Metallica is an American heavy metal band.

The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by

vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San
Francisco for most of its career.[1][2] The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive
musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal,
alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members
and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and
bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from
Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of
the band.

Metallica first found commercial success with the release of its third album, Master of
Puppets (1986), which is cited as one of the heaviest metal albums and the band's best work.
The band's next album, ...And Justice for All (1988), gave Metallica its first Grammy
Award nomination. Its fifth album, Metallica (1991), was a turning point for the band that saw
them transition from their thrash roots; it appealed to a more mainstream audience, achieving
substantial commercial success and selling more than 16 million copies in the United States to
date, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era. After experimenting with different
genres and directions in subsequent releases, Metallica returned to its thrash metal roots with its
ninth album, Death Magnetic (2008), which drew similar praise to that of the band's earlier
albums. The band's eleventh and most recent album, 72 Seasons, was released in 2023.

In 2000, Metallica led the case against the peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, in which the
band and several other artists filed lawsuits against the service for sharing their copyright-
protected material without consent, eventually reaching a settlement. Metallica was the subject of
the acclaimed 2004 documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which documented the
troubled production of the band's eighth album, St. Anger (2003), and the internal struggles within
the band at the time. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The
band co-wrote the screenplay for and starred alongside Dane DeHaan in the 2013 concert
film Metallica: Through the Never, in which the band performed live against a
fictional thriller storyline.

Metallica has released eleven studio albums, four live albums (including two performances with
the San Francisco Symphony), twelve video albums, one cover album, two extended plays, 37
singles and 39 music videos. The band has won ten Grammy Awards from 26 nominations and
had six consecutive studio albums – from Metallica through Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016) –
debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Metallica ranks as one of the most commercially
successful bands of all time, having sold more than 125 million albums worldwide as of 2018.
[3]
Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines such as Rolling
Stone, which ranked the band in 61st place on its list of 100 greatest artists of all time.[4] As of
2017, Metallica is the third-best-selling music artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking
sales in 1991,[5] selling 58 million albums in the United States.[6]

History
1981–1984: Formation, early years, and Kill 'Em All

The classic Metallica logo, designed by James Hetfield and used

on most of the band's releases [7][8]

Metallica was formed in Los Angeles in late 1981 when Danish drummer Lars Ulrich placed an
advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper, The Recycler, which read, "Drummer looking for
other metal musicians to jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron
Maiden."[9] Guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of Leather Charm answered the
advertisement. Although he had not formed a band, Ulrich asked Metal Blade
Records founder Brian Slagel if he could record a song for the label's upcoming compilation
album, Metal Massacre. Slagel accepted, and Ulrich recruited Hetfield to sing and play rhythm
guitar.[9] The band was officially formed on October 28, 1981, five months after Ulrich and Hetfield
first met.[10][11]

Metallica founding members James Hetfield (top) and Lars Ulrich (bottom)

The band name came from Ulrich's friend Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a
fanzine and was considering MetalMania or Metallica. After hearing the two names, Ulrich wanted
the latter for his band, so he suggested Quintana use MetalMania instead.[12] Dave
Mustaine replied to an advertisement for a lead guitarist; Ulrich and Hetfield recruited him after
seeing his expensive guitar equipment. In early 1982, Metallica recorded its first original song,
"Hit the Lights", for the Metal Massacre I compilation. Hetfield sang and played both bass and
rhythm guitar, while Lars Ulrich played drums and Lloyd Grant was credited with a guitar solo.
[9]
Metal Massacre I was released on June 14, 1982; early pressings listed the band incorrectly as
"Mettallica", angering the band.[13] The song generated word of mouth, and the band played its
first live performance on March 14, 1982, at Radio City in Anaheim, California, with newly
recruited bassist Ron McGovney.[14] Their first live success came early; they were chosen to open
for British heavy metal band Saxon at one gig of their 1982 U.S. tour. This was Metallica's second
gig. Metallica recorded its first demo, Power Metal, whose name was inspired by Quintana's early
business cards, in early 1982.

The term "thrash metal" was coined in February 1984 by Kerrang! journalist Malcolm Dome in
reference to Anthrax's song "Metal Thrashing Mad".[15] Prior to this, Hetfield referred to Metallica's
sound as "power metal". In late 1982, Ulrich and Hetfield attended a show at the West
Hollywood nightclub Whisky a Go Go, which featured bassist Cliff Burton in the band Trauma.
The two were "blown away" by Burton's use of a wah-wah pedal and asked him to join Metallica.
Hetfield and Mustaine wanted McGovney to leave because they thought he "didn't contribute
anything, he just followed."[16] Although Burton initially declined the offer, by the end of the year,
he had accepted on the condition that the band move to El Cerrito in the San Francisco Bay Area.
[16]
Metallica's first live performance with Burton was at the nightclub The Stone in March 1983,
and the first recording to feature Burton was the Megaforce demo (1983).[16]

Metallica was ready to record their debut album, but when Metal Blade was unable to cover the
cost, they began looking for other options. Concert promoter Jonathan "Jonny Z" Zazula, who had
heard the demo No Life 'til Leather (1982), offered to broker a record deal between Metallica
and New York City–based record labels. After those record labels showed no interest, Zazula
borrowed enough money to cover the recording budget and signed Metallica to his own
label, Megaforce Records.[17]