Metallica

     Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper, Metallica’s original line-up consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and bassist Ron McGovney. McGovney and Mustaine were later ejected from the band, in favor of Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett, respectively. The ejection of Mustaine resulted in a feud between him and Metallica. In September 1986, Metallica’s tour bus skidded out of control and flipped, which resulted in Burton being crushed under the bus and killed. Jason Newsted replaced him less than two months later. Newsted left the band in 2001 and was replaced by Robert Trujillo in 2003.
     This mother of all Metal bands introduced the world to the intracacies of Speed Metal and Thrash. Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine was the original lead guitarist for Metallica. Original bassist Cliff Burton died in a tour bus accident. He fell out of a window, and the bus tipped on top of him. After Cliff Burton’s death, Les Claypool of Primus tried out as bassist before Jason Newsted got the gig. Metallica is one of the few world class bands to have never released a greatest hits album.
     Metallica’s early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the “Big Four” of the thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community, and some critics say the 1986 release Master of Puppets is one of the most influential and “heavy” thrash metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success with its self-titled 1991 album Metallica, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Some critics and fans believed the band changed its musical direction to appeal to the mainstream audience. With the release of Load in 1996, Metallica distanced itself from earlier releases in what has been described as “an almost alternative [rock] approach”, and the band faced accusations of “selling out.”

Listen to, download, and burn Metallica music now.

Tags: album metallica, billboard 200, class bands, cliff burton, drummer lars ulrich, guitarist dave mustaine, heavy metal band, intracacies, jason newsted, kirk hammett, les claypool, mainstream audience, master of puppets, metal albums, metallica, metallica music, rhythm guitarist, robert trujillo, ron mcgovney, tour bus accident, underground music community, vocalist james

Jack Johnson

     Jack Hody Johnson (born May 18, 1975) is a Hawaii-born singer-songwriter, musician, filmmaker, and surfer who achieved commercial success and a dedicated following, after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales in 2001. He has since released four more albums and a number of EPs. His music is best described as acoustic/soft rock.
     Jack Johnson’s warm, emotive voice and acoustic-based music often gets mistaken for Dave Matthews. Pick a career: Johnson is a highly praised cinematographer. His work can be seen in the documentary, “Thicker Than Water.” Jack Johnson also had a burgeoning career as a professional surfer. He put it on the backburner to focus on music. Jack Johnson’s slick guitar chops started by learning Metallica’s “One” and Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son.” Jack Johnson co-founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation in 2004, a non-profit group supporting education in Hawaii.

Listen to, download, and burn Jack Johnson music now.

Tags: backburner, born singer, brushfire fairytales, cat stevens, cat stevens father and son, commercial success, debut album, emotive voice, hody, jack johnson co, jack johnson music, kokua hawaii foundation, metallica, professional surfer, profit group, supporting education, thicker than water, thicker than water jack johnson