A Metallica Biography (Part 2): Trudging Through Tragedy and Success
By Max on Apr 8, 2008 in Artists, Featured
1986 marked the release of Metallica’s 3rd album Master of Puppets, a dark but fun ride through the artistic vision of the legendary Metallica crew.
A relief for some from the glam rock era, it reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 and is considered one of the most successful albums in rock history. That success, however, became bitter sweet and the band faced many complications after Master of Puppets.
Cliff Burton’s Death
Devastation hit the band on September 27th, 1986, with the death of their beloved “lead bassist,” Cliff Burton. While in Stockholm on the Damage Inc. tour, promoting Master of Puppets, the band members played their usual game of cards before heading to bed in their less-than-desirable tour bus. The winner would determine who got the most comfortable bed, which that night, was Cliff, who chose Hammett’s bunk.
According to the bus driver, he hit a patch of black ice and the bus skid out of control. The bus tipped over, throwing Cliff through an open window, and then landed on him. The band was devastated and reports of the bus crushing Cliff again when the wench lifting it broke, were in the papers. Hetfield remains an avid believer that the bus driver was either drunk or too tired to drive. Regardless, the entire world of rock and roll seemed to grieve Burton’s death with Metallica and their uncertain future seemed to further damage the band.
Later on that year, with grieving hearts producing new material, and the blessing of the Burton family, Metallica went on and began searching for a new bassist. In Cliff’s honor, however, a memorial was built in Stockholm, near the crash site where loyal fans gather each year to honor his life.
1987
Taking the time to get to know their new bassist, Jason Newsted, the band kept their appearances to a minimum though they finished their tour and began developing new material. In March of 87, however, Hetfield broke his wrist while skateboarding and so guitarist Miller rejoined them for a time.
Later on that year, the band released Cliff ‘Em All, a video tribute to Cliff Burton’s 3 years with the band, including tapings of his solos, songs that he had written and other media like his home videos and photographs. They also released The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited in August to test the skills of Jason amongst the public.
..And Justice for All
1988 marked a new beginning for Metallica since Burton’s death. They released …And Justice for All, which became their commercial success. It hit number 6 on the Billboard 200 which was a first for the band. In fact, the album went platinum just nine weeks after it’s release, with hit singles like Eye Of The Beholder, Harvester Of Sorrow and One.
Despite Newsted’s claims that his bass was turned down on …And Justice for All and that his ideas and suggestions for the band’s growth were ignored, the band led their own Damaged Justice tour to promote the album which gave the band it’s first Grammy nomination.
That Grammy nomination, however, was also bitter sweet for the band. They had been told prior to the event that they would be accepting the award and that the award winner, Jethro Tull, was told not to appear since he would not be receiving the award. At the last second, however, with the band waiting aside the stage to approach for the prize, Jethro’s name was announced and the event was later labeled one of “Grammy’s 10 Biggest Upsets” for Entertainment Weekly Magazine.
When it came to breaking into the world of music videos, Metallica went into an abandoned warehouse to perform One. Footage for the video was remixed with excerpts from the film Johnny Got his Gun and when licensing issues arose, Metallica bought the rights to the film. The video was then submitted to MTV with an alternate version on the side just in case MTV refused to play the remix. But happy with it, MTV accepted the racy video, giving Metallica their first visual exposure to the world of recording. The video was voted 38 on Top 100 Videos of All Time in 1999.
Giant Baby Steps
Though the band seemed to be making only baby steps during the first few years after Cliff’s death, the amount of work and dedication that went into promoting, healing and selling the band is immeasurable.
During this time the band was improving sound and talent. And with the added stress of Hetfield’s re-broken hand and the on-and-off love/hate relationship causing tension between the band and new band member Newsted, the rough journey through it kept feuling the band’s fire. Metallica had a long road ahead of them by the end of 1989.
