1973 - Lars, only nine years old at the time, attends his first hard rock concert, a Deep Purple gig in his hometown Copenhagen, and is so impressed by what he sees that he becomes a fanatical collector of all the albums from bands like Black Sabbath and Kiss. He later discovers the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), led by groups such as Iron Maiden, Saxom, Sweet Savage and Diamond Head, which to this day remains influence on Metallica's musical direction.
1976 - Lars gets his first drum-kit ever as a present from his grandmother.
August 1980 - The Family Ulrich migrated from Denmark to Newport Beach, California in the hope that Lars would find the sunny climate more conducive to tennis.
Summer 1981 - The 17 years old Ulrich flies to England to see his favourite band at the time, Diamond Head, perform live at Woolwich Odeon in London. He meets vocalist Sean Harris and hangs around with the group for a month. He returns to Los Angeles determined to form his own band.
Late 1981 - Lars places an add in a South California paper called the Recycler looking for musicians to play with. James, who has a classified ad of his own on the same page, gets together with Lars for a jam session, after which the two become firm friends. Lars plays all of his NWOBHM records to James, who starts really getting into the British metal sound, and the duo decide to form a band together. Desperate for a suitable band name, the pair dismiss all the cliche options like Grinder, Blitzter and Red Vette, and settle on Metallica, which Lars steals from a fanzine editor friend.
1982 - Metallica makes an appearance on Metal Massacre I, a compilation LP of metal bands doing the rounds in the Los Angeles area, with a 4-track recording of the track "Hit the Lights". Featuring Lars on drums, James on rythm guitar, bass and vocals, and friend guitarist Lloyd Grant on lead axe, the recording is, to say the least, amateurish, but it still stands out as one of the most innovative original pieces of work from an American metal band at this time.
March 28, 1982 - Metallica (Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine, and McGovney) support Saxon at Whiskey A Go Go in L.A., where they go down a storm, even though their set consists largely of cover versions from Diamond Head, Savage and Sweet Savage.
April 1982 - Metallica record a four-song demo on their faithful four-track recorder. Featuring a re-recorded version of "Hit the Light," as well as the classics, "The Mechanix" (later reworked and retitled "The Four Horsemen"), "Jump in the Fire" and "Motorbreath," the demo spreads like wildfire and sows the seeds for the coming revolution set by the groups next demo.
May 28th, 1982 - Metallica makes one of only a few live appearances as a five-piece, when they perform at the Concert Factory in Los Angeles as the opening act on a bill that also features Leatherwolf, August Redmoon, and Roxy Rollers. Consisting of Ulrich, Mustaine, McGovney, Hetfield on lead vocals, and Jeff Warner (later in Black 'n' Blue) on rhythm guitar, the band eventually falls apart when Dave refuses to allow Jeff to play lead, causing a split with Warner and a return to their more familiar four-man format.
July 1982 - Metallica records No Life 'Till Leather, possibly the most legendary demo ever recording ever made. Containing freshly recorded versions of the four cuts on their April 1982 tape, as well as "Metal Militia", "Seek and Destroy", and "Phantom Lord," the cassette gets circulated and distributed worldwide by the growing metal underground, who hail the group as one of the most innovative and unique new talents on the scene.
August 1982 - San Francisco's Trauma, featuring bassist Cliff Burton, play the Whiskey-A-Go-Go. In attendance are James and Lars, who become so impressed with the four stringer that they immediately set on a hot pursuit to get him to join Metallica, an offer that he initially refuses. It isn't until the end of the year that Cliff finally agrees to become a member of the band, but only under the condition that the band relocate to San Francisco.
September 18th, 1982 - Metallica performs at the keystone in San Francisco as part of a bill designed to promote the bands featured on the Metal Massacre I compilation. Playing along side of Bitch and Hans Naughty, Metallica blazes through seven cuts on the No Life 'Till Leather tape as well as two diamond head covers, leaving the 200-or-so people in attendance completley dazed by their high-energy delivery. Impressed by the maniacal reaction of the kids at the show, Metallica follow up the gig with numerous other performances in the San Francisco Bay area, where they establish a strong following.
October 1982 - Metallica supports Laaz Rockit in San Francisco.
November 11th , 1982 - The quartet play as support to Y & T at the Woodstock in Los Angeles.
November 29th, 1982 - Metallica played their first headlining gig in the Bay Area. They played a new song "Whiplash" for the first time. Opening the show were locals, Exodus, who at the time featured 20-year old Kirk Hammett.
November 30th, 1982 - Metallica perform their final concert with Ron McGovney, at San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens.
December 1982 - James, Lars, and Dave begin moving their belongings and gear down to San Francisco, eventually settling down at 3132 Carlson Boulevard, the home of soundman Mark Whitaker.
January 1983 - The group recieves a phone call from Johnny 'Z' Zazula, a New Jersey record store owner/concert promoter, who invites the band to come over to the East Coast to do some gigs.
Febuary 15th,1983 - Metallica complete their move to San Francisco, Lars and James share a room at Mark's place, while Dave ends up at Mark's Grandmother's.
Late Febuary, 1983 - The band, now officially featuring Cliff Burton on bass, record their fourth demo, a two-tracker containing the cuts "No Remorse" and "Whiplash."
March 5th, 1983 - Metallica, accompanied by Mark Whitaker as road manager/soundman, make the three-thousand-plus-mile journey to the East Coast. During the trip, many arguments occur between Dave and the rest of the band, with Mustaine's alchol intake often at the root of the problem.
April 1983 - While in New York, Lars and James make the decision to boot Mustaine from the band. Following a series of gigs with Vandenburg and The Rods on the East Coast, Dave is deposited on a Greyhound bus and sent home to San Francisco, while replacement guitarist, Kirk Hammett of Exodus, is flown in to fill the vacant slot.
May 10-27, 1983 - The band enter Barrett Alley Studios in Rochester, New York, to record their legendary debut album, Kill 'Em All.
July 1983 - Kill 'Em All is released through Megaforce Records in the USA, and Music For Nations and Roadrunner in Europe.
July 27 - September 3, 1983 - Metallica embark on their first-ever tour "Kill 'em all for one", a double package featuring labelmates Raven, which kicks off in New Brunswick and ends in San Francisco with a sold-out gig at the Stone.
December 1983 - The band travels to New Jersey, where they spend several weeks working on material for their second album ("Fade To Black," "For Whom The Bells Tolls" and "Trapped Under Ice" are put together there). On weekends, Metallica plays a series of headling gigs with Anthrax supporting in such cities such as Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York. However, after the last show, most of the group's equipment gets stolen.
Early Febuary 1984 - Metallica flies over to Europe to support Venom on their Seven Dates of Hell tour. The highlight of the trek takes place on Febuary 11th, when the group perform at the Aardschok festival in Zwolle, Holland, in front of 5000 fans.
Late Febuary 1984 - The quartet drives to Copenhagen, where they stay at Mercyful Fate's rehearsal rooms, completing work on tracks for the second album. Eventually, the band join producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence studios in the same building to begin recording .. the LP.
March 1984 - Halfway through the recording of the album, Metallica head to England, where Music For Nations has organized a tour as support to the Rods (Exciter are also scheduled to play). However, as soon as the band arrive in the UK, they learn that the tour has been cancelled, with poor advance ticket sales cited as the reason for the cancellation. Unable to re-enter Sweet Silence to complete work on the LP (another act had already booked the time), Metallica decide to hang around in England, where metalheads are anxious to see them perform. Two gigs are arranged at the Marquee club in London, on March 14 and 27, both of which completely sell out.
June 1984 - Metallica complete work on Ride The Lightning, and embark on a brief four-gig Dutch/German tour with Twisted Sister.
August 1984 - Metallica play a showcase gig in New York, on a bill that also features Anthrax (the openers) and Raven (the headliners). Attending the show are Cliff Burnstein, co-founder of Q-Prime Management (Def Leppard), and Michael Alago, A&R director, of Elektra Records, both of whom walk away suitably impressed with the band's performance. Before long, Metallica become Q-Prime Management clients as well as Elektra recording artists. Initially issued through the Megaforce label, Ride The Lightning is eventually re-released through Elektra.
November 18 - December 20, 1984 - Metallica launch their first major European tour, with Tank supporting, in Paris, France, and end it with a prestigious gig at the Lyceum in London. An average of 1300 fans turn up for each show.
Early 1985 - The initial three and a half months of the year are spent touring the States, first as co-headliners with W.A.S.P. (Armored Saint supported), and then as headliners.
May - July, 1985 - Metallica gets some well deserved rest before starting work on material for their third album.
August, 1985 - On August 17, Metallica are sandwiched between Ratt and Bon Jovi at the Castle Donnington festival in England, where they perform for 70,000 enthusiatic fans. A week later, they are back in Oakland, California, playing in front of 90,000 bangers at the Day On The Green festival. The next day, Lars heads to Copenhagen to begin work on the drum tones for the group's next LP. Several days later, he's joined by the rest of the band.
September 14, 1985 - Interspersing the recording process with gigs in Europe, Metallica perform at the Metal Hammer festival in Germany, where they introduce a new track, "Disposable Heroes."
December 27, 1985 - Metallica completes work on Master Of Puppets and head back to California
New Years Eve, 1986 - The quartet play the Civic Center in San Francisco, alongside Megadeth (the first time after long time the two bands have shared the stage), Metal Church and Exodus.
January 1986 - Master of Puppets is mixed in Los Angeles under the guidance of Michael Wagener, followed by a press tour of Europe, which Lars (naturally) takes care of. While Ulrich is talking about the record,across the Atlantic, James and Cliff cruise around the 'Frisco club circuit with a band called Spastic Children, which features Hetfield sitting behind the drum kit. Also in the group are vocalist Fred Cotton, and a guitarist by the name of Jack McDaniel.
Febuary, 1986 - James and Lars head to the Bahamas for a brief holiday prior to the release of Master of Puppets.
March, 1986 - Master Of Puppets finally gets released, followed by a US arena trk as support to Ozzy Osbourne, beginning on March 27.
June 26, 1986 - Shortly before a gig in Evansville, James breaks a wrist trying to skateboard down a hill. The gig is cancelled, and the other dates on the tour are done with James purely on vocals, with his wrist in plaster, and Kirk's guitar roadie, John Marshall (now with Metal Church), on guitar.
September 10, 1986 - Metallica headline London's legendary Hammersmith Odeon, with Anthrax supporting.
September 27, 1986 - On the way to Copenhagen, Metallica's tour bus overturns, throwing Cliff Burton through the windscreen and killing him instantly.
October, 1986 - The rest of the band returns to America to consider their future. Within a couple of weeks, the group starts auditioning new bassists. Among the favorites to fill the vacant slot are Armored Saint four-stringer Joey Vera and Laaz Rockit and Willy Lange, but in the end, it is Phoenix resident Jason Newstead, from hot up 'n' coming act Flotsam and Jetsam, that is chosen for the coveted position.
November 8, 1986 - Metallica perform their firstlive show with Jason at the Country Club in Los Angeles.
November 9-14, 1986 - The quartet travel to Japan to play five sold-out gigs.
November 15, 1986 - Metallica begin a tour of Canada and the East Coast of America with Metal Church supporting.
January-Febuary, 1987 - The Metallica/Metal Church tour travels to Europe, where they play East Europe for the first time. The last gig of the tour takes place on Febuary 13 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
May 1987 - James breaks his arm while skateboarding. This time, the injury is more serious, and the healing process is very slow. For a short while, Metallica's scheduled appearance at Europe's annual Monster's Of Rock festival in August becomes questionable.
August, 1987 - The four-piece warm up for their Monsters Of Rock appearances by performing at London's legendary 100 club in front of only a few hundred people. At three M.O.R. gigs in Donnington, Nurnburg and Pfordsheim, Metallica play in front of over 200,000 people to great success. To coincide with the shows, the band issue a six-track EP (The 5.98 EP:Garage Days Re-revisited) containing cover versions of "Crash Course In Brain Surgery" (Budgie), "Helpless" (Diamond Head), "Last Caress"/"Green Hell" (Misfits), "The Small Hours" (Holocaust) and "The Wait" (Killing Joke).
December 4, 1987 - Metallica issue Cliff 'Em All, a video collection of bootleg and unprofessional recordings shot during 1982-1986, while Cliff was still with the band. Within only two months of its release, the video is certified both gold and platinum. By the end of 1988, it becomes the year's top-selling music video.
January 19, 1988 - Metallica officially begin recording their fourth full-length effort, to be titled ... . . . . .And Justice For All.
May, 1988 - The band complete the recording process and start to mix while preparing for their scheduled two-month trek as part of the US Monsters Of Rock package (also featuring Kingdom Come, Dokken, Scorpions, and headliners, Van Halen). May 27th is the date of the tour opener in East Troy, Wisconsin.
July, 1988 - Master Of Puppets is officially certified platinum, commemorating sales of over 1,000,000 units in the US.
September 5, 1988 - . . .And Justice For All is released.
September 11, 1988 - Metallica begin their first headlining tour of Europe in support of the new album with a sold-out show in Budapest, Hungary.
November 15, 1988 - The US tour to promote . . .And Justice For All starts in Toledo, Ohio, with Queensryche supporting.
December 6, 1988 - The band filf their first-ever video, for the track "One," in Los Angeles, a day before the first of their two-night appearance at the Long Beach Arena.
Febuary 5, 1989 - Metallica's gig at the Reunion Arena in Dallas is broadcast nationally via the Z-Rock radio network.
Febuary 22, 1989 - Metallica perform "One" live on national TV as part of the Grammy Awards, where the band are nominated in the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Category. Mcu to everyone's dismay, Jethro Tull walk off with the award.
April 21, 1989 - Metallica's last gig with openers Queensryche. The Cult take over the slot.
October 8, 1989 - Metallica's Damaged Justice world tour comes to an end in San Paulo, Brazil.
January, 1990 - The quartet interupt their self-imposed hiatus from the music world by recording a cover of Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" for inclusion on a compilation LP celebrating Elektra Records' 40 - year Anniversary.
May, 1990 - Metallica decide to come out of 'hiding' and play several European festivals alongside Warrior Soul and Dio. A couple of impromptu appearances at London's Hippodrome and a secret gig at The Marquee (where they performed as Vertigo) also take place.
June, 1990 - Fresh from their European stint, Metallica play a couple of stadium gigs with Aerosmith and Warrant in upstate New York and Canada.
July - September 1990 - The band are intensivley working on material for their forthcoming fifth effort, an album that is set to feature a more straight-forward musical direction than the group's previous records.
Early October, 1990 - With 12 songs ready to be recorded, Metallica enter One On One Studios in Los Angeles (where . . .And Justice For All was laid down) with producer Bob Rock to begin work on the Metallica opus.
October, 1990 - July 1991 - Perfectionists that they are, Metallica and Bob Rock take plenty of time to insure that the album turns out exactly as they want it. The LP is remixed three times, with Lars, James and Bob completing the final mixing process in early July, just in time to get the album mastered and ready for the August 12 release date.
August 12, 1991 - Metallica finally sees the light of day. Within a week of its release, it shifts over 600,000 units in the US alone, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Pop Album Chart, where it remains for a full month.
August 17, 1991 - Metallica performs at the UK's Castle Donnington festival (alongside Motley Crue, AC/DC, and Queesryche), signaling the start of the band's world tour in support of the new album.
1991- 1993 - Following the August 12, 1991 release of Metallica, the band hits the road, playing more than 300 shows in 37 countries.
Febuary 1991 - Metallica win a Grammy award for "Best Heavy Metal Performance" for their rendition of Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" from Electra's Rubaiyat compilation.
Febuary 10, 1992 - Late bassist Clifford Lee Burton's birthday. He would be 30 years old.
Summer 1992 - Metallica hits the stage with Guns 'N' Roses. It certainly wasn't always the cool, hang-out vibe Ulrich had hoped for between the two bands, but the fans got their money's woth.
November 1992 - The two home videos, "A Year And A Half In Ihe Life Of Metallica" parts 1 & 2, were released.
May 28, 1994 - "Shit In The Sheds" tour starts with a rehearsal show in Buffalo, NY.
August 21, 1994 - The last show of the "Summer Shit Tour" at the Bicentennial Park in Miami. Special guest is Rob Halford (ex-Judas Priest, now Fight) who sings Rapid Fire (an old Judas Priest song) with Metallica.
October 1994 - Ulrich and Hetfield return to the rehearsal studio to begin bashing out rough tunes for what will become, nearly two years later, Load.
Febuary 15, 1995 - Metallica enter The Plant in Sausalito, California, with producer Bob Rock and engineer Randy Staub to begin recording their sixth record. It's the first time they've recorded near home, and enjoy the relaxed vibe. They end up with enough material for two albums and debate about putting out a double album. They decide, rather, to shelve about half of the songs, to be completed and released a year or so after Load's release, as sort of a Load, Part 2.
August 23, 1995 - The tracks 2 x 4 and Devil's Dance are played for the first time in front of an audience at the London Astoria in England. This was a private show, and only members of the fan club were invited. This was the first date on their short tour "Escape From The Studio '95".
December 14, 1995 - Metallica take a break from recording at the Plant and fly to LA to honor Motorhead head Lemmy at his birthday bash at the Whiskey. They play as "The Lemmys," and perform 7 Motorhead covers dressed as Lemy himself.
May 6 & 7, 1996 - The video for Until It Sleeps was shot at locations around and in Los Angeles.
May 20, 1996 - The single Until It Sleeps is released world-wide, excluding Northern America, where the fans would have to wait one more day.
June 4th, 1996 - After a year in the studio with Bob Rock, Load is finally released!
June 11, 1996 - Metallica played live for the entire world, via the Internet. The broadcast site was Slim's, a small club in San Francisco, where the Webcast crew beamed the show across the globe, live as it happened, in spycams, music, video, pictures and descriptions.
June 27, 1996 - Metallica begins the Lollapalooza tour in Kansas City with Soundgarden, The Ramones, Rancid, and others.
September 12, 1996 - European "Poor Touring Me" tour begins. The tour starts in Ostenhalle, Germany.
November 14, 1996 - Metallica was intoduced to perform King Nothing live on stage at the MTV Europe Video Awards show. The lights went down and the band launched into the song Last Caress followed by So What? A few classic minutes of television to savour. The band was nominated earlier that evening, in the "Best Rock Video" catagory, but the award went to the Smashing Pumpkins. James later said in an interview: We needed to wake people up at the show! We felt it was a little boring, and we had been daring each other to do that for years.
November 18, 1996 - The single Mama Said is released world wide.
January 17, 1997 - King Nothing video premiered on MTV. It was shot in Salt Lake City, Utah about a month earlier.
January 26, 1997 - Lars got married to his girlfriend Skylar. Apparantly Lars said that thing about them breaking it off was so that they would not get mobbed by fans at the church they got married in.
August 22, 1997 - Metallica played 3 festivals in Europe to get out of the studio for a while. First day was at the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium.
Oktober 20 & 21, 1997 - The band shot the "The Memory Remains" video in LA, actually at the Van Nuys airport. It costed $400.000.00 and featured the band it a huge box that costed over $100.000.00.
Oktober 26, 1997 - The final day for the fans to call 800 telefone number and suggest a place where Metallica could play their free show. The winner: Philadelphia's CoreStates Arena parking lot.
Oktober 07, 1997 - Neighbors of the Philadelphia's CoreStates Arena parking lot in South Philadelphia went to court on morning to try to block Metallica's free outdoor concert. It was Vincent Fumo who asked his Harrisburg lawyer, Christopher Craig, to see what he could do. Craig spent all day drafting a request for an injunction that he delivered to Common Pleas.
November 11, 1997 - Metallica's free concert was helt in Philadelphia parking lot and was a great success. For the show's intro, they showed James playing the famous ESPN commercials "Da-na-na, na-na-na" from the Sportscenter music on his guitar.
November 13 - 18, 1997 - After the free show in Philadelphia Metallica went to Europe and played TV and Radio promo shows. They also played free gigs in small venues around Europe (London, Hamburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Paris).
November 15, 1997 - The Memory Remains video had it's world premiere on MTV's Mattrock show.
November 17th, 1997 - ReLoad is released!
December 06, 1997 - Metallica played live on NBC's Saturday Night Live show. They played Fuel and The Memory Remains (with. Marianne Faithfull).
June 23, 1998 - Rehearsals for the US part of Poor Re-Touring Me.
June 24, 1998 - The US part of Poor Re-Touring Me started in West Palm Beach, Florida.
September 05, 1998 - In concert in George, WA someone from the crowd threw a glass bottle towards the stage and hit Jason in the head. Jason got hurt but came back and finished the show as strong as ever. "We are here to give it all we got but I don t understand why we have to watch out for shit thrown at us during the show. I hope they find that fucker who did it" - James comments to the audience after the incident.
September 13, 1998 - The last show of the US part of the Poor Re-Touring Me world tour is played in San Diego, California.
October 18, 1998 - Metallica did a show in Los Angeles at the world famous Playboy Mansion. A 45 minutes gig in front of some of the most beautiful women in the world and other celebrities. They played 2 of new covers: Die Die My Darling and Turn The Page.
October 19, 1998 - Metallica spent 6 hours at the old Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles together with photographer Danny Clinch for Garage Inc. photo shoot.
October 21, 1998 - Metallica spent this day recording the video for their version of Bob Seger's Turn The Page from the upcoming Garage Inc. The clip is directed by Swedish director Jonas Akerlund, who also filmed Madonna's Ray of Light and Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up videos. It all took place at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles.
November 17 - 24, 1998 - Metallica played 5 shows in Canada and US in small venues to support the release of the new CD called Garage Inc. They played only cover songs and that's why they had a band called Battery as a support act. Metallica played covers and Battery played Metallica songs.
November 23, 1998 - Garage Inc. is released worldwide
November 24, 1998 - Garage Inc. is released in US
