"Anybody can make a spoof of a popular song, but only Beatallica can spoof the style of a band with the songs of another. The Beatles is one of the most influential bands of rock music, and in the genre of heavy metal, there are few as highly revered as Metallica. Like a crazy edition of Marvel's "What If?" comic, Beatallica takes the beautiful songs of The Beatles, changes the lyrics and mixes them with the never-ending thrash of Metallica."
Unknown source.
"Beatallica is a parodic band that plays music made from combinations of songs of The Beatles and Metallica. A Beatallica song is typically a blend of a Beatles song and a Metallica song with a related title (e.g. "The Thing That Should Not Let It Be", combining The Beatles' "Let It Be" and Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be"), though sometimes just a Beatles song will be used as a basis with modified lyrics. The lyrics slip back and forth between the two songs—occasionally neither in lieu of original lyrics comically referencing Metallica, heavy metal music or the heavy metal community—while the scansion and melody are usually Beatles-based, the music is played metal style with some Metallica riffs and solos thrown in.
The project was founded in 2001 by singer Jaymz Lennfield and original guitarist Krk Hammetson. The EP A Garage Dayz Nite was recorded for the annual "Spoof Fest" concert held in Milwaukee, as a memento of that year's concert. A few dozen copies of the EP were handed out to friends. Later that year, one of those CDs made its way to Milwaukee resident David Dixon, who created a web page that included mp3s of the songs and named the band "Beatallica". The band was unaware of the webpage until Dixon finally met them in the summer of 2002, carrying a stack of fan emails from all around the world. Beatallica gave the webpage its blessings, and after further urgings from its internet fanbase, recorded the EP Beatallica, also known as The Grey Album, releasing it online on April 1, 2004.
Later in 2004, the band (now including bassist Kliff McBurtney and drummer Ringo Larz) started to perform at live venues, with a stage show incorporating elements from both Beatles and Metallica performances. They also played as an opening act for Dream Theater; Mike Portnoy even joined the band on stage for drums on one occasion. Beatallica would go on to open for the likes of Motorhead and play summer festivals including Milwaukee's Summerfest and Germany's Earthshaker Festival.
In 2007, the band's current lineup of Jaymz Lennfield (Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Grg Hammetson (Lead Guitar), Kliff McBurtney (Bass, Backing Vocals) and Ringo Larz (Drums) went into the studio to record all new versions of their songs for their official debut "Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band".
To avoid legal problems, the band maintained a strict non-commercial policy (all songs are available for free download) and shrouded themselves in anonymity (all names mentioned above are of course stage names, but their real names were revealed in interviews, and hence also appear in this article). Metallica are aware of the spoof band's existence and have so far not threatened to take any legal action; Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett have all publicly stated that they enjoy Beatallica's music.
On February 17, 2005, a cease-and-desist notice was sent to Beatallica by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company which holds rights to most of the Beatles catalogue. The notice states that the "music", "news" and "merchandise" sections of the official Beatallica website constitute a copyright violation and should therefore be taken down. In response to this, a petition requesting Sony/ATV Music Publishing to retract its threat of legal action was created. The band was saved from further legal action by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who offered to provide assistance with legal negotiations and also asked Metallica's longtime attorney to try to defuse the situation with Sony. Ultimately, Sony decided not to pursue legal action against Beatallica. Sony ultimately reached an agreement with Beatallica and their new label Oglio Records, and an official Beatallica recording will be released in July, 2007 entitled "Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band"."
Source: Wikipedia
Beatallica will be releasing their first official album, "Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band", next month - but you can pre-order it in a special edition fanpack HERE now!
Until then; Here's their two previous online albums - no longer available on their website.
A Garage Dayz Nite (2002): 1. Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band, 2. A Garage Dayz Nite, 3. For Horsemen, 4. No Remorseful Reply, 5. The Thing That Should Not Let It Be, 6. Everybody's Got a Ticket to Ride Except for Me and My Lightning, 7. ...And Justice for All My Loving.
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Beatallica (2004): 1. Blackened the USSR, 2. Sandman, 3. And I'm Evil, 4. Got to Get You Trapped Under Ice, 5. Leper Madonna, 6. Hey Dude, 7. I Want to Choke Your Band, 8. We Can Hit the Lightz.
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