Dial the clocks back to 1998. The Spice Girls are the most powerful cultural force on the planet, Titanic has just broken every box office record in the history of cinema and Buffy The Vampire Slayer is appointment viewing every Tuesday night. It was a better, simpler time.
That spring, Metallica were gearing up to embark on their blockbuster Poor Re-Touring Me cycle, promoting their one-two punch of art rock records from the two prior years: Load and Reload. MTV, because they were still relevant at that point, used those preparations to get an exclusive from metal’s biggest band. The TV station stabled the Four Horsemen in a warehouse so that one of their rehearsals could be recorded in front of a very intimate audience.
