Metallica - speed and sophistication

During the 1980s a band emerged from after the furious Punk revolution from the San Francisco underground. Metallica had brought a new toughness and radicalism to metal with a much faster and heavier sound which was to be defined as thrash metal which boomed in the mid eighties.

Although the band formed in Los Angeles in 1981, the band had moved to San Francisco and by 1983 they became the prime movers in the Bay Area Thrash Scene along with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. There immediate inspiration as per the advert placed by drummer Lars Ulrich was NWOBHM. that said there was an element of LA that rubbed of in there 1983 debut offering Kill 'em All which sounded much more powerful than the British contribution made during that period.

As the band progressed Guitarist Dave Mustaine was sacked (he then went on to former rival band Megadeth) His replacement Kirk Hammett continued in the same style as Dave. Also critical to the sound was Bassist Cliff Burton who's sound complemented the early roar of lead singer James Hetfield's voice.

The appeal of Metallica was they were not the bubble permed hair metal act that were on the screens at the time. Elektra records signed the band in 1984 and gave them the space to develop. That patience paid off when the critically acclaimed album Master of Puppets which spent over a year in the US charts despite the inclusion of some intricate and lengthy instrumentals.

However, tragedy struck when the bands tour bus overturned in Sweden in 1986 and killed Cliff Burton. The band continued manfully in his honour and there progressive style went globally with 1988 release And Justice for All.

During the 1980s the band released 4 studio albums with Master of Puppets just falling outside the top 40 and Justice for all reaching number 4 in the UK album charts in 1988. In terms of singles they only released seven with 3 songs hitting the top 30 with 'one' attaining the highest position of 13 in the UK single charts.

The success of the 1980s saw them reach crowning success with the Black album in 1991 which boasted the Metallica Anthem Enter Sandman. Success has followed the band and all the band started from humble beginnings in the 1980s as we enter 3 decades later the band can still boast massive sales and tours that are sell outs. They care about the music not the image and for that the appeal will always carry on.


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