[youtube]http://youtu.be/6uk8nVfkxBE[/youtube]
It’s hard to remember, but Metallica wasn’t always the biggest metal band in the world. In fact, back in 1984, on tour in Europe for the first time, they accidentally headlined in the small Dutch village of Zwaagwesteinde (De Westereen), their first European headline show ever. In a half hour documentary, called How Metallica Raised Hell in De Westereen, Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich are interviewed about the show. Although it’s light on actual footage, there are some pictures, as well as archival footage of the tickets, which featured the band’s name spelled with only one “l.” At the time, Twisted Sister was much more popular than Metallica, but due to the promoter not knowing how popular either band was, Metallica wound up headlining. It’s interesting to see to see that the Metallica has endured for longer than the venue, now a flea market. It’s a really charming film that speaks about the devotion and passion of metal. Here’s the description from the YouTub page:
‘How Metallica raised hell in De Westereen’ (original title: ‘Hoe’t Metallica De Westereen op ‘e kop sette’), the 2014 Omrop Fryslân TV documentary of Douwe Talma about the show Metallica did in the small Dutch village Zwaagwesteinde (De Westereen) on June 9th 1984. The documentary features exclusive interviews with Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich.
That Zwaagwesteinde gig 30 years ago was the first Metallica European headline show ever, thanks to a mistake of the local venue owner. The documentary features a story full of anecdotes about the time that Metallica was still an unknown band and heavy metal was something completely new to everybody in Holland.
