Metallica

Metallica
Metallica performing in London in 2008. From left to right: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and Robert Trujillo.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Heavy metal thrash metal
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Megaforce Universal Mercury Vertigo Warner Bros. Elektra Blackened
Associated acts	Megadeth Guns N' Roses Lou Reed Ozzy Osbourne Leather Charm
Website	metallica.com
Members	James Hetfield Lars Ulrich Kirk Hammett Robert Trujillo
Past members	Ron McGovney Dave Mustaine Cliff Burton Jason Newsted

Metallica is an American heavy metal band based in San Rafael, California. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles when vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper. Metallica's current line-up comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.

The band's fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. Metallica earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and won critical acclaim with its first four albums; their third album Master of Puppets (1986) was described as one of the most influential and heaviest of thrash metal albums. The band expanded its musical direction and achieved substantial commercial success with its fifth album Metallica (1991), which resulted in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience. The album was also their first to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, a success that they also achieved on their following five studio albums. In 2000, Metallica joined with other artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material without consent from the band. A settlement was reached and Napster became a pay-to-use service. The release of St. Anger (2003) alienated fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum, and a film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording of St. Anger and the tensions within the band during that time. The band returned to its original musical style with the release of Death Magnetic (2008), and in 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After touring for most of the next eight years, the band followed up with Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), which demonstrated examples from some of the different musical styles that the band has dabbled in throughout its career.