Metallica Turn Page

Metallica formed in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The duo first met through an ad in a Los Angeles-based music newspaper. At the time, Ulrich had little musical experience and no band but managed to secure a slot on an upcoming compilation record called “Metal Massacre”. Metallica’s contribution, “Hit The Lights”, featured Hetfield, Ulrich and lead guitarist Lloyd Grant…

For many years, Metallica's 1987 EP Garage Days Re-Revisited was the most sought-after item in their catalog; it was constantly bootlegged in the '90s, and often supplemented by a host of covers Metallica had released on singles and compilations throughout the years. By 1998, the band had understandably grown frustrated with this situation and decided to confront the problem head-on by reissuing all these rarities. Savvy businessmen that they are, they also realized they needed to give hardcore fans who already owned all the covers a reason to purchase the new set – hence, the expansion of the Garage Days EP to the double-disc blowout Garage, Inc…

It's something that's happened to most of us and it's never very pleasant. I'm talking about friends growing apart. Sometimes people who were once close simply find themselves seeing each other or communicating less and less until the friendship somehow dissolves. I've had similar dissolutions with musical groups such as R.E.M. and U2. There was a time when I would wait with baited breath for their new releases, but as time went on, it got to where I didn't want to hear from them any longer (the new stuff at least). But, one of the most difficult relationships to break was with Metallica.