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Encyclopedia: Metallica, Metallica_(album), Talk:Metallica, Metallica (album), ReLoad_(album), Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...And Justice for All (album), Load (album)

Metallica is an American heavy metal band, formed on October 28, 1981.http://www.metallica.com/Band/history.asp Metallica.com - History Part 1

With 57 million albums sold in the United States alone http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topartists.asp RIAA.com Total Sales and 35 million albums sold outside the U.S.,http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=670 Metallica.com "METALLICA, LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK COMMITTED to the SANITARIUM"http://popmatters.com/books/reviews/s/so-what-the-good.shtml Popmatters.com review of the book So What! The Good, The Mad, and The Ugly the band has sold just over 90 million albums, making them one of the most commercially successful heavy metal acts in history. Metallica is currently 18th on the RIAA's list of top selling acts in the United States.

After building a loyal following by helping to develop modern heavy metal, especially thrash metal (Metallica is the most successful of the "big four" of thrash metal, which include Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax) in the mid-1980s, the band broadened its audience in the early 1990s.

In 2003 Metallica released their long-delayed 8th studio album, entitled St. Anger. Although the album polarized critical and popular opinion, their 2004 Madly in Anger with the World supporting tour was a success,http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,15594,00.html EOnline.com Prince: King of the Road Dec 27, 2004 and a documentary of the recording of the album during a time of internal turmoil, Some Kind of Monster, was a critical success.

Band history

Early history

thumb|right|250px| Original oil painting of "Devil's D-day" by artist Les Edwards Jump in the fire artwork in private collection.
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Metallica was formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich after they each placed classified advertisements in the publication The Recycler. Hetfield, who was a loner influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, tried to start his own bands - namely Phantom Lord and Leather Charm, before contacting Ulrich, but was initially unsuccessful. Bassist Ron McGovney was an original member, and the band used a few transient guitar players, such as Brad Parker and Jeff Warner. At their first session, in Lars Ulrich's garage, there were only three members, Ulrich, Hetfield, and Lloyd Grant, but McGovney joined a few days later.

Metallica got its name when San Francisco-area metal promoter Ron Quintana asked Ulrich to help pick out a name for his new magazine to promote U.S. and British metal bands. Quintana came up with a list that included "Metallica," but Lars suggested "Metal Mania" and used "Metallica" for the band he and Hetfield had just started.

In early 1982, Metallica recorded "Hit the Lights" for the first Metal Massacre compilation. Desperate for a full time lead guitarist, Ulrich posted an advert in a local newspaper. Dave Mustaine from Huntington Beach, California, from the band Panic responded and met for an audition. Ulrich and Hetfield were so impressed with Mustaine's warm-up and equipment, they asked him to join before the audition began.

Several minor demos were recorded with this new line up including Hit The Lights, Ron's Garage which was recorded in McGoveney's garage and the Power Metal demo. These were recorded between March and April in 1982.

A few months later the band recorded a full demo, No Life 'Til Leather, which quickly drew attention on the underground tape trading circuit. They then went on to release the live demo Metal Up Your Ass.

After conflicts with Mustaine, McGovney left the band and was replaced by Cliff Burton from Castro Valley, California. Burton was lured from his band Trauma with the proviso that Metallica would relocate to the San Francisco area. Together the band recorded the Megaforce Demo.

When the group arrived in El Cerrito, California, live performances and word-of-mouth enabled them to quickly build a healthy following in the Bay Area thrash metal scene. The music was inspired by bands such as Motörhead and Diamond Head (as the band declared in the sleeve notes of Garage Inc. (1998) "two heads were better than one"), Saxon and other British metal bands. They also took inspiration from hardcore punk bands like the Misfits and Discharge.

Metallica then traveled to the New York/New Jersey area in 1983 at the urging of local promoters Jon and Marsha Zazula, and after a few gigs the band signed with the Zazulas' new label, Megaforce Records. Shortly after their, Ulrich and Hetfield decided Mustaine's aggressive and disruptive behavior relating to his alcohol and drug problems was becoming too much to handle. Mustaine was asked to leave the band, and Kirk Hammett was drafted from Exodus to replace him. A former pupil of Joe Satriani, Hammett brought to the band his own unique style. This would become more apparent after Ride the Lightning, the first album to feature Hammett's songwriting. Mustaine would go on to create the hugely-successful Megadeth.

In late spring 1983, the band traveled to Rochester, New York to record its first album, Kill 'Em All. The album set the template that they would follow throughout the 1980s, featuring Hetfield's heavy vocals and aggressive rhythm guitar. The album was not an initial financial success, but it consolidated their loyal fan base in the growing underground metal scene. A year later, Metallica released their Ride the Lightning (1984), adding complexity and further melodic flair to the thrash metal of their debut. Longer songs showcased lyrical and musical growth, like "Fade to Black", a slower, more introspective song, or an ode to hopelessness and death, that some thought reflected the thoughts of someone contemplating suicide. The song, in fact, was written after the band's equipment was stolen (most notably a Marshall amplifier given to him by his mother who had died of cancer, leading Hetfield to post numerous rewards for the safe return of it in magazines and newspapers). The inclusion of slower, introspective songs with clean or acoustic guitar distinguished Metallica from most other thrash or heavy metal bands. Some tracks on Ride The Lightning contain riffs brought by Kirk Hammett from Exodus. "Trapped Under Ice", for example, is reminiscent of Exodus' "Impaler".

Breakthrough success

200px|thumb|left|The cover image of [Master of Puppets]
Metallica signed a major label deal with Elektra Records in 1984 and released Master of Puppets in 1986. Some critics consider it to be the greatest heavy metal album of all time.http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:nl08b5t4tsqe Allmusic.com review of Master of Puppets Despite the fact that no singles were released from the album, the band received some minor airplay from album tracks "Master of Puppets" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)." The album charted at number 29 on the Billboard Top Album Charts.cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?aid=11546&cr=album&or=ASCENDING&sf=length&pid=5199&kw=Master+of+Puppets|title=Description of Master of Puppets on

On September 27, 1986, during a European leg of shows, Burton was killed near Ljungby, Sweden when Metallica's tour bus skidded off an icy road and flipped over.http://www.metallica.com/Band/history.asp?part=2 Metallica.com - History Part 2 Burton was thrown out of the window and the bus landed on top of him. It is uncertain if Burton was dead at this point or not. A winch that was lifting the bus off him snapped, causing the bus to crush him a second time. It is said that Hetfield repeatedly yelled at the bus driver, asking him where the patch of ice

Burton's death left the band's future in doubt. The three remaining members decided that the bassist would want them to carry on; with the Burton family's blessings the band sought a replacement and began auditions almost immediately. Among the most promising of the auditioners was Les Claypool, a childhood friend of Hammett's. The band liked Claypool but felt his style was "too funky." In the band's Behind the Music episode, Hetfield explains that Claypool was "too good" and "out there" for Metallica. Lars had called the rehearsal to a halt and asked Claypool, "You're not used to playing this kind of music, are you?" In response, Claypool had suggested "jamming to some Isley Brothers." Ultimately Claypool was not offered the job, causing him to later joke, "They never returned my calls. I wept; wept like a little girl."cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOTAmMX7GiY&mode=related&search=|title=YouTube video of Vh1's Metallica Behind the Music on

Jason Newsted, formerly of Arizona's Flotsam and Jetsam, officially joined Metallica on October 28, 1986, three weeks after Burton's funeral. With Newsted, the band finished the Damage, Inc. tour in the early months of 1987. Following the tour, the band quickly recorded The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited in July 1987 as a way to test a new studio they had constructed (according to the EP's liner notes) and to test the talents of Newsted. This EP continued Metallica's fascination with covering songs by British metal and hardcore bands relatively unknown to American audiences. "Breadfan" by British group Budgie became a concert staple.

...And Justice for All (1988), the first studio album since Burton's death, featured some of the band's most structurally complex Very little of Newsted's bass is audible and some fans have speculated this was done intentionally as a reaction to Burton's death or as a way of hazing Newsted. The most likely reason, as mentioned by Hetfield and Ulrich in subsequent interviews, was that because Newsted wasn't at the mixing sessions and wasn't able to affect the final mixing process. Ulrich has also stated his opinion that the lack of perceived bass resulted from Newsted exclusively mirroring Hetfield's rhythm tracks.

Although the song-writing was praised, the production of this album was heavily criticized as Lars Ulrich's drums clicked more than thudded and the guitars had a thin sound. Allmusic.com review of ...And Justice For All The Damaged Justice tour followed. However, over time, because of the complexity and length of the songs, the band would later cease to play most of them live (though several songs, most notably "One," would remain a constant in the group's live performances).

In 1989, Metallica received its first Grammy nomination for the album ...And Justice for All for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrument. However, the award was given to Jethro Tull for the album Crest of a Knave. The result generated much controversy, as Metallica was widely expected to take home the award and was standing off-stage waiting to receive it after performing the song "One" for the telecast. (Jethro Tull, having assumed that their winning would be a longshot at best, had not even bothered to attend the ceremony.) Lars Ulrich even referenced the snub in accepting a Grammy for "Enter Sandman" three years later, stating, "We gotta thank Jethro Tull for not putting out an album this year."

The album also contained their last instrumental to date (other than the instrumentals featured on the symphonic S&M album Metallica did with Michael Kamen), "To Live Is To Die," which contained some of Burton's unused riffs and lyrics he had written which were read as a spoken-word piece by Hetfield.

It was during this time the band embraced the mainstream music world with their first ever music video. Ironically, they would choose the song "One." For the video, the band performed the song in an abandoned warehouse. The performance was then extensively "remixed" with footage of the film version of Johnny Got His Gun. Rather than organize an ongoing licensing deal, Metallica simply bought the rights to the film outright. This is why the film has not had a subsequent DVD pressing. The end result featured a coherent but shortened "mini-movie" version of "Johnny Got His Gun" with an intricate level of synchronization between the song and the film's dialogue, creating a singular narrative between the two.

The "remix" video was submitted to MTV, with the alternate "performance only" version held back in the event that MTV would ban the remix version. MTV accepted the remix version and, despite its length (the video ran for nearly ten minutes), put the video in heavy The video would be many viewers' first exposure to Metallica and was voted #25 in the fall of 1999 when MTV aired its last "Top 100 Videos of All Time" countdown. The video was also prominently featured during MTV's 25th Anniversary edition of "ADD Video," which showcased the top videos to air on MTV in the last 25 years.cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/add_video/series.jhtml#/ontv/dyn/add_video/series.jhtml|title=A.D.D. Videos: 25 Years of

In 1991, Metallica released their self-titled album, Metallica (popularly known as The Black Album by fans). The record was co-produced with Bob Rock, whose resume included work with hard rock acts The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, and many others. The album featured a black cover that evoked humorous comparisons to Spinal Tap. The majority of the making of the Metallica album and the following tour was documented in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica. The recording sessions were a long and arduous process, lasting over a year due to infighting among the band's members and endless arguments with Rock about the album's direction, scope, and sound. The cost of recording the album was reputed to be over $1 However, despite the battle to finish the album, it quickly became the band's most successful release, charting at number one on the Billboard charts.cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?aid=11549&cr=album&or=ASCENDING&sf=length&pid=5199&kw=Metallica|title=Description of Metallica on

The album featured the hit, "Enter Sandman," which exemplified the radically pared-down style of songwriting across the album; it became one of Metallica's best-known songs and has been used extensively at sporting Another hit was "Nothing Else Matters," a more plaintive, acoustic ballad that outraged some fans but secured the album as a massive crossover hit and brought Metallica firmly into the mainstream. The intro to the track, "Don't Tread on Me," pastiches Leonard Bernstein's "America" from the musical "West Side Story." The Black Album is also tied for the 26th spot of highest selling album of all time in USA. In 2005, after 14 years of its release, the album was still #11 on the Top Pop Catalog Chart. It has been on the charts for well over 700 weeks.cite web|url= http://www.mac-archive.com/metallica/sales.html|title=Black Album

This album had been preceded by a cover of Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" which was contributed to Rubáiyat, a compilation album commemorating Elektra's 40th anniversary and which Hetfield, together with Queen's remaining band members, performed live at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Metallica also played a set at the concert.

Charges of selling out would be aimed at Metallica throughout the 1990s, to which the band often joked that they did indeed sell out — each and every date of the tour. Indeed, the Wherever We May Roam tour following The Black Album was especially successful and eventful. Many dates were held with no opening act, instead showing an introductory film that included unused interview footage from A Year and a Half..., and other footage of band members' antics backstage. The best-known incident during this tour was a pyrotechnics accident in 1992 in Montreal while Metallica was performing a series of joint shows with Guns N' Roses. Hetfield suffered severe second and third degree burns to his left arm during the opening of "Fade To Black," leaving him unable to play guitar for a portion of the tour. Former Metallica roadie and Metal Church guitarist John Marshall filled in while Hetfield continued to sing. The Guns N' Roses set was also cut short when lead singer Axl Rose left the stage claiming he was unhappy with the sound. After two setlists cut short, fans grew angry and a riot ensued.http://www.tagate.com/guns_n_roses/gnr_history/guns_n_roses_history.shtml Guns N' Roses History

Load, Reload, Garage Inc., S&M

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thumb|240px|Lars Ulrich (2004)
After almost three years of touring to support The Black Album, during which time the trek was relabeled the Nowhere Else to Roam Tour, Metallica took a respite until late 1995. On December 13, they recorded during their rehearsal for Lemmy Kilmister's 50th birthday party; four Motörhead covers were later released as a two-part limited edition CD single. The band spent around a year writing and recording new songs, resulting in Load (1996). During early production, Load was intended to be a double album. Ultimately, it was decided that it would be best to release half of the songs first, continue to work on the remaining songs, and release them the following year. This resulted in the follow up album, ReLoad (1997). Some songs written during Load were changed by the time they were recorded for ReLoad; in particular, "Fuel" had different lyrics than the version played during the Load Tour, as evidenced by the version played on the Cunning Stunts concert film (the song was then-titled "Fuel for Fire").

According to several music these albums represented a significant musical change for Metallica. These journalists state that the band's breakneck metal tempos and layered guitar compositions had largely been replaced by bluesy guitar tones and slide guitar. Several songs include the use of new instruments including the use of the hurdy-gurdy and violin in "Low Man's Lyric". Many of the changes on Load and ReLoad had been anticipated by earlier experiments (especially on The Black Album).

Sales of these albums were lower than sales of the previous three albums. Many songs from Load and ReLoad received extensive radio play, including "Until It Sleeps", "Hero of the Day", "King Nothing", "The Memory Remains", "The Unforgiven II", and "Fuel".

Hetfield noted later in the documentary film Some Kind of Monster that many songs on these two albums were initially thought by the band to be of only average quality, and polished and reworked repeatedly until judged to be releasable.

By 1996, all of the band members had cut their hair (although Hammett eventually grew it back), which was ridiculed by , including band friends Alice in Chains, whose edition of MTV's Unplugged featured, on Mike Inez's bass, the words "friends don't let friends get Friends haircuts." Metallica was in the audience for the taping of the show.

In 1998, Metallica compiled a double CD called Garage Inc.. The first CD contained newly recorded covers ranging from The Misfits, Thin Lizzy, Mercyful Fate, and Black Sabbath to more unexpected choices like Nick Cave and Bob Seger (the band's cover of Seger's "Turn the Page" garnered extensive radio airplay). The second CD gathered together previously released covers, including the original The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited, which had become a scarce collector's item. The CD also included B-side covers going as far back as 1984.

On March 7, 1999, Metallica was inducted into the San Francisco Walk of Fame. The mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, proclaimed the day "Official Metallica Day" in San Francisco. A month later, on April 21-22, 1999, Metallica recorded two performances with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, then conducted by Michael Kamen. Kamen, who had previously worked with Bob Rock on "Nothing Else Matters", approached the band with the idea of pairing Metallica's music with a symphony orchestra. Kamen and his staff composed additional orchestral material for a number of Metallica songs and the concerts featured broad selection of songs dating as far back as Ride the Lightning. Metallica also wrote two brand new Kamen-scored songs for the event, "No Leaf Clover" and "−Human." The audio recording and concert footage were released later that year as the album/concert film S&M, in November 1999, on CD, VHS, VCD, and DVD.

Napster controversy

thumb|200px|James Hetfield (2004)
In 2000, Metallica discovered that a demo of their song "I Disappear" was being distributed via the Napster P2P file-sharing network. Not only was the song unfinished, it was supposed to be released in combination with the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack.

They soon discovered that in addition to the demo, their entire catalogue was also freely available. The band initiated legal action against Napster and, in the process, demanded that 300,000 Napster users found to be trading Metallica songs be banned from the network. Legal actions were also started against Yale University, University of Southern California, and Indiana University for not blocking Napster from their campuses. In 2001, Metallica and Napster agreed to an out-of-court settlement which led to many Napster user accounts being locked out. The band did not take legal action against any individuals for copyright infringement. Lars Ulrich provided a http://www.encycmet.com/news/2000-07-12c.shtml statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding copyright infringement on July 11, 2000.

The lawsuit created a public relations nightmare. Throughout the controversy, many websites hosted cartoon parodies of band members, portraying them as selfish rock stars who were out of touch with their fans. The most popular of these was a cartoon parody entitled Napster Bad!, by http://www.campchaos.com Camp Chaos, which spawned an entire series. Some critics mocked Ulrich by spelling his name as "Lar$". In retaliation to the controversy, Ulrich appeared during the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, in a skit with that year's host Marlon Wayans, that blasted against fans' idea of using Napster to share music. Marlon was featured as a college student listening to Metallica's "I Disappear" (ironically to the idea that the demo version was being downloaded on Napster, and to the fact that it was Metallica's current big playing single on radio and MTV), and Lars walking in and from receiving Wayans' sharing excuse, interpreted the idea of sharing by being able to borrow anything that was yours without asking, can also be coined to the point of anything and Metallica roadcrew entered into the dorm room and confiscated everything, while slapping a Napster sticker onto everything, leaving Wayans with an empty room, and even clothless. Napster creator Shawn Fanning would respond by presenting an award wearing a Metallica shirt, saying "I borrowed this shirt from a friend. Maybe, if I like it, I'll buy one of my own," to mock the controversy Ulrich and co. had ensued upon. Public ridicule was widespread as Metallica had gotten their start via underground trading of bootleg recordings of their performanceshttp://archive.salon.com/ent/log/2000/05/09/metallica_fan/index.html Lew, Brian. "Metallica, How Could You?" Salon.com, May 9, 2000. Retrieved on December 3, 2006.. Metallica's defense was that Napster was allowing free access to their back catalogue and not live bootleg recordings which the band had always encouraged. The fan backlash would not be the only setback the band would experience that year.

Metallica, like a number of other bands, refused to sell their music on iTunes for a number of years. They finally ended this holdout on Tuesday, July 25, 2006, although only in the US and Canadahttp://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=102759 Metallica.com - Metallica on iTunes July 24, 2006.
On VH1's Metallica Spotlight, Lars Ulrich stated "I don't really care if people download Metallica stuff on the computer, I just want the album to be released first".

Newsted's Departure

thumb|200px|Kirk Hammett (2004)
As plans were being made to go into the recording studio in 2001, Newsted left the band, ostensibly due to "the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love." However, subsequent interviews with Newsted and the remaining members revealed that Newsted's desire to release a CD and tour with his Echobrain side-project – and Hetfield's intense resistance to such an idea – was the primary cause of Newsted's departure, as Hetfield believed a release by an individual band member would somehow weaken the band. Additionally, a Playboy interview revealed that the "hazing" had not lessened over time, even though Newsted had been a member of the group five times longer than Burton. Finally, Newsted had never shared the songwriting partner status that Burton had enjoyed (in 15 years with the group, Newsted only co-writer credit on three songs: "Blackened" from ...And Justice For All, "My Friend of Misery" from Metallica and "Where The Wild Things Are" from Re-Load. The 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster provided more insight into the reasons for Newsted's departure. In the film he says he felt his former bandmates decision to hire a therapist to help solve their problems was "really fucking lame. And weak".

This would be the first in a series of low-points the band would endure. In July, 2001, Hetfield entered rehab due to "alcoholism and other addictions". For nearly a year, Metallica ceased to function in any meaningful way. Ulrich and Hammett, for the first time, seriously considered the possibility that Metallica might be finished. Hetfield eventually returned to the band following his rehab hiatus and was required to work only four hours a day and spend the rest of his time with his family. Slowly and cautiously Metallica continued as a three-piece throughout the writing and recording of their next album. Longtime producer Rock handled bass duties for the sessions.

Metallica held auditions for Newsted's permanent replacement in early 2003. Robert Trujillo formerly of Suicidal Tendencies, and Ozzy Osbourne's band, was chosen as the new bassist. Robert's resume also included Infectious Grooves as well as a stint with Black Label Society on their Boozed, Broozed, and Broken-Boned DVD. As Metallica moved on, Jason Newsted also found a new musical home joining Canadian thrash metal legends Voivod in 2002. In an interesting turn of events, Jason became Robert's replacement in Ozzy's band during the 2003 Ozzfest tour (which included Voivod as part of the touring bill).

St. Anger

In June 2003, Metallica's eighth full-length recording, St. Anger, debuted at number one on the album charts. Though it was an intentionally raw and unpolished album, harsh criticism from fans followed. The record's under-produced sound, Hetfield's "flexible" sense of pitch, Ulrich's new signature steel snare drum and Hammett's performing no guitar solos received particular criticism. The album won best metal performance at the 2004 Grammys, the band's seventh such award. The documentary Some Kind of Monster followed the album and offered an inside view into the daily affairs of Metallica as never before. While the film focused on the growing tensions within the band, it fulfilled its original purpose of helping to promote the album. The film also exposed to fans that Metallica had sought the guidance of a therapist, Phil Towle, to deal with a vast amount of the band's inner turmoil.

Having toured extensively for two years in support of St. Anger on the brief Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003 in festivals featuring Mudvayne, Deftones, Linkin Park, and Limp Bizkit and then the lengthy Madly in Anger with the World tour with Godsmack (in which nearly every performance was professionally recorded and sold on http://www.livemetallica.com LiveMetallica.com) Metallica took a break from performing and spent most of 2005 with friends and family, however on on November 13, 2005 and November 15, 2005 they opened for the Rolling Stones at SBC Park in San Fransisco.cite web|url=http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2005/nov05/20051115_rollingstones.html|title=Metallica opening for The

Escape From the Studio '06 Tour, their ninth studio album

thumb|240px|Robert Trujillo (2004)
On February 16 2006, Metallica announced on their official website, that after their 15+ year relationship, longtime producer Bob Rock has stepped down from recording Metallica's next studio album. Rock had produced every Metallica album since 1991. Metallica is working on a studio album with legendary producer Rick Rubin http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=14828 Metallica.com - Metallica Studio Update February 16, 2006 known for his work with, among numerous others such as: Slipknot, Slayer, The Beastie Boys, System of a Down, Johnny Cash, Danzig, and The Cult.

Metallica debuted an untitled song nicknamed "The New Song" in Berlin, Germany on June 6th, 2006 on the European leg of the Escape from the Studio '06 mini tour. On August 12th, 2006, Metallica debuted another song in Tokyo, Japan on the Asian leg of the tour, nicknamed "The Other New Song" (which are available to view on http://www.youtube.com YouTube). The band has previously unveiled new songs prior to their release: Four songs from Ride the Lightning ("Fight Fire with Fire";, "Ride The Lightning", "Creeping Death", and "The Call of Ktulu") were performed before the release of the album; Master of Puppets' "Disposable Heroes" was debuted in September of 1985; ...And Justice for All's "Harvester of Sorrow" received its live debut in 1987, Load's "2x4" was played during the Escape from the Studio '95 mini-tour; and Reload's "Fuel" and "Devil's Dance" were played at various points during the Load tour 1996-97 and again during the 3 shows European mini-tour in August 1997 ("The Memory Remains" and "Bad Seed" were teased numerous times at shows throughout 1996 and 1997).

It was during this time on tour that the band finally bowed to fan pressure decided to make each of their albums available at the iTunes Store - though strictly in the U.S. and Canada until issues with their European label are sorted out - allowing individual tracks to be legally downloaded for the first time. Exclusive tracks from the Seattle '89 shows were added to the band's first four albums.

On October 13, 2006 Metallica announced that they will release a DVD containing all their videos from 1989 to 2004. The DVD will be called The Videos 1989-2004 and it will be released on December 4, 2006 worldwide and on December 5 in North America.cite news|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=60273|title=Metallica: 'The Videos 1989-2004' DVD details revealed|publisher=Blabbermouth.net|date=

Line-ups

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan=2|Year
!colspan=4|Band
!rowspan=2|Recordings
|-
!Rhythm Guitarist,
Lead Vocalist
!Lead Guitarist
!Bassist
!Drummer
|-
!1981
|James Hetfield
|Lloyd Grant
|Ron McGovney
|Lars Ulrich
|A version of Hit the Lights for Metal Massacre compilation
|-
!1982
|James Hetfield
|Dave Mustaine
|Ron McGovney
|Lars Ulrich
|No Life 'Till Leather demo
|-
!1982-1983
|James Hetfield
|Dave Mustaine
|Cliff Burton
|Lars Ulrich
|2 Track Demo (also known as the "Megaforce Demo")Only one recording of this line up can be found. An untitled 2-track demo which has been named the "Megaforce Demo", it was quickly recorded to introduce Cliff Burton to potential record lables, which then led them to signing with Megaforce records. The tracks recorded for the demo were "Whiplash" and "No Remorse" (also featuring different lead parts).
Footage of this line up playing live can be seen on the Cliff 'Em All video.
|-
!1983-1986
|James Hetfield
|Kirk Hammett
|Cliff Burton
|Lars Ulrich
|Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets
|-
!1986-2001
|James Hetfield
|Kirk Hammett
|Jason Newsted
|Lars Ulrich
|Garage Days Re-Revisited, ...And Justice for All, Metallica, Load, ReLoad, Garage Inc., S&M
|-
!2001-2003
|James Hetfield
|Kirk Hammett
|Bob Rock Bob Rock was not a permanent replacement for Newsted, only filling in on the bass tracks while being the producer of the album.
|Lars Ulrich
|St. Anger
|-
!2003-present
|James Hetfield
|Kirk Hammett
|Robert Trujillo
|Lars Ulrich
|St. Anger live bonus disc, Some Kind Of Monster, Untitled Metallica album (2007)
|}

Temporary live members

*"Damien Philips" (Jeff Warner) - Second guitarist for one gig in 1982 when James only sang due to breaking a bone while riding a skateboard.
* John Marshall (Kirk Hammett's guitar technician, who also played for Metal Church) - Second guitarist for gigs whilst James was recovering from injuries (1986, broken wrist from skateboarding accident; 1992 burns from pyrotechnics suffered at Montreal's Olympic Stadium) when James only sang.
*James injured his back while water-skiing prior to a show on July 7, 2000 at the Georgia Dome stadium in Atlanta. Korn, Kid Rock and System of a Down helped out.
*Temporary drummers (when Lars Ulrich was unable to perform at the Download Festival on June 6, 2004): Dave Lombardo of Slayer, Joey Jordison of Slipknot, and Flemming Larsen (Ulrich's drum technician).

Audio

*Download sample of "Seek & Destroy" from Kill 'Em All
*Download sample of "Fade to Black" from Ride the Lightning
*Download sample of "Master Of Puppets" from Master of Puppets
*Download sample of "One" from ...And Justice for All
*Download sample of "Enter Sandman" from Metallica
*Download sample of "Nothing Else Matters" from Metallica

Discography

*main|Metallica

Tributes

*Plays Metallica by Four Cellos by Apocalyptica
*Matenlos a todos
*Metalic Assault
*Moskvallica
*Die Krupps
*The Four Horsemen
*The Ultimate
*The String Quartet
*Transilvania 666
*A Punk Tribute
*Metallic Attack
*Dream Theater - Master Of Puppets
*Iron Horse: Fade to Bluegrass 1 and 2
*Metal Militia
*An Industrial Tribute
*Blackest Album 1, 2, and 3
*Hip-Hop Tribute to Metallica
*Beatallica
*Master of Puppets: Remastered
*Bif Naked - Nothing Else Matters

Awards and Recognition

Metallica has won seven Grammy Awards:
*1990: Best Metal Performance - "One"
*1991: Best Metal Performance - "Stone Cold Crazy"
*1992: Best Metal Performance With Vocal - Metallica
*1999: Best Metal Performance - "Better than You"
*2000: Best Hard Rock Performance - "Whiskey in the Jar"
*2001: Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "The Call of Ktulu" with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony
*2004: Best Metal Performance - "St. Anger"

MTV Video Music Awards:
*1992: Best Metal Video - "Enter Sandman"
*1996: Best Metal Video - "Until it Sleeps"

American Music Awards:
*1996: Favorite Artist: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock: Metallica - Re-Load
*1996: Favorite Metal/Hard Rock Song - "Until it Sleeps"

Bammies:
*1997: Outstanding Drummer: Lars Ulrich
*1997: Outstanding Hard Rock Album: Re-Load

Billboard Music Awards:
*1997: Billboard Rock and Roll Artist of the Year: Metallica (RIAA Diamond Award)
*1999: Catalog Artist of the Year: Metallica
*1999: Catalog Album of the Year: Metallica (The Black Album)

Governor's Award:
*2004: Governor's Award - Metallica

Kerrang! awards:
*2003: Hall of Fame

Metallica were ranked by MTV the 3rd "Greatest Heavy Metal Band in History", and is listed at #5 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock"http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62188/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/hardrock_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862769&start=81 VH1.com 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

They will first be eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007http://www.futurerockhall.com/artist.php?artist_id=Metallica Future Rock Hall - Metallica entry, and if inducted would be the second Metal act ever to be inducted following Black Sabbath.

Appearances and References in Media

Television

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*Beavis (of Beavis and Butt-Head) wears a Metallica t-shirt every day (although he wears a Slayer shirt in the episode "Blood Drive"). When Butt-Head criticized the band and the videos, Beavis went ballistic and said he would kick Butt-Head's ass if he insulted Metallica again. A character meant to parody Beavis on the show Step by Step also wears a Metallica shirt.
*In the Seinfeld episode "The Lip Reader" Elaine buys her driver Metallica tickets to apologize for pretending to be deaf.
*Metallica was the musical guest in a 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live.
* "Seek and Destroy" was used in a 2002 television ad for Vans Shoes featuring Tony Trujillo (no relation to Rob).
*"Am I Evil" and "Creeping Death" can be heard on 2 different occassions in episodes of Jackass.
*"King Nothing", "The Memory Remains", and "The Small Hours" are featured in three episodes of The Sopranos.
*Fuel was the main theme for NBC and TNT’s NASCAR coverage from 2001 until 2003.
*"St. Anger" was the official theme song of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s SummerSlam pay-per-view event in August 2003.
*Metallica (in this case voiced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone appear in the South Park episde Christian Rock Hard.
*Metallica recorded their voice parts for their appearance in an episode of The Simpsons. The episode was named The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer and it was the first of Season 18, being aired in the United States on September 10, 2006..cite web|url=http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=12585|title=Metallica &
*James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett have recorded guest voices for Adult Swim's new show "Metalocalypse"http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=102855 Metallica.com - Metalocalypse September 5, 2006.
* On March 13, 2006 Metallica inducted Black Sabbath into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and played "Iron Man" and "Hole in the Sky". The ceremony was aired on VH1, March 21, 2006..cite web|url=http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=15152|title=Metallica inducting Black Sabbath in the Hall of
*In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Interfection", Master Shake searches for "teeth and plaque conspiracy...and Metallica" on the Internet.
*In the Japanese comics/animation series Bastard!!, the kingdom that the main characters operate out of is named Metallicana in the original Japanese, in homage to one of the creator's favorite bands.

Film

*Altered versions (most likely covers) of "Sad But True", "Holier Than Thou", and "Where Ever I May Roam" appeared in the theatrical trailer for Army Of Darkness.
* James Hetfield lent his voice for a song in the movie "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut".
*Metallica made an appearance in the independent film The Darwin Awards and played at its Sundance Film Festival private party premiere on January 25, 2006..cite web|url=http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=14471|title=Metallica at the Darwin
*In The Big Lebowski, The Dude says he's an ex-Metallica roadie on the fictional Speed of Sound tour and refers bandmembers as a "bunch of assholes".The Big Lebowski, 1998
*The Finnish classical celo trio, Apocalyptica, has their versions of "Enter Sandman," "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," and "Wherever I May Roam" in the 1998 Ben Stiller film Your Friends and Neighbors.
*"Master of Puppets" is featured in the movie Old School.
*"Motorbreath" is featured in the movie Any Given Sunday.
*"Fight Fire With Fire" is featured in the movie American Movie.
*"The Wait" is featured in School of Rock'.
*One of The Olsen Twins wheres a Metallica shirt in the film New York Minute.
*In the 2006 movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Dave Grohl's character plays a guitar that is decorated with the artwork from the "Ride The Lightning" album cover. There is also a Metallica logo seen in the movies fictional "Rock n' Roll History Museum".
*"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", "Orion", and "The Call of Ktulu" are prominently featured in the documentary film Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, marking the first significant use of their music in feature films. The follow up film Paradise Lost 2: Revelations also uses the song "Fixxxer".
*Will Arnett has a Master of Puppets shirt in Let's Go to Prison.

Talk radio

*"Master of Puppets," and "The Shortest Straw" open the radio show "The Savage Nation," hosted by Michael Savage. He also uses various other Metallica songs in regular bumper music rotations.
*"Enter Sandman" opens Tom Leykis's radio show.
*"Fuel" opens financial commentator Jim Cramer’s radio show and podcast.

Video Games

*"Seek & Destroy" was featured in the PlayStation game WCW Backstage Assault.
*”Fuel” opens the video games Test Drive Off Road: Wide Open and PlayStation’s “Hot Wheels Turbo Racing”.
*”Whiplash” is featured in Tony Hawk's Underground 2.

Sporting events

*"Enter Sandman" opens home games for the Kansas Jayhawks and WCHA Wisconsin Badgers, along with Virginia Tech Hokies football games. It is also the entrance music for New York Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera and New York Mets’ closer Billy Wagner.
*"Enter Sandman", as covered by Motörhead, was used as entrance music for Extreme Championship Wrestling's Sandman.
*"Harvester Of Sorrow" has been played as Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko comes up to bat.
*Houston Astros players Jeff Bagwell and Mike Lamb exclusively use Metallica tracks for their at-bat music. Bagwell has even been quoted as emulating the "James Hetfield look" in "Sixty Seconds with Jeff Bagwell", an in-game segment.
*"Seek & Destroy" was Professional wrestler Sting's theme song in World Championship Wrestling.
*”For Whom The Bell Tolls" is played at Soldier Field each time the Chicago Bears score a touchdown, and at intermission of Montreal Canadiens games.
*"Fuel" opens Calgary Flames home games, and is played during face-off breaks at Belfast Giants games.

Trivia

*Ennio Morricone is the composer of the piece "The Ecstasy of Gold" which Metallica used as an intro to all its live shows from late 1983 to 1995, and again from mid-1998 to the present day. The song is from the Sergio Leone movie, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.cite web|url=http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=600038|title=Ecstacy of Gold, Metallica
*On the video blog, YouTube, a video can be seen of a concert in the early 90's with a switched up line-up, with Lars Ulrich on vocals, James Hetfield on drums, Jason Newsted on guitar, and Kirk Hammett on bass.
*Bay Area Metallibangers are Metallica fans from the Bay Area of California. The term was originated by the band, and the Bay Area Metallibangers were thanked in the liner notes in the albums Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets.
*"Metallicats" is another name given to fans of the band. It has also been used to refer to members of the band (for example, on the inside cover of the Garage, Inc. album.)
*In 2003 an enhanced video on the St Anger album showed that a Metallica video game was in the works. However, later in 2005 this was cancelled.
*Metallica's early works include references to the writings of horror/sci-fi author H.P. Lovecraft. The song "The Call of Ktulu" alludes to the name of the Lovecraft tale "The Call of Cthulhu," and the lyrics to the song "The Thing That Should Not Be" quotes from "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," a story by the same author.cite web|url=http://www.encycmet.com/songs/srktulu.shtml|title=Call of Ktulu inspired by H.P
*Recently, Hammett played with Tool in a show during the song Sober and described the event on Metallica's official web site as "one of the most profound jamming experiences I have ever encountered."cite web|url=http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?1=1&item=103338|title=Hammett playing with
*US interrogators exposed Iraqi POWs to Metallica tracks for prolonged periods during the second Gulf War in an attempt to make them talk.cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3042907.stm|title=Metallica breaks Iraqi POWs'
*Following 9/11, "Enter Sandman", "Fade to Black", "Harvester Of Sorrow" and "Seek & Destroy", were all placed on the List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
*Musician Daniel Johnston refused to sign with Elektra Records because he claimed that Metallica, one of their mosr popular acts, where under the influence of Satan.
*Ska punk band Skatallica derives its name from Metallica.

Other name usage

*Victoria's Secret was sued in 1999 for selling a lip liner bearing the name 'Metallica'http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1068511.stm BBC NEWS: Metallica 'sue over perfume name' December 13, 2000.
*Guerlain was sued in 2000, in a similar case, for selling a perfume line named 'Metallica' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1068511.stm BBC NEWS: Metallica 'sue over perfume name' December 13, 2000.
*Metallica Resources is a Canadian-based mining company.