Module 4

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal

In 1967, an English band from Birmingham formed to become Black Sabbath. Sabbath was key in pioneering a new brand of hard rock known as heavy metal. With songs like “Iron Man” and “Paranoid,” the band influenced a younger generation of U.K. and U.S. rock bands possibly more than any other. In 1980, the Australian band AC/DC released Back In Black, their first number one album on the British charts and Top Ten in the U.S. That same year, Motorhead released their British top five album Ace of Spades. Both bands offered a hard-driving rock to reflect the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, or NWBHM. In 1982, Iron Maiden released their top-selling album The Number of the Beast. With tracks like “Run to the Hills” they quickly became a fan favorite of the NWBHM bands.

Metallica

Metallica

In 1980, as a teen Lars Ulrich moved with his family from Denmark to Los Angeles. A fan of NWBHM and an aspiring drummer, Ulrich put out a newspaper ad to form a band. Those who responded included vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who would later move on as front man for Megadeth, and bassist Ron McGovney. They called themselves Metallica. In Southern California, hardcore punk was establishing a strong underground scene. Metallica began to play these venues, and with hardcore’s characteristic fast tempos, audiences demanded a more sped-up performance from Metallica. What resulted was a British-influenced metal at faster tempos. Fans dubbed the hybrid thrash metal, or speed metal. Metallica found a niche and quickly began to gain a growing fan base. Through this underground scene, Metallica participated in tape-swapping, a common practice where bands would record inexpensive demos, duplicate several copies on cassettes, and trade with other bands and their fans. In 1982, John Zazula and his wife Marsha came across Metallica’s demo tape through the tape-swapping network. The couple ran a record store and had just started their own record label, Megaforce Records. To understand the strength of this underground community, the cassette reached the couple’s store in New Jersey from the band’s location on the West Coast. Metallica signed with Megaforce and released their 1983 debut album Kill ‘Em All, which included the thrash metal classic “No Remorse.”

As Metallica continued to produce albums, they grew their following to a national level, all without the support of radio airplay or MTV. In 1988, their album And Justice for All reached the Top Ten in both the U.S. and the U.K. By 1991, Metallica topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with their self-titled album, commonly referred to as the Black Album.