Rock Encyclopedia

“If you didn’t see them signed yourself, your Metallica autographs probably aren’t real,” says “Autograph” publisher Steven Cyrkin. Already one of the most forged bands of all time, with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Metallica forgeries have hit an all-time high. On eBay, on fan and dealer Web sites, and in many of the fancy galleries in tourist spots, criminals are preying on Metallica’s unsuspecting fans. “You can find out if your Metallica autographs, or ones you’re thinking of buying, are suspect in a 10-page feature in the May issue of ‘Autograph’ magazine that traces the band’s autographs from 1982 to today,” says Cyrkin.

“The number of Metallica forgeries being offered rivals the number of forged Barack Obama autographs peddled after he was elected president,” continues Cyrkin. “It’s so bad that we asked the chief authenticator of the largest autograph authentication service, PSA/DNA, to write an article that shows how to identify genuine Metallica signatures.”

The authenticator is Steve Grad, a rabid Metallica fan with one of the largest Metallica autograph collections in the world. There are photographs of 28 genuine Metallica-signed items in the article, including an autographed flyer from 1982 — the earliest band-signed piece Grad and the magazine have seen.

“My favorite piece is an autographed 8×10 photo from 1983 that we show life-size in the article. The band signed only 100 of them, which they sent to the first 100 members of the Metallica fan club. Only a few have surfaced over the years,” Cyrkin says.

The article gives details on the history of the band’s signing habits throughout their career. And fans and collectors can compare their Metallica autographs to the ones in the article to determine if they are likely real.

“Two factors make rock attractive to forgers,” Cyrkin says. “First, rock stars that have been around for decades have more fans who can afford to buy rare and expensive items. For many bands, like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, genuine signed items like albums and guitars are extremely rare or do not exist. Most are not available at any price from legitimate dealers and auction houses, but the sellers of forgeries are happy to meet the demand. Second, in the case of hot, touring bands like Metallica, members stop signing as much as they see their autographs being offered all over the Internet.”

“Autograph’s” May Metallica Hall of Fame issue is $8.95. It is only available through their Web site by advance order, or with a subscription ordered by April 17. The issue mails the last week of April. The magazine is a niche publication that is not available in stores. It can be ordered at http://store.autographmagazine.com/.

Guitar Hero(R) Video Games Continue To Win Awards as the Newest Installment – Guitar Hero(R) Metallica(R) – Debuts at Retailers Across North America

Amid signature green slime and bright orange blimps, Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero(R) World Tour was awarded “Favorite Video Game” at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2009 on Saturday, March 28. Guitar Hero World Tour took the top honors in the video game category with a record-breaking 91 million votes cast at the Kids’ Choice Awards 2009 earning the show’s highest ratings ever amongst kids and tweens. The awards allow fans to vote on their favorite entertainment and entertainers, including actors, TV shows, movies, singers and video games. On Sunday, March 29, 2009 Guitar Hero(R) Metallica(R), the newest entry into the Guitar Hero(R) franchise, debuted at retailers across North America giving fans the chance to experience the music of Metallica plus 20 top bands, such as Alice In Chains, Foo Fighters, Social Distortion, Queen and The Sword.

Guitar Hero World Tour continues to be one of the best-selling video games since its release on October 26, 2008. Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a wired microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems. Music creators are also able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes(SM) where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of over 247,000 already uploaded unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system, the Wii(TM) home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com.

Guitar Hero Metallica is now available for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system and the Wii home video game system from Nintendo, and is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. The PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system version will be available in North America in April 2009. For more information on Guitar Hero Metallica, please visit guitarherometallica.com.

Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.

Channel to broadcast non-stop Metallica music, plus feature interviews with all four band members as well as a wide range of artists talking about Metallica

“Mandatory Metallica” to coincide with the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

“Mandatory Metallica” to be available to SIRIUS subscribers for the first time

SIRIUS XM Radio announced that legendary rock band Metallica will host their own music channel on SIRIUS XM. Mandatory Metallica will be broadcast on SIRIUS channel 27 and XM channel 42 and will debut on Saturday, March 14 starting at 6:00 pm ET and run through Monday, April 13 at 3:00 am ET. The launch of SIRIUS XM’s Mandatory Metallica channel coincides with the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009.

“Metallica is one of the most influential and distinctive bands in the world,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio. “We are thrilled to broadcast Mandatory Metallica for SIRIUS XM listeners and give Metallica fans a place to go to hear all the music, interviews and rarities with this incredible rock band all in one place for thirty days.”

Mandatory Metallica will air Metallica music 24/7 as well as new songs from their recent release, Death Magnetic, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum in less than three weeks. The channel will also feature interviews with Metallica guitarist and singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo.

In addition to interviews with all four band members, Mandatory Metallica will air exclusive interviews with other artists sharing their personal insights about Metallica’s influence on music, including Linkin Park, Slipknot, Disturbed, Guns N’ Roses, Chris Cornell, RUSH, Ashes Divide, Black Stone Cherry, Five Finger Death Punch, Atreyu, Cinderella, Mastodon, Judas Priest, Dragonforce, Triumph, Tesla and others.

Mandatory Metallica will offer fans exclusive access to the band and their music. The limited-run channel aired exclusively on XM in 2008 and will be available to SIRIUS subscribers for the first time. The channel will feature virtually every Metallica song ever recorded, plus rare live cuts from the band’s personal archives.

In addition to their own SIRIUS XM channel and recent record release, Guitar Hero will launch “Guitar Hero: Metallica” featuring music from the band’s 25 year career as well as special hand-picked guest acts on March 29, 2009. The band will also be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009. Death Magnetic, the band’s 10th studio album, was released worldwide on September 12. For more information about Metallica’s new album, go to www.metallica.com.

Mandatory Metallica continues SIRIUS XM’s practicing of creating exclusive limited run artist-branded channels dedicated to iconic musicians. In addition to the current broadcast of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Radio and Paul McCartney’s Fireman Radio, SIRIUS has previously offered limited run channels such as Rolling Stones Radio, AC/DC Radio, Led Zeppelin Radio, The Spectrum of John Mellencamp, The Who Channel, Radio R.E.M., Coldplay Nation, ABBA Radio, Neil Diamond Radio, Jay-Z Nation, Garth Brooks Radio and Duran Duran’s Red Carpet Radio among many others.

For more information, please visit www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com