“We were like, ‘Who?’” Metallica’s first national tour in 1983 left audiences scratching their heads. The band that gave them their break reveals what went down when James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett hit stages


Metallica are arguably the biggest metal act in the world. With the electric guitar duo of Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield at the forefront of their sound, the thrash metal group forged the essential elements of the genre and became its most important champions.

But they had a lot of early struggles according to the group that introduced them to audiences on their first tour. The San Francisco metallers made their first U.S. road trip in 1983 as the opening act for the British group Raven. And apparently their sound and appearance led many in the audience to ask, “What the hell is this?”

Raven was formed in Newcastle, England in 1974 by brothers Mark and John Gallagher and quickly became a force within the growing New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene. After playing shows with Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead and Iron Maiden in the early 1980s, Raven embarked on their first U.S. headlining shows in support of their third album, All for One.

British metal group Raven pose in January 1988. From left: Joe Hasselvander, Mark Gallagher and John Gallagher

British metal group Raven pose in January 1988. (from left) Joe Hasselvander, Mark Gallagher and John Gallagher (Image credit: Krasner/Trebitz/Redferns)

“We came out to do our first tour of the States, and our management was the same as Metallica’s,” guitarist Mark Gallagher remembers. “They were just starting out, and (Megaforce Records founder) Jonny Z, who was our manager at the time, said, ‘I’ve got the biggest band on the West Coast from San Francisco. They’re gonna open for you.’



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Written by Lemon2021

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