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Metallica

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Metallica was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by singer and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The band soon moved to San Francisco. Metallica is regarded as one of the 'Big Four' of thrash metal, together with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. As a teenager, Ulrich was a fan of the British New Wave of British Heavy Metal. At their first concert in 1982 the band played four songs by Diamond Head, and Am I Evil? by that group remained in their repertoire for years.

Music and breakthrough

After Kill 'Em All (1983) and Ride the Lightning (1984) came Master of Puppets (1986), recorded in Copenhagen with the producer Flemming Rasmussen. The title track lasts well over eight and a half minutes, has changes of time signature and a quiet, cleanly played middle section with a melodic solo. In September 1986 the bassist Cliff Burton was killed when the tour bus crashed in Sweden. Metallica reached the general public with the album Metallica (1991), the 'Black Album', produced by Bob Rock. In America that album went sixteen times platinum. Enter Sandman, with a riff by the guitarist Kirk Hammett, became the first single.

Influence

Metallica brought metal from small clubs to stadiums and the charts. Master of Puppets was the first metal record to be added by the American Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry. In 2000 the band sued the music service Napster for copyright infringement, a case that ended in a settlement. In 2022 the song Master of Puppets became popular again when it featured in the series Stranger Things. In 2009 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Listening

Listening tip. In Master of Puppets (1986) the guitars race along at a rapid tempo using only downstrokes (downpicking), until halfway through the band switches to a calm, cleanly played passage. Notice how the beat seems to slip slightly out of step each time before the riff returns.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Mentioned in other articles

See also

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (en): Metallica
  2. blabbermouth.net
  3. blabbermouth.net
  4. Wikipedia (en): Master of Puppets
  5. Wikipedia (en): Enter Sandman
  6. Wikipedia (en): Stranger Things season 4
Categories: ArtistsNWOBHM and thrash metal