1981 Lars Ulrich meets up with
James "The Angriest Kid in the World." Hetfield. The pair form a band and
call it Metallica. The other members include bass player, Ron McGovney,
and lead guitarist, Dave Mustaine.
1983
After thoroughly getting sick of the wussy LA music scene, Metallica relocates
to San Francisco so it can hook up with a new band member, bass genius
Cliff Burton. The band then moves to New York, boots Mustaine and finds
a new guitarist in Kirk Hammett. They record their first LP entitled
Kill 'Em All.
1984
Metallica's much-awaited second album, Ride the Lightning, is released.
The album begins with acoustic guitar, which quickly becomes a cliche for
metal bands. With no help from commercial radio, Ride the Lightening goes
gold and spends 50 weeks on Billboard's Top 200.
1986
Metallica's
third release, Master of Puppets, redefines metal yet again. Master of
Puppets sells a million copies in the U.S. alone, without the help of MTV.
Unfortunately, while touring Europe, Metallica's
tour bus skids off a road in Sweden. Cliff Burton is killed. The busdriver
blames black ice for the accident. Despite the anger and grief shared by
the remaining members of the band, there is no doubt that Metallica will
carry on. "Cliff would have been the first one to be pissed off if we didn't,"
says Lars. A new bassist is found in Jason Newsted and the hazing begins.
1987
Back in San Francisco, the band converts Lars' garage into a rehearsal
room, records a handful of favorite cover songs, and releases them on the
$9.98 CD: Garage Days Revisited (a.k.a., The $5.98 EP). In the summer,
Metallica plays the Donington Festival, warming up with a gig at London's
100 Club. In the row is one John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin's bass player,
who after the gig is seen shaking his head and muttering, "I didn't know
that sort of thing was possible...."
1988
Metallica's fourth LP, ...And Justice for All, is released in September.
Sales skyrocket.. Metallica embarks on a world tour, including 120 arena
gigs in the U.S. alone. All this without help from MTV or commercial radio,
which is quite amazing. Metallica, testing uncharted waters, releases two
singles--"Harvester of Sorrow" and "One"--as well as two different videos
for "One."
1991
Metallica, the heralded fifth album that comes to be known as "The Black
Album," is released. The album was produced by the legendary Bob Rock who
is known for his work with Bon Jovi. The "Rock" community thinks that this
is the most important thing to happen to Metallica. Too bad it isn't.
1996
The band announces their headlining status on this year's Lollapalooza
festival tour. Load, the band's new album is released. Now, more than ever,
people are labeling them as sell-outs. Metallica responds by saying, in
effect, "We do what we want."
1997
The much anticipated sequel to Load is released, appropriately titled ReLoad.
It shares much of the same feel of Load, as it has the same producer and
the material was written at the same time. A free concert is given in Philadelphia
to promote the album.
1998
Garage, Inc. is released. This 2-cd compilation consists of a cd
that has previously recorded cover tunes-from Garage Days Revisited as
well as other sources, and a cd with newly recorded cover tunes.
No one does it quite like Metallica.
