5 STORIES
1984 · 80S
A landmark ballad nested inside a thrash metal record, "Fade to Black" was Metallica's first slow song and arguably the moment the genre lea…
1986 · 80S
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
The most famous thrash metal song ever written is not about war, Satan, or politics — it is a first-person monologue delivered by a drug, br…
1988 · 80S
Metallica's breakthrough ballad-turned-assault is not a straightforward anti-war anthem but a horror story about consciousness with nowhere …
1991 · 90S
A lullaby turned inside out, "Enter Sandman" was the moment Metallica stopped belonging to the underground and started belonging to everyone…
1991 · 90S
A late-night phone call between a homesick frontman and his girlfriend became, almost by accident, the most tender song ever written by a th…