Now known as the biggest metal band in the world, Metallica had somewhat humble beginnings. Nonetheless, their debut album “Kill ‘Em All” was a proof enough of their talents, showcasing a completely new flavor of metal music. When it was time to go out on the road, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Cliff Burton hit the road with Raven — an already established metal band from the UK.
While recently chatting with Guitar World, the Gallagher brothers (no, not those guys) recalled hearing about Metallica when they were getting ready to go on tour in support of their record “All for One” and their first-ever American tour. At first, Raven expected they’d get someone they’d heard of. Instead, it was this small band from the Bay Area.
“We were like, ‘Really? Who’s that?'” That was guitarist Mark Gallagher recollection of the events when Raven manager John Zazula, who was also managing Metallica, revealed their opening act. Bassist John Gallagher continued:
“When you thought of the big bands in San Francisco, it’s a long list. There was Y&T and even Journey. But no, it was Metallica. We were like, ‘Who?’ So, they said, ‘We’ll send you a cassette.'”
As expected, they were surprised with what they’ve heard. John added:
“I put it in, played it, and I’m going, ‘Does this sound like it’s at the right speed?’ It kind of sounded like if you put a Motörhead album on at 78 RPM, you know?”
Nonetheless, the brothers liked what they heard and were down for taking this band on the road. However, as Mark further explained, although they were innovative and impressive, Metallica didn’t sit all that well with some of the places they opened for Raven.
“We kind of dug it,” the guitarist continued. “We thought it was like a more refined Motörhead, like, real kickass. But when we went out and played the shows, a lot of places didn’t like Metallica. They were like, ‘What the hell is this?'”
“Other than the major markets, we played some nutty places on that tour, like Bald Knob, Arkansas, and some really weird gigs. The whole thing was quite an experience.”
Nonetheless, from there on, things only went up for Metallica in terms of popularity and commercial success.
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