Metallica release their new live album S&M2 this week, and to mark the occasion we've put together the ultimate Metallica archive. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about the world’s biggest metal band, including the stories behind their greatest albums, in-depth interviews with James, Lars, Kirk and Robert, plus a run down of all their greatest songs.
- The 50 best Metallica songs of all time
- The best Metallica merch 2020: amazing gifts for the Metallica fan in your life
- How to sound like Metallica’s James Hetfield
- How to sound like Metallica’s Kirk Hammett
James Hetfield: My Life Story
Metallica frontman James Hetfield takes us on a journey back to his school days, retraces the band's tentative steps and explains why his anger is an energy. READ MORE…
- The 10 best James Hetfield guest appearances
- Jerry Cantrell says James Hetfield is the greatest frontman in metal and we're not about to disagree
Lars Ulrich: “There’s not a f**king moment I’d change”
Lars Ulrich is more than just Metallica’s drummer – he’s the beating heart of the band. In this classic 2012 interview, he looks back over the band’s epic journey. READ MORE…
- "You can only be what the public thinks you are for so long before it becomes boring": The story of how Metallica got themselves an orchestra – and the album that followed
- “I like to push some of those buttons. I like the fact that people have a problem with what we’re doing”: How Metallica kicked back against the 1990s haters with Reload
- The time Lars Ulrich nearly became the singer in Metallica
- Joey Jordison's Top 10 Best Drummers Of All Time
Kirk Hammett on joining Metallica, a potential solo album and why he objects to St. Anger
His flair helped make Metallica the biggest band in our world. We talk to Kirk Hammett about his journey into music, the St. Anger issue and whether he’d ever stray from the fold. READ MORE…
- Kirk Hammett: the day I left Exodus to join Metallica
- Metallica Mondays: Your ultimate guide to every show
Rob Trujillo: My Life Story
Suicidal Tendencies, Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Cantrell and, of course, Metallica – Rob Trujillo has played for them all. This is the story of the man behind the bass. READ MORE…
- Cliff Burton: the story of the ultimate metalhead
- We got Ghost's Tobias Forge to pick his dream Metallica setlist
Kill ’Em All: the birth of the legend
In 1983, four alcohol fuelled kids calling themselves Metallica recorded their debut album Kill ’Em All. No one knew it would change the world. READ MORE…
- The story behind Metallica's Kill 'Em All album artwork
- Kill ’Em All: every song in Metallica’s own words
Ride The Lightning: the album that broke thrash wide open
Metallica’s iconic second album Ride The Lightning did more than turn the band into stars – it forced the world to take thrash metal seriously. READ MORE…
- Ride The Lightning: every song in Metallica’s own words
- The Top 10 Best Metallica Songs From the 1980s
Master Of Puppets: inside the greatest metal album of all time
In 1986, Metallica released the album that elevated them to metal’s A-list. This is the inside story of Master Of Puppets READ MORE…
- How a James Hetfield doodle led to one of metal's most iconic album covers
- Matt Heafy: why I love Metallica's Master Of Puppets
The £5.98 EP: how Garage Days pulled Metallica back from the brink
The death of Cliff Burton could have been the end of Metallica. But a cheaply recorded covers EP yanked them out of the abyss. READ MORE…
How ...And Justice For All changed Metallica forever
Metallica's 1988 album …And Justice For All was their step up to the big leagues. But things would never be the same again. READ MORE…
- Monsters Of Rock US 1988: The Making Of Metallica
- Metallica - One: The story behind their breakout single
The epic story behind the Black album
30 million people can’t be wrong: how the Black Album transformed Metallica into metal’s biggest band. READ MORE…
- Metallica: every song on the Black Album ranked from worst to best
- The story behind Metallica's Black Album artwork
“Metal needs a good f**king kick up the ass”: inside Metallica’s Load
New haircuts, new sound, new Metallica: was Load the sound of metal’s greatest band trolling the world? READ MORE…
The story behind every Garage Inc. cover version
NWOBHM classics, punk bangers, malevolent goth rock slow-anthems: how Metallica made metal’s most famous covers album. READ MORE…
- That time all of Metallica dressed up as Lemmy to play his 50th birthday gig
- The 10 most underrated Metallica songs
St Anger: the album that salvaged Metallica’s career
It was very nearly all over for the biggest band on the planet at the turn of the millennium – but with St Anger, Metallica's fortunes were about to change. READ MORE…
Death Magnetic: how the kings of metal reclaimed their throne
After a decade of controversy and near-implosion, Metallica seriously needed to right the ship. With Death Magnetic, they did just that. READ MORE…
- What happened when the Big Four played together for the very first time
- 30 Essential thrash metal bands that aren't the big four
Sex, death and Lulu: the inside story of Metallica and Lou Reed’s explosive collaboration
Metallica and Lou Reed’s Lulu album is still metal’s most controversial collaboration. This is how two unlikely worlds collided. READ MORE…
Hardwired… To Self-Destruct: "We hate each other, and we love each other"
In 2016, Metal Hammer met Metallica on the eve of Hardwired… To Self-Destruct – and found a band finally embracing their own dysfunction. READ MORE…
“Whose f**king idea was this?”: the inside story of S&M2
From Metallica's S&M's origins in ’99 to its triumphant rebirth, we go inside the story of the metal titans’ most ambitious project. READ MORE…
