Spotify has made its first music documentary, Metallica: The Early Years

It's available on mobile platforms to Spotify subscribers

It feels like all big, zeitgeisty brands are racing to get on the original video content bandwagon lately, and today Spotify launches its first music documentary.

Four-part series Metallica: The Early Years is available on Spotify’s mobile platform in the US, UK, Sweden and Germany, documenting ‘early pen pal tape sharing, the birth of thrash metal, heavy-riffing cellists, and the origins of one of rock's most influential bands’.

Metallica is an interesting and not especially hip subject to kick off their documentaries with, but hey, it looks quite well-made from the trailer.

Trailer and episode synopses below.

Chapter One: Metal Milita

How did an army of tape-traders help a group of pimply misfits "go viral" in 1982? Metal Militia recounts the story, from Lars Ulrich's chance encounter with Motorhead in a London rehearsal space to the arrival of Cliff Burton.

Chapter Two: Metal Up Your Ass

With the arrival of Kirk Hammett on guitar, Metallica now had all the weapons they needed to record their debut album, Metal Up Your Ass. Although they were forced to change the name, they still managed to change the game with a unique combination of punk aggression and metal riffs that would come to be known as thrash.

Chapter Three: Sophistication & Brutality

With Cliff Burton fully on-board as a contributing songwriter, Metallica's vision grew exponentially with the follow up to Kill 'Em All. From literary references in the lyrics to acoustic guitars to - gasp - a ballad, Ride The Lightning showed the band's growing ambition, creative potential, and willingness to piss off critics and fans in the pursuit of something epic.

Chapter Four: Armageddon's Here

In the span of a few short years Metallica went from dive bars to stadiums. This is the story of what happened next.