Metallica replaces tribute band's stolen gear

April 29, 2017

Bands getting their gear is a terrible occurrence that happens far too often, but what doesn't happen often is having an 8-time Grammy award winning band help you replace all your gear.

Check out how Metallica helped out this tribute band below.

Blistered Earth, a Metallica tribute band, recently played a show in Portland, OR but had their gear stolen at the hotel they were staying in that night. Drummer Shawn Murphy explained the whole situation to M.I.R.P. 411.

“We got up in the morning and it was gone! They took the hitch right off the truck. The hotel was nice about it. Their maintenance/surveillance guy was really cool. He went through all of the surveillance video with us,” explained Murphy.

Murphy went on to explain that the trailer was soon found but of course, all of the gear had already been taken out.

“My drum set is really hard to find. It’s a really old kit and its very specific to that era of the band. It’s funny because I wanted that kit since I was like 12 years old; I’m 42 now. I’ve only had it for like five years. You can never find it in a full set, you always have to buy it in pieces because it’s rare. It’s been discontinued since 1991 or 1992.”

You can check out the complete list of stolen equipment below:

Guitars (all with cases)
1989 Gibson Explorer
ESP LTD KH 602
2007 Gibson Flying V
Peavey Grind Bass
2016 Rickenbacher Bass

Amps
Line 6 Spider Valve MKII HD100 amp headwith Line 6 FBV Shortboard MKII and Road Case
Mesa Boogie Mark V Amp Head with footswitch
Marshall JCM 800 2203X Tube Guitar Amplifier Head with Road Case
Peavey Series 402 Bass Head
B52 AT412A Guitar Cab
Peavey Bass Cab 15’’
Peavey Bass Cab 4×10’’
Marshall 1960A Guitar Cab

Pedals
Morley Bad Horsie V2 Wah Pedal
Electroharmonix Metal Muff
Boss Super Overdrive SD-1
TC Electronic Polytune
BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus
Fulltone Custom Shop ABY True-Path Pedal
Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-808

Drums
Matching TAMA Granstar kit with 2 kicks, four rack toms, two floor toms, and a snare (all with matching shark tooth lugs), 5 cymbal stands, hi hat stand, throne, and stick bag

Metallica heard about the story through the local news stations in the area reporting about the band's stolen gear. From there, the band got in contact with Blistered Earth and offered to replace all of their stolen gear.

“It’s pretty awesome that they would do that. I guess it was actually James that saw the story on the website for KATU. I don’t how familiar you are with Metallica, or how closely you have followed their career, but it is fairly well documented that they had all of their gear stolen way back in the day, back when they didn’t have money to replace their gear. So, they have a first hand knowledge of how shitty this feels. But, again, I never thought it would come to this!”

All we're hoping for now is for Blistered Earth to open for Metallica the next time they're in town! You can check out Metallica's upcoming tour dates below.

Tour dates:

05/10 – Baltimore, Md. – M&T Bank Stadium*^
05/12 – Philadelphia, Pa. – Lincoln Financial Field*^
05/14 – East Rutherford, N.J. – MetLife Stadium*^
05/17 – Uniondale, N.Y. – New Coliseum^
05/19 – Boston, Mass. – Gillette Stadium ^
05/21 – Columbus, Ohio – Rock On The Range Festival (SOLD OUT)
06/04 – St. Louis, Mo. – Busch Stadium^
06/07 – Denver, Colo. – Sports Authority Field*^
06/11 – Houston, Texas – NRG Stadium*^
06/14 – San Antonio, Texas – Alamodome*
06/16 – Dallas, Texas – AT&T Stadium*
06/18 – Chicago, Ill. – Soldier Field*
07/05 – Orlando, Fla. – Camping World Stadium*^
07/07 – Miami, Fla. – Hard Rock Stadium*^
07/09 – Atlanta, Ga. – Suntrust Park*^
07/12 – Detroit, Mich. – Comercia Park*^
07/14 – Quebec City, Quebec- Festival D’Ete
07/16 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Centre*^
07/19 – Montreal, Quebec – Parc Jean-Drapeau*^
07/29 – Los Angeles, Calif. – Rose Bowl*+
08/04 – Phoenix, Ariz. – University of Phoenix Stadium*+
08/06 – San Diego, Calif. – Petco Park*+
08/09 – Seattle, Wash. – Centurylink Field*+
08/14 – Vancouver, British Columbia – BC Place*+
08/16 – Edmonton, Alberta – Commonwealth Stadium*+