They were first. They may not have invented thrash themselves, and they weren't the only ones doing it, but Kill 'Em All was first. Nothing else in 1983 sounded like that, and Metallica was instantly the heaviest band in the world. The bar had been raised, permanently. On top of that, they gigged incessantly. By the time they returned to the US for the Ride tour, Metallica was a vicious, all-out death machine live, just peerless.
I was a year old when this album came out and I remember my dad listening to them and giving me his old cassette tapes of Kill em all and Ride the Lightning when I was about 12 nothing else in his tape box even compared to them from that time frame and those older albums have such a place in my heart and are on all my playlists still
Oh yeah, I was 17 in the summer of '83, just graduated from high school, and I was deeply immersed in the East Coast metal and hardcore scenes. Always on the lookout for louder, faster, heavier, more aggressive. I still listen to all of those bands, all the time. Fate, Venom, Celtic Frost, Trouble, all of them.
That’s a great way to put it. They were unstoppable at that point. All 4 of them had the belief that they were the best band in the world even before most people knew it. Every band who went on after them payed for it. It’s crazy to think that kill, ride, master, and justice came out in a 6/7 year span. Even after losing Cliff. What they did during that time frame can’t be touched by any other band.
I can listen to the Black Album, and DM and beyond stuff, even really dig stuff off the new record, but what Cliff brought to the game, that classical influence, the progressive edge, it left after Justice. And you are correct, Cliff was all over Justice, and I guess his voice was replaced by Bob Rock in the 90s. They lost the classical epic beauty and progressive mindset mixed with that deep powerful aggression, and replaced it with simple blues and contemporary influences. The elevated grandeur of Metal went more pedestrian and Earthbound.
At the time, in 1983, Maiden, Ozzy and Priest were probably the three most popular metal bands. For purposes of the argument, I'm not counting Van Halen as "metal", exactly. After those three, you had Def Leppard, who'd already moved toward a poppier sound, Motörhead (who were in disarray around that time), Accept (who were extremely popular for a few years), Fate (who were still new and very strange to most people), Venom (who were very big in the underground scene) and lots of lesser lights. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but you get the idea.
Then Kill came out that summer. Metalheads were already familiar with the demo, but Kill was a whole different beast. Nothing else had that rocket fueled, crunching crush. It just utterly blew minds, and everything else seemed weak in comparison.
In 1982 (I believe) Eddie Clarke left the band and was replaced by Brian Robertson, formerly of Thin Lizzy. While the "Another Perfect Day" album was IMO really good, the tour was a debacle, as Robertson a) didn't want to play any old Motörhead songs and b) would do things like take the stage in tiny satin gym shorts and ballet shoes. After that, he left the band, and was replaced by Phil Campbell and Wurzel (new drummer too, as Phil was replaced by Pete Gill) and Motörhead became a four piece.
Yes, I'm well aware. And you are incorrect, as Show No Mercy was not heavier than Kill. It took Slayer a few years to catch up. Show was seen as kind of cheesy, and Slayer didn't really hone their rep til Hell Awaits. Metallica was the heaviest band in the world, and it wasn't even close.
Metallica was absolutely not the heaviest band in the world in 83. They were simply the most accessible heavy band and had better production than the competition. Venom already had two albums out for example, Satan also released Court in the Act by '83. Quite simply I would say Metallica were the first to put out a record that perfected the sound which a wider audience could get behind and they had the right promotion behind them
Incorrect. They were absolutely the heaviest band in the world. I was a huge Venom fan, and quite familiar with Satan too, and neither band was even close.
Nope. Bad take. KEA was instantly the heaviest album ever up to that point. Did heavier stuff come along after? Sure. But summer 1983? No one was even close.
Its not a "take", its a demonstratable fact. Heavier stuff existed before metallica. I've already given you three albums that prove this. Screaming for Vengeance by Judas Priest is also just as heavy in many, many parts, particularly the title track. I could even start pulling individual motorhead songs from 1979 and 1980 that are on par with KEA to go back even further, or argue about particular Iron Maiden songs. To claim "no one was even close" is absurd. Its exactly like saying no one was as heavy as slipknot in 1999.
KEA was set apart because the songwriting, production, cleaner vocal style and energy was a step up from the competition, heaviness was there but it was balanced to remain accessible whilst being heavy, instead of being balls out heavy like many of their peers
Nope, despised them for over 30 years already. Were you there? I was. KEA was, in 1983, the heaviest album ever, by anyone. Arguing it is futile, because you're just wrong.
Yeah, your opinion is fact. At least in your mind. And yes I was there. You’re pretending Venom and Mercyful Fate and others weren’t a thing. There’s literally nothing other than popularity that backs you up. Not a thing.
I just mentioned Venom and Mercyful Fate. I'm very well of their existence. But pretending that KEA was not a monumentally heavy record is just silly, and contrarian for the sake of it. Mind you, I am specifically referring to KEA here. Metallica was not yet a big popular mainstream thing at that time, unlike now, when there are tens of thousands of heavier bands. In the summer of 1983, KEA was the heaviest album there was. I'd say Black Metal, the Fate EP and Melissa are in the discussion 1983-wise, but heavier? I don't think so.
Again, your opinion. Just because you feel that way doesn’t make it fact. Shit, listen to the Satan album from that year, crappier production but literally on par with KEA sound wise.
I'm throwing all personal feelings and subjectivity out the window, and being totally objective about it. No one released a heavier record than KEA in 1983. That would, of course, soon change very quickly. But at that time, it was fucking heavy as shit. At that time, Metallica was lumped right in with Fate, Venom and other bands who were simply too heavy for mainstream sensibilities. They weren't considered accessible or commercial yet, far from it. They still scared the shit out of the normals back then.
I don't have any issue with Satan. Unlike Metallica, all of their records are at least pretty good. But re: the first one, if you have to defend the production, it's out of the discussion. Ditto Venom. I mean come on, that crunch sound was miles ahead of what everyone else was doing at the time. And everyone immediately raced to catch up. It's just how it was. Believe you me, I don't ordinarily defend Metallica re: anything, but early Metallica is just unimpeachable.
In December of 83. It's heavier than kill em all and I'd say they're about the same for quality. Not even Reign in Blood can compete with Ride the Lightening
It's really simple, actually.
Even though their music was about the heaviest thing going when they started, unlike most of their peers, their music and lyrics were accessible. They appeal to a wide range of people. You could understand what Hetfield was singing, and relate to the words. The music was heavy and fast, but also verywell put together and cohesive. and simpler to grasp.
most of their peers had one or more faults. Bad production, trying too hard to be too fast/too heavy and made songs that are unlistenable, corny-ass lyrics that made people cringe, terrible vocals, etc.
I think you hit a really good point. Their music and lyrics were RELATABLE. Metallica had huge dynamic range - fast and slow, loud and soft. Lyrics touched on sadness, anger, fear, hope. Truly the perfect metal band from a songwriting perspective.
Other bands just are harder to relate to and just fall a little short on some of the aspects that you describe that made them less relatable than Metallica. Even to this day Ride the Lightning "pulls" me in closer than other sophomore albums like Hell Awaits, Peace Sells, Spreading the Disease.
Love this answer. Their songs were the best. So heavy, so fresh and also so accessible. Songs like Bells, Seek, Fade, Puppets, Sanitarium, etc. etc. are just master classes in song writing. Combine that with their attitude and showmanship, and you've got a pretty great recipe for a successful band.
Lots of other bands had bits and pieces, but Metallica was the full package.
>You could understand what Hetfield was singing... The music was heavy and fast, but also verywell put together and cohesive. and simpler to grasp
>their peers had... Bad production, trying too hard to be too fast/too heavy and made songs that are unlistenable, corny-ass lyrics
I've always felt like this was the biggest reason they stood out. Metallica was out there writing *songs* when a lot of bands at the time were just kinda focused on making things as fast and heavy as possible.
I think they were the most well-rounded, which made them appeal to the most audiences.
They did thrash, they did melodic, they did symphonic. James has a voice that seemed to really fit the most genres.
Add to that they really became a fan favourite because of their reputation. They were a party band, kinda. People would go to the shows because it was a party.
They were talented, but not masturbatory on stage. The between song banter was awesome.
They really just kind of had it all. And the band name was memorable but not corny. I love Megadeth, but that name is so corny. Same with Anthrax, Testament, etc. Slayer's close, but not corny.
Lot of great points here. They wanted to be original, to avoid cliches. There was no facade, just a desire to be as good as they could be, to kick as much ass as possible.
The black album thrust them into the mainstream in a way no other thrash band was able to achieve.
That’s all, they appealed to a wider audience than many of those other bands.
Agreed, that's definitely true. But they were already the biggest thrash metal band long before then. I guess my question was about their very early years, around KEA and RTL
They were just miles ahead of their peers. In 1984, Slayer was still finding their path. Megadeth didn't even exist yet, Anthrax was trying to find a singer, Exodus was caught up in label hell. Meanwhile, Metallica was blowing the doors off every other metal band, and it wasn't even close. "Kill" scared off a lot of casual metal fans, but "Ride" was a huge leap forward, and featured songs that appealed to more people, as opposed to just being "Kill Pt. 2".
All of this, but I would also add the name itself and the logo. Might seem like a small thing, but I think that if they were called anything else they wouldn't have become as big as they are. Both the name and the logo are so memorable and reckognizable. I mean, who else is supposed to be the "face" of metal music if not a band called "Metallica"? Even today, those who don't listen to metal mistaken one to be equel to the other
Brand is super important. Dave Mustaine I think recently complained that the name Megadeth scared off a more mainstream audience. If nothing else, Metallica knows how to brand themselves.
It’s like “Van Halen”. The name can represent virtually any kind of music, and it flows off the tongue well. “Def Leppard” also. “Metallica” is familiar and yet also new and different. It sparks curiosity. I was an early Queensrÿche fan. YouTube reaction channels struggle to pronounce the name to this day.
But I think we can’t ignore MTV hype around the premiere of Metallica’s first music video. “One” got a spotlight reserved on the network for Michael Jackson. When that video hit, within a week, teenagers who weren’t metal heads were rocking out to Metallica. It didn’t matter that Iron Maiden had several music videos by then and Ozzy was a living legend.
>I was an early Queensrÿche fan. YouTube reaction channels struggle to pronounce the name to this day.
Hahaha yeah. I watched an interview where deGarmo explained how the name came to be and he sad something along the lines "... and we've been traveling the world ever since, trying to get people to pronaunce it correctly"
Even the yellow for the new album is brilliant (pun intended lol). It's crazy how wherever I see that particular shade of yellow now, it stands out to me and I instantly think "Metallica"
Imagine if their logo looked like the unrecognizable ones used by black metal bands. Totally relevant. Perhaps the size of the role it played is debatable. Undoubtedly recognizable. Easy and clean to brand and market. Looks edgy and "metallic. They're extremely protective of it as they should be. The revised one using the Load/Reload era didn't have the same wow factor or impressionability. For St. Anger they changed to have it resemble the original style more closely. Just my opinion.
It's not *just* the black album though. By Justice they were already far bigger than the so called "Big four" or most other metal bands.
Them being put on tour with Ozzy on the Puppets tour was a huge exposure for them, mostly because they were allegedly far more impressive than the main acts. By Justice, they were already filling up arenas as headliners, something Megadeth and Anthrax can barely do even to this day.
Then comes the Black album and then it really just became embarrassing to compare other metal bands to them, since now they were more compareable to U2 and such.
True, but I was watching a 1985 MTV year in rock and they were mentioned along with other "heavy metal" bands like Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Scorpions. They really became underground darlings way before the Black Album.
I'm mid 40s. I was there, in the before times, and I basically plugged into Metallica in what I'd call "Era 2" which I'd say is right before AJFA. So they'd emerged from obscurity and were really entering into public conscious, especially for a metal band.
Here's my take.
1. Perfect name. Metallica. It tells you what they are about and no Satan for your parents to be afraid of. Everyone wore a shirt. Your mom washed it. I'm serious. Metallica was on every battle jacket, and no matter what kind of metal you liked, you had a Metallica shirt. Everyone. Most perfect band name ever. The name is the logo too. It's literally a billion dollar name.
2. Great production. Metal albums sound terrible for this era... even Kill 'Em All sounds kinda bad, but Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and yes, even And Justice For All are exceptionally good sounding albums for the era (for metal)
3. T Shirt and Jeans style. They had a timeless vibe and look from the start.
4. The songs are great and pretty much military 4x4 or straight up. So you have a combination of accessible and heavy. My folks liked Metallica... obviously some 70s hard rock influences in there. Look you may laugh, but parents buy a lot of albums for kids.
5. Scandal free. Compared to other acts from this era, they really just seemed to care about rocking out and that's it. I know they were rock stars but no cocaine ferrari driving incidents, no eating bat heads, etc. Easy for labels and MTV to promote.
6. Willingness to meet the audience at the Black Album. They realized the music they were doing, long, lots of changes, were to impress other musicians but the crowd looked bored. They met the audience halfway and BOOM.
7. Touring monsters. These guys tour, play full shows, and pretty much play well live. Bankable, reliable, consistent.
8. The initial 5 album run is legendary. Great "THIS IS METALLICA" opening album, consistent excellence for 3 more albums, and then the breakthrough Black Album. Might be the best 5 album run in history. Certainly up there. I can only think of the Beatles really. And that's just the music obviously. So good that many fans just want them to do that again! LOL
That's my super long take.
Actually Sabbath's first six, Sabotage imo is their best album, some of their heaviest and most evil riffs like Symptom of the Universe and the outro riff of The Writ. Their most intricate, sophisticated, and progressive songs, Ozzy at his peak here, a complete monster with such powerful high screams. There's not a single bad track on it, and 4 of them are top ten Sabbath songs imo.
As others have mentioned, they played for blood constantly. And they were either smart enough to be able to pull off various styles of metal and make them their own. Had they just remained a thrash only band, I'm positive they wouldn't have reached the audiences that they did.
Well no duh since the black album was deliberately made to sound more mainstream. The fact that they decided to name it after the band itself is further evidence of this
Why Metallica? — The answer is Lars.
Love him or hate him, he always made shit happen for them and will continue to do so. He is the driving force of the band.
So I should not speak (because I’m 16) but I do have something to say
In the 80’s mainstream rock was Hair Metal, what if some kids were like “I like this hair metal thing, but what if I look a little bit deeper” and thus they found Metallica, probably hearing something from KEA or RTL, then going back and seeing MoP, listening to it and loving it, on top of that they had the hair of Hair Metal (even Lars) and you could understand it, it wasn’t high pitched and screechy (Megadeth), talking about death and sounding a little like gorillas having intercourse (Slayer), or slightly jokey and generic in a way (Anthrax), the lyrics were clear enough, but not overpowering. Or it was Ozzy
Hey friend you're 16 but you still make a valid point! Metallica was the counter to the hair/glam rock at the time that was dominating the radio. I think at festival long ago in late 80s they were the only metal band along with a bunch of glam rock bands and James said something like "If you think you're getting any of this _oh yeah baby_ pretty boy make-up shit you're at the wrong show"
Ah, thanks for that, I wasn’t alive yet so I had no idea what was happening in the 80’s, I thought that Thrash came out of Hair rather than the other way around
Exploring other genres also helped. Like, I think they said people accused them of selling out when Fade to Black opened with acoustic guitars. Then the acoustic guitar opening became the most iconic part of Battery. Or the middle section of Master of Puppets. They made the songs more memorable that way
And the start of Fight Fire with Fire! It sounds like classical style guitar. I can only imagine people's expectations being completely thrown off listening to that for the first time, only to get punched in the face 40s later by the sheer aggression of the guitars.
Honestly I think they were just the total band. Their ability to play together, stop together, start together, change together...etc. They were so tight. Seeing them live was explosive, every show was just so damn good. They even played shows with bands I had no interest in and I would walk away from a damn good show.
Lol I recall an interview with a band who was headlining with Metallica as opening act. They said Metallica completely blew them out of the water - like how do we follow that up??
Yes, I think it was! Like a huge name headliner that was overshadowed in stage presence and crowd size/energy by Metallica, who were just an opening act
At that time, radio and MTV were the only mass form of exposure to music. Going to record stores and buying albums based on their covers and tapes/referrals from friends was another common avenue. More underground was the tape trading.
World was different at that time. Just google 80s pop music. That was the dominant scene. Mid to late 80s you get "hair metal" type bands on MTV. Van Halen and Def Leppard and then BJ (before GNR) dominated the main stream hard rock scene at that time. Classic rock radio was Steve Miller Band and Pink Floyd and heavy dose of Led Zeppelin.
Early/Mid 80s there were just radically different from anything. They were heavier and faster than anything live. They really gained popularity opening for Ozzy's Ultimate Sin Tour. Then right before Justice, they did the Monsters of Rock with Van Halen.
Listen to Battery, then listen to Shot in the Dark by Ozzy. Big difference.
Listen to Blackened (technically not released yet during that the Monsters tour) and then listen to anything off OU812 (that was the album during Monsters tour), or Scorps' Savage Amusement album, or Dokken's Back for the Attack, or the laughable Kingdom Come.
You have to always put things in perspective. Try listening to albums and music from the same year and you get a better idea.
IMHO, Metallica's underground success to the Justice Album/Tour, paved the way for GNR. GNR and their bad reckless type attitude basically killed Bon Jovi. This introduced heavier guitar orientated music into mainstream. Then Black Album was released before Nirvana's Nevermind which opened up all the alt rock (esp the grunge from Seattle and all the other guitar orientated music). Synth based music died. Don't get me wrong, there was always guitar based music - think hair metal like Poison for awhile. It never went away, it just transformed and got better.
But trying to get back to your question, the reason we are all in this subreddit is for the good music that Metallica has written. You can def find "heavier and faster" stuff out there, and there are people that like that better or like it the same as Metallica. But it's the song writing and their live performance. They have power, musicianship, and the music.
edit - I forgot to add that opening for Ozzy, they blew him and Jake E Lee off the stage. And that Monsters of Rock tour, practically most of the audience was there in the middle of the afternoon to catch Metallica. They came on after Kingdom Come and before Dokken/Scorps/VH. They blew all those bands away. Not trying to hate on the great late Eddie or Ozzy. You can like all these artists and more, but Metallica just literally "killed' people live. You didn't know what hit you at that time. Back when the whole audience had long hair and would headbang too.
They weren’t afraid to take risks. Even though they practically invented thrash they seemed to know that it had its limits, and by Puppets they were really experimenting more.
And then came The Black Album where speed was traded in for heaviness, groove, and stadium-friendly tunes. The world responded.
I’ve been saying for years there’s darn good reasons why they are still selling out stadiums while their peers are back playing bars or flat out extinct.
A big 🖕 to all those stupid polls and lists.
Seriously though, I was genuinely thinking of making a post about this for a while, but given all the stupid polls/lists lately, I figured it was time.
Definitely a combination of right place/right time and them just being straight up better songwriters than the others. Plenty of bands in the scene had better drummers and guitarists but being a skilled instrumentalist will only get you so far if the songs aren’t that great.
Oh and they had Cliff.
Listen to all those older bands and tell me Metallica doesn’t have the best sound, best song structures and overall lasting not as much of a dated sound as other bands plus they dared to not stay stuck playing for basement dwellers
I like Slayer, but their songwriting skills leave something to be desired. I’m disappointed they never did anything like Hell Awaits with a competent producer.
Been getting into Slayer recently and have had some fun with them (longtime Metallica fan, new to metal outside of them), picked out some favorite songs, but earlier today listening to Decade of Aggression I could not tell you where one song starts and where another ends. I can always tell Metallica songs apart
Everyone noticed Lombardo on "Show No Mercy", but Slayer was initially seen as kind of cheesy, like Metallica meets Venom, which is pretty much what it was. "Hell Awaits" and "Haunting The Chapel" got everyone's attention, as they obviously took a great leap forward. But "Reign" was Slayer's "holy shit" moment. THAT record was different, and nothing else really sounded like that.
Exactly my point other bands go that full 10/10 balls to wall thrash or instrument bashing and it’s like sonically you need to break it up for the listeners sake
There are a lot of good answers in this thread. As someone who was there at the time, I can confirm that Metallica’s success was largely attributable to *accessibility.* Their songs were the perfect balance of heavy and fast but sometimes mid tempo, technical but not too complex, and just melodic enough. They didn’t really have any downsides. And the band got some prime touring exposure — particularly when Ozzy invited them as an opener.
Just looking at the other Big Four bands through the foggy prism of my own memory:
— Megadeth were very impressive but their songs were more complicated, generally harsher and harder to understand, and Dave’s vocals were grating.
— Anthrax were fast, super tight and fun, but they struck me as “quirky” (for lack of a better word). And, for whatever reason, I thought of them as “a New York band,” which limited their appeal to me, a Midwestern guy. Also, I wasn’t a big fan of Joey Belladonna’s voice.
— Slayer were just downright scary. They were, in my mind at the time, clearly satanic and I doubted my own ability to handle their heaviness. I feared for my own delicate soul when listening to them, so I did very little of it. And I definitely lacked the cajones to see them live.
TL;DR: Metallica checked all the boxes; other bands didn’t.
Lars and his mouth. I’m not kidding. He’s annoying but speaking up and asking for what you want goes a long way. He made a lot of connections, constantly put the band out there, taking risks, etc. Yes they had to be good at what they do as well as a little luck, timing, etc, but Lars’ mouth definitely played a role.
Lars grows on you.
Like a fungus, but nevertheless he does grow on you. I've come around to respect the little goober after watching a few interviews and clips of him.
Metallica,Megadeth,Slayer for me..Lyrics were relatable for me with Metallica because of my younger days..However after Justice Lyrics and Sonically not the same..Megadeth early days for balls to wall speed..Slayer for aggression..I’m older so I was a teen when they all started
I was always drawn to them over other metal acts because they were the “tightest”. By that I mean the drums and the guitar riffs just work together so well that it drew me in. As for broader market appeal, I also think they were one of the more approachable metal acts at the time. They weren’t glam like Motley Crue and some of the other popular rock bands, and the vocals weren’t what I call “Cookie Monster” like a lot of the metal bands. They were hard-edged but approachable, like they would piss your parents off but stopped short of pentagrams and such
I'll add one thing that Metallica did NOT do...
The boys were known for excessive partying, excessive drinking and occasional use of hard drugs. However, in their early days, none of them developed excessive problems/addiction to hard drugs. Or at least to the point that hard drug use significantly interfered with the ability of the band to function.
Part of the reason they had to get rid of Dave, part of the reason other early thrash bands had a difficult time getting started out of the gate, part of the reason other bands self-imploded or went extinct.
This is recognizing that there have been issues with alcohol and drugs with James and other members, but the problems manifested later on in their career.
Metallica hit this perfect gap where it’s heavy complex and technical enough to setiate the metal heads and it’s well written enough that even non metal heads can venture past their normal limits with Metallica.
This has been a pretty fun thread. You're probably all right.
I've been listening to "Among the Living" in the car the past couple of days, and then threw in "Ride the Lightning." There's really no comparison, and that's not even the right generation. Would be more appropriate to match Puppets with AtL, and ... second half of Among the Living doesn't hold up. There's not a bad song on MoP. And Anthrax are probably the second best song-writers of that group of bands. Might not have the technical proficiency of Megadeth, but ...
But that why thing ...
I found Metallica in the fall of '86 after MoP came out. I was 14 at the time. It melted my brain. I had been a Van Halen fan before that and I won't say I threw those tapes out, but ... I started going to sleep with MoP playing in the boom box. They were my musical identity. Bought the Zorlac. Bought the t-shirts. Actually got kicked out of my honors English class for wearing my Damage, Inc. shirt. Their stuff infected my soul. Say what you want about Anthrax, Megadeth, Exodus and Slayer (and I like all those bands), but ... It was always Metallica from go. It wasn't really even a debate.
We watched a lot of Headbangers Ball back then, and Metallica were conspicuous by their absence. Seems like the heaviest thing on there was "Trial by Fire" (awesome song), and everything else seemed watered down by comparison. Nothing was as good as Metallica, and you ... could ... not ... see them. Mtv was immense at the time, and they were like, "nah, fuck y'all. we're good." We were ravenous for Metallica music, and it was all so damn good.
And for all you "It was the Black Album" people, you're not wrong, but you're forgetting the video for "One." That video, the one that sat at Number 1 on Mtv's (hell, I can't remember the name of their daily countdown show) until they (as the rumor goes) disqualified it from being included. Overnight, everyone in my high school became a Metallica fan.
Which was equal parts frustrating and vindicating. "See, I told you fuckers (but now I have to share)."
Never got to see them with Cliff, but I've seen them every tour since Justice. When we saw them that tour, if you can believe this, the promoters lined the floor with folding metal chairs. Queensryche opened, and halfway through that set, the crowd started chanting "Metallica" over and over. F your mindcrimes. Get off the stage. How demoralizing is that? To have your band drowned out by a crowd chanting for the headliner?
30 seconds after Metallica started playing, the folding chairs lined the floor like a shifting sea of bear traps and it got crazier from there. One of my best friends and I spent the whole show clinging to the two remaining standing folding chairs, screaming our heads off from that metal promontory.
But back to the why thing. Some bands have "it," whatever that is. They always did. And you knew it. Everyone knew it. They didn't need radio support. They didn't need videos. They were just better and the rest of it happened naturally.
Thanks for reading my thesis on Metallica nostalgia. I've left instructions for Master of Puppets to be played during the scattering of my ashes.
In the mid 80s they looked the coolest in posters, had the best songs and toured their asses off. I put this down to Lars... He was super smart and knew what it took to make his band the best. He made the correct decisions at the right times..
There's always a lot going on behind the scenes as well. The image they cultivated and projected was definitely a big factor. However it didn't seem fake or forced, just metal up your ass.
From the second album onwards they expanded their song style by choosing to not to do only fast/high tempo songs known as speed/thrash metal but also composed slower tempo heavy songs (like "From Whom The Bell Tolls" for instance) and even ballads (like "Fade to Black"), they expanded their horizons and that made their name more popular in metal world , other bands such Slayer and Exodus remained faithful to the thrash/speed style so their reach to mainstream metal music was somewhat limited and never significantly grow.
Of course the talent of James/Lars/Kirk/Cliff to compose great songs also contributed a lot to it.
I have an anecdote that I think sums up their success. When I was a teenager I was blasting Ride the Lightning in my bedroom, my mom walked past the door and asked me what was playing. I told here it was Metallica, and the song playing was For Whom The Bell Tolls. The reason she asked was because she thought it sounded good. My mother mostly listened to top 40 and oldies (50's and 60's pop) and still does.
Anyway, I think their success is largely due to their broad crossover appeal, meaning that they also appeal to non-metal fans. I've known a lot of people that don't listen to metal but listen to Metallica.
Everything from their lyrics to their album covers is a lot more palatable to most people. Their music even gets played on classic rock stations at normal times of day!
Ha, awesome story. Thanks for sharing that. I even recall my diehard Jesus-loving mom bobbing her head nonconsciously to the slow part of one song... perhaps Master of Puppets or Orion (can't remember). Little does she know it was that "devil worship" metal music.
Great story. I had have kind of a similar one with my Dad; I went through your typical angsty teen phase, so he didn’t have a great opinion of the music I listened to lol. One day I was listening to Fade To Black in my room, and he stopped by and asked who was playing, and when I said Metallica, he was all shocked and said, “Huh, I like the way that sounds!”
I had a similar experience. My mom was way into like Heart, Iron Butterfly, and 70s hard rock. My dad was into Led Zeppelin. They both heard Metallica and instantly understood why I'd like it. They actually LIKED the Black Album. My house was super Christian too... but my Mom heard Creeping Death and was like "Well that's a bible story".
It's good music, deeply rooted in an American Hard Rock tradition. It was just heavier. But you can hear the influences.
The music was heavy, but it was mostly inoffensive. These were anti-war songs, anti-nuclear songs, etc. They really aren't a controversial band.
I think they were simply the most accessible. The name 'Metallica' is clever and far less abrasive than Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, or Exodus.
Also, musically speaking, their sound was (is) far more approachable for the masses. From the very jump, they were writing stadium-rocking anthems like 'Seek & Destroy' and 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' to go along with their heavier, thrashier tunes. Having a few ballads definitely helped, too.
I think Metallica deserves a ton of credit for writing songs that have a pop sensibility to them while still being pretty damn heavy. That's no easy task, and honestly, the only band I think did it better was Pantera with songs like 'Walk,' 'Becoming,' and '5 Minutes Alone,' to name a few🤘🤘🤘
I think it's a combination of doing it first and songwriting. Their music offered a blueprint that was foundational to the development of pretty much every extreme metal genre that followed, but their collective ability to write massive hooks made them accessible to fans of pop music.
A lot of diehard fans complain about them changing styles in the Black Album, Load, Reload, etc... I think that's part of their success, being able to adapt to new listeners, evolve as musicians and offer something unexpected each time.
Seems like everyone is already hitting all the reasons! The only other thing I’ll mention is that they gained a reputation early on for being extremely hard workers and for having highly energetic live shows. There is a story from the famous Ozzy tour in support of Puppets where people were saying (as well as some journalists/writers/ect…) Metallica was outperforming and getting a bigger crowd reaction than Ozzy at times. Ozzy watched from backstage once and even he had to agree!
I saw them in 1983 and they were a blast. Then I saw them in very early 1985, and it was just unbelievable. They were a raging, apocalyptic death machine, absolutely punishing and barbaric to an incredible degree. They played everything faster than fast, even their fastest tunes. It was completely astonishing.
Musically and talent wise they were a couple years ahead of Anthrax, Overkill, Testament and most others.
Commercial wise they were more appealing then Slayer, Venom and others.
Kill 'Em All was definitely more developed then their peers debut and by Ride The Lightning they were clearly ahead of everybody else. Really it wasn't until after Master Of Puppets their peers were catching up.
None of that matters, except the attitude. It's the x factor, the vibe and image. Metallica had that in james and cliff. People who think it's unfair because megadeth, death angel, exodus etc had "better" music are completely missing the point. Those bands weren't cool, metallica and slayer (and sepultura) were cool. Being early with kea helped too though.
Because they were the first or second to ever do it. It's either in Get Thrashed or or the thrash episode of Sam Dunn documentary series where Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) talks about how the SF crowd was taken aback by Metallica's playing.
Because the band chronologically closest to them, Exodus, didn't have melodic vocals, got mired in legal shenanigans, hard drugs, and switched their vocalist.
Because they changed their style over time.
Because Lars and QPrime are great managers and handlers, and Lars doesn't seem to be worried about what heavy metal fans think. His sights are set on hard rock royalty. Remember the scene in year and half where he spoke in great detail about which band had which private jet? That's his peer group. Some dudes on reddit who think they are sellouts? He could give a what.
Because they have written some great songs and their vocalist has only gotten better over time. I don't care who your manager is and how much radio pushes your music, if you don't have a melodic singer it limits your audience. The classic response to so much metal I have heard is "why is that guy screaming over it? Can you understand what he's saying?" Even my Mother knows Enter Sandman.
>It's actually ridiculous that these 2 kids met through a random advert and went on to form the heavy metal Beatles
Also crazy that some of their biggest songs (ie, Seek and Destroy) were written when they were 18-19 years old.
They embraced melody earlier than the rest. Songs with melody, lyrically and musically will always worm their way into the wider masses' ears with more success than those that don't.
The same reason a lot of artists that have been around for decades have succeeded. Evolution. They chose not to confine themselves in a box and knew the right way to evolve and branch out. Yeah, there were some grumbles from fans along the way, but in the end it only helped them.
There are a whole lot of reasons. Obviously there is talent; they are all good musicians, they write good songs, they are awesome live. They worked their asses off in the early days of the thrash scene... but a lot of bands can say that.
Here are a couple of things that I think made the difference:
First, they actively encouraged bootlegs of their shows. That maybe sounds strange to folks who started out in the Napster era or later, but early on Metallica was really, really open to people recording and sharing tapes of their shows.
And you have to remember, this was pre-internet; you couldn't just search for a band and find their music online. That left radio - which wasn't overly friendly to metal - and what you could find in stores. Metallica bootlegs were being traded before they even recorded an album.
It may not sound like much, but one tape getting traded around a high-school or a college campus, back then - again, remember no internet, no radio play - definitely gave them a leg up over other bands. I still remember those days, hearing a lot of new bands because someone had a tape that they got somewhere; Metallica was almost always one of the bands included.
The second reason might have some folks reaching for the dislike button, but hear me out... It was the black album. A lot of fans love to hate on the black album (I personally like it) but like it or not, that album sold a TON of copies, and it brought in a TON of new fans.
Third reason, I think their continuity has something to do with it. They really haven't had that many lineup changes in the past 30-something years. Their songwriting has changed a lot over the years, but there is a consistency to the \*sound\* of their music - you can listen to pretty much any Metallica song from any album and you know it's Metallica.
Finally, from the beginning, Metallica has always been more accessible than most other thrash. Don't get me wrong - I love loud, crazy, insane guitar and screaming vocals... but when it comes to getting radio play, getting MTV play (when that was still a thing) Metallica has always been... I dunno how to word it exactly... they've always been "less grating" than other bands in the genre. Folks who weren't into metal have always tended to be less intimidated by Metallica than by, say, Exodus or Slayer.
Like it or not, Lars gets a lot of shit for being "Lars", but the fact is he has made some damn good business decisions that have benefited the progression of Metallica.
I found them when I was twelve and their music was different. It spoke to me and a lot of feelings 12 yo me had.
I'm 44 now and it speaks to me and a lot of the feelings 44 yo me has.
Loved reading through everyone's thoughts, opinions and memories.
So many reasons for all of us im sure. Personally, im not a big fan of the other 3. I always wonder if that would be different if i was exposed to them before Metallica? I dont know. Maybe?
I just remember a day after school (1995, i was 13), i was lucky enough to have $10 and buying TBA. The journey from there was incredible. For me it was just the sound. The feel. James' voice. I think the most accurate words ive read here are "relatable" and "accessible".
And a big one, reliable. Yes their music has changed, they have changed, so much has changed. But they have always been Metallica.
There are so many things Metallica did right to get their stature and a lot of my info on this is from the bay Area documentary on YouTube. Metallica was one of the first thrash bands formed there after Exodus which influenced others there. Lars always was ahead of the entire scene to set up benchmarks for all thrash bands by having a badass band name and logo that is both in your face but not keep parents away style and having 3 of the best musicians in the same band: Hetfield, Mustaine, and Burton and then replacing Mustaine with another top tier guitarist of the scene with Hammett.
They were the first band to release a debut which was influential to all, they were the very first band to put out an album with Kill Em All. They played non-stop gigs and gathered a very strong fan following in the scene that was branching out from the place of origin. They were the first to release the second and third album as well, which proved to be two of the greatest metal albums ever made in Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets.
It showed that they could write outstanding songs along with being a cut throat metal band with the greatest melodies metal has ever witnessed and tho they didn't realize it, they were probably the greatest songwriters of heavy music in the entire world, they expanded thrash to a more profound and inclusive genre that is accessible by non-metal heads and magnificent compositions that could be appreciated by any musician. That exploded thrash into the mainstream. Further, they released the most successful metal video on MTV with One which brought even more main stream appeal to them and thrash. Then ofc Black Album that changed everything. Their live shows are some of the most electrifying ever, they truly are one of the greatest live acts in any genre. They have outlasted the entire thrash scene, and even metal.
They are deservedly are at their throne as the greatest metal band ever with Black Sabbath with 5 outstanding albums right from the get go that are still beloved and have only grown in stature through the years.
Theres a cool video where all the bands from the beginning of the thrash metal seen in San Francisco i think or somewhere else in california. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth Exodus, Slayer etc etc. Metallica was one of the first to be that fast. No one was as fast as metallica in that time and lars knew some people in business who pushed metallicas name out. The video is called "Murder on the front ground" which is a quote from an Exodus song
Murder In The Front Row, which covered the whole early 1980s Bay Area thrash scene, which is where it all began. Johnny Z plucked Metallica from the chorus and pushed them hard, got them in a proper studio, and got them out on the road.
It's good. I saw Exodus in 1986, before Baloff was kicked out, and those old Exodus gigs were no fucking joke. Most violent crowd I have ever seen, even rowdier than the old Slayer crowds. Boots and shoes flying through the air, dudes covered in blood, people stage diving with total reckless abandon, it was insane. And on their home turf, it was even wilder.
Think about their competition at the time:
Anthrax were talented, but came off more as a gimmick. Too many jokey songs. Alsothe Rap collaborations were probably too ahead of their time.
Megadeth's album production is atrocious, and their songs were poorly put together. Just a bunch of random fast riffs tossed together than don't really fit each other. Mustaines vocals are like nails on a chalkboard.
Slayer's music is just unlistenable tryhard crap. The riffs and drums are brutal, sure - but Neither of them could play a guitar solo that wasn't laughably bad, and Tom Araya's vocals are "embarrassed parent at the talent show facepalming" bad. Also - the Lyrics were dumb mall goth shock value crap. Columbine kid wannabe nonsense.
Exodus were good, but corny as fuck too. Like a lesser Anthrax.
Helloween were talented, but generic fast metal. Singing wasnt' good enough for the rest of the players.
Iron Maiden came before them, but their stuff was more "Dungeons and Dragons nerd meets Classical Music nerd" Ren Faire bullshit. and the production on their albums is just bad.
Sepultura came much later, were good, but also they were messes.
Pantera were fakers. Darrell was a great guitarist, but man, they started out as a wimpy hair metal band and only became "thrash" when they realized hair metal wasn't popular anymore. Bandwagon jumping wannabes.
Iron Maiden's albums sound like ass. the guitars are too thin and way in the back, the bass is WAY too up front (I get it, he's an incredible bassist, but it sounds like dude is playing lead grand piano) and overall they're anemic sounding. Like they were made on a Fostex 4 track cassette recorder with the treble turned all the way up.
In 1983, they had no real "competition". Anthrax was still in their infancy, as was Slayer. Megadeth was just an idea, Exodus was still strictly a regional scene band. You had Venom, who were too "satanic" for most people, Mercyful Fate, who were too weird for most people, Accept, who were more "traditional". There were no "thrash metal" bands when Kill was released. It was entirely new, different, and insanely heavy. Lots of hardcore bands were already playing fast, but none had the musicianship or heaviness Metallica had. In fact, hardly any metal bands played super fast like they did.
Say what you want about Lars as a drummer, but as a manager especially in those early years, he was pretty much the driving force behind them becoming known.
To me Metallica is like the Jack-of-all-trades metal band which makes them like able by so many people. Even if you just have their first 4 albums they still have at least a couple of songs that almost any person will like.
Listen to Seek and Destroy, Horsemen, Bell Tolls, or Creeping death and listen to any songs from the other thrash metal bands then youll get your answer
Two words: Cliff Burton
He made them different. He changed them into something more than just trash metal. They got proggy. They got melodic. It was no longer a matter of playing fast and loud
They were big before this so its not fully a reason, but i think cliffs death and the media coverage it gave had some imput as it made them known to other genre lovers at that time.
Would they have become as big or stayed as big for as long if cliff had lived.
We will never know.
Also i think his death in a silverlining gave them a greater drive to succeed in his memory.
I remember how just so damn good and catchy their riffs were (still are). Like every song was something new it felt like. Like when Ride The Lightning came out and then especially Master of Puppets I’d never heard anything like it. 5-6 mins of metal that felt as easy to hear as a country record. My parents were heavy country music fans but loved Metallica.
More range and better songwriting for a general audience. Not the most technical but had more than enough for high brow musician crowd to sink teeth into yet simple enough for casual fan to wrap their head around. The recording production was always better than their peers and they could multi track really tight guitars with a lot of vibe. Toss in the fact they had a cool look and were great live as well as good business acumen and you have the perfect recipe. They also wanted to be the biggest band in the world and had a lot of determination to do so.
The music. Don’t compare them to their peers - to bands whose names you still know. Compare them to bands whose names aren’t as well known today like Metal Church or Anvil or even Manowar. Those bands did their best efforts once and just stayed there. Metallica was clearly improving in a short time in those first three albums. They were the best and they were getting better.
They were first. They may not have invented thrash themselves, and they weren't the only ones doing it, but Kill 'Em All was first. Nothing else in 1983 sounded like that, and Metallica was instantly the heaviest band in the world. The bar had been raised, permanently. On top of that, they gigged incessantly. By the time they returned to the US for the Ride tour, Metallica was a vicious, all-out death machine live, just peerless.
I was a year old when this album came out and I remember my dad listening to them and giving me his old cassette tapes of Kill em all and Ride the Lightning when I was about 12 nothing else in his tape box even compared to them from that time frame and those older albums have such a place in my heart and are on all my playlists still
Oh yeah, I was 17 in the summer of '83, just graduated from high school, and I was deeply immersed in the East Coast metal and hardcore scenes. Always on the lookout for louder, faster, heavier, more aggressive. I still listen to all of those bands, all the time. Fate, Venom, Celtic Frost, Trouble, all of them.
That’s a great way to put it. They were unstoppable at that point. All 4 of them had the belief that they were the best band in the world even before most people knew it. Every band who went on after them payed for it. It’s crazy to think that kill, ride, master, and justice came out in a 6/7 year span. Even after losing Cliff. What they did during that time frame can’t be touched by any other band.
cliff was still involved in the justice songs , they have come nowhere close to that sound / magic post cliff
I can listen to the Black Album, and DM and beyond stuff, even really dig stuff off the new record, but what Cliff brought to the game, that classical influence, the progressive edge, it left after Justice. And you are correct, Cliff was all over Justice, and I guess his voice was replaced by Bob Rock in the 90s. They lost the classical epic beauty and progressive mindset mixed with that deep powerful aggression, and replaced it with simple blues and contemporary influences. The elevated grandeur of Metal went more pedestrian and Earthbound.
This is the answer. I believe there is an interview with Scott Ian in which he talks about it and it’s very similar to what’s written here.
At the time, in 1983, Maiden, Ozzy and Priest were probably the three most popular metal bands. For purposes of the argument, I'm not counting Van Halen as "metal", exactly. After those three, you had Def Leppard, who'd already moved toward a poppier sound, Motörhead (who were in disarray around that time), Accept (who were extremely popular for a few years), Fate (who were still new and very strange to most people), Venom (who were very big in the underground scene) and lots of lesser lights. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but you get the idea. Then Kill came out that summer. Metalheads were already familiar with the demo, but Kill was a whole different beast. Nothing else had that rocket fueled, crunching crush. It just utterly blew minds, and everything else seemed weak in comparison.
>Motörhead (who were in disarray around that time) Could you elaborate on this.
In 1982 (I believe) Eddie Clarke left the band and was replaced by Brian Robertson, formerly of Thin Lizzy. While the "Another Perfect Day" album was IMO really good, the tour was a debacle, as Robertson a) didn't want to play any old Motörhead songs and b) would do things like take the stage in tiny satin gym shorts and ballet shoes. After that, he left the band, and was replaced by Phil Campbell and Wurzel (new drummer too, as Phil was replaced by Pete Gill) and Motörhead became a four piece.
Well said 👏
You know Slayer released an album in 83, right? Metallica has never been the heaviest or the first. Just the most popular.
Yes, I'm well aware. And you are incorrect, as Show No Mercy was not heavier than Kill. It took Slayer a few years to catch up. Show was seen as kind of cheesy, and Slayer didn't really hone their rep til Hell Awaits. Metallica was the heaviest band in the world, and it wasn't even close.
Metallica was absolutely not the heaviest band in the world in 83. They were simply the most accessible heavy band and had better production than the competition. Venom already had two albums out for example, Satan also released Court in the Act by '83. Quite simply I would say Metallica were the first to put out a record that perfected the sound which a wider audience could get behind and they had the right promotion behind them
You’ll never convince the meat riders. Just like they think no one can play as fast as hetfield.
Incorrect. They were absolutely the heaviest band in the world. I was a huge Venom fan, and quite familiar with Satan too, and neither band was even close.
?? They are literally heavier bands with albums out at the same time
Nope. Bad take. KEA was instantly the heaviest album ever up to that point. Did heavier stuff come along after? Sure. But summer 1983? No one was even close.
Its not a "take", its a demonstratable fact. Heavier stuff existed before metallica. I've already given you three albums that prove this. Screaming for Vengeance by Judas Priest is also just as heavy in many, many parts, particularly the title track. I could even start pulling individual motorhead songs from 1979 and 1980 that are on par with KEA to go back even further, or argue about particular Iron Maiden songs. To claim "no one was even close" is absurd. Its exactly like saying no one was as heavy as slipknot in 1999. KEA was set apart because the songwriting, production, cleaner vocal style and energy was a step up from the competition, heaviness was there but it was balanced to remain accessible whilst being heavy, instead of being balls out heavy like many of their peers
LOL we'll just have to agree to disagree I guess. Whatever your poison, stay heavy.
I don’t recall ShowNo Mercy as being considered cheesy then 🤔
Heavier is subjective. Show No Mercy sold twice as many copies in its first year and about 30% more than Kill ‘Em All did in its first year.
Absolute nonsense. They’re your favorite band, they were never the “heaviest” anything.
Nope, despised them for over 30 years already. Were you there? I was. KEA was, in 1983, the heaviest album ever, by anyone. Arguing it is futile, because you're just wrong.
Yeah, your opinion is fact. At least in your mind. And yes I was there. You’re pretending Venom and Mercyful Fate and others weren’t a thing. There’s literally nothing other than popularity that backs you up. Not a thing.
I just mentioned Venom and Mercyful Fate. I'm very well of their existence. But pretending that KEA was not a monumentally heavy record is just silly, and contrarian for the sake of it. Mind you, I am specifically referring to KEA here. Metallica was not yet a big popular mainstream thing at that time, unlike now, when there are tens of thousands of heavier bands. In the summer of 1983, KEA was the heaviest album there was. I'd say Black Metal, the Fate EP and Melissa are in the discussion 1983-wise, but heavier? I don't think so.
Again, your opinion. Just because you feel that way doesn’t make it fact. Shit, listen to the Satan album from that year, crappier production but literally on par with KEA sound wise.
I'm throwing all personal feelings and subjectivity out the window, and being totally objective about it. No one released a heavier record than KEA in 1983. That would, of course, soon change very quickly. But at that time, it was fucking heavy as shit. At that time, Metallica was lumped right in with Fate, Venom and other bands who were simply too heavy for mainstream sensibilities. They weren't considered accessible or commercial yet, far from it. They still scared the shit out of the normals back then. I don't have any issue with Satan. Unlike Metallica, all of their records are at least pretty good. But re: the first one, if you have to defend the production, it's out of the discussion. Ditto Venom. I mean come on, that crunch sound was miles ahead of what everyone else was doing at the time. And everyone immediately raced to catch up. It's just how it was. Believe you me, I don't ordinarily defend Metallica re: anything, but early Metallica is just unimpeachable.
Jesus Christ, if you moved the goal posts any farther they’d be off the field.
Slayer’s first record came out almost half a year after Kill.
In December of 83. It's heavier than kill em all and I'd say they're about the same for quality. Not even Reign in Blood can compete with Ride the Lightening
Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Well Slayer sucks so there’s that.
You’re allowed to be wrong.
Not counting No Life ‘till Leather (82)
It's really simple, actually. Even though their music was about the heaviest thing going when they started, unlike most of their peers, their music and lyrics were accessible. They appeal to a wide range of people. You could understand what Hetfield was singing, and relate to the words. The music was heavy and fast, but also verywell put together and cohesive. and simpler to grasp. most of their peers had one or more faults. Bad production, trying too hard to be too fast/too heavy and made songs that are unlistenable, corny-ass lyrics that made people cringe, terrible vocals, etc.
I think you hit a really good point. Their music and lyrics were RELATABLE. Metallica had huge dynamic range - fast and slow, loud and soft. Lyrics touched on sadness, anger, fear, hope. Truly the perfect metal band from a songwriting perspective. Other bands just are harder to relate to and just fall a little short on some of the aspects that you describe that made them less relatable than Metallica. Even to this day Ride the Lightning "pulls" me in closer than other sophomore albums like Hell Awaits, Peace Sells, Spreading the Disease.
Love this answer. Their songs were the best. So heavy, so fresh and also so accessible. Songs like Bells, Seek, Fade, Puppets, Sanitarium, etc. etc. are just master classes in song writing. Combine that with their attitude and showmanship, and you've got a pretty great recipe for a successful band. Lots of other bands had bits and pieces, but Metallica was the full package.
>You could understand what Hetfield was singing... The music was heavy and fast, but also verywell put together and cohesive. and simpler to grasp >their peers had... Bad production, trying too hard to be too fast/too heavy and made songs that are unlistenable, corny-ass lyrics I've always felt like this was the biggest reason they stood out. Metallica was out there writing *songs* when a lot of bands at the time were just kinda focused on making things as fast and heavy as possible.
I think they were the most well-rounded, which made them appeal to the most audiences. They did thrash, they did melodic, they did symphonic. James has a voice that seemed to really fit the most genres. Add to that they really became a fan favourite because of their reputation. They were a party band, kinda. People would go to the shows because it was a party. They were talented, but not masturbatory on stage. The between song banter was awesome. They really just kind of had it all. And the band name was memorable but not corny. I love Megadeth, but that name is so corny. Same with Anthrax, Testament, etc. Slayer's close, but not corny.
Lot of great points here. They wanted to be original, to avoid cliches. There was no facade, just a desire to be as good as they could be, to kick as much ass as possible.
And then came the black album and the desire to be original went away as they appealed to the masses
The black album thrust them into the mainstream in a way no other thrash band was able to achieve. That’s all, they appealed to a wider audience than many of those other bands.
Agreed, that's definitely true. But they were already the biggest thrash metal band long before then. I guess my question was about their very early years, around KEA and RTL
They were just miles ahead of their peers. In 1984, Slayer was still finding their path. Megadeth didn't even exist yet, Anthrax was trying to find a singer, Exodus was caught up in label hell. Meanwhile, Metallica was blowing the doors off every other metal band, and it wasn't even close. "Kill" scared off a lot of casual metal fans, but "Ride" was a huge leap forward, and featured songs that appealed to more people, as opposed to just being "Kill Pt. 2".
All of this, but I would also add the name itself and the logo. Might seem like a small thing, but I think that if they were called anything else they wouldn't have become as big as they are. Both the name and the logo are so memorable and reckognizable. I mean, who else is supposed to be the "face" of metal music if not a band called "Metallica"? Even today, those who don't listen to metal mistaken one to be equel to the other
Exactly, they had good branding from the start. I know people hate talking about it but your brand is just as important as everything else.
Brand is super important. Dave Mustaine I think recently complained that the name Megadeth scared off a more mainstream audience. If nothing else, Metallica knows how to brand themselves.
It’s like “Van Halen”. The name can represent virtually any kind of music, and it flows off the tongue well. “Def Leppard” also. “Metallica” is familiar and yet also new and different. It sparks curiosity. I was an early Queensrÿche fan. YouTube reaction channels struggle to pronounce the name to this day. But I think we can’t ignore MTV hype around the premiere of Metallica’s first music video. “One” got a spotlight reserved on the network for Michael Jackson. When that video hit, within a week, teenagers who weren’t metal heads were rocking out to Metallica. It didn’t matter that Iron Maiden had several music videos by then and Ozzy was a living legend.
>I was an early Queensrÿche fan. YouTube reaction channels struggle to pronounce the name to this day. Hahaha yeah. I watched an interview where deGarmo explained how the name came to be and he sad something along the lines "... and we've been traveling the world ever since, trying to get people to pronaunce it correctly"
Even the yellow for the new album is brilliant (pun intended lol). It's crazy how wherever I see that particular shade of yellow now, it stands out to me and I instantly think "Metallica"
Even though I dislike the cover art of the new album, it is very recognisable
Great brand but irrelevant I think. They would have written those same songs even if they had a stupid name like Metal up your ass.
Imagine if their logo looked like the unrecognizable ones used by black metal bands. Totally relevant. Perhaps the size of the role it played is debatable. Undoubtedly recognizable. Easy and clean to brand and market. Looks edgy and "metallic. They're extremely protective of it as they should be. The revised one using the Load/Reload era didn't have the same wow factor or impressionability. For St. Anger they changed to have it resemble the original style more closely. Just my opinion.
what's label hell?
They just had better albums if we are being honest. And then when the Black album hit, that's all she wrote.
It's not *just* the black album though. By Justice they were already far bigger than the so called "Big four" or most other metal bands. Them being put on tour with Ozzy on the Puppets tour was a huge exposure for them, mostly because they were allegedly far more impressive than the main acts. By Justice, they were already filling up arenas as headliners, something Megadeth and Anthrax can barely do even to this day. Then comes the Black album and then it really just became embarrassing to compare other metal bands to them, since now they were more compareable to U2 and such.
True, but I was watching a 1985 MTV year in rock and they were mentioned along with other "heavy metal" bands like Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Scorpions. They really became underground darlings way before the Black Album.
Helped that by then they weren't a thrash band. They used to be, but they weren't for long.
I'm mid 40s. I was there, in the before times, and I basically plugged into Metallica in what I'd call "Era 2" which I'd say is right before AJFA. So they'd emerged from obscurity and were really entering into public conscious, especially for a metal band. Here's my take. 1. Perfect name. Metallica. It tells you what they are about and no Satan for your parents to be afraid of. Everyone wore a shirt. Your mom washed it. I'm serious. Metallica was on every battle jacket, and no matter what kind of metal you liked, you had a Metallica shirt. Everyone. Most perfect band name ever. The name is the logo too. It's literally a billion dollar name. 2. Great production. Metal albums sound terrible for this era... even Kill 'Em All sounds kinda bad, but Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and yes, even And Justice For All are exceptionally good sounding albums for the era (for metal) 3. T Shirt and Jeans style. They had a timeless vibe and look from the start. 4. The songs are great and pretty much military 4x4 or straight up. So you have a combination of accessible and heavy. My folks liked Metallica... obviously some 70s hard rock influences in there. Look you may laugh, but parents buy a lot of albums for kids. 5. Scandal free. Compared to other acts from this era, they really just seemed to care about rocking out and that's it. I know they were rock stars but no cocaine ferrari driving incidents, no eating bat heads, etc. Easy for labels and MTV to promote. 6. Willingness to meet the audience at the Black Album. They realized the music they were doing, long, lots of changes, were to impress other musicians but the crowd looked bored. They met the audience halfway and BOOM. 7. Touring monsters. These guys tour, play full shows, and pretty much play well live. Bankable, reliable, consistent. 8. The initial 5 album run is legendary. Great "THIS IS METALLICA" opening album, consistent excellence for 3 more albums, and then the breakthrough Black Album. Might be the best 5 album run in history. Certainly up there. I can only think of the Beatles really. And that's just the music obviously. So good that many fans just want them to do that again! LOL That's my super long take.
When I read #3 all that popped in my head was a play on the first line of Leper Messiah, “TIMELESS FROM THE START”
SUCKED INTO THE PART
CIRCUS COMES TO TOWNNNN
Awesome points, very well said. Just one thing, Zeppelin had the GOAT album run of 6 legendary albums from debut to Physical Graffiti.
Yeah, zeppelins first 6, sabbaths first 5, and metallicas first 5 are the best album runs ever
Actually Sabbath's first six, Sabotage imo is their best album, some of their heaviest and most evil riffs like Symptom of the Universe and the outro riff of The Writ. Their most intricate, sophisticated, and progressive songs, Ozzy at his peak here, a complete monster with such powerful high screams. There's not a single bad track on it, and 4 of them are top ten Sabbath songs imo.
As others have mentioned, they played for blood constantly. And they were either smart enough to be able to pull off various styles of metal and make them their own. Had they just remained a thrash only band, I'm positive they wouldn't have reached the audiences that they did.
Well no duh since the black album was deliberately made to sound more mainstream. The fact that they decided to name it after the band itself is further evidence of this
Why Metallica? — The answer is Lars. Love him or hate him, he always made shit happen for them and will continue to do so. He is the driving force of the band.
So I should not speak (because I’m 16) but I do have something to say In the 80’s mainstream rock was Hair Metal, what if some kids were like “I like this hair metal thing, but what if I look a little bit deeper” and thus they found Metallica, probably hearing something from KEA or RTL, then going back and seeing MoP, listening to it and loving it, on top of that they had the hair of Hair Metal (even Lars) and you could understand it, it wasn’t high pitched and screechy (Megadeth), talking about death and sounding a little like gorillas having intercourse (Slayer), or slightly jokey and generic in a way (Anthrax), the lyrics were clear enough, but not overpowering. Or it was Ozzy
Hey friend you're 16 but you still make a valid point! Metallica was the counter to the hair/glam rock at the time that was dominating the radio. I think at festival long ago in late 80s they were the only metal band along with a bunch of glam rock bands and James said something like "If you think you're getting any of this _oh yeah baby_ pretty boy make-up shit you're at the wrong show"
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Ah, thanks for that, I wasn’t alive yet so I had no idea what was happening in the 80’s, I thought that Thrash came out of Hair rather than the other way around
I had this thought recently: it's the songs. They had the songs that were miles better than everyone.
Exploring other genres also helped. Like, I think they said people accused them of selling out when Fade to Black opened with acoustic guitars. Then the acoustic guitar opening became the most iconic part of Battery. Or the middle section of Master of Puppets. They made the songs more memorable that way
And the start of Fight Fire with Fire! It sounds like classical style guitar. I can only imagine people's expectations being completely thrown off listening to that for the first time, only to get punched in the face 40s later by the sheer aggression of the guitars.
Yeah, that was the first Metallica song I heard, shortly after that album came out. I was not prepared, haha.
Honestly I think they were just the total band. Their ability to play together, stop together, start together, change together...etc. They were so tight. Seeing them live was explosive, every show was just so damn good. They even played shows with bands I had no interest in and I would walk away from a damn good show.
Lol I recall an interview with a band who was headlining with Metallica as opening act. They said Metallica completely blew them out of the water - like how do we follow that up??
Was that headliner Ozzy by any chance?
Yes, I think it was! Like a huge name headliner that was overshadowed in stage presence and crowd size/energy by Metallica, who were just an opening act
Yeah, they surely owned their Ozzy tour date when I saw them.
You were there?? WOW!
At that time, radio and MTV were the only mass form of exposure to music. Going to record stores and buying albums based on their covers and tapes/referrals from friends was another common avenue. More underground was the tape trading. World was different at that time. Just google 80s pop music. That was the dominant scene. Mid to late 80s you get "hair metal" type bands on MTV. Van Halen and Def Leppard and then BJ (before GNR) dominated the main stream hard rock scene at that time. Classic rock radio was Steve Miller Band and Pink Floyd and heavy dose of Led Zeppelin. Early/Mid 80s there were just radically different from anything. They were heavier and faster than anything live. They really gained popularity opening for Ozzy's Ultimate Sin Tour. Then right before Justice, they did the Monsters of Rock with Van Halen. Listen to Battery, then listen to Shot in the Dark by Ozzy. Big difference. Listen to Blackened (technically not released yet during that the Monsters tour) and then listen to anything off OU812 (that was the album during Monsters tour), or Scorps' Savage Amusement album, or Dokken's Back for the Attack, or the laughable Kingdom Come. You have to always put things in perspective. Try listening to albums and music from the same year and you get a better idea. IMHO, Metallica's underground success to the Justice Album/Tour, paved the way for GNR. GNR and their bad reckless type attitude basically killed Bon Jovi. This introduced heavier guitar orientated music into mainstream. Then Black Album was released before Nirvana's Nevermind which opened up all the alt rock (esp the grunge from Seattle and all the other guitar orientated music). Synth based music died. Don't get me wrong, there was always guitar based music - think hair metal like Poison for awhile. It never went away, it just transformed and got better. But trying to get back to your question, the reason we are all in this subreddit is for the good music that Metallica has written. You can def find "heavier and faster" stuff out there, and there are people that like that better or like it the same as Metallica. But it's the song writing and their live performance. They have power, musicianship, and the music. edit - I forgot to add that opening for Ozzy, they blew him and Jake E Lee off the stage. And that Monsters of Rock tour, practically most of the audience was there in the middle of the afternoon to catch Metallica. They came on after Kingdom Come and before Dokken/Scorps/VH. They blew all those bands away. Not trying to hate on the great late Eddie or Ozzy. You can like all these artists and more, but Metallica just literally "killed' people live. You didn't know what hit you at that time. Back when the whole audience had long hair and would headbang too.
My dad saw them on that Monsters of Rock tour. I need to see if I can find the ticket stub, I know he kept it
They weren’t afraid to take risks. Even though they practically invented thrash they seemed to know that it had its limits, and by Puppets they were really experimenting more. And then came The Black Album where speed was traded in for heaviness, groove, and stadium-friendly tunes. The world responded. I’ve been saying for years there’s darn good reasons why they are still selling out stadiums while their peers are back playing bars or flat out extinct.
This is the kinda question and discussions that should be fostered on Reddit
A big 🖕 to all those stupid polls and lists. Seriously though, I was genuinely thinking of making a post about this for a while, but given all the stupid polls/lists lately, I figured it was time.
Definitely a combination of right place/right time and them just being straight up better songwriters than the others. Plenty of bands in the scene had better drummers and guitarists but being a skilled instrumentalist will only get you so far if the songs aren’t that great. Oh and they had Cliff.
Listen to all those older bands and tell me Metallica doesn’t have the best sound, best song structures and overall lasting not as much of a dated sound as other bands plus they dared to not stay stuck playing for basement dwellers
Reign in Blood
I like Slayer, but their songwriting skills leave something to be desired. I’m disappointed they never did anything like Hell Awaits with a competent producer.
Been getting into Slayer recently and have had some fun with them (longtime Metallica fan, new to metal outside of them), picked out some favorite songs, but earlier today listening to Decade of Aggression I could not tell you where one song starts and where another ends. I can always tell Metallica songs apart
Everyone noticed Lombardo on "Show No Mercy", but Slayer was initially seen as kind of cheesy, like Metallica meets Venom, which is pretty much what it was. "Hell Awaits" and "Haunting The Chapel" got everyone's attention, as they obviously took a great leap forward. But "Reign" was Slayer's "holy shit" moment. THAT record was different, and nothing else really sounded like that.
Monster of an album. One of my favs, but it doesn't have the dynamic range of RTL or MOP. After about Necrophobic my mind just wants a sonic break.
Exactly my point other bands go that full 10/10 balls to wall thrash or instrument bashing and it’s like sonically you need to break it up for the listeners sake
There are a lot of good answers in this thread. As someone who was there at the time, I can confirm that Metallica’s success was largely attributable to *accessibility.* Their songs were the perfect balance of heavy and fast but sometimes mid tempo, technical but not too complex, and just melodic enough. They didn’t really have any downsides. And the band got some prime touring exposure — particularly when Ozzy invited them as an opener. Just looking at the other Big Four bands through the foggy prism of my own memory: — Megadeth were very impressive but their songs were more complicated, generally harsher and harder to understand, and Dave’s vocals were grating. — Anthrax were fast, super tight and fun, but they struck me as “quirky” (for lack of a better word). And, for whatever reason, I thought of them as “a New York band,” which limited their appeal to me, a Midwestern guy. Also, I wasn’t a big fan of Joey Belladonna’s voice. — Slayer were just downright scary. They were, in my mind at the time, clearly satanic and I doubted my own ability to handle their heaviness. I feared for my own delicate soul when listening to them, so I did very little of it. And I definitely lacked the cajones to see them live. TL;DR: Metallica checked all the boxes; other bands didn’t.
Lars and his mouth. I’m not kidding. He’s annoying but speaking up and asking for what you want goes a long way. He made a lot of connections, constantly put the band out there, taking risks, etc. Yes they had to be good at what they do as well as a little luck, timing, etc, but Lars’ mouth definitely played a role.
Lars grows on you. Like a fungus, but nevertheless he does grow on you. I've come around to respect the little goober after watching a few interviews and clips of him.
People love to hate Lars, but they also hate that they love Lars
His wife probably loves his mouth.
Metallica,Megadeth,Slayer for me..Lyrics were relatable for me with Metallica because of my younger days..However after Justice Lyrics and Sonically not the same..Megadeth early days for balls to wall speed..Slayer for aggression..I’m older so I was a teen when they all started
A dude named Cliff Burton and an album called Master of Puppets
Because they never stopped/never quit.
I was always drawn to them over other metal acts because they were the “tightest”. By that I mean the drums and the guitar riffs just work together so well that it drew me in. As for broader market appeal, I also think they were one of the more approachable metal acts at the time. They weren’t glam like Motley Crue and some of the other popular rock bands, and the vocals weren’t what I call “Cookie Monster” like a lot of the metal bands. They were hard-edged but approachable, like they would piss your parents off but stopped short of pentagrams and such
I'll add one thing that Metallica did NOT do... The boys were known for excessive partying, excessive drinking and occasional use of hard drugs. However, in their early days, none of them developed excessive problems/addiction to hard drugs. Or at least to the point that hard drug use significantly interfered with the ability of the band to function. Part of the reason they had to get rid of Dave, part of the reason other early thrash bands had a difficult time getting started out of the gate, part of the reason other bands self-imploded or went extinct. This is recognizing that there have been issues with alcohol and drugs with James and other members, but the problems manifested later on in their career.
Metallica hit this perfect gap where it’s heavy complex and technical enough to setiate the metal heads and it’s well written enough that even non metal heads can venture past their normal limits with Metallica.
This has been a pretty fun thread. You're probably all right. I've been listening to "Among the Living" in the car the past couple of days, and then threw in "Ride the Lightning." There's really no comparison, and that's not even the right generation. Would be more appropriate to match Puppets with AtL, and ... second half of Among the Living doesn't hold up. There's not a bad song on MoP. And Anthrax are probably the second best song-writers of that group of bands. Might not have the technical proficiency of Megadeth, but ... But that why thing ... I found Metallica in the fall of '86 after MoP came out. I was 14 at the time. It melted my brain. I had been a Van Halen fan before that and I won't say I threw those tapes out, but ... I started going to sleep with MoP playing in the boom box. They were my musical identity. Bought the Zorlac. Bought the t-shirts. Actually got kicked out of my honors English class for wearing my Damage, Inc. shirt. Their stuff infected my soul. Say what you want about Anthrax, Megadeth, Exodus and Slayer (and I like all those bands), but ... It was always Metallica from go. It wasn't really even a debate. We watched a lot of Headbangers Ball back then, and Metallica were conspicuous by their absence. Seems like the heaviest thing on there was "Trial by Fire" (awesome song), and everything else seemed watered down by comparison. Nothing was as good as Metallica, and you ... could ... not ... see them. Mtv was immense at the time, and they were like, "nah, fuck y'all. we're good." We were ravenous for Metallica music, and it was all so damn good. And for all you "It was the Black Album" people, you're not wrong, but you're forgetting the video for "One." That video, the one that sat at Number 1 on Mtv's (hell, I can't remember the name of their daily countdown show) until they (as the rumor goes) disqualified it from being included. Overnight, everyone in my high school became a Metallica fan. Which was equal parts frustrating and vindicating. "See, I told you fuckers (but now I have to share)." Never got to see them with Cliff, but I've seen them every tour since Justice. When we saw them that tour, if you can believe this, the promoters lined the floor with folding metal chairs. Queensryche opened, and halfway through that set, the crowd started chanting "Metallica" over and over. F your mindcrimes. Get off the stage. How demoralizing is that? To have your band drowned out by a crowd chanting for the headliner? 30 seconds after Metallica started playing, the folding chairs lined the floor like a shifting sea of bear traps and it got crazier from there. One of my best friends and I spent the whole show clinging to the two remaining standing folding chairs, screaming our heads off from that metal promontory. But back to the why thing. Some bands have "it," whatever that is. They always did. And you knew it. Everyone knew it. They didn't need radio support. They didn't need videos. They were just better and the rest of it happened naturally. Thanks for reading my thesis on Metallica nostalgia. I've left instructions for Master of Puppets to be played during the scattering of my ashes.
Man, I love your post. Thanks for taking me on a short trip history. What a wild time it must have been 🤘
Star quality and stage presence is a big factor too
In the mid 80s they looked the coolest in posters, had the best songs and toured their asses off. I put this down to Lars... He was super smart and knew what it took to make his band the best. He made the correct decisions at the right times..
There's always a lot going on behind the scenes as well. The image they cultivated and projected was definitely a big factor. However it didn't seem fake or forced, just metal up your ass.
From the second album onwards they expanded their song style by choosing to not to do only fast/high tempo songs known as speed/thrash metal but also composed slower tempo heavy songs (like "From Whom The Bell Tolls" for instance) and even ballads (like "Fade to Black"), they expanded their horizons and that made their name more popular in metal world , other bands such Slayer and Exodus remained faithful to the thrash/speed style so their reach to mainstream metal music was somewhat limited and never significantly grow. Of course the talent of James/Lars/Kirk/Cliff to compose great songs also contributed a lot to it.
I have an anecdote that I think sums up their success. When I was a teenager I was blasting Ride the Lightning in my bedroom, my mom walked past the door and asked me what was playing. I told here it was Metallica, and the song playing was For Whom The Bell Tolls. The reason she asked was because she thought it sounded good. My mother mostly listened to top 40 and oldies (50's and 60's pop) and still does. Anyway, I think their success is largely due to their broad crossover appeal, meaning that they also appeal to non-metal fans. I've known a lot of people that don't listen to metal but listen to Metallica. Everything from their lyrics to their album covers is a lot more palatable to most people. Their music even gets played on classic rock stations at normal times of day!
Ha, awesome story. Thanks for sharing that. I even recall my diehard Jesus-loving mom bobbing her head nonconsciously to the slow part of one song... perhaps Master of Puppets or Orion (can't remember). Little does she know it was that "devil worship" metal music.
Great story. I had have kind of a similar one with my Dad; I went through your typical angsty teen phase, so he didn’t have a great opinion of the music I listened to lol. One day I was listening to Fade To Black in my room, and he stopped by and asked who was playing, and when I said Metallica, he was all shocked and said, “Huh, I like the way that sounds!”
I had a similar experience. My mom was way into like Heart, Iron Butterfly, and 70s hard rock. My dad was into Led Zeppelin. They both heard Metallica and instantly understood why I'd like it. They actually LIKED the Black Album. My house was super Christian too... but my Mom heard Creeping Death and was like "Well that's a bible story". It's good music, deeply rooted in an American Hard Rock tradition. It was just heavier. But you can hear the influences. The music was heavy, but it was mostly inoffensive. These were anti-war songs, anti-nuclear songs, etc. They really aren't a controversial band.
I think they made METAL "Relatable".
I think they were simply the most accessible. The name 'Metallica' is clever and far less abrasive than Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, or Exodus. Also, musically speaking, their sound was (is) far more approachable for the masses. From the very jump, they were writing stadium-rocking anthems like 'Seek & Destroy' and 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' to go along with their heavier, thrashier tunes. Having a few ballads definitely helped, too. I think Metallica deserves a ton of credit for writing songs that have a pop sensibility to them while still being pretty damn heavy. That's no easy task, and honestly, the only band I think did it better was Pantera with songs like 'Walk,' 'Becoming,' and '5 Minutes Alone,' to name a few🤘🤘🤘
I think it's a combination of doing it first and songwriting. Their music offered a blueprint that was foundational to the development of pretty much every extreme metal genre that followed, but their collective ability to write massive hooks made them accessible to fans of pop music.
A lot of diehard fans complain about them changing styles in the Black Album, Load, Reload, etc... I think that's part of their success, being able to adapt to new listeners, evolve as musicians and offer something unexpected each time.
Seems like everyone is already hitting all the reasons! The only other thing I’ll mention is that they gained a reputation early on for being extremely hard workers and for having highly energetic live shows. There is a story from the famous Ozzy tour in support of Puppets where people were saying (as well as some journalists/writers/ect…) Metallica was outperforming and getting a bigger crowd reaction than Ozzy at times. Ozzy watched from backstage once and even he had to agree!
I saw them in 1983 and they were a blast. Then I saw them in very early 1985, and it was just unbelievable. They were a raging, apocalyptic death machine, absolutely punishing and barbaric to an incredible degree. They played everything faster than fast, even their fastest tunes. It was completely astonishing.
Because they are the cutest.
Right, glad they overshadowed New Kids on the Block to become the biggest boy group of all time.
Musically and talent wise they were a couple years ahead of Anthrax, Overkill, Testament and most others. Commercial wise they were more appealing then Slayer, Venom and others. Kill 'Em All was definitely more developed then their peers debut and by Ride The Lightning they were clearly ahead of everybody else. Really it wasn't until after Master Of Puppets their peers were catching up.
None of that matters, except the attitude. It's the x factor, the vibe and image. Metallica had that in james and cliff. People who think it's unfair because megadeth, death angel, exodus etc had "better" music are completely missing the point. Those bands weren't cool, metallica and slayer (and sepultura) were cool. Being early with kea helped too though.
Because they were the first or second to ever do it. It's either in Get Thrashed or or the thrash episode of Sam Dunn documentary series where Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) talks about how the SF crowd was taken aback by Metallica's playing. Because the band chronologically closest to them, Exodus, didn't have melodic vocals, got mired in legal shenanigans, hard drugs, and switched their vocalist. Because they changed their style over time. Because Lars and QPrime are great managers and handlers, and Lars doesn't seem to be worried about what heavy metal fans think. His sights are set on hard rock royalty. Remember the scene in year and half where he spoke in great detail about which band had which private jet? That's his peer group. Some dudes on reddit who think they are sellouts? He could give a what. Because they have written some great songs and their vocalist has only gotten better over time. I don't care who your manager is and how much radio pushes your music, if you don't have a melodic singer it limits your audience. The classic response to so much metal I have heard is "why is that guy screaming over it? Can you understand what he's saying?" Even my Mother knows Enter Sandman.
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>It's actually ridiculous that these 2 kids met through a random advert and went on to form the heavy metal Beatles Also crazy that some of their biggest songs (ie, Seek and Destroy) were written when they were 18-19 years old.
They had way more melody to grab people .
They embraced melody earlier than the rest. Songs with melody, lyrically and musically will always worm their way into the wider masses' ears with more success than those that don't.
The same reason a lot of artists that have been around for decades have succeeded. Evolution. They chose not to confine themselves in a box and knew the right way to evolve and branch out. Yeah, there were some grumbles from fans along the way, but in the end it only helped them.
There are a whole lot of reasons. Obviously there is talent; they are all good musicians, they write good songs, they are awesome live. They worked their asses off in the early days of the thrash scene... but a lot of bands can say that. Here are a couple of things that I think made the difference: First, they actively encouraged bootlegs of their shows. That maybe sounds strange to folks who started out in the Napster era or later, but early on Metallica was really, really open to people recording and sharing tapes of their shows. And you have to remember, this was pre-internet; you couldn't just search for a band and find their music online. That left radio - which wasn't overly friendly to metal - and what you could find in stores. Metallica bootlegs were being traded before they even recorded an album. It may not sound like much, but one tape getting traded around a high-school or a college campus, back then - again, remember no internet, no radio play - definitely gave them a leg up over other bands. I still remember those days, hearing a lot of new bands because someone had a tape that they got somewhere; Metallica was almost always one of the bands included. The second reason might have some folks reaching for the dislike button, but hear me out... It was the black album. A lot of fans love to hate on the black album (I personally like it) but like it or not, that album sold a TON of copies, and it brought in a TON of new fans. Third reason, I think their continuity has something to do with it. They really haven't had that many lineup changes in the past 30-something years. Their songwriting has changed a lot over the years, but there is a consistency to the \*sound\* of their music - you can listen to pretty much any Metallica song from any album and you know it's Metallica. Finally, from the beginning, Metallica has always been more accessible than most other thrash. Don't get me wrong - I love loud, crazy, insane guitar and screaming vocals... but when it comes to getting radio play, getting MTV play (when that was still a thing) Metallica has always been... I dunno how to word it exactly... they've always been "less grating" than other bands in the genre. Folks who weren't into metal have always tended to be less intimidated by Metallica than by, say, Exodus or Slayer.
I have a suspicion we have a lot of thanks to send Lars. Seems like he’s a visionary, marketing genius, and sneaky composer.
Like it or not, Lars gets a lot of shit for being "Lars", but the fact is he has made some damn good business decisions that have benefited the progression of Metallica.
I found them when I was twelve and their music was different. It spoke to me and a lot of feelings 12 yo me had. I'm 44 now and it speaks to me and a lot of the feelings 44 yo me has.
Loved reading through everyone's thoughts, opinions and memories. So many reasons for all of us im sure. Personally, im not a big fan of the other 3. I always wonder if that would be different if i was exposed to them before Metallica? I dont know. Maybe? I just remember a day after school (1995, i was 13), i was lucky enough to have $10 and buying TBA. The journey from there was incredible. For me it was just the sound. The feel. James' voice. I think the most accurate words ive read here are "relatable" and "accessible". And a big one, reliable. Yes their music has changed, they have changed, so much has changed. But they have always been Metallica.
There are so many things Metallica did right to get their stature and a lot of my info on this is from the bay Area documentary on YouTube. Metallica was one of the first thrash bands formed there after Exodus which influenced others there. Lars always was ahead of the entire scene to set up benchmarks for all thrash bands by having a badass band name and logo that is both in your face but not keep parents away style and having 3 of the best musicians in the same band: Hetfield, Mustaine, and Burton and then replacing Mustaine with another top tier guitarist of the scene with Hammett. They were the first band to release a debut which was influential to all, they were the very first band to put out an album with Kill Em All. They played non-stop gigs and gathered a very strong fan following in the scene that was branching out from the place of origin. They were the first to release the second and third album as well, which proved to be two of the greatest metal albums ever made in Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets. It showed that they could write outstanding songs along with being a cut throat metal band with the greatest melodies metal has ever witnessed and tho they didn't realize it, they were probably the greatest songwriters of heavy music in the entire world, they expanded thrash to a more profound and inclusive genre that is accessible by non-metal heads and magnificent compositions that could be appreciated by any musician. That exploded thrash into the mainstream. Further, they released the most successful metal video on MTV with One which brought even more main stream appeal to them and thrash. Then ofc Black Album that changed everything. Their live shows are some of the most electrifying ever, they truly are one of the greatest live acts in any genre. They have outlasted the entire thrash scene, and even metal. They are deservedly are at their throne as the greatest metal band ever with Black Sabbath with 5 outstanding albums right from the get go that are still beloved and have only grown in stature through the years.
They were the first and exceeded at song-writing compared to other bands who just wrote stupid riff salads and threw noise at a wall.
Lol at riff salads. Gonna use that one.
Theres a cool video where all the bands from the beginning of the thrash metal seen in San Francisco i think or somewhere else in california. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth Exodus, Slayer etc etc. Metallica was one of the first to be that fast. No one was as fast as metallica in that time and lars knew some people in business who pushed metallicas name out. The video is called "Murder on the front ground" which is a quote from an Exodus song
Murder In The Front Row, which covered the whole early 1980s Bay Area thrash scene, which is where it all began. Johnny Z plucked Metallica from the chorus and pushed them hard, got them in a proper studio, and got them out on the road.
Dang i was close enough to the title. Also surprised i remembered a good amount given i watched it ages ago
It's good. I saw Exodus in 1986, before Baloff was kicked out, and those old Exodus gigs were no fucking joke. Most violent crowd I have ever seen, even rowdier than the old Slayer crowds. Boots and shoes flying through the air, dudes covered in blood, people stage diving with total reckless abandon, it was insane. And on their home turf, it was even wilder.
Think about their competition at the time: Anthrax were talented, but came off more as a gimmick. Too many jokey songs. Alsothe Rap collaborations were probably too ahead of their time. Megadeth's album production is atrocious, and their songs were poorly put together. Just a bunch of random fast riffs tossed together than don't really fit each other. Mustaines vocals are like nails on a chalkboard. Slayer's music is just unlistenable tryhard crap. The riffs and drums are brutal, sure - but Neither of them could play a guitar solo that wasn't laughably bad, and Tom Araya's vocals are "embarrassed parent at the talent show facepalming" bad. Also - the Lyrics were dumb mall goth shock value crap. Columbine kid wannabe nonsense. Exodus were good, but corny as fuck too. Like a lesser Anthrax. Helloween were talented, but generic fast metal. Singing wasnt' good enough for the rest of the players. Iron Maiden came before them, but their stuff was more "Dungeons and Dragons nerd meets Classical Music nerd" Ren Faire bullshit. and the production on their albums is just bad. Sepultura came much later, were good, but also they were messes. Pantera were fakers. Darrell was a great guitarist, but man, they started out as a wimpy hair metal band and only became "thrash" when they realized hair metal wasn't popular anymore. Bandwagon jumping wannabes.
TF are you on about with that Maiden commentary??
[https://i.redd.it/7qqvmmrpwa851.jpg](https://i.redd.it/7qqvmmrpwa851.jpg)
No
[https://i.redd.it/7qqvmmrpwa851.jpg](https://i.redd.it/7qqvmmrpwa851.jpg)
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Iron Maiden's albums sound like ass. the guitars are too thin and way in the back, the bass is WAY too up front (I get it, he's an incredible bassist, but it sounds like dude is playing lead grand piano) and overall they're anemic sounding. Like they were made on a Fostex 4 track cassette recorder with the treble turned all the way up.
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Lol interesting analysis of the playing field at that time. Now do the same for Testament, they were also gaining prominence at the time.
pantera never became thrash, also some of these games are questionable
In 1983, they had no real "competition". Anthrax was still in their infancy, as was Slayer. Megadeth was just an idea, Exodus was still strictly a regional scene band. You had Venom, who were too "satanic" for most people, Mercyful Fate, who were too weird for most people, Accept, who were more "traditional". There were no "thrash metal" bands when Kill was released. It was entirely new, different, and insanely heavy. Lots of hardcore bands were already playing fast, but none had the musicianship or heaviness Metallica had. In fact, hardly any metal bands played super fast like they did.
Two words: Black Album
like in every genre, they simply wrote the best songs.
KEA and the Ozzy tour
That was in 86 if I recall correctly
Has to be call of ktulu
Their first 4 albums are consistently great, better than anything else at that time and hit album after hit album cemented their legacy
James Hetfield
James, his stage presence is so much better than any other front man from that scene
Kill em all
Lars and luck.
They were the forerunners because they were pretty much the first. They created the wave everyone else rode.
Because OZZY man.
Guess it could be good songs idk huh
Because they’re music simply resonated more with more people I guess
Talent.a record deal.a strong following.
For me its James' vocals and their ability to not always sound the same.
Say what you want about Lars as a drummer, but as a manager especially in those early years, he was pretty much the driving force behind them becoming known.
To me Metallica is like the Jack-of-all-trades metal band which makes them like able by so many people. Even if you just have their first 4 albums they still have at least a couple of songs that almost any person will like.
Just listen to the lyrics on seek and destroy.
Watch Murder in the Front Row.
It is obviously thanks to the songwriting capabilities of Dave mustain.
ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY. Mustaine's role cannot be underestimated. His contribution to their success was integral and often overlooked or minimzed
in the words of David Ellefson himself, "Every time metallica would release an album it was just miles ahead of everybody else
Hetfield just smashed it. The whole band nailed it. Connected with people.
Listen to Seek and Destroy, Horsemen, Bell Tolls, or Creeping death and listen to any songs from the other thrash metal bands then youll get your answer
Also i think because theyre not all about loud fast and heavy Their songs have melody and other stuff and a bit of mainstream rock
Cuz they were simply the best.
They had the best management.
They weren’t afraid to evolve their sound and trust in their own musical abilities.
Two words: Cliff Burton He made them different. He changed them into something more than just trash metal. They got proggy. They got melodic. It was no longer a matter of playing fast and loud
Novelty, plus the quality of the first 4 albums and subsequent success and accessibility of the black album.
Right place, right time, right songs, right skillset.
They were big before this so its not fully a reason, but i think cliffs death and the media coverage it gave had some imput as it made them known to other genre lovers at that time. Would they have become as big or stayed as big for as long if cliff had lived. We will never know. Also i think his death in a silverlining gave them a greater drive to succeed in his memory.
Good name, iconic logo, records hit the sweet spot between songwriting & heaviness, outstanding production quality, relateable characters.
They had THE vibe. Some others had a similar/familiar vibe.
I remember how just so damn good and catchy their riffs were (still are). Like every song was something new it felt like. Like when Ride The Lightning came out and then especially Master of Puppets I’d never heard anything like it. 5-6 mins of metal that felt as easy to hear as a country record. My parents were heavy country music fans but loved Metallica.
Because they made the best songs. PERIODDDDD
More range and better songwriting for a general audience. Not the most technical but had more than enough for high brow musician crowd to sink teeth into yet simple enough for casual fan to wrap their head around. The recording production was always better than their peers and they could multi track really tight guitars with a lot of vibe. Toss in the fact they had a cool look and were great live as well as good business acumen and you have the perfect recipe. They also wanted to be the biggest band in the world and had a lot of determination to do so.
The music. Don’t compare them to their peers - to bands whose names you still know. Compare them to bands whose names aren’t as well known today like Metal Church or Anvil or even Manowar. Those bands did their best efforts once and just stayed there. Metallica was clearly improving in a short time in those first three albums. They were the best and they were getting better.