  Metallica, consisting of James
Hetfield on vocals and guitar, Lars Ulrich on
drums, Kirk Hammett on guitar, and Jason
Newsted on bass, formed in 1981 when Hetfield
met Ulrich in California and decided to form
a band (after running an ad in The
Recycler). Eventually the band went on
to become one of the biggest and most
critically acclaimed heavy metal bands of the
80s and 90s.
Other members at the beginning
of Metallica's conception included Ron
McGonvey on bass and Dave Mustaine (who went
on to Megadeth fame) on lead
guitar. The band spent a few years playing
the hard rock clubs of Los Angeles before
moving on and moving some band members out -
replacing McGonvey and Mustaine with Cliff
Burton and Kirk Hammett.
Metallica performed together in
California for the first time live and cut
their first demo record the next month. For a
short time, Metallica added a fifth member,
Jeff Warner, on rhythm guitar, but return to
the original 4 members when Mustaine and
Warner clash. The band ended the year by
relocating to San Francisco - a condition of
Burton's joining the group.
 Mustaine was replaced by
Hammett, and with a new lineup, Metallica
recorded their first LP, Kill
'Em All and toured during the summer. Rolling
Stone included the LP on their list
of the "100 Greatest Albums of the
80's."
 More widespread success came
with Metallica's second LP Ride
The Lightning and a short tour with Twisted
Sister.
By the end of the year Metallica
inked a deal with Elektra Records.
 Metallica released Master
Of Puppets and found their first platinum
taste of success.
But the feeling of sweet success
was short-lived when Cliff Burton was killed
when the band's tour bus crashed in Sweden
due to icy roads. Burton was 24. The band
willed themselves to go in Burton's memory
and Jason Newsted joined the group on bass.
Master
Of Puppets was certified gold.
Metallica finished the year
touring Japan and Canada.
 Metallica released a collection
of cover songs with the EP, The $5.98 EP
- Garage Days Revisited.
Metallica immortalized the
passing of their bandmate and friend with a
video, Cliff
'Em All.
Ride
The Lightning was certified gold.
The $5.98 EP - Garage Days
Revisited was certified gold.
Metallica toured with the
Monsters of Rock package tour before heading
out on their own world tour.
Master
Of Puppets was certified platinum.
 ...And
Justice For All was released. After
years of ignoring pressure to produce videos
for their hit tracks, Metallica presents
video viewers with their first video for
"One."
In the fall and winter,
Metallica toured Europe and the U.S. for the
first time as headliners.
Metallica won a Billboard Music
Award for Top Music Videocassette of the Year
(Cliff
'Em All).
...And
Justice For All was certified platinum.
Metallica had the Top Music
Videocassette of the Year ($19.98 Home
Vid Cliff'em All!).
 # 153
Singles Artist of the Year
Metallica were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance (...And
Justice For All).
Metallica hit the Top 40 with
"One."
 Metallica spent most of the year
touring with Queensryche and
The Cult.
Kill
'Em All was certified gold and Ride
The Lightning was certified platinum.
...And
Justice For All was certified 2x platinum.
The video for "One"
was nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Heavy Metal Video.
Metallica again had the Top
Music Videocassette of the Year ($19.98
Home Vid Cliff'em All!).
 Metallica won a Grammy
Award for Best Metal Performance ("One").
The $5.98 EP - Garage Days
Revisited was certified platinum and the
single "One" was certified
gold.
Metallica could be heard on the Rubaiyat, an Elektra
anniversary compilation with their version of
"Stone Cold Crazy."
 # 72
Singles Artist of the Year
Metallica won a Grammy
Award for Best Metal Performance ("Stone Cold
Crazy").
Kill
'Em All was certified platinum.
Master
Of Puppets was certified 2x platinum.
 Metallica released Metallica (sometimes referred to
as the "Black Album") with the hit
"Enter Sandman" and the band
started a tour that would last almost 2
years.
Metallica hit the Top 40 with
"Enter Sandman."
The single "Enter Sandman" was certified
gold.
Metallica was certified 3x
platinum.
Metallica hit the Top 40 with
"The Unforgiven."
 # 69
Singles Artist of the Year
Metallica was certified 4x
platinum.
Metallica was nominated for 2 American Music
Awards for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Artist
and Favorite Heavy
Metal/Hard Rock Album (Metallica).
 Metallica won a Grammy
Award for Best Metal Performance with Vocal (Metallica) and were also
nominated for Best Rock Song (songwriter) ("Enter Sandman").
...And
Justice For All was certified 3x platinum and Ride
The Lightning was certified 2x platinum.
Metallica hit the Top 40 with
"Nothing Else Matters."
Metallica was certified 5x
platinum.
Hetfield was severely burned
during a pyrotechnics mishap.
The video for "Enter Sandman" won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video and
was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Editing.
The band released the videos, A
Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica
(parts 1 and 2).
Metallica was certified 6x
platinum.
Metallica won an
American Music
Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Artist.
...And
Justice For All was certified 4x platinum.
Metallica was certified 7x
platinum.
Rolling
Stone: "The 100 Top Music Videos" included "One" at # 75.
 Metallica released a 3-CD, 3
video box set, Live
Sh*t: Binge & Purge.
Metallica were nominated for an American Music
Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Artist.
Master
Of Puppets was certified 3x platinum.
 Metallica performed at Woodstock
'94.
Live
Sh*t: Binge & Purge was the top-selling
music video of the year.
Metallica was certified 8x
platinum.
Kill
'Em All was certified 2x platinum and Ride
The Lightning was certified 3x platinum.
 # 171
Singles Artist of the Year
Metallica were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance ("For Whom The
Bell Tolls").
Metallica was certified 9x
platinum.
 Metallica hit the Top 40 with
"Until It Sleeps."
Metallica topped the Billboard
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 8 weeks with
"Until It Sleeps."
Metallica released Load and spent a portion of
the summer headlining the Lollapalooza
festival before embarking on their own tour.
Load topped the Billboard
Top 200 Albums chart for 4 weeks and the UK
LP chart for a week.
Load was certified 3x
platinum and the single "Until It Sleeps" was certified
gold.
Metallica won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Hard Rock Video ("Until It Sleeps") which was also
nominated for Viewer's Choice.
Metallica topped the Billboard
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 3 weeks with
"Hero Of The Day."
 # 143
Singles Artist of the Year
Metallica won an American Music
Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Artist.
Rock
'N Roll Hall Of Fame's 500
Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll includes "Enter Sandman."
 Metallica released Reload. The LP picked up
where 1996's Load left off (originally
meant as a double LP).
Ride
The Lightning was certified 4x platinum, ...And
Justice For All was certified 6x
platinum, Load was certified 4x
platinum, Master
Of Puppets was certified 4x platinum, and Metallica was certified 10x
platinum.
 Reload topped the Billboard
200 Albums chart for a week.
Reload was certified 2x
platinum.
Metallica hit the Top 40 with
"The Memory Remains."
Readers and critics of Rolling
Stone named Metallica the Best Hard
Rock Band of the Year.
Metallica topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Hot
Mainstream Rock Artist.
Metallica were nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rock Video ('The Unforgiven
II").
 Metallica released a 2-CD
collection of cover tunes: Garage
Inc. including the cover of
Bob
Seger's "Turn
The Page" which topped the
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 11
weeks. The collection also includes those
covers from 1987's The $5.98 EP - Garage
Days Revisited.
Master
Of Puppets was certified 5x platinum, Reload was certified 3x
platinum, and Metallica was certified 11x
platinum.
"Turn
The Page" topped the Billboard
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 11 weeks.
 # 183
Singles Artist of the Year
Metallica brought a lawsuit
against Victoria Secret for selling
"...lip pencils bearing the mark of
Metallica."
The band also hit the Top 40
with their cover of "Turn
The Page."
Metallica won another Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance ("Better Than
You") - nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance ("Fuel").
Garage
Inc. was certified 4x platinum.
Kill
'Em All was certified 3x platinum.
Metallica performed at
Berkeley's Community Theater with Michael
Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony.
Metallica performed at Woodstock
'99 in Rome, New York.
Metallica won a California Music
Award for Outstanding Hard Rock Album (Reload) and Ulrich was named
Outstanding Drummer.
 Metallica released S
& M - a live
"symphonic album" recorded with the
San Francisco Symphony last April.
Metallica won 2 Billboard Music
Awards for Catalog Artist of the Year and
Catalog Album of the Year (Metallica).
...And
Justice For All was certified 7x platinum and Metallica was certified 12x
platinum.
S
& M topped the Billboard Internet
Album Sales chart for a week.
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