

Metallica founding members James Hetfield (top) and Lars Ulrich (bottom) As of 2017, Metallica is the third best-selling music artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, selling a total of 58 million albums in the United States. 61 on its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.

Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines such as Rolling Stone, which ranked them at no. Metallica ranks as one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold over 125 million albums worldwide as of 2018. The band has won nine Grammy Awards from 23 nominations, and its last six studio albums (beginning with Metallica) have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Metallica has released ten studio albums, four live albums, twelve video albums, a cover album, two extended plays, 37 singles and 39 music videos. 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. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Anger (2003), and the internal struggles within the band at the time. 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. 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. The band's most recent album is Hardwired. After experimenting with different genres and directions in subsequent releases, Metallica returned to its thrash metal roots with the release of its ninth album, Death Magnetic (2008), which drew similar praise to that of the band's earlier albums. It appealed to a more mainstream audience, achieving substantial commercial success and selling over 16 million copies in the United States to date making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era.

Their self titled fifth album, Metallica (1991), was the band's first not to root predominantly in thrash metal. And Justice for All (1988), gave Metallica its first Grammy Award nomination. Metallica first found commercial success with the release of its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), cited as one of the heaviest metal albums and the band's best work. Guitarist Dave Mustaine (who formed Megadeth after being fired from the band) and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.

Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. 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. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. It was the last album to feature songwriting contributions from former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the first to feature contributions from his replacement, Kirk Hammett.Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The overall recording costs were paid by Metallica’s European label Music for Nations because Megaforce was unable to cover it. Instead of relying strictly on fast tempos as on its debut Kill ‘Em All, Metallica broadened its approach by employing acoustic guitars, extended instrumentals, and more complex harmonies. This was partly because bassist Cliff Burton introduced the basics of music theory to the rest of the band and had more input in the songwriting. Although rooted in the thrash metal genre, the album showcased the band’s musical growth and lyrical sophistication. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King’s novel The Stand. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at the Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records.
