Pinball Tutorial· 25 min read
Crank it Up: Master the OG Metallica Pinball Before Stage Diving into the Remastered Edition
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Whether or not you’re a fan of Metallica (or thrash metal in general), it’s impossible to deny their influence on the music scene overall. You see, as peer-to-peer file sharing became popular in the early 2000s, Metallica’s groundbreaking efforts established a precedent which...
I’m kidding, of course. (Kind of.) Love them or hate them, they’re one of the best-selling bands of all time, and it’s impossible to deny that they’ve influenced an entire genre of music. Rock-themed pinball machines are popular, yes, but Metallica was definitely the “heaviest” music-themed table released when it hit the scene. It leverages its theme extremely well - the soundtrack is great, there are custom callouts from everyone in the band, and it has spectacular artwork all around - well, at least on some versions. But the game’s unassuming playfield hides a rather unusual ruleset that many players have a hard time wrapping their heads around. Not many games feature rules like Metallica, as there aren’t many obvious objectives or features to aim for - but there is a lot of deep, complicated strategy that can take place. Add in the fast-playing, deceptively brutal layout, and you have a player’s game that is perfectly suited to all sorts of competition.
Given the announcement of the Remastered version of the game, I figured the time was right to go over the original Metallica so you can familiarize yourself with this monster before the new version hits locations and clubs all over. Currently, this guide only covers the original version of Metallica’s ruleset. While most, if not all, of the rules/strategies described here will apply to both versions, the Remastered version introduces several new modes and features that are not discussed here. After some experience with the Remaster, I’ll come back and update this guide so it includes remaster-specific objectives. For now, let’s just focus on the classic!
The Metallica pinball machine by Stern, released in 2013, is a tribute to the legendary rock band Metallica. Designed by John Borg, this pinball machine features Metallica songs including "Master of Puppets," "One," "Fade to Black," and "Enter Sandman," creating an immersive rock experience.
Metallica’s playfield might not seem super unusual. I mean, you have some ramps, orbits, saucers, scoops - the usual suspects. With two flippers and a relatively normal “tightness,” the game might seem like nothing out of the ordinary. But don’t be fooled - this game has an attitude and a tendency to get you off of the table quickly. Most notably, the “funnel” (for lack of a better term) up the middle towards Sparky, the dude sitting in the electric chair at the center of the table. Aiming for Sparky can be very profitable, but the angling is extremely dangerous towards the center. Balls end up in this center column quite often, often out from the bumpers in a sneaky left exit.
But nothing, I repeat, nothing is deadlier than the left inlane/outlane area. While it might seem to be set up in your favor - two inlanes to one outlane - more often than not, balls will bounce off of the rail between the two inlanes into the top of the left sling and into the outlane, or it’ll just hop straight into the outlane. This area is extremely dangerous, so steer clear if you can help it. This extends to the slingshots, too - keep the ball away from them! These outlanes are usually very hungry!
Okay, with that out of the way, let’s look at the layout. The ramps and orbits are good to be able to hit. The loops are backhandable, but the ramps are usually not. Being able to repeatedly alternate the ramps can pay off rather significantly if you find yourself able to do that. However, I’d argue that the Snake, Electric Chair, and Grave Marker inline drops are all more important. The Snake is probably the easiest of the three and can be made from either flipper. The Grave Marker targets are also accessible from both flippers but are safer as a backhand from the left. The Electric Chair is absolutely the deadliest of the three, and despite how it looks, is usually impossible to shoot from the right side.
Other notable shots are the scoop on the right, the “Fuel” lane on the far left, and the “Coffin” captive ball right next to the Snake. While Fuel starts double-scoring at certain points, it’s also a suicidal shot since it puts the ball right into that left outlane area, so I’d say to avoid shooting it unless multiball is lit. (It’s not worth anything otherwise, anyway.) The Coffin can usually be grazed off of the right to feed the Snake, or off of the left to feed the Electric Chair - get comfy making that shot, since you’ll need to hit the coffin quite a bit to reach the major scoring objectives available. The only other surprisingly important feature to aim for are the “Pick” targets surrounding the left ramp and the grave marker targets. These are crucial for multiball play (but are useless during single-ball play), but being able to hit them on command can pay off big time in the long run.
Metallica was one of the first games Stern released with multiple models. There aren’t too many differences between the Pro and Premium versions, so we’ll cover them as we get to them. Most of the differences between the versions don’t even affect gameplay, anyway - so we’ll just cover them as we go. The only major thing to keep in mind is that the Premium has this big hammer thing that obscures a huge part of the playfield, especially up the middle. It’s cool, but mostly just obscures your vision.
Be warned that Metallica can potentially play for a long time at high-caliber competitions, so it’s usually set exceptionally hard to keep things moving. As for scoring, mid-to-late game modes can be worth hundreds of millions in the blink of an eye. I’d say that 20,000,000 points is a pretty solid score if you don’t get too far into the game, but be wary of those giant scores coming out of nowhere.
Usually, when I talk about games, I’ll say that they’re mode-based, multiball-based, or feature-based. Metallica is a bit of an anomaly - it somehow manages to be none of those and all of those at the same time. There are many multiballs, modes, scoring features, and objectives that you can aim for, very few of which are clearly telegraphed by the game. Broadly speaking, Metallica’s major objectives fall into four major categories: multiballs, items/Crank It Up, and modes. The modes, in particular, are very unusual in that they’re all started at different playfield features and again, are not telegraphed very clearly.
Don’t think of this guide as a recipe, think of it as a menu. Thanks to the number of lucrative features available, I find that a typical 4-player game of Metallica will showcase at least three unique strategies. Some players might go for one multiball, some players might go for another, some might try and line up some unusual mode, etc. There are a lot of ways you can play the game, so figure out which things you like to aim for and make the most of them. Hopefully, this guide can help you understand the most valuable objectives, or maybe even give you insight into an objective you never even heard of.
First, you’ll be prompted to pick a song. This is purely aesthetic and has no impact on gameplay - so pick whichever one you like. (You won’t be able to change the song later, though!)
Metallica has a pretty simple top-lane skill shot. Plunging the flashing lane awards some small points, and you can change the lane with your flippers. Making the skill shot increases the value of the next one, but again, the points are pretty marginal. Completing the lanes lights a Mystery award at the scoop, which can actually be kinda valuable, but these lanes are linked with the lights at the inlanes, too, a la Iron Man. So, you have to complete all five, not just two.
You can, however, go for a Super Skill Shot by holding up the left flipper as you plunge the ball, which will send the ball all the way around the left orbit (assuming you plunge hard enough). From here, hitting any major shot will award the Super Skill Shot worth twice the value of the skill shot (again, still pretty marginal), but hitting specific shots can also light other features. We’ll talk about those as we go along, but for now, know that the scoop will immediately give you a mystery award. On some Metallicas, you can just let the ball bounce off of the left flipper on a full plunge, and it’ll bounce right into the scoop - take full advantage of this if you can!
Be warned that shooting for a Super Skill Shot significantly reduces your ball save time. So, while it’s worth more, it’s a bit of a risk. Personally, I like going after the Super Skill Shot every time, but I like to play risky, so take that with a grain of salt.
There are four major multiballs in Metallica: Grave Marker, Electric Chair, Snake, and Coffin.
Get used to those four items - they come into play a LOT over the course of the game. In case it bears repeating: Grave Markers are the inline drop targets, the Electric Chair is right up the middle, the Snake is next to the right ramp, and the Coffin is the captive ball, obscured by a hammer on the Premium. Now, four multiballs might sound like a lot, but don’t worry! They all work pretty much the same way: each multiball is lit by hitting the corresponding feature a whole bunch of times and will be started at the corresponding feature. Generally, each multiball lights the five major shots (i.e. the two ramps, two orbits, and inline drops) for jackpots. Multiballs cannot be stacked with each other, but modes can be started during and/or brought into multiballs.
During any multiball, hitting all four “pick” standups (next to the right ramp and the inline drops) will light the Snake for 20 seconds of double scoring and will also add-a-ball the first time you do so during each multiball. (On the premium, as an extra bonus, the Snake will hold onto the ball you feed it, which is great since it gets a ball out of the way!) You really should try to have the snake fed at all times during a multiball - the add-a-ball is really nice, given how aggressive the game tends to be, and double scoring really shouldn’t need too much explanation as to why it’s so good. Note that the progress made on those pick targets will carry over into your multiball - if you’ve hit three out of four when your multiball starts, you only need to hit the remaining target to open the snake. Not to say you should try and get your picks set up that way to start a multiball, but if you happen to have some already collected, don’t complete them!
The differences between each multiball mainly lie in how their super jackpots work. In case it helps to remember, supers are pretty much always collected at the multiball’s feature, but how they’re lit can vary.
The unique rules of each multiball are as follows:
To reiterate, most players usually aim for Electric Chair or Grave Marker based on personal preference. Electric Chair tends to be slightly more valuable, but Electric Chair requires more hits to start. On the other hand, Grave Marker, while requiring fewer hits, doesn’t preserve your progress. Whichever one feels better to you is the one you should go with. Snake and Coffin shouldn’t be ignored, either, they’re just harder to get to.
The four multiball items also correspond to four items you’re trying to collect over the course of the game - Electric Chairs, Snakes, Grave Markers, and Coffins - in order to reach a mini-wizard mode called Crank It Up. Every hit to the corresponding feature will count as an item, and by getting a dozen of each, Crank It Up will light at the right scoop. It might sound like we’re jumping ahead a bit, but Crank It Up is quite accessible and very lucrative, provided you’re paying enough attention to it.
48 shots may seem daunting, but not to worry! The game lets you spot items in other ways, most notably via the Spider. Indicated by a lit arrow, the spider will hang out at whichever major shot you last hit. (The spider is always lit, though - so if the ball or game just started, it’ll still be hanging out.) Whenever you hit an item directly, the spider-lit shot will then light for that item as well. So, when you hit the electric chair, whatever shot the spider’s currently at will light up for electric chairs if it wasn’t already. If that’s not enough, the spider will light up items at all times (even during multiball), and lit items can be collected infinitely until the ball ends. By lighting up shots for bonus items, Crank It Up becomes significantly easier to reach. Put some thought into every shot you make - if you wanna shoot the electric chair, see if you can’t move the spider first so you can light something else for electric chairs.
If you light all three inserts leading up to a shot - a grave marker, a snake, and an electric chair - shooting that shot will start a Coffin Hurry-Up. They’re usually worth 1,500,000 points - not too bad - and are collected at the coffin. More importantly, collecting a hurry-up will lock in the inserts at the shot you just collected, so they’ll carry over from ball to ball. Personally, I think that these hurry-ups are extremely useful for that reason alone. If you want to collect items - as you really should - locking in those inserts will pay off long-term.
If you choose to go for the super skill shot, one random shot will have its inserts flashing. Hitting that shot will instantly light the hurry-up there. Personally, I find this tough to aim for, and it’s not that hard to light everything up on a shot anyway. But it’s there as an option.
You can also stack hurry-ups if you want, a la Attack From Mars: starting a hurry-up when one is already running will reset the hurry-up to a higher value. Collecting at the coffin will collect all running hurry-ups.
Finally, note that end-of-ball bonus is determined by the value of all of the items you’ve collected thus far. It’s pretty rare for your bonus to be substantial, barring extremely long balls where you manage to hit the inline drops a whole bunch (the inline drops advance your bonus X), but collecting a boatload of items just for the sake of collecting them can theoretically pay off if you keep your ball going long enough.
Believe it or not, there are numerous modes available throughout the game. They’re very unusual in that they’re not available at one central location - instead, they’re all side objectives that are started by completing various scattered tasks. Most of them are surprisingly worth decent value, and on top of that, none of them are complicated enough to warrant their own section. So, let’s look at what we have!
Shooting ramps will add letters to M-E-T-A-L-L-I-C-A, the completion of which will start Lady Justice. This is a timed mode during which the ramps and loops are lit for points, starting at 500k per shot. Ideally, you make these shots to alternating sides - left shot, then right shot, etc., as doing so is worth significantly more points. If you repeatedly shoot the same side, the value to that side will go up by 25k per shot. But if you shoot the opposite side, the value will go up on both sides by 50k, AND the shot will be worth double. Of course, it’s significantly easier to alternate ramp shots than it is to deliberately loop the same side over and over again, so it’s usually easier to alternate anyway. And if it needs to be said, hitting the same shot back to back is also totally fine, it’s just not worth as much.
Hitting the FUEL targets on the left side does two things: completing it will light a 2X playfield multiplier started at a shot to the “piston” target on the left side of the playfield. (This is separate from the 2X multiplier during multiball - if you’re running both, you’ll have quadruple scoring. Score a super jackpot with 4X playfield - and adult content enabled - for a great callout.) Each completion also fills up the fuel gauge in the center of the table. Completing that starts the Fuel mode, which is a pretty standard switch frenzy mode. I rarely see it, seeing as the FUEL targets aren’t exactly safe to aim for. I also find it a little bit confusing that “fuel” means two things on the display, but in case it helps, the gauge is for the mode, not the playfield multiplier.
By completing all five hurry-ups, you light a mode called Seek & Destroy, which basically has you alternate a flashing shot and the captive ball repeatedly, which is worth solid value. Other shots are lit for smaller points, too - but the flashing shot is what you want. Making shots to the captive ball will extend the timer. This mode is worth solid value, but I’m a little reluctant to start it as doing so will clear all of your locked item inserts. Give it a try, but if you’re having luck collecting items, it might be worth holding off to retain all of those item spots.
Completing the pick targets will light band members, with each band member requiring one more completion than the last. Collecting all four band members starts a mode called Blackened, which has you shoot the pick targets to light major shots for points. I never really see this mode since the pick targets are only really aimed for during multiballs, so they usually don’t get completed enough to start it.
After collecting twelve of each item (electric chairs, grave markers, snakes, and coffins), you will light Crank It Up at the scoop. Crank It Up is a mini-wizard mode (not a mode upgrade as it is on Aerosmith) which will lock you out of other multiballs, and item collection opportunities while running (although side modes such as Lady Justice are still available). As one might expect from a mini-wizard mode, Crank It Up can be extremely lucrative. On a bad day, it'll be worth roughly 10M, which, honestly, isn't too bad! On a good day, it's not unheard of to see Crank It Up being worth 50-100M. It's not easy to do, but given the potential value, it’s something which should never be ignored.
Now, a dozen of each item may sound like a lot - I mean, 48 shots is a lot - but you only need a fraction of that if you use the Spider correctly! I cannot stress this enough - it’s extremely important to capitalize on your spider, as doing so enables you to light a rather tough-to-reach wizard mode within a single multiball. Think about it - if you light a ramp for two items, you've effectively spared yourself twelve shots. Add the third item? That's another twelve shots you've spared. The inline drops already award grave markers, so putting any other item there also spares you twelve shots (putting a grave marker there only spares you six). Line up your inserts and watch your item counts surge, especially after any multiball. Just don't forget to collect your hurry-ups - that way, you don't have to relight everything on your next ball.
The biggest impediment is the Coffin. Unlike the other three items, Coffins cannot be spotted on other shots, meaning there’s no way to collect them aside from hitting the captive ball. Again, the safest way to do this is by either grazing it en route to the Snake, or by using a multiball to just wail on it. Personally, I don’t really worry about coffins until I’m all set with the other items. The only real reason to shoot the Coffin is to make Crank It Up progress, so if I’m not close, I’d rather score actual points by playing modes and multiballs until I am close.
Speaking of progress, the four-item inserts right above the flippers will each light up when you have enough of the corresponding item. If you need to know how many you still need, hold in the flipper buttons to view the Status Report, which will tell you on one of its screens. Don't assume you're close to completing an item when you aren't - knowing how many of an item you still need will help you decide whether to use the spider (if you need a lot) or to just go for the shot directly (if you don't).
All side modes can be carried into, progressed towards, and started during Crank It Up, excluding Seek & Destroy (as hurry-ups/item collection are disabled - you can play it out if it was already running, but it’d have to be going before Crank It Up). Mystery can still be lit by completing all of the lanes, although Mystery will always award “Crank It Up Bonus” which effectively just spots one shot you need for the mode. More importantly, FUEL can still be completed to double all scoring, which is particularly important when scoring the final jackpot.
Crank It Up isn't one mode, but four, with each one representing a different song. Each mode varies somewhat in its unique scoring rules, but for the most part, the core principles of each are quite similar. These are single-ball modes that grant you a brief ball saver when started. They are also timed modes, but given that the timer is "the duration of the song," you have 5-7 minutes (depending on the song) which is more than double the time you realistically need. Throughout the mode, each shot you make will award points and add the same value to the Crank It Up jackpot (a la AC/DC's Song Jackpot), which can be collected in one of two ways: method one is to complete the mode, method two is to escape it.
To escape the mode, you need to hit all four items once each (they cannot be spotted via the spider) to light Crank It Up again. Shooting the scoop will allow you to either continue the mode and continue building the jackpot value or to end the mode and cash in your jackpot. If you choose to continue, you’ll need to hit all four items again to get another chance to escape. More importantly, if you continue and proceed to drain your ball, you miss out on that jackpot you’ve been building up. The reasons for wanting to escape seem cut and dry at first. If you’re not confident in your ability to finish the mode, or the amount of points you’d score from escaping would be enough to win you the game, then the choice is obvious. Likewise, if you’re close to finishing the mode or you desperately need more points, then maybe you’ll want to play it out.
However, I think that a couple of things significantly complicate the escape strategy. For one, each mode incentivizes shooting, at most, one item - in other words, you have to deliberately eschew scoring points in order to light escape. Keep that in mind as you play - if/when you want to escape, you’ll need to shift your focus over to picking off items beforehand. It might sound obvious now, but it’s easy to forget in the heat of the moment. Alternatively, you could just use your ball saver to get your items right away, so you can escape whenever you want to - just be careful not to use up said escape too early. It is entirely possible to escape without scoring anything, although doing so is really unlikely. Second, there’s the 2X playfield multiplier. Also, like AC/DC, it’s ideal to wait until you have 2X playfield running before collecting your escape jackpot, so you may want to get greedy and get a multiplier going before cashing it in. While it can pay off big time, bear in mind that you’ll need to re-collect all items and get a 2X playfield going first if you opt to escape.
To summarize, weigh out your options when deciding to escape or not; just keep in mind that you need to collect all of the items again if you want to escape soon. As for the actual modes themselves, they’re not too complicated!
On the Pro, I think that For Whom the Bell Tolls is the best mode by a mile; it's the easiest to combo out and build up a huge score without really putting the ball at too much risk. Fade to Black isn't a bad choice, either, but it's a bit more random and a bit more unreliable. Enter Sandman is just random and is tough to play consistently, and Battery is far too dangerous to put into serious consideration.
Fade to Black is a substantially better choice on the Premium than it is on the Pro, thanks to the added spinners. For Whom the Bell Tolls remains a top-tier pick; Fade to Black ties it. I’d say you should go with whatever sounds better to you - For Whom the Bell Tolls if you’d rather shoot ramps, Fade to Black if you’d rather shoot spinners. There’s no wrong choice, to be honest.
It is possible to Crank It Up multiple times over the course of a game. Each one requires one more of each item than the last (e.g., 13 of each item for your second Crank it Up), which isn't that big of a deal. What is a bigger deal is that overflowed items do not carry over. In other words, even if you collect 25 of any one item before your first Crank It Up, you'll still need 13 more after Crank It Up is finished in order to get your second.
You cannot replay previously attempted Crank It Up modes, regardless of whether or not you finished them. However, after playing the other four Crank It Up modes, your next Crank It Up will instead allow you to play the final wizard mode, End of the Line. While you don't need to complete (or necessarily do well) in any of the prior Crank It Up modes, you will need to collect all necessary items in order to light Crank It Up a fifth and final time.
End of the Line is a two-ball multiball during which you alternate between shooting one random shot for a jackpot, and then a roving shot for a super jackpot. The super jackpot value is determined by how well you did in each Crank It Up round: your first super will be worth the total of your first played Crank It Up mode, including the completion value or escape value. For instance, if your first Crank it Up was worth 50M, then your first super will be worth 50M. Each subsequent super will add the value of your *next* Crank It Up total to that. So, if your second Crank It Up was worth 25M, then your second End of the Line super would be worth 75M. After scoring four supers, your fifth and sixth supers, will each re-add the first and second modes you played, respectively - for example, your fifth super will be worth whatever your fourth super was worth, plus an additional 50M from your first Crank It Up. After scoring six supers, the scoop will light for one final jackpot, worth the entire sum of your End of the Line mode up to that point. (The scoop will also light after you drain down to single-ball play, but that's neither here nor there.)
Needless to say, End of the Line is worth an absolutely insane amount of points when completed: roughly worth 12X your first Crank It Up, plus 10X your second, plus 8X your third, plus 6X your fourth. If your final jackpot is worth less than a billion points, then chances are you either timed out or completely botched all of your Crank it Ups. And, oh yeah - not only is the Fuel multiplier available here, but the Snake 2X/add-a-ball is available, also. So, if you somehow weren't satisfied with a billion-point final jackpot, it's theoretically possible to quadruple it.
Now, while I do want to stress that reaching Crank It Up isn't the most difficult thing to do, it's not easy. I usually need a lot of spider-spotted inserts all over the place when I play a good multiball, and even then, I'm usually missing half a dozen Coffins before I can Crank It Up. It's tricky to Crank It Up once, but doable. Cranking It Up five times, on the other hand, is extremely difficult. Not only do you need to actually play each Crank It Up well in order to get through all of them, you're going to need a minimum of seventy(!!!) captive ball hits. While the difficulty of reaching Crank It Up doesn't increase that dramatically, the increasing difficulty of multiballs makes it harder to collect items en masse as the game goes on.
Normally, I don’t write conclusions on these tutorials, but Metallica is far from a normal game. The abundance of scoring opportunities, combined with how you can combine them with one another, turns this game into a strategic playground unlike anything else out there. The one big killer that the game has - which stops many new players from enjoying it - is that just about everything requires intent and accuracy. Features seldom start on their own; you have to know what you want and actively choose to pursue it. So, what’s more important than anything else is knowing what’s out there. There’s not really a “wrong” way to play Metallica, so string some stuff together, see what you can come up with, and find the strategy that works for you! Good luck!
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