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Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Metallica was formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper.Metallica has released nine studio albums, four live albums, five extended plays, 26 music videos, and 37 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards and five of its albums have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The band's current line-up includes founders Hetfield (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Ulrich (drums), longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo, who joined the band in 2003. Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who went on to found Megadeth, bassists Ron McGovney (demos only), Cliff Burton (the first three records, died in 1986), and Jason Newsted (from 1987 to 2001) are former members of the band. Metallica collaborated over a long period with producer Bob Rock, who produced all of the band's albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo.

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