More people need to ridicule Metallica. Seriously, the band has waged war against everything from downloading music to good taste to decent snare drum sounds on their recordings. But, hey, they also made Master of Puppets, so they're evidently allowed to get away with all sorts of ridiculous things.

The severity with which Metallica seems to view itself has paved the way for projects like Beatallica, a Milwaukee based act that delivers Beatles classics in the style of Metallica, complete with Hetfield "yeahs" and growls. It really is a trip and to make matters worse, or better, the band performs this stuff live.

But, of course any use of anything related to the Beatles or Metallica is going to end up in a lawsuit, and Beatallica's fate was no exception. You can get the whole story from the Beatallica FAQ (no I'm not kidding).

In February 2005, we were served with a cease-and-desist order from Sony/ATV Publishing, who owns the Beatles catalog, for willful copyright infringement. We were not sued; we were being threatened with a lawsuit if we didn't cease all Beatallica activity and pay "an amount to be discussed" in damages. Word got out, lots of articles and blog entries were written about us, over 10,000 people signed an online petition, and soon Lars Ulrich from Metallica contacted us to offer his support. He enlisted one of his attorneys to negotiate with Sony on our behalf, and as a result they have chosen not to pursue legal action against us at this time (although they maintain their right to do so in the future.)

Maybe Lars isn't such a cocksucker after all, and maybe Metallica does have a sense of humor. As for Sony, not so much. If you would like to really experience Beatallica in all their glory, you can download the "Beatallica and Friends" podcast, which includes 5 songs, a UK interview, and other tidbits. If you are dumbfounded by the Podcast, and you are in Europe, you can actually see the band on tour right now.

Here are the dates.

May 5_Dornbirn, Austria @ Conrad Sohm

May 6_Nabburg, Germany @ Kitchen Club

May 7_Leipzig, Germany @ Moritzbastei

May 9_Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow

May 10_Bielefeld, Germany @ Forum

May 11_Munich, Germany @ Backstage

May 12_Wiesen, Austria @ Festivalgelande

May 13_Marksteft, Germany @ Rock Mania Festival

BiXbYGrendel

Saskatoon, SK

August 2005

MAY 05, 2006 05:05 PM

All I can say.
I am a DIE HARD METALLICA FAN. I really am. This Beatallica thing... scares the shit out of me. It really does. I've heard these guys. And they should cease and desist. Lars is a cocksucker for encouraging the bastards. I hate that Lars. Sure can drum though.

mokole

Canada

June 2004

MAY 05, 2006 05:25 PM

I'd have to agree with BiXbY here. Metallica is one of the few bands I'd pay money to see, and have gone to see. I don't care for the Beatles at all, but they really shouldn't be messing around without their songs without premission. More so if they are making money off of someone else's work. Plus, beatallica just sounds wrong haha

NikTc

San Diego, CA

December 2005

MAY 05, 2006 05:33 PM

i hate the beatles .... *waits for the SG moderators to ban him again*

dholokov

Toronto, ON

April 2003

MAY 05, 2006 05:37 PM

NikTc said:
i hate the beatles .... *waits for the SG moderators to ban him again*

disliking the Beatles is its own punishment.

MrStitches

Sag Harbor, NY

November 2003

MAY 05, 2006 05:38 PM

NikTc said:
i hate the beatles .... *waits for the SG moderators to ban him again*

Edgy.

Anton

Australia

September 2003

MAY 05, 2006 05:51 PM

NikTc said:
i hate music.... *waits for the SG moderators to ban him again*

Changes

Boston, MA

October 2005

MAY 05, 2006 05:52 PM

They have a song called, "Hey Dude." How awesome is that?

onemorepanic

Long Beach, NY

August 2004

MAY 05, 2006 06:19 PM

Beatallica allows me to enjoy them both all over again.

Callahan

Seattle, WA

February 2005

MAY 05, 2006 07:01 PM

Its a passing amusement.

This whole music copywrite/cease and desist thing is getting out of hand. So much bullshit.
How long are the corps gonna bash a bands fan base before they realise its bad for business.
I saw a website that receaved a cease and desist order from the estate of Jimi Hendrix.....Because they had lyrics to his songs posted on the site. No sound clips, no downloading. But they recieved a cease and desist demanding they take down the lyrics, the pictures of him, and the use of his name. Took the fan out of their Jimi Hendrix fan site.

fake111

Bushkill, PA

October 2002

MAY 05, 2006 08:06 PM

Beatallica are genius, they are an awesome band and its soooo fuckin funny to say the least. You have to be extremely good as musicians to be this funny.

indecisive_demon

I'm lost

April 2006

MAY 05, 2006 08:26 PM

parody is legal.
end of story.

BGage

Los Angeles, CA

February 2004

MAY 05, 2006 08:52 PM

Agreed that disliking the Beatles is its own punishment. And Sony hasn't a leg to stand on.
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_324b.html

TedKoppel

Glendale, AZ

March 2004

MAY 05, 2006 09:07 PM

indecisive_demon said:
parody is legal.
end of story.

How is this parody? They're covering songs. If anything, they're parodying Metallica, but that has nothing to do with Beatles songs which are being played.

Not saying Sony is in the right. I guess if they were being played on mainstream radio, I'd be a bit more sympathetic.

missfit1

San Jose, CA

May 2006

MAY 05, 2006 11:03 PM

Thanks for the link to download. I've never heard of this before. I love Metallica and a big fan of them, but do have to admit this is funny. These guys in Beatallica are great musicians. The singer does a good James!

waxangel

Baltimore, MD

May 2003

MAY 06, 2006 07:48 AM

Anybody who takes the time to get pissy over this has a pathetic, empty life.