1628 - Metallica Enter Sandman 1991

In the years leading up to the release of their classic self-titled record in 1991, Metallica achieved massive success on their own terms. ‘Enter Sandman’ opened the door to something even bigger. Joining forces with producer Bob Rock for the first time, Metallica’s so-called “Black Album” would be the album to truly introduce the band to an international audience. The opening track and first single from the record, ‘Enter Sandman,’ was arguably unlike any other the band had written to date. The record’s streamlined — and some might argue overly accessible — sound undoubtedly played a big part in the album being such a massive success.

1372 - Metallica Cyanide 2008

"Death Magnetic" marks the group's split with producer Bob Rock, who helmed every Metallica album from 1991 to 2004 and pushed them toward concision and immediacy — until "St. Anger", when he seemed to throw up his hands altogether. New producer Rick Rubin shoves Metallica in the opposite direction: Half of "Death Magnetic"'s tracks are over seven minutes long. Kirk Hammett's back to shredding triplets or chiming with Hetfield in Thin Lizzy-esque duels. Balancing vertiginous prog time shifts with chugging power chords. A marvellous example is this suicidal "Cyanide".

951 - Metallica Whiplash 1983

"Whiplash" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It is credited to James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. It is about the feeling one experiences when headbanging.

...thrashing all around, acting like a maniac, whiplash!..

862 - Metallica Nothing else matters 1991

Singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield initially wrote it to a former girlfriend, but now he cannot remember why; some say it meant that "no matter how far" he was (since Metallica spent most of their time on tours), he was still "so close" with the heart. He considered it a very personal song and was not going to publish it, but once drummer Lars Ulrich heard it he wanted it on Metallica. Now Metallica considers it a song dedicated to all their fans and it has become a staple of their live performances.

810 - Metallica Disposable Heroes 1986

Metallica holds true to the metal dictum that nothing succeeds like excess, and as if to prove it, the eight songs on Master of Puppets clock in at just under an hour. Plainly, this band -- bassist Cliff Burton, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield -- has a lot to say. Metallica shines a cold light on the forces that be, the inescapable evil that turns young men into "Disposable Heroes". Metal up your ass. Long life to the masters of puppets.

780 - Metallica The Four Horsemen 1983

This song encapsulates the continuing battle between Megadeth, Metallica, and their fans. "Mechanix" was released before it was called "The Four Horsemen" since "Mechanix" was the original title for the song, Metallica only changed it once Mustaine was kicked out. On Metallica's legendary "No Life Till Leather" demo the song was still called "The Mechanix" and sounded more like the version which was to later surface on Megadeth's "Killing Is My Business" album. I personally prefer the Metallica version.

557 - Metallica Fight Fire with Fire 1984

"Fight Fire with Fire" starts things off with an acoustic intro, which would become standard for the first track with later albums. This goes strait into a quick riff and then a snare heavy beat from Lars comes soon after. The lyrics here deal with nuclear winter, as evidenced by the line "Blow the universe into nothingness/Nuclear warfare shall lay us to rest." The chorus further supports this with "Fight fire with fire/The ending is near." Another verse and chorus and then there's the solo with a chunky riff underneath. A bit of double bass from Lars follows as the solo get's higher and then goes back to riffing. The guitars die out for a second, leaving only drums but they soon return with the main riff. "Soot to fill our lungs/The hot winds of death/The gods are laughing so take your last breath" leads into another chorus, and afterward "Fight fire with fire" is repeated a few times. The riff changes a little with more double bass, and the song ends with the sound of a bomb dropping. A good track, this is a good one to open the album with.

496 - Metallica Welcome Home (Sanitarium) 1986

"Master of Puppets" is a timeless master piece. It’s hard, fast, rock with substance that doesn’t require the listener to wear eye-liner or big fire-hazard hair to enjoy. It also features more serious themes (albeit expressed in a particularly aggressive and direct way) and more complex arrangements than similar acts of the same era. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” will make you question your sanity. A mix between soft melody and heavy riffs, the song seems to climax at the 4:05 point, and holds that intensity for the rest of the song.

466 - Metallica Blackened 1988

"And Justice For All" was released in 1988, after what was an extremely difficult time in the personal lives of the members of Metallica. While touring their previous release, Master Of Puppets, their tour bus was involved in an accident that killed their bass player Cliff Burton. This album sounds different to every other Metallica record, vocally gruffer but with thinner orchestration. Drums tick and pop, rather than bang, the guitars sound dryer and thinner, and there’s little in the way of bass. As a record it's complicated, aggressive and hugely technically ambitious (so much so that the majority of these songs have only rarely been reproduced in their entirety live), and contains snatches of some of Metallica's finest work. “Blackened” and “Frayed Ends Of Sanity” stand out in particular, both full of ideas, crackling with aggression and neck-snapping hooks.

375 - Metallica Seek & Destroy 1983

Even though thrash was already around at the time as bands like Overkill, Exodus, etc, were making thrash demos along with Metallica, but it really wasn’t until that fateful day in 1983 that thrash was truly born when Metallica released their debut album, "Kill ‘Em All". A lot of this material was written by Dave Mustaine, but he was kicked out of the band just months before the album’s release. "Seek & Destroy" is probably the least thrashiest song out all of the songs on this album, but nonetheless, it’s till very heavy. It’s pretty catchy too, and easy to sing along to.

229 - Metallica Wherever I May Roam 1991

The "Black Album" was a new step for Metallica, they had just recently recruited Bob Rock, who was the man behind the board on Motley Crue's smash "Dr. Feelgood", which had only been out a few years earlier, to produce the record; regardless of the bands first impression of Rock being negative. Rock literally took the band in a different direction when it came to working together in the studio, making the band play together at the same time. Up until this point, Metallica would record themselves separately, with each member doing their own thing one at a time. This would ultimately add to the friction between band members and their producer. "Wherever I May Roam" is one of the best tracks of the album, great choruses, better riffs.

199 - Metallica One 1988

Inspired by the Dalton Trumbo antiwar novel "Johnny Got His Gun" (which became a movie in 1971 starring Jason Robards) about an armless, legless and faceless veteran, "One", from the hit album "And Justice for All", is a depressive but brilliant song. This song is about a soldier fighting in World War I and a landmine blows off in his face. He can't hear, see, smell, taste and he doesn't have arms or legs. He comes out of a coma in a hospital. During the time he is in the hospital he reflects on his life and things his father told him. Eventually the doctors get worried because he's having spasms all the time, but he doesn't seem to be dying. They call in the general and he can't figure it out either but the soldier with the general recognizes it. "Its Morse code," he says. The general asks what he is saying and the soldier looks for a minute and then says, "He is saying K-I-L-L- M-E over and over again". Amazing solo, furious break, mellow acoustic parts, technical drums and the chilling story line so awesomely captured by James' emotional voice.

154 - Metallica Orion 1985

Typically, "Orion" is Metallica’s most distinguishable instrumental among fans. It is complete beauty in its most raw form. Cliff Burton’s mystical performance half way through remains unforgettable.

132 - Metallica Hit the Lights 1983

The true birth of thrash. On Kill 'Em All, Metallica fuses the intricate riffing of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Diamond Head with the velocity of Motörhead and hardcore punk. James Hetfield's highly technical rhythm guitar style drives most of the album, setting new standards of power, precision, and stamina. But really, the rest of the band is just as dexterous, playing with tightly controlled fury even at the most fast tempos.
When Metallica settled on a lineup originally, the band featured James Hetfield (guitar/vocals), Lars Ulrich (drums), Ron McGovney (bass) and Dave Mustaine (lead guitar). Due to tensions between McGovney and Mustaine, McGovney left the band. Castro Valley-born bassist Cliff Burton was recruited as a replacement, and Metallica's first "classic" lineup was forged. However, there was also considerable tension between Mustaine and the rest of the band (particularly Hetfield), which resulted in him being sacked in early 1983, just prior to the recording of Kill 'Em All - he went on to form the band Megadeth, who themselves would later achieve multi-million selling success. After Mustaine's departure, Metallica recruited Kirk Hammett, Exodus guitarist and one-time student of guitar legend Joe Satriani, whisking him into the studio barely a month after joining to record the album.
"Hit the Lights" is the first track, it was the first song that James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich worked on...
No life till leather
We're gonna kick some ass tonight
We got the metal madness
When our fans start screaming it's right, well alright

98 - Metallica Fade to Black 1984

Metallica: James Hetfield (vocals, guitar); Kirk Hammett (guitar); Cliff Burton (bass); Lars Ulrich (drums). Metallica turned the metal world on its ear with their debut album, KILL 'EM ALL, and then blew its mind with the follow-up, RIDE THE LIGHTNING, recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark in Spring 1984. The riffs and arrangements are more intricate, the lyrics are more intelligent and biting and James Hetfield's growl is meaner. "Fade To Black" is a ballad that builds to an instrumental coda featuring the guitar melodies that the band would later base their sound around. It's also Hetfield's first attempt at singing in tune.

61 - Metallica For Whom the Bell Tolls 1984

Ride the Lightning is considered as one of the highlights of the Metallica's career. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a long-standing fan favourite and no wonder: the late Cliff Burton is possibly one of the all-time great bass players in the industry and delivers a superb descending melodic line that is joined by another Hammett solo figure reminiscent of the Black Sabbath classic Fairies Wear Boots. The main meat of the song consists of memorable riffs and the band's dramatic, almost melodramatic, insistence to rock and rock hard; surprisingly it still packs a punch after all these years of parodies and imitators.

32 - Metallica Creeping Death 1984

Many fans claim this is Metallica´s best song, it is a powerful cut taken from Ride the Lightning, an excellent and unique album full of great compositions. "Creeping death" is a great mixture of minor & middle eastern "Quartet" scale. This one's actually based on a "Thora" story which is about Ramsis II's son being murdered by the "Angel of death"(aka.Creeping death). Jame's singing and rhythm guitar, Kirk's wicked solo and lead pull off's at the end, Cliff's bass and Lar's thunderous drumming make this song is one of the album's highest moments.

8- Metallica Master of Puppets 1986

Metallica unearthed their third long player “Master Of Puppets“ in 1986. As everybody knows, Hetfield and co. had forged a masterpiece of pure genius. Just like the previous album "Ride the Lightning", “Master Of Puppets” became a classic and additionally one of the best Thrash Metal albums. A classic until the end of time.