Ennio Morricone, the Oscar-winning composer of "The Ecstasy Of Gold", the song from the classic film "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" which has been opening METALLICA live shows since 1983, has died. He was 91. According to Morricone's longtime lawyer, the composer died early Monday in a Rome hospital of complications following a fall, in which he broke a leg. Back in the mid-1980s, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield explained why he and his bandmates chose "The Ecstasy Of Gold" as their intro music. He said: "Originally we had a really dreadful tape as our intro. Just the sound of a heart with the beat getting faster. Rubbish. Then our manager at the time came up with the idea of replacing it with 'The Ecstasy Of Gold'. And from the first time we used it, something happened. It just set us up for the night, and got the fans excited." METALLICA eventually recorded a metalized cover version of "The Ecstasy Of Gold" for inclusion on a tribute to Morricone, also featuring some of the greatest names from the worlds of contemporary pop, rock, jazz, and classical music. It was released in February 2007 via Sony Classical. METALLICA played "The Ecstasy Of Gold" live for the first time ever in July 2009 at the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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