Thirty-nine years ago this month, on April Fool’s Day, Kirk Hammett got a call he hoped was no prank: an offer to join Metallica. The guitarist, then age 20, was still playing in Exodus, the thrash-metal band he’d co-founded as a teenager, but he’d fallen in love with Metallica since …
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Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett does some vintage guitar slinging on his new solo song, “High Plains Drifter.” Borrowing its title from the 1973 Clint Eastwood-starring Western of the same name, “High Plains Drifter” begins with the lonesome pluck of a guitar then expands with horns, strings, piano, and marching drums. …
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A museum honoring the legacy of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is set to open in May in Ljungby, Sweden, near where Burton died in a tragic tour bus accident in 1986. The Cliff Burton Museum, funded in part by the Swedish government, will feature ephemera from Burton’s tenure with …
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When Lollapalooza revealed this week that Metallica will headline the festival this summer, the announcement reminded some fans of the drama that resulted when the Bay Area bangers first headlined there in 1996. At the time, Lolla was still the premiere showcase for so-called “alternative” bands; top-billed acts in its …
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Metallica‘s first-ever recording, “Hit the Lights,” will be available on vinyl for the first time since 1984 this spring. Record label Metal Blade will reissue its seminal Metal Massacre compilation — which contained “Hit the Lights” — to mark its 40th anniversary, April 22. The reissue will feature the release’s …
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Thirty-nine years after joining Metallica, guitarist Kirk Hammett will put out his first solo release, Portals, on April 23. The all-instrumental, four-song EP will be available digitally and on CD and “ocean blue” vinyl for Record Store Day. “This music was created with what I describe as an ‘audio-cinematic’ approach,” …
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Lars Ulrich paid tribute to Jon Zazula, the co-founder of Megaforce Records which released the first two Metallica albums, following news of Zazula’s death Tuesday at the age of 69. “Thank you, Jonny, for taking a chance on these crazy, noisy, uncompromising, and undisciplined dudes from NorCal who didn’t know …
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Jon Zazula, co-founder of Megaforce Records, which released the first two Metallica records and was home to numerous influential metal acts, died Tuesday. He was 69. A rep for Megaforce confirmed Zazula’s death to Rolling Stone, adding that the cause of death was complications of the rare neuropathic disorder CIDP, …
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It seemed inevitable that Weezer would contribute a track toThe Metallica Blacklist.An anniversary album for a heavy metal band? Check. A compilation featuring covers by 54 different artists? Check. The chance to perform “Enter Sandman,” arguably the most famous Metallica song? Check, check, check. Indeed, unlike the other covers we’ve …
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Metallica will stream their June 6th, 2006 — or 6/6/06 for those who want to be particularly metal about it — concert in Berlin for the next installment of their #MetallicaMondays series. The show will premiere on the band’s YouTube page July 20th at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET, and …
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