The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited

The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited, which was also released on CD as The $9.98 CD – Garage Days Re-Revisited, is the debut extended play by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 21, 1987, by Elektra Records. The EP consists of covers of late-'70s and early-'80s new wave of British heavy metal bands and punk rock music. The material was rehearsed in Lars Ulrich's soundproofed garage and recorded in Los Angeles over six days. This release is notable as the band's first following the death of bassist Cliff Burton and the first to feature his successor, Jason Newsted.

With Metallica set to perform at the 1987 Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington, their UK label Vertigo Records suggested that the band release new material to coincide with the event. However, due to some obstacles, including new bassist Jason Newsted's initial songwriting attempts resulting only in a demo for "Blackened," and vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield breaking his arm while skateboarding—leaving him unable to play guitar for several weeks—the band decided to pivot. Instead of working on new material, they chose to record covers of some of their favorite songs.

Newsted used his prior experience as a construction worker to help soundproof Lars Ulrich's garage in El Cerrito, California, where the band rehearsed the material before recording it. During these rehearsals, Kirk Hammett began playing "The Wait" by post-punk group Killing Joke while they were working on the song "White Lightning" by the new wave of British heavy metal band Paralex, leading the band to include "The Wait" in their recording plans. Other songs considered but ultimately not recorded included "Signal Fire" by the Japanese band Bow Wow and the NWOBHM track "I'm No Fool" by Gaskin.

The EP features "Last Caress" and "Green Hell" as a single track, though the original Misfits versions were from different albums and recorded five years apart. The EP concludes with an intentionally off-key segment of Iron Maiden’s "Run to the Hills," which was speculated to reflect the tension between the British heavy metal legends and American newcomers at the time.

To prevent retailers from overcharging fans, the band included "The $5.98 E.P." in the title, and the original cassette release had a sticker reading, "If they try to charge more, STEAL IT!" The official American CD release was titled *The $9.98 CD*, reflecting the higher retail price of CDs compared to cassettes, though other countries, like Australia, kept the *The $5.98 E.P.* title with a sticker explaining it was the title, not the price. In the UK, "The Wait" was omitted from pressings to comply with local music industry rules regarding EP length.

The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited went out of print from 1989 to 2018 and is now considered a collector's item. All five tracks from the EP were included in the 1998 double album *Garage Inc.*, along with other covers and new recordings. The cover art of the CD was used as a basis for the back cover of *Garage Inc.*, featuring updated images of the band members. In 2018, the EP was reissued by Metallica’s own Blackened Recordings label and made available on vinyl.