Formed during 1981, in California,
USA by Lars Ulrich
(b. 26 December 1963, Copenhagen, Denmark; drums)
and James Alan Hetfield (b. 3 August 1963, USA; guitar/vocals)
after each separately advertised for fellow musicians in the classified
advertisements of the American publication The Recycler.
They recorded their first demo with
Lloyd Grand (guitar) who was replaced
in January 1982 by David Mustaine, a guitarist whose relationship with
Ulrich and Hetfield proved unsatisfactory.
Jeff Warner (guitar) and Ron McGovney
(bass) each had a brief
involvement with the group, and at the end of 1982, Clifford
Lee Burton (b. 10 February 1962, USA; bass), formerly of Trauma,
joined the band, playing his first live performance on 5 March 1983.
Mustaine departed to form Megadeth and was replaced by Kirk Hammett
(b. 18 November 1962; guitar). Hammett, who came to the attention of
Ulrich and Hetfield while playing with the rock band Exodus, played his
first concert with Metallica on 16 April 1983.
The Ulrich, Hetfield, Burton and Hammett
combination lasted until
disaster struck the band in the small hours of 27 September 1987,
when Metallica's tour bus overturned in Sweden, killing Cliff Burton.
After deciding that to stop playing would be an insult to their bassist's
memory, the remaining three members chose to recruit Jason Newsted
(b. 4 March 1963; bass) of Flotsam And Jetsam. Newsted never imitated
Burton, but complemented the band with his own musical style, as he
demonstrated, as he demonstrated at his first concert with the band on
8 November 1986, The original partnership of Ulrich and Hetfield is
resposible for Metallica's lyrics and musical direction.
Having worked with the likes of Johnny
Zazula and most recently,
producer Bob Rock, they have retained all the aggression and exuberance
of their debut, Kill'Em All, the album sleeve of wich bore the legend
'Bang that head that doesn't bang', while maturing musically, as subsequent
albums demonstrated. Their music has grown from iconoclastic chaos to
thoughtful harmony, and is hallmarked by sudden and unexpected changes
of mood and tempo. Classed by some as being a 'thrash metal' band,
Metallica are more than that, and Ulrich's early preoccupations with British
heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath and Motorhead,
offer a better clue as to the nature of their music.
Indeed, the band gained much experience
by touring with Ozzy
Osbourne, Twisted Sister and Motorhead. Metallica thus draw,
on many musical sources, and have created their own unique style.
They shun fashion and dare to put out music which ranges from fast
songs to gentle ballads.
This band who have musically 'open
mind' played their third Donington
Monsters of Rock festival in 1991, and the rapturous acclaim they
received there is a fitting tribute to their experimental originality and
daring.