The
discography of Metallica, a San Francisco-based
heavy metal band formed in 1981 by
James Hetfield (
lead vocals,
rhythm guitar) and
Lars Ulrich (
drums), consists of nine studio albums, four live albums, and numerous singles and videos, many of which were commercially successful. After several lead guitarist and bassist changes, the band settled on
Kirk Hammett and
Cliff Burton, respectively.
Metallica started playing locally, releasing its first widely circulated demo,
No Life 'til Leather, in 1982. The demo caught the attention of
Johny Zazula, who signed Metallica to
Megaforce Records. The band released
Kill 'Em All in 1983, and the following year they released
Ride the Lightning. After Ride the Lightning came out, Metallica left Megaforce and signed to
Elektra Records. In March 1986, the band released its third studio album,
Master of Puppets, which was Metallica's first album to be certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). While promoting the album, Burton was killed in a bus accident.
Jason Newsted was hired as a replacement and the band's first release to feature the new member was an
EP of
cover songs.
...And Justice for All was released in August 1988 and peaked at number six on the
Billboard 200.
Metallica's fifth,
self-titled album...
Read More