Kill 'Em All, Metallica's 1983 debut album, was released on the independent label Megaforce Records after the band had played local clubs in Los Angeles. The record label's owner signed the band after hearing their demo and paid for a recording budget of $15,000. The album was first planned as Metal Up Your Ass, with an offensive cover, but the distributors feared it would hurt sales, so the title and art were changed. It sold slowly at first, shipping 15,000 copies in the US and reaching 60,000 worldwide by 1984. Critics later recognised it as a foundation of thrash metal, and it was certified four-times platinum in the US in 2025.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.