Since their inception, Metallica has always been striving for something more profound. Perhaps most famously, on “Enter Sandman,” the band quotes the prayer “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” turning a child’s plea for salvation into a rumination on the horrors of the night. Their songs are filled with numerous biblical and religious references. With the lyrics, one finds the band tapping into a deeper universe as well, exploring the lines between life, death, and spirituality. Listening to their original recordings, one can hear classical-style melodies, virtuosic guitar solos, and extended jams, as well as elements of classic, punk, and prog rock. So why has Metallica’s music inspired so many covers? Underneath the layers of distortion, hard-pounding double bass drums, and barbaric yowls, the band’s music and songwriting are strikingly complex. The album features cover songs by the likes of Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Darius Rucker, Miley Cyrus, My Morning Jacket, and Kamasi Washington. Adding more fuel to the proverbial cover fire, this year, to mark the 30th anniversary of The Black Album, the band commissioned an extensive tribute record dubbed The Metallica Blacklist. Jazz, pop, rock, country, bluegrass, and numerous classical artists (not to mention countless metal bands) have taken on Metallica’s tracks. Over the years, the band’s music has inspired numerous cover songs across multiple genres. It’s a moniker they’ve carried ever since, even if their pace of album releases has slowed considerably. It also triggered countless old ones, who were perturbed that the ultimate purveyors of thrash had gone “soft.” The record transformed Metallica into one of the biggest rock bands in the world. The record earned the band legions of new fans.
Dubbed simply Metallica, but otherwise known as The Black Album, the record became one of the best-selling hard rock albums in history. In 1991, the band released a self-titled album that would change their entire destiny, not to mention the history of metal. In the ‘80s, the thrash metal quartet released four of arguably the greatest metal albums of all time: Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and …And Justice for All. The two formed the basis for the band that would become Metallica.
On October 28, 1981, in Los Angeles, a Danish tennis player turned drummer by the name of Lars Ulrich met with guitarist James Hetfield for the first time.
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