Metallica: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Metallica were assembled from Lars Ulrich's imported NWOBHM 45s and James Hetfield's garage-band grind, then hardened in the Bay Area thrash scene after fleeing Los Angeles in 1983. This mix traces the British singles Ulrich hauled back from his record-hunting trips, the Bay Area peers who sharpened them, and the arena metal they made possible.

The Kynda mix for Metallica

• Key Influence · Lightning to the Nations by Diamond Head (1980). The single most cited blueprint for Metallica. Lars Ulrich traveled to England as a teenager, befriended Diamond Head and stayed at guitarist Brian Tatler's home; the band's early sets leaned on "Am I Evil?", "Helpless" and "The Prince". The long, riff-suite construction of "Am I Evil?" — slow doom intro into gallop — maps directly onto the architecture of Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets.','ok'.replace;
• Influencia Obscura · Buried Alive / Blitzkrieg by Blitzkrieg (1981). A Leicester NWOBHM band who barely existed — one 1981 single before splitting. Metallica recorded "Blitzkrieg" as a B-side for the Creeping Death single in 1984, lifting an obscurity even British metal fans had missed. Ulrich's collector's instinct is the whole mechanism here: records almost nobody bought became the raw material for the biggest metal band in the world.
• Local Roots · Bonded by Blood by Exodus (1985). Kirk Hammett co-founded Exodus in El Sobrante and wrote with them before leaving in 1983 to replace Dave Mustaine; riffs he originated surface in Exodus material. Bonded by Blood is the definitive document of the Bay Area thrash scene Metallica joined after relocating from LA, a scene built on Ruthie's Inn gigs and traded cassettes.
• Beyond the Medium · The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Original Soundtrack) by Ennio Morricone (1966). "The Ecstasy of Gold" has opened virtually every Metallica concert since the mid-1980s, played over the PA as the lights drop. Morricone's choral build and wordless soprano gave the band a ritual entrance borrowed from spaghetti western cinema; they later recorded their own version for the 2007 tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone.
• Peer · Reign in Blood by Slayer (1986). The other half of thrash's defining rivalry. Slayer took the speed to its logical extreme in 29 minutes while Metallica expanded toward suites; the two bands toured the same circuits and shared the Big Four billing, culminating in the 2010 Sonisphere shows. Reign in Blood arrived months after Master of Puppets and defined the opposite pole of the genre.
• From the Canon · Master of Puppets by Metallica (1986). The album where the NWOBHM apprenticeship becomes something unprecedented: eight-minute suites, acoustic preludes, the instrumental "Orion" largely shaped by Cliff Burton's melodic bass writing. Recorded in Copenhagen with Flemming Rasmussen, it was Burton's last studio record before the September 1986 Sweden bus crash that killed him, making it the pivot point of the band's whole history.
• Key Collaborator · Dr. Feelgood by Mötley Crüe (1989). Metallica hired Bob Rock specifically because of the drum and guitar sound he achieved on Dr. Feelgood, wanting that weight for the Black Album. Rock went on to produce every Metallica record through St. Anger, even playing bass on it after Jason Newsted's departure — a decade-plus partnership that remade the band's commercial identity and is documented at length in Some Kind of Monster.
• Legacy · Burn My Eyes by Machine Head (1994). Robb Flynn came out of the Bay Area scene via Vio-lence and built Machine Head on the groove-heavy Metallica template, openly citing them as the reason he played metal; Machine Head later toured with them. Burn My Eyes carried thrash's rhythmic authority into the 90s when most of the Big Four's peers had abandoned it, and became Roadrunner's biggest-selling debut.

What influenced Metallica

• Lightning to the Nations by Diamond Head (1980). Lightning to the Nations (Diamond Head) — titan for Metallica “== History == === 1981–1984: Formation, early years, and Kill 'Em All === Metallica was formed in Los Angeles in late 1981 when Danish drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper, The Recycler, in which the adv…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Never Turn Your Back on a Friend by Budgie (1973). Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (Budgie) — ghost for Metallica “Budgie were one of the earliest heavy metal bands, and according to Garry Sharpe-Young they influenced many acts of that scene, particularly the new wave of British heavy metal, and later acts such as Metallica.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Overkill by Motörhead (1979). Overkill (Motörhead) — titan for Metallica “The band was influenced by early heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Rush, Aerosmith, and Judas Priest, new wave of British heavy metal…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Killing Time by Sweet Savage (1981). Killing Time (Sweet Savage) — ghost for Metallica “The band reformed for a second time in the 1990s, following Metallica's cover of their song "Killing Time" as a B-side for their "The Unforgiven" single, recording two albums, before going on hiatus for a third time.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft (1928). The Call of Cthulhu (H. P. Lovecraft) — culture for Metallica “Heavy metal band Metallica was also inspired by Lovecraft.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Paranoid by Black Sabbath (1970). Paranoid (Black Sabbath) — titan for Metallica “The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by Diamond Head, Killing Joke, the Misfits, Thin Lizzy, Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath and others, and the second disc featured the original version of The $5.98 E.P.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Original Soundtrack) by Ennio Morricone (1966). The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Original Soundtrack) (Ennio Morricone) — culture for Metallica “Metallica recorded a guitar-based interpretation of Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold" for a tribute album titled We All Love Ennio Morricone, which was released in February 2007.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Nightcomers by Holocaust (1981). The Nightcomers (Holocaust) — ghost for Metallica (musicbrainz.org)
• Buried Alive / Blitzkrieg by Blitzkrieg (1981). Buried Alive / Blitzkrieg (Blitzkrieg) — ghost for Metallica “Two of the three songs on the record – cover versions of Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?" and Blitzkrieg's "Blitzkrieg" – appeared on the 1988 Elektra reissue of Kill 'Em All.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo (1939). Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo) — culture for Metallica (openlibrary.org)

Peers and kindred spirits

• Diamond Head. Metallica recorded Diamond Head covers for Garage Inc. (also via Lightning to the Nations, Am I Evil?) “The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by Diamond Head , Killing Joke , the Misfits , Thin Lizzy , Mercyful Fate , Black Sabbath and others” (Wikipedia)
• Cage the Elephant (2006). Played show alongside Metallica. (also via The Metallica Blacklist, "The Unforgiven", Metallica) “they also played a show alongside Metallica and Greta Van Fleet that same year.” (Wikipedia)
• Slayer. The article places both bands among the founding big four. (also via Reign in Blood) “The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal , alongside Megadeth , Anthrax , and Slayer .” (Wikipedia)
• The Ecstasy of Gold by Ennio Morricone. Metallica covered Morricone's composition. “Metallica recorded a guitar-based interpretation of Ennio Morricone 's " The Ecstasy of Gold " for a tribute album titled We All Love Ennio Morricone” (Wikipedia)
• Anthrax. The article places both bands among the founding big four. (also via Among the Living) “The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal , alongside Megadeth , Anthrax , and Slayer .” (Wikipedia)
• The Roots (1987). The Roots performed Enter Sandman with Metallica. (via Enter Sandman) “Watch Tonight Show: Jimmy Fallon Clip: Jimmy Fallon, Metallica & The Roots Sing "Enter Sandman" (Classroom Instruments) - NBC.com” (NBC)
• Michael Kamen. Kamen scored two new songs written by Metallica. (also via Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Original Score)) “Metallica wrote two new Kamen-scored songs for the event: " No Leaf Clover " and "-Human". The audio recording and concert footage were released in 1999 as the album and concert film S&M .” (Wikipedia)
• American Recordings by Johnny Cash (1994). American Recordings (Johnny Cash) — collaborator for Metallica “He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Megadeth. The article places both bands among the founding big four. (also via Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?) “The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal , alongside Megadeth , Anthrax , and Slayer .” (Wikipedia)
• Dane DeHaan. Metallica starred alongside DeHaan in its concert film. “The band co-wrote the screenplay for and starred alongside Dane DeHaan in the 2013 concert film Metallica: Through the Never” (Wikipedia)
• All Within My Hands Foundation. Metallica created the foundation in late 2017. “the sixth annual "Metallica Night" was also announced a few weeks later, this time in April, with all proceeds going to the All Within My Hands Foundation, which the band created in late 2017.” (Wikipedia)
• Blackened Recordings. Metallica launched its independent record label. “In November 2012, Metallica left Warner Bros. Records and launched an independent record label , Blackened Recordings , which will produce the band's future releases.” (Wikipedia)
• Iron Foundry by Alexander Mosolov. The S&M2 performances included a cover of Mosolov's piece. “the event featured arrangements from the original S&M concerts as well as new arrangements for songs recorded since then [ 182 ] [ 183 ] and a cover of the Alexander Mosolov piece Iron Foundry” (Wikipedia)
• Misfits. Metallica recorded Misfits covers for Garage Inc. “The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by Diamond Head , Killing Joke , the Misfits , Thin Lizzy , Mercyful Fate , Black Sabbath and others” (Wikipedia)
• Killing Joke. Metallica recorded Killing Joke covers for Garage Inc. “The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by Diamond Head , Killing Joke , the Misfits , Thin Lizzy , Mercyful Fate , Black Sabbath and others” (Wikipedia)
• Bonded by Blood by Exodus (1985). Bonded by Blood (Exodus) — geography for Metallica “Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett replaced Mustaine the same afternoon.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Reign in Blood by Slayer. Reign in Blood (Slayer) — peer for Metallica “The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Lou Reed. Metallica recorded Lulu with Lou Reed. “On June 15, 2011, Metallica announced that recording sessions with singer-songwriter Lou Reed had concluded. The album, which was titled Lulu” (Wikipedia)
• Venom. Metallica supported Venom on tour. “In February 1984, Metallica supported Venom on the Seven Dates of Hell tour, during which the bands performed in front of 7,000 people” (Wikipedia)
• Dr. Feelgood by Mötley Crüe (1989). Dr. Feelgood (Mötley Crüe) — collaborator for Metallica “Bob Rock, who had worked with Aerosmith, the Cult, Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe, was hired as the producer.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Bob Rock. Bob Rock was hired to produce Metallica's self-titled album. “Bob Rock , who had worked with Aerosmith , the Cult , Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe , was hired as the producer. Metallica – also known as The Black Album – was remixed three times” (Wikipedia)
• Lang Lang. Metallica performed One with Lang Lang. “At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in January 2014, Metallica performed "One" with Chinese pianist Lang Lang .” (Wikipedia)
• Marianne Faithfull. Faithfull performed two songs with Metallica. “To promote Reload , Metallica performed " Fuel " and " The Memory Remains " with Marianne Faithfull on NBC 's Saturday Night Live in December 1997.” (Wikipedia)
• San Francisco Symphony. Metallica performed and recorded with the orchestra. “On April 21 and 22, 1999, Metallica recorded two performances with the San Francisco Symphony , which was conducted by Michael Kamen” (Wikipedia)
• Raven. Metallica toured with Raven. “To support the release, Metallica embarked on the Kill 'Em All for One tour with Raven .” (Wikipedia)
• Ozzy Osbourne. Metallica supported Osbourne on a US tour. “Following the release of the album, Metallica supported Ozzy Osbourne on a U.S. tour.” (Wikipedia)
• Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath (1970). Metallica recorded Black Sabbath covers for Garage Inc. “The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by Diamond Head , Killing Joke , the Misfits , Thin Lizzy , Mercyful Fate , Black Sabbath and others” (Wikipedia)
• Orion Music + More. Metallica started the named music festival. “On February 7, 2012, Metallica announced that it would start a new music festival called Orion Music + More , which took place on June 23 and 24, 2012, in Atlantic City.” (Wikipedia)
• Nothing Else Matters. Bridgers covered Metallica's song for The Metallica Blacklist. “she released a cover of Metallica 's 1991 song " Nothing Else Matters "” (Wikipedia)
• Am I Evil? by Diamond Head. The article identifies Metallica's recording as a cover of Diamond Head's song. “Two of the three songs on the record – cover versions of Diamond Head's " Am I Evil? " and Blitzkrieg 's "Blitzkrieg" – appeared on the 1988 Elektra reissue of Kill 'Em All .” (Wikipedia)
• Mercyful Fate. Metallica recorded Mercyful Fate covers for Garage Inc. “The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by Diamond Head , Killing Joke , the Misfits , Thin Lizzy , Mercyful Fate , Black Sabbath and others” (Wikipedia)
• Blitzkrieg by Blitzkrieg. The article identifies Metallica's recording as a cover of Blitzkrieg's song. “Two of the three songs on the record – cover versions of Diamond Head's " Am I Evil? " and Blitzkrieg 's "Blitzkrieg" – appeared on the 1988 Elektra reissue of Kill 'Em All .” (Wikipedia)
• Among the Living by Anthrax (1987). Among the Living (Anthrax) — peer for Metallica “The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Thin Lizzy. Metallica recorded Thin Lizzy covers for Garage Inc. “The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by Diamond Head , Killing Joke , the Misfits , Thin Lizzy , Mercyful Fate , Black Sabbath and others” (Wikipedia)
• Paul Curcio. Curcio produced the band's debut-album recording. “In May 1983, Metallica traveled to Rochester, New York , to record its debut album, Metal Up Your Ass , which was produced by Paul Curcio.” (Wikipedia)
• The Legacy by Testament (1987). The Legacy (Testament) — geography for Metallica “Chuck Billy of Testament has also cited Metallica as an influence on the band, as well as Hetfield as "an inspiration with clever lyrics"; he added, "When I first started hearing Metallica it was something new to me the way his cadence o…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rick Rubin. Metallica chose Rubin as its producer after Bob Rock. “Instead, the band chose to work with producer Rick Rubin . [ 83 ] Around the same time, a petition signed by 1,500 fans was posted online” (Wikipedia)
• The Ultra-Violence by Death Angel (1987). The Ultra-Violence (Death Angel) — geography for Metallica “Death Angel was one of the most popular Bay Area thrash metal bands of the 1980s, and secured opening slots at club venues that decade, including opening for their peers Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Overkill, D.R.I., M…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? by Megadeth (1986). Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (Megadeth) — peer for Metallica “The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Original Score) by Michael Kamen (1991). Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Original Score) (Michael Kamen) — collaborator for Metallica “On April 21 and 22, 1999, Metallica recorded two performances with the San Francisco Symphony, which was conducted by Michael Kamen, who had previously worked with producer Rock on "Nothing Else Matters".” (en.wikipedia.org)

Who Metallica influenced

• City of Evil by Avenged Sevenfold (2005). City of Evil (Avenged Sevenfold) — legacy for Metallica “Bank Stadium on August 20, 2016, with Avenged Sevenfold and Volbeat as support.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Ascendancy by Trivium (2005). Ascendancy (Trivium) — legacy for Metallica “Trivium guitarists Corey Beaulieu and Matt Heafy said that when they heard Metallica they wanted to start playing guitar.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Van Weezer. Metallica is named among the bands that inspired Van Weezer. “The band members' deep appreciation for hard rock and heavy metal music was the source of inspiration behind Van Weezer , including 1970s and 1980s bands like Kiss, Black Sabbath , Metallica , Slayer , Rush , and Van Halen (the last of w…” (Wikipedia)
• Burn My Eyes by Machine Head (1994). Burn My Eyes (Machine Head) — legacy for Metallica “Chuck Billy of Testament has also cited Metallica as an influence on the band, as well as Hetfield as "an inspiration with clever lyrics"; he added, "When I first started hearing Metallica it was something new to me the way his cadence o…” (en.wikipedia.org)