Metallica has not always been the talented group of rock musicians that they are today. It took many years and many albums to bring the band to its current standing as the "kings of rock." Metallica has undergone changes in its lineup and its musical writing style. Comparing and contrasting the musical and lyrical content of each Metallica album shows exactly how much they have changed from the early 1980s to 2000.
             Metallica was founded in the early 1980s when a young man from Denmark named Lars Ulrich was looking to start a band in the Los Angeles area. The musical style labeled "The New Wave of British Heavy Metal" captivated Lars. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal started in England in late 70s and was a product of some people's distaste for the current punk rock scene (Crocker 11-12). Lars, who had recently moved to the United States, started searching excessively for someone to jam with. He came across the name of a local heavy metal guitarist and vocalist in a local newspaper called The Recycler. This man was named James Hetfield. The two quickly became friends and began to play their favorite heavy metal music together on a regular basis (Hadland, Encyclopedia Metallica).
             The story behind the name Metallica is very interesting. A friend of Lars' was starting a heavy metal fanzine and asked Lars for advice on what its title should be. The friend gave Lars a list of candidate names and the word Metallica was on the list. Lars liked it so much he told his friend to choose another name and kept Metallica for himself (Crocker 25-26). In 1983, the band's lineup came to consist of James on vocals and rhythm guitar, Lars on percussion, Cliff Burton on bass guitar, and Kirk Hammett on lead guitar. However, in 1986, while the band was several albums into their career, Cliff Burton was tragically killed in a bus accident while the band was on tour in Sweden. Jason Newsted of the band ...