Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, USA.

It was formed in 1981 by 18-year-old James Hetfield and 17-year-old Danish tennis player and hobby-drummer Lars Ulrich, who had moved with his family from Copenhagen to California. After two years on the underground scene and several demo recordings, 1983 arrived, when the musicians released their first studio album, "Kill 'Em All." With it, Metallica popularized thrash metal, and at the time, this album was considered the heaviest music ever released. The band became a leader in the metal genre, and in the 80s, three more albums and hundreds of concerts worldwide followed. Through these, the musicians became increasingly famous and influential. Nevertheless, during these years, their influence and fame were still limited to the confines of metal, and the band was considered relatively mediocre on the global music scene. The reason for this was that despite the quartet's amazing musical skills, they did not want to commercialize their work and categorically refused to shoot music videos or have their songs played on the popular music TV and radio channels of the time. Later, however, in the early 90s, Metallica showed the world a completely new sound and, literally in a matter of days, became one of the leading music groups in the world, regardless of musical styles. This happened with the release of their fifth studio album, which became known as "The Black Album" due to its completely black cover, with the exception of the band's logo and a snake, which were barely distinguishable from the background. Thanks to this album, Metallica ranked 7th as the best-selling band in US history, a position they still held as of 2014. Worldwide, the band has sold approximately 100 million certified copies of their albums, with estimated sales of around 130 million copies. Because of this, and due to their grand tours lasting for years, the four musicians are also among the wealthiest music artists in general today. As of 2014, the band also held another record. For the first time in US history, the same band topped the charts with sales of 5 consecutive albums. This record was achieved in the autumn of 2008 when the band's ninth album, titled Death Magnetic, was released, produced by Rick Rubin, described by MTV in 2008 as "one of the most important producers of the last 20 years"[1] and listed by "Time" magazine in the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World" for 2007.[2]

From a musical perspective, Metallica's compositions are complex and feature heavy riffs, but in most cases, they are melodic, captivating, and often epic. They have served as a basis for many follower bands. The lyrics, most often written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield, are profound, socially oriented, dark, and filled with protest, rebellion, or openly aggressive and furious themes. Most of the band's songs are lengthy (rarely under 5-6 minutes), based on a main riff, and in most cases consist of at least two parts with smooth transitions and fast solos.

The band includes James Hetfield (vocals, guitars), Kirk Hammett (lead guitars), Lars Ulrich (drums), and Robert Trujillo (bass guitar). The core lineup has been unchanged since 1983, with the exception of the bass position, where three bassists have rotated since then (in 1986, due to the death of Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted took his place, who then left in 2001 due to frequent disputes with frontman Hetfield).