𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
August 21, 1987 — Metallica released their first studio EP, The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited via Elektra Records. (Listen)
It consists entirely of covers of late-'70s and early-'80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands and Punk Rock rehearsed in Lars Ulrich's soundproofed garage and then recorded in Los Angeles over the course of six days. It is the group's first release following the death of bassist Cliff Burton and the first to feature his successor, Jason Newsted.
Background:
With Metallica scheduled to play the 1987 Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington, the band's UK label Vertigo Records suggested that they release new material to mark the occasion. Initial songwriting attempts with new bassist Jason Newsted resulted only in a demo for Blackened, and vocalist/guitarist James Hatfield subsequently broke his arm skateboarding and was unable to play guitar for several weeks. Given these obstacles, the band decided to record covers of some of their favorite songs rather than work on new material. Newsted used his construction experience to soundproof Lars Ulrich's garage in El Cerrito, California, where the band would rehearse the material prior to recording.
While rehearsing the song White Lightning by New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Paralex, Kirk Hammett started playing The Wait by Post-Punk group Killing Joke, and the band subsequently decided to record the song. Other tracks considered but dropped include Signal Fire by Japanese band Bow Wow and another NWOBHM song, Gaskin's I'm No Fool. The original Misfits versions of Last Caress and Green Hell were recorded five years apart, not together as one composition as did Metallica on the EP.
The band included “The $5.98 E.P.” in the title in an effort to ensure that retailers did not overcharge fans. The original cassette release included a sticker stating "If they try to charge more, STEAL IT!" The title of the official American CD release was amended to “The $9.98 CD”, as the retail price of CDs was much higher than cassette; other countries (such as Australia) still displayed “The $5.98 E.P.” with a sticker stating that this is the "title" and not the price. "The Wait" was omitted from the UK pressings in order to conform to local music-industry rules regarding the length of EPs. “Garage Days Re-Revisited” in the title is a callback to the "Creeping Death" single, upon which the B-sides are referred to as “Garage Days Revisited”.
“The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited” was out of print from 1989 to 2018, and the original release is considered a collector's item. All five tracks were included on the 1998 double album “Garage Inc.” along with other covers and new recordings. The cover of the CD also was used as a basis for the “Garage Inc.” back cover, which shows the original “Garage Days” cover with pictures of the band members' faces, circa 1998, taped over the original faces, along with “Garage Inc.” covering the original album name.
In 2018, “The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited” was reissued under Metallica's own Blackened Recordings label and also was made available in vinyl format.
An unofficial German version was released on CD as “The $5.98 E.P. - Garage Days Re-Revisited ...And More” with extra tracks.
Notice: Any reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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