History

The project was founded in 2001 as a spoof by singer Jaymz Lennfield and guitarist Krk Hammetson. The EP A Garage Dayz Nite was recorded for the annual "Spoof Fest" concert held annually 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 David Dixon, who created a web page that included mp3s of the songs and 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, also known as The Grey Album, releasing it online on April 1, 2004.

Legal problems

To avoid legal problems, the band maintains a strict non-commercial policy (all songs are 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 are aware of the spoof band's existence and have so far not threatened to take any legal action; Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett have all publicly stated that they enjoy Beatallica's music.

Members

Former members

• Krk Hammetson (sic, referring to Kirk Hammett & George Harrison, respectively, real name Michael Brandenburg - all instruments (studio), arrangements, songwriting, lead guitar (live)