Spotify
Spotify is continuing its entrance into original video with a new four-part documentary series about the beginnings of Metallica.
Spotify says that the series, titled "Landmark - Metallica: The Early Years," will chronicle the band from their 1981 founding until 1984's "Ride the Lightning."
This will be the first major release from Spotify on the original video front. The company had a bit of a lackluster start with its first foray, a short viral-video style offering about the history of EDM, which clocked in at under 2 minutes.
The documentary series is shaping up to be more robust. It will feature "exclusive interviews with the band, rare archival footage as well as themed companion playlists," according to Spotify.
According to Bloomberg, Spotify had hoped to use original video both to grab new customers and make users spend more time with the product.
Here is the trailer for the series:
And here are the descriptions of the episodes from Spotify:
Chapter One: Metal Milita
How did an army of tape-traders help a group of pimply misfits "go viral" in 1982? Metal Militia recounts the story, from Lars Ulrich's chance encounter with Motorhead in a London rehearsal space to the arrival of Cliff Burton.
Chapter Two: Metal Up Your Ass
With the arrival of Kirk Hammett on guitar, Metallica now had all the weapons they needed to record their debut album, Metal Up Your Ass. Although they were forced to change the name, they still managed to change the game with a unique combination of punk aggression and metal riffs that would come to be known as thrash.
Chapter Three: Sophistication & Brutality
With Cliff Burton fully on-board as a contributing songwriter, Metallica's vision grew exponentially with the follow up to Kill 'Em All. From literary references in the lyrics to acoustic guitars to - gasp - a ballad, Ride The Lightning showed the band's growing ambition, creative potential, and willingness to piss off critics and fans in the pursuit of something epic.
Chapter Four: Armageddon's Here
In the span of a few short years Metallica went from dive bars to stadiums. This is the story of what happened next.