Metallica: Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich placed an ad in the Recycler in Los Angeles, Metallica's original line consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney. The latter Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton respectively. In September 1986, the band's tour bus lost control and flipped, which resuted in Burton being crushed under the bus and killed. Jason Newsted left the band in 2001 and was replaced by Robert Trujillo in 2003.
Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the "Big Four" of thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. The band earned a growing fan base in the albums of thrash metal's most influential and "heavy". The band a achieved substantial commercial success with their self-titled album in 1991 which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Some critics and fans believed the band's musical style has changed direction to appealto the mainstream audience.