What has the Internet done for the Biggest Metal Band in the world? Create a Convention.

Take a bunch of Fan Club Members on a message board, mix in an off-handed comment from Metallica frontman -- James Hetfield. "We'll have a convention when there are Metallica dolls!" As easy as that, the MetalliBash was born.

4 strangers from across the United States came together and made it happen. Each successive year has become bigger and better. Not only did their first year bring in $700 for their chosen charity but two band members, Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich, made a post-midnight appearance, strapped on guitars and stepped behind a borrowed drum set, and made music with Creeping Death, the tribute band who, until that moment, had been the night's major draw. Many of the 100-plus fans in attendance stood closer, behind a barricade of Metallica employees and some volunteers, to the Metallica members than they had ever hoped to be in their lives.