The Metallica Mansion - Garage Days Visited

Metallica - El Cerrito House 1983 (First Jam Session with Cliff Burton)

Update 10/21/08: Being led by an errant post in a Metallica forum, I originally took pictures of the wrong house (the house next door). I’ve since taken new pictures, so the gallery below is the correct El Cerrito Metallica House.

Now for something a little different. Those who know me, know that I’m a huge metal fan among other things, and especially a Metallica fan. I’ve listened to Metallica since I was 13 years old and their music has had a huge impact on my life as a guitar player and songwriter. So, Adwords and Google Slaps aside, I wanted to write a quick post about an interesting experience I recently had related to “Metallica”. Yesterday, while visiting a friend in El Cerrito, CA, I made a quick stop at a the house pictured below. The hardcore Metallica fans may instantly recognize it as the infamous El Cerrito house where songs from Metallica classics such as Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets first saw the light of day.

I snapped a few pics which you can see below (click to open in a light window gallery).

[Show as slideshow]

A bit of Metallica history regarding the El Cerrito house:

-Metallica lived/jammed here for 3 years starting in 1983
-Formerly owned by Mark Whittaker (ex Exodus manager)
-First jam sessions with late bassist Cliff Burton were here
-Wrote, rehearsed, and prepared songs for the albums Ride the Lightning & Master of Puppets
- Black marks on the garage door can be seen as remnants of where Metallica used to spray
paint their equipment cases in the driveway.

Some well known Metallica pics from the El Cerrito days:

Metallica at the El Cerrito House

First Rehearsal with Cliff Burton

Metallica, El Cerrito House

Metallica In The Living Room of the El Cerrito House

So that’s my little detour post for lack of a better location to post this kinda thing. I’m a fan, so this is something I wanted to share. If you’re also a Metallica fan, I’m sure you can appreciate the chance to see where the biggest rock band on Earth got their start.

And since this was the location of which Metallica first jammed with Cliff Burton, I can only guess that the masterpiece Orion might have been composed here. In tribute to Cliff, I leave you with one of the greatest songs ever written.

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