List of Metallica demos

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A list of all demos written and recorded by American heavy metal band Metallica.

Contents

Whiskey Audition Tape

These two cover songs were recorded in then-bassist Ron McGovney’s garage, during rehearsals that took place in March 1982. On the strength of this demo tape, Metallica were booked to open for NWOBHM band Saxon on March 27, 1982, at the Los Angeles club Whisky a Go Go. [1]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Killing Time" (originally performed by Sweet Savage)2:36
2."Let It Loose" (originally performed by Savage)3:11
Total length:5:47

Personnel

Ron McGovney's '82 Garage demo

This demo tape was also recorded in McGovney's garage during March 1982. Although the demo has never been officially released, it has been in wide circulation in various bootleg versions. Apart from the songs listed below, two other tracks recorded during different sessions, consisting of songwriting ideas and various unreleased riffs, have also been widely bootlegged. One track consisting of riffs and ideas that would later go on to become both Metallica and Megadeth songs is commonly titled as "Jam", while the other track is a melodic piece played by Hetfield and McGovney, widely known on YouTube as "Unreleased Kill 'Em All song". The validity of these two tracks was confirmed by McGovney, during a 1996 interview with Shock Waves and also via the Metallicabb forum. [1] [2] No Remorse and Helpless have circulated on Youtube as the Whiskey demo, though this isn't true. [3]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Hit the Lights"4:20
2."Jump in the Fire"4:25
3."Sucking My Love" (originally performed by Diamond Head)6:43
4."The Prince" (originally performed by Diamond Head)5:01
5."Am I Evil?" (originally performed by Diamond Head)7:44
6."Helpless" (originally performed by Diamond Head)6:14
7."No Remorse"5:36
Total length:40:03

Personnel

Power Metal demo

Power Metal is the name given to a demo recorded sometime in April 1982. Although the demo has never been officially released, it was given the bootleg name "Power Metal" after the tagline McGovney had printed on Metallica's first business cards. The tape contained four original songs, including two new songs, "The Mechanix", written by Dave Mustaine, and "Motorbreath", written by James Hetfield. It was, like all previous demos, also recorded in McGovney's garage. [4]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Hit the Lights" (Hetfield, Ulrich)4:18
2."Jump in the Fire" (Mustaine)3:55
3."The Mechanix" (Mustaine)4:47
4."Motorbreath" (Hetfield)3:23
Total length:16:23

Personnel

No Life 'Til Leather

No Life 'Til Leather was recorded on July 6, 1982. It is Metallica's most widely circulated demo tape. All of the tracks are early recordings of songs that would later appear on the band's debut album Kill 'Em All. The only songs on Kill 'Em All that aren’t on the tape are Cliff Burton's bass solo "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth", "Whiplash", "No Remorse" and "The Four Horsemen" (See notes above). It is unknown why "No Remorse" didn’t appear, as it was on an earlier demo. The title of the demo comes from the first line of "Hit the Lights". [4]

The demo has been re-released twice unofficially, first under the title of Metallica: Bay Area Thrashers, and was alleged to be a live bootleg recording of Metallica in the early days, however all "live" sounds had been added from various sources including the Metallica video Cliff 'Em All . This was soon discovered by Metallica and all copies were removed from stores. The demo was re-released a second time under the title Metallica: In the Beginning... Live, containing no apparent differences from Metallica: Bay Area Thrashers.

In March 2015, Metallica announced that they would be releasing No Life 'Til Leather on limited-edition cassette for Record Store Day. [5]

As Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone magazine: "It's time for us to put out some next-level reissues and do the song and dance of the catalog that everyone else has done; the U2s and the Led Zeppelins and the Oasises [...] Instead of starting with Kill 'Em All in 1983, we figured we'd go back another two years to when the band was formed in 1981." [6]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Hit the Lights"4:18
2."The Mechanix"4:28
3."Motorbreath"3:18
4."Seek & Destroy"4:55
5."Metal Militia"5:17
6."Jump in the Fire"3:51
7."Phantom Lord"3:33
Total length:29:40

Personnel

Live Metal Up Your Ass

Metal Up Your Ass was recorded on November 29, 1982, at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. The supporting band was Exodus, featuring Metallica's future lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. The band played all of its original material (nine songs) that the group had written up to that point, which included all of the songs from its previous demo No Life 'Til Leather and two new songs (which were later released on the Megaforce demo), all nine of which would essentially be the entirety of their debut album minus Cliff's bass solo "(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth". Two covers of Diamond Head songs were played, "Am I Evil?" and "The Prince", however "The Prince" was not recorded as the tape ran out before the full duration of the band's set.

Both the name and album cover of the demo were to be reused for the band's debut studio album, now called Kill 'Em All . However, Metallica's record company would not allow it. [7] In 1997, melodic punk band 88 Fingers Louie parodied both the title and cover art with their EP titled 88 Fingers Up Your Ass .

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Hit the Lights"4:15
2."The Mechanix"4:28
3."Phantom Lord"4:59
4."Jump in the Fire"4:40
5."Motorbreath"3:05
6."No Remorse"6:23
7."Seek & Destroy"6:51
8."Whiplash"4:08
9."Am I Evil?" (originally performed by Diamond Head)7:50
10."Metal Militia"5:59
Total length:52:38

Personnel

Megaforce demo

The Megaforce demo was recorded on March 16, 1983, and was the band's last demo release recorded with Dave Mustaine. [1] The tape was recorded with the intention of introducing Burton to potential record labels and earned the band a contract with Megaforce Records. It was also played live on KUSF FM in San Francisco. The demo contained one new song, "Whiplash", and “No Remorse”. It has received a number of names including the Megaforce demo (due to it earning a contract with Megaforce), The KUSF Demo (due to it being played on KUSF FM) and Whiplash/No Remorse Demo.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Whiplash"4:12
2."No Remorse"5:38
Total length:9:50

Personnel

Ride the Lightning demo

The Ride the Lightning demo was recorded on October 29, 1983. It was the group's first demo recording to feature lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. The demo contained the original material Metallica had written that was not released on Kill 'Em All. Both "Ride the Lightning" and "When Hell Freezes Over" (later renamed "The Call of Ktulu") were co-written by Dave Mustaine. "Fight Fire with Fire" and "Ride the Lightning" had been changed from their original versions due to input from Cliff Burton. All four songs appeared on the band's second studio album Ride the Lightning . The four demos for Ride the Lightning were recorded at the expense of Metallica's European record label, Music for Nations, at the same time the band recorded versions of "Seek & Destroy" and "Phantom Lord" to be used as fake "live" B-sides for the "Whiplash" and "Jump in the Fire" singles. [1] In 2005, seven other re-recorded demos surfaced on bootlegs. Out of the seven demos that surfaced, only "Trapped Under Ice" was confirmed as an official demo.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Fight Fire with Fire"4:45
2."Ride the Lightning"6:24
3."Creeping Death"6:50
4."When Hell Freezes Over"8:17
Total length:26:16

Personnel

Master of Puppets demos

The Master of Puppets demos were recorded on July 14, 1985, and is essentially a rehearsal more than a demo. The demo includes five songs that were included on its third studio album, Master of Puppets (1986).

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Battery" (instrumental)5:23
2."Battery"4:43
3."Disposable Heroes" (instrumental)9:13
4."Disposable Heroes"9:15
5."Master of Puppets" (instrumental)8:51
6."Welcome Home (Sanitarium) / Orion" (instrumental)9:38
7."Welcome Home (Sanitarium) / Orion"8:55
Total length:55:58

Personnel

…And Justice for All demos

The …And Justice for All demos were recorded in 1987 and include early, shorter versions of songs which later appeared on the band's fourth studio album, …And Justice for All (1988). It was the group's first demo album to feature Jason Newsted on bass. The intro to "Blackened" on the demo is an unreversed version, unlike the reversed version that appeared on …And Justice for All. "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" was recorded with gibberish sung in place of most lyrics (with the exception of the chorus' "Frayed ends of sanity/Hear them calling me"), although the final version of the song contains lyrics. "Eye of the Beholder" has two different demo versions, however there are few differences between the two besides running time and some lyrical differences, one of which includes an improvised lyric about James needing to write lyrics for the song. Most demo versions of the album do not include both takes of the song.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Blackened" (forward intro)0:36
2."Blackened"5:57
3."…And Justice for All"8:14
4."Eye of the Beholder"6:18
5."One"7:00
6."The Shortest Straw"6:28
7."Harvester of Sorrow"5:37
8."The Frayed Ends of Sanity"7:30
9."To Live Is to Die" (instrumental)9:57
10."Dyers Eve"5:35
Total length:63:12

Personnel

Metallica demos

The demos recorded for Metallica's self-titled fifth album were recorded by James and Lars on August 13, 1990, in Lars’ home studio, "The Dungeon". Four of the songs from this particular session were later released as B-sides on various album singles. Contrary to popular belief, the demo for The Unforgiven was not from this session, as the song hadn’t been finished yet. The version of Holier Than Thou that appeared on the Enter Sandman single was not recorded at this session either. [8]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Enter Sandman" (B-side Enter Sandman single)5:05
2."Sad but True" (B-side Sad but True single)4:54
3."Don’t Tread on Me"3:59
4."Nothing Else Matters" (B-side Nothing Else Matters single)5:55
5."Holier Than Thou"3:49
6."Wherever I May Roam" (B-side Wherever I May Roam single)5:35
7."The Struggle Within"3:46
Total length:33:05

Personnel

Load and Reload demos

Many of the songs that would later appear on both the Load and Reload albums were recorded as demos by Hetfield and Ulrich between winter 1994 and spring 1995 in Ulrich's home studio, "The Dungeon". A large portion of the recorded tracks were released on the MetClub only release Fan Can III, while other songs were released throughout various singles from both albums. Most songs were released under working titles, as opposed to their final titles as appear on each album.

Fan Can III

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Load" (King Nothing)5:50
2."Devil Dance" (Devil's Dance)4:46
3."Streamline" (Wasting My Hate)4:20
4."Bleeding Me"8:36
5."Bitch" (Ain’t My Bitch)5:31
6."Fixer" (Fixxxer)5:57
7."Mine Eyes" (Low Man's Lyric)7:58
8."Skimpy" (Carpe Diem Baby)6:24
9."Unforgiven II"7:14
10."Outlaw" (The Outlaw Torn)9:18
11."Memory" (The Memory Remains)6:44
12."Fuel"4:25
Total length:77:03

Single releases

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."F.O.B.D." (B-side to Until It Sleeps single)4:56
2."Mouldy" (B-side to Hero of the Day single)5:22
3."The Story So Far" (B-side to Mama Said single)6:52
4."Fuel for Fire" (B-side to The Memory Remains single)4:41
Total length:21:51

Personnel

Demo Magnetic

Metallica's ninth studio album, Death Magnetic , had all its songs released as demos, recorded between November 2005 and January 2007. The demos were included on a bonus disc titled Demo Magnetic, released with a different "experience" version of Death Magnetic. The track listing order remained the same, however the track list uses the working titles instead of the final titles. All music was written by Metallica, while all lyrics were written by James Hetfield. It is the group's first demo album to feature Robert Trujillo on bass.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Hi Guy" (That Was Just Your Life)7:11
2."Neinteen" (The End of the Line)7:35
3."Black Squirrel" (Broken, Beat & Scarred)6:13
4."Casper" (The Day That Never Comes)8:15
5."Flamingo" (All Nightmare Long)7:59
6."German Soup" (Cyanide)6:32
7."UN3" (The Unforgiven III)7:51
8."Gymbag" (The Judas Kiss)7:56
9."K2LU" (Suicide & Redemption; instrumental)9:31
10."Ten" (My Apocalypse)5:19
Total length:74:22

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Ride the Lightning</i> 1984 studio album by Metallica

Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with the producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Burton</span> American bassist (1962–1986)

Clifford Lee Burton was an American musician who was the bassist for thrash metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on the band's first three albums, Kill 'Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), and Master of Puppets (1986). Burton also received a posthumous writing credit on ...And Justice for All (1988) for the song "To Live Is to Die".

<i>Kill Em All</i> 1983 studio album by Metallica

Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. After forming in 1981, Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group's No Life 'til Leather demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording. The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York. It was originally intended to be titled Metal Up Your Ass, with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. Zazula convinced the band to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.

<i>The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited</i> 1987 EP by Metallica

The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited is the first extended play by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 21, 1987, by Elektra Records. It consists of covers of late-'70s and early-'80s new wave of British heavy metal bands and punk rock music rehearsed in Lars Ulrich's soundproofed garage and then recorded in Los Angeles over the course of six days. It is the group's first release following the death of bassist Cliff Burton and the first to feature his successor, Jason Newsted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hetfield</span> American musician (born 1963)

James Alan Hetfield is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionally performs lead guitar duties and solos both live and in studio. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering an advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released 11 studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays, and 24 singles. Hetfield is often regarded as one of the greatest heavy metal rhythm guitar players of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creeping Death</span> 1984 single by Metallica

"Creeping Death" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 23, 1984, as the lead and only commercial single from their album Ride the Lightning. Written from the perspective of the Angel of Death, "Creeping Death" describes the tenth plague of Egypt. It is often thought of as one of the band’s most popular songs and is currently the second-most-played song live by them.

<i>Live Shit: Binge & Purge</i> 1993 live album box set by Metallica

Live Shit: Binge & Purge is the first live album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released in a box set format on November 23, 1993. The initial first pressings contained three CDs or cassette tapes, with songs from concerts in Mexico City on the Nowhere Else to Roam tour, as well as three VHS tapes while a newer version contains two DVDs from concerts in San Diego on the Wherever We May Roam Tour and Seattle on the Damaged Justice Tour. It was originally released as a cardboard box depicting the style of a typical tour equipment transport box. Besides the audio and video media, the box featured additional bonus material and a black "Metalli'Fukin'ca" T-shirt. Live Shit: Binge & Purge has been certified 15× platinum by the RIAA as a long-form video format.

Ronald J. McGovney is an American semi-retired musician, best known as the original bass guitarist in the thrash metal band Metallica from October 1981 to December 1982.

<i>Cliff Em All</i> 1987 video by Metallica

Cliff 'Em All is a compilation of video footage, and the first video album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 17, 1987, as a tribute to Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident on September 27, 1986, at the age of 24, near Ljungby, Sweden, during the European leg of their Master of Puppets world tour. Its title is derived from Metallica's debut album, Kill 'Em All. The home video also features a performance with former guitarist Dave Mustaine on March 19, 1983, shortly before his ousting from the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiplash (Metallica song)</span> 1983 single by Metallica

"Whiplash" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their debut album, Kill 'Em All, and the band's debut single overall, released on August 8, 1983. The song has been covered a number of times, most notably by Motörhead, whose version won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Damaged Justice was the fourth concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It began on September 11, 1988, and ended on October 8, 1989. The name is believed to be inspired either by the cover of its fourth studio album ...And Justice for All, or by the song "Damage, Inc." from the group's previous album, Master of Puppets. The single "One" was released during the tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jump in the Fire</span> 1984 single by Metallica

"Jump in the Fire" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the second and final single from their debut album, Kill 'Em All. The single was accompanied by fake live performances of "Phantom Lord" and "Seek & Destroy" which were alternate studio recordings with sounds of a crowd overdubbed in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ain't My Bitch</span> 1996 promotional single by Metallica

"Ain't My Bitch" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their sixth album, Load (1996). It is the opening track of the album and was released as a promotional single in Mexico. It reached number 15 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

Wherever We May Roam was a concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica in support of their eponymous fifth studio album. It began in autumn of 1991. The North American legs ran through summer 1992, followed by the Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour, the Wherever We May Roam European leg, and finally the Nowhere Else to Roam tour of smaller markets in North America, Mexico, Asia, Australia, South America, Europe and Israel, ending in the summer of 1993.

<i>The Metallica Collection</i> 2009 box set by Metallica

The Metallica Collection is a digital box set by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released to the iTunes Store on April 14, 2009. The box set features all of the band's studio albums and extra material from 1983 to 2008. The box set was later released to other digital music stores such Amazon MP3 and UOL Megastore.

The Damage, Inc. Tour was a concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the band's third studio album, Master of Puppets. The name of the tour is taken from the last song on the album. It began on March 27, 1986, and ended on February 13, 1987.

<i>Limited-Edition Vinyl Box Set</i> 2004 box set by Metallica

Limited-Edition Vinyl Box Set is a vinyl box set by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 23, 2004.

<i>Six Feet Down Under</i> 2010 EP by Metallica

Six Feet Down Under is a limited edition commemorative live EP by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released exclusively in Australia and New Zealand on September 20, 2010, through Universal Music. It has been sold by Trans-Tasman record stores, Metallica online store and iTunes only. The EP contains fan recordings of eight live songs from the band's archive that were never released.

<i>Live at Grimeys</i> 2010 live album by Metallica

Live at Grimey's is a live album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. The album was recorded live on June 12, 2008, at The Basement, a venue beneath Grimey's New & Preloved Music in Nashville, Tennessee, just before their appearance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. It was released on November 26, 2010. It was released on both CD and vinyl, and is available at independent record stores, as well as the band's website. Over 3,000 copies of the record were sold in its first week.

<i>The 30th Anniversary Celebration</i> 2012 EP by Metallica

The 30th Anniversary Celebration is a live EP by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was recorded live on December 9 and 10, 2011, at Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco, California. Metallica celebrated its 30th anniversary by playing four shows there. The shows were exclusive only to Met Club members and tickets were charged at $6. The shows consisted of songs spanning the band's entire career and included guest appearances by artists that either helped or influenced Metallica. Dave Mustaine, Jason Newsted, Glenn Danzig, Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Cantrell, Rob Halford, Apocalyptica, members of Diamond Head and King Diamond join Metallica on stage for all appropriate songs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Metallica Demos". Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  2. ↑ "H a R D R a D I O ® | W e - R O C K". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Metallica audition tape Whiskey A-Go-Go 1982 No Remorse-Helpless". Youtube.com. alucard7617. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "MetallicaWorld.co.uk demos". Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Metallica celebrate Record Store Day with limited-edition tape". Never Enough Notes. Never Enough Notes. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Metallica Kick Off Reissue Project With No Life Til Leather Cassette". Rolling Stone . March 3, 2015. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Encyclopaedia Metallum - Metallica - Metal up Your Ass". www.metal-archives.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Metallica (The Black Album) Remastered - Deluxe Box Set | Metallica.com". www.metallica.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
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