My Chemical Romance

With their emo-punk songcraft, theatrical vocals, and stylized neo-goth appearance, My Chemical Romance rose from the East Coast underground to the forefront of modern rock talent during the mid-2000s. In keeping with the tragic element of the group's best-known singles -- including "Helena,", "I'm Not OK (I Promise)," "Famous Last Words," and "Welcome to the Black Parade" -- My Chemical Romance has roots in catastrophe, as frontman Gerard Way decided to form the band after watching New York's Twin Towers collapse on September 11th, 2001. Drummer Matt Pelissier joined the project one week later, while Way dealt with his growing anxiety by penning the group's first song,"Skylines and Turnstiles". Guitarist Ray Toro climbed aboard soon after, and the quintet's ranks solidified with the addition of bassist Mikey Way (Gerard's younger brother) and guitarist Frank Iero. With their lineup in place, the bandmates began playing shows along the Northeast Corridor and made plans to start work on an album.

My Chemical Romance's debut effort, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, appeared in 2002 courtesy of New York's Eyeball Records. Comparisons to Thursday were frequent; both bands hailed from New Jersey, both had recorded for Eyeball, and both combined punk-pop's musical aggression with introspective, confessional lyrics. The album attracted a modest underground following, and My Chemical Romance jumped to the big leagues in 2003 by signing with Reprise Records. The following year, they released the aggressively slick Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, a platinum-selling album that featured cover art by Way himself. Proving to be hugely popular, the album produced several radio singles and popular MTV videos, including "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," "Helena," and "The Ghost of You."

Amid this growing popularity, Pelissier departed in mid-2004 and was replaced by drummer Bob Bryar, who had previously met the band while running sound for the Used (with whom the band had toured several years prior). Relentless touring followed, with My Chemical Romance headlining dates with Alkaline Trio, scoring an opening slot on Green Day's American Idiot tour, and sharing bills with Story of the Year and Taking Back Sunday. As My Chemical Romance prepared to enter the studio for their third album, they issued a stop-gap recording, Life on the Murder Scene, in March 2006. The CD/double-DVD package offered an extensive combination of demos, music videos, live footage, interviews, and more; it sufficiently tied fans over until My Chemical Romance (now boasting a sober and bleach-haired Gerard Way) issued the darkly conceptual and highly ambitious The Black Parade that October. Anticipation for the album reached its apex upon the release of its grandiose first single, "Welcome to the Black Parade," whose elaborate music video looked and sounded like the result of Tim Burton directing Queen. The record acheived platinum status by early 2007 and was followed by a live recording, Black Parade Is Dead!, in 2008.

Slipknot

There are nine members of slipknot ranging from 0-8.

Sid Wilson is number zero and he runs the turntables.

Joey Jordison is number one and he is their drummer. He was born on April 26, 1975. He got his first drum set in fifth grade. He was the one that created the Slipknot S logo. He was orgianlly the guitarist for his previous band ,called the Murderdolls, and he was in a band named Anal Blast. He was the one that thought of refering to their fans as 'maggots'.

Paul Gray is number two and he plays the bass guitar.He is a co-founder of Slipknot. Paul is half black.

Chris Fehn is number three and he is their custom percussionist. He was born on February 24, 1974. He is considered to be the comedian of the group. He was in the band Shed before he was recruited into Slipknot. He also does alot of the backup vocals. His nose is 7 inches long.

Jim Root is number four and he is their guitarist. He was born on October 2, 1971. He used to be a very timid guy until he became a part of Slipknot. He was in the newly revived band Stone Sour, along with the bands Dead Front and Atomic Opera. Most people refer to him as James.

Craig Jones is number five and he does their samples and media stuff. He was born in 1972 and his nickname is 133 MHz. He was orginally their guitarist, but later switched to samples and media. The clip 'the whole thing i think is sick' was cut from a documentary on Charles Manson. 'here comes the pain' comes from a movie staring Al Pacino called, 'Carlito's Way'

Shawn Crahan is number six and he is another custom percussionist. He was born on September 24, 1969. He is the co-founder of Slipknot. He is an Executive producer for both Mudvayne and 40 Below Summer. He was the one that originally thought of using masks to make them stand out. He is the oldest member of the group and he does some backup vocals.

Mick Thomson is number seven and he is a guitarist. He was born on November 3, 1973. He is fascinated by serial killers and he is shorter than most of the band.

Corey Taylor is number eight and he mainly does their vocals. He was born on December 8, 1973. His nickname is 'Faith' and he used to work in a porn shop. His porn shop was where he was recruited for Slipknot. He has at least one baby. His baby's name is Griffin Parker Taylor who is nicknamed 'Itty Bitty Mouth'. The Dreadlocks on Corey's Mask are made from his real hair.

S.I.C. is an acronym for 'said in content'

One day Shawn Crahan and Anders Colsefini (who would later do Slipknot's vocals for a short time) were good friends and were just hangin' out when they got the great idea of creating a band. Crahan called Paul Gray first off, who called Joey Jordison from Paul's previous group, Anal Blast. Then they called in Donnie Steele from the band Cody's Pit and Josh Brainard from Modifidious.

Corey Taylor is pegged as the crazy guy on stage but in actuality, he is a calm sensible guy. The true wild one is Shawn Crahan. He loves to get into fights, be wild on stage, and bang his head on walls. Mick Thomson was a guitar teacher before he joined Slipknot. Craig Jones wrote the first song to their second album in under an hour. Chris Fehn is the one on their second album that threw up on the Ghost track. Joey Jordison is the shortest member of Slipknot.

The nine-member hard-core metal outfit Slipknot formed in the self-proclaimed 'middle of nowhere'-- Des Moines, Iowa -- in 1995. Asserting that they are 'not about our names or our faces,'members DJ Sid Wilson, drummer Joey Jordison, bassist Paul Gray, percussionist Chris Fehn, guitarist Jim Root, sampler Craig Jones, percussionist Shawn Crahan, guitarist Mic Thompson and vocalist Corey Taylor have taken numbers 0-8 as stage names and don bizarre homemade masks for shows, photos shoots, and interviews.
Slipknot self-released a CD in 1996, Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat, before signing with Ross Robinson's I Am Records, an imprint of Roadrunner. Their label debut, Slipknot, was released in 1999 with their latest, Iowa, following two years later.
Slipknot is a nu-metal band featuring nine members which makes them quite a unique band with 3 percussionists, 2 guitarists, 1 bassist, a DJ, a sampler and a lead singer. Trying to distinguish themselves more they have named themselves by using the numbers 0-8 and have been using bright costumes and masks on stage. The band formed in 1995 and was originally called Meld before changing their name in Spring / Summer of 1996. In 1999 they released their self-titled debut album which made them rather famous right away.

The well known 'slipknot barcode' is the barcode from their first album 'mate,feed,kill,repeat' and the numerical sequence from that barcode is the same as the title to the 1st track on their self titled cd.

In May 2004, Slipknot released their 3rd commercial album with the daring Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses). This has brought them under scrutiny from some of their more shallow fans, who say they have abandoned metal and gone softy, due to the fact that there are a couple of acoustic ballads on this album. Corey Taylor has said this is Slipknot's last album before calling it quits, saying 'Tell me how I'm supposed to be excited about a band that's eating itself.' They will be on the second stage at Ozzfest 2004.

Linkin Park

The band saw its and first beginings in emcee/vocalist Mike Shinoda's small bedroom studio, where he and Brad Delson recorded the band's first material in 1996. The two had attended high school together, where they met the band's drummer, Rob Bourdon. Shinoda hooked up with DJ Joseph Hahn while studying illustration at Art Center College in Pasadena. Meanwhile, attending UCLA, Delson shared an apartment with bassist Phoenix, who left the band after college and returned a year later. At this point, they named themselves Xero and recorded several demo tracks. They never got signed, and the project floundered. Then Shinoda decided to hire a vocalist, and put out an ad. They got Chester Bennington, a transplanted Arizona native who started making records when he was 16. 'When I was two, I used to run around singing Foreigner songs - there's tapes of me doing that... since I learned how to talk I've been telling everybody I was gonna grow up to be a singer.' laughs Bennington.

The band called itself Hybrid Theory after the addition of Bennington (the idea being that they were a hybrid of rock and rap), however, due to a trademark issue with a band called Hybrid, they were forced to change their name. Some discarded ideas (serious or not) were Clear (the band's favorite), Probing Lagers (which they thought was the lamest), Ten PM Stocker (because they would record every night at 10 pm at a place on Stocker Street) and Platinum Lotus Foundation. Eventually, they settled on Lincoln Park, suggested by Bennington because after band practice he would have to drive past there to get home. However the domain 'lincolnpark.com' cost more than the band could afford, so they changed the spelling to Linkin Park. However, it has also been suggested that the name 'Linkin Park' was suggested so that the band would appear right next to Limp Bizkit at record stores.

Working with an independent label, the band recorded the album Hybrid Theory EP, which featured 'Carousel', 'Technique', 'Step Up', 'And One', 'High Voltage', 'Part of Me'.

After being signed to Warner Brothers in 1999 their first album, Hybrid Theory, was released in 2000. It was the top-selling album in the United States and New Zealand in 2001, with the hit singles 'One Step Closer', 'Crawling', 'Papercut', 'In The End' and 'Points of Authority'. The album is notable for its absence of profanity, in contrast to many other nu metal bands' songs.

Linkin Park were part of the Ozzfest in 2001, touring along side Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Crazy Town, Papa Roach, and Disturbed. Linkin Park have also created their own tour - Projekt: Revolution, and on it have toured with Cypress Hill, Adema, DJ Z-Trip, Xzibit, Mudvayne and Blindside.

In 2002, they released a remix album of their Hybrid Theory album, called Reanimation, as well as releasing a remix version of their song, 'Points Of Authority'.

In 2003 their new studio album was released, titled Meteora, which debuted at #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia. It contained the singles, 'Somewhere I Belong', 'Faint', 'Numb', 'From The Inside' and 'Breaking The Habit'. Later in the year, they joined forces with fellow nu-metal band Limp Bizkit and Metallica for the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. From this tour, Linkin Park released a new CD/DVD set called Live in Texas. This set contains tracks from their three previous records, and was filmed on location at their Summer Sanitarium performances in Dallas and Houston, Texas .

In 2004, Linkin Park created the Meteora World Tour. This tour included Linkin Park, P.O.D., Hoobastank, and Story of the Year.

In 2004, Linkin Park was touring with Snoop Dogg, The Used, Korn, and Less Than Jake on the main stage, and No Warning, Ghostface, Funeral For A Friend, M.O.P., and Downset on the second stage as part of Projekt Revolution 2004. They also had a travelling DJ, Z-Trip with them, along with Irvin the Urban Action Figure.

On November 30, 2004, Linkin Park released Collision Course, a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z featuring rap-style remixes ('mash-ups') of songs from Meteora and Hybrid Theory using lyrics from Jay-Z's repertoire. Collision Course debuted at #1 in the US, but only got to # 17 in the UK. In Holland Collision Course made it to a 7th place. Their first Collision Course hit single 'Numb/Encore' reached #1 at the Free Record Shop Download Charts in Holland.

Members

* Chester Bennington (vocals)
* Mike Shinoda (vocals/sampling/guitar/keyboard)
* Joe Hahn (turntables, samples)
* Brad Delson guitar
* Rob Bourdon drums
* Dave 'Phoenix' Farrell bass

KISS Biography

Rooted in the campy theatrics of Alice Cooper and the sleazy hard rock of glam rockers the New York Dolls, Kiss became a favorite of American teenagers in the '70s. Most kids were infatuated with the look of Kiss, not their music. Decked out in outrageously flamboyant costumes and makeup, the band fashioned a captivating stage show featuring dry ice, smoke bombs, elaborate lighting, blood spitting, and fire breathing that captured the imaginations of thousands of kids. But Kiss' music shouldn't be dismissed -- it was a commercially potent mix of anthemic, fist-pounding hard rock driven by sleek hooks and ballads powered by loud guitars, cloying melodies, and sweeping strings. It was a sound that laid the groundwork for both arena rock and the pop-metal that dominated rock in the late '80s. Kiss was the brainchild of Gene Simmons (bass, vocals) and Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar, vocals), former members of the New York-based hard rock band Wicked Lester; the duo brought in drummer Peter Criss through his ad in Rolling Stone and guitarist Ace Frehley responded to an advertisement in The Village Voice. Even at their first Manhattan concert in 1973, the group's approach was quite theatrical; Flipside producer Bill Aucoin offered the band a management deal after the show. Two weeks later, the band was signed to Neil Bogart's fledgling record label, Casablanca. Kiss released their self-titled debut in February of 1974; it peaked at number 87 on the U.S. charts. By April of 1975, the group had released three albums and had toured America constantly, building up a sizable fan base. Culled from those numerous concerts, Alive! (released in the fall of 1975) made the band rock & roll superstars; it climbed into the Top Ten and its accompanying single, "Rock 'N' Roll All Nite," made it to number 12. Their follow-up, Destroyer, was released in March of 1976 and became the group's first platinum album; it also featured their first Top Ten single, Peter Criss' power ballad "Beth." A 1977 Gallup poll named Kiss the most popular band in America. Kiss mania was in full swing and thousands of pieces of merchandise hit the marketplace. The group had two comic books released by Marvel, pinball machines, makeup and masks, board games, and a live-action TV movie, Kiss Meet the Phantom of the Park. The group was never seen in public without wearing their makeup and their popularity was growing by leaps and bounds; the membership of the Kiss Army, the band's fan club, was now in the six figures. Even such enormous popularity had its limits, and the band reached them in 1978, when all four members released solo albums on the same day in October. Simmons' record was the most successful, reaching number 22 on the charts, yet all of them made it into the Top 50. Dynasty, released in 1979, continued their streak of platinum albums, yet it was their last recorded with the original lineup -- Criss left in 1980. Kiss Unmasked, released in the summer of 1980, was recorded with session drummer Anton Fig; Criss' permanent replacement, Eric Carr, joined the band in time for their 1980 world tour. Kiss Unmasked was their first record since Destroyer to fail to go platinum, and 1981's Music From the Elder, their first album recorded with Carr, didn't even go gold -- it couldn't even climb past number 75 on the charts. Ace Frehley left the band after its release; he was replaced by Vinnie Vincent in 1982. Vincent's first album with the group, 1982's Creatures of the Night, fared better than Music From the Elder, yet it couldn't make it past number 45 on the charts. Sensing it was time for a change, Kiss dispensed with their makeup for 1983's Lick It Up. The publicity worked, as the album became their first platinum record in four years. Animalize, released the following year, was just as successful, and the group had recaptured their niche. Vincent left after Animalize and was replaced by Mark St. John; St. John was soon taken ill with Reiter's Syndrome and left the band. Bruce Kulick became Kiss' new lead guitarist in 1984. For the rest of the decade, Kiss turned out a series of best-selling albums, culminating in the early 1990 hit ballad "Forever," which was their biggest single since "Beth." Kiss was scheduled to record a new album with their old producer, Bob Ezrin, in 1990 when Eric Carr became severely ill with cancer; he died in November of 1991 at the age of 41. Kiss replaced him with Eric Singer and recorded Revenge (1992), their first album since 1989; it was a Top Ten hit and went gold. Kiss followed it with the release of Alive III the following year; it performed respectably, but not up to the standards of their two previous live records. In 1996, the original lineup of Kiss -- featuring Simmons, Stanley, Frehley, and Criss -- reunited to perform an international tour, complete with their notorious makeup and special effects. The tour was one of the most successful of 1996, and in 1998 the reunited group issued Psycho Circus. While the ensuing tour in support of Psycho Circus was a success, sales of Kiss' reunion album weren't as stellar as anticipated. Reminiscent of the band's late-'70s unfocused period, few tracks on Psycho Circus featured all four members playing together (most tracks were supplemented with session musicians), as the band seemed more interested in flooding the marketplace with merchandise yet again instead of making the music their top priority. With rumors running rampant that the Psycho Circus Tour would be their last, the quartet announced in the spring of 2000 that they would be launching a U.S. farewell tour in the summer, which became one of the year's top concert draws. But on the eve of a Japanese and Australian tour in early 2001, Peter Criss suddenly left the band once again, supposedly discontent with his salary. Taking his place was previous Kiss drummer Eric Singer, who in a controversial move among some longtime fans, donned Criss' cat-man makeup (since Simmons and Stanley own both Frehley and Criss' makeup designs, there was no threat of a lawsuit) as the farewell tour continued. With the band scheduled to call it a day supposedly by late 2001, a mammoth career-encompassing box set was set for later in the year, while the summer saw perhaps the most over-the-top piece of Kiss merchandise yet -- the "Kiss Kasket." The group was relatively quiet through the rest of the year, but 2002 started with a bang as Gene Simmons turned in an entertaining and controversial interview on NPR where he criticized the organization and berated host Terry Gross with sexual comments and condescending answers. He was promoting his autobiography at the time, which also caused dissent in the Kiss camp because of the inflammatory remarks made towards Ace Frehley. Frehley was quite angry at the situation, leading to his no-showing of an American Bandstand anniversary show. His place was taken by a wig-wearing Tommy Thayer, but no one was fooled and the band looked especially awful while pretending to play their instruments during the pre-recorded track. The appearance was an embarrassment for the group and for their fans, but Simmons was quick to dismiss the performance as another in a long series of money-oriented decisions.

Creed (Band)

Creed was formed in 1995 as a heavy metal, rock, and alternative rock group. They broke up in June 2004.

Many people consider Creed to be a Christian rock band, because their songs include many religious and spiritual implications. While most of the band members are Christians, frontman Scott Stapp disagrees with the label: 'No, we are not a Christian band. A Christian band has an agenda to lead others to believe in their specific religious beliefs.

Their 1997 debut album My Own Prison was successful, and the title track was a major hit at rock radio. Their second album, Human Clay was released in 1999 and debuted on the Billboard 200 Album Chart at number one, based on the strength of its first single, 'Higher'. It wasn't until early 2000 that the single crossed over onto pop radio, and Creed became a household name. Its follow-up, 'With Arms Wide Open,' was similarly massive on rock radio and arguably even bigger on pop radio that summer.

In the fall of 2001, 'My Sacrifice,' the first single off of Creed's latest album, Weathered was one of many inspirational songs to become huge in a post-9/11 America. In early 2002, 'Bullets' was released as a single, along with a costly, special effects-laden video. The song and video were possibly Creed's least successful since achieving mainstream success. However, Creed rebounded quickly, with one of the summer's biggest hits, 'One Last Breath'. 'Don't Stop Dancing' was a minor hit for Creed in late 2002/early 2003.

On June 4, 2004, it was announced that Creed had broken up. Stapp will record a solo album, collaborating with popular Canadian group The Tea Party, while the other band members will form a new band, Alter Bridge, with Myles Kennedy.

Band Members

* Scott Stapp - Vocals
* Mark Tremonti - Lead Guitar, Vocals & Studio Bassist
* Brian Marshall - Bass (Left the band after the Human Clay album)
* Scott Phillips - Drums

Marilyn Manson

Love him or hate him, the self-proclaimed "Antichrist Superstar" -- Marilyn Manson -- was indisputably among the most notorious and controversial entertainers of the 1990s. Celebrated by supporters as a crusader for free speech and denounced by detractors as little more than a poor man's Alice Cooper, Manson was the latest in a long line of shock rockers, rising to the top of the charts on a platform of sex, drugs, and Satanism. Though widely dismissed by critics, his brand of metal nevertheless struck a major chord with the youth market, and he became a mainstream anti-hero on the strength of a masterfully orchestrated marketing campaign, much to the chagrin of conservative politicians and concerned parents. Such attention pushed many of his songs -- including "The Dope Show," "The Beautiful People," and a cover of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" -- into the upper reaches of the modern rock charts during his heyday.

Born Brian Warner, Manson was raised in Canton, OH. At the age of 18, he relocated to Tampa Bay, FL, where he worked as a music journalist. In 1989, he became friends with guitarist and fellow outsider Scott Mitchell; the two soon decided to form a band, with Mitchell rechristening himself Daisy Berkowitz and Warner adopting the name Marilyn Manson. With the addition of bassist Gidget Gein and keyboardist Madonna Wayne-Gacy, the group -- originally dubbed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids -- began self-releasing cassettes and playing gigs, their gothic stage show notable for Manson's elaborate makeup and homemade special effects. Jettisoning their drum machine in favor of one Sara Lee Lucas, the band's sound began taking on a harder edge, and by 1992 they were among the most popular acts in the south Florida area. In 1993, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor came calling, offering both a contract with his Nothing Records label as well as the chance to open for NIN the following spring; Manson accepted both offers, and the group's debut LP, Portrait of an American Family, appeared during the summer of 1994. With new bassist Twiggy Ramirez replacing Gein, the group's notoriety began to soar. Most infamously, during an appearance in Salt Lake City, Manson ripped apart a copy of the Book of Mormon while on-stage. The Church of Satan's founder, Anton LaVey, also bestowed upon him the title of "Reverend."

While some onlookers dismissed Manson's behavior as crass audience manipulation, his cult following -- comprised almost entirely of disaffected white suburban teens -- continued to swell, and the band broke into the mainstream with the release of 1995's Smells Like Children EP, propelled by their hit cover of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." Berkowitz quit a short time later and was replaced by guitarist Zim Zum, and the revised group saw their next LP, 1996's Antichrist Superstar, debut at the number three spot on the pop album charts. As Manson's popularity grew, so did the furor surrounding him. His concerts were regularly picketed by civic groups, and his music was the subject of widespread attacks from the right-wing and religious fronts. Again, however, his quick embrace of the media spotlight called into question the true sincerity of his revolutionary aims. With a cover story in Rolling Stone and the timely release of a best-selling autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, some onlookers doubted whether Manson had sold his soul to Satan, or just sold his soul, period. The glam-inspired Mechanical Animals followed in 1998, with the resulting tour yielding the live Last Tour on Earth a year later.

Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) came out at the end of 2000, and the band toured to support the album in 2001. During a July show in Michigan, Manson was charged with criminal sexual conduct after performing an alleged offensive act on a security guard. Another charge followed before the year's end, when an additional security guard filed a civil suit alleging that Manson had rubbed his pelvis on the guard's head. Manson's version of "Tainted Love" appeared on the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack that December, and the July 2001 sexual conduct charges were lowered to a misdemeanor one month later. The civil suit was dropped soon after.

May 2003 saw the release of The Golden Age of Grotesque, which spent a week atop the album charts and ended up on several critics' year-end Top Ten lists. The following year, former member Daisy Berkowitz released Lunch Boxes & Choklit Cows, a compilation of demos and unreleased tracks that was credited to Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids. Berkowitz had obtained the rights to the material in a lawsuit against Manson, who subsequently fought the release and court-ordered some artwork to be removed. At the end of September, Manson released his own compilation, a greatest-hits affair titled Lest We Forget. The collection covered the highlights of Manson's career and included a new cover version of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," whose success helped push the album to gold status in multiple countries.

Late in 2005, the band announced that a new album was nearly finished; however, it wasn't until 2007 that Eat Me, Drink Me was released. The record was largely written, performed, and produced by Manson and guitarist/bassist Tim Skold, who left Marilyn Manson's lineup shortly thereafter and was replaced by returning member Twiggy Ramirez. Manson and Ramirez then began writing material for the band's seventh studio album, The High End of Low, which arrived in spring 2009.

Metallica History

Early 1981
An avid fan of New Wave of British Heavy Metal metal, Lars Ulrich (born December 26, 1963, in Gentofte, Denmark) decides he wants to start a band. So he places an ad in a Southern California magazine called Recycler, which reads: "Drummer looking for other metal musicians to jam with, Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden."

James Hetfield and his buddy Hugh Tanner answer.

"I had been taking piano lessons, but guitar was definitely something I desired because you could move around a little easier. All of the bands that I liked had them. I just thought playing guitar was something I wanted to do. [When I finally got my first guitar] I had no idea how to play it at first. It's like there are six strings, and they just make one noise. Then I figured out you had to put your hands down, hold the strings down, and make different noises."
— James, Guitar One, 1997

"When we used to hang out over at Lars's house, he used to have an un-put together drum set lying in the corner and he'd always go, 'I'm gonna start a band.' We're like: 'Yeah, sure you are, Lars. Yeah, right.'"
— Brian Slagel (Metal Blade Records), Frayed Ends of Metal

"Lars had a pretty crappy drum kit, with one cymbal. It kept falling over, and we'd have to stop, and he'd pick the fucking thing up. He really was not a good drummer."
— James, on his first jam with Lars, Playboy Magazine, 2001

October 28, 1981
Although Lars doesn't even have a band, he still asks friend Brian Slagel (founder of Metal Blade Records), if he can record a track for the upcoming compilation album, Metal Massacre. Slagel agrees, and Lars recruits James Hetfield to sing and play guitar.

"Certainly the first time Lars and I got together for a jam [forming a band] didn't happen, there was no vibe. And when he came to me with an opportunity to be on a record, that was pretty interesting. At that time in my life I wanted to play music, I didn't want to work."
— James, Kerrang! Legends: Metallica

"One of the biggest things about hooking up with Lars was that he had lots of music I never heard. He was Danish. He had European stuff. The hardest stuff I had heard was Kiss, Aerosmith, just some of the punk stuff. Ramones, Sex Pistols. AC/DC, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden. But then when he brought in some of the more underground stuff, I was blown away."
— James, mtv.com, 2003

Fall 1981
Still without a name for his band, Lars chats with friend Ron Quintana, who is brainstorming names for a fanzine. Among Quintana's proposed names are "Metal Mania" and "Metallica." Lars convinces Ron to name the fanzine Metal Mania and "steals" the name "Metallica" for his band.

Among Lars's own ideas for the band name were: Blitzer, Grinder, Helldriver, Thunderfuck, as well as "Lars Ulrich" spelled backwards.

"Lars would visit S.F. and crash on my floor. He broke my cassette deck by constantly playing and rewinding my best live Diamond Head tapes, but always brought enough cool tapes and 'zines to make me forget about any problems."
— Ron Quintana, "San Francisco Heavy Metal. The Birth of a Scene"