As you may know, Metallica is a well-known band that has been named one of the greatest musicians of all time by good number of magazines. The magazine also rated them 61st on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Metallica is a heavy metal band from the United States. The band was founded in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. And has spent the most of its career in San Francisco.
Metallica has published ten studio albums, four live albums, a cover album, five extended plays, 37 singles, and 39 music videos during the course of their career.
Metallica is among the most financially viable bands of all time, with over 125 million records sold throughout the world as of 2018. Do you want to know about these amazing albums of them in chronological order? If yes then read further.
Metallica Albums In Chronological Order
Here’s the complete list of all the albums of Metallica. And it’s more convenient for you, as it’s in chronological order.
1. Metal Massacre (1982)
Metal Massacre is a collection album series published by Metal Blade Records. It’s known for ‘shedding light’ bands like the Obsessed, Trouble, Overkill, Metal Church, Metallica, Slayer, Virgin Steele, Hellhammer, Voivod, and others.
It started off with the song “Cold Day In Hell” by Steeler and also featured the song “Tell The World” by Ratt.
2. No Life ‘Til Leather (1982)
It was produced at Tustin, California’s Chateau East Studio. It is the band’s most well-known demo, and it is credited with gaining the band’s attention.
3. Megaforce Demo (1983)
This was Metallica’s first and only album with Cliff Burton, as well as the last one with Dave Mustaine.
4. Kill ‘Em All (1983)
Metallica promoted the album in the United States with their two-month Kill ‘Em All for One co-headlining tour with Raven.
5. Ride the Lightning (1984)
Metallica’s Ride the Lightning is their second studio album. The album was recorded in three weeks at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark, with producer Flemming Rasmussen.
Despite its thrash metal roots, the album demonstrated the band’s musical maturity and lyrical complexity.
Music critics praised Ride the Lightning, for being a more ambitious attempt than its predecessor.
6. Master of Puppets (1986)
Master of Puppets is the third studio album by Elektra records. It was recorded in Denmark at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen.
It was the band’s final album with bassist Cliff Burton, who perished in a bus crash in Sweden during the album’s promotional tour.
7. The $5.98 E.P.
Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987): The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited is the first extended play by this band.
It’s the group’s first release since bassist Cliff Burton passed away, and it’s the first to include his replacement, Jason Newsted.
8. And Justice for All (1988)
Metallica spent four months in early 1988 at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles, working with producer Flemming Rasmussen.
It has a high level of complexity, quick tempos, and a limited number of verse-chorus structures. It includes lyrical themes of political and legal injustices, such as governmental corruption, censorship, and war, and many others.
9. The Good, the Bad & the Live (1990)
This album is a vinyl box set by the metallic band.
Lars Ulrich stated in the year of this albums release that: “The record company will argue that there are people who are into collecting different versions and shaped discs and shit, so why shouldn’t we make it available to people who are interested in getting this stuff? Anyway, the idea of this box set crap came up and, well, we decided to go along with it.”
10. Metallica (1991)
Metallica is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica. The album represented a shift in the band’s sound from their past 4 albums’ thrash metal to a calmer, heavier, and more polished sound.
Because of its box design, it is widely referred to as The Black Album.
11. Live Shit: Binge & Purge (1993)
This is the first live album of this American band. It was first released in the form of a cardboard box that resembled a conventional tour equipment transport box.
12. Load (1996)
Load is the sixth studio album released by them in the United States and by Vertigo Records internationally.
Metallica’s hard rock side was shown on the album, as opposed to the band’s customary thrash metal sound, which alienated a large portion of the band’s following.
13. Reload (1997)
In its first week, Reload opened at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 436,000 copies. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded it 3 platinum status for selling three million copies in the United States.
It was Metallica’s penultimate studio album to feature ‘And Justice for All-era lineup’, with bassist Jason Newsted departing the band in January 2001, albeit it was not his final release with the band.
14. Garage Inc (1998)
Garage Inc. is a cover record compilation CD. Cover songs, B-side covers, and The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited, which had been out of print since its 1987 release, are all included. Metallica performed five performances in November 1998 to promote the release of the album.
An Anton Corbijn picture of Metallica dressed as technicians graced the front of Garage Inc.
15. Nothing Else Matters ’99 (1999)
Metallica’s third single off their self-titled fifth studio album was released in 1992.
The song made it to number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, number 1 in Denmark, and several other European charts in the top 10.
16. S&M (1999)
Symphony and Metallica (abbreviated as S&M) is a live CD. This is Metallica’s final album with bassist Jason Newsted.
S&M features Metallica songs with symphonic accompaniment written by Michael Kamen, who also directed the orchestra throughout the performance.
Cliff Burton, according to James Hetfield, came up with the notion of combining heavy metal with an epic classical approach.
The “S” in “S&M” on the album cover is a backwards midrange frequencies clef, and the “M” is Metallica’s emblem.
17. Music from and Inspired by Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)Â
“Music from and Inspired by Mission: Impossible 2” is the soundtrack album Influenced by the movie Mission: Impossible 2. In August 2000, it was certified gold for 100,000 copies sold in Japan. Many versions of the soundtrack have bonus tracks which are not included in the North American releases.
18. Metallic Assault – A Tribute to Metallica (2001)
Metallica Tribute is a tribute album to the heavy metal band Metallica. It comprises Metallica covers performed by players from various bands, rather than by formal bands. Apart from Justice for All (1988), songs from Kill ‘Em All (1983) to Metallica (1991) are featured.
19. A Tribute to the Four Horsemen (2002)
It also serves as a Metallica tribute album. Nuclear Blast Records re-released it in 2003 with a slightly revised track listing. The album’s title is a play on “The Four Horsemen” from Kill ‘Em All, and it features Metallica covers from Kill ‘Em All to ReLoad, but not Load.
20. Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (2002)
Swizz Beatz is an American hip hop music producer and recording artist who produced a compilation album on December 10, 2002, under the labels Interscope, DreamWorks, and Full Surface.
It went to number 50 on the US Billboard 200 album chart in its first week, selling 60,000 copies.
Other producers on this album include John McClain (co-executive producer.), Tony Lopez, James Seawood, S. Davis, Khary & Keough, Saint Denson, Kid Klever, J. Brown, Metallica, and Bob Rock.
21. Some Kind of Monster (2003)
In 2005, “Some Kind of Monster” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance, but was defeated by Velvet Revolver’s “Slither.”
The term “Some Kind of Monster” came from James Hetfield, who told producer Bob Rock that the lyrics were about a Frankenstein creature or “some kind of monster.”
As a result, it was also the title of a 2004 documentary about the recording of St. Anger and the controversy that surrounded it. Metallica, as well as the burdens of fame and life in general, have been described by Hetfield as monstrous.
22. We’re a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones (2003)
“We’re a Happy and Family: A Tribute to Ramones”is a 2003 tribute album by various musicians to the Ramones.
It all started when Johnny Ramone was approached about doing a tribute album and asked if he was interested. He said yes as long as he had complete control over the project.
23. St. Anger (2003)
Metallica’s eighth studio album, St. Anger, was released on June 5, 2003. It is the band’s eighth studio album.
It was Metallica’s penultimate album for Elektra Records, and the band’s final collaboration with longtime producer Bob Rock, with whom the band had collaborated since 1990.
Because Jason Newsted left Metallica before to the recording sessions, this is the band’s only album without an official bass player; Rock filled in for him on the album’s bass parts.
24. Metallic Attack: The Ultimate Tribute (2004)
Metallic Attack: The Ultimate Tribute is a heavy metal band Metallica tribute album. In 2005, Motörhead won a Grammy for “Best Metal Performance” for their performance of “Whiplash” from this album.
Metallica’s first five studio albums are represented on the CD, which includes covers of songs from those albums.
25. Limited-Edition Vinyl Box Set ( 2004)
This band’s “Limited-Edition Vinyl Box Set” is another vinyl box set. The box set includes all four of the band’s studio albums, as well as an EP and a picture disc single. Each set was assigned a number from 1 to 5000:
• Master of Puppets •The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited
•…And Justice for All • Kill ‘Em All
• Ride the Lightning • Creeping Death (picture disc single) are the one’s.
26. Pianotarium (2007)
Scott D. Davis’ “Piano Tribute to Metallica” is a piano tribute album to the heavy metal band Metallica. It includes eight Metallica piano covers and three original pieces.
27. We All Love Ennio Morricone (2007)
“We all love Ennio Morricone” is a tribute album to Ennio Morricone, a well-known film composer. Andrea Bocelli, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters, and Celine Dion are among the acts performing.
28. Maiden Heaven (2008)
As the name implies, the Maiden Heaven album is a tribute to Iron Maiden. In this album, Metallica did an excellent job. By adding a Creeping Death-style intro-outro and demonstrating how similar early Iron Maiden were to early Metallica throughout the song.
29. Death Magnetic (2008)
Metallica’s eighth studio album is Death Magnetic. Metallica became the first band to have five straight number-one studio albums on the Billboard 200 chart with this album.
Although the album received excellent reviews, it was critiqued for being overly compressed and regarded as a result of the loudness war.
The album and its songs were nominated for six Grammy Awards (five in 2009 and one in 2010), with “My Apocalypse” winning three of them, including Best Metal Performance.
This is also the first Metallica album to include bassist Robert Trujillo, and the second to have all of the band’s members share production credit.
30. The Metallica Collection (2009)
The Metallica Collection is a digital box set that includes all of Metallica’s albums From 1983 until 2008, the box set also includes bonus materials. Some digital music stores, such as Amazon MP3 and UOL Megastore, later featured the box set.
31. Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México (2009)
So, you may have deduced from the album’s title, that this album is recorded in another language. Yes you’re right, It’s published in Portuguese. Actually, it’s a live video as well as an album. It was only meant to be sold in Latin America, but it’s now available in Northern Europe as well. The album was available in four different formats:
- There are 19 tracks on this DVD.
- The DVD is available on Blu-ray.
- The DVD and two CDs are packaged in a digipak.
- Two DVDs and two CDs are included in this deluxe edition, which comes in a slipcase.
32. Six Feet Down Under (2010)
Six Feet Down Under is a limited edition commemorative live EP. On September 20, 2010, Universal Music released Six Feet Down Under. A limited edition commemorative live EP that was released only in Australia and New Zealand.
Only Trans-Tasman record stores, Metallica’s online store, and iTunes have sold it. The EP includes fan recordings of eight never-before-released live tracks from the band’s vault (two songs from each Australian tour).
33. Six Feet Down Under Part II (2010)
It’s the follow-up to the band’s previous live EP, Six Feet Down Under, and was released on November 12, 2010 exclusively in Australia and New Zealand by Universal Music.
It was only available through Trans-Tasman record stores, Metallica’s web store, and iTunes, and it included eight songs from the band’s early 2010 tour in Australia and New Zealand, as chosen by members of the Metallica Fan Club in both countries.
34. Live at Grimey’s (2010)
The album was recorded live on June 12, 2008, in Nashville, Tennessee, beneath Grimey’s New & Preloved Music, immediately before their participation at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. The record sold roughly 3,000 copies in its first week of release.
35. Lulu (2011)
Lulu is a collaborative album by Lou Reed, a rock singer-songwriter, and Metallica, a heavy metal band.
Reed’s final full-length studio recording effort before his death in October 2013 was the release of this album. The album’s concept is inspired on the German playwright Frank Wedekind’s (1864–1918) two “Lulu plays.”
36. Beyond Magnetic (2011)
It was published to coincide with the band’s 30th anniversary shows, during which each of the four days featured a new song. On December 13, 2011, it was published as a digital download exclusively on iTunes.
37. Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple’s Machine Head (2012)
Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple’s Machine Head is a tribute CD that includes a wide range of hard rock and heavy metal bands covering Deep Purple’s songs.
Black Label Society and Iron Maiden are among the bands featured on the multi-artist collection. The album was a commercial success, charting at #41 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart and receiving critical acclaim from outlets such as Allmusic.
38. Quebec Magnetic (2012)
“Quebec Magnetic” is a live concert video album by Metallica, released on December 11, 2012, that documents two shows the band performed at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada, on October 31 and November 1, 2009, as part of their World Magnetic Tour.
Metallica’s own label, Blackened Recordings, is releasing the album for the first time.
During the first week after its release, the album sold about 14,000 copies and reached number two on the Billboard Top Music Videos chart.
39. Metallica: Through the Never (2013)
Metallica: Through the Never is a soundtrack album for the film of the same name, consisting of live recordings. All tracks on the soundtrack are live recordings from their Canadian shows.
40. By Request (2014)
‘Metallica By Request’ is a twenty-five-city tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica that will begin in 2014 and conclude in 2015.
The band would, however, let ticket holders at each show to vote on the songs they wished to be played during the tour.
Fans would vote on seventeen of the eighteen songs to be performed, with Metallica selecting the last song.
41. Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life (2014)
“Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life is a tribute” album to Ronnie James Dio, the main singer of Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, released in 2014. Many of Dio’s contemporaries appear on the album, singing songs that Dio initially recorded.
42. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, Metallica! (2016)
Metallica’s limited-edition Record Store Day live album is a fascinating release. To begin with, it is limited to 20,000 copies worldwide and comes with a small certificate that gives you the sensation of owning something special.
Moreover, the album’s title is quite meaningful: “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Metallica!” All proceeds from this release will be dedicated to the victims of the horrific events in Paris last year, which I believe is a really worthwhile cause.
Furthermore, the album was recorded at Le Bataclan. The site of the most brutal portion of those assaults. And it’s a great sign that rock and metal music, as part of our liberal Western culture, has endured and will not adapt, change, or fade in any way, despite the adversity.
Finally, this concert occurred about thirteen years ago, when the band performed three songs.
43. Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Hardwired… to Self-Destruct” is the tenth studio album by this American band. It’s their first studio album in eight years, following Death Magnetic (2008), and it’s also the band’s longest hiatus between studio albums. It’s also their first studio album with Blackened Records.
It’s Metallica’s sixth straight studio album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 291,000 album-equivalent units sold in its first week with the album topping the charts in 57 countries.
44. Spit Out the Bone (2017)
On November 14, 2017, Blackened Recordings released it as the fifth single from their tenth studio album, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016). On October 24, 2017, the song made its live debut at London’s O2 Arena.
From the album, “Spit Out the Bone” has been hailed as a fan and critic favourite. The song is in the WWE 2K19 video game’s soundtrack.
45. Helping Hands… Live & Acoustic at the Masonic (2019)
On the plus side, the set list is fairly inventive, featuring four distinct cover songs as well as rarely heard tunes like the sombre “Bleeding Me” and a surprisingly sweet, melodic, and abbreviated rendition of “All Within My Hands”.
The songs performed here have a country and southern rock feel to them, harkening back to the Load and ReLoad era of the band in the mid-nineties.
Avi Vinocour on mandolin, Henry Salvia on piano, Cody Rhodes on percussion, and David Phillips on pedal steel accompanied the group. The show has a very intimate feel to it, which is a pleasant contrast from the band’s sold-out arena shows.
46. The Best Of Metallica (2019)
This is the album that contains all of the Mettalica band’s greatest hits. Breadfan, Master of Puppets, Harvester of Sorrow, Fade to Black, Whiplash, and a slew of more.
47. Live In Brazil (1993 – 2017) (2020)
This album includes all the songs of Metallica that were live in Brazil. Like, •Hardwired (Live In São Paulo, Brazil – March 25th, 2017)
• Master Of Puppets (Live In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – September 19th, 2013)
• The Four Horsemen (Live In São Paulo, Brazil – January 30th, 2010)
• The Thing That Should Not Be (Live In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – May 9th, 1999 and many more.
48. Live In Argentina (1993 – 2017) (2020)
As the name implies, “Argentina” relates to the fact that the entire album was recorded in Argentina. The songs which are there in the albums are; Hardwired, No remorse, Holier than thou, Of Wolf and Man, fuel and many more.
49. Of Wolf and Man (live at Maimarktgelände, Mannheim, Germany / May 22nd, 1993) (2021)
This is the album that I referenced in the previous paragraph. On May 22nd, it was broadcast live in Germany. Including the songs Wherever I May Roam, Sad but True, Enter Sandman, Don’t Tread on Me, etc.
50. The Metallica Blacklist (2021)
The Metallica Blacklist is a tribute album by various artists that has renditions of every track from Metallica’s self-titled album from 1991. (commonly known as The Black Album).
The collection was put together to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original album. With 53 musicians participating, the majority of the songs have been covered many times.
This tribute album was motivated by the existence of multiple prior tributes to the record, by artists in genres ranging from electronica to classical, and was envisioned as a representation of how The Black Album affected musicians from many various genres.
Finally! The albums by Mettalica were listed in chronological order. Don’t you think they make incredible songs? Their vocals and instruments have a high level of quality sound.
You can now listen to their albums in order and enjoy them. Also, let us know which album or song from each of them you enjoyed the most in the comments section.
