Metallica

Metallica, formerly known on YouTube as MetallicaTV, is a classic thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 1981, with its original lineup, only two original members remaining in the band being James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, who were also the two founders of the band, as well.
==Overview==
MetallicaTV was created on January 29, 2007 to promote the then-upcoming album Death Magnetic. Since its creation, the channel uploads on a sporadic basis, most of the time providing clips/full footage of live concerts, but sometimes they upload material from an upcoming album as promotion, most recently Hardwired...To Self-Destruct. When COVID-19 temporarily shut down the concert business, Metallica began uploading archived concert footage and rerecorded, acoustic versions of songs, notably the infamous Blackened 2020 which has seen mixed reviews from fans.
=== Band Members ===
* James Hetfield - Lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1981-present)
* Lars Ulrich - Drums (1981-present)
* Kirk Hammett - Lead guitar, backing vocals (1983-present)
* Robert Trujillo - Bass guitar (2003-present)
==== Former Band Members ====
* Ron McGovney - Bass guitar (1981-1982)
* Dave Mustaine - Lead guitar (1981-1983)
* Cliff Burton - Bass guitar (1982-1986; his death)
* Jason Newstad - Bass guitar (1986-2001)
==History==
===Formation===
In 1981, drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement on a local Los Angeles newspaper, looking for some bandmates to jam with. James Hetfield was the first one to answer. Five months after the two first met, they had officially formed a band called Metallica. Meanwhile, the duo recruited Dave Mustaine after viewing his equipment and experience as a lead guitarist, and hired him on the spot. In early 1982, Metallica recorded a song titled "Hit the Lights" for the Metal Massacre compilation that Metal Blade Records has released. The band's first live performance took place at Radio City in Anaheim, California on March 14, 1982. Around the same time, the band met bassist Ron McGovney and hired him on the spot.
Metallica recorded their first demo titled Power Metal that contained four tracks. Months later, Hetfield and Ulrich attended a concert at West Hollywood's nightclub, Whisky a Go Go. During the concert, they first saw Cliff Burton as the bassist for a band called Trauma. Hetfield and Ulrich asked Burton if he could join Metallica because they felt inspired by his equipment and effects, as well as his spectacular bass-playing style. Metallica asked McGovney to step down because they did not feel inspired by his recent contributions.
As time forged on, problems with the band began to arise mostly due to Mustaine abusing drugs and alcohol. One day, Mustaine brought his dog to a rehearsal session. The dog unknowingly jumped onto McGovney's car, scratching the paint. Hetfield allegedly yelled at Mustaine's dog and kicked it out of frustration. Mustaine responded by becoming verbally and physically abusive towards the other band members. Mustaine was fired following the altercation, but the next day, Mustaine appealed, and was allowed back in the band. A few days later, a drunken Mustaine slathered some beer onto McGovney's bass and equipment. McGovney received an electric shock while plugging his bass into the amplifier and left the band shortly thereafter. Burton, who was first sighted a Whisky a Go Go weeks before, joined the band as the next bassist.
Shortly after McGovney's resignation, the remaining Metallica members traveled to New York City. Upon arrival, Hetfield and Ulrich decided to vote Mustaine out of the band, mainly due to his role in the incident where McGovney left the band and personal clashes with the other band members. Mustaine was taken back to Los Angeles on a Greyhound bus and would go on to form a rival band, Megadeth. Not too long after Mustaine's firing, Kirk Hammett, who played for Exodus, took over as the next lead guitarist.
===Kill 'Em All===
After signing with Megaforce Records, Metallica traveled to Rochester, New York in an effort to record their first studio album, which took place at Music America Studios. Unable to afford any rooms at a hotel, the band had to stay over at other peoples' residences within the Rochester area. The album's title was originally intended to be Metal Up Your Ass, but distributors deemed that the title was too explicit to display to the public. Burton decided to come up with the title Kill 'Em All, in which the other band members reluctantly accepted to title the album. Kill 'Em All was released on July 25, 1983. The album included ten tracks. "Whiplash" along with "Seek and Destroy" were successful singles. The album was produced by Paul Curcio. To promote the album's release, the band went on a national tour for the first time.
===Ride the Lightning===
In February 1984, Metallica traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, the country where Ulrich was born, to record their next album at Sweet Silence Studios. The band underwent rigorous rehearsals in a practice room, where fellow metal band Mercyful Fate also rehearsed. Recording sessions took place separately for each band member. The drums were recorded in a rear warehouse in the studio, which was not soundproof, leading to reverberation. It was also revealed that some of the band's equipment was stolen three weeks prior to the recording, which mostly foreshadowed sound problems. The band members again could not afford any rooms at a hotel and slept inside the studio for most of the time. In addition, Metallica sought on signing with Bronze Records, but the deal was turned down due to the label's executive Gerry Bron felt unimpressed by the work Sweet Silence Studios was doing and recommended that Metallica should shift their development to another studio in the United States.
Metallica had to act swiftly to develop material for this album as they only had 29 days before their European tour was on schedule. Recording was completed by March 14, and the second studio album, Ride the Lightning, was released on July 27, 1984. The album included eight tracks. "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Fade to Black", and "Creeping Death" all became successful singles. Shortly after the album's release, Metallica went on their European tour, but tickets received poor sales. The audience in attendance for each concert rounded to an average of 1,300 individuals. Their last concert in their European tour was at the Monsters of Rock, which spelled an audience of 70,000 individuals. Upon returning to the United States, Metallica played at the Day on the Green festival in Oakland, California with an audience of 60,000 in attendance.
===Master of Puppets===
By September 1985, Metallica shifted their record label to Elektra Records. They returned to Sweet Silence Studios in Denmark to record a new album. The band felt dissatisfied with the acoustics in the studios the United States had on hand, so they decided to record new material at Sweet Silence instead. Development took longer than the previous release due to the band's higher ambitions on the metal sound. The band members were required to stay sober during the entire recording session to avoid delays. The third studio album titled Master of Puppets was released on March 3, 1986. The album included eight tracks. The title track was the most successful. About eight months into the album's release, it was certified gold, and then six times platinum seventeen years later.
After the release of the album, Metallica went on another tour. During the tour, Hetfield suffered a broken wrist while skateboarding and could not play the guitar for a brief period of time. He was still able to do the vocals, while technician John Marshall did the rhythm guitar duties until Hetfield recovered. 
On the evening of September 26, 1986, the band members were playing cards while on a tour bus to determine which bunks they would sleep in. By next morning, on September 27, 1986, just before 7:00 A.M., the bus hit a sheet of black ice and sheared off the road, flipping multiple times on the grass in the wilderness of Dörarp, Sweden. Burton was thrown through a window of the bus, and the bus fell on top of him, killing him. Hetfield, Ulrich, and Hammett were unharmed. Hetfield suspected that the bus driver was drunk when the vehicle touched the black ice, and Hetfield walked down the road to search for the black ice, only to find no evidence. During the incident, the outdoor temperature was 36 degrees Fahrenheit. No charges were brought against the diver.
Shortly after Burton's death, Metallica cancelled the remainder of their tour, and their future was uncertain. The band auditioned 40 bass players and settled in on Jason Newsted, formerly of Flotsam and Jetsam. Newsted quickly developed with Metallica and the band departed from its rehearsing space in El Cerrito, California. Metallica went on a new tour exclusively in the United States only weeks after hiring Newsted. However, Hetfield again injured his wrist while skateboarding, causing the band to miss a performance on Saturday Night Live.
On August 21, 1987, Metallica released an EP titled The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited. The EP included five tracks, which were all covers of songs by previous artists. The EP was recorded at A&M Studios in Santa Monica, California and Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. The purpose of recording this EP was to test Newsted's talents and relief the grief of Burton's death.
===...And Justice for All===
In early 1988, Metallica went to One on One Studios in Los Angeles to begin development for their next album. It would turn out to be the band's first studio album with Newsted as bassist. The band's fourth studio album, ...And Justice for All was released on September 7, 1988. The album included nine tracks. "One" became a smash hit single, despite being over seven minutes long. The album became certified platinum only nine weeks after its release date.
To promote the album, Metallica went on another tour. In 1989, Metallica was nominated for its first Grammy Award with its latest album. Metallica was a favorite to win it, but fell in second place just behind Jethro Tull, who had its album Crest of a Knave in first place. It turned out to be a controversial scene as fans and the press expressed outrage as they felt that Metallica was far more suitable for the award rather than an underdog winning it instead.
===Self-titled album===
In October 1990, Metallica returned to One on One Studios in Los Angeles to begin development for their next album. Bob Rock, who had worked with Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, and Mötley Crüe, was hired to help produce the album. Because Rock seemingly lacked experience with the popularity of the newer generation of heavy metal, this often led to mounting tension with the band. Metallica's self-titled album was released on August 12, 1991. Cost for the production and recording of the album rounded to an estimated $1 million. In addition, Ulrich, Hammett, and Newsted divorced their spouses after it proved that the production was somewhat troubling. Rock felt that it was stressful to work together with the band and parted ways days after the album's release. The album contained twelve tracks. "Enter Sandman" became a super-smash hit single, and has become one of Metallica's most successful tracks as of up to date. The latter track would even be used for events, dances, and on the radio as a staple track. "Enter Sandman" would also become the entrance theme for now-retired New York Yankees relief pitcher, Mariano Rivera. Four other singles from the album included "Nothing Else Matters", "Sad but True", "The Unforgiven", and "Wherever I May Roam". The album sold 650,000 copies in the United States during its first week and was certified sixteen times platinum, becoming the 25th best selling album of all time.
A tour to promote the album lasted fourteen months, which featured a majority of North America, Europe, and even Japan. One of the most notable performances came in September 1991, which took place at Moscow, Russia, a similar site where Pantera performed earlier. In April 1992, Metallica performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute, where they covered "Stone Cold Crazy". On August 8, 1992, Hetfield was caught in a pyrotechnics reaction and suffered serious burns. Metallica returned to the stage seventeen days later, but Hetfield still needed more time to recover as he could not play guitar at the time, with John Marshall again taking over the rhythm guitar duties. On November 23, 1993, Metallica released their first live album, Live S---: Binge & Purge. The live compilation contained three music CDs, three home videos, and a book filled with riders and letters.
=== Load, Reload, Garage Inc., Napster lawsuit, and Newstad's departure ===
Metallica's next album, Load, was released on June 4, 1996. This album was followed up by Reload on November 18, 1997. On November 24, 1998, Metallica released a compilation album of cover songs called Garage Inc. 
In 2000, Ulrich sued the steaming service Napster for copyright infringement, on behalf of Metallica. The case was settled out of court, and ultimately led to Napster's demise. 
Jason Newstad left the band in 2001 due to personal reasons. He was replaced by Robert Trujillo, the former bassist of Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne's band, two years later. 
=== St. Anger ===
On June 19, 2001, Hetfield entered rehab to treat his alcoholism. Tours were put on hold and the band's future was in doubt. Hetfield left rehab on December 4, 2001. On April 12, 2002, the band retured to the studio to start recording their next album, St. Anger.
St. Anger was released on June 5, 2003. The album was met with mixed reviews, with the main criticisms coming from Ulrich's steely-sounding snare and the absence of guitar solos. 
=== Death Magnetic ===
In February 2006, Metallica announced the departure of their long-time producer, Bob Rock. Instead, they decided to work with Rick Rubin to produce their next album. At the same time, a petition signed by 1,500 fans was posted online. The overall goal of this petition was a lifetime ban against Rock from producing Metallica records, saying he had too much influence on the band's sound. Rock responded by saying that "sometimes, even with a great coach, a team keeps losing. You have to get new blood in there."
Death Magnetic was released in 2008. 
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