Metallica - Enter Sandman

DRUMS AND NAPSTER LARS ULRICH - 2001

DRUMS AND NAPSTER LARS ULRICH - 2001


Beginning their musical lives as underground thrashers (No Life 'Til Leather, Kill 'Em All), Metallica has evolved into the premiere American heavy metal band. Bar none. Since their inception in 1981, Metallica has gone from an underground heavy-metal band to one of the most successful acts in the world, with an intensely loyal fan base. Sales of Metallica's albums total more than 80 million worldwide (with more than 50 million in North America alone) and have earned gold and platinum certifications in more than 40 countries.

GC: You're a Tama endorser. What kit are you using right now and why is that the best choice for you?

Lars: What makes Tama the best drums for me is the people I deal with. Their people have been accommodating and forthcoming in the last seventeen years, and they're accommodating and forthcoming now to me. I'm really into a kind of old-school respect and an old-school kind of being faithful to people. I do believe that obviously the drums, the snare drums we've developed are awesome and they're pretty much what I want. The bell brass snare drum, which is what they're sort of modeled after, to me has been the workhorse for me for the last ten years and is, for what I'm after, the snare drum of life. As long as they keep taking my phone calls, I'll keep doing whatever I can for them.

Metallica - Unforgiven

JASON NEWSTED - 1989

You are the latest member of the band. How did you get in the band? Did you audition or had they heard of your reputation?

Both.

When you came in, were there any expectations that you had to meet?

Well naturally somebody had to be able to be strong enough to take on what was about to happen. Not just somebody that could play but somebody that also was able to take it mentally as far as taking Cliff's place, living up to all the people in the family and all the crew people and all. There was forty or forty-five people tried out and they wanted to find someone that could take it in all aspects, ya know. They had a million people that could go veroumarrarr and all that shit, but that's only part of it, actually.

How do you like what's coming out of the band now?

It's great.

How long ago did you start playing bass? 

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters

Metallica

Biography

Metallica is an American metal band formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California, United States when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in The Recycler. Metallica’s line-up originally consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. Mustaine was later fired due to problems with alcoholism and drug addiction - he went on to form the band Megadeth. Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett took his place. Metallica has been through several bassists, including Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton (who died in a bus crash while the band was on tour), and Jason Newsted. The current bassist is Robert Trujillo, who joined in 2003.

Metallica’s early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the “big four” of the thrash metal sub-genre alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and critical acclaim, with the 1986 release Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and “heavy” metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success with Metallica (1991), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.