Group
Metallica
- From
- Los Angeles, United States
- Since
- 1981–present
- Rating
- ★ 4.15
- Releases
- 1116
- thrash metal
- heavy metal
- metal
- hard rock
- rock
About
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 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. Former members of the band are bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted, as well as guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica in 1983.
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Metallica first found commercial success with the release of its third album, Master of Puppets (1986), which is often cited as one of the best metal albums of all time. The band's next album, ...And Justice for All (1988), gave Metallica its first Grammy Award nomination. Its fifth album, Metallica (1991), was a turning point for the band that saw it transition from its thrash metal roots; the album appealed to a more mainstream audience, achieving substantial commercial success and selling more than 16 million copies in the United States to date, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era. After experimenting with different genres and directions in subsequent releases, Metallica returned to its thrash metal roots with its ninth album, Death Magnetic (2008), which drew similar praise to that of the band's earlier albums. The band's latest album, 72 Seasons, was released in 2023.
In 2000, Metallica led the case against the peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, in which the band and several other artists filed lawsuits against the service for sharing their copyright-protected material without consent, eventually reaching a settlement. Metallica was the subject of the acclaimed 2004 documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, which documented the troubled production of the band's eighth album, St. Anger (2003), and the internal struggles within the band at the time. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band co-wrote the screenplay for and starred alongside Dane DeHaan in the 2013 concert film Metallica: Through the Never, in which the band performed live against a fictional thriller storyline.
Metallica is one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold more than 163 million albums worldwide as of 2023, and is the third-best-selling music artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, having sold 58 million albums in the United States as of 2017. The band has released eleven studio albums, four live albums (including two performances with the San Francisco Symphony), twelve video albums, one cover album, two extended plays, 37 singles and 39 music videos. Metallica has won ten Grammy Awards from 26 nominations and had six consecutive studio albums, from Metallica through Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines such as Rolling Stone, which ranked the band in 61st place on its list of 100 greatest artists of all time.
Heard on the radio
-
Enter Sandman -
One (Remastered) -
Wherever I May Roam
Members
-
James Hetfield guitar, lead vocals
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Lars Ulrich drums (drum set), percussion
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Kirk Hammett background vocals, guitar
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Robert Trujillo background vocals, bass guitar
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Dave Mustaine background vocals, guitar
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Ron McGovney bass guitar
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Cliff Burton background vocals, bass guitar
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Jason Newsted background vocals, electric bass guitar
Discography
Albums
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Kill ’Em All
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Ride the Lightning Apple Music
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Master of Puppets Apple Music
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…And Justice for All
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Damaged Justice 1985
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Metallica Apple Music
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Load
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Reload
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St. Anger
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Death Magnetic Apple Music
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Lulu
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Hardwired… to Self‐Destruct
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Destroyed in the Mosh
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Live in Concert
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72 Seasons Apple Music
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Ron McGovney's '82 Garage Demo
EPs
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Power Metal
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Dave ’Em All
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The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
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Creeping Death / Jump in the Fire
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Hero of the Day EP
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Last Caress
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S&M Sampler
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St. Anger
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Plays the Ramones
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The Unnamed Feeling E.P.
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Some Kind of Monster Apple Music
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Beyond Magnetic Apple Music
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Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
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Language of the Mad
Singles
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Fixxxer
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Ain’t My Bitch (remastered)
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If Darkness Had a Son Apple Music
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Screaming Suicide Apple Music
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72 Seasons Apple Music
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Lux Æterna Apple Music
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The Struggle Within
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Blackened 2020
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The Wait (Remastered)
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Dyers Eve
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One
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Spit Out the Bone
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Moth Into Flame
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Atlas, Rise!
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Hardwired
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Lords of Summer Apple Music
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Ronnie Rising
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Lords of Summer Apple Music
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The View
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Broken, Beat & Scarred
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The Day That Never Comes
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My Apocalypse
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Cyanide
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All Nightmare Long
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The Judas Kiss
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All Nightmare Long
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Re-Fuel
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The Unnamed Feeling
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St. Anger
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Frantic
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Master of Puppets (Dylan remix) Apple Music
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Die, Die My Darling
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Fuel
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Turn the Page
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Whiskey in the Jar
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Better Than You
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King Nothing
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The Unforgiven II
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The Memory Remains
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Bleeding Me
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Mama Said
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Hero of the Day
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Until It Sleeps
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Enter Sandman / One
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Wherever I May Roam
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Nothing Else Matters
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The Unforgiven
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Sad but True
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Enter Sandman
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Enter Sandman / Calling Elvis
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Eye of the Beholder
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Harvester of Sorrow
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One
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…And Justice for All
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Master of Puppets Apple Music
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Fade to Black
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Jump in the Fire
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Creeping Death
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Whiplash
Live
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2026-06-28: Cardiff, Wales
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2026‐05‐24: Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany
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M72 World Tour: Bologna, Italy
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2026/05/09 Athens, GR
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Zurich, Switzerland May 27, 2026
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2026‐05‐22: Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany
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1993/06/27 Athens, GR
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Denver, CO - June 27, 2025
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2025/11/08 Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
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2025-05-09: M72 World Tour: Sonic Temple: Columbus, Ohio
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2025-05-11: M72 World Tour: Sonic Temple: Columbus, Ohio
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2025-11-15: Accor Stadium, Sydney, Australia
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2025‐06‐14: NRG Stadium, Houston, TX, USA
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Santa Clara, CA June 22, 2025
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2025/11/05 Adelaide, AUS
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Denver, CO - June 29, 2025
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2025-05-07: M72 World Tour: Blacksburg, Virginia
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2025-05-25: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
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Santa Clara, CA June 20, 2025
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M72 World Tour: Mexico City
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2025-05-23: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
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M72 World Tour: Auckland, NZL
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2025-04-19: M72 World Tour: Syracuse, New York
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2 x 4 (Live at Astoria 2, London, England / 23rd August 1995)
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2024-08-30: Seattle, WA, USA
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2024-05-26: M72 World Tour: Munich, Germany
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2024-05-29: M72 World Tour: I-Days Festival, Milan, Italy
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Foxborough, Massachusetts - August 2, 2024
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2024-08-18: M72 World Tour: Minneapolis, Minnesota
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2024-08-16: M72 World Tour: Minneapolis, Minnesota
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2024-08-11: M72 World Tour: Chicago, Illinois
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2024-07-07: M72 World Tour: PGE Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland
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2024-06-16: Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
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2024-05-24: M72 World Tour: Munich, Germany
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2024-07-05: M72 World Tour: PGE Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland
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2024-09-01: Seattle, WA, USA
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2024-08-09: M72 World Tour: Chicago, Illinois
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2024-06-14: Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
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2024-09-22: Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico City, MX
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2024-09-29: Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico City, MX
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2024-09-20: Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico City, MX
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2024-09-27: Estadio GNP Seguros, Mexico City, MX
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2024-12-13: YouTube Theater Los Angeles, CA
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2023-11-10: Ford Field, Detroit, MI
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Amsterdam 2023
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2023/11/05 St. Louis, MO
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2023-08-06: East Rutherford, NJ
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2023-06-08: Castle Donington, England
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2023-08-04: East Rutherford, NJ
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2023-06-10: Castle Donington, England
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2023/11/03 St. Louis, MO
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2023-08-13: Stade olympique, Montréal, Qc
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2023-06-16: M72 World Tour: Gothenburg, Sweden
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2023-08-18: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
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2023-11-12: Ford Field, Detroit, MI
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2023-08-20: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
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2023-05-19: Stade de France, Paris, France
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2023-05-28: M72 World Tour: Hamburg, DEU
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2023-05-17: Stade de France, Paris, France
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2023-05-26: M72 World Tour: Hamburg, DEU
Compilations
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No Life 'Til Leather: Definitive Edition
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The Sandman Cometh: The Broadcast Anthology 1983 – 1996
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The Broadcast Collection 1988 – 1994
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The Best of the Best
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The Broadcast Archive
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Kill/Ride Deluxe Edition 14-Track Sampler
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Blackened Friday Sampler
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The Essential Hit's
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Garage Days Revisited
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The Greatest Hits
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Sydney Magnetic
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Frantic / Paranoid
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The Metallica Collection
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Classic Albums: Metallica / British Steel
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Past Magnetic
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Best of the Best… 1983–2003
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Greatest Hits
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The Videos: 1989–2004
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The Best Ballads
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Heavy Metal Box
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Limited‐Edition Vinyl Box Set
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Saint Anger Promo
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Mandatory Metallica 03
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Riverside Studio 2003
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Frantic Elektra Studio Live
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Never Released
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The Best 2001
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Metallurgy
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Platinum Collection'2000
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Best Collection (The Best)
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Until The Studioshit Load 2000 Unreleased
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The Golden Unplugged Album
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200% Ultra Hits
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Slashes, Crashes & Hits
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Woodstock Jam 99
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Garage Inc.
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Very Best ’98
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The Apocalypse
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Mandatory Metallica
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The Story So Far
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Load Your B-Sides
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The Ultimate Rarities
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The Complete Garage Days…
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Rains of Blood Live
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Garage Days 3
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Devil's Dance
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Jump in the Fire / Creeping Death / Garage Days Re‐Revisited
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Garage Days, Part II
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Mandatory
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Ultra Rare Trax
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The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited …and More
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Tales From the Cliff
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1982–1988: The Complete Demo Collection
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Do You Like Our Sound?
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Covering 'em
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Secret Demos
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Halloween
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Heavy Best
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Rough Justice
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The Other Side Of...
Other
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The God That Failed (May 13th, 1991 rough mix)
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My Friend of Misery (from Jason’s riff tapes)
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Under the Covers
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The Shortest Straw (December 1987 / Writing In Progress)
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Demo Magnetic
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Lightning Head (Wick-it Remix)
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Presidio
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This Anger Lives
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Metallica Apple Music
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I Disappear Apple Music
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Fan Can #3
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Stand Up and Shout Interview
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Interview Picture Disc: Limited Edition
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Megaforce Demo
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KUSF
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No Life ’Til Leather
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Interview
Links
Listen
Official
Social
Concerts
Buy
Reference
- AllMusic
- BBC Music
- Discogs
- livemetallica.com
- IMDb
- Last.fm
- Genius
- muzikum.eu
- musixmatch.com
- id.loc.gov
- catalogue.bnf.fr
- d-nb.info
- id.oclc.org
- imvdb.com
- musicmoz.org
- openlibrary.org
- soundtrackcollector.com
- rateyourmusic.com
- 45cat.com
- livefans.jp
- metal-archives.com
- metalmusicarchives.com
- musik-sammler.de
- muziekweb.nl
- progarchives.com
- spirit-of-metal.com
- whosampled.com
- purevolume.com
- SecondHandSongs
- VIAF
- Wikidata
Founder
Named after artist
Tribute
- Some Kind of Metallica
- AcillateM
- Battery
- Beatallica
- The Best of Metallica
- The Big Four Tribute Band
- Black Horsemen
- Black Metallica
- Hellfire Turin Club
- Crush
- Damage Inc
- Damage, Inc.
- Damage, LLC
- Damaged Justice
- Death Metallic
- Disposable Heroes
- The Four Horsemen
- Hardwired to Kill ’Em All
- Hattallica
- In Honor of Metallica
- Justice Damage
- Justice, Inc.
- Magnetica
- Magnetica Paraná
- Master of Puppets
- Masters of Justice
- Meatallica
- Metallagher
- Metallica Jam
- Metallica Real Tribute
- Metallica Reloaded
- Metallica Revival Beroun
- Metallica Symphonic Tribute
- Metallicish
- Los Metallicos
- Misery
- Mittra
- MntallicA
- Night Killers
- No Life ’Til Leather
- Obey Your Master
- Orion – A Metallica Experience
- Patarei
- Present Danger
- Pulling Teeth
- R.I.P.
- Revenge
- Ride ’Em All
- Sanitarium
- Sanitarium
- Scary Guyz
- Seek ’em All
- Slither
- Trapped Under Rice
- Unforgiven
Also known as
Metalica · メタリカ · 메탈리카
Tags
- american
- rockgruppe
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- 65f4f0c5-ef9e-490c-aee3-909e7ae6b2ab
- ISNI
- 0000000122939631
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 5 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.