METALLICA vocalist James Hetfield paid tribute to Megaforce Records co-founder Marsha Zazula, who died on Sunday (January 10) at the age of 68.
Hetfield said in a statement (as provided by Q Prime /Adrenaline PR): “Marsha Z is the East Coast Metal Matriarch. She was our mother when I had none. She made great sacrifices for METALLICA grow up. Thanks, Marsha. Love and positive energy for Zazula family.”
Marsha co-founded Megaforce in 1983 with her husband Jon (also known as Jonny Z)
Marsha and Jonnydaughter of Rikki Zazula confirmed his mother’s passing by writing in a Facebook post: “RIP Mom April 21, 1952 – January 10, 2021 Your love, your strength, your memory and your music have changed lives and will continue for EVER.”
Megaforce is widely credited for launching the career of METALLICA releasing the band’s first two albums, 1983 “Kill them all” and 1984 “Ride The Lightning”before METALLICA won a contract with a major label with Elektra. Megaforcethe list of also includes artists like ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, OVERKILL, Ace Frehley, MINISTRY, KING’S X, STORM PEOPLE OF DEATH and RAVEN.
METALLICA paid tribute to Marsha on a Instagram post, writing: “Rest In Peace, Marsha. Thanks for everything. With much love for @thejonzazula & the Zazula family.”
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich took to your Instagram write: “Thank you Marsha for making it happen … for supporting us, for encouraging us, for advising us, for giving us shelter, for feeding us, and most importantly for supporting us and together with her husband Jonny, believing in the possibilities of how a gang of misfits and strangers like us could connect with a larger audience and with similar ideas … “
ANTHRAX said: “It is with great sadness that we hear about the death of Marsha Zazula. A true pioneer along with Jonny Z. These two were responsible for changing all of our lives. It is difficult to put into words what a world it could be without their belief and dedication to metal and to all of us. Our love for her family. “
He was born in 1952, Jonny began his extraordinary journey as a young renegade who went from living on the streets of the Bronx, in New York City, to later working on Wall Street and eventually (and unexpectedly) making the transition to the world of music and discovering METALLICA, ANTHRAX and others.
After Wall Street, Jonny Z started selling records at a flea market store in 1981 to put food on the table for his family. Called Rock N ‘Roll Heaven, the store ended up becoming a great record store that influenced the heavy metal movement as we know it today. In the winter of 1982, Jonny Z received an unexpected demo tape from an unsigned underground band called METALLICA. Anxious and determined to have the music heard all over the world, Jonny and Marsha founded Megaforce the following year and launched “Kill them all”. Through this launch, Megaforce cemented its position as the de facto musical label in America for heavy metal.
Jonacclaimed autobiography of, “Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived By Jon Zazula”, was released in October 2019. The book tells the story of how the Zazulas ended up hiring a band that shaped the sound of heavy metal in the following decades.
“It’s all a blessing when you work hard and stay smart and get into the game and then, eventually, something comes your way and you are ready for it. And you are able to jump on it and ride it.” Jonny said Variety. “We were very lucky, Marsha and me, that we have to choose as a band that has become the biggest band in the world. Not to mention a lot of other great bands that have made history. “
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