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 the 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. Although rooted in the thrash metal genre, the album showcased the band's musical growth and lyrical sophistication. This was partly because bassist Cliff Burton introduced the basics of music theory to the rest of the band and had more input in the songwriting. Instead of relying heavily on fast tempos as on its debut Kill 'Em All, Metallica broadened its approach by employing acoustic guitars, extended instrumentals, and more complex harmonies. The overall recording costs were paid by Metallica's European label Music for Nations because Megaforce was unable to cover it. It is the last album to feature songwriting contributions from former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the first to feature contributions from his replacement, Kirk Hammett.
Metallica is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 12, 1991, through Elektra Records. It was recorded in an eight-month span at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles. The recording of the album was troubled, however, and, during production, the band frequently came into conflict with their new producer, Bob Rock. The album marked a change in the band's sound from the thrash metal style of the previous four albums to a slower and heavier one rooted in heavy metal.
Load is the sixth studio album by the 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". Load is the first of Metallica's albums to feature only three songwriters, the other being 2016's Hardwired...To Self-Destruct. 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/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 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 September 7, 1988 via Elektra Records. It was the first album following the death of bassist Cliff Burton in 1986, and the first to feature his replacement Jason Newsted.
Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through independent label Megaforce Records. 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. The band was asked 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 the band's only album not to feature an official bass player, as Jason Newsted left Metallica prior to the recording sessions; Rock played the album's bass parts in his place.
Jason Curtis Newsted is an American heavy metal musician, known for being the bassist of American heavy metal band Metallica from October 1986 until January 2001.
"Creeping Death" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 23, 1984, as the lead and only commercial single from their album Ride the Lightning. Written from the perspective of the Angel of Death, "Creeping Death" describes the tenth plague of Egypt.
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is a 2004 documentary film featuring American heavy metal band Metallica. It shares its name with the song "Some Kind of Monster" from Metallica's 2003 album St. Anger. The film shows many studio rehearsals and fragments of concert footage. It won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2005. Metallica re-released the film, including a bonus documentary, in 2014 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
"Hero of the Day" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica from their 1996 album Load. The song was recorded on December 13, 1995, at Plant Studios in Sausalito, California. "Hero of the Day" was Metallica's second single release from the album. The song became their second consecutive number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached number two in Australia, number three in Finland and number eight in Norway. The song is one of the few Metallica songs written primarily in a major key. A promotional video for the track was also filmed.
Damaged Justice was the fourth concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It began on September 11, 1988 and ended on October 8, 1989. The name is believed to be inspired either by the cover of its fourth studio album ...And Justice for All, or by the song "Damage, Inc." from the group's previous album, Master of Puppets.
Wherever We May Roam was a concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica in support of their eponymous fifth studio album. It began in autumn of 1991. The North American legs ran through summer 1992, followed by the Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour, the Wherever We May Roam European leg, and finally the Nowhere Else to Roam tour of smaller markets in North America, Mexico, Asia, Australia, South America, Europe and Israel, ending in the summer of 1993.
"The God That Failed" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, from their 1991 self-titled album. The song was never released as a single, but was the first of the album's songs to be heard by the public. It is one of Metallica's first original releases to be tuned half a step down.
The Metallica Collection is a digital box set by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released to the iTunes Store on April 14, 2009. The box set features all of the band's studio albums and extra material from 1983 to 2008. The box set was later released to other digital music stores such Amazon MP3 and UOL Megastore.
The Damage, Inc. Tour was a concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the band's third studio album, Master of Puppets. The name of the tour is taken from the last song on the album. It began on March 27, 1986 and ended on February 13, 1987. Metallica supported Ozzy Osbourne from March to August, headlined a string of U.S. dates between May 23 and June 7 with Armored Saint, and were the main act throughout the fall and winter with support from Anthrax and Metal Church. Roadie John Marshall, who later played guitar in Metal Church, filled in for James Hetfield on rhythm guitar between July 27 and September 25 following a mid-tour skateboarding accident resulting in a broken arm. Hetfield, Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett had discussed firing Lars Ulrich upon completion of the tour, but plans were set aside upon the death of Burton on September 27, 1986 in a tour bus accident near Ljungby, Sweden while en route from Stockholm to Copenhagen, Denmark. Performances that were scheduled for October were postponed and the band hired a new bassist, Jason Newsted to complete the rest of the tour. Metallica also became the first band of the Big Four to cross the Iron Curtain, with two concerts in Katowice, Poland on February 10 and 11, 1987.
"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.
Limited-Edition Vinyl Box Set is a vinyl box set by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 23, 2004.
