In 1986, heavy metal / hard rock was in full force. New albums were being released every week by the likes of AC/DC, Judas Priest, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Yngwie Malmsteen, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Mötörhead, Sepultura, Poison, Stryper, Queensrÿche, and even Bad Brains.
But the tour with the most buzz around it was Ozzy Osbourne with opening act Metallica. A double dip of new and old guard. Ozzy had just emerged from a stay in the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and was eager to get out and deliver unto his faithful fans new music from his latest solo offering, The Ultimate Sin, an album that would sell millions of copies and peak at #30 on the charts. Not bad for an LP with really just one single, “Shot in the Dark.”
But nipping at the Prince of Darkness’ heels every night on tour were the young bucks, Metallica, with their long hair whipping around and dual guitars blaring – all while wearing blue jeans and white sneakers. The Bay Area quartet had recently released Master of Puppets, a thrash metal masterpiece with three of the songs clocking in at over 8 minutes long.
Despite refusing to produce music videos for MTV and receiving scant radio airplay outside of college stations, Master of Puppets stayed on the charts for an ungodly 72 weeks, went platinum around the world, and peaked at #29 on the Billboard charts as they were mere openers for Ozzy.
The torch, it appeared, and been passed. And Metallica would hold on it for decades to come as their popularity would only grow in spite trends like Grunge killing most of metal’s momentum.
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