WHAT IF... Metallica Edition
- jaybroderick
- Mar 28
- 3 min read
By: Michael Drukarsh - It took 5 albums, thousands of tape trades and a die hard fan base to make Metallica the biggest heavy metal band in the world. Coming out of the gate with some of the most influential thrash albums of all time, Metallica made its mark on music early in their careers. But it wasn’t until the self-titled “black album” Metallica in 1991 that the band became a household name across the world. Through trials and tribulations, Metallica remains a force in the industry but as we do here at LoudTO, let’s examine a few “What Ifs”...
1) Following in his father’s footsteps, a young Lars Ulrich was determined to be a pro tennis player. Born and raised in Denmark, Lars played the circuit and was able to rise to the top, having a small pool of other tennis players his age to compete against. However, after moving to Newport Beach in 1980 at the age of 17, Lars quickly found himself a small fish in a very big pond. Competition on the court at this level was both top level and abundant. Within a year, Lars quit tennis altogether and turned his attention to what would become a lifelong endeavor. "What if" Lars arrived in the U.S. and found out his skill set on the court was strong enough to continue to pursue tennis full time?
2) In 1982, Brian Slagel released Metal Massacre on Metal Blades Records. The 10 track piece of vinyl featured bands that were up and coming and unsigned. Lars contacted Slagel and asked to get a track on the record, despite (unbeknownst to Slagel) not actually having a fully committed band. Credited on the first pressing as “Mettallica”, the first original song “Hit the Lights” finished off the album with such poor production that Metallica would record it two more times before getting it right on Kill 'Em All. This would prove to be the launching pad for the band and in March of 1982 they played their first live show. "What if" the Metal Massacre, with a roster of mostly unknown bands tanked and ended up in the dumpster?
3) In 1983 drummer Lars Ulrich, along with James Hetfield - lead vocals and guitar, Dave Mustaine - guitar and backing vocals and Cliff Burton - bass made their way to Rochester New York to record their first studio album, titled (briefly) Metal Up Your Ass. Unfortunately things did not work out too well for Mustaine who was quickly, and many say unceremoniously dumped by the band. Mustaine was replaced by Exodus founding member Kirk Hammett and the album , now titled Kill ‘Em All was recorded and released on July 25, 1983. "What if" Kirk, who started Exodus at the young age of 16 decided that his loyalties lay with the band he created and turned down the Metallica gig?
4) Capitalizing on the success of incredible record sales and chart positions for their fifth studio album Metallica, the band threw more and more money into their stage production. Complete with an incredible light show and walls of pyro, Metallica truly were at the top of their game. Unfortunately, when you play with fire you tend to get burned. On August 8th, 1992, while on stage at the Olympic stadium in Montreal, James walked into a 12 foot high wall of fire. The set was cut short and James was rushed to the hospital with second and third degree burns. Co-headliners, Guns N' Roses would follow but as usual were a few hours late. "What if" James did not recover from his injuries and was not able to rejoin Metallica?
5) NAPSTER BAD… On April 13, 2000, Metallica filed a lawsuit against the file sharing company Napster. The copyright infringement case was set in motion after the band discovered a demo for “I Disappear", a song written for the upcoming Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack, was being played on the radio. The leak was eventually traced back to Napster, a peer-to-peer file sharing network where entire catalogues of music were available for free downloads. After several other artists followed suit, Napster was eventually forced into bankruptcy. The irony that Napster was started by nineteen year old Shawn Fanning so he could trade music with his friends was not lost on Metallica fans who knew the history of the band and that it was in fact tape trading and word of mouth that started the meteoric rise of the mighty Metallica. "What if" Metallica lost the case and in turn lost the millions of devoted fans who would turn their back on what they would see as complete hypocrisy from a band that built its career on peer-to-peer sharing?
Metallica Online
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