Kirk Lee Hammett is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Prior to joining Metallica, he co-formed the thrash metal band Exodus in 1979. In 2003, Hammett, along with bandmate James Hetfield, was ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's list of Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2009, Hammett was ranked number 15 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists.
Master of Puppets is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident in Sweden during the album's promotional tour.
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. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair.
Metallica is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 12, 1991, by Elektra Records. Recording sessions took place at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month span that frequently found Metallica at odds with their new producer Bob Rock. The album marked a change in the band's music from the thrash metal style of their previous four albums to a slower, heavier, and more refined sound.
Load is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on June 4, 1996, by Elektra Records in the United States and by Vertigo Records internationally. The album showed more of a hard rock side of Metallica than the band's typical thrash metal style, which alienated much of the band's fanbase. It also featured influences from genres such as Southern rock, blues rock, country rock, and alternative rock. Drummer Lars Ulrich said about Load's more exploratory nature, "This album and what we're doing with it – that, to me, is what Metallica are all about: exploring different things. The minute you stop exploring, then just sit down and fucking die." At 79 minutes, Load is Metallica's longest studio album.
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. 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. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.
...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 25, 1988, by Elektra Records. It was the first Metallica album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, following the death of their previous bassist Cliff Burton in 1986. Burton received posthumous co-writing credit on "To Live Is to Die" as Newsted followed bass lines Burton had recorded prior to his death.
Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. After forming in 1981, Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group's No Life 'til Leather demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording. The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York. It was originally intended to be titled Metal Up Your Ass, with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. Zazula convinced the band to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.
St. Anger is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on June 5, 2003. It was the last Metallica album released through Elektra Records and the final collaboration between Metallica and longtime producer Bob Rock, with whom the band had worked since 1990. This is also Metallica's only album as an official trio, as bassist Jason Newsted left the band prior to the recording sessions. Rock played bass in Newsted's place, and Robert Trujillo joined the band following its completion. Although he does not play on the album, Trujillo is credited in the liner notes and appears in photos with the band in the album's booklet.
The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited is the first extended play by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 21, 1987, by Elektra Records. It consists of covers of late-'70s and early-'80s new wave of British heavy metal bands and punk rock music rehearsed in Lars Ulrich's soundproofed garage and then recorded in Los Angeles over the course of six days. It is the group's first release following the death of bassist Cliff Burton and the first to feature his successor, Jason Newsted.
"One" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, released as the third and final single from the band's fourth studio album, ...And Justice for All (1988). Written by band members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, the song portrays a World War I soldier who is severely wounded—arms, legs and jaw blown off by a landmine, blind and unable to speak or move—begging God to take his life. In the music video, attempting to communicate with the hospital staff he jolts in his bed, spelling "Kill me" in Morse code. Production of the song was done by the band alongside Flemming Rasmussen. The song was the band's first to chart in the U.S., reaching number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a number one hit in Finland.
"Whiplash" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their debut album, Kill 'Em All, and the band's debut single overall, released on August 8, 1983. The song has been covered a number of times, most notably by Motörhead, whose version won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
"The Memory Remains" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, with British singer Marianne Faithfull on backing vocals.
"Stone Cold Crazy" is a song written and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was not released as a single at the time, it was performed live at almost every Queen concert from 1974 to 1978. "Stone Cold Crazy" is included on the band's 1992 compilation album, Classic Queen and was released as a promo single in that year by Hollywood Records.
"The Unforgiven" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the second single from their eponymous fifth album Metallica. Though one of the slower tracks on the album, its chord progression is distinctly one of the heaviest ballads featured on the album. The song deals with the theme of the struggle of the individual against the efforts of those who would subjugate him.
"...And Justice for All" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the second track on the band's album of the same name, and was released as a promotional single in 1988. Like the album it features on, it is named after the last four words of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Death Magnetic is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 12, 2008, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, marking the band's first album since ...And Justice for All (1988) not to be produced by longtime collaborator Bob Rock and co-produced by Hetfield and Ulrich. It is also the first Metallica album with bassist Robert Trujillo, and the second to share writing credit to all of the band's members.
Reload is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on November 18, 1997, via Elektra Records. The album is a follow-up to Load, released the previous year, and Metallica's last studio album to feature the ...And Justice for All-era lineup, with bassist Jason Newsted leaving the band in January 2001, though it was not his last release with the band. Reload debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 436,000 copies in its first week. It was certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping three million copies in the United States.
"Enter Sandman" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is the opening track and lead single from their self-titled fifth album, released in 1991. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Hetfield wrote the lyrics, which deal with the concept of a child's nightmares.
"Bullet Train" is the ninth track and second single by British heavy metal band Judas Priest from their 1997 album Jugulator. The song remains one of the most popular tracks with Tim "Ripper" Owens on vocals and is featured on their live album '98 Live Meltdown. The single release of the song features a re-recording of the classic track "Rapid Fire" which originally was included on the album British Steel. The second B-side is a re-recorded cover of "The Green Manalishi" which is a Fleetwood Mac song that the band recorded in 1978. A digipak promo version from 1997 has only the first track. Another promo has "Bullet Train" and "Blood Stained".
