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“I tried to write the heaviest thing I could think of”: From Enter Sandman to Nothing Else Matters, the stories behind every song on Metallica’s Black Album

35 years ago, Metallica cemented themselves as the biggest metal band on Earth. This is your track-by-track guide to their landmark moment.

Metal Hammer · Aug 12

“I knew the guitar was valuable, but this was before Slash blew up, so nobody really wanted Les Pauls. They all wanted Charvels”: Billy Duffy on his greatest guitar deals – and the one he regrets selling to Bob Rock

The Cult six-stringer looks back on Les Pauls loved and lost, plus the latest and greatest from his mostly back-to-basics rig

Guitar World · Jul 9

“Bob Rock said, ‘OK, tune up, and we’ll do the rhythm for this song now.’ I was like, ‘What?’” Kirk Hammett didn’t play rhythm guitar on Metallica's first five albums. That all changed with 1996’s controversial Load

In an attempt to explore new musical directions, Hammett was summoned to share rhythm guitar duties with James Hetfield, helping to kickstart a new phase for Metallica

Guitar World · Jun 23

“They just do what they feel is right for them. They don’t take into account what people think”: How Metallica rewrote their script (and irritated countless metalheads) with Load and Reload

When the former thrashers cut their hair and took influence from the blues, they didn’t emerge unscathed, but they remained heavy music’s biggest band all the same

Metal Hammer · May 14

“Bob Rock said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m gonna help you become a guitar hero.’ And he did!” Billy Duffy on how The Cult made their most challenging hit single

The guitar icon explains how tours with Billy Idol and Guns N' Roses shaped their 1989 hit, Fire Woman

Guitar World · Apr 27

"It did surprise us. People started calling us sell-outs." How Metallica wrote the metal power ballad that saved Miley Cyrus - and that Elton John called 'one of the best songs ever written'

James Hetfield wasn't sure about letting his Metallica bandmates hear Nothing Else Matters. Thank goodness he did

Metal Hammer · Jan 7

“The teacher would say, ‘OK, get out your health books,’ and I would have to leave. My parents told me a little speech to say about our religion and why, and I didn’t believe it”: How Metallica turned childhood trauma into a decades-spanning trilogy

Inspired by James Hetfield’s isolated upbringing (and a little bit of Chris Isaak), Metallica made an honest, inverted ballad and kicked off a 27-year-long series

Metal Hammer · Nov 28, 2025

"I let my father know there were no bad feelings. I sorted out a lot of my anger in his departure." A death, Nirvana, U2 and a crucifixion: the surprising story behind Metallica's most successful single (and no, it isn't Enter Sandman)

With a new look, a new attitude and a dizzying new set of musical influences, Metallica crafted one of their most controversial singles. It was also their best-selling

Metal Hammer · Nov 20, 2025

Watch unearthed 1991 Metallica interview in which they insist they are not a thrash metal band

Restored interview not seen in decades features Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield speaking shortly before Black Album is released

Metal Hammer · Sep 6, 2025

“It really doesn't have much to do with us. We gave this guy a couple of riffs and told him to run with it”: The WTF hip hop collaboration that Metallica don’t talk about any more

The one time Metallica dabbled in hip hop didn’t end well

Metal Hammer · Aug 10, 2025