Metallica: A Name Meant for a Fanzine and the Ad That Started Everything
Metallica was born on 28 October 1981, when drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist James Hetfield found each other through Ulrich’s ad in the Los Angeles paper The Recycler. Two young men with a fierce idea of how fast, loud and serious metal could be. This week the band turns 45.
The name was not even meant for a band. Ron Quintana, a friend from the Bay Area metal scene who was starting a fanzine, had two titles on his list, MetalMania and Metallica. Ulrich took Metallica for his band.
Kirk Hammett joined in 1982 and has a favourite story: he first spoke to Ulrich and Hetfield the night after his band at the time, Exodus, opened for them. Today he tells it, and both of them say they do not remember. Hammett has also confirmed that in 1986 the band considered firing Ulrich, something Ulrich says he never knew.
Bassist Cliff Burton was recruited after the band saw him play with Trauma at the Whisky a Go Go in 1982. He died on 27 September 1986, when the tour bus skidded and overturned in Sweden. The band carried on, and carries him with it.
Their 1991 self-titled album, the Black Album, became the best-selling album of the SoundScan era in the United States, with more than 16 million copies by Billboard’s count. In April 2000 Metallica became the first band to sue Napster, a decision that still divides fans.
Metallica has its own station in the Exclusive collection of Kalisha. Open the radio and press play.
— Kalisha 🎧
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