Metallica's Epic Throwback: Who's The Kid From This 1996 Backstage Photo?

Metallica are leveraging the power of their social media following to help locate a kid who took a photo with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in the 1990s.

Viral Photo Shows Metallica Members in the '90s

A 1996 photo of the Metallica members posing with a boy in the backstage area of New York City's Madison Square Garden surfaced on social media late last week. The photo was originally posted by entrepreneur and author Vincent Pugliese.

"About once every four or five years, I try to find the kid in this photo," Pugliese said in his Facebook post.

Pugliese was at Madison Square Garden to shoot photos of the New York Rangers hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins that night. He spotted James and Lars outside the locker rooms following the game.

A self-described "huge Metallica fan," Pugliese approached the two rockers who were there to hang with star Penguins player Jaromir Jagr. Before the encounter ended, he asked to snap a photo.

"Lars told me that for promotional reasons, it couldn't just be members of Metallica in the picture," Pugliese shared on Facebook. "The kid in this photo was nearby, so we asked him if he wanted to be in the picture. I don't think the kid had any clue who they were."

The photo has never been published anywhere other than Pugliese's Facebook post asking for help finding the boy.

Metallica Offers Assistance In Locating Boy In Photo

A few days after Pugliese posted the photo on Facebook, Metallica's official account jumped in to help locate the boy. The page reshared the photo with the message:

"C'mon everyone... let's help Vincent finally get this pic to the young man in this photo! (...and we're not talking about us!)"

Metallica's post alone generated more than 800 comments and nearly 1,500 shares in less than 24 hours. Unfortunately, the identity of the boy in the photo has yet to be revealed.

That hasn't stopped Metallica fans from chiming in with some hilarious suggestions for how to track him down.

"Just put the photo on kiss cam, he will be found straight away," Eliz Kath commented, referencing the viral Coldplay kiss cam debacle earlier this month.

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Some fans in the comments have even tried using AI to create updated photos of what the boy might look like as an adult today.

Cindy Mitchell is holding out hope that the photo will offer the boy some vindication after all these years.

"Imagine telling people that some random dudes made you take a picture with them, and then you figure out who they are years later, and absolutely nobody believes you."