Metallica

Metallica emerged from Los Angeles in 1981 as one of thrash metal’s founding “big four,” alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich formed the band, which has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. Their early sound was built on fast tempos, aggressive playing and instrumental precision, with guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney among the first members. Mustaine was fired in 1983 and later formed Megadeth; Kirk Hammett became Metallica’s lead guitarist. McGovney was replaced by Cliff Burton.

The band’s first major commercial breakthrough came with its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), widely cited among the defining metal records. Burton died later that year, and bassist Jason Newsted joined for ...And Justice for All (1988), which brought Metallica its first Grammy Award nomination. The 1991 self-titled album, commonly called Metallica or the “Black Album,” marked a move away from the group’s thrash roots toward a broader mainstream audience. It has sold more than 16 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era.

Metallica explored different styles across later releases before returning to thrash-oriented material on Death Magnetic in 2008. The band’s eighth album, St. Anger (2003), was made during a period of internal strain documented in the 2004 film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. Newsted left the group in 2001, and Robert Trujillo became its bassist in 2003. The current lineup is Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Trujillo. Metallica’s latest studio album, 72 Seasons, arrived in 2023.

Beyond its records, Metallica was central to the 2000 legal case against Napster, joining other artists in lawsuits over the unauthorized sharing of copyrighted music; the case was eventually settled. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2013, Metallica co-wrote the screenplay for and appeared with Dane DeHaan in the concert film Metallica: Through the Never, which combined live performance footage with a fictional thriller narrative.

By 2023, Metallica had sold more than 163 million albums worldwide. The band has won ten Grammy Awards from 26 nominations, and six consecutive studio albums, from Metallica through Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.