Kirk marries Lani Gruttadauro in Hawaii. They are both barefoot and married Hawaiian style with a Kahu (Reverend) overlooking the ceremony.

Kirk and Lani

Metallica play a 'rehearsal show' for their upcoming tour at Baker Hamilton Square in San Francisco, Calif. called "Metallica ReLoad, Rehearse and Request." MTV broadcasts the show live featuring a set list made up of requests by MTV viewers and the crowd. Five of the songs the band plays acoustically.

"People will always request the old stuff. In 10 years everyone, will request songs from Load."

— Lars, San Jose Mercury News 3/23/98

"After the broadcast ended, Metallica topped the evening off with a hilarious, fairly expletive-free version of "So What," with James Hetfield himself displaying responsible self-censorship in case the cameras were still rolling—using such onomatopoeia as 'beep' to mask any questionable words."

— So What!

"Reload, Rehearse, Request"

Metallica returns to the studio to record Garage Days Inc.

"Cover songs are a part of our history."

— Lars, 1998

"It wasn't like, 'You pick one, then I'll pick one.' I mean, I can't hold a gun to James' head and make him sing a George Michael song or 'Wonderwall' by Oasis just because I like them. They are all songs we agreed we could handle and collectively do justice to. It has less to do with artists than it does with songs. We weren't dying to cover Seger. No disrespect to Bob, but we chose 'Turn The Page' because it's an amazing song."

— Lars, 1998

"We took one day off after the tour and then went straight into Kirk's basement for rehearsals. We spent a few days choosing and arranging the tracks, then into the Plant and started rockin' just like the old days."

— Jason, So What!, 1998

1-4. Recording of Garage Inc.
5-6. Photo shoots

Metallica play a 45 minute set at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Celebrities in attendance include South Park creator Matt Stone, Tommy Lee, Dwight Yoakam, Robert Duvall, Jon Lovitz, and Gabriel Byrne. The party is to promote South Park creator Trey Parker's movie Orgazmo.

"If you want to try something surreal, form a band, kick around for a while, get asked to perform at the Playboy Mansion, and then, while you are up on the stage, watch Hugh Hefner kick around to your music, with a couple of Playmates on each arm. This is fucken surreal."

— Lars, So What!

At the Playboy Mansion

Metallica file a lawsuit over copyright infringement of the bootleg album Bay Area Thrashers: The Early Days. The lawsuit states that Amazon.com, Outlaw Records, Dutch East India Trading, Music Boulevard and others marketed and distributed the album without the band's knowledge or consent, and fraudulently imply that the album consists of live recordings released and approved by the band. The album consists largely of incomplete demos dating from 1982, altered by the addition of crowd noise and some dialog from James taken from the Cliff 'Em All video to simulate live recordings.

Metallica promotes the upcoming album, Garage Inc. in Europe—Lars and Kirk—and in South America—Jason. While in England, Kirk is rushed to the hospital and undergoes an emergency appendectomy.

"Highlight of the day was an instore signing session at Warsaw's [Poland] largest record store. An estimated 250 people were expected to turn up, over 3,000 actually did turn up."

— Lars and Kirk's promo tour diary, metallica.com

1-2. On arriving at the Warsaw airport, Lars and Kirk are welcomed in a traditional Slavic way—with bread and salt
3-5. Record signing in Warsaw
6. Kirk shows off his scar from appendectomy

Garage Inc. is released worldwide. In the US it is released the next day, and debuts at #2 on the Billboard chart.

Garage Inc.

November 17-24, Metallica head out on a short, small venue tour of five shows in the U.S. and Canada to support Garage Inc. They decide to play all cover songs and the opening cover band, Battery, plays Metallica songs.

"You suggest to the band that because their latest album is called 'Garage Inc.' that they should play clubs again. Any other band would say, 'You're crazy, I'm going back to that shit hole?' They say, 'We're in.'"

— Marc Reiter (Q-Prime), So What!

"Another Garage Inc. tour highlight is watching people try and slam-dance-mosh to a Bob Seger song, it actually brings a tear to many an eye."

"That is what people came to see: grimy oily garage rock served up hot. That is what Metallica fans got at these shows."

— So What!

1-5. Garage Inc. promo tour, Roseland Ballroom, New York, November 24, 1998
5. Metallica and Battery backstage in Roseland Ballroom
6. The official Garage Inc. promo tour setlist

Metallica release the double DVD home video Cunning Stunts. The video includes a photo gallery of more than 1,800 photos which recount every performance on the band's 1997 Load/Re-Load tours, a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Metallica's traveling road show, including the special effects behind the band's "explosive" stage finale.

Q: "Does it ever get boring having the same thing happen every night? Do you ever think, 'Ok, now it's time for the stage to collapse again'?"

Kirk: "No, because it's different every night, it really is. You don't know what's going to happen and what's not going to happen, so it's kind of interesting in that aspect. But it's a little dangerous too. The margin of error is pretty big in this sort of situation. It's exciting every night."

— "Metallica at the Globe" interview, November 16, 1997

Cunning Stunts—the show, recorded in Forth Worth, TX, May 9-10, 1997

Cunning Stunts—documentary, recorded in Forth Worth, TX, May 9-10, 1997

Metallica win a Best Metal Performance Grammy for "Better Than You."

Metallica is among the inaugural 62 recipients of Diamond Award from the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 10 million copies of Metallica. Other artists to get Diamond Award include Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Prince. James thanks producer Bob Rock "for making the big noises extra big."

Diamond Awards 1999, New York

2. With AC/DC
3. With ZZ Top

Metallica get their own bronze plaque on the BAMMIES (Bay Area Music Awards) Walk of Fame on Grove Street in San Francisco, joining artists like Carlos Santana, Jerry Garcia, Jefferson Airplane, John Lee Hooker, Journey, Janis Joplin, and the legendary concert promoter, Bill Graham. Mayor Willie Brown honors the band by proclaiming it Metallica Day.

"All of the Walk of Fame winners are from the Bay Area or made a significant contribution while playing the Bay Area. The band Metallica was able to weave speed metal and heavy metal with truly emotionally articulate lyrics that no one had previously given the heavy metal audience credit for even understanding."

— Dennis Erokan, founder of the Bay Area Music Awards

"Does this mean we get free parking?"

— James, So What!

"I love San Francisco. I was born here, and I will die here."

— Kirk, So What!

1. The band at the low-profile ceremony during which they were added to the Walk of Fame
2. Metallica's plaque

Metallica perform with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra at Berkeley Community Theater. The 100-plus members of the symphony are directed by composer/arranger Michael Kamen. Hetfield jokes that the band is thinking of turning the orchestra pit into a mosh pit, and that the stage show, in keeping with the pyrotechnics on their last tour, may feature a "flaming violinist." Michael Kamen's history with Metallica dates back to 1991 when he orchestrated "Nothing Else Matters" for the band's self-titled album.

The show is recorded and later released as a CD and a DVD, with the DVD including also a documentary.

"I say let Metallica be Metallica and let the Symphony be the Symphony. The two have more in common than not. But Metallica will need to go full-tilt to be heard over a 100-piece orchestra!"

— Michael Kamen, Metallica: In Their Own Words

"We really had a big problem choosing songs. Nobody really could imagine what would work and what would not. We were tossing ideas and songs around and around. For example, we wanted to leave out 'Enter Sandman' because we thought our fans wouldn't like it in a classical arrangement, but Michael had such a great arrangement that we had to give in, we just didn't have any other choice. Then we thought we'd give 'Unforgiven' a try, but it just didn't work. Even Michael couldn't do anything with it."

— James, "Inside the World of S&M" interview, 1999

"Did you hear the one about the rock band who wanted to play a gig with the Symphony? Well, you're looking at it!"

— James's stage introduction

1. Metallica and Michael Kamen
2-6. S&M—the show

S&M—documentary

Garage Remains The Same tour through South America and Europe.

"South America wuz cool as usual, with highlights being, well actually all of them, but fucking' Caracas was one of the best shows we've played in a long while, and Santiago was not far behind. The kids down there are so fuckin' passionate and into it, it made me wonder why the fuck we don't go down there more often."

— Lars, So What!

Garage Remains The Same tour

Metallica play the Woodstock Festival at the Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y., joining bands like Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine and Kid Rock.

"There's film crew all over the fucking place, the crowd is a mile away because there's traintracks of cameras and shit, then a press pit, then a security pit and whooaa man, it's not about connecting with the crowd at all, we were more or less playing for the TV.

"The stage was packed with poseurs for the cameras. [They told me] 'Oh, you've gotta have all these people on-stage for your set, it looks good for the cameras and the vibe of Woodstock.' (...) As soon as I got up there, I told Gio, 'Clear these motherfuckers off!' hahaha. So Gio did the bulldozing of the poseurs."

— James, So What!

Woodstock 1999

Metallica play two live S&M shows, one in Berlin, Germany (November 19), and one at Madison Square Garden in New York (November 23).

"Those shows [In San Francisco and in Berlin] were a learning process, but we're gonna enjoy the shit out of the one in New York!"

— Lars, Rolling Stone

"All four of the metal pioneers were as relaxed as testosterone-fueled boys on spring break, perhaps enlivened by Friday night's successful concert in Berlin, and knowing this was the last symphony outing scheduled. So they made the most of it, cavorting around the huge stage, grinning at Academy Award-nominated conductor/composer Michael Kamen, playing off each other and jousting musically with the seventy-eight classical musicians who make up New York's Orchestra of St. Luke's."

— RollingStone.com News

1-3. Berlin S&M show
4-6. New York S&M show

S&M live CD, recorded at the two shows at the Berkeley Community Theater, is released. S&M is short for "Symphony and Metallica."

"I'm proud of the fact that we made a record that isn't a fucking Metallica live album with a bunch of symphony bits scattered around in the background. It truly is a combination of Metallica and the orchestra, equally represented. Whether in 30 years it'll stand up to what Deep Purple did [with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969] or some of Pink Floyd's stuff [with Kamen at the Berlin Wall in 1990] I don't know. But in Metallica's history it will be one of the key elements."

— Lars

"I like the fact that James and Lars and the band are into being aggressive with [the orchestra] and not trying to take a traditional approach. They were like, 'Let's just treat it like any other instrument on a Metallica album. Let's really push the fader, and when it's not there, bring the fader back and bring up something else.'"

— Bob Rock, on mixing the S&M album, mixonline.com, 1999

1. S&M
2-5. At The Plant Studios in Sausalito, CA, where S&M was mixed.

Metallica win Billboard Music Award as Catalog Artist of the Year and for Metallica as Catalog Album Of The Year. They perform "Until It Sleeps" with a 38-piece orchestra arranged in a circle around them. Originally they were planning to broadcast their performance from the roof of the 40-story high Rio Hotel (Las Vegas), but very strong winds during the dress rehearsal force them to change their plans and move their performance inside the hotel.

"[It was so windy that] somebody caught the harp just before it blew over."

— Beth Lano (KSTJ-FM deejay)

1999 Billboard Music Awards, Las Vegas

Metallica ring in the New Millennium with Ted Nugent, Sevendust and Kid Rock at a New Year's Eve show in Pontiac, Mich. The bands jam together on Kiss' "Detroit Rock City."

"When the confetti finally settled, the guys finally got back to the show, launching into "Detroit Rock City." Kid Rock's mic didn't work for most of his verse, which was probably for the best since he started singing in the wrong place. Then again, no one else seemed to know when it was their turn to play either, prompting James to call out, "Everybody solo!" When it finally came to an end, five minutes later, everyone on stage had a good laugh, while the crowd wondered if they'd just witnessed something worth bragging about or best kept to themselves. Not to be outdone, Lars and Kid Rock then ran down the ramps, diving into the audience like two kids diving into a pool. This, of course, required the adult supervision of Metallica's co-diving security crew."

— So What!

New Year's Eve in Pontiac

6. Lars and Kid Rock after the stage dive

Metallica win a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Whiskey In The Jar." Other nominations in the category include Alice In Chains, Buckcherry, Kid Rock, Korn, and Limp Bizkit.

"Whiskey In The Jar" video

Metallica file suit against Napster and several schools for copyright infringement, unlawful use of digital audio interface device, and violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

"We take our craft—whether it be the music, the lyrics, or the photos and artwork—very seriously, as do most artists. It is therefore sickening to know that our art is being traded like a commodity rather than the art that it is. From a business standpoint, this is about piracy—a/k/a taking something that doesn't belong to you; and that is morally and legally wrong. The trading of such information—whether it's music, videos, photos, or whatever—is, in effect, trafficking in stolen goods."

— Lars Ulrich's Written Statement

"I don't care if people don't like me. Do we need money? No, we're fine. Thank you for asking about my financial situation but I'm taken care of for 10 fucking lifetimes. Is it possible this could be about something else?"

— Lars, Kerrang! Legends: Metallica

"Fourteen years ago when we were sitting around making our No Life 'Til Leather demo tape, I was the one who went out and bought all the tapes. I was the one who sat down and copied them. I was the one who sent them out to people. That's where it started. Somebody had to do it."

— Lars, on how he ended up becoming the business head of the band, "Married To Metal" interview, 1995

Lars testifying before the US Senate Judiciary Committee and Kirk listening to his testimony.

Metallica hold an online chat with fans to explain their stance on Napster:

"Metallica is suing Napster because we felt that someone had to address this important artistic issue, and we have always been known for taking a leadership role in the fight for artist's rights. We were the first band to sue our record company, Time Warner, for the right to control our future. Rather than allowing the record company or any other corporation to own our recordings and compositions, we chose to fight for (and eventually win) control of our music. This issue is no different. Why is it all of a sudden okay to get music for free? Why should music be free, when it costs artists money to record and produce it?"

Lars delivers a literal truckload of paper to Napster Inc. listing hundreds of thousands of people who allegedly use the company's software to share unauthorized MP3s of the band's songs.

Metallica perform "I Disappear" at the MTV Movie Awards. "I Disappear" is realeased in May on the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack.

"This is the first time we've ever written a song with a movie in mind. They came to us and said they wanted a brand new song, and we basically said, 'OK, we'll write the song and if you don't like it, tough shit!' What did we have to lose? Nothing!"

— James, So What!

MTV Movie Awards

The video for "I Disappear" premieres.

"The scene on the butte was actually shot on a sacred American Indian holiday. We had to get permission from the Indian council in order to shoot. We had to go through a whole ceremony. Everybody and all the equipment had to be blessed."

— from "The Making of 'I Disappear' Video"

1-5. "I Disappear" video
6. Behind the scenes

Metallica kicks off the Summer Sanitarium tour with Korn, Kid Rock, Powerman 5000, and System Of A Down.

"We're supposedly in the middle of a year off, which we're obviously not doing very well at. I finally figured out the difference between a year on and a year off: In a year off, they come to you, you don't go to them. We were just sitting around enjoying time off this spring, and somebody came and said, 'You guys interested in doing something?'"

— Lars, Summer Sanitarium interview, 2000

Due to a back injury, James misses three dates, but the band plays as scheduled with Jason and Kid Rock filling in on vocals, and other musicians on rhythm guitar.

"James is the toughest motherfucker I know. He would not say 'no,' unless he absolutely had to. When we come back, remember, James is not going to be here, so we are going to need all you singing really loud. It ain't gonna be what you're used to, but it 'll be fun."

— Jason in Atlanta, announcing to the crowd that James won't be at the show.

"It was like Metallica karaoke, only better."

— Rolling Stone

Summer Sanitarium tour, 2000

Metallica is invited to perform at the My VH1 Music Awards. Instead of playing in front of the celebrity audience, they decide to play outside, in the parking lot for 200 fans and fanclub members. They play "Fade to Black" and it will turn out to be Jason's last performance with the band.

My VH1 Music Awards

Jason Newsted leaves Metallica.

"Due to private and personal reasons, and the physical damage that I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love, I must step away from the band. This is the most difficult decision of my life, made in the best interest of my family, myself, and the continued growth of Metallica. I extend my love, thanks, and best wishes to my brothers: James, Lars, and Kirk and the rest of the Metallica family, friends, and fans whom have made these years so unforgettable."

— Jason Newsted