Metallica is an American heavy metal band, founded in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield. Aside from Ulrich, the original lineup for some of the 1982 concerts included James Hetfield ( rhythm guitar and lead vocals),

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has relea ...

(lead guitar and backing vocals) and

Ron McGovney Ronald J. McGovney (born November 2, 1963) is an American semi-retired musician, best known as the original bass guitarist in the heavy metal band Metallica from October 1981 to December 1982. Having previously played with guitarist James Het ...

(bass guitar).

Cliff Burton Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who was the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on ''Kill 'Em All'' (1983), ''Ride the Lightning'' (1984) ...

replaced McGovney in 1982 and played with the band until his death in 1986. After his death, bassists

Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician who was the bassist of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He first performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam (band), Flotsam and Jetsam from ...

(1986–2001), and

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash ban ...

(since 2003) were recruited in the band. The lead guitarist role was taken by

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

(since 1983) after

was fired from the band, who would then go on to form the band Megadeth. During the first years Metallica played in small festivals and as supporting acts on tours for bands such as

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

. Since their first live gig at Radio City, Anaheim on March 14, 1982, Metallica has performed on all seven continents numbering live events every year (with the exception of 2001) in a total of over 1,600 shows. The majority of these were played in the United States, but numerous concerts were also played in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany, among other countries. The band also went on seven worldwide tours: Damage, Inc. Tour (1986–1987),

Damaged Justice Damaged Justice was the fourth concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It began on September 11, 1988, and ended on October 8, 1989. The name is believed to be inspired either by the cover of its fourth studio album '' ...And J ...

(1988–1989), Wherever We May Roam Tour (1991–1992), Nowhere Else to Roam (1993), Madly in Anger with the World Tour (2003–2004), Escape from the Studio '06, and

World Magnetic Tour The World Magnetic Tour was a 2008–2010 concert tour by American heavy metal band Metallica in support of the band's ninth studio album, ''Death Magnetic'', which was released on September 12, 2008. The tour officially kicked off in October ...

(2008–2010). During these tours, South Africa as well as several countries in Central and South America, Asia, and Oceania were visited. Metallica has played many shows at major

rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular even ...

s such as

Woodstock '94 Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was r ...

Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...

Monsters of Rock Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...

, Lollapalooza, Download Festival,

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

, and

Days on the Green Day on the Green was a recurring concert in Oakland, California, presented by promoter Bill Graham and his company Bill Graham Presents. Held at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, these events began in 1973 and continued into the early 1990s. ...

. They also held numerous concerts in stadiums, some of which featured crowds of over 100,000 people. One of the highest-attendance music concerts in history was held by AC/DC on September 28, 1991, at Tushino Airfield in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, where unofficially 1.6 million people attended. Some of these performances were later released as videos for special box set or DVD releases. Some performances have been held in theaters, including two April 1999 shows alongside the San Francisco Symphony that were released as the album '' S&M''. Metallica's first official tour was Kill 'Em All for One, which started in 1983 to promote their debut album. Their longest so far have been the Wherever We May Roam and World Magnetic Tours, which lasted 14 months and 20 months, respectively, with each having over 170 concerts. The band is among the most lucrative live bands, selling out half of their first 187 concerts held during the 2000s, and gaining an attendance of over 3.5 million people and a gross of over

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1980s tours

1990s tours

2000s tours

2010s tours

2020s tours

First and other performance

Notes

References

External links