Most circulating versions of the Seattle ’89 Choscar are in lossy 128kbps or 192kbps MP3s, ripped from old cassette trees. They sound "good for a bootleg." But a transfer changes the game.
Is this legal? No. Metallica, famously, hates bootlegs (shout out to Napster, 2000). However, Lars Ulrich once admitted in an interview that he collects soundboard bootlegs from the 80s because “they have a vibe the official tapes lost.”
remains a digital ghost in the metadata—a nod to the fans who kept the fire of that 1989 Seattle performance alive long after the echoes in the Coliseum faded. Binge & Purge
For thrash metal fans, few live performances hold the mythic status of Metallica’s August 29 and 30, 1989, shows at the Seattle Coliseum. Captured during the standard-bearing Damaged Justice tour, this concert represents Metallica at their absolute peak: fast, aggressive, and fiercely precise. While originally released in 1993 as part of the massive Live Shit: Binge & Purge box set, the audio from Seattle 1989 has circulated online for decades in various digital formats. Among file-sharing communities and collectors, specific high-quality digital rips—such as the well-regarded 320 Kbps MP3 archives compiled by digital archivists like "Choscar"—have become essential pieces of heavy metal history. Metallica Live Shit Seattle -1989- -320 Kbps- Choscar
Today, streaming services offer the remastered Live Shit at 256 Kbps AAC or lossless via Tidal/Apple Music. So why seek out a 15-year-old 320 Kbps MP3 rip?
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and archival discussion purposes. Fans are encouraged to support the artist by purchasing official reissues of "Live Shit: Binge & Purge" where available.
: James Hetfield (Vocals/Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Kirk Hammett (Guitar), and Jason Newsted Most circulating versions of the Seattle ’89 Choscar
Therefore, "Choscar" is a seal of quality, representing a specific, trusted release of the Seattle '89 show, ripped directly from the DVD source and encoded at a pristine 320 Kbps.
saw the band perform live, an event that eventually led to their multi-platinum collaboration. The Live Shit: Binge & Purge Box Set
Originally released in a cardboard "road case," the box set was a massive collection of live media and memorabilia. Binge & Purge For thrash metal fans, few
Choscar’s encode was particularly praised for its — preserving the phase coherence of the live soundstage. On a good pair of headphones, you can hear Hammett stage left, Hetfield center, Newsted right, and Lars’ snare dead center but with overhead mics capturing the hall’s bloom.
Official sources for the Seattle '89 audio do exist but are limited. The most accessible official version is included as a bonus disc in the ...And Justice For All (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) , which features a newly mixed version of the full Seattle show. For the pure, unadulterated bootleg experience with the keyword "Choscar," you will likely need to search deep into music forums, specialized torrent sites, or peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. However, the bootleg is widely shared online; for instance, you can find the full concert video with high-quality audio embedded on platforms like Bilibili.
Because this is a live recording from a box set, it is not always available on traditional streaming platforms in its complete, uninterrupted form.
: High-quality versions of this show, such as those labeled "320 Kbps" or "Choscar" (a common tag in digital archiving circles), aim to preserve the raw, thundering audio of the original recordings.