Metallica

About

Also known as: Metalica, メタリカ, 메탈리카

Few bands have reshaped heavy metal as decisively as Metallica. Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, the band became one of the founding four of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer, built on fast tempos, ferocious riffs, and a level of technical aggression that set the template for the genre. Their 1986 record Master of Puppets is still widely regarded as one of the greatest metal albums ever made, and the self titled 1991 black album remains the best selling record of the SoundScan era, with over 16 million US copies sold. The current lineup of Hetfield, Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo has kept things moving well into the 2020s. Their eleventh studio album 72 Seasons landed in 2023, and a remastered and reissued version of ReLoad has been generating buzz more recently. With over 163 million albums sold worldwide and ten Grammy wins, Metallica sits in a category pretty much by themselves.