Decade Magnetic

Death Magnetic

To understate the issue, the 2000s were quite a decade for Metallica.

Metallica signed off the 1990s with their S&M performances with the San Fransisco Symphony Orchestra (conducted by the late Michael Kamen). The album of the show entered the Billboard 200 at number 2. Not a bad way to end a decade.

But 2000 was a rocky year for Metallica, beginning what would be a (mostly) rocky decade. It started when the band discovered that a demo for their then-unreleased song "I Disappear" received radio airplay. Then came the revelation that it was not just the demo of a new song, but every song Metallica had committed to tape - from 1983's Kill 'em All to the S&M double-album - was on Napster, the file-sharing network. For free. Metallica counterattacked, claiming that Napster had no right to share their music without the band's permission. Napster's users - many of them Metallica fans - felt that this was an attack on them, the power-crazy and money-hungry band targeting a few innocent people trading their favorite music.

Whoever was right and whoever was wrong, the whole incident - from drummer Lars Ulrich speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee, to outraged Metallica fans destroying the band's CDs, to Napster being forced to close its doors and re-shape itself as a pay-service - the whole Napster incident tainted Metallica's image for years to come. They went from ripped-denim, long-haired guys with guitars to clean-cut rich men in suits, telling people what they could and couldn't do with their songs.

No sooner had Metallica tried to move on from Napster, they received another blow - this one in the form of their bassist of 14 years, Jason Newsted, leaving the band in 2001. Plans to record the band's eighth studio album were put on hold; first, ostensibly to find a new bassist, but then to address the buried issues and conflicts that were unearthed when Newsted left. At the heart of the issue was the tension between Lars Ulrich and rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, singer and Metallica co-founder James Hetfield. 

Concerned for the band's future (both professionally and personally), Metallica's management enlisted the services of Phil Towle, a performance-enhancement coach. Metallica were effectively put on the couch, but this was not to be a private session; a stroke of coincidence meant that the fallout from Newsted's departure and the resulting therapy sessions were all committed to film. Originally intended as a documentary to chronicle the making of Metallica's eighth album, the filmmakers now found themselves documenting Metallica sorting out some long-repressed issues of trust, respect and understanding between the three remaining members - Ulrich, Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. The Metallica camp was thrown further into disarray when Hetfield abruptly joined a rehabilitation program, leaving the documentary, the band's eighth album, and the band itself with an uncertain future.

The documentary, Some Kind of Monster, chronicled Hetfield's return from rehabilitation and the re-establishment of his relationship with his bandmates (and the legacy that is Metallica). It also looked at Lars Ulrich's almost instinctive deference to his father, and Lars' constant need to prove himself to his the elder Ulrich. Lars also sat down with ex-Metallica guitarist (and Megadeth frontman) Dave Mustaine, to address the unceremonious exit Mustaine was given in 1983.

Fan reaction to the documentary (and the therapy sessions themselves) was divided, to say the least. On the one hand, the world's biggest rock band paid Towle $40,000 a month while they talked about how they felt and their insecurities. On the other, the world's biggest rock band put their hearts on their sleeves and bared themselves to their fans and detractors, warts and all.

From the new-found energy of Hetfield's return and the vibes that the therapy sessions produced, Metallica hit the studio again to re-start work on their eighth album. The result, 2003's St. Anger, saw the band make their heaviest, ugliest and rawest music in decades. But much like the documentary that preceded the album, reception was mixed; some praised the return to the aggression and speed that Metallica had eschewed on their recent releases; others lambasted the rough production, the rambling song structures and lyrics, and the complete lack of guitar solos on St. Anger.

With the documentary, the therapy sessions and the album under their belt, Metallica took to the road, now with new bassist Robert Trujillo. The tour lasted two years, showing a Metallica that had conquered their demons and were celebrating a second chance, a new lease on life.

Metallica took 2005 off, playing only two shows (as openers for The Rolling Stones). The following year, Metallica announced that their producer of the last fifteen years, Bob Rock, would not be behind the controls for the band's ninth studio album. Instead, the guru-like Rick Rubin, who had produced albums for artists as varied as Johnny Cash, Slayer, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Run-DMC, System of a Down and Tom Petty, would be taking over.

The result was Death Magnetic, in 2008. The album captured a clearer, focused, revitalized Metallica, shedding the therapy-induced mantras of St. Anger in favor of creative songwriting and guitar solos. The energy caught on; the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, won Grammy Awards and made Top Ten lists across the world.

Riding the crest of the wave, Metallica found themselves in 3D with the release of Guitar Hero: Metallica, but the greatest accolade came with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Not only was it a celebration and a tribute to Metallica's nine studio albums, two decades of existence, nine Grammy Awards, and worldwide album sales of over 100 million, the ceremony also marked the band's reconciliation with Jason Newsted. There were two defining moments of the Hall of Fame induction: Newstead playing with Metallica for the first time since his departure in 2001, and James Hetfield enveloping Lars Ulrich in an almighty bearhug at the conclusion of his induction speech. Two teenage boys playing Diamond Head covers in a garage in 1981 had come a long, long way.

Although they started the decade in controversy and turmoil - with Napster, Jason Newsted leaving and James Hetfield leaving the band to go into rehab - Metallica eventually triumphed, releasing two #1 albums, embarking on two mega-successful world tours, and finishing the 2000s at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.