Metallica discography


The discography of American heavy metal band Metallica includes 11 studio albums, one covers album, eight live albums, three extended plays, 49 singles, 10 video albums, 43 music videos, one soundtrack album, one collaboration album and three box sets. They are a San Francisco-based metal band formed in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. After several bassist and lead guitarist changes, the band settled on Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett, respectively. Metallica started playing locally, releasing their first widely circulated demo, No Life 'til Leather, in 1982. The demo caught the attention of Johny Zazula, who signed Metallica to Megaforce Records.
The band released Kill 'Em All 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. In March 1986, the band released its third studio album, Master of Puppets, which was Metallica's first album to be certified gold by the Recording [Industry Association of America] . While promoting the album, Burton was killed in a bus accident; Jason Newsted was hired as a replacement. The band's first release to feature Newsted was The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited EP, and then followed by ...[And Justice for All (album)|...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 2× Diamond by the RIAA. Metallica followed with the release of Load and Reload in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Both albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. After the release of Garage Inc. and S&M, Newsted left the band. Metallica recorded St. Anger without an official bassist. Bassist Robert Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003. In 2008, the band released their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, which was produced by Rick Rubin and distributed through Warner Bros. Records. In April 2009, the band's catalogue was released on the iTunes Store as the Metallica Collection. A collaborative album with Lou Reed, Lulu, was released in 2011.
In 2013, Metallica released the movie Metallica: Through the Never, together with its soundtrack. Metallica then started writing their tenth studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct, which was released in 2016. It became the band's sixth album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 and topped the charts in 57 countries. Metallica released their eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons, in 2023. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, becoming their first album since ...And Justice for All not to debut at number one. Nevertheless, it was their first to debut at number one in the UK since Death Magnetic. Metallica has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, with over 67 million records in the United States alone.

Albums

Studio albums

Cover albums

Live albums

Soundtrack albums

Collaboration albums

Tribute albums

Extended plays

Box sets

Singles

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Promotional singles

Other charted and certified songs

Other appearances

Videos

Video albums

Music videos

Demos

TitleRecordedDetailsRef
Whiskey Audition TapeMarch 1982These two cover songs were recorded in then-bassist Ron McGovney’s garage, during rehearsals that took place in March 1982. On the strength of this demo tape, Metallica were booked to open for NWOBHM band Saxon on March 27, 1982, at the Los Angeles club Whisky a Go Go.
Ron McGovney's '82 Garage demoMarch 1982Recorded in McGovney's garage during March 1982. Although the demo has never been officially released, it has been in wide circulation in various bootleg versions.
Power Metal demoApril 1982Although the demo has never been officially released, it was given the bootleg name "Power Metal" after the tagline McGovney had printed on Metallica's first business cards. The tape contained four original songs, including two new songs, "The Mechanix", written by Dave Mustaine, and "Motorbreath", written by James Hetfield. It was, like all previous demos, also recorded in McGovney's garage.
No Life 'Til LeatherJuly 1982Metallica's most widely circulated demo tape. All of the tracks are early recordings of songs that would later appear on Kill 'Em All. The title of the demo comes from the first line of "Hit the Lights". The planned expanded release in 2016 was delayed indefinitely following objections from Mustaine over writing credits.
Metal Up Your AssNovember 1982Recorded on November 29, 1982, at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. Features all nine original songs that the band wrote up to that point.
Megaforce demo
Ride the Lightning demoOctober 1983Contained all original material Metallica had written that was not released on Kill 'Em All, including the last two tracks that Mustaine wrote.
Metallica demoAugust 1990Recorded by James and Lars on August 13, 1990, in Lars’ home studio, "The Dungeon". Four of the songs from this particular session were later released as B-sides on various album singles.
Demo MagneticNovember 2005 – January 2007Released as a bonus disc under the slogan of a different "experience" version of Death Magnetic.