# Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. Metallica was formed in 1981 when vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield responded to an advertisement posted by drummer Lars Ulrich in a local newspaper. The band's current line-up comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band. Metallica collaborated over a long period with producer Bob Rock, who produced all of the band's albums from 1990 to 2003 and served as a temporary bassist between the departure of Newsted and the hiring of Trujillo.

## Song lyrics

All lyrics written by James Hetfield unless noted.

### Kill 'Em All (1983)

* No life 'til leather We're gonna kick some ass tonight!
** Hit the Lights
* When we start to rock we never wanna stop again!
** Hit the Lights
* Time Has taken it's toll on you The lines that crack your face Famine Your body it has torn through Withered in every place Pestilence For what you had to endure And what you have put others through Death Deliverance for you for sure There is nothing you can do
** The Four Horsemen
* Living and dying, laughing and crying Once you have seen it you will never be the same.
** Motorbreath
* So come on Jump in the fire!
** Jump in the Fire, lyrics by James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine
* Jump by your will or be taken by force I'll get you either way.
** Jump in the Fire
* But we'll never stop We'll never quit 'Cause we're Metallica
** Whiplash
* The leathered armies have prevailed The Phantom Lord has never failed Smoke is lifting from the ground The riding volume Metal sound
** Phantom Lord
* No mercy for what we are doing No thought to even what we have done We don't need to feel the sorrow No remorse for the helpless one
** No Remorse
* Another day, another death Another sorrow, another breath
** No Remorse
* Scanning the scene in the city tonight We're looking for you to start up a fight
** Seek & Destroy
* Searching Seek and destroy!
** Seek & Destroy
* Joining together to take on the world with our heavy metal Spreading the message to everyone here, Come let yourself go
** Metal Militia

### Ride the Lightning (1984)

* Do unto others as they have done to you, but what the hell is this world coming to?
** Fight Fire with Fire
* Blow the universe into nothingness
** Fight Fire with Fire
* Nuclear warfare shall lay us to rest
** Fight Fire with Fire
* Fight fire with fire Ending is near Fight fire with fire Bursting with fear... We all shall die
** Fight Fire with Fire
* Who made you God to say I'll take your life from you
** Ride the Lightning
* Guilty as charged But damn it That ain't right!
** Ride the Lightning
* Flash before my eyes Now it's time to die
** Ride the Lightning
* Burning in my brain I can feel the flame
** Ride the Lightning
* Take a look to the sky Just before you die It's the last time he will
** For Whom the Bell Tolls
* Yesterday seems as though it never existed Death greets me warm Now I will just say good-bye
** Fade to Black
* Life it seems to fade away Drifting further everyday Getting lost within myself nothing matters no one else
** Fade to Black
* No one but me Can save myself But it's too late
** Fade to Black
* From deep sleep, I have broken away No one knows, no one hears what I say
** Trapped Under Ice
* Life is for my own, to live my own way.
** Escape
* No damn chains can hold me to the ground!
** Escape
* So let it be written So let it be done I'm sent here by the Chosen one So let it be written So let it be done To kill the first born Pharaoh's Son I'm Creeping Death!
** Creeping Death, lyrics by James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett

### Master of Puppets (1986)

* Crushing all deceivers, mashing non-believers!
** Battery
* Smashing through the boundaries Lunacy has found me cannot stop the battery!
** Battery
* Taste me, you will see, more is all you need
** Master of Puppets
* Master of puppets I'm pulling your strings Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
** Master of Puppets
* Master, Master Where's the dreams that I've been after? Master, Master You promised only lies Laughter, Laughter All I hear and see is laughter Laughter, Laughter Laughing at my cries
** Master of Puppets
* Hell is worth all that Natural habitat Just a rhyme without a reason Never-ending maze Drift on numbered days Now your life is out of season
** Master of Puppets
* Messenger of fear in sight Dark deception kills the light!
** The Thing That Should Not Be
* Not dead which eternal lie Stranger eons death may die! (from H.P. Lovecraft. First appeared in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu" as a line from the book of the dead, "Necronomicon".)
** The Thing That Should Not Be
* Fearless wretch, insanity He watches, lurking beneath the sea Great old one, forbidden sight He searches, hunter of the shadows is rising.
** The Thing That Should Not Be
* Fearless wretch, insanity He watches, lurking beneath the sea Time of sleep, has been upset His waiting, hunter of the shadows is rising.
** The Thing That Should Not Be
* Dream the same thing every night, I see our freedom in my sight, no locked doors, no windows barred, no things to make my brain seem scarred.
** Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
* They keep me locked up in this cage, can't they see it's why my brain says rage?
** Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
* Mirror stares back hard Kill, it's such a friendly word, seems the only way for reaching out again.
** Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
* Got some death to do!
** Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
* No more can they keep us in listen, damn it! We will win
** Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
* Mutiny in the air!
** Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
* I was born for dying!
** Disposable Heroes
* Back to the front! You will do, what I say, when I say Back to the front! You will die, when I say, you must die Back to the Front! You coward, you servant...you blindman.
** Disposable Heroes
* Soldier boy Made of clay Now an empty shell Twenty-one Only son but he served us well bred to kill not to care Do just as we say Finished here Greetings death He's yours to take away
** Disposable Heroes
* Life planned out before my birth, nothing could I say had no chance to see myself, molded day by day Looking back I realize, nothing have I done left to die with only friend. Alone I clench my gun
** Disposable Heroes
* Spineless from the start
** Leper Messiah
* Send me money, send me green Heaven you will meet Make a contribution And you'll get a better seat Bow to leper messiah
** Leper Messiah
* Lie! Lie! Lie! Lie!
** Leper Messiah
* Honesty is my only Excuse
** Damage Inc.
* Slamming through don't fuck with razorback Stepping out? You'll feel our hell on your back!
** Damage Inc.
* Blood will follow blood Dying time is here (whispering) Damage, Incorporated.
** Damage Inc.
* Fuck it all and fucking no regrets!
** Damage Inc.

### ...And Justice for All (1988)

* Blackened is the end Winter it will send
** Blackened
* See our mother Put to death See our mother die!
** Blackened
* Fire Is the outcome of hypocrisy Darkest potency To the exit of humanity Color our world blackened!
** Blackened
* Hammer of Justice crushes you Overpower
** ...And Justice for All
* Seeking no truth Winning is all Fighting so grim, so true, so real!
** ...And Justice for All
* Nothing can save us!
** ...And Justice for All
* Freedom of choice is made for you my friend Freedom of speech is words that they will bend Freedom no longer frees you!
** Eye of the Beholder
* Truths to you are lies to me
** Eye of the Beholder
* I can't remember anything, can't tell if this is true or dream, deep down inside I feel to scream, this terrible silence stops me.
** One
* Hold my breath as I wish for death oh please God wake me!
** One
* Darkness Imprisoning me All that I see Absolute horror I cannot live I cannot die Trapped in myself Body, my holding cell... Landmine Has taken my sight Taken my speech Taken my hearing Taken my arms Taken my legs Taken my soul Left me with life in hell
** One
* Suspicion is your name Your honesty to blame Put dignity to shame Dishonor!
** The Shortest Straw
* Anger, Misery You'll suffer unto me
** Harvester of Sorrow
* Drink up Shoot in Let the beatings begin
** Harvester of Sorrow
* Old habits reappear, fighting the fear of fear, growing conspiracy, everyone's after me, frayed ends of sanity, hear them calling.... hear them calling me!
** The Frayed Ends of Sanity
* Twisting under schizophrenia! Falling deep into dementia!
** The Frayed Ends of Sanity
* When a man lies he murders some part of the world These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives All this I cannot bear to witness any longer Cannot the kingdom of salvation take me home - borrowed from the chronicles of Thomas the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson
** To Live Is to Die
* Dear mother, dear father You clipped my wings before I learned to fly Unspoiled, outspoken I've outgrown that fucking lullaby!
** Dyers Eve
* Same thing I've always heard from you do as I say not as I do!
** Dyers Eve
* Innocence, torn from me without your shelter Barred reality, I'm living blindly
** Dyers Eve
* I'm in hell without you Cannot cope without you two Shocked at the world that I see Innocent victim please rescue me!
** Dyers Eve

### Metallica (1991)

* Exit light Enter night Take my hand We’re off to never never land!
** Enter Sandman
* Dreams of war Dreams of Liars Dreams of Dragon's Fire And of things that will bite!
** Enter Sandman
* I'm your dream, make you real I'm your eyes when you must steal I'm your pain when you can't feel sad but true
** Sad but True
* Hate! I'm you're hate! I'm your hate when you want love!
** Sad but True
* You lie so much, you believe yourself Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself!
** Holier Than Thou
* What I've felt, what I've known, never shined through in what I've shown Never be, never see, won't see what might have been What I've felt, what I've known, never shined through in what I've shown Never free, never me, so I dub thee Unforgiven
** The Unforgiven
* The Old Man then prepares To die regretfully The old man here is me
** The Unforgiven
* Rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond / call me what you will!
** Wherever I May Roam
* But I'll take my time anywhere I'm free to speak my mind anywhere And I'll redefine anywhere. Anywhere I roam Where I lay my head is home Carved upon my stone My body lies but still I roam
** Wherever I May Roam
* Love it or leave it
** Don't Tread on Me
* On through the never We must go On through the never Out to the Edge of forever We must go On through the never Then never comes
** Through the Never
* "Forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters
** Nothing Else Matters
* Never cared for what they say Never cared for games they play Never cared for what they do Never cared for what they know And I know
** Nothing Else Matters
* Wildness is the preservation of the world so seek the wolf in thyself!
** Of Wolf and Man
* Pride you took Pride you feel Pride that you felt when you'd kneel
** The God That Failed
* Broken is the promise, betrayal The healing hand, held back by the deepened nail Follow the God that failed!
** The God That Failed
* You just stood there screaming Fearing no one would listen to you
** My Friend of Misery
* You insist that the weight of the world, it should be on your shoulders
** My Friend of Misery
* Home is not a home, it becomes a hell Turning it into your prison cell
** The Struggle Within

### Load (1996)

* Outta my way Outta my day Out of your mind and into mine Into no one Into not one Into your step but out of time
** Ain't My Bitch
* Damn it all down Damn it unbound Damn it all down to hell again
** Ain't My Bitch
* I'm gonna make you, shake you, take you I'm gonna be the one who breaks you
** 2 X 4
* Friction, fusion, retribution!
** 2 X 4
* The higher you are the farther you fall the longer the walk the farther you crawl
** The House Jack Built
* Open my eyes just to have them closed again.
** The House Jack Built
* It hates you so hold me until it sleeps
** Until It Sleeps
* So tear me open, but beware! There's things inside without a care.
** Until It Sleeps
* Then it all crashes down And you break your crown And you point your finger but there's no one around! Just want one thing, just to play the king Then the castles crumble and you're left with just a name Where's your crown, King Nothing!
** King Nothing
* Careful what you wish Careful what you say Careful what you wish, you may regret it Careful what you wish, you just might get it!
** King Nothing
* Mama they try and break me
** Hero of the Day
* The window burns To light the way back home
** Hero of the Day
* Caught under wheels roll Oh the bleeding of me
** Bleeding Me
* I'm diggin' my way... I'm digging my way to something better.
** Bleeding Me
* The man takes another bullet He's been fooled again
** Cure
* I drown without a sea Lungs fill with sorrow Lungs fill with misery
** Poor Twisted Me
* Ain't gonna waste my hate But I'm so greedy when they say Better to give than to receive
** Wasting My Hate
* Son, your life's an open book, don't close it 'fore it's done
** Mama Said)
* The brightest flame burns quickest
** Mama Said
* Mama, now I'm coming home, I'm not all you wished of me
** Mama Said
* Forgive me father for I have sinned Find me guilty of the life I feel within
** Thorn Within
* All things wash away But blood stained the sun red today
** Ronnie
* The more I search, the more my need For you The more I bless, the more I bleed For you
** The Outlaw Torn

### Reload (1997)

* Gimme fuel Gimme fire Gimme that which I desire
** Fuel
* Fuck'em man White knuckle tight
** Fuel
* Fortune fame, mirror vain, gone insane But the Memory Remains
** The Memory Remains
* Ash to ash dust to dust fade to black
** The Memory Remains
* Snake! I am the snake! Tempting, that bite you take!
** Devil's Dance
* Black heart scarring darker still
** The Unforgiven II
* I take this key and I bury it in you, because you're Unforgiven too
** The Unforgiven II
* Oh, can't stop this train from rolling Oh, no, nothing brings me down No, I couldn't stop this train from rolling on and on on No, no, forever holding on
** Better Than You
* Don't go looking for snakes
** Slither
* See you crawling in
** Slither
* Draw lead Piss wine Sink teeth All mine Stoke fire Break neck Suffer through this Cheat on death
** Carpe Diem Baby
* Live to win Dare to fail
** Carpe Diem Baby
* Swing the noose again Pierce the apple skin You bit more than you need Now you're choking on the bad seed
** Bad Seed
* Off the veil, stand revealed Bring it on, break the seal At the mercy, the cat is out Spit it up, spit it out
** Bad Seed
* Steal dream and give to you Shoplift a thought or two
** Where the Wild Things Are
* I'm the filthy one on Bourbon Street, you walk on by I'm the little boy that pushes hard and makes him cry
** Prince Charming
* My eyes seek reality My fingers seek my veins
** Low Man's Lyric
* So I cry to the alley way, confess all to the rain, but I lie, straight to the mirror, one I've broken to match my face.
** Low Man's Lyric
* The trash fire is warm, but nowhere safe from the storm, and I can't bear to see, what I've let me be, so wicked and worn
** Low Man's Lyric
* Throw all your bullets in the fire And run like hell
** Attitude
* Why cure the fever? Whatever happened to sweat?
** Attitude
* Renew our faith which way we can To fall in love with life again
** Fixxxer

### St. Anger (2003)

* My life-style determines my death-style
** Frantic
* Birth is pain Life is pain Death is pain It's all the same
** Frantic
* You live it or lie it.
** Frantic
* Fuck it all and fucking no regrets.
** St. Anger
* I'm madly in anger with you!
** St. Anger
* This is the voice of silence no more
** Some Kind of Monster
* Are we the people Some kind of monster
** Some Kind of Monster
* This monster lives!
** Some Kind of Monster
* Ominous, I am in us!
** Some Kind of Monster
* My court is in session and now I slam my gravel down!
** Dirty Window
* I'm judge and I'm jury and I'm executioner too.
** Dirty Window
* I'm ok, just go away Into distance let me fade I'm ok, just go away I'm ok, but please don't stray too far
** Invisible Kid
* The motherfuckers got in my head tried to make me someone else instead
** My World
* Not only do I not know the answer I don't even know what the question is
** My World
* Shoot me again, I ain't dead yet.
** Shoot Me Again
* All the shots I take I spit back at you. All the shit you fake Comes back to haunt you. All the shots, all the shots. All the shots I take What difference did I make? All the shots I take I spit back at you.
** Shoot Me Again
* She holds my hand and I lie to get a smile
** Sweet Amber
* Wash your back so you don't stab mine.
** Sweet Amber
* Cross my heart hope not to die Swallow evil, ride the sky I lose myself in a crowded room You fool, you fool, it'll be here soon
** The Unnamed Feeling
* Get the fuck out of here I just wanna get the fuck away from me I rage, I glaze I hurt I hate I hate it all why why why me?
** The Unnamed Feeling
* Tear it down! Strip the layers off!
** Purify
* Truth and dare Peeling back the skin Acid wash Ghost white Ultra clean Wanna be skeleton Clear eyes Diamond eyes Strip the past of mine My sweet turpentine Super white bones Bones of you and I
** Purify
* I'll die if I let go control is love love is control
** All Within My Hands
* I will only let you breathe My air that you receive Then we'll see if I let you love me
** All Within My Hands

### Death Magnetic (2008)

* Almost like your life almost like your endless fight curse the day is long realize you don't belong disconnect somehow never stop the bleeding now almost like your fight and there it went almost like your life!
** That Was Just Your Life
* Drop the hourglass of time Spilling sand, we will not find As we gather here today We bid farewell The slave becomes the master
** The End of the Line
* Death Contagious Deity
** The End of the Line
* They scratch me They scrape me They cut and rape me!
** Broken, Beat & Scarred
* You rise You fall You're down and you rise again What dont kill ya make ya more strong
** Broken, Beat & Scarred
* Love is a four-letter word And never spoken here Love is a four-letter word here in this prison.
** The Day That Never Comes
* I suffer this no longer I'll put an end to This I swear This I swear the sun will shine This I swear! This I swear! This I Swear!
** The Day That Never Comes
* We hunt you down without mercy hunt you down all nightmare long
** All Nightmare Long
* Still lies immolation still lies infamy Hallucination Heresy Still you run What's to come What's to be?
** All Nightmare Long
* Suicide I've already died you're just the funeral I've been waiting for Cyanide Living dead inside break this empty shell forever more.
** Cyanide
* Say is that rain, or are they tears? They stain your concrete face for years The crying weeping shedding strife Year after year, life after life
** Cyanide
* How can I be lost if I've got nowhere to go? Search for Seas of Gold, how come it's got so cold? How can I be lost? In remembrance I relive So how can I blame you, when it's me I can't forgive?
** The Unforgiven III
* Forgive me... Forgive me not... Forgive me... Forgive me not... Forgive me... Forgive me not... Forgive me... Forgive me! Why can't I forgive me!
** The Unforgiven III
* Judas lives recite this vow I’ve become your new god now!
** The Judas Kiss
* Deadly vision Prophecy reveal Death Magnetic Pulling closer still
** My Apocalypse
* Tyrant awaken my apocalypse! Demon awaken my apocalypse! Heaven awaken my apocalypse! Suffer forever My apocalypse!
** My Apocalypse

### Other

* Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel was just a freight train comin' your way
** No Leaf Clover
* Squeeze the world, and drip it down my throat again!
** -Human, from the 1999 live album S&M
* Coming up for air!
** -Human
* Do you bury me when I'm gone? Do you teach me while I'm here? Just as soon as I belong, then it's time I disappear!
** I Disappear
* Hey hey hey, here I go now, here I go into new days.
** I Disappear

## Quotes about Metallica

* If there’s one band that’s had both an astronomically massive impact on metal and heavy music, and is also the single biggest band in the heavy metal genre, it’s Metallica. [...] To date, no other metal band has achieved the same popularity and widespread critical acclaim as Metallica. [...] Metallica’s achievements are so far and above any other metal act that it would be seen as controversial to not consider them as a part of heavy metal’s Mount Rushmore. As long as metal music continues to exists, Metallica have and always will be one of the greatest metal bands of all time.
** Quentin Thane Singer of Forbes
* In the 37 years since Metallica’s explosive 1983 debut, Kill ’Em All, Hammett and Hetfield have established themselves as metal’s quintessential guitar tar alliance. [...] Hetfield played buzz-saw guitar like a disgruntled logger jacked on Jägermeister. And although Hammett’s internecine solos seemed, at times, to have been beamed from Mars, the point was clear: a Metallica that played together nicely would be a lie.
* Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield showcase two of the most important qualities that make up superb metal songwriter — air-tight rhythm playing and intricate yet memorable guitar leads. [...] From a guitar standpoint, much of Metallica’s influences come from early Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, and in many ways these acts walked so Metallica could run. There’s are a number of reasons as to why Metallica are the biggest metal band in the world, but for the most part it all comes down to their songs and more specifically Hetfield’s and Hammett’s approach to the guitar.
** Quentin Thane Singer of Forbes

## External links

* Official Website
* Official Metallica Merchandise