Metallica <iMetallica>

History8/13/06
 
Metallica are one of the most legendary bands in the world, selling over a billion albums and influencing bands and artists in every genre, from their very beginnings with debut album "Kill 'em all" they lit up the metal world and helped create and define the "thrash metal genre"

In 1986 their third album, "Master of puppets cemented them as the biggest metal band around, selling in it's millions without a single, video or any radio airplay at all. On September 27th, 1986, that dream was given the most shattering of blows. Somewhere in Sweden on an overnight drive, the bands' tour bus skidded out of control and flipped, killing bassist Cliff Burton.

The band decided to fight on though and recruited new bassist Jason newsted, with him they recorded their most popular album of all time "The black album" it not only made them the biggest metal band, it made them the biggest band period.

Things haven't always been on the straight and narrow for the band, their albums "Load" and "Re-load" were met with harsh criticism, not only for the bluesy influence, but because they also cut their hair, which in the metal world is the equivilent of suicide. What would've been the final nail in the coffin happened in the year 2000, when the file sharing program napster managed to leak a Metallica song that was yet to be finished, Metallica decided it was time to take a stand against their music being illegally downloaded for free. They placed trackers on napster and ended up getting over 350,000 people kicked off of napster, even sueing some of them. Then in the next 2 years, Jason Newsted would leave the band and singer James Hetfield going to rehab for treatment for alcoholism.

For most bands this would've been game over, but most bands aren't Metallica. In 2003 they returned with a brand new album "St.Anger" that upon release was hailed by reviewers as a return to form. It was loud, fast agressive and most of all heavy. With a new album and a brand new bassist in Robert Trujillo the band were unstoppable, selling out venues from America to England to Japan from 2003 to 2004.

Now as we approach a new era of Metallica in 2006 they've become stronger as a unit, to celebrate the 20th year aniversary of Master of puppets they have been playing it at every show on their "escape from the studio 2006" tour and they have debuted two new songs off of their album which is due in the fall.

The Metallica monster lives on.
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