There are some people who are die hard fans of Metallica and those who think their music is crap. This is my website so I am going to freely express my opinion. METALLICA DOES NOT SUCK! People who cannot appreciate this band for at least one reason or another have no business saying they love music! This band was formed in the lovely year of 1981, in Los Angeles. As several bands had come together Lars Ulrich placed an ad in a local newspaper looking to form a band. The founding members of Metallica were Lars Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and bassist Ron McGovney. Mustaine and McGovney were later replaced by Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton. In September 1986, Metallica’s tour bus skidded out of control and flipped, which killed Burton. He was crushed under the bus. Jason Newsted replaced him less than two months later. Newsted left the band in 2001 and was then replaced by Robert Trujillo in 2003.
Metallica’s early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the “Big Four” of the trash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and critical acclaim, with the 1986 release Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and “heavy” thrash metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success with its self-titled 1991 album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.
Metallica has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, twenty-two music videos, and forty-three singles. The band has won seven Grammy Awards, and has had five albums peak at number one on the Billboard 200, making Metallica the only band to top the chart five times. The band’s 1991 album, Metallica, has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, which makes it the 25th highest selling album in the country. The band has sold over an estimated 100 million records worldwide as of the release of their latest album Death Magnetic. September 2, 2008, a French record store began selling copies of Death Magnetic nearly two weeks ahead of its scheduled worldwide release date, which resulted in the album being made available on peer-to-peer clients. This prompted the band’s United Kingdom distributor, Vertigo Records, to officially release the album two days ahead of schedule, on September 10, 2008. It is currently unconfirmed whether Metallica or Warner Bros. will be taking any action against the retailer, though drummer Lars Ulrich who has made such responses to the leak as, “…We’re ten days from release. I mean, from here, we’re golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me, and, “By 2008 standards, that’s a victory. If you’d told me six months ago that our record wouldn’t leak until 10 days out, I would have signed up for that. Death Magnetic debuted at number 1 in several countries to make it top the Australian, Canadian, and European album chart. Selling 490,000 units in the United States to debut at number 1, making Metallica the first band to have 5 consecutive studio albums debut at number one in the history of the Billboard 200.[66] After a week of its release, Death Magnetic remained at number 1 on the Billboard 200, the European album chart, and became the fastest selling album in Australia for 2008.
Its continued reign atop the Billboard Top 200 album chart makes Metallica the only artist, aside from Jack Johnson with the release of Sleep Through the Static, to enjoy a third consecutive week at #1 this year. Death Magnetic is also #1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock, Modern Rock/Alternative and Rock album charts. Internationally, the album racked up No. 1 chart positions in 32 countries including the U.K., Canada, and Australia.
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