10 Things You Didn't Know About Metallica

Metallica are mandatory listening for anyone who's a fan of heavy music. Though they may have metal right there in their name, these thrash giants were able to transcend the sub-genre of rock and convert millions of listeners to become worshippers of all things heavy.

Most of their story is laid out pretty clearly throughout their history, but there are also some subtle intricacies that make the band what they are.

Across almost 40 years, the band has built up an impressive back catalog, but it didn't come without some weird detours along the way. While the band has lost members, weathered through bad albums, and have even been on the brink of their own destruction, they always found a way to come back to the music at the end of the day.

Whether it's in their speed metal prime or in their world-conquering peak of popularity in the '90s, each of the band's periods have little sidenotes that have driven fans wild for years.

Time could have easily worked these things out differently, but given the band's status as one of the greatest of all time, perhaps things worked out exactly like they were supposed to.

For most of Metallica’s early years, Cliff Burton was always known as the secret weapon. From the leather jackets he sported to the manic bass solos that he would put in between the band’s live sets, Burton was the band’s true resident badass. However, from a musical perspective, Burton could be considered the main outlier in the band.

While a true fan of all things metal, Burton’s musical education was more into the theory side of the music. Even though the band worshipped at the altars of bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Burton would always infuse a bit of classical instrumentation into the band’s material.

Starting with Kill Em All, Burton introduced James Hetfield to the concept of harmony, which ended up playing a key role down the road.

Along with contributing bass lines, Burton also ended up writing a lot of the guitar harmonies in the early days, from the lick at the end of “Creeping Death” to the classically tinged opuses that start of songs like “Fight Fire With Fire” and “Damage Inc.”

Metallica may get marginalized for being a one trick pony by some, but just throw on something like “Orion” if you want to see what the band could really do with Burton among their ranks.