Metallica has grown so big the band seems to occupy a genre of its own. The Grammy-award winning artists have sold over 90,000,000 albums worldwide.
Formed in 1981, Metallica spent seven years perfecting the craft before it found commercial success. These early years produced some of the most complex metal music of all time; many of the guitar riffs and musical arrangements have been heralded by critics as iconic works.
Though lauded for albums like Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets, its combination of thrash metal and hardcore could not find a place in mainstream music.
...And Justice for All (1988) introduced Metallica to the masses, as it finally embraced the mediums of radio and MTV and shed their underground status.
The prospect of even great success led to the band's evolution, as it embarked on a career altering journey with Metallica (The Black Album) in 1991.
If the all-black cover-art hinted change, the music itself screamed it. Unlike its old tracks, which often approached the ten minute mark, the new album was packaged for commercial success. The slower, less complicated music yielded hits such as, The Unforgiven, Nothing else matters and Enter Sandman.
Metallica's place in the lexicon of hard metal was cemented.
Fans of the old sound and image cried 'Foul!', but the band never looked back. It has recorded four studio albums since Metallica; each release has moved them further from its hardcore roots.
Metallica is possibly the greatest live band of all-time. It has earned this distinction through extensive touring, great technical skill and a willingness to experiment. In 1999, it joined forces with the San Francisco Orchestra to produce S&M, the first large-scale collaboration of classical and metal.
Must have album: Master of Puppets
Greatest songs: Master of Puppets, One, Enter Sandman
Image: James Hetfield, Metallica's lead singer, in concert in Imola, Italy. Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/Getty Images
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