The discography of American heavy metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

includes eleven

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s, eight

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s, three

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s, 44

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, ten

video album A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s, 43

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s, one

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

, one collaboration album and three

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

s. They are a San Francisco-based

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

band formed in 1981 by

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...

(

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

) and

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...

(

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s). After several bassist and lead guitarist changes (including

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 releas ...

), the band settled on

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 ...

and

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, ...

, respectively. Metallica started playing locally, releasing their first widely circulated demo, ''

No Life 'til Leather A list of all demos written and recorded by American heavy metal band Metallica. ''Whiskey Audition Tape'' These two cover songs were recorded in then-bassist Ron McGovney’s garage, during rehearsals that took place in March 1982. On the st ...

'', in 1982. The demo caught the attention of Johny Zazula, who signed Metallica to

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (w ...

. The band released ''

Kill 'Em All ''Kill 'Em All'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several ...

'' in 1983, and the following year they released '' Ride the Lightning''. After ''Ride the Lightning'' was released, Metallica left Megaforce and signed to

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. In March 1986, the band released its third studio album, ''

Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band's last album ...

'', which was Metallica's first album to be certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). While promoting the album, Burton was killed in a bus accident.

Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician who was the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He first performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam from 1981 to 1986 before joining Metallica to su ...

was hired as a replacement. The band's first release to feature Newsted was '' The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited'', and then followed by '' ...And Justice for All'' in August 1988, which peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200. Metallica's fifth, self-titled album, often called ''The Black Album'', was released in 1991 and debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. The band embarked on a two-year tour in support of the album. ''Metallica'' has since been certified 16 times platinum by the RIAA. Metallica followed with the release of ''

Load Load or LOAD may refer to: Aeronautics and transportation *Load factor (aeronautics), the ratio of the lift of an aircraft to its weight *Passenger load factor, the ratio of revenue passenger miles to available seat miles of a particular transpo ...

'' and '' Reload'', respectively. After the release of ''

Garage Inc. ''Garage Inc.'' is a compilation album of cover songs by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 24, 1998, through Elektra Records. It includes cover songs, B-side covers, and ''The $5.98 E.P. - Garage Days Re-Revisited'' ...

'' and '' S&M'', Newsted (who would later join Voivod) departed from the band. Metallica recorded '' St. Anger'' without an official bassist (bass parts for the writing & recording during the album sessions were played by the band's long-time producer

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, 31 ...

). Bassist

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 music, heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of cr ...

joined Metallica in 2003. In 2008, the band released its ninth studio album, ''

Death Magnetic ''Death Magnetic'' is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 12, 2008, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, marking the band's first album since '' ...And Justice for Al ...

'', which was produced by

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

and distributed through

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. In April 2009, the band's catalogue was released on the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

as ''the Metallica Collection''. In 2013, Metallica released the movie '' Metallica: Through the Never'', together with its

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

. Metallica then started writing their tenth studio album, '' Hardwired... to Self-Destruct'', which was released on November 18, 2016. Metallica has sold more than 125 million albums worldwide, with over 67 million records in the United States alone (56.3 million albums since 1991 when

SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

started tracking actual sales figures).

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

Cover albums

Tribute albums

Collaboration albums

Soundtrack albums

Extended plays

Box sets

Singles

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Other appearances

Guest appearances

Videos

Video albums

Music videos

Notes

References

External links

*
Metallica
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Metallica Discography Heavy metal group discographies

Discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

Discographies of American artists