metallica

Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed the band as one of the founding "big four" of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. The band earned a growing fan-base in the underground music community and critical acclaim, with its third album Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. Metallica achieved substantial commercial success with their eponymous fifth album , which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.