70 Fun Facts About Metallica

In which city was Metallica formed in 1981?

The band relocated to the Bay Area soon after to land bassist Cliff Burton, and San Francisco has been home ever since.

Drummer Lars Ulrich was born in which country?

He is a Gentofte native and became the first Dane inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

Lars Ulrich moved to California at 16 to train professionally in which sport?

His father Torben and grandfather Einer both played on the international circuit; Lars failed to make his high school team and turned to drums instead.

Which lead guitarist was thrown out of the band on April 11, 1983, just before its debut album?

The band put him on a Greyhound bus home; he scribbled lyric ideas on the ride that became a Megadeth song.

The lead guitarist hired in April 1983 had co-founded which Bay Area thrash band in 1979?

He named the band after a Leon Uris novel and brought one of its riffs with him, which became the bridge of 'Creeping Death'.

The band's name was suggested by a friend of Ulrich's who had been considering it as a title for what?

Ulrich talked Ron Quintana into using the alternative, MetalMania, and kept the better name for himself.

Who played bass at Metallica's first gig, in Anaheim in March 1982?

Hetfield also took over vocals for that show; a planned frontman never materialised.

Cliff Burton died in 1986 when the tour bus overturned in which country?

Burton had won a card draw for a bunk the night before; a memorial stone now stands near the crash site.

Which instrumental on the debut album is a bass solo by Cliff Burton, backed only by drums?

It was recorded in one take, with Burton insisting on playing alone in the room while the engineers stayed downstairs.

What was the debut album originally going to be called before distributors objected?

The planned cover showed a hand with a dagger rising out of a toilet bowl; Burton supplied the replacement title.

Which independent label released Kill 'Em All in 1983?

Label boss Jon Zazula's roughly $15,000 recording budget nearly bankrupted him.

The title 'Ride the Lightning' was lifted from a passage in which Stephen King novel?

The album was cut in three weeks in Copenhagen with producer Flemming Rasmussen, who also had to teach Ulrich the basics of keeping time.

What object is shown being struck by lightning on the Ride the Lightning cover?

The concept was settled before recording began and reflects the title track's death-row narrator.

Which song from the second album is credited as thrash metal's first power ballad?

Its lyrics about suicide upset some fans; the promo single was pressed in phosphorescent green vinyl.

Which album became the first metal recording selected for the US National Recording Registry, in 2015?

The band promoted it not with a single but with a five-month arena tour opening for Ozzy Osbourne.

'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)' was based on which novel?

It is the second-most-performed song from its album, behind only the title track.

In 1986 Metallica played its first arena tour opening for which headliner?

The tour ran from March to August across the United States and won the band a mainstream following.

Which instrumental from the 1986 album was played at Cliff Burton's funeral?

It features a prominent lead-bass section and remains the least-performed track from that record.

Who won the audition to replace Cliff Burton in late 1986?

Roughly 40 players tried out, including Les Claypool of Primus; the winner came from Flotsam and Jetsam.

At the 1989 Grammys, Metallica lost the first-ever hard rock/metal award to which act?

The flute-led prog band's win became one of the ceremony's most famous upsets.

Which Metallica song got the band's first video, intercut with 'Johnny Got His Gun' scenes?

The song went on to win the first-ever Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1990.

What was made almost inaudible in the final mix of '...And Justice for All'?

Hetfield and Ulrich told the mixers to turn it down until it could just be heard, then drop it another three decibels.

Which 1991 self-titled album track shares its title with the motto of its cover snake's flag?

The intro to that track interpolates 'America' from West Side Story.

Who produced the 1991 'Black Album'?

The eight-month sessions cost about a million dollars and, by the band's own account, ended two marriages.

Who wrote the main riff of 'Enter Sandman'?

It was inspired by Soundgarden's album Louder Than Love, and Ulrich suggested repeating the first bar three times.

'Enter Sandman' was the entrance music for which New York Yankees closer?

The pitcher himself picked up the nickname 'Sandman'.

Which college football team adopted 'Enter Sandman' as its entrance theme in 2000?

It became the unofficial anthem of the whole athletic department, played at Lane Stadium and Cassell Coliseum.

Which ballad is one of the few Metallica songs on which James Hetfield plays the guitar solo?

Hetfield wrote it about a girlfriend while on tour and did not originally intend to give it to the band.

Hetfield was badly burned by pyrotechnics at a 1992 Montreal show co-headlined with which band?

He was back on stage 17 days later, singing while guitar tech John Marshall covered his rhythm parts.

Which artist created the cover art for 'Load' by pressing blood and semen between sheets of Plexiglas?

Kirk Hammett spotted the piece in an art book bought at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the same artist did the Reload cover.

Which guest singer appears on 'The Memory Remains' from Reload?

It was the first Metallica studio album to feature a guest vocalist and the last with Jason Newsted.

Metallica's Grammy-winning 'Whiskey in the Jar' followed which band's version of the folk song?

It appeared on the 1998 double covers album Garage Inc. and won Best Hard Rock Performance in 2000.

The 1999 live album 'S&M' paired Metallica with which orchestra?

The title is short for Symphony and Metallica; the shows were recorded at the Berkeley Community Theatre.

Who arranged and conducted the orchestral scores for 'S&M'?

He had first suggested the idea after meeting the band at the 1992 Grammys, and they took him up on it seven years later.

A leaked demo of which Mission: Impossible II song triggered Metallica's 2000 lawsuit against Napster?

Ulrich later testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and more than 300,000 Napster users were banned.

After the bassist quit in January 2001, who played bass on 'St. Anger'?

The producer filled in so recording could proceed; a permanent replacement was chosen only after the album was done.

'St. Anger' is notorious among fans for lacking what?

It also has a famously ringing snare sound and still debuted at number one in 14 countries.

Which filmmaking duo directed the 2004 documentary 'Some Kind of Monster'?

The pair had earlier befriended the band while making Paradise Lost, and shot Metallica for 715 days.

What was the job title of Phil Towle, the man hired to help the band through its 2001-2003 crisis?

Their management company Q Prime brought him in; the bassist quit after a single session.

Robert Trujillo first rose to prominence as bassist for which crossover thrash band?

His finger-style playing reminded the band of Cliff Burton, and jazz great Jaco Pastorius was his childhood hero.

Who produced Metallica's 'Death Magnetic' (2008), their first in nearly two decades without their long-time producer?

The album was later criticised for heavy compression and became a case study in the loudness war.

In what year was Metallica inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

It came in the first year they were nominated, and Jason Newsted rejoined them on stage for the ceremony.

Metallica's 2011 double album 'Lulu' was a collaboration with which singer-songwriter?

It was the last full-length studio project he completed before his death in 2013; Ulrich says he was challenged to a street fight during the sessions.

'Lulu' is a concept album based on two plays by which German playwright?

The same plays inspired Alban Berg's unfinished opera Lulu and the 1929 silent film Pandora's Box.

A December 2013 show made Metallica the first band to have played on all seven continents. Where was it?

The concert was billed 'Freeze 'Em All' and the audience listened through headphones to protect the environment.

What is the name of the independent record label Metallica launched in 2012?

The name comes from the opening track of ...And Justice for All; 72 Seasons was its second studio release.

'Murder One' on Hardwired... to Self-Destruct is a tribute to which musician?

The title is the name of the Motörhead frontman's favourite amplifier.

The 2023 album title '72 Seasons' refers to what?

Hetfield described it as the period that forms 'our true or false selves'; the record won Best Metal Performance at the 2024 Grammys.

In which Netflix series did Eddie Munson play Metallica's 1986 title track, sending it up the 2022 charts?

It entered the US and UK singles charts for the first time and peaked at number four in the Netherlands.

James Hetfield was raised in which religious movement, which disapproves of medical treatment?

His parents held to it even as his mother was dying of cancer, an experience that shaped his songwriting.

Metallica's future lead guitarist took lessons from which Berkeley-based guitar virtuoso?

The teacher would later score hits of his own with Surfing with the Alien.

How many Grammy Awards had Metallica won by the end of 2024?

The tally came from 26 nominations, and six consecutive studio albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

Which actor starred alongside the band in the 2013 3D concert film 'Metallica: Through the Never'?

The band later played a festival set under the alias 'Dehaan' as a nod to him.

Which Ennio Morricone piece has introduced Metallica concerts since the 1980s?

The band recorded its own guitar version for a 2007 Morricone tribute album.

The band's first Grammy, in 1990, was the first ever awarded in which category?

It went to a song from ...And Justice for All, a year after the infamous loss in the combined hard rock/metal category.

How long is 'Load' (1996), Metallica's longest studio album?

That was the maximum a single CD could hold; leftover material became Reload 17 months later.

The 'Big Four' of thrash first shared a bill in June 2010 in which country?

The Warsaw show opened the Sonisphere run; a later date in Sofia was beamed live to cinemas.

In which Los Angeles newspaper did Lars Ulrich place the 1981 ad that led to Metallica's formation?

The ad sought metal musicians to jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden.

Who produced Master of Puppets at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen?

The multitracks were sent to Michael Wagener in January 1986 to finish the mixing.

Where did Master of Puppets peak on the Billboard 200 album chart?

It spent 72 weeks on the chart and earned the band its first gold certification without a single or video.

Which Kerrang! journalist coined the term 'thrash metal' in February 1984?

He used it in reference to the Anthrax song 'Metal Thrashing Mad'; Hetfield had been calling Metallica's sound 'power metal'.

At which LA club did Hetfield and Ulrich first see Cliff Burton playing with Trauma in 1982?

Hetfield later described hearing 'this amazing shredding' and thought it was a guitarist until he saw the bassist.

Cliff Burton's main bass when he joined Metallica in 1982 was a red model from which maker?

He stripped out its high-gain pickups, which did not suit his heavy use of effects pedals and aggressive finger style.

Cliff Burton's first band, EZ-Street, included Jim Martin and Mike Bordin, later of which band?

The band took its name from a Bay Area topless bar while Burton was still at Castro Valley High School.

Which Elektra A&R man signed Metallica after seeing them play in September 1984?

Q Prime co-founder Cliff Burnstein attended the same show and made the band a management client.

Roughly how many albums had Metallica sold worldwide as of 2023?

They are also the third-best-selling artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

How many consecutive weeks did the 1991 'Black Album' spend atop the Billboard 200?

It was the band's first album to top the chart and debuted at number one in ten countries.

Where did 72 Seasons debut on the Billboard 200, ending a run of chart-topping debuts?

It sold 146,000 first-week copies and was the first Metallica album since ...And Justice for All not to open at number one.

What was the first single released from 72 Seasons, in November 2022?

'Screaming Suicide' and 'If Darkness Had a Son' followed in early 2023.

With Death Magnetic in 2008, Metallica became the first band to do what on the Billboard 200?

The album sold 490,000 units in its first week and marked a return to the band's thrash roots.