It is a big deal when you turn 40. It’s even more important when you’re a band that has played music for four decades. Getting to 40 isn’t easy, and Metallica has done a lot of things right.
At their first of the two fan club-only shows to commemorate their 4 decades as a band, the metal veterans performed the rare at San Francisco’s Chase Center on Friday.
“We are grateful that you have been along with us for 40 years, and we are so happy that you’re here still after all this time,” frontman James Hetfield informed the audience during the performance.
“After 40 years, there’s still firsts,” James Hetfield said, referring to the band’s live premiere of ‘Fixxxer,’ in which the song was performed for the first time. The performance is captured in the video below.
For people who can’t make it in person, Amazon’s Twitch account will stream the set live for free. If you are a member of Amazon Prime Video and Music platforms, you can also stream the show globally.
On Prime Video’s The Coda Collection channel, Metallica will later make the shows available to watch at any time. A release date for that launch hasn’t been set in stone yet.
With the help of DJ Mode, Metallica has set up their own temporary radio station called The Metallica Takeover on Amazon Music. This is part of a deal between Metallica and Amazon. It will only be available to the subscribers of Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime members. According to the band’s website, it will have exclusive interviews and other features that will give listeners something new each time they tune in.
Other than that, Metallica recently announced the new dates for their COVID-delayed tour of South America, which was supposed to start in April. They also started a project called the Metallica Black Box, which is a long-term project that shows rare items and footage from the band’s history.
For most of its history, the band has been in San Francisco. James Hetfield, who sings and plays guitar, and Lars Ulrich, who plays drums, started the band in 1981. The band was one of the “big four” thrash metal bands, along with Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth. The band’s aggressive musicianship, instrumentals, and fast tempos made them one of the “big four.”
When Metallica released its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), in 1986, it was the first time the band had commercial success. After their two albums in 1984, Metallica found its first commercial success through the release of Master of Puppets.
