Metallica

Metallica dragged heavy metal out of the underground and made it the sound of arenas. Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by singer-guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, the band became one of the big four of thrash metal and then the biggest metal act in the world. The lineup also includes lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo.

The thrash years

Kill ‘Em All (1983) and Ride the Lightning (1984) built a word-of-mouth following on the tape-trading circuit. Master of Puppets (1986) is still cited as one of the greatest metal albums ever made. Months after its release, bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a tour bus accident in Sweden, a loss the band has carried ever since.

The Black Album

…And Justice for All (1988) brought their first hit single in “One”. Then the self-titled record known as the Black Album (1991) sold more than 15 million copies and made them mainstream giants, on the back of “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Sad but True” and the ballad “Nothing Else Matters”.

The long road

Later albums moved through Southern rock on Load and Reload, raw aggression on St. Anger, and a return to speed on Death Magnetic. Trujillo joined in 2003. Their most recent album, 72 Seasons, arrived in 2023, decades into a career that has rarely slowed.

The legacy

Metallica has won 10 Grammy Awards and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. For the 2021 tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, Miley Cyrus and Elton John joined forces on a cover of “Nothing Else Matters”, one of dozens of reworkings the band invited.

Most loved songs

A spread across the catalogue. Each title opens through the in-site player.

From a head-banging riff to a slow-burning ballad, the odds are good a Metallica song has caught you somewhere. Type the line you remember into the search box above and you may find it leads back to them.