Metallica Stop Legal Move Against Tribute Band 2016 In Review

(Classic Rock) Metallica had a top 16 story from Jan 2016 after they gave their blessing to a tribute band who were sent a 41-page cease and desist letter by an "overzealous attorney." Canadian band Sandman - fronted by Warmachine singer Joe Di Taranto - were told to stop using Metallica's registered trademarks on their promotional material. Sandman's logo uses the same font adopted by Metallica on their 2003 album St Anger and they refer to themselves as "Canada's tribute to Metallica."

The legal papers were delivered to FitzRay's, a venue in London, Ontario, where Sandman were due to perform at the weekend. It reads: "We are kindly writing to request that Sandman stop using the name Metallica, the phonetic equivalent of Metallica or any of Metallica's logos on or to identify or promote live musical performances."

Di Taranto posted an image of the front page of the letter on Facebook, adding: "So as some of you may or may not know, in my spare time from Warmachine, I play in a couple of tribute acts - one being a ?Metallica tribute called Sandman.

"Last night when we arrived at the venue for our show in London, we were served with cease and desist papers courtesy of Metallica's lawyers. Quite funny."

But when Metallica heard about the legal action, they immediately rescinded the letter and gave their backing to Sandman, joking that their lawyer was "permanently ice fishing in Alaska." Read what Metallica had to say here.

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