Check out winners of Metallica’s marching band competition

Metallica has unveiled the winners of their marching band competition.

The metal legends launched the contest, dubbed For Whom the Band Tolls, in April 2023, and asked colleges and high schools across the U.S. to submit renditions of ‘Tallica songs for a chance at thousands of dollars’ worth of instruments and equipment. A panel of professional judges picked the finalists across five different categories — Division 1 college, Division 2 and 3 college, and small, medium and large high schools — before the Metallica members chose the winners.

Taking home the Division 1 college crown was Auburn University, which earned $75,000 in prizing. Division 2 and 3 college winner Eastern New Mexico University was awarded $40,000 in prizing.

The high school winners were Tennessee’s Dobyns-Bennett High School for large; a tie between Texas’ Boerne High School and New York’s Malverne High School for medium; and Virginia’s Oakton High School for small. Each of those schools received $15,000 in prizing.

Auburn University and Dobyns-Bennett High School also got an additional $10,000 in prizing as winners of the Fan Favorite categories, which were voted on by the public.

You can watch all the For Whom the Band Tolls winners’ performances via MetallicaMarchingBand.com.