Metallica : The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited (Expanded Edition)

 

I GOT SOMETHING TO SAY

I KILLED YOUR BABY TODAY

AND IT DOESN'T MATTER 

MUCH TO ME

AS LONG AS IT'S DEAD

The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited

 released on 

CD

 as

 The $9.98 CD – Garage Days Re-Revisited

 is the first 

extended play

 by American

 heavy metal band

 Metallica

 released on 

August 21, 1987, 

by Elektra Records.

 It consists of covers

 of late-'70s 

and early-'80s 

new wave

 of 

British 

heavy metal bands

 and 

punk rock music

 rehearsed in

 Lars Ulrich's 

soundproofed garage 

and then recorded in 

Los Angeles 

over the course 

of six days. 

It is the group's

 first release

 following the death

 of bassist 

Cliff Burton 

and the first

 to feature

 his successor, 

Jason Newsted.

Development

With Metallica

 scheduled to play

 the 1987

 Monsters of Rock festival

 at Castle Donington, 

the band's UK label 

Vertigo Records

 suggested that they

 release new material

 to mark the occasion. 

Initial songwriting attempts 

with new bassist

 Jason Newsted

 resulted only

 in a demo for

 "Blackened", 

and 

vocalist/guitarist

 James Hetfield 

subsequently broke his arm 

skateboarding 

and was unable 

to play guitar 

for several weeks. 

Given these obstacles,

 the band decided

 to record covers

 of some of their 

favorite songs 

rather than work 

on new material. 

Newsted utilized 

his earlier experience

 as a 

construction worker

 to soundproof

 Lars Ulrich's garage

 in El Cerrito, California, 

where the band 

would rehearse 

the material

 prior to recording.

While rehearsing the song

 "White Lightning" 

by new wave of 

British 

heavy metal band 

Paralex, 

Kirk Hammett 

started playing

 "The Wait" 

by post-punk group 

Killing Joke, 

and the band 

subsequently decided

 to try

 recording the song. 

Other tracks 

considered but 

dropped include 

"Signal Fire"

 by Japanese band 

Bow Wow 

and another 

NWOBHM song, 

Gaskin's

 "I'm No Fool". 

Though

 "Last Caress" 

and

 "Green Hell" 

are combined

 into a single track

 by Metallica, 

the original Misfits versions

 were featured on

 different albums 

and were recorded 

five years apart. 

The band included

 The $5.98 E.P

. in the title

 in an effort to 

ensure that retailers

 did not 

overcharge fans. 

The original cassette release

 included a sticker stating

 "If they try to charge more,

 STEAL IT!"

 The title of the official

 American CD release 

was amended to

 The $9.98 CD,

 as the retail price

 of CDs 

was much higher

 than cassette; 

other countries

 (such as Australia) 

still displayed 

The $5.98 E.P. 

with a sticker stating

 that this is the "title"

 and not the price.

 "The Wait" 

was omitted

 from the UK pressings

 in order to conform

 to local

 music-industry rules 

regarding the length

 of EPs.

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