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Last Updated: 01/29/2011

Welcome to Mandatory Metallica! The online home of my personal Metallica collection. My name is Chris. I am a Metallica fan and collector from Houston, Texas, USA. I first became a fan of Metallica back in 1988 after the release of their ...And Justice For All album. I had always been a fan of hard rock/heavy metal music, going way back to my elementary school days when I listened to bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Kiss.

It was during my college years that I began this little hobby of mine. There were a handful of independent records shops in town that specialized in import records and CDs. It was in these shops that I discovered import CD singles. I visited these shops frequently in search of the latest Metallica items. By the time I finished college in 1997, I had amassed quite a collection of Metallica import singles.

As the years went by, I continued to search for the latest items to add to my collection. A few years ago, I was surfing the internet and came across several web sites devoted to this hobby of mine. These sites had some incredible discographies detailing hundreds, even thousands, of items that I did not even know existed. Items such as promotional CDs, test pressings (LPs), international versions of the major releases, and a virtual sea of singles from countries all over the world.

Along with these collector web sites, there were dozens of online retailers that carried many of these items. Many of the better sites are listed in my Links section below. In addition to these sites, there are online auctions such as eBay, where many of these items can be found.

In 2001, I began collecting Metallica LPs as well. I discovered a used record shop here in Houston, Black Dog Records, that occasionally has a handful of Metallica records both past and present.

As of November 2008, I have seen Metallica live in concert a total of eight (9) times. Click the date to see a scan of the ticket.

1. January 17, 1992 - Houston, Texas - The Summit - "Wherever We May Roam" Tour

2. September 4, 1992 - Houston, Texas - Astrodome - Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour

3. August 7, 1994 - Baytown (Houston), Texas - Houston Raceway Park - "Shit Hits The Sheds" Tour

4. May 19, 2003 - San Francisco, California - Fillmore Theater - Day 2 of 4

5. August 2, 2003 - Houston, Texas - Reliant Stadium - "Summer Sanitarium 2003"

6. November 16, 2004 - Houston, Texas - Toyota Center - "Madly In Anger With The World" Tour

7. August 9, 2008 - Frisco (Dallas), Texas - Pizza Hut Park - "Ozzfest 2008"

8. November 20, 2008 - Houston, Texas - Toyota Center - "World Magnetic" Tour

9. November 4, 2010 - Santa Monica, California - Santa Monica Airport Hanger 8 - Call Of Duty: Black Ops Release Bash

I also had the privilege of meeting all four members of Metallica once.

1. November 20, 2008 - Houston, Texas - Toyota Center - "World Magnetic" Tour

Updates

Live At Grimey's Exclusive EP

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

Are you sick of us yet? We sure are!! However, we're here again to tell you about one more release, this one supporting our continued beating of the drums for independent record stores across the country with an exclusive EP available only through the network of approximately 700 U.S. retailers who support Record Store Day with this one time only pressing. We were honored to be part of the first ever annual event celebrating independently owned records stores, aka Record Store Day, with an in-store at Rasputin Music in Mountain View, CA on April 19, 2008 and we're very proud to be a part of another special event with our friends at independent retail.

The EP includes the nine songs we played the afternoon of June 12, 2008 in the basement at one of the coolest record stores in the nation, Grimey's in Nashville, TN, and is part of the series of "Live At Grimey's" releases. How did this show come about? In late Spring of 2008 while we were finishing up "Death Magnetic," we were also having fun playing a few shows including the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN. As fans of classic old school record stores, we knew we just had to visit Grimey's and they were kind enough to invite us to play in their "basement" club for Metallica Fan Club members and a few friends. As we always do, we recorded the show... and now it comes to you on CD and 10" vinyl in a gatefold jacket on "Black Friday," November 26.

Support your local record store... there's a complete list of stores who will be carrying "Live At Grimey's" here: MyMetalClub.com. The EP will also be available on Metallica.com and MetClub.com.

The track-listing for "Live at Grimey's" is as follows:

1. No Remorse

2. Fuel

3. Harvester of Sorrow

4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

5. For Whom The Bell Tolls

6. Master of Puppets

7. Sad But True

8. Motorbreath

9. Seek and Destroy

*****

Six Feet Down Under Part II EP

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

If you picked up "Six Feet Down Under", you may have noticed the words "EP One" on the package and were quick to ask "what the hell does that mean?" Well, drum roll please...you guessed it, there is indeed an "EP Two" in the works...very clever clue, don't ya think? Look for "Six Feet Down Under Part II" in Australian and New Zealand stores, along with metallica.com and metclub.com on November 12.

In our quest to have something unique and special to celebrate our long overdue visit to this part of the world, as well as the final stretch of World Magnetic tour dates, we wanted to release some live recordings from previous tours on EP # 1 and a companion EP from the current 2010 tour. The first time around we called on you to send us your bootleg recordings from those earlier tour dates going back as far as 1989 and we pulled a track list together from the submissions. Once again we went to you, the 'Tallica faithful, for help and polled Fan Club members from Australia and New Zealand to come up with their top eight picks from all the 41 songs played during the early part of the Trans-Tasman run this year.

We played 'em...you picked 'em...here it is:

1. Blackened - Recorded live on October 16, 2010, at the Brisbane Entertainment Center, in Brisbane, Australia

2. Ride The Lightning - Recorded live on October 14, 2010, at the Vector Arena, in Auckland, New Zealand

3. The Four Horsemen - Recorded live on September 18, 2010, at the Acer Arena, in Sydney, Australia

4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - Recorded live on September 15, 2010, at the Rod Laver Arena, in Melbourne, Australia

5. Master Of Puppets - Recorded live on October 16, 2010, at the Brisbane Entertainment Center, in Brisbane, Australia

6. ...And Justice For All - Recorded live on October 18, 2010, at the Brisbane Entertainment Center, in Brisbane, Australia

7. Fade To Black - Recorded live on September 18, 2010, at the Acer Arena, in Sydney, Australia

8. Damage, Inc. - Recorded live on September 22, 2010, at the CBS Canterbury Arena, in Christchurch, New Zealand

*****

Six Feet Down Under Limited Edition EP

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

We're getting psyched up for our return to Australia and New Zealand next week...it's been six long years since we've visited and we're ready to throw down! The nice people at Universal Music were so darn excited that they actually suggested that we release something special to commemorate this last run of World Magnetic tour dates, so...ta-da...we present the "Six Feet Down Under" limited edition EP! Coming to Trans-Tasman record stores and right here in the MetStore on September 20.

Here's the story...the collective brain trust came up with what we thought might be a kinda fun idea...how about some live recordings from each time we have been lucky enough to visit the area? It was all well and good until we realized that we did not start making multi-track recordings of every show until 2004...oops! But you guys, the fans, came to our rescue with some pretty decent bootleg options and we trimmed those down to two songs from each tour in 1989, 1993, 1998, and 2004. In digging a little deeper, it occurred to us that we had tracks that had never before been released as "live b-sides" (we're not counting the bonus songs on iTunes, okay?) and that that added to the adventure of pulling it all together.

Be gentle with us...a few of these songs are, well, we'll say "rough," which may be an understatement!! They do, however, capture the live moments and hopefully you'll have as much fun listening as we did playing on those nights.

1. "Eye of the Beholder" - Recorded live on May 4, 1989 at Festival Hall in Melbourne

2. "...And Justice For All" - Recorded live on May 4, 1989 at Festival Hall in Melbourne

3. "Through the Never" - Recorded live on April 8, 1993 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth

4. "The Unforgiven" - Recorded live on April 4, 1993 at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne

5. "Low Man's Lyric" (Acoustic) - Recorded live on April 11, 1998 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth

6. "Devil's Dance" - Recorded live on April 12, 1998 at the Entertainment Centre in Perth

7. "Frantic" - Recorded live on January 21, 2004 at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney

8. "Fight Fire With Fire" - Recorded live on January 19, 2004 at the Entertainment Centre in Brisbane

*****

Ride The Lightning Limited Edition Deluxe Blue Vinyl

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

This Thursday, August 26 at 1:00 PM PST Warner Bros. Records (http://www.becausesoundmatters.com/) and metclub.com each will be holding a one-time sale of 1,000 copies of Ride The Lightning on deluxe BLUE vinyl! This limited edition colored vinyl edition comes as a double gatefold, two-disc, 180 gram, 45 rpm version. Half-speed mastered from the original analog tapes at Mobile Fidelity for the ultimate listening experience! Only 1,000 copies of this special set were pressed and were never released to retail.

*****

Kill 'Em All Limited Edition Deluxe Red Vinyl

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

Warner Bros. Records (http://www.becausesoundmatters.com/) and metclub.com each will have the deluxe edition of Kill 'Em All on RED vinyl available! This limited red vinyl deluxe edition comes as a double gatefold, two-disc, 180 gram, 45 rpm version and is half speed mastered from the original analog tapes at Mobile Fidelity for the ultimate listening experience! Only 1,000 copies of this special set were pressed and were never released to retail.

Kill 'Em All on RED vinyl goes on sale Thursday, July 15 at 1:00 PM PST in the MetStore as well as BecauseSoundMatters.com exclusively. Only one copy to be sold per member, so don't be late! Be sure to grab your soon to be collectors item before they sell out.

*****

Record Store Days Hits the U.K.

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

We're psyched to be participating in Record Story Day again this year, this time with our friends in the United Kingdom. On April 17, 2010, a limited double A-side 12" single with the "Frantic" UNKLE Remix on one side will be available at selected independent stores throughout the U.K.. The cool part...the other side will be Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" (Alternative Lyrics Version)!!

There will only be 1,000 copies made and they will all be numbered. Each side has white band logos printed directly on black vinyl and comes in a clear plastic sleeve with sticker saying "UK Record Store Day Limited edition 1000 copies only".

Support your local independent record store on April 17th!!

*****

Broken, Beat & Scarred...The Single

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

We've got another one of those groovy CD single collector's packs in the works for you and next up from Death Magnetic is "Broken, Beat & Scarred". Just like when "All Nightmare Long" came out, you can pick up just the single CD or go for one of the digi-packs and collect 'em all starting April 3.

The digi-collectors edition will be available all over Europe and the CD "maxi" single will be available in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia on April 13 and in South America. To everyone in North America please check your favorite import store/sites. The digi-collectors edition will be available in France on April 6.

Here's the track listing. All the live tracks were recorded in London at the O2 Arena on September 15, 2008 at the Death Magnetic release event.

CD 1 Digi Pack (with two clear trays to allow additional CDs)

1. "Broken, Beat & Scarred"

2. "Broken, Beat & Scarred" (live)

3. "End of the Line"

CD 2 J Card (to be collected and to insert into CD 1)

1. "Broken, Beat & Scarred"

2. "Stone Cold Crazy" (live)

3. "Of Wolf and Man" (live)

DVD Single (to be collected and to insert into CD 1)

1. "Broken, Beat & Scarred" (promo video)

2. "The Day That Never Comes" (promo video)

3. "Death Magnetic EPK" (Electronic Press Kit - running time - 17:25)

CD Maxi Single

1. "Broken, Beat & Scarred"

2. "Broken, Beat & Scarred" (live)

3. " End of the Line" (live)

4. "Stone Cold Crazy" (live)

5. "Of Wolf and Man" (live)

*****

"All Nightmare Long" is also being released in Japan as an EP on SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) on December 24th. It includes the title track along with "Wherever I May Roam", "Master of Puppets", "Blackened", and "Seek and Destroy", all recorded live in Berlin at the O2 World back in September.

I just discovered this today on eBay (and pre-ordered it, naturally). It appears that "All Nightmare Long" is also being released in Australia as an "exclusive" EP on January 19th. It includes the title track, "Master of Puppets", "Blackened", and "Seek and Destroy", all recorded live in Berlin at the O2 World back in September.

*****

All Nightmare Long...The Single

(metallica.com / metclub.com)

The next track from Death Magnetic, "All Nightmare Long", will get the full on treatment with a CD single collection available throughout Europe and other parts of the world (sorry, not in North America). Here's how it works...starting December 15th you can pick up the collector's digipak with the album version of "All Nightmare Long" along with "Wherever I May Roam" and "Master of Puppets" recorded live in Berlin at the Death Magnetic release bash at the O2 World back in September.

If you would like to complete your single collection, there are two more components available in what our record company calls a "J card" (??)...CD 2 has the track again, "Blackened" and "Seek and Destroy", also recorded at the Berlin O2. Finally, if you just have to own the entire set, there is a third release...a DVD including a 10 minute mini-documentary about our day in Berlin along with 20 minutes worth of live tracks from that night's album release party, as well as another 15 minute movie of yours truly in the tuning room at the Rock Im Park show earlier that summer.

Happy Days!

*****

Here is the artwork for the digital singles that have been released so far. From left to right: "The Day That Never Comes", "My Apocalypse", "Cyanide", and "The Judas Kiss".

"The Day That Never Comes" was released as a single in the US exclusively at Hot Topic stores. There has been no word yet on whether or not it will be released internationally or if any of the other singles will be released physically (CD, EP, 7", etc.).

*****

If you haven't heard, Metallica is releasing a new album on September 12, 2008 worldwide. The album will be entitled Death Magnetic. Click here to see the artwork.

*****

I am slowly, but surely adding scans of my entire collection. Today, I added scans (front, back, and disc) of 43 items on the miscellaneous and Creed pages.

*****

I have added a few new scans on all of the collection pages, mainly of the latest additions. I have been testing various settings on my scanner to see what works the best, so some of the scans are not as clear as I would have liked them. Once I get that figured out, I hope to add scans for everything that doesn't currently have a scan.

*****

For full details on the various singles from St. Anger, please see the Update Archives page.

Guide To My Collection

My collection is divided into seven sections: Latest Additions, Want List, CDs, LPs, Cassettes, DVDs, and Videos. Items containing multiple discs or tapes are accounted as such in the respective totals. In the CDs, LPs, and Cassettes sections, items are listed chronologically by album release with singles from that album following it. In the DVDs and Videos sections, items are listed chronologically. The layout of the main collection page is as follows:

TITLE

1. TITLE (Description) [Country Catalog Number] Label

Each individual item has its own page. The layout of that page is as follows:

Title

Country

Label

Catalog Number

Released

Notes

Photos

Track Listing

Footnotes

Notes:

1. Description includes things such as ‘CD Single’ and ‘Limited Edition’.

2. Country refers to the country in which the item was released. My collection contains items from the following countries/regions: Australia, Benelux (Belgium/The Netherlands/Luxemburg), Canada, Denmark, The European Union (EU), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, The United Kingdom (UK), and The United States of America (USA).

3. Catalog Number refers to the catalog number of the release as specified by the record label. PRCD refers to a promotional item.

4. Label refers to the record company which released the item.

5. Notes include information regarding where and when the tracks were recorded along with names of producers, etc.

6. Photos include scans of the front and back covers of the disc, the face of the disc itself, and any other scans which are relevant. LPs will include scans of the front and back covers, where possible, and album labels only. To see a larger picture, click on the thumbnail.

7. Track Listing includes track names and times.

8. Footnotes include information regarding where and when the tracks were recorded (for live tracks and demos) and original artist information (for cover songs).

My Metallica Collection

The purpose of this web site is to showcase my personal collection and provide a visual guide for fellow collectors. Click the Metallica logo below to view my Metallica collection.

Also included are pages to showcase my Creed and Megadeth collections. Click the Creed and Megadeth logos below to view my Creed and Megadeth collections respectively.

Additionally, you will find a page to showcase my collection of miscellaneous CD singles, which includes bands such as Anthrax, Danzig, Drowning Pool, Godsmack, Linkin Park, Nickelback, Pantera, Puddle of Mudd, and Staind, among others. Click the miscellaneous logo below to view my collection of miscellaneous CD singles.