Beatallica
Encyclopedia
Beatallica is a mash-up
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...

 band that plays music made from combinations of songs of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

. A Beatallica song is typically a blend of a Beatles song and a Metallica song with a related title (e.g. "The Thing That Should Not Let It Be", combining The Beatles' "Let It Be
Let It Be (song)
"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band...

" and Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be" or "And Justice for All My Loving" combining Metallica's "And Justice for All
...And Justice for All (song)
"...And Justice for All" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as a promo single from their album of the same name.-Song information:...

" and the Beatles' "All My Loving
All My Loving
"All My Loving" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney , from the 1963 album With The Beatles. Though it was not released as a single in the United Kingdom or the United States, it drew considerable radio airplay, prompting EMI to issue it as the title track of an EP...

"), though sometimes just a Beatles song will be used as a basis with modified lyrics. The lyrics slip back and forth between the two songs—occasionally neither in lieu of original lyrics comically referencing Metallica, heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 or the heavy metal community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

—while the scansion
Scansion
Scansion is the act of determining and graphically representing the metrical character of a line of verse.-Overview:Systems of scansion, and the assumptions that underlie them, are so numerous and contradictory that it is often difficult to tell whether differences in scansion indicate opposed...

 and melody are usually Beatles-based, the music is played metal style with some Metallica riffs and solos thrown in. Consistent quirks made in the lyrics also criticize glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...

 much in the fashion that thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 fans would do, as well as many references to blood. Their version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Want to Hold Your Hand
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment....

" called "I Want to Choke Your Band", is an example of their criticism towards glam metal.

History

The project was founded in 2001 by original guitarist "Krk Hammetson" and singer "Jaymz Lennfield". The EP A Garage Dayz Nite
A Garage Dayz Nite
A Garage Dayz Nite, is the first E.P. from Beatallica. It contains 7 tracks, made from combinations of Beatles and Metallica songs. The cover is a parody of The Beatles' second UK album With The Beatles, while the crude handwriting is a reference to that used in Metallica's The $5.98 E.P.: Garage...

was recorded for the annual Spoof Fest concert held in Milwaukee, as a memento of that year's concert. A few dozen copies of the EP were handed out to friends. Later that year, one of those CDs made its way to Milwaukee resident Dr. David Dixon, who created a web page that included mp3s of the songs and he named the band "Beatallica". The band was unaware of the webpage until Dixon finally met them in the summer of 2002, carrying a stack of fan emails from all around the world. Beatallica gave the webpage its blessings, and after further urgings from its internet fanbase, recorded the EP Beatallica
Beatallica (album)
Beatallica is the second E.P. from Beatallica. It contains eight tracks, made from combinations of Beatles and Metallica songs...

, also known as The Grey Album, releasing it online on April 1, 2004.

Later in 2004, the band (including bassist "Kliff McBurtney" and drummer "Ringo Larz") started to perform at live venues nationally and internationally, with a stage show incorporating elements from both Beatles and Metallica performances. They also played as an opening act for Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...

; Mike Portnoy
Mike Portnoy
Michael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater, as well as the temporary drummer for the hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold. Known for his drumming prowess and technical...

 even joined the band on stage playing drums for one song.
During 2005 and 2006 the band toured around the world, playing over 60 shows, including their first UK show in London on April 26, 2006. Beatallica would go on to perform with likes of Motorhead, Testament, Kreator, Sepultura, LA Guns and play huge summer festivals worldwide, including Milwaukee's Summerfest, Germany's Earthshaker Festival, The Netherlands' Kings of Metal festival, and Korea's Busan International Rock Festival.

In 2007, the band's current lineup of Jaymz Lennfield (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Grg Hammetson (lead guitar), Kliff McBurtney (lead bass, backing vocals) and Ringo Larz (drums) went into the studio to re-record many of Krk and Jaymz' original songs and write some new compositions for their official debut Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band is the first published album from Beatallica. It contains 13 tracks, made from combinations of The Beatles and Metallica songs and was released on Tuesday July 10, 2007.* Sgt...

.

May 2008, marked the release of Beatallica's single; All You Need Is Blood recorded in 13 languages as a worldwide thank-you to the network of Beatallica fans known as Beatallibangers. The band added Belgium, Czech Republic, and Poland to the list of places they have toured. Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band is the first published album from Beatallica. It contains 13 tracks, made from combinations of The Beatles and Metallica songs and was released on Tuesday July 10, 2007.* Sgt...

 was released in Poland on the label Metal Mind Productions.

September and October 2008 saw the release of both Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band is the first published album from Beatallica. It contains 13 tracks, made from combinations of The Beatles and Metallica songs and was released on Tuesday July 10, 2007.* Sgt...

 and All You Need Is Blood by Sony-ATV in Japan. Both Japanese CD versions contain bonus tracks.

On April 1, 2009 (Beatallica's birthday), Beatallica met Metallica backstage after Metallica's show in Paris, France. This was the first time that both bands had met each other in person. Both bands had communicated with each other over the years, as they continue to do so.

On August 4, 2009, Masterful Mystery Tour
Masterful Mystery Tour
Masterful Mystery Tour is the second album from Beatallica. It contains 12 tracks, which are mashups of songs by The Beatles and Metallica...

, the band's second full length album was released internationally. An official music video for the first single, Hero of the Day Tripper, was made with the band starring as hesh 1970's superheroes saving a party from the clutches of four Big Sleazers.

On September 9, 2009, Masterful Mystery Tour
Masterful Mystery Tour
Masterful Mystery Tour is the second album from Beatallica. It contains 12 tracks, which are mashups of songs by The Beatles and Metallica...

 was released by Sony-ATV in Japan. The Japanese album version includes 2 bonus tracks, live versions of I WANT TO CHOKE YOUR BAND and REVOL-OOH-TION, recorded live in concert in Milwaukee, WI.

September 11, 2009 Masterful Mystery Tour
Masterful Mystery Tour
Masterful Mystery Tour is the second album from Beatallica. It contains 12 tracks, which are mashups of songs by The Beatles and Metallica...

 was released by the German label Megapress. The CD contains a bonus track,
Beatallica's cover of the J.B.O.
J.B.O.
J.B.O. is a heavy metal band from Erlangen, Germany. J.B.O. was founded in 1989 by Vito C. and Hannes "G.Laber" Holzmann and is known for parodies of rock and pop songs...

 song Eine Guten Tag Zum Sterben (English translation: A Good Day For Dying).
Also of note is fact that Beatallica recorded this cover song singing in German, making this the second song they have released singing in German.
Beatallica's cover version of the song was also included on the J.B.O.
J.B.O.
J.B.O. is a heavy metal band from Erlangen, Germany. J.B.O. was founded in 1989 by Vito C. and Hannes "G.Laber" Holzmann and is known for parodies of rock and pop songs...

 2009 album I Don't Like Metal - I Love It (Limited Edition version that includes a bonus CD).

Winter Plunderband
Winter Plunderband
Winter Plunderband, Beatallica's third EP, was released on November 17, 2009. It is Beatallica's first ever Holiday Season release. The album is only available as a CD at Beatallica live shows and can also be purchased as a Digital Download which includes a Digital Booklet with artwork, lyrics ...

 was released on November 17, 2009. It is Beatallica's first ever Holiday Season release. The (EP) album is only available as a CD at Beatallica live shows (very limited pressing) and can also be purchased as a Digital Download which includes Digital Booklet with artwork, lyrics and photos (including Beatallica and Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

 together). The songs included are covers of Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime
Wonderful Christmastime
"Wonderful Christmastime" is a 1979 Christmas song by Paul McCartney. It enjoys significant Christmas time popularity around the world. The notable synthesiser riff was played on a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. The song was later added as a bonus track on the CD reissue of Wings' Back to the Egg...

 and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Happy Christmas (War Is Over) and also the very first two Beatallica original songs Hella Day For Holiday and Heretic.

Beatallica toured Germany in December 2009 supporting J.B.O.
J.B.O.
J.B.O. is a heavy metal band from Erlangen, Germany. J.B.O. was founded in 1989 by Vito C. and Hannes "G.Laber" Holzmann and is known for parodies of rock and pop songs...

 who were celebrating their 20th anniversary. During the tour Jaymz would join J.B.O on stage to sing "Ein Guten Tag Zum Sterben" in German. On the final night of the tour in Berlin, J.B.O. (mainly Vito C.) hijacked Beatallica's set by playing AC/DC's song Highway to Hell
Highway to Hell (song)
"Highway to Hell" is the opening track of AC/DC's 1979 album Highway to Hell and the twelfth track on AC/DC Live. It was initially released as a single in 1979....

 on guitar from backstage. Beatallica had no idea what was going on and thought a CD somehow was being played in error from the soundboard. During J.B.O.'s final set, Beatallica came out on stage wearing J.B.O.'s pink robes, which they stole from their dressing room, and took over the stage dancing around and drinking. Jaymz used a 'Beatallica Arschwaschlappen' to wipe Hannes Holzmann face much to the laughter of the sold out audience.

March 5, 2009 saw the release for Beatallica's second (and third) official video entitled Fuel on the Hill (and Benzin auf dem Berg).

Legal problems

To avoid legal problems, the band maintained a strict non-commercial policy (all songs were available for free download) and shrouded themselves in anonymity (all names mentioned above are, of course, stage names but their real names were revealed in interviews and, hence, also appear in this article). Metallica were aware of the spoof band's existence and never threatened to take any legal action; Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...

, James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...

 and Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...

 have all publicly stated that they enjoy Beatallica's music.

On February 17, 2005, a cease-and-desist notice was sent to David Dixon (and the band's web host) by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...

, a company which holds rights to most of The Beatles' catalog. The notice states that the "music", "news" and "merchandise" sections of the official Beatallica website constitute a copyright violation
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

 and should therefore be taken down. In response to this, a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....

 requesting Sony/ATV Music Publishing to retract its threat of legal action was created. The band was saved from further legal action by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...

, who offered to provide assistance with legal negotiations and also asked Metallica's longtime attorney to try to defuse the situation with Sony. Sony ultimately reached an agreement with Beatallica and their new label Oglio Records, and an official Beatallica recording was released in July 2007 entitled "Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band is the first published album from Beatallica. It contains 13 tracks, made from combinations of The Beatles and Metallica songs and was released on Tuesday July 10, 2007.* Sgt...

".

Members, Former Members and Special Guests

  • Jaymz Lennfield (referring to James Hetfield
    James Hetfield
    James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...

     and John Lennon
    John Lennon
    John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

    , respectively, real name Michael "Tinker" Tierney) - vocals, lyrics, songwriting, rhythm guitar
  • Grg Hammetson (referring to George Harrison
    George Harrison
    George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

     and Kirk Hammett
    Kirk Hammett
    Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...

    , respectively, real name Jeff Hamilton) - lead guitar.
  • Kliff McBurtney (referring to Cliff Burton
    Cliff Burton
    Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton was an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the American heavy metal band Metallica....

     and Paul McCartney
    Paul McCartney
    Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

    , respectively, real name Paul Terrien) - lead bass
  • Ringo Larz (referring to Ringo Starr
    Ringo Starr
    Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...

     and Lars Ulrich
    Lars Ulrich
    Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...

    , respectively, real name Ryan Charles) - drums

  • Former Member: Krk Hammetson (referring to George Harrison
    George Harrison
    George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

     and Kirk Hammett
    Kirk Hammett
    Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...

    , real name Michael Brandenburg [2001-2006]) - lead guitar.
  • Special Guest: Diablo Mysterioso (real name: unknown)- guitar
  • Special Guest: Joey Nicol (real name Mike Portnoy
    Mike Portnoy
    Michael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater, as well as the temporary drummer for the hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold. Known for his drumming prowess and technical...

    )-drums

Discography

Until 2007, Beatallica's recordings were only available as MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

 and FLAC
FLAC
FLAC is a codec which allows digital audio to be losslessly compressed such that file size is reduced without any information being lost...

 downloads.
  • (2001) A Garage Dayz Nite
    A Garage Dayz Nite
    A Garage Dayz Nite, is the first E.P. from Beatallica. It contains 7 tracks, made from combinations of Beatles and Metallica songs. The cover is a parody of The Beatles' second UK album With The Beatles, while the crude handwriting is a reference to that used in Metallica's The $5.98 E.P.: Garage...

    (EP)
  • (2004) Beatallica
    Beatallica (album)
    Beatallica is the second E.P. from Beatallica. It contains eight tracks, made from combinations of Beatles and Metallica songs...

    (EP) (Also commonly known as the Grey Album, a mix between the White Album
    The Beatles (album)
    The Beatles is the ninth official album by the English rock group The Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album" as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed on its plain white sleeve.The album was written and recorded during a...

    from the Beatles and Black Album
    Metallica (album)
    Metallica is the self-titled fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Mainly produced by Bob Rock, it was released on August 12, 1991 through Elektra Records to critical acclaim...

    from Metallica, and not to be confused with The Grey Album
    The Grey Album
    The Grey Album is a mashup album by Danger Mouse, released in 2004. It uses an a cappella version of rapper Jay-Z's The Black Album and couples it with instrumentals created from a multitude of unauthorized samples from The Beatles' LP The Beatles...

    by DJ Danger Mouse)

 
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