Metallica at AT&T Park

Metallica

Photo: Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images

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This Month In Metallica: Baseball, Carpool Karaoke, Folklore

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A look back at a busy month of mayhem in the world of the Bay Area metal legends
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Aug 28, 2017 - 4:49 pm

August 2017 saw GRAMMY-winners Metallica popping up all over the place, from festivals, to the baseball field to the HOV lane. Here's a quick look back at what fans of the band might have missed:

Aug. 3: Metallica frontman James Hetfield kicked off the month by celebrating his 54th birthday. iHeartRadio celebrated by compiling this list of 20 Things You Might Not Know About Birthday Boy James Hetfield.

Aug. 8: Hometown heroes Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett unleashed their version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at AT&T Park in San Francisco to kick off the 5th Annual Metallica Night.

Aug. 10: The band played "Metal Have I Ever" with comedian Billy Eichner in the heaviest episode of "Carpool Karaoke" yet. With sing-alongs from "Enter Sandman" to Rihanna's "Diamonds In The Sky" and "Part Of Your World" from the "The Little Mermaid," Eichner showed a car ride with Metallica can be full of surprises.

Aug. 12: Metallica delivered a blistering set as headliners on Saturday night at San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival.

Aug. 15: News surfaced that original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton's father, Ray Burton, honors his son's legacy by donating his Metallica royalty checks to fund a music scholarship program at Cliff's high school alma mater, proving that the legacy of Cliff Burton lives on not only in the music he made, but in his father's generous support of music's future.

Aug. 16: Hetfield made a powerful statement of unity at a show in Edmonton. "Before we go any further, we've gotta make something very clear," said Hetfield "Metallica doesn’t give a s***, all right? We don’t give a s*** about the differences, OK? We care about the similarities. So the fact that you're here — we don't care who you voted for, what you do or don't eat, we don't care what color your skin is, what you do for a job. … So for me, you are Metallica family. All are welcome. Are you with us?"

Aug. 21: A new Metallica-focused podcast, aptly titled "Speak N' Destroy," welcomes Robb Flynn, frontman of the GRAMMY-nominated metal band Machine Head, to talk all things Mighty Met. "The 'Kill 'Em All for One' tour at the Keystone, Berkeley?" Robb recalls. "That was my Ed Sullivan Beatles moment."

Aug. 23: The band released a candid behind-the-scenes video of the making of "Atlas, Rise!," the song that became Metallica's ninth No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart back in February.

EMBED YOUTUBE VIDEO:

Aug. 25: Metallica's WorldWired Tour led Billboard's Hot Tours tally, proving the band's live show remains a hot ticket over 36 years into their career.

Aug. 25: The band joined Mastodon, GWAR, Portugal. The Man, and six other artists for the fourth annual Ten Bands One Cause in order raise funds for Gilda's Club NYC, a nonprofit providing support and education programs while also fostering empowerment to cancer patients and their families. 

Aug. 25: Metallica's fourth studio album, 1988's ...And Justice For All, turned 29-years-old. In an exclusive with Loudwire, the album's mixing engineer Steve Thompson explained how the somewhat controversial sound of the project came to be.

Aug. 28: In a new excerpt from Brian Slagel's book For The Sake Of Heaviness, the Metal Blade Records founder/CEO revealed the tale of how a mere $50 in studio costs almost killed Metallica's first recording for the label.

Aug. 28: New rehearsal footage surfaced from the now-famous 59th GRAMMY Awards performance Lady Gaga, providing an inside look into a star-studded cross-genre collaboration.

Watch More: Hanging Out With August Burns Red On The Set Of "Invisible Enemy"

60th GRAMMY Awards Rock Field

60th GRAMMY Awards Rock Field

(L-R) Adam Granduciel (The War On Drugs), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Shade Balderose (Code Orange), K.Flay, Jonny Hawkins (Nothing More), Ice-T (Body Count)

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2018 GRAMMYs: 9 Things To Know About The Rock Field Nominees

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Heavy, loud, raucous, and intense — dig into this year's rock nominees with these crushing nuggets of knowledge
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Dec 13, 2017 - 12:35 pm

"They said rock and roll was dead," the smooth voice of Common scoffs in the latest 60th GRAMMY Awards TV Spot as video plays of contemporary guitar god and GRAMMY winner Jack White pounding and pummeling his instrument. Rock's not dead — and musicians such as White keep it alive.

The nominees in the Rock Field for this year's GRAMMYs reflect a very bright — and loud — future for a genre that refuses to stay stagnant. From newcomers who are impossible to ignore such as Code Orange, Avenged Sevenfold and The War On Drugs, to prestigious rock royalty like Metallica, Foo Fighters, and the late Chris Cornell, this year's crop of nominees are as dynamic and electrifying as the genre they represent.

The four categories up for grabs are Best Rock Performance, Best Metal Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album. Peel back the layers as we look at some under-the-surface details about this year's Rock Field nominees.

1. Crushing It With Meshuggah & Code Orange

The competition for Best Metal Performance this year is literally brutal. The category's heavy-hitting street cred is exemplified by two bands nominated for the first time who are about to head out on a U.S. tour together: Pittsburgh hardcore outfit Code Orange and Swedish metal goliaths Meshuggah.

"We started the band at 14. We're 24 now," Code Orange singer/drummer Jami Morgan told Billboard. "We've grinded every year, eight months a year, in a f*****' van, just to prove our f*****' point. … So [being nominated for a GRAMMY] feels right to me. I slept easy that night knowing that the world was correct, and that's it." 

Across the Atlantic, Meshuggah have been unleashing extreme, punishing albums and live shows in one incarnation or another since the late 1980s, but they have really pushed the genre forward with their willingness to incorporate intricate rhythms into their crushing riffs. Meshuggah's persistence has paid off as the band gets their first GRAMMY nod this year for Best Metal Performance for their song "Clockworks" from their eighth album, The Violent Sleep Of Reason.

2. Nothing More Score Most Noms

Who has the most rock nominations this year? Foos? 'Tallica? Nope. Try Nothing More. The San Antonio-formed rock band features magnetic frontman Jonny Hawkins, who originally served as the band's drummer. Now stepping squarely into the spotlight, Hawkins and Nothing More are nominated in no less than three of the four Rock Field categories — Best Rock Album for The Stories We Tell Ourselves and Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for their single "Go To War" — tripling their chances of taking home their first GRAMMY.

3. Metallica: Still Hardwired …

Speaking of the Mighty Met, they're back in the mix this year with two nominations stemming from their return-to-form Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, the thrash pioneers' 10th studio effort. In fact, 2017 is "the best year for Metallica in probably a quarter of a century," according to its outspoken drummer/songwriter Lars Ulrich, a fact backed by a quick look at the band's month of August alone.

With this momentum still building, a solid 36-plus years into their career, Metallica show no signs of slowing. Now James, Lars, Kirk, and Robert can add two more GRAMMY nominations to their banner year, one for Best Rock Album for Hardwired … and another for Best Rock Song for "Atlas, Rise!" 

4. The War On Drugs' Los Angeles Masterpiece

Few albums in the rock world played as well with blogs, critics and a wide range of music fans than The War On Drugs' dreamlike guitar-athon, A Deeper Understanding. Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Adam Granduciel, the Philly-based band cut the album in Los Angeles, lending a sun-drenched sadness to its songs and arrangements. Granduciel also drew influence from one of rock and roll's forefathers, the great Neil Young.

The War On Drugs: How Neil Young Inspired New LP

"We did this benefit where Neil Young played as well. He was playing his classic Gretsch White Falcon guitar with the Bigsby [tremolo bar]," Granduciel told GRAMMY.com. " I was actually sitting on his amp rig and watching him rehearse. He was just going off with [the] bar. I was like, 'Oh, it's so expressive.' I have the same guitar but mine didn't have the bar. After that show, I put the Bigsby on that Gretsch of mine. Then, two nights later, we recorded three songs that are on the record. A lot of the inspiration [came] from that expressive quality of that Bigsby."

5. Mastodon's New Heavy

Continuing their evolution on their conceptually heavy seventh studio album, Emperor Of Sand, Mastodon seek their first GRAMMY win. The Atlanta-bred band scored their fourth and fifth career GRAMMY nominations for Best Rock Album for Emperor Of Sand and Best Metal Performance for "Sultan's Curse." Despite the band's jovial nature and sharp sense of humor (on full display in their music video for "Show Yourself"), the dark themes of Emperor … are drawn from channeling the pain of tragedies that have touched their lives into healing.

"Some of the closest people to us were in the middle of some battles with cancer and some heavy-duty illness," drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor told GRAMMY.com. "If we were open and honest with everyone about what the record was about, then we knew that it could maybe have a positive impact with someone else."

6. August Burns Red, Again

The band Alternative Press calls "one of the most sophisticated metal groups operating" is back with their second-ever GRAMMY nomination, this time around for their intense track, "Invisible Enemy."

But August Burns Red proved something more this year than their staying power — they demonstrated they have a sense of humor. The music video for "Invisible Enemy" featured puppet versions of the band performing the song, which was the first single off ABR's eighth album, Phantom Anthem.

7. Much Respect To Cornell, Cohen

The great landscape of rock lost two of its peak performers in the past couple of years with the deaths of Leonard Cohen and Chris Cornell. Cohen, who gave us impossibly rich and delicately dim songs, lands a nod for Best Rock Performance for his haunting work on "You Want It Darker" from his final album of the same name.

In the same category, Cornell earned a nomination for his sincere and soulful single, "The Promise." Though the song was originally written for the ending credits of the 2016 film of the same name, it was released as a single just two months prior to his tragic death on May 18.

8. Body Count Stand Tall

One of the most recognizable names in the Rock Field is not necessarily one that the average music fan associates with metal. But Ice-T, legendary rapper, popular actor and commanding frontman, and his band Body Count, have been pumping out heavy, socially charged mayhem since 1990. This prowess is on full display in their single "Black Hoodie," nominated for Best Metal Performance, the band's first career nomination.

9. Meet Kaleo And K.Flay

You might have already heard Icelandic rock band Kaleo, whether you know it or not. The band's bluesy rumbler "No Good" was featured on HBO's 2016 show "Vinyl." Now Kaleo receive their first GRAMMY nomination for the song that brought them into the homes and phones of millions as "No Good" is up for Best Rock Performance.

Singer/songwriter Kristine Flaherty a.k.a. K.Flay dug deeper into her inner rocker on her sophomore album, Every Where Is Some Where, adding more grinding guitars and flashes of darkness to the sound of her 2014 debut, Life As A Dog. After a decade of releasing mixtapes and making a name for herself in the underground hip-hop scene, K.Flay became the first artist signed to Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynold's Interscope imprint label, Night Street Records. Now she's being recognized for her work as a songwriter on "Blood In The Cut," up for Best Rock Song, in addition to an engineering nod for Every Where … for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

The 60th GRAMMY Awards will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 28, 2018, airing live on CBS from 7:30–11 p.m. ET/4:30–8 p.m. PT.

Cliff Burton of Metallica

Cliff Burton of Metallica

Photo: Fin Costello/Getty Images

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Cliff Burton's Metallica Royalties Fund Music Scholarship Program

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Ray Burton, father of the late Metallica bassist, donates his son's royalty checks to a support music scholarship program
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Aug 15, 2017 - 5:57 pm
GRAMMY.com

Cliff Burton's bass playing shaped the sound of Metallica's first three albums and changed the band's legacy long after his tragic death in a bus accident in 1986.

His father, 92-year-old Ray Burton, recently revealed in a podcast interview with Alphabetallica, that he donates his son's royalty checks to music scholarship programs.

"From the royalties that I get, I give a scholarship to the high school he went to, the Castro Valley High School, for music," Ray Burton explained, "so the kids that have won it thank me for it. I think Cliff probably would have done that with his money, because he was not against education by any means. He liked it very much."

Cliff's bass playing was inventive, distinctive and unhinged, which is perhaps most prominent in the bass-driven instrumental "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" from Metallica's 1983 debut album, Kill 'Em All. When Metallica was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009, the band asked Ray Burton to join them onstage to accept the award.

The elder Burton also recalled the first time his son brought home a royalty check for Kill 'Em All, saying, "I had absolutely no idea what that album meant. We realized that things had a possibility of really getting big when Cliff got his first royalty check. I think it was $1,500. He said, 'Mom and dad, here's my first check. Come on, I'll take you out to dinner tonight.'

One thing is clear: Cliff Burton's contributions, both through his music and through his father's generosity, continue to make a difference in our world.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Set For Music Education Fundraiser

New Year's 2018
Poll

What's Your New Year's Music Resolution?

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The New Year means a new you — how will you let music deeper into your life in 2018?
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jan 1, 2018 - 12:05 am

Each new year, millions of people make resolutions to be their best selves, put their past bad habits behind them and improve their lives. But why not make your resolution a musical one?

When the holiday parties are over, the confetti is swept up, and school and work resume, it's time to get back to work and make the most of 2018. The good news? Music can help!

From mastering an instrument to learning more about the craft and history of music, to supporting musicians through live shows, we want to know: What's your New Year's music resolution for 2018?

Polls

What's your New Year's music resolution for 2018?

Andy Williams at the 15th GRAMMY Awards

Andy Williams, 15th GRAMMY Awards host

Photo: CBS via Getty Images

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Johnny Cash To Roberta Flack: 7 Things To Know About The 15th GRAMMY Awards

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Take a look back at the GRAMMY Awards' 15th anniversary celebration and see who made headlines
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Dec 27, 2017 - 5:40 pm

The GRAMMY Awards gained more and more steam going into the 1970s, and by the time the 15th anniversary came around in 1973, the train was at full speed and headed for Music City U.S.A. — Nashville, Tenn.

From the show's arrival in Nashville to memorable speeches by Johnny Cash and Helen Reddy, landmark GRAMMY wins by Roberta Flack and George Harrison, and a few firsts, the 15th Annual GRAMMY Awards was both a testament to the place the awards had earned in the heart and soul of the recording industry and a taste of how widespread and influential Music's Biggest Night would grow to become.

Let's take a look back at how this historic night in 1973 played out, focusing on how the show had grown, who made the headlines, who broke the mold, and who took home the trophies.

1. Nashville's Only GRAMMY Broadcast

For the 15th GRAMMY Awards, the show traveled to the heart and soul of country music, Nashville, Tenn. Though prior awards ceremonies had been hosted across various cities, including Nashville from 1965–1970, since the first live GRAMMY telecast in 1971, the show had taken to parking itself in one city at a time. The 15th GRAMMYs was Nashville's turn. For the occasion, Tennessee Theatre served as the venue while Andy Williams played the role of host. It's the only time in the history of the live telecast that Nashville has hosted Music's Biggest Night — in fact, it's the only time the telecast has been broadcast from a city other than New York or Los Angeles.

2. Harrison And Shankar Change The World

George Harrison accomplished something special when he opened his heart and his rolodex to create The Concert For Bangladesh. The former Beatle teamed with GRAMMY-winning sitarist Ravi Shankar and they took over New York's Madison Square Garden for two back-to-back shows, enlisting a remarkable roster of friends such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr, and more to raise awareness and funds for efforts to help refugees from the war-torn country. The concert was a massive success in paving the way for future humanitarian projects such as Live Aid, and the resulting triple-LP won the coveted GRAMMY Award for Album Of The Year, showing that musicians have the power to truly make a difference.

3. Helen Reddy Brings Female Empowerment

The GRAMMY Awards have always been on the forward edge of equality politics, such as marrying LGBTQ couples on the GRAMMY stage in 2014 to the soundtrack of Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert singing "Same Love." But this through-line arguably goes back to the 15th GRAMMYs, thanks to Helen Reddy.

The Australian singer/songwriter won the GRAMMY for Best Pop Performance, Female for her anthem, "I Am Woman," which brought feminism front and center on the GRAMMY stage.

A moment that surely still resonates today, Reddy brought empowerment for women further into the foreground when she declared during her acceptance speech, "And I would like to thank God because she makes everything possible."

4. The First Time Ever I … Won A GRAMMY.

Soulful songstress Roberta Flack won the first two of her four GRAMMYs at the 15th GRAMMY Awards, most notably Record Of The Year for her smash "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." The song also pulled in a GRAMMY for its songwriter, Ewan MacColl, for Song Of The Year.

Flack also won GRAMMY gold that night for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus for "Where Is The Love," her duet with Donny Hathaway. The following year, she would go on to win two more GRAMMY Awards for her classic "Killing Me Softly With His Song."

5. Nilsson And Starr Steal The Show

In addition to landing big time nominations for Album Of The Year for Nilsson Schmilsson and Record Of The Year for "Without You," singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson won the second GRAMMY of his career, this time for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for his faithful rendition of "Without You," a song popularized by British rockers Badfinger.

Nilsson's charisma matched his talent step for step, just as he matched his good friend Ringo Starr while presenting an award at the 15th GRAMMY Awards where both men read their lines in near perfect unison.

Want More GRAMMY History? Pick Up A Copy Of And The GRAMMY Goes To…

6. George Carlin Wins First GRAMMY

Comedian George Carlin never pulled any punches, and his delightfully irreverent style turned out well for him — he won a total of five career GRAMMYs. But it all started for the "Seven Dirty Words" comic at the 15th GRAMMY Awards when he took home his first GRAMMY —  Best Comedy Recording for FM And AM, his third album.

Carlin went on to earn three Best Spoken Comedy Album GRAMMYs and one Best Comedy Album GRAMMY for his final 2008 album, It's Bad For Ya.

7. Johnny Cash Weighs In

One of the night's most memorable moments came in the form of praise for the Recording Academy from the Man In Black himself, Johnny Cash. During an award presentation, Cash described the organization as "fast-moving, creative and exciting like the recording industry itself. I'm Johnny Cash and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Nearly 45 years later, the Recording Academy continues its tireless work to support and celebrate the great artists of our time. Thanks, Mr. Cash.

5th Dimension To Elvis Presley: 7 Things To Know About The 10th GRAMMY Awards