“I went to Lars’ house, and he played me the tape of Hit the Lights. I said, ‘This song sucks. You need more guitar solos’”: They forged a new sound, and in 10 years, they were the biggest band in the world

James Hetfield (left) and Kirk Hemmett perform onstage with Metallica at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on July 13, 1986.

It was in Los Angeles almost 30 years ago that Lars Ulrich, a teenage tennis prodigy turned drummer, first jammed with James Hetfield, a guitarist and singer from the nearby SoCal neighborhood of Downey.

At the time, a none-too-impressed Hetfield figured that first session to be their last. He was, of course, very wrong. As the backbone of Metallica, Hetfield and Ulrich have gone on to perform countless times for millions of fans around the world and to sell many millions of albums.