As any normal music fan, we sometimes aren’t satisfied with simply the songs when it comes to our favorite bands. Some of us want to know their back story, some of us want to know who they’re dating, and some of us even want to know their favorite food! While some fans are simply casual and other are downright fanatical, musicians are a different breed of fans, more like brothers in arms actually. Rather than wanting to know things that have little to do with music and more to do with the trivial personal matters in the artist’s life, musicians want the gear info! And why not? It’s a chance to look at the tools in their repertoire, compare it with themselves, or even just gain a deeper sense of what makes the band work. This week, in honor of their Black Album turning the ripe old age of 21, we will delving into the rise of metal’s most revered band of the last 30 years as well as the gear that got them there. Known for pretty much creating the genre known as thrash metal, Metallica has become one of the biggest bands in the world, let alone metal, so for those of you looking to get to know the band a little better as well as the tools of their trade, read on!
The Beginnings of Metallica
It all started way back in Los Angeles, California in the late part of 1981 when an unknown drummer by the name of Lars Ulrich placed an ad in The Recycler, a local LA newspaper, which read “Drummer looking for other metal musicians to jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden.” Hugh Tanner of the band Leather Charm answered the ad, along with unknown guitarist James Hetfield. Even before Lars had formally made the band that would be Metallica, or any band for that matter, he asked Metal Blade Records owner Brian Segal if he would let him contribute a track on the label’s upcoming Metal Massacre compilation album, which Segal accepted. It was after this moment that Ulrich brought in Hetfield as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist and Metallica was officially born, five months after the two first met on October of ’81. Ulrich, a Danish immigrant, introduced Hetfield to a new brand of heavy metal from Britain which was a much faster, punkier and far removed from the commercial glam rock of the US that had seemed to take over the metal genre at the time. It was this sound that governed much of Metallica’s influence in their creation of their “thrash-metal” sound.
Although the group had already been recruited to contribute a track for Metal Blade Records, they still were in need of a lead guitarist and bass player, so Ulrich put another ad in The Recycler. Dave Mustaine, the same one who would later front Megadeth, answered the call and was soon recruited – although this was mainly due to Mustaine having very expensive equipment compared to what the other two were using. In early 1982, Metallica recorded for the Metal Massacre compilation as promised, contributing their first original song, “Hit the Lights.” Since the band had yet to acquire a formal bassist, Hetfield played bass on the recording with Lloyd Grand being brought in strictly for the guitar solo. Their involvement on the compilation got the band a good amount of buzz in the metal scene and after recruiting bassist Ron McGovney, Metallica played their first live show on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California. Later that year, Metallica recorded their first demo, Power Metal, as well as thier second, No Life ‘till Leather, that same year.
In the fall of 1982, Ulrich and Hetfield went to the Whiskey a Go Go in West Hollywood to see the band Trauma perform where they were decidedly impressed by their bassist Cliff Burton, specifically his original use of the wah wah effect. At the time, both Hetfield and Ulrich were unhappy with current bassist Ron McGovney as they felt he did little to contribute to the band beyond simply following directions, so they approached Burton and asked if he would like to join Metallica as their bassist. At first, Burton declined the offer but by late in 1982, he agreed on the condition that the band move north to El Cerrito near the San Francisco Bay area, to which the band agreed. Soon after, with Burton on helm as bassist, they recorded the demo Megaforce and felt that the band was finally ready to record their first proper studio album, the only problem was that Metal Blade Records was unable to cover the costs of the album. After listening to the band’s No Life ‘till Leather demo, concert promoter Johnny Zazula tried to get the band a recording deal through his connections with various New York City record labels. When no labels responded with interest, Zazula borrowed the extra money needed and decided to record the group via his own label, Megaforce Records.
Mustaine gets Fired, First Albums and Rise to Fame
In May of 1983, Metallica was finally in the position to record theirn first album and left to Rochester, New York for the sessions with the working title Metal Up Your Ass. It was around this time that the band grew frustrated with guitarist Dave Mustaine’s alcohol abuse as well as his increasingly violent behavior and decided to kick him out. Throughout his tenure with the band, Mustaine was famous for his random acts of violence and verbal abuse of his bandmates, such as an incident in which he poured a full can of beer on then-bassist Ron McGovney’s bass, which then flowed to the pickups, causing McGovney to experience an intense electrical shock. On April 11, 1983, right before the recording session but while they were already in Rochester, Metallica formally fired Dave Mustaine and called on Exodus lead guitarist Kirk Hammett to replace him, which he did and in-fact flew over to New York that very day.
By the time the album was finished, a new problem had arisen; their record label and distributors did not feel comfortable releasing the album with the current name which forced Metallica to rename their debut album Kill ‘Em All. Although the album was not initially a commercial success – it took the album four years to reach its peak position of 120 on the Billboard 200, mainly on the popularity of subsequent Metallica releases – it did much to solidify the band’s growing reputation in the underground metal scene.
Their next album, Ride the Lightning, was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark and released in August of 1984, reaching number 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. Mustaine was given writing credits for two songs on the album, the titular “Ride the Lightning” and the instrumental track “The Call of Ktulu.” In September of 1984, Elektra Records A&R director Michael Alago and Q-Prime Management co-founder Cliff Burnstein saw the band in concert and were impressed enough to sign them to Elektra Records as well as making Metallica a client of Q-Prime Management. By the time they were ready to record their third album, Master of Puppets, Metallica was already playing shows with thousands in attendance, such as the ‘85 Monsters of Rock Festival in England where they played for over 70,000 concert goers. Master of Puppets was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios and was released in March 1986, reaching number 29 on the Billboard 200 and spent 72 weeks on the chart. This would become the band’s first album to be successful from the get go, being certified gold that same year in November and six times platinum by 2003. The band had definitely made it to the big time.
Metallica’s next studio release, 1988’s …And Justice For All, would become the groups most successful album upon its release, reaching number 6 on the Billboard 200 and certified platinum a mere nine weeks after its release. In 1989, Metallica received their first Grammy nomination for the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instruments category and were seen as the favorite to win. When the award was given to Jethro Tull for the album Crest of a Knave many felt as though Metallica had been snubbed. Metallica’s win was so expected that not only did the band remain onstage for the announcement of the winner after performing “One,” Jethro Tull’s manager had even told him not to attend the ceremony since he was also expecting Metallica to win. Entertainment Weekly included that particular incident on their “Grammy’s 10 Biggest Upsets” list.
The Release of The Black Album and Subsequent Success
Metallica album cover
In 1991, Metallica released what would become what many consider as the group’s crowning achievement, their self-titled album, Metallica, which would popularly be referred as The Black Album due to its overtly black album cover design. The album entered the charts at number one in ten countries, selling 650,000 records in the US the first week and was pretty much responsible for bringing the band into the mainstream. The album has since been certified platinum 15 times (making it the 25th bestselling album of all time in the US), cost over a million dollars to produce and ended three marriages.
Metallica would go on to release four more studio albums, finally winning a Grammy (multiple ones at that) and remain of one the biggest bands in the world today. Although they have experienced a number of setbacks, such as the death of bassist Cliff Burton and the fallout of his replacement Jason Newsted, ultimately being replaced by current bassist Robert Trujillo, they still endured and are one of the longest spanning bands ever. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 and are still Performing and recording to this day.
Metallica Discography:
Kill ‘Em All (1983)
Ride the Lightning (1984)
Master of Puppets (1986)
…And Justice for All (1988)
Metallica (1991)
Load (1996)
ReLoad (1997)
St. Anger (2003)
Death Magnetic (2008)
The Gear Behind Metallica
James Hetfield – Rhythm Guitar
Guitars/Instruments:
ESP Horizon Double Neck
ESP James Hetfield Iron Cross Signature Series Electric Guitar
ESP James Hetfield LTD Truckster Electric Guitar
ESP JH-1 Flying V
ESP LTD EX-400 Electric Guitar
ESP LTD F-300M
Fender Stratocaster
Fender Telecaster
Gibson Explorer ’76
Gibson Firebird
Gibson Flying V
Gibson Les Paul ’59
Gibson Les Paul Custom ’73
Gibson Moderne
Jackson King V
James Trussart Metal Explorer
James Trussart Steel DeVille
Ken Lawrence Dragon Les Paul
Ken Lawrence Explorer
Line 6 Variax Acoustic
Zemaitis GZ Series GZV500MF-MBK
Amplifiers:
Diezel VH4 Heads
Krank Krankenstein
Krank Revolution head
Marshall 1960A
Marshall JCM2000 Dual Super Lead
Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+
Mesa Boogie standard cabs
Mesa Boogie Stiletto Deuces
Mesa Boogie Triaxis
Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier
Roland JC-120
Sears Magnatone
Vox AC30
Wizard Modern 4×12 cabinet
Wizard Modern Classic Amp heads
Effects:
ATI Nanoamp SUM 100
Behringer Multigate Pro
Boss CH1 Chorus pedal
Boss NS2
DBX 1074 Quad Gate
Digitech Whammy WH1 pedal
DMC GCX Audio Switcher
Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro Synth
Furman PL Pro Power Conditioner
Klon Centaur
Line 6 DM4 Distortion
Mesa Boogie High Gain AmpSwitcher
MXR M-107 Phase 100 Effects Pedal
Peterson Strobe 520 Tuner
Shure UR-4D Wireless Receiver
TC Electronic G-Major
Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus
Accessories:
Custom picks from Pick Factory
Dunlop .88mm Picks
EMG EMG-60 Humbucking Active Guitar Pickup Black
EMG EMG-81TW Active Coil Tap Humbucker Black
Ernie Ball 2221 Nickel Regular Slinky Electric Guitar Strings
Kirk Hammett – Lead Guitar
Guitars/instruments:
Dean Michael Schenker V
ESP KH-2 Kirk Hammett Ouija Electric Guitar
ESP KH-2 Kirk Hammett Signature Series Electric Guitar
ESP KH-3 Hardtail
ESP LTD KH-202 Kirk Hammett Signature Electric Guitar
ESP LTD KH-602 Kirk Hammett Signature Electric Guitar
ESP LTD KH-603 Kirk Hammett Signature Electric Guitar
ESP M-2
ESP V custom guitars
Fender Classic Series ’60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar
Fender Telecaster Blonde ‘59
Gibson ES-335
Gibson Flying V Electric Guitar Heritage Cherry
Gibson Les Paul ‘59
Gibson Les Paul ‘87
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Jackson RR1 Randy Rhoads Select Series Electric Guitar
Martin D-28
Parker Fly Mojo Electric Guitar Transparent Cherry
Amplifiers:
Hiwatt custom 50
Marshall 1959SLPX Vintage Series 100W Tube Head
Marshall 1960A
Marshall DSL 2000
Marshall DSL100MLB
Marshall JCM 800 2203
Marshall Mode Four
Mesa Boogie 4×12 w/ Celestion Vintage 30s
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
Mesa Boogie Tremoverb combo
Mesa Boogie Triaxis amp
Mesa Booogie Stilleto
Peavey 5150
Randall Kirk Hammett Signature Series KH15 Guitar Combo Amp
Randall Kirk Hammett Signature Series RM100KH 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head
Randall Kirk Hammett Signature Series RM100KHLTD 100W 4×12 Tube Guitar Half Stack
Randall Kirk Hammett Signature Series RS412KH100 400W 4×12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet
Vox AC30
Effects:
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor Pedal
DBX 1074 Quad Gate
DigiTech Whammy Pedal with MIDI Control
Digitech XP-300 Space Station
Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Crybaby Wah
Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
Furman PL Pro
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
Line6 DL4 Delay
Line6 DM4 Distortion
Line6 Duoverb
Line6 FM4 Filter
Line6 MM4 Modulation
Line6 POD XT Guitar Multi Effects Processor
Lovetone Brown source
Lovetone Meatball
Lovetone Wobulator
MXR EVH-117 Eddie Van Halen Flanger
Palmer Y-Box Guitar Splitter
Randall Kirk Hammett Signature Series KH1, KH2, KH3 preamp modules
Shure PSM600 WirelessTransmitter and UR-4D receiver
TC Electronic G-Major Effects
Voodoo Lab GCX Guitar Audio Switcher
Vox Wah pedal
Way Huge Swollen Pickle
Accessories:
Audio Technica microphones: AT4050 for guitars, AT4054 for vocals
Custom Levy’s straps including M7GG3
Custom Yellow/Black Picks
Dunlop .88 (Green) Picks
EMG EMG-KH20 Kirk Hammett Pre-Wired Pickguard/Pickup Set Black
Ernie Ball 3220 Nickel Power Slinky Electric Guitar Strings
Peterson 490 8-Octave AutoStrobe Tuner
Peterson Strobe 420 Tuner
Robert Trujillo – Bass
Basses/Instruments:
Custom Yamaha TRB5PII 5-String Neck-Thru Bass
ESP 5-String Electric Bass
Fender Precision Bass
Fernandes Guitars Gravity 5-string basses
Jaco Pastorius’ defretted personal ’60s Fender Precision bass named “Bass of Doom”
Musicman Stringray basses (all 5-strings)
Rickenbacker 4001 Bass Modified With EMG Pickups
Tobias Basic 5-String Bass
Tobias Classic 5-String Bass
Warwick Robert Trujillo Streamer Signature Bass Guitar
Zon Guitars Robert Trujillo Signature Bass – Sonus RT 5-String
Amplifiers:
Ampeg SVT-410HLF Classic Series Bass Cabinet
Ampeg SVT-810AV Cabinet
Ampeg SVT-3Pro Bass Amp Head
Ampeg SVT-AV Amplifier
Ampeg SVT II PRO Bass Amps
Mesa Boogie Rectifier Amplifiers
Mesa Boogie 4×12 speaker cabinets
Effects:
BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer
Boss OC-2 Octave pedal
DBX 160X Compressor/Limiter
Dunlop Crybaby 105Q Bass Wah Pedal
Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron Envelope Controlled Filter
Furman PL-Pro Power Conditioners
Korg DTR-1000 Rackmount Digital Tuner
Morley Power Wah Volume Pedal
MXR M-107 Phase 100 Effects Pedal
MXR M-135 Smart Gate Pedal
MXR M-80 Bass Direct Box with Distortion
Shure UR-4D Wireless Receiver
TC Electronic D-Two Multi-Tap Delay
TC Electronic Stereo Chorus Flanger Pedal
Tech 21 Sansamp Bass Driver DI
Tech 21 XXL Bass Edition Overdrive Stompbox with Warp
Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro
Accessories:
Dean Markley Bass Strings – Magnum roundwounds with a heavy B (.130)
Dunlop Robert Trujillo Icon Series Bass Strings – Uno Mas 5 String Set
EMG Bass pickups
Lars Ulrich – Drums
Current Drum Kit Setup:
TAMA Starclassic maple drums
Model: TAMA Starclassic Maple Drums
Colour: Sparkle Silver
6,5″x14″ Bell Brass Snare Drum
9″x10″ Tom Tom
10″x12″ Tom Tom
16″x16″ Floor Tom
16″x18″ Floor Tom
16″x22″ Bass Drum (x2)
Zildjian cymbals:
14″ Z Custom Dyno Beat High Hat
17″ A Medium Crash Brilliant
18″ A Medium Crash Brilliant
12″ Z Custom Splash
19″ A Medium Crash Brilliant
18″ Oriental China Trash
18″ A Medium Crash Brilliant
20″ A Custom Ping Ride Brilliant
20″ Z Custom China Brilliant
Hardware:
Tama Titan Cymbal Boom Stands HC104TB (x8)
Tama Iron Cobra Beat Pedal (x2)
Tama Titan HS90 Snare Stand (x1)
Tama Titan HT90 Throne (x1)
Tama Lever-Glide HH95NL Hi-Hat (x1)
Tama X-Hat HH95XH (x1)
REMO drum heads:
Tom Tom Batterheads: Clear Pinstripes
Tom Tom Bottomheads: Coated Ambassador
Snare Batterheads: Coated CS Dot
Snare Bottomheads: Ambassador Snare Resonant Head
Bass Drum Batterheads: Clear Powerstroke 3 with Falam Slam kick pad
Sticks:
Easton Ahead Alloy Drumsticks
**All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and free to use via multi-license with GFDL and Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0 and older versions (2.5, 2.0 and 1.0)
