From: st1p8@rosie.uh.edu (Curcio, Paul)
Newsgroups: alt.rock-n-roll.metal.metallica
Subject: Metalli-history Parts 1 Through 5
Date: 13 Dec 1992 19:16 CST
Organization: University of Houston
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: rosie.uh.edu
Keywords: Finals suck!  To be continued next semester...
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    


     In the early 80's a guy named Brian Slagel was putting together the 
finishing touches on an LA compilation he'd produced called METAL
MASSACRE, dedicated to exposing new LA-based metal acts.  He still had
a slot to fill on the disc, though and Lars Ulrich has been elected to
fill it if he and James Hetfield could get a legitimateband together by
pressing time.  As it turned out, however, the duo couldn't quite complete
the assignment on deadline; without a permanent guitarist or bassist in
tow, they made the best of what they had.  Fretmaster/acquaintance Lloyd
Grant ( a black guy.) was invited along for the ride to lay down guitar
leads while Hetfield tripled on bass,rhythm axe, and vocals and Ulrich
took his traditional post at the trap-set.
     Considering the premature stage the band was in, coupled with 
production more basic thana kite-string-and-a-Dixie-cup-telephone set up,
the results of this first studio experience were less than devastating.
Hetfield struggled through his vocal chores with a throat virus, and the
rest of the band clinged and clanged drudgingly behind on the first
METALLICA song ever, "Hit the Lights."
   Right after the initial "Hit the Lights" recording, Grant was dismissed,
Dave Mustaine was quickly invited on board the Metalliship, and Ron McGovney
took on bass position ( the latter's qualifications went no further than
having been Hetfield's roommate at the time - James even taught him how
to play bass!).  In light of such personnel changes, the band managed to
slide some of Mustaine's lead-work into the "Hit the Lights" mix alongside
Grant's before the cut hit vinyl, and METAL MASSACRE came out during the
middle of 1982.  




     At last, in 1982 METALLICA were cast onto the world's waiting ears.
Soon afterward, a different, more improved version of "Hit the Lights"
showed up on the second pressing of METAL MASSACRE, featuring the lineup
of Hetfield, Ulrich, McGovney, and Mustaine.
     The band spent the remainder of 1982 plugging away on demo tapes and
playing club gigs.  They managed to open for Saxon's _Denim and Leather_
tour stop in Los Angeles( March 27th at the Whisky a Go-Go), and later
that spring had an unexpected role as gig headliners when main attraction
Krokus failed to appear, leaving Hetfield and Co. to deliver the goods
singlehandedly.
     Although the band was always fairly well-recieved during their primodial
LA era, the stench of glam-rock began lingering ever-thicker in their
midst.  As a consequence, Los Angeles residents were too busy raiding
cosmetic stores, pillaging beauty salons, and endorsing the more compromising
audio directions of the then-primitive likes of Motley Crue and Ratt:
very few greeted METALLICA with anything more than an upturned nose. 
One particularly embarrassing live episode had the band playing at Lars'
high school to a crowd of jocks and wanker-people.  The crowd of over
a hundred made a gradual exit until only about twenty faithful 
Metallifans remained.  "Metallica in a pantry" is how Hetfield once 
described the none-too-memorable event.

   METALLICA's first step up the ladder of true infamy emerged not from the
stage, but from the studio, in the form of _No Life 'til Leather_. A
seven song demo tape recorded during the summer of '82, _No Life 'til
Leather_ emerged as the most revolutionary demo tape in the history of
heavy metal.  Recorded semi-professionally, the tape annihilated the
band's previous METAL MASSACRE appearance with a beefed-up guitar sound
(courtesy of James, who by now had taken up permanent rhythm guitar chores
in addition to vocals) and an added pinch of speed and precision. ON
some tracks, like "Hit the Lights", "Motorbreath", and "Metal Militia",
the band's infatuation with speed-reliant, Motorhead-style primitiveness
was obvious. But there was something more here; the arrangements were
more defined, the riffs more overwhelming.  And on _No Life 'til
 Leather_'s more off-color moments- the Ramones-ish "Jump in the Fire",
the anthemic "Seek and Destroy", and the chuka-chuka relentlessness
of "The Mechanix" - a sense of dynamics could be felt within the band
that would not completely blossom until years down the line.

   Of course , there were demos prior to the unleashing of _No Life 'til
Leather_. Sandwiched somewhere in between their METAL MASSACRE mix and
_No Life.., METALLICA  recorded a four song tape featuring primitive versions
of "Hit the Lights", "The Mechanix","Motorbreath", and "Jump in the Fire",
which went on to be distributed extensively throughout the underground
tape-trading circuit as a prophetice glimpse of things to come.
There was also the obligatory slew of "unofficial" demo tapes floating around
including rehearsals of the band doing cover songs from such fave 
METALLICA brit-bands as DIAMOND HEAD, SAVAGE, and SWEET SAVAGE.
  For METALLICA, the demo tapes were the basis by which they attracted
thousands of grass-roots fans, garnered extensive press in underground 
fanzines and eventually attracted a record deal.
   Not to get too far ahead, let's bump the Metalli-history back to 
it's 'starving-band-still-trying-to-make-it" phase. As METALLICA demos
gained the momentum of an uncontrollable grass-fire amidst the
underground network of fans that Ulrich was quick to distribute them to,
a landmark live slot was abruptly dropped into the band's lap. Slagel,
in an effort to promote some of his METAL MASSACRE acts, booked BITCH,
CIRITH UNGOL, and HANS NAUGHTY into the San Francisco Keystone on
September 18th; however, fate had it that CIRITH UNGOL dropped out four
days prior due to transportation problems.  It's no secret who was 
quick to fill the bill, and METALLICA thus introduced themselves to
the Bay Area and started a contingent of metal militants that
eventually blossomed into the legendary 'Bay Area Bangers'. By winter,
the band had ripped through numerous sellout Bay Area follow-up
appearances, even immortalizing one such gig (November 29, 1982)
onto a demo tape called _LIVE METAL UP YOUR ASS_. The northern California
metal scene would never be the same again.


  One of METALLICA's peer bands up north making the rounds about this time
was TRAUMA. In additions to being a favorite Bay Area club circuit draw, the
band was gaining recognition through a one song demo, featuring "Such a Shame",
that eventually was transferred to vinyl on METAL MASSACRE II, a sequel of 
Slagel's first metal compilation.  More noteworthy, however Trauma possessed
within it's ranks "the most headbanging bassist" Lars and James had ever seen-
Cliff Burton.  They initially spotted him during a live TRAUMA bout at LA's
TROUBADOR, and now were in hot pursuit.  During the occasional trek up north,
the duo would simultaneously marvel at Burton's long-maned, bell-bottomed
'hippie-freak' mannerisms and four-string mastery and plead with him to join
METALLICA, for a while in vain.  By year's end, however, Cliff was finally
persuaded under the condition that the rest of the band relocate to San
Francisco - he wasn't about to enter the walking freakshow that was LA.
Hence, METALLICA gave southern California the finger as they left it in the
dust in search of more receptive pastures - and  a certain bass player - up
North. On March 5, 1983, Cliff played his first gig with METALLICA at the 
San Fran 'Stone, and a new Metalli-era had begun.
   By this time, the band had gained themselves a reputation as audio ass-
kickers of the first order.  In LA they'd been known lamely as 'The Young
Metal Attack', but after their replanting up North, a new resounding
battlecry was echoing far and wide wherever METALLICA left their mark -
"Metal Up Your Ass!" All this impressive self-marketing, attributed mostly
to Ulrich's keen sense of how to use the metal underground to his advantage,
was stirring up alot of interest among indie labels.  At the time, there
were a number of flourishing labels catering extensively to metal, but with
crippling limitations: tour backing was minimal, and overall publicity proved
less than adequate, so METALLICA was careful to play the field.
   Meanwhile, an indoor flea-market booth called the "Rock-n-Roll Heaven"
was creating quite a stir back east. Jon Zazula (a.k.a. Johnny Z.), the
booth's coordinator, was quickly accelerating the obscure-metal buzz by
marketing almost exclusively import and independent metal discs to a throng
of New York and New Jersey metal freaks. In January of 1983, one such denim
and leather-clad costumer passed on a copy of _No Life til Leather_ to 
Zazula to play in his store.  As the story goes, the bearded mammoth 
immediately put all his priorities second to getting ahold of METALLICA, in
an overwhelming fit of astonishment over the tape.
    An ensuing conversation between Ulrich and Zazula resulted in a mutual
pact to get the band to the East coast, for reasons of both live exposure and
recording.  Zazula had offered them a management/label/tour deal that Lars
was considerably impressed by, and in March of '83, METALLICA piled into a 
rented U-Haul and embarked on a 3000-plus mile jaunt across the country.
Before the trek was over, amidst near-fatal collisions and internal fights, 
Lars and James were set on giving Mustaine the boot.  And what exactly was the
reason for Dave's departure, and even years after the fact has been shrouded
in vagueness?
    Truth is, there really was not a cut-and-dried reason.  Suffice to say
that Dave's on-the-road habits, coupled with a few Dave-versus-management
scraps, didn't add to his popularity as the U-Haul swerved off the road one
time too many.  Mustaine was around long enough to play a couple of opening
slots for Vandenburg and The Rods before being rudely awakened by James one
morning when the band was camped out in Queens, New York, and told to catch
a bus back home. 


     Wasting no time in determining a replacement ( the band had been expecting
Mustaine's departure even before the on-the-road sparks began to fly),
METALLICA road manager/soundman Mark Whitaker was quick to suggest Kirk Hammett.
  Whitaker's previous status as manager for Kirk's ex-band EXODUS, another 
fledgling power-metal band out of San Francisco, had him very familiarized with
his abilities; surely this was the man for the job, he reasoned.  Lars and
James, ever the decision makers of the band, were on a similar wavelength:
although they hadn't paid that much attention to EXODUS in the past, they were
aware of the band's reputation for on-stage demolition, not to mention Hammett's
prowess as a string-slinger.  After reviewing a few live EXODUS tapes Whitaker
had brought along for the ride, they summoned Hammett east to audition on the 
same day Dave left.
     Before METALLICA, Hammett's experience, even with EXODUS, wasn't real
extensive.  He'd played on a much heard 1982 demo tape (featuring "Whipping
Queen","Death and Domination" and "Warlords"), and was a six-string kingpin
of the flourishing Bay Area underground scene during the earlier half of the
decade.  Nonetheless, by the time he arrived in New York, he knew the entire
METALLICA song catalog and was  quickly initiated into the live Metalliranks
during shows through Massachussetts, New Jersey, and New York supporting The
Rods, Venom , and Motorhead throughout the spring and summer of 1983.
     After thoroughly working out the Mustaine-to-Hammett lineup bugs with
the aforementioned appearances, METALLICA headed to Barrett Alley studios
in Rochester, New York, and pumped out their revolutionary first album,
_Kill 'em All_. Recorded May 10th through the 27th of 1983, KEA has come
to define power metal in its most unblemished form.  It's a time capsule
masterpiece which hit on the head equal parts speed, precision, and energy
and drove them mercilessly home with such speedcore classics as "Whiplash",
"No Remorse", and "Metal Militia."  As _No Life 'til Leather_ had done,
KEA showcased a formula made different by its reliance on riffs - not 
loosely-structured white noise - but clean , crisp power chords that 
emanated from the fretboards of Hetfield and Hammett like gunfire.  If the
record did have a fault, it was the lyrics, which muddled more or less in
the juvenile.  Particularly awe-inspiring lines included "No life 'til
leather, we're gonna kick some ass tonight" and "Bang your head against
the stage like you never did before."  Funny thing is, KEA was still the
most unpretentious metal album around for its time.  Musically, its chain-
saw aggression couldn't be matched, and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics still
sounded like Shakespeare compared to the other garbage making the rounds.
    The release of KEA (on Megaforce Records in America and Music for 
Nations in Europe) in the summer of 1983 was followed by another masterful
Jon Z. coup - mainly, the breakthrough 'Kill 'em All For One' tour, which
saw Zazula's two biggest acts, METALLICA and RAVEN, on the road together
for the first full-fledged indie-label tour of all time!  You see, by
now, Zazula was more than just a record-booth salesman - his label Megaforce,
was well on the road to expansion while "the Z" was becoming an underground
household word, and this tour only enhanced his mystique.  Beginning in
New Brunswick on July 27th and finishing off appropriately on the band's 
Friscan home turf, the event was indeed a historic "tour de force" that
allowed METALLICA nationwide exposure.  However, it wasn't an easy haul
by any means.  Once again risking life and limb in a couple of U-Hauls,
the band survived both the attacks of rabid urban Metallicrowds and the
less characteristic confrontations with shotgun-wielding Oklahoma mountain
men out to "teach them longhairs a little respect."  After safely making
the full-cycle trip back to San Francisco, the band ended the tour with
a blinder on September 3rd at the 'Stone that saw Lars madly riffing away
on an unplugged guitar and looking pretty silly as he and James crashed the
end of Raven's set.  


      At this point in time, let it be said that the Bay Area was thoroughly
Metallicrazy to the fullest extreme.  San Fran's HM underground now resembled
an overcrowded loony-bin, hosting such 'lifer' inmates as Ron Quintana, who'd
literally embodied the whole underground Northern Cal. metal scene for years
with his magazine _Metal Maniacs_ and his 'Rampage Radio' DJ spot, and Rich
'Banger' Burch ( who came up with the legendary 'Bang that head that doesn't
bang' phrase).  Because of this exceptional undercurrent of hometown supporters,
METALLICA were never beyond playing the odd 'unannounced' club gig just to 
satisfy the vintage freaks in the crowd.
     The rest of '83 saw METALLICA at home writing material and entertaining
the aforementioned Metallifreaks before starting the new year off with a bang
on a splurge of European dates beginning in Switzerland and coming to a halt
at the acclaimed Aardschok Festival in Holland.  Music for Nations , the
band's European label, had released a _Jump In the Fire_ EP to cash in on
the tour, and the band's momentum was growing tenfold.  Eventually they ended
up in Copenhagen to begin work on their second record, _Ride The Lightning_,
at Sweet Silence studios with whiz kid engineer Flemming Rasmussen.  This was
during a time when the ever-so-dreaded "sell-out" syndrome was rumored an
impending possibility in the METALLICA camp; word had it that the new record
wouldn't be as relentless and speed-reliant as KEA.  Thus, die-hard bangers
were up in arms.  I mean, there was even talk of a ballad showing up on the
new disk!! In the long run, however, _Ride The Lightning_ emerged as a brilliant
,matured follow-up of the first order.  Its scope of dynamics, from "Fight Fire
With Fire"'s apocalyptic hyper-speeds to "Fade to Black"'s more subdued power,
juggled themes both painfully personal and fiercely aggressive.  Even the 
hardest of the hardcore eventually came to admire the band's brave move from
speed-reliance to dynamics, and RTL went on to sell well over 250,000 copies
in its first few weeks of release.
    Around this time, METALLICA's relationship with its American label Mega-
force was , well, a tad shaky.  Johnny Z., acting as their manager, label-
owner, and all-around coordinator, was rounding up a stable of other bands to
promote and putting his energy into a lot of non-METALLICA areas.  In the 
shuffle of it all, METALLICA were turning into what Zazula coined "Franken-
stein's monster."  They were simply too big for them.  Hence, at a New York 
showcase gig held shortly afterward at the Roseland Ballroom which highlighted
METALLICA and Raven, esteemed manager Cliff Burnstein (who'd recently turned Def
Leppard into the biggest band in the country) and Elektra A&R talent scout Mike
Alago simultaneously showed up to approach the band.  Ulrich had apparently 
been sniffing around record company offices, up to his usual infamous self-
promotional scheming in pursuit of major label and management deals, and
Burnstein and Alago were quick to take heed of his call.
    By the summer of '84, METALLICA had shed their indie-label skin to emerge
as a major-label entity under the wing of Elektra records and Q-Prime management
(Cliff Burnstein's and Peter Mensch's organization), leaving behind them a 
trail of red tape and an ex-manager minus a band, but plus a settlement.
   _Ride The Lightning_ was then re-released on Elektra, and the band went
overseas again to tour Europe.  The major-label transition had really started
to smooth out the bumps for METALLICA.  Meanwhile, their European label,
Music For Nations,_CREEPING DEATH_ out as an EP with some cool 'garage
day' relics on the B-side(two vintage UK Metallifaves: DIAMOND HEAD's  "Am I
Evil?" and BLITZKRIEG's "Blitzkrieg").  By the time they began the American
leg of the tour in early '85 (taking turns headlining with Armored Saint),
they appeared much more relaxed than appearances past, but no less lethal.
Playing to a throng of previous non-believers back on their old LA turf at
the Hollywood Palladium must have been especially gratifying in the light of
their previous rejection during their "dark years."




Newsgroups: alt.rock-n-roll.metal.metallica