Metallica’s catalog stretches from the raw speed of Kill ’Em All to the massive reach of Metallica and the late-career power of 72 Seasons. This complete A-to-Z guide brings together the band’s studio tracks, covers, soundtrack appearances, collaborations, B-sides, and rarities in one place.
Feature Photo: Kreepin Deth, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Metallica’s journey from a fledgling Los Angeles metal band to global rock titans is one of resilience, innovation, and unyielding energy. Formed in late 1981, the band was born from a newspaper advertisement placed by Lars Ulrich, a Danish drummer with a love for the emerging thrash metal genre. James Hetfield, a guitarist and vocalist with a raw, commanding presence, answered the ad, creating the foundation of what would become one of the world’s most influential heavy metal bands. The original lineup also included lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney, though both positions would soon change as the band evolved.
In 1982, bassist Cliff Burton replaced McGovney, bringing a unique compositional approach that would define Metallica’s early sound. A year later, Kirk Hammett replaced Mustaine, marking the final change to their classic lineup. Burton’s untimely death in a 1986 bus accident was a devastating blow, but the band persisted, welcoming Jason Newsted as their bassist. Newsted remained with Metallica until 2001, when Robert Trujillo joined, solidifying the current lineup of Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Trujillo.
Metallica’s studio discography spans 11 albums, each showcasing their evolution. Their debut, Kill ‘Em All (1983), laid the groundwork for thrash metal with its aggressive riffs and relentless energy. Albums like Ride the Lightning (1984) and Master of Puppets (1986) expanded their thematic and musical scope, earning critical acclaim. The watershed moment came with Metallica (1991), also known as The Black Album, which catapulted them to global stardom. Tracks like “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters” became anthems, bridging the gap between metal and mainstream rock.
The band has released several multi-platinum albums, including Reload (1997), Death Magnetic (2008), and Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016). Their most recent release, 72 Seasons (2023), demonstrates their continued relevance and ability to captivate audiences with innovative soundscapes. Singles such as “The Unforgiven,” “One,” and “Sad But True” have become synonymous with their legacy, celebrated for their intricate musicianship and emotional depth.
Metallica’s accolades include nine Grammy Awards, recognition from MTV, and their 2009 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their 1999 collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony, documented in the S&M album, showcased their versatility and willingness to explore new frontiers in music. This spirit of reinvention has kept them at the forefront of the industry for over four decades.
Outside of music, Metallica has made a profound impact through philanthropy. Their All Within My Hands Foundation has provided millions of dollars to support workforce education, disaster relief, and hunger alleviation. The band’s commitment to giving back reflects their understanding of the powerful platform they occupy.
(A – B)
“2 X 4” – Load (1996)
“53rd & 3rd” – We’re a Happy Family: A Tribute to Ramones (2003)
“72 Seasons” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Ain’t My Bitch” – Load (1996)
“All Nightmare Long” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“All Within My Hands” – St. Anger (2003)
“Am I Evil?” – Creeping Death (1984)
“Am I Savage?” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“…And Justice for All” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“(Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Astronomy” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Atlas, Rise!” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Attitude” – Reload (1997)
“Bad Seed” – Reload (1997)
“Battery” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“Better Than You” – Reload (1997)
“Blackened” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“Bleeding Me” – Load (1996)
“Blitzkrieg” – Creeping Death (1984)
“Brandenburg Gate” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“Breadfan” – Harvester of Sorrow (1988)
“Broken, Beat & Scarred” – Death Magnetic (2008)
(C – D)
“The Call of Ktulu” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“Carpe Diem Baby” – Reload (1997)
“Chasing Light” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Cheat on Me” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“Commando” – St. Anger (2003)
“Confusion” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Crash Course in Brain Surgery” – The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
“Creeping Death” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“Cretin Hop” – St. Anger (2003)
“Crown of Barbed Wire” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Cure” – Load (1996)
“Cyanide” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“Damage Case” – Hero of the Day (1996)
“Damage, Inc.” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“The Day That Never Comes” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“Devil’s Dance” – Reload (1997)
“Die, Die My Darling” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Dirty Window” – St. Anger (2003)
“Disposable Heroes” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“Don’t Tread on Me” – Metallica (1991)
“Dragon” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“Dream No More” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Dyers Eve” – …And Justice for All (1988)
(E – H)
“The Ecstasy of Gold” – We All Love Ennio Morricone (2007)
“The End of the Line” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“Enter Sandman” – Metallica (1991)
“Escape” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“Eye of the Beholder” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“Fade to Black” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“Fight Fire with Fire” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“Fixxxer” – Reload (1997)
“For Whom the Bell Tolls” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“The Four Horsemen” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Frantic” – St. Anger (2003)
“The Frayed Ends of Sanity” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“Free Speech for the Dumb” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Frustration” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“Fuel” – Reload (1997)
“The God That Failed” – Metallica (1991)
“Halo on Fire” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Hardwired” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Harvester of Sorrow” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“Hate Train” – Beyond Magnetic (2011)
“Hell and Back” – Beyond Magnetic (2011)
“Helpless” – The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
“Here Comes Revenge” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Hero of the Day” – Load (1996)
“Hit the Lights” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Holier Than Thou” – Metallica (1991)
“The House Jack Built” – Load (1996)
(I – L)
“I Disappear” – Mission: Impossible II (2000)
“Iced Honey” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“If Darkness Had a Son” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Inamorata” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Invisible Kid” – St. Anger (2003)
“It’s Electric” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“The Judas Kiss” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“Jump in the Fire” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Junior Dad” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“Just a Bullet Away” – Beyond Magnetic (2011)
“Killing Time” – The Unforgiven single (1991)
“King Nothing” – Load (1996)
“Last Caress/Green Hell” – The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
“Leper Messiah” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“Little Dog” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“Lords of Summer” – Lords of Summer single (2014)
“Loverman” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Low Man’s Lyric” – Reload (1997)
“Lux Æterna” – 72 Seasons (2023)
(M – P)
“Mama Said” – Load (1996)
“ManUNkind” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Master of Puppets” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“The Memory Remains” – Reload (1997)
“Mercyful Fate” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Metal Militia” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Mistress Dread” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“The More I See” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Moth into Flame” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Motorbreath” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Murder One” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“My Apocalypse” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“My Friend of Misery” – Metallica (1991)
“My World” – St. Anger (2003)
“No Remorse” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Nothing Else Matters” – Metallica (1991)
“Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” – St. Anger (2003)
“Now That We’re Dead” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“Of Wolf and Man” – Metallica (1991)
“One” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“Orion” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“The Outlaw Torn” – Load (1996)
“Overkill” – Until It Sleeps single (1996)
“Phantom Lord” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Poor Twisted Me” – Load (1996)
“The Prince” – Harvester of Sorrow single (1988)
“Prince Charming” – Reload (1997)
“Pumping Blood” (with Lou Reed) – Lulu (2011)
“Purify” – St. Anger (2003)
(Q – S)
“Rebel of Babylon” – Beyond Magnetic (2011)
“Remember Tomorrow” – Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden (2008)
“Ride the Lightning” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“Ronnie” – Load (1996)
“Ronnie Rising Medley” – Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life (2014)
“Room of Mirrors” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Sabbra Cadabra” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Sad but True” – Metallica (1991)
“Screaming Suicide” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Seek & Destroy” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Shadows Follow” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Shoot Me Again” – St. Anger (2003)
“The Shortest Straw” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“Sleepwalk My Life Away” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Slither” – Reload (1997)
“The Small Hours” – The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
“So What?” – The Unforgiven single (1991)
“Some Kind of Monster” – St. Anger (2003)
“Spit Out the Bone” – Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
“St. Anger” – St. Anger (2003)
“Stone Cold Crazy” – Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary (1990)
“Stone Dead Forever” – Hero of the Day single (1996)
“The Struggle Within” – Metallica (1991)
“Suicide & Redemption” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“Sweet Amber” – St. Anger (2003)
(T – Z)
“That Was Just Your Life” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“The Thing That Should Not Be” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“Thorn Within” – Load (1996)
“Through the Never” – Metallica (1991)
“To Live Is to Die” – …And Justice for All (1988)
“Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World” – St. Anger single (2003)
“Too Far Gone?” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“Too Late Too Late” – Hero of the Day single (1996)
“Trapped Under Ice” – Ride the Lightning (1984)
“Tuesday’s Gone” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“Turn the Page” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“The Unforgiven” – Metallica (1991)
“The Unforgiven II” – Reload (1997)
“The Unforgiven III” – Death Magnetic (2008)
“The Unnamed Feeling” – St. Anger (2003)
“Until It Sleeps” – Load (1996)
“The View” – Lulu (2011)
“The Wait” – The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
“Wasting My Hate” – Load (1996)
“We Did It Again” – Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (2002)
“We’re a Happy Family” – St. Anger single (2003)
“Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” – Master of Puppets (1986)
“When a Blind Man Cries” – Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple’s Machine Head (2012)
“Where the Wild Things Are” – Reload (1997)
“Wherever I May Roam” – Metallica (1991)
“Whiplash” – Kill ‘Em All (1983)
“Whiskey in the Jar” – Garage Inc. (1998)
“You Must Burn!” – 72 Seasons (2023)
“You Really Got Me” – See My Friends (2010)
Albums
Kill ‘Em All (1983)
Ride the Lightning (1984)
Master of Puppets (1986)
…And Justice for All (1988)
Metallica (1991)
Load (1996)
Reload (1997)
St. Anger (2003)
Death Magnetic (2008)
Hardwired… to Self-Destruct (2016)
72 Seasons (2023)
For more on Metallica, check out our Top 10 Metallica Songs article, or explore some other great Metallica pieces on our site, such as Top 10 Metallica Albums and Top 10 Metallica Album Covers. For complete coverage of the band, check out our Complete List of Metallica Albums and Songs Discography and Complete List of Metallica Band Members.
If you want to dig into some of our more specific Metallica pieces, check out Why Ride the Lightning Is Metallica’s Best Album, our review of …And Justice for All, Metallica’s Master of Puppets Honored by U.S. Library of Congress, and Metallica’s Sensational Iron Man Cover of Black Sabbath’s Masterpiece.
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Complete List Of Metallica Songs From A to Z article published on ClassicRockHistory.com© 2026
