing both the superficial and sexist party themes and pseudomythological concerns of their antecedents, Metallica won recognition for their sophisticated yet deafening arrangements and intelligent yet harrowing lyrics. Gradually expanding the band’s commercial success without radio, video, or advertising support (drawing comparisons to the Grateful Dead), Metallica have consistently maintained their artistic integrity and fierce commitment to their music. Lauded for their socially conscious themes and brutal honesty, particularly on their album Master of Puppets, Metallica were the hit of the 1988 Monsters of Rock tour nominally headlined by Van Halen. Adopting a more thoughtful, mellower approach for their best-selling Metallica album, Metallica were one of the most popular American heavy-metal bands of the 1990s.
The evolution of Metallica began when Danish drummer Lars Ulrich recorded a demonstration tape with guitarist James Hetfield in Los Angeles in October 1981. Their first lead guitarist was replaced by Dave Mustaine in January 1982, and bassist Cliff Burton joined at the end of the year. Gaining their first recognition by playing small clubs in Los Angeles and later San Francisco, Metallica moved to Queens, N.Y., where Kirk Hammett replaced Mustaine, who later formed Megadeth in Southern Calif.
With Ulrich and Hetfield as principal songwriters, Metallica recorded their debut album, Kill ’Em All, in May 1983. Published and copyrighted by the band and released on the Megaforce label, the album featured earsplitting, rapid-tempo songs often characterized by sudden mood and tempo changes that drew the attention of youthful head-bangers. Their second album, Ride the Lightning, also on Megaforce, included “Fight Fire with Fire” and “Creeping Death,” and remained on the album charts for nearly a year. Elektra Records soon picked up distribution of Metallica’s albums and signed the band. Their debut for the label, Master of Puppets, drew praise for its stark social commentary and broke the band into the mass market. The album featured “Battery”; “Leper Messiah,” which took to task television evangelists; and the title song, which decried drug addiction.
While touring Sweden, Cliff Burton was killed on Sept. 27, 1986, at age 24, when the group’s van crashed on an icy road near Ljungby. He was quickly replaced by Jason Newsted, of the Phoenix-based band Flotsam and Jetsam. In 1987 the band assembled a collection of cover tunes that was issued as The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited. In summer 1988, Metallica toured with the Monsters of Rock tour, along with Van Halen, The Scorpions, Dokken, and Kingdom Come. By tour’s end they had become the hit of the tour, eclipsing even the headliners. Their diverse album . .And Justice for All featured “The Frayed Ends of Sanity,” the socially conscious “Blackened,” and “The Shortest Straw” and yielded their first moderate hit, the ghastly yet moving “One.” The album became a best-seller.
Touring for much of 1989, Metallica next recorded the chart-topping album Metallica. It exhibited a more thoughtful, slower, almost gentle approach, producing five hits: “Enter Sandman,” accompanied by their first video; “The Unforgiven”; the soothing “Nothing Else Matters”; the anthemic “Wherever I May Roam”; and “Sad but True.” Metallica subsequently toured as singleact headliners between summer 1991 and summer 1993, playing more than three hundred engagements. In summer 1992 they conducted a seven-week tour with Guns N’ Roses in one of the most anticipated tours of the year. Their Live Sh*t was drawn from a series of Mexico City concerts.
Discography
Kill ’Em All (1983); Ride the Lightning (1984); Master of Puppets (1986); . .And Justice for All (1988); M. (1991); Live Sh*t: Binge and Purge (1993).
—Brock Helander