Metallica must be considered one of the most well-known metal bands ever, with their work in the 80's in particular receiving accolades as amongst the finest metal works ever recorded. Formed in 1981 by the duo of James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, their youthful energy quickly gained them an incredible underground following, with their debut Kill 'Em All being one of the most anticipated underground releases of the era. And it did not disappoint -- arguably one of the first true thrash albums, it jumpstarted a thrash scene that would last for years to come. With each succeeding release their popularity grew, and with the release of 1986's Master Of Puppets (one of the most popular thrash albums of all time), it was clear that it would only be a matter of time before true worldwide fame would be theirs. They suffered a tremendous setback when bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a tour bus accident, but even that did not slow them down, as they recruited new bassist Jason Newsted and continued growing with 1988's ... And Justice For All.

The rise of Metallica to superstardom culminated in 1991 with the release of their self-titled album, also famously known as the Black Album. While the momentum of the past decade insured its success (and successful it was, reaching Number 1 and selling over seven million copies in the US alone), a chasm started to develop between the hardened early thrash fans and the mainstream audience that welcomed the "new" Metallica. This chasm was widened with 1996's Load, which saw the band further delving into mainstream hard rock and greatly lessening their thrash roots. Indeed, many early fans gave up on the band completely, but their mainstream popularity had risen to true superstar status by this time, and they are still regarded as one of the most popular metal bands of all time. After spending several years touring and recording miscellaneous projects such as the S&M band + orchestra collaboration, they released the somewhat controversial St. Anger in 2003, and now in 2008, with new bassist Robert Trujillo solidly in place, comes Death Magnetic, which appears to welcome at least a partial return to their thrashier roots.