THE BEAST

Dave Mustaine   has revealed that a dispute over songwriting credits may have contributed to the shelving of the previously announced expanded version of   METALLICA 's 1982 demo tape,   "No Life 'Til Leather" .

"No Life 'Til Leather"   was released as a limited-edition cassette for Record Store Day in April 2015, available exclusively in independent record stores. It featured artwork copies from drummer   Lars Ulrich 's own personal copy of the original demo, as well as his handwriting. At the time, the band also promised that expanded editions of the demo, which had never before been commercially available, would arrive on CD, vinyl and in a collector's set.

The seven-song tape was recorded with the first lineup of the band that appeared live as   METALLICA , including   Ulrich , frontman   James Hetfield , lead guitarist   Dave Mustaine   and bassist   Ron McGovney . The original recordings were paid for by   High Velocity   record label owner   Kenny Kane , with a view of making them available as an EP in 1982.

Ulrich   told   Metal Forces   last year that "some unexpected difficulties on the legal side… prevented the   'No Life 'Til Leather'   box set and our vision for how we were going to kick this whole reissue series off. We spent some time doing that dance, but then   James   and I decided that it wasn't worth it getting bogged down in all the unpleasantries, because this was supposed to be a celebration and not end up being a tug of war, so we thought, 'You know what? Fuck it. We'll just move on to   'Kill 'Em All' ," he said.

Ulrich   did not want to get into the details of the exact issues that were preventing the demo tape from being released. "It's a little more complicated than that," he said. "There's no reason to go deeper into it. It was just something that we hadn't expected."

Earlier today,   Mustaine   tweeted that he was contacted by   Hetfield   two years ago about "officially" releasing   "No Life Till Leather"   with "27 tracks, pics, the whole enchilada," but, he said, "the talks broke down because   Lars   wanted credit on two songs I wrote every note and word to. I have the texts. I passed."

When   Ulrich   spoke to   Metal Forces   in 2016, he made it clear that   METALLICA   was still hopeful that the expanded version   "No Life 'Til Leather"   would arrive at a later date. "As you know, I am the eternal optimist, and I am the eternal 'glass is well fucking half full,' so who knows?" he said. "I think some of those parties have circled back around now that they've seen that this is real and so we'll have to see. It would be great to share   'No Life 'Til Leather'   in a year or two with our fans and with the people that care. We haven't shut the door on it."

"No Life 'Til Leather"   was recorded on July 6, 1982 at Chateau East Studio in Tustin, California. All the songs on the tape later appeared on the band's 1983 debut album,   "Kill 'Em All" , including   "Hit The Lights" ,   "Motorbreath" ,   "Jump In The Fire" ,   "Seek And Destroy" , "Metal Militia",   "Phantom Lord"   and   "The Mechanix" , which was renamed   "The Four Horsemen"   on the album.

"No Life 'Til Leather"   track listing:

01.   Hit The Lights
02.   The Mechanix
03.   Motorbreath  
04.   Seek & Destroy  
05.   Metal Militia  
06.   Jump In The Fire
07.   Phantom Lord

"No Life 'Til Leather"   recording lineup:

James Hetfield   - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Lars Ulrich   - drums
Dave Mustaine   - lead guitar
Ron McGovney   - bass

Mustaine   was a member of   METALLICA   for less than two years, from 1981 to 1983, before being dismissed and replaced by   Kirk Hammett .

Mustaine   was not inducted into the   Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame   with   METALLICA   during the April 2009 ceremony at Cleveland, Ohio's Public Auditorium.   Ulrich   later explained to   The Plain Dealer   that   Mustaine   "never played on any   METALLICA   records. No disrespect to him. But there [were] half a dozen other people that were in the lineup in the early days. We thought... the fair thing to do would be to include anybody that played on a   METALLICA   record." He added: " Dave Mustaine   was in the band for eleven months, predominantly in 1982... I'm not trying to play it down. I have nothing but respect and admiration for his accomplishments since."

James contacted me 2 years ago. We were going to officially release the "No Life Till Leather" demo as a record, w/27 tracks, pics, the whole enchilada, and the talks broke down because Lars wanted credit on two songs I wrote every note and word to. I have the texts. I passed. https://t.co/xtqTiJT2AE

— Dave Mustaine (@DaveMustaine) November 30, 2017