Discover the story of the song > Leper Messiah – Metallica

Lars Ulrich is the driving force behind one of the most successful metal bands of all time, Metallica. After placing an ad in an LA paper in 1981 looking for musicians to "jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden", he teamed up with guitarist James Hetfield, setting the band's trajectory in motion. Initially joined by lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who was replaced by Kirk Hammett in 1983, Metallica released two unsuccessful albums before the breakthrough success of 1986's Master of Puppets, an album that laid the groundwork for their commercial success with 1991's self-titled LP.

The band continued to release chart-topping albums with Load and Reload, before tensions within the band led to the ousting of bassist Jason Newsted in 2001. They recorded 2003's St. Anger mostly as a trio, before adding Robert Trujillo to take on bass duties full-time. That album, along with 2008's Death Magnetic and 2016's Hardwired...to Self-Destruct all hit number 1 around the world.

Throughout their career, Metallica has challenged themselves and their fans with interesting collaborations including backing Lou Reed on the arty Lulu in 2011 and a pair of albums recorded with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, 1999's S&M and 2020's S&M2. Now, nearly 40 years after their formation, Metallica remains one of the most influential metal acts of their era.