Starting up at the same time as many prominent 80's metal bands, Metallica was the cream of the crop. With James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, Cliff Lee Burton, and Lars Ulrich, the band began playing large gigs.
After releasing Mustaine, the band adds guitarist Kirk Hammett, whose raw style of guitar playing became the style known as "heavy metal". After the release of their first album "Kill 'Em All" in 1983, the band gained popularity nationwide in an underground metal scene.
Then, tragically, on September 27, 1986, near Dörarp, Sweden, they lost their bassist Cliff Lee Burton after their tour bus driver lost control and the bus flipped several times. Cliff was thrown out of a window and died beneath the bus. Deciding to keep on, they recruited bass player Jason Newstead and released the song "One", whose controversial music video gains the band immense popularity and causes their most true fans to call them "sellouts". Metallica continue to record prolific albums such as "Ride The Lightning", "Master Of Puppets", "...And Justice For All", and their most successful album to date, "Metallica (The Black Album)".
After recording throughout the 90s and cutting the long hair that made them famous, Jason Newsted leaves the group for personal reasons. In 2002, former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Robert Trujillo joins the band and helps them record their comeback album, "St. Anger". Metallica continues to record and still have as strong a fan base as they started out with.
Metallica is:
James Hetfield - Vocals, Guitar
Kirk Hammet - Guitar
Robert Trujillo - Bass
Lars Ulrich - Drums
Cliff Lee Burton - Bass (until 1986)
Jason Newsted - Bass (until 2001)
Dave Mustaine - Guitar (until 1983)
THE STUDIO ALBUMS (ranked in order of greatness):
1. ...And Justice For All (1988)
1. Blackened
2. And Justice For All
3. Eye Of The Beholder
4. One
5. Shortest Straw, The
6. Harvester Of Sorrow
7. Frayed Ends Of Sanity, The
8. To Live Is To Die
9. Dyers Eve
2. Master Of Puppets (1986)
1. Battery
2. Master Of Puppets
3. Thing That Should Not Be, The
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5. Disposable Heroes
6. Leper Messiah
7. Orion
8. Damage Inc.
3. Metallica (The Black Album) (1991)
1. Enter Sandman
2. Sad But True
3. Holier Than Thou
4. Unforgiven, The
5. Wherever I May Roam
6. Don't Tread On Me
7. Through The Never
8. Nothing Else Matters
9. Of Wolf And Man
10. God That Failed, The
11. My Friend Of Misery
12. Struggle Within, The
4. Ride The Lightning (1984)
1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride The Lightning
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Fade To Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. Call Of Ktulu, The
5. Re-Load (1997)
1. Fuel
2. Memory Remains, The
3. Devil's Dance
4. Unforgiven II, The
5. Better Than You
6. Slither
7. Carpe Diem Baby
8. Bad Seed
9. Where The Wild Things Are
10. Prince Charming
11. Low Man's Lyric
12. Attitude
13. Fixxxer
6. Kill 'Em All (1983)
1. Hit The Lights
2. Four Horsemen, The
3. Motorbreath
4. Jump In The Fire
5. (Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth
6. Whiplash
7. Phantom Lord
8. No Remorse
9. Seek And Destroy
10. Metal Militia
7. Garage, Inc. (1998) DISC 1: NEW RECORDINGS 1998:
1. Free Speech For The Dumb
2. It's Electric
3. Sabbra Cadabra
4. Turn The Page
5. Die, Die My Darling
6. Loverman
7. Mercyful Fate: Satan's Fall / Curse Of The Pharaohs /
Corpse Without Soul, A / Into The Coven / Evil
8. Astronomy
9. Whiskey In The Jar
10. Tuesday's Gone
11. More I See, The
DISC 2:
1. Helpless
2. Small Hours, The
3. Wait, The
4. Crash Course In Brain Surgery
5. Last Caress / Green Hell
6. Am I Evil?
7. Blitzkrieg
8. Breadfan
9. Prince, The
10. Stone Cold Crazy
11. So What
12. Killing Time
13. Overkill
14. Damage Case
15. Stone Dead Forever
16. Too Late Too Late
8. Load (1996)
1. Ain't My Bitch
2. 2X4
3. House Jack Built, The
4. Until It Sleeps
5. King Nothing
6. Hero Of The Day
7. Bleeding Me
8. Cure
9. Poor Twisted Me
10. Wasting My Hate
11. Mama Said
12. Thorn Within
13. Ronnie
14. Outlaw Torn, The
9. St. Anger (2003)
1. Frantic
2. St. Anger
3. Some Kind Of Monster
4. Dirty Window
5. Invisible Kid
6. My World
7. Shoot Me Again
8. Sweet Amber
9. Unnamed Feeling
10. Purify
11. All Within My Hands
10. Some Kind Of Monster (2004)
1. Some Kind Of Monster
2. Four Horsemen, The - (live)
3. Damage, Inc. - (live)
4. Leper Messiah - (live)
5. Motorbreath - (live)
6. Ride The Lightning - (live)
7. Hit The Lights - (live)
8. Some Kind Of Monster - (edited version)
OTHER ALBUMS OF INTEREST:
Symphony of Destruction - Megadeth
Dave Mustaine's best guitar work after leaving Metallica.
mtvICON: Metallica - Various
Pop artists cover Metallica's best work.
Mission Impossible 2: Soundtrack - Various
Features Metallica's "I Disappear"
The Really Black Album - Various
Underground metal bands pay tribute to Metallica.
DVDs:
S&M (DVD) (2002) Some Kind Of Monster (DVD) (2004) Cliff 'Em All (DVD) (1987) Cunning Stunts (DVD) (1998)
THE 10 GREATEST SONGS:
1. Fade To Black
2. One
3. Master Of Puppets
4. Enter Sandman
5. For Whom The Bell Tolls
6. Nothing Else Matters
7. (Anesthsia) Pulling Teeth
8. Orion
9. Sad But True
10. Welcome Home
PLACEMENT ON DDD LISTS (as of 1/11):
James: Greatest Rock Guitarists - #197 Greatest Guitar Riff Creators - #9 Greatest Male Rock Vocalists - Honorable Mention Greatest Rock Vocal Performances - Outlaw Torn #94, Nothing Else Matters #187 Greatest Rock Lyricists - #90 Greatest Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Guitarists - #96
Kirk: Greatest Rock Guitarists - #35 Greatest Guitar Solos
One #28,
Fade To Black #37,
Master Of Puppets #79,
Orion #136,
Welcome Home #186 Greatest Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Guitarists - #42
Robert: Greatest Rock Bassists - #48
Lars: Greatest Rock Drummers - #60 Greatest Rock Drum Performances - Dyers Eve #95, Battery #153
Cliff: Greatest Rock Bassists - #15 Greatest Rock Bass Performances
(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth #4,
Orion #28,
For Whom The Bell Tolls #135,
The Call Of Ktulu #182
Jason: Greatest Rock Bassists - #98 Greatest Rock Bass Performances - Holier Than Thou #169
Whole band: Greatest Guitar Riffs
Enter Sandman #36,
Master Of Puppets #42,
Sad But True #87,
Seek And Destroy #198 Greatest Basslines - Orion #97 Most Influential Rock Artists - #72 Greatest Rock Ensembles - #81 (James, Kirk, Cliff, Lars) Greatest Rock Instrumentals - The Call Of Ktulu #35, Orion #37 Greatest Rock Albums
Master Of Puppets #77,
Ride The Lightning #114,
Metallica (The Black Album) #186 Greatest Live Rock Albums - S&M #97, Live Shit: Binge And Purge (Honorable Mention) Greatest Rock Guitar Albums
Master Of Puppets #52,
...And Justice For All #63,
Metallica (The Black Album) #72,
Ride The Lightning #99 Greatest Rock Albums of the 90s - Metallica (The Black Album) #16 Greatest Rock Albums of the 80s
Master Of Puppets #12,
Ride The Lightning #21,
...And Justice For All #61,
Kill 'Em All #123 Greatest Rock Debut Albums - Kill 'Em All #45 Greatest Rock Artists of the 90s - #23 Greatest Rock Songs - One #68, Master Of Puppets #169 Greatest Rock Anthems - Enter Sandman #68 Greatest Rock Songs of the 90s - Enter Sandman #25, The Unforgiven #195 Greatest Rock Artists - #87 Top 10 Songs By 22 Rock Artists - 10 songs, Master Of Puppets #1 Greatest Music Videos - One #16, Enter Sandman #57 Greatest Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Artists 80s - #3 Greatest Metal Albums
Master Of Puppets #1,
Ride The Lightning #5,
...And Justice For All #20,
Kill 'Em All #23,
Metallica (The Black Album) #29
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