Metallica

Metallica: Through the Never's Weird Provocation of White Aggrievement

Spoilers abound below—for a concert film!

Remembering Napster

Metallica: A Tale of Squandered Potential

No band has ever failed to live up to its own potential quite like Metallica. While the other three quarters of thrash metal's "big four" (Testament, Megadeth and Slayer) still cut records and tour for receptive audiences, Metallica moved on to Kid Rock and Nickelback territory. We're used to it now ... More >>

Random Notebook Dump: The Year In Metal 2012

A lot of monumental things in metal this year. Some of them involved actual music. Many did not. In honor of the year's end, we gave our notebook a good shaking to help us remember the most important stuff. Top 20 L.A. Metal Albums of All Time -Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe was jailed for a mo ... More >>

It's Hammett Time

Metallica at Outside Lands Last Night: The Five Best Parts of Their Fiery Show

See also: *Top Five '80s Metallica Songs That Deserved Kick Ass Music Videos *Lulu Is the Best Album of 2011 Metallica, headlining Saturday night of the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, proved just about as huge and satisfying and powerful as Metallica can be in 2012. Wit ... More >>

The 20 Best Albums Not in the Canon: The Complete List

*Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time *Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre *Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All Time *Top 20 Sexiest Male Musicians of All Time A few months back Rolling Stone put out their updated 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. (Here's a quickly-scannable version; Sgt. P ... More >>

Metallica's "Enter Sandman": Why This Song Sucks

Song: Metallica, "Enter Sandman" History: "Enter Sandman" is rock song. People talk about it. It sold a few copies. It's been played a few times. My cousin likes it, so there's that. But he also once let us talk him into jumping from the roof to a trampoline once as a kid, so he ain't exactly the m ... More >>

Top Ten Metal Albums For People Who Don't Know Shit About Metal

See also: *Top Ten Jazz Albums for People Who Don't Know Shit About Jazz *Top Ten Rap Albums For People Who Don't Know Shit About Hip-Hop Ever heard about the guy at a party who overheard other guests talking about how much they enjoyed metal? And then about how he tried to fit in by mentioning ho ... More >>

Overkill

Fuck Guilty Pleasures: Lulu Is the Best Album of 2011

[Editor's Note: Fuck Guilty Pleasures celebrates the over-produced, commercial, artless, lowbrow music that we believe is genuinely worthwhile. Like, among the best music ever.] See also: *Top Five '80s Metallica Songs That Deserved Kick Ass Music Videos *Exclusive: Metallica's Lars Ulrich On Survi ... More >>

Axl Threatened To Skip A Concert, So Barry Fey Got His Gun

Katarina BenzovaBelieve it or not, this is Axl's PR photo these days​See also: *Why Van Halen Demanded The Brown M&Ms Be Picked Out On Their 1980 Tour Rider *Excerpt From Duff McKagan's New Memoir Recently we ran an excerpt about Van Halen from the new memoir Backstage Past, by Barry Fey, a l ... More >>

Top Five Metal Guest Vocalists That Make You Say "WTF"

WWEThe Ultimate Warrior​At the end of August, Pennsylvania hardcore/metalcore outfit Century released its third album, Red Giant. The group's emotionally-charged lyrics are given a fiery delivery via the combined efforts of vocalist Carson Slovak and bassist/vocalist Ricky Armellino. On this a ... More >>

Top Five Reasons For Metallica Fans Not To Fear The Metallica and Lou Reed Album

Anton Corbijn​Back in February Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett cryptically commented to Rolling Stone that the band was crafting something that was "not really 100 percent a Metallica record." Indeed, it turned out that the band was working with Lou Reed on a full album; a collaboration with ... More >>

Top Five '80s Metallica Songs That Deserved Kick Ass Music Videos

​Metallica announced last week that, in celebration of their 30th anniversary, they are playing four fan-club exclusive shows at The Fillmore in San Francisco in December. Rolling back prices to 1981 levels, Met Club members can buy tickets to each show for six bucks, or to all four for the ev ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE: Metallica's Lars Ulrich On Surviving the Big 4 and the Roots of Thrash

Warner Bros.Metallica's Lars Ulrich​Months of anticipation came to an explosive finish in the California desert on Saturday night, as Metallica closed their "Big 4" thrash-fest with a thundering "Seek & Destroy" for 50,000 weary headbangers spread across Empire Polo Field in Indio. By acknowle ... More >>

Big 4 Recap: Backstage, Onstage and Caught in a Mosh at Metal's Biggest Event

Paul HebertDesert Thrashers: Metallica's Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield​Thrash has become the music of brotherly love. Backstage at the Big 4 fest on Saturday, all four of the day's speedy metal acts gathered for a quick group portrait with photographer Ross Halfin. And standing tall at the c ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE: Slayer's Kerry King Reveals How Thrash Survives

Photograph by Steve ApplefordSlayer guitarist Kerry King​ Thrash metal musicians are not always the most social of animals. The guys in Anthrax do tend to get along with other bands, but Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica have famously traded insults across the decades over slights big and small. ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE: Megadeth's Dave Mustaine On Embracing the Big 4 and Finally Getting Over Metallica

Stephanie CabralFlame-haired shredder Dave Mustaine and Megadeth​ Of all the musicians onstage at Saturday's epic Big 4 Festival of thrash, Dave Mustaine arrives with the most complicated history. He is an essential figure within this loud-fast genre of metal, and the originator of a certain ... More >>

EXCLUSIVE: Slayer's Tom Araya Talks Moshpits, Spider-bites and the Big 4

Steve ApplefordSlayer's Tom Araya​ For Slayer's singer-bassist Tom Araya, thrash-metal has been a 30-year mission. On Saturday, his band joins Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth in Indio, California, for the Big 4 Fest - invading the site of Coachella while continuing a collaboration that began ... More >>

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax Play Coachella April 23

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Why Anthrax's Scott Ian Hates Coachella and Loves the Big 4

Steve ApplefordAnthrax guitarist Scott Ian​ Guitarist Scott Ian has been metal's No. 1 fan ever since his first whiff of Kiss back in the '70s. He's also been the one constant in every lineup of Anthrax, now one of the "Big 4" originators of thrash-metal set to land on the site of Coachella i ... More >>

'RACH & ROLL

Who Is the Biggest of the Big Four?: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax in Size Standoff at Post-Coachella Thrash Metal Fest

zme music​So the Coachella organizers had an empty slot between the Coachella festival itself and the much more chill Stagecoach "Americana" festival and, as everyone knows by now, they offered it to Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer for the first American version of the Big Four festiva ... More >>

Helvetica Tramp Stamps, Cookies & Baby Onesies: 9 Unexpected Uses For A Typeface

Helvetica is the font--excuse me, typeface--that won't quit. We see it everywhere (remember Gary Hustwit's documentary film Helvetica?). Here, in order of ascending awesomeness, are nine excellent and hilarious takes on the typeface to rule all typefaces. 9. Metallica Helvetica I'd like to see th ... More >>

Top 10 Songs For the Apocalypse (Bird Death? Crabicide? Snooki's Book? Signs of the Endtimes!)

TK 10 Songs For the Apocalypse

Top 10 Strangest Rock Star Action Figures (In Honor of the "Hard Rock Barbie" Lawsuit)

Tiny Rockers! 10 Best Rock Star Action Figures (Not Including HorrorPops' Lawsuit Lovin Bassist)

Exclusive Interview: Megadeth's David Ellefson on Thrash Metal, his Favorite Bible Story and the Status of That Elusive American "Big Four" Tour (Yes You, Metallica. We're Waiting.)

Valerie McRobertsDavid Ellefson enjoying a stiff Starbucks before Megadeth's set​Megadeth are undoubtedly one of the biggest thrash metal bands of all time. Fronted by Dave Mustaine, founder, guitarist and vocalist, the band was formed in the early '80s after Mustaine was kicked out of Metalli ... More >>

Metallica, Daft Punk, and Beethoven Performed by the Glorious Hand Fart Trumpet

Metallica, Daft Punk, and Beethoven Performed by the Glorious Hand Fart Trumpet

Superfuzz Bigmuffins, Ghostface Grillah, and other Hypothetical Musical Food Trucks

Superfuzz Bigmuffins, Ghostface Grillah, and other Hypothetical Food Trucks

Slayer’s Bloody Template

More tales of serial murder and psychosis, state oppression, snuff films and endless war over oil

Megadeth vs. Metallica: Both Have "Gone Down the Shitter"

Gotta love the Internets. "Rust in Peace was one of the hardest-ass fucking metal albums I've ever heard in my life. I even like the bass solo on 'Dawn Patrol.' That's a great fucking bass solo. I don't give a shit what anybody says." "I noticed that about the same time that Metallica started su ... More >>

SXSW: Who Would Leave Metallica for Black Cobra? Our Man in Austin

Randall Roberts Finds Himself in the Studio With the Silversun Pickups

Over the Weekend: SXSW Music, Metallica's "Not So Secret" Show, Mad Tea Party, Puppet Up! Uncensored For Adults Only

After 10 long days (and nights) we can finally say South by Southwest 2009 is a wrap. Though we still haven't unpacked, we've dragged our road weary and hungover bodies out of Austin, Texas and back into the office to bring you a play-by-play of this year's SXSW Music and Interactive. But just becau ... More >>

SxSW Live: A Bizarro Night of Metallica and Devo

View live photos in the "Metallica Thrashes Stubb's" slideshow.On Friday night in Austin, something very weird, maybe even life altering, happened: Metallica and Devo played inspired concerts in the same Texas town, only a 15-minute walk apart, and almost perfectly back to back. Devo's Booji Boy It ... More >>

Screw Metallica: Southern Lord Showcase Kills at SXSW

Randall RobertsPelican rips it at the Southern Lord Records showcase I'm sure Metallica was great. They were good when I saw them at the LA Forum a few months back, where the dudes in the pit were in their typical testostero-frenzied state. And the indulgent 45-minute soundcheck that preceded their ... More >>

SxSW Scene: Metallica Sets Up Shop at Four Seasons

View live photos in the "Metallica Thrashes Stubb's" slideshow. On Friday afternoon, the four members of arguably the world's most famous heavy metal band flew into Austin, Texas, from San Francisco to promote a new music video game called "Guitar Hero Metallica." For the press conference, they set ... More >>

Nielsen SoundScan 2008 Sales Figures Released: LP Sales Up 89 Percent -- And Neutral Milk Hotel Breaks the Top Ten

Among the many fascinating revelations in the recently released Nielsen SoundScan 2008 sales tally of recorded music product is the ranking of the year's top vinyl sellers. As anyone reading this probably knows, the music industry is in the middle of a much ballyhooed "vinyl revival." Publications ... More >>

Top 10 Metal Albums of 2008

By Phil Freeman In a year worthy of your rage, metal delivered in spades. What with the economy circling the drain and Sarah Palin coming down from the tundra and then refusing to go back, 2008's been the kind of year that really makes you want to smash your head into walls or punch random stran ... More >>

Metallica at the Forum: The Perfect Venue for All the Angry Men (and the Women Who Love Them)

Click on photos for entire Metallica slideshow(all photos by Timothy Norris)Guys are scary when you get a bunch of them together, be it at a Promise Keeper's meeting, a Harley-Davidson rally, a strip club or a Metallica concert. Pour enough testosterone into a room and some uncomfortable stuff usual ... More >>

Rock Picks: Amanda Palmer, Metallica, War Tapes

Also, J.D. Souther, Von Iva, Juliette Commagere and others

LA Weekly Music Podcast, Volume One: Fight on, Your Time Ain't Long

You know how some weekends you have the best intentions in the world and then they all fall to shit? Well, mine didn't exactly fall to shit -- it's just that the live music that I was hoping to see either didn't pan out, conflicted with scenes/events that I wanted to attend (like LA Weekly's anniv ... More >>

Metallica and Scars on Broadway Unload at Benefit for Silverlake Conservatory of Music

Metallica / Scars on Broadway: Benefit for Silverlake Conservatory of Music The Wiltern, May 14. By Paul Rogers Metallica, with Flea, at last night's benefit, simultaneously filling their diapers. (Photo by Gary Leonard) There’s an irony to a benefit show for a school that aims to make music ... More >>

Rock Docs Are Go! Rockumentary Recommendations

As CDs wither, the low-budget rockumentary is born again

Satan Loves You

Cuddly moments in new-millennium metal

Monster Mosh

Music docs rock the festival

Bastard Power

Metallica, still the kings

Not Fade Away

Thieves Like Us

MP3: Recontextualization is your best entertainment value

Blacklisted by Metallica