Metallica’s Musical Evolution Across the Decades

Metallica is a band that's remained in the heavy metal genre for their entire career, but at the same time, they've evolved. It's really refreshing to see a band like Metallica that is heavy metal, through and through, but also has changed their sound over the decades. It's boring to stay the same, and Metallica certainly hasn't done that.

From their very first show on March 14, 1982, at Radio City in Anaheim, CA, to their sell-out concerts today, Metallica is here to stay, but you never know quite what to expect from them. Bands evolve, and sometimes they seem to break out overnight, but with Metallica, their fame and success was earned over a long period.

Metallica's biggest evolution as a band, of course, came with The Black Album. That record changed everything for Metallica, both with their sound and reach. Suddenly, heavy metal was cool, and people who would have never been at a metal show before The Black Album came out started walking around in Metallica shirts and listening to their music.

Some old-school Metallica fans hated it. It wasn't just the music, either. Some fans didn't like that their favorite underground band, a group that was kind of a secret to the rest of the world, was suddenly the biggest band on the planet.

But, bands change, and they're allowed to do what they want to do in the name of art. There's no denying that Metallica's big breakout moment was with The Black Album, and they're never looked back.

So, as good as it may feel to have listened to Metallica before they got huge, it's long past time to except that they're different than they were on their early records. Metallica make metal for the masses, and there's nothing wrong with that.

But, before that album came Metallica's debut, Kill 'Em All. The band released the set in 1983, and boy, did that record make a statement. This album features aggressive, in-your-face, full-throttle thrash metal with fast tempos, lightning-fast guitar solos, huge power chords and other thrash tendencies.

"There aren't many metal albums more influential than Metallica's 1983 debut, Kill 'Em All," The Guardian notes in a review. Later, they add, "Most of the tropes that would define Metallica's imperial phase are already in place: memorable, crunching riffs worthy of Black Sabbath (The Four Horsemen, Metal Militia); bursts of extreme speed, most notably on Whiplash and the coda to No Remorse; and a penchant for complex song structures and time changes."

By the time Metallica released their fifth studio album, The Black Album, on Aug. 12, 1991, they had changed a lot. The band famously recorded the album at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles with their new producer at the time, Bob Rock. Of course, Rock would become one of the band's chief producers after the success of The Black Album. They made a statement by picking Rock, because he was the producer known for the slick Bon Jovi release Slippery When Wet, so they were obviously going for a more polished and commercial sound.

 The Black Album changed everything for the band. Before it, James Hetfield and company were an underground thrash band with a solid following. But, The Black Album made their musical style much more commercial, and the melodies and tuneful songs made for a much more commercial-friendly record.

Some of Metallica's most popular songs came off The Black Album, including "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters," "Wherever I May Roam" and "Sad but True." The album also spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it their first album to go No. 1 on album charts.

Even if some of the fans didn't care for Metallica's new sound, the album got rave reviews when it was released. Rolling Stone said of the album, "Played back-to-back with Metallica, Justice sounds almost thin; the new record's sonic textures and audio depth of field are a revelation."

Pitchfork added, "After years of wild thrash metal, Metallica simplified everything and became the biggest band in the world. The Black Album's dark, muscular sound would permanently alter the course of heavy music." Elsewhere, they smartly said of the release, "But these are the guys who gave us Kill ’Em All; they won't stop until they've slayed Poison, Mötley Crüe, Ratt, and every last one of those platinum-blonde, spandex-wearing false heirs to the heavy metal throne with their own weapons: massive riffs, clean vocals, sharp arrangements, and layered mixes that gush from the speakers like knife wounds.

Today, Metallica have really learned to create albums that bring together their old, thrash style and a more melodic, mainstream style. The band's latest album, 2023's 72 Seasons, marks their 11th studio set and was released on their own Blackened Records.

"After early tragedy, massive success, artistic floundering, interpersonal drama, headline-making battles over technology, and a few on-camera group sessions with a professional performance enhancement coach, Metallica are a band painfully conscious of its own history," Pitchfork noted in their review at the time. "Who else would make a sequel to one of the least distinguished albums in their catalog, or construct a miniature second stage for their stadium tour to simulate the small rooms where they woodshedded their earliest material?"

Variety even applauded the album, stating, "While we have often heard the phrase 'return to former glory' when it comes to new Metallica albums before (a la 2003's 'Death Magnetic'), '72 Seasons,' more often than not, comes closest to the rush and rage of the band's 1980s best with the added benefit of wisened adulthood as its great and guiding principle." Elsewhere in the review, they noted, "Moving (mostly) with the rush and rapidity of a dozen Slayers, '72 Seasons' finds (guitarist Kirk) Hammett having the very best time, pouring gasoline onto his swift, concentrically circling bits of 'Screaming Suicide,' and leaping from icy shredding to warm blues licks on his 'If Darkness Had a Son' solo."

So, Metallica is living proof that a great band can evolve over time (and even help an EDM music festival) and still maintain its initial character. That's a beautiful thing.