The band's third album, Master of Puppets (1986), was described as one of the heaviest and most influential thrash metal albums its eponymous fifth album, Metallica (1991), the band's first to root predominantly in heavy metal, appealed to a more mainstream audience, achieving substantial commercial success and selling over 16 million copies in the United States to date, making it the best-selling album of the SoundScan era. Metallica earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and won critical acclaim with its first five albums. Guitarist Dave Mustaine (who went on to form Megadeth) and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. The group's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding 'big four' bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.
The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California by drummer Lars Ulrich and vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield, and has been based in San Francisco, California for most of its career. Metallica is an American heavy metal band.
