Metallica...Seek OR Destroy?

I started my teenage journey listening to Heavy Metal and Classic Rock (from my parents side) and realized that although Heavy Metal was what all the cool kid's were listening too, I found that I liked it but more on the "ballad" tone. This is where Metallica and it's legacy came in for me.

The band Metallica was formed on October 15 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newstead were the remaining members of the band. Little did they know back then that they were about to form a true legacy.

It would later be known that officially in 1982 that Metallica really would take off and by the end of that year they would have played their first headlining gig, changed their bass player, recorded four demo tapes and had their first appearance on an official record (Metal Massacre).So it began, it was 1977 when Jason Newstead formed his first band "Diamond". In September of 1977, James Hetfield started his first year at Downey high school and became friends with a guy named Ron Mcgovney who would later become the bass player in Metallica.

James formed a band called "Phantom Lord" I believe sometime in 1980, that was not mentioned tremendously anywhere I have been aware of. The same year James first got together with Lars Ulrich after after responding to an ad in the local newspaper, now known as the Recycler. Lars was the one who had placed the ad to find fellow band-mates. The success was failing at this point according to James anyway, because he felt like he was not as skilled as Lars.

Later, Lars persuaded friend Brian Slagel to find a band he could use on a slot for a heavy metal compilation LP that he was producing. Lars approached James with the idea of forming a band but this time with the offer of getting a song onto a record which would become the "Metal Massacre LP". The rest just fell into place as "Metallica" was born.

The first demo that Metallica produced was recorded in January of 1982 it was a one track demo of one of their hit solo's, "The Lights". In March the band recorded their second demo it was a three track demo one original song, two cover songs and the the demo, "The Lights". The band recorded this demo so that they could get the opening slot with "Saxon" at the Whiskey in Hollywood.

In April Metallica recorded their third demo tape untitled but later to be called "The Power Metal Demos" this demo tape was four original songs and, you guessed it..."The Lights" again.

Metallica's only appearance as a five member band, officially happened on April 23, 1982. With great things following, it just seemed as everything was coming together perfectly. An LP called, " Metal Massacre" was born and released, they were playing out constantly in local venues and the only thing leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth were the incorrect spellings of the band name and member name's.

The first mistake was their band name, which was incorrectly spelled as "Mettallica" and Lloyd grants name was misspelled as Loydd Grant. Brian Slagel did not have the money to reprint the sleeves and they had to stay as the were. If they had only realized that they were going to become maga stars anyway, they probably would have laughed the whole thing off.

Metallica played their first San Francisco gig at the "Keystone" in September and on November 11, the band played the "Woodstock" festival in Los Angeles hanging with Y&T. It was on November 29 that Metallica played their first headlining gig in San Francisco, CA with a hard driving band called "Exodus" that was opening for them.

1983 was the year that Metallica really made an impact on the heavy metal world. They moved to San Francisco and played their first show ever at "The Stone" including the opening band "Exodus".

It was during their move from Los Angeles to San Francisco that the band became concerned with Dave Mustaine's (the guitarist) and his new found lifestyle. The band was anything but Christian genre and the band criticized Dave for his religious discovery during that time.

It was later decided by the other band members that they were going to have to replace Dave with a new guitarist due to his conflicting lifestyle, so as soon as they got to San Francisco they hit up Kirk Hammett to fill in on guitar until an official decision could be set with Dave Mustaine.

Dave Mustaine played his last gig with Metallica in April and soon was officially told that he was out of the band, but was kind enough to pay his way back home, how sweet of them, right? Welcome to the world of Rock N' Roll!

Let's jump right into time now. The sad song of Dave Mustaine would later prove well for Dave, as he became a part of a whole new legacy of his own, "Megadeth" and Metallica went on their musical way as well, when they released "The Black Album" however divided among once Metallica fans.

The Black Album was a controversial album amongst fans of the band. While the album and the band were praised for it's sound and success, some fans definately showed their angry fangs of disappointment and even outrage at where Metallica had ventured. Gone for the most part were the hard driving, faster riffs during verses and infamous deep vocals found on the band's first four albums. The overall speed and sound of the music were greatly reduced.

The Black Album presented a more radio-friendly style for the band, a kinder, gentler Metallica, like what was heard on the ballad "Nothing Else Matters", my personal favorite along with "Enter Sandman". However, fans were still divided and the band still criticized for ultimately jeopardizing the bands' metal sound and fame.

Some even say this is when Metallica finally "Sold Out" and not in a respected way. Fans believed that Metallica let the airwaves determine the band, disregarding what fans craved. Now I personally enjoyed the softer side of Metallica, but for most, they were now just thought of as a "Hard Rock Band".