Metallica on Jonny and Marsha Zazula
Metallica is one of the biggest bands of all time, but they don’t forget where they came from and the people that helped them get their start.
Two people who were essential to Metallica in their early days were Megaforce Records founders Jon and Marsha Zazula. Metallica’s first two albums – 1983’s Kill ‘Em All and 1984’s Ride the Lightning – were released by Megaforce, which led to their major label deal with Elektra.
The band talked fondly about the Zazulas during a recent episode of The Metallica Report podcast. The Zazulas even opened up their New Jersey home to the band and let them stay in their basement.
James Hetfield said, “We were taken in by Jonny and Marsha and they were sustaining us with food and place to sleep, shelter, kind of parent-like, which was cool, which was needed at the time. We were just wild and kind of unruly, and we knew what we wanted to do, but we didn’t know how to get there, and he helped us get there.”
Lars Ulrich added, “We would eat meals with them, the family, the kids … Jonny and Marsha, obviously, were sort of the parents to not just their own kids, but to all of us, and they were very patient and gracious to let us sleep and kind of sort of inhabit their whole world.”
Kirk Hammett noted, “There was no one else to help us out at that point on the East Coast, and we didn’t have any money … So, Jonny and Marsha opening up their house to us was an amazing thing.”
The aforementioned podcast episode honored the second anniversary of the tribute show Metallica played after Jonny and Marsha Zazula died. The band played an intimate show at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. on November 6, 2022.
In a statement on the show, Metallica said, “Jonny gave us our first break in New York, released our first albums on his Megaforce Records label, and put us out on the road for our first real tour. With Marsha by his side, Jonny was a mentor, a manager, a label head, and a father figure to us all. We would not be where we are today without the two of them. Sadly, we recently lost both Jonny and Marsha, just a little more than a year apart.”
Below is the setlist from the show.
Metallica – 11/6/2022 Jonny and Marsha Zazula Tribute Show – Setlist
“Creeping Death”
“Ride the Lightning”
“Motorbreath”
“No Remorse”
“Trapped Under Ice”
“The Call of Ktulu”
“Phantom Lord”
“Am I Evil?” (Diamond Head cover)
“Metal Militia”
“For Whom the Bell Tolls”
“Whiplash”
“Fade to Black”
“Seek & Destroy”
Encore
“Fight Fire With Fire”
“Blitzkrieg” (Blitzkrieg cover)
“Hit the Lights”
