Spotify Releases First Documentary: ‘Landmark – Metallica: The Early Years’

This week, Spotify released the first part of its first ever documentary series.

Landmark – Metallica: The Early Years consists of four parts and follows the early years of the heavy metal rock band, from their founding in 1981 to the release of their second studio album Ride The Lighting in 1984. The documentary features old footage as well as interviews with frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and drummer Lars Ulrich.

Spotify has released the following descriptions for each of the episodes:

Chapter One: Metal Militia
How did an army of tape-traders help a group of pimply misfits “go viral in 1982? Metal Militia recounts the story, from Lars Ulrich’s chance encounter with Motorhead in a London rehearsal space to the arrival of Cliff Burton.

Chapter Two: Metal Up Your Ass
With the arrival of Kirk Hammett on guitar, Metallica now had all the weapons they needed to record their debut album, Metal Up Your Ass. Although they were forced to change the name, they still managed to change the game with a unique combination of punk aggression and metal riffs that would come to be known as thrash.

Chapter Three: Sophistication & Brutality
With Cliff Burton fully on-board as a contributing songwriter, Metallica’s vision grew exponentially with the follow up to Kill’ Em All. From literary references in the lyrics to acoustic guitars to – gasp – a ballad, Ride The Lightning showed the band’s growing ambition, creative potential, and willingness to piss off critics and fans in the pursuit of something epic.

Chapter Four: Armageddon’s Here
In the span of a few short years Metallica went from dive bars to stadiums. This is the story of what happened next.

Check out the show’s trailer below:

The series’ first episode, “Chapter One: Metal Militia”, has been posted to YouTube, but the remaining three episodes are only available on Spotify’s app for users in the US, the UK, Sweden and Germany on iOS and Android mobile devices. Users of the free version of Spotify and paying subscribers will both be able to stream the documentary.

Watch the first episode below:

Spotify also has several other music-themed shows planned. Other series in the works include a show focusing on music history anecdotes and an anthology series with each episode dedicated to a different artist.