On Sunday night, Metallica performed songs off of their first two albums on Sunday night at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. Their performance was dedicated to Jonny and Marsha Zazula, two figures in the Metal scene who were among the first to hear Metallica’s demo tape, No Life ‘Til Leather. They also played a large role in helping to get 1983’s Kill ‘Em All and 1984’s Ride the Lightning released. Jonny Zazula recalled in his 2019 autobiography, “I basically said, ‘What the f-ck?'” when writing about his first impressions of the demo.
The Zazulas took it on themselves to start a new record label, Megaforce Records when the band was unable to land a deal with an existing label. Marsha passed away in January of 2021, followed by Jonny in February of 2022. James Hetfield said before the opening band, Raven, took the stage, “Thank you for coming to help us celebrate heavy music and the life of the Zazula family who made this all possible, They dedicated their lives to something exactly like this … live music, bringing music to the people, so we’re super grateful to be hosting this thing and getting you all together to join in with us.”
At one point, drummer, Lars Ulrich added, “We’re here celebrating all things Jon and Marsha Zazula, Jon and Marsha Zazula are the reason Metallica exists today and the reason Metallica is still going 40 years strong and this music is still connecting with all of you people out there.”
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