Metallica Synopsis

“Blues is the sound of hardships.” – Chuck Berry

But the blues genre, in conjunction with rock, was itself facing a dead-end fate in 1960s and 1970s.

“Music is not just about playing the right notes at the right time in the right sequence… Its about
playing the random notes with a touch of originality, with the touch of you!” – Ishaan Lal

It was this originality which led to the revolution in the music industry and served as one of the
biggest reasons for its prosperity.

Amidst the disillusionment in the musical world towards the closing decades of the 20 th century lay
the birth of Heave Metal in Britain. During this time people needed a kind of music to count on. An
answer to the sorrows of the people was Black Sabbath. The band proved musically revolutionary as
it deviated from the blues and sweet rock norms in order to absorb people’s negativity and formulate
a music never heard of. Religious and political authorities as well as the sweet music people and the
conservative culture of the land was behind the newly established band. However, the only lot
constantly supporting and craving for the new music were the loyal fans. In the subsequent years, we
have the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). During this time many local bands having
extreme musical intelligence and potential flourished. Some them were Saxon, Iron Maiden, Judas
Priest and Motorhead. As Black Sabbath proved revolutionary for the music industry, these bands
added a new dimension to the conception of Metal, be it attire, energy, composition, harmonies,
operatic vocals and rhythm among much more.

In the 1970s, this music reached the most lucrative market for such music, i.e., America. Although
this music was present in the USA from before, but it was only in the form of tours of European
bands, it was only in the 70s that Heavy Metal was being created in America. Having situation the
same as of Europe, the disco culture and America was dying and the death of one thing proved to be
the breeding ground for other and it was in 1981 that Metal became an industry in America with the
release of Metal Massacre, an album by Metal Blade Records featuring many such local bands.

Having influenced by NWOBHM, bands existing prior to the phenomena and the American world of
metal, Metallica encountered its inception on 28 October 1981. The early line-ups of the band saw
various changes – Lloyd Grant to Dave Mustaine to Kirk Hammett on lead guitar and James Hetfield
to Ron McGovney to Cliff Burton on bass guitar. The band came into being due to the initiative of
drummer Lars Ulrich – having appealed in the LA newspaper, The Recycler, to jam with musicians –
and Hetfield responding to the same.

In 1983, the band got their big break by the release of their first album, Kill Em All, with the line-up
Lars Ulrich (drums), James Hetfield (vocals and rhythm guitar), Kirk Hammett (lead guitar) and Cliff
Burton (bass guitar). The band produced constant hits from 1983 to 1986 (Kill Em All to Master of
Puppets) with Burton on bass. Sadly, the bassist died a tragic death and the band’s future was in
doubt till Jason Newsted in 1988 was selected to handled the bass after Burton. With Newsted on
the bass, the band produced constant hits from 1989 to 2000 (…And Justice For All to I Disappear)
with every album hitting number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Then in 2001, Newsted too left the
band leaving the band doubtful of the future and during this the band released its 9 th album named
St. Anger.

Soon in 2003, Robert Trujillo joined the band as the bassist. From here the journey again continued
and constant hits were served to the industry. With him the band recorded St. Anger, Death
Magnetic, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct and 72 Seasons from 2003 to 2023.
Additionally, the band in 2013 became the first band to perform on all 7 continents of the world, that
too in the same calendar year. Prior to this, in 2012, the band had its own music festival (Orion Music
+ More) and launched its own label (Blackened Recordings). Then in 2017, the band launched All
Within My Hands Foundation to tackle food insecurity, to give people work opportunities and the
needy scholarships to study. Also, the band is more inclined to preserve the local environments of
various places, as is evident by their action during Freeze Em All concert in Antarctica.

Lastly, the themes of the songs and lyrics varied from personally and socially conscious elements,
military and religious hypocrisy, personal past, insanity, drugs and monsters. Further, Metallica
influenced various future bands like Slipknot, Bullet To My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold (also called
A7X) and the like. Moreover, the band has won 9 Grammy awards out of 23 nominations and
released 11 studio albums and 4 live albums (including 2 S&M albums).

In a nutshell, Metallica evolved from bedroom jam sessions to a band rocking and shaking the world
by its music and good deeds.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Metallica.com
2. Loudwire.com
3. JUSTICE FOR ALL: THE TRUTH ABOUT METALLICA – Joel McIver
4. SO LET IT BE WRITTEN: THE BIOGRAPHY OF METALLICA’S JAMES HETFIELD – Mark Eglinton
5. METALLICA UNBOUND: THE UNOFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY – K.J. Doughton
6. METALLICA: THE $24.96 BOOK – Ben Apatoff
7. INTO THE BLACK: THE INSIDE STORY OF METALLICA 1991-2014 – Paul Brannigan and Ian
Winwood
8. THE ULTIMATE METALLICA – Ross Halfin
9. ENTER NIGHT: A BIOGRAPHY OF METALLICA – Mick Wall
10. METALLICA: THE CLUB DAYS 1982-1984 – Bill Hale
11. BIRTH SCHOOL METALLICA DEATH - Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood
12. METALLICA AND PHILOSOPHY – William Irwin (ed)
13. THE ENCYCLOPEADIA METALLICA – Malcolm Dome and Jerry Ewing
14. WHY YOU LOVE MUSIC: FROM MOZART TO METALLICA – THE EMOTIONAL POWER OF
BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS – John Powell
15. DAMAGE INCORPORATED: METALLICA AND THE PRODUCTION OF MUSICAL IDENTITY – Glenn
T. Pillsbury
16. SOUND OF THE BEAST: THE COMPLETE HEADBANGING HISTORY OF HEAVY METAL – Ian
Christe