Timeline Metallica: Master of Puppets

From LA thrash to the Black Album and a concert in Antarctica — forty years of Metallica.

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Event

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Disaster / crisis

Science

Culture

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Dashed left edge = started before this timeline · Dashed right edge = still ongoing

Metallica: Master of Puppets 16

1981 Metallica formed in Los Angeles Ulrich and Hetfield Lars Ulrich answers a newspaper ad and meets James Hetfield.
1983 Metallica fire Dave Mustaine Kirk Hammett joins Mustaine goes on to form Megadeth.
1983 Metallica release Kill 'Em All Debut album A founding record of thrash metal.
1984 Metallica release Ride the Lightning Fade to Black More ambitious songs and their first ballad.
1986 Metallica release Master of Puppets Thrash masterpiece Often called the greatest metal album, the first in the Library of Congress registry.
1986 Metallica's Cliff Burton dies in a bus crash Sweden The bassist is killed when the tour bus overturns.
1986 Jason Newsted joins Metallica New bassist Replaces Burton.
1988 Metallica release ...And Justice for All One Their song One gets their first video and first Grammy.
1991 Metallica release Metallica The Black Album With Enter Sandman — one of the best-selling albums ever.
1991 Metallica play Moscow Monsters of Rock Hundreds of thousands at Tushino airfield after the failed coup.
1999 Metallica release S&M San Francisco Symphony A live album with a symphony orchestra.
2000 Metallica sue Napster File-sharing fight The lawsuit makes them the face of the music industry against piracy.
2003 Robert Trujillo joins Metallica New bassist Joins during the turmoil shown in the film Some Kind of Monster.
2009 Metallica inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Inducted with Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted.
2013 Metallica play Antarctica Freeze 'Em All The first band to play on all seven continents in one year.
2023 Metallica release 72 Seasons Eleventh album Their first album in seven years.