Auburn wins Metallica Marching Band Competition

[aubiefifty 16,802]

al.com

Auburn wins Metallica Marching Band Competition, gets $85K in prizes

Updated: Jan. 08, 2024, 9:53 a.m.|Published: Jan. 08, 2024, 9:30 a.m.

5–6 minutes

The Auburn University Marching Band performs before the Mississippi State game Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Auburn, Alabama. (Julie Bennett | preps@al.com)Julie Bennett | preps@al.com

By

Mary Colurso | mcolurso@al.com

Bang the drums and clash the cymbals! The Auburn University Marching Band has won the top spot in the Metallica Marching Band Competition, along with a designation as fan favorite. As a result, the band will receive a total of $85,000 in prizes, consisting of musical instruments and equipment for their school programs.

The members of Metallica — singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo — chose the winners of the contest, announcing the results on Sunday night via social media. Fan favorites were determined by online voting.

“Back in April, we challenged marching bands across the country to create performances incorporating our music into their shows,” the band said on Instagram and Twitter. “The response blew us away and made for a heated competition, and the results are in!”

Auburn’s band was one of 450 marching bands at colleges and high schools throughout the country who signed up for the contest, according to a Metallica publicist. Two other marching bands from Alabama, the Cleveland High School Golden Force Band and the Pell City High School Marching Band of Gold, were top five finalists in high school divisions of the contest, vying for $15,000 each in prizes. However, neither of them was named a winner in their divisions or a fan favorite.

To enter the contest, marching bands submitted YouTube videos of their ensembles playing one of 13 Metallica songs. The list of available songs included “Enter Sandman,” “Master of Puppets,” “Fade to Black,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Creeping Death” and “Seek & Destroy.” (See the full contest rules here.) Finalists were selected by a team of seven judges who are professional musicians with experience as band directors and teachers.

Watch Auburn’s winning performance in the video below.

Auburn’s performance was filmed on Oct. 21, 2023, during halftime at a game that pitted the Auburn Tigers against the Ole Miss Rebels, according to The Auburn Plainsman. LED lights were attached to the band members’ hats, and were synchronized to the music. The performance featured Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Wherever I May Roam,” “Master of Puppets,” “Nothing Else Matters” and “Enter Sandman.”

Auburn University celebrated its win via social media, saying, “On to VICTORY … strike up the #MetallicaMarchingBand competition winners for the Collegiate Division 1 category! Voted fan favorite, too🥹Way to go, @auburnbands.”

Here’s the full list of finalists in the Metallica Marching Band Competition, with the names of winners in bold type:

COLLEGIATE: DIVISION 1 ($75,000 in prizes)

Auburn University (WINNER, also named fan favorite, for $10,000 in prizes)

Fresno State University

Iowa State University

University of Iowa

University of Texas at Austin

COLLEGIATE: DIVISION 2, 3 ($40,000 in prizes)

Eastern New Mexico University (WINNER)

Blinn College

Manchester University

West Texas A&M University

Western Illinois University

HIGH SCHOOL: SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE ($15,000 each in prizes)

Large High School:

Dobyns-Bennett High School – Kingsport, Tennessee (WINNER, also named fan favorite, for $10,000 in prizes)

Lambert High School – Suwanee, Georgia

Lorena High School – Lorena, Texas

Austin High School – Sugarland, Texas

Pell City High School – Pell City, Alabama

Medium High School:

Boerne High School – Boerne, Texas (TIE)

Malverne High School – Malverne, New York (TIE)

Desert Mountain High School – Scottsdale, Arizona

DeWitt High School – DeWitt, Michigan

Kell High School – Kennesaw, Georgia

Small High School:

Oakton High School – Vienna, Virginia (WINNER)

Cleveland High School – Cleveland, Alabama

Edinburg High School – Edinburg, Texas

Oologah High School – Oologah, Oklahoma

Valhalla High School – El Cajon, California

This is the first year for the Metallica Marching Band Contest, but it promises to be an annual event, according to a press release.

READ MORE ON METALLICA:

Is it OK to feel all warm and fuzzy at a Metallica concert?

Metallica fans recall band’s classic Alabama concerts

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