Update Sept 14: The band felt the visit from the Make A Wish foundation on August 20th was a great inspiration for everyone. It left a big impression here at HQ and we decided to put together a video, to share with the rest of you out there in Cyber World.

Video recorded & edited by Niclas Swanlund and Elisia Chestang
Copyright Metallica.com 2002

MAKE A WISH, DREAMS DO COME TRUE

Yesterday, August 20th, was a very unique day at Metallica HQ, as we were expecting special guests from the Make A Wish Foundation.

The band was honored to grant the wishes of two extremely courageous young men, Kelly and Chris, and spend the day with them at the Metallica HQ. Kelly and Chris also brought their families and their two guests, Tristan and Matt, to share this day with them.

Upon arrival they immediately dove into the fan club's merchandise vault. They were like kids in a candy store! They were grabbing whatever would fit in their new Metallica bags. Even the parents got in on the action by asking their kids not to forget them and grab 'em a little something.

Matt and Chris in the merch room

After raiding the merch room, it was time to continue the tour of the HQ. They passed through the rest of the fan club offices, where they were invited to be official members of the Metallica Club.

They made their way to the band lounge, where Lars, James, Kirk and Bob were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their honorary guests of the day.

After introductions and a few minutes of chatter, the band led everyone on a tour that started in the jam room. It was here that the band showed everyone their equipment and gear that they use. Kirk asked if anyone played any instruments and to the band’s delight, they all did. Two of the guys, Chris (drummer) and Matt (guitarist), even had their own band, in which they played a few Metallica songs.

Next stop on the tour was the control room where Bob Rock explained a little bit about the recording process. At this point Lars asked the guys if they wanted to hear some new music. We think the guys were taken by surprise because their response was quiet and nervous at the same time. After this, Lars then said with a smile and in a joking way, "Well, you don't have to if you don't want to!" Everyone immediately burst out with laughter and gave a more confident yes to hearing new music.

Now the tough decision was which song to play for the guests. Kirk's answer to the dilemma was, "How about the good one?" Laughter was plenty yet again. "Let's just play them a few, starting with the one we've been working on lately," said James. At this point, Bob queued up the first song and you could start feeling the energy, as everyone from band, to fan, to family started getting into it. Two songs were played and right after, comments like, "You better put that on the album," and "We can expect that in the stores, WHEN?" were flying around the room.

After hearing music, it was time for some good food. So, you are flying across the country to hang with Metallica? What kind of food can you expect? Pizza of course! While eating lunch, everyone was discussing music, from old to new, as well as their personal favorites. Kelly mentioned that he listens to the band Iron Maiden. Lars was excited, and then asked if anyone ever listened to Deep Purple, AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, and UFO just to name a few. The guests said they had heard a few songs, but they weren't really current on the old school music. It was at this moment, that Lars felt so excited to share with these young music fans what great music is out there and should not be forgotten, that he made some calls....

Another funny moment during lunch was when Chris explained how fights would break out at his high school. Apparently, students were arguing over who was best Metallica or Megadeth because of course you could not like both. The band thought that was hysterical. Why can’t we all just get along?

How could you possibly top free swag, new music, and pizza? How about jamming your fucking ass off to your favorite 'Tallica tunes with the band?

From left to right:
James, Kelly, Lars, Kirk, Chris, Matt, and Tristan in front

The line-up of the Metallica band today consisted of Chris and his back-up Lars on drums, on bass; Tristan and his back-up Bob Rock, and on guitars; Kelly & Matt with James and Kirk backing them up.

The jam lasted for about an hour and the very loose “set list” consisted of requests and jams of the following songs:

• Enter Sandman
• For Whom The Bell Tolls
• Sad But True
• Dyers Eve (not the full song... sorry)
• ...And Justice For All
• I Disappear

"What the fuck is he doing?"

As the day wound down and it was getting closer to saying good-bye, Lars had one final surprise. Do you remember Lars' desire to share old school music with Chris, Matt, Kelly, and Tristan? Well, he made sure they went home with a few CDs of the bands they had previously talked about, so they could learn it, live it, and love it. When walking out the door the band said, "It was so great having you here. We had a great time and you guys inspire us." The response was heartfelt and ended with, "Thank you guys for being so cool to us, we will never forget this day."