Metallica Biography

Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. They met after Hetfield responded to an ad posted by Ulrich in a local newspaper. The current members are founding members, Hetfield and Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo.

Formation

The heavy metal band was formed in Los Angeles, California when drummer Lars Ulrich placed an ad in the Los Angeles newspaper, “The Recycler”. James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner answered the advertisement. Even if he didn’t form a band, Ulrich asked Brian Slagel, founder of Metal Blade Records, if he could record a song for Metal Massacre, the label’s compilation album. Slagel accepted and Hetfield was recruited by Ulrich to sing and play rhythm guitar. Metallica was officially formed on October 28, 1981, five months after Ulrich and Hetfield’s first encounter.

Style

Metallica’s early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the “big four” of the thrash metal sub-genre, alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. The band was influenced by Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Ted Nugent, Rush, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, and Scorpions. British heavy metal bands Venom, Motorhead, Blitzkrieg, Diamond Head, and Iron Maiden, and punk rock bands Sex Pistols, Ramones, and the Misfits also influenced Metallica’s style.

Legacy

Metallica has released ten studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, five extended plays, twenty-six music videos and thirty-seven singles. Selling more than 110 million records worldwide, Metallica is one of the most commercially successful bands of all time.

Photo source: Discogs