Metallica, the most famous metal band on the planet, took part in a special show in memory of Megaforce Records founder John “Jonny Z” Zazula and his wife Marsha on November 6 in Hollywood, Florida. The concert was held at Hard Rock Live for 7,000 people at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The support band was the British heavy metal band Raven, who were also originally signed to the Megaforce label.
Metallica, to the delight of fans, performed songs exclusively from the first two albums Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning, both of which were originally released by Megaforce. A video of the Phantom Lord performance can be seen below.
A portion of the proceeds from this show will be donated to the Jonny and Marsha MusiCares Foundation, which supports the health and well-being of the music community by offering prevention, emergency and recovery programs for musicians and industry professionals.
The band itself said the following:
We’ll be cooking up a special setlist for you full of songs from our days with Jonny and Marsha at Megaforce. Our main touring partner from that time, Raven, will be joining us to add to the celebration and bring back the memories.
As a reminder, John Zazula, better known as Jonny Z, passed away early on February 01, 2022, in Florida, surrounded by his brother, daughters, granddaughters and friends. His wife Marsha, with whom he founded Megaforce, passed away from cancer last January.
John began selling records on the market in 1981, a business that eventually evolved into Rock’n Roll Heaven, a major record store that influenced metal music at the time. In the winter of 1982, Jonny Z received a demo tape from the then young band Metallica. Wanting the music to be heard by the world, Johnny and his wife Marsha founded the Megaforce label the following year and released the band’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All. With this release Megaforce cemented its position as America’s go-to music label for heavy metal. In 1984 a second album, Ride The Lightning, was released before the band signed with major label Elektra. Other bands on the label include Anthrax, Danzig, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Ministry, Overkill, Testament.
