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10 Fascinating Metallica Facts for Kids (2025 Updated)

Metallica is one of heavy metal’s most famous and widely loved bands. They were first formed in the early 80s in San Francisco, where they’ve been based for most of their career. 

This band has sold millions of records over the years, and they are widely considered to be one of the best thrash metal bands in music history. Like every other band, they’ve seen tons of highs and lows throughout their time as a band, and the world is different because of their music. 

In this article, we’ve put together some interesting facts about Metallica that you might not have known about before. 

Let’s get into it! 

How Was Metallica Started?

Metallica was first started in late 1981. The band’s drummer, Lars Ulrich, posted an advertisement in the LA newspaper The Recycler. He was looking for other metal musicians to jam with and received a response from Hugh Tanner and James Hetfield. 

Though the band had not been officially formed, Ulrich asked Brian Slagel, founder of Metal Blade Records, if it would be possible to record a song for an album for the label. Slagel agreed and hired James Hetfield to play guitar on the track, and five months later, Metallica was formed. 

10 Interesting Facts About Metallica

1. Ron Quintana came up with the name Metallica. 

Though many believe that the members themselves came up with the name, Lars Ulrich’s friend Rob Quintana was the one who suggested Metallica. At the time, Quintana was trying to come up with an interesting name for a metal music magazine and narrowed his choices down to MetalMania and Metallica. Since Ulrich liked the name Metallica, he suggested that Quintana name his magazine MetalMania. 

2. Metallica achieved success early on in their careers. 

While some bands take years to get opening gigs or the chance to record songs, Metallica was able to achieve some of this success quite early on in their career. For instance, the band’s first song was called Hit the Lights; they recorded this as part of a metal album called Metal Massacre by Metal Blade Records. Their second gig was when they were the opening act for the British band Saxon when Saxon toured America. 

3. Metallica fired Dave Mustaine. 

If you’re a fan of the band, you might know this fact already! Dave Mustaine was Metallica’s lead guitar player but was fired from the band due to issues with substance abuse. Mustaine also had a huge ego and often behaved aggressively, which caused him to clash with the other band members. After he was fired, he went on to form the heavy metal band Megadeath. 

4. Metallica is known for being one of the best-selling bands in history. 

Metallica has sold millions of records to date, making them one of the most successful bands in music history. They have sold over 125 million records worldwide and have served as the inspiration for several other artists. For instance, the lead vocalist of Korn, Jonathan Davis, has cited Metallica as his favorite band on multiple occasions. 

5. James Hetfield has a guitar made from a place the band rehearsed in. 

James Hetfield got a custom guitar made from the wood in a garage that the band used to rehearse in! After Metallica moved to the Bay Area in San Francisco, they started rehearsing at a garage in El Cerrito. They wrote some of their most famous material there, like Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, and the garage held sentimental value for the band. However, after the owners of the garage decided to tear it down, Hetfield saved a few pieces of wood and hired Ken Lawrence to make him a custom guitar. 

6. Metallica is one of the only bands to have played on every continent!

Not many artists can say that they’ve played shows in every continent across the world, but Metallica can definitely tick this one off their list. Throughout their career, the band has played more than 1,700 shows worldwide, with more than 40 shows in their hometown of San Francisco, California. Back in 2013, Metallica played an hour-long show in Antarctica called Freeze ‘Em All. This show won them the Guinness World Record for being the first band to play shows on all the continents!

7. Metallica has created its own brand of whiskey. 

Though it’s not uncommon for musicians to start their own brand of alcohol, the thing that sets Metallica’s whiskey brand apart is the fact that each batch of whiskey is pulsed with one of the band’s songs! Metallica has trademarked black noise, and they use this form of sonic enhancement to help manufacture their whiskey. 

8. Metallica has addressed social issues through their music.

Metallica’s fourth studio album, And Justice For All, was the album that brought the band more mainstream success. Lyrically, the album examines themes of political and racial injustice, censorship, corruption, and war. This album also won the band their first Grammy Award. 

9. Metallica’s song Enter Sandman is an iconic song in the world of baseball. 

If you’re a baseball fan, chances are you’ve heard this song a few times at games! After Mariano Rivera joined the New York Yankees, the song Enter Sandman was played every time he walked up to the bases. When Rivera retired from baseball, Metallica played at his last game and sent him a congratulatory message when he was inducted into the baseball hall of fame. 

10. Metallica collaborated with the San Francisco Symphony. 

In 1999, Metallica collaborated with the San Francisco Symphony and wrote two songs for the event. The performance was conducted by Michael Kamen, and he worked with a staff of over 100 people to compose additional material for Metallica’s songs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Metallica is arguably one of the world’s biggest bands. In this article, we walked you through a list of interesting facts about Metallica, a band whose music has had an impact on hundreds of musicians who came after them. We hope you learned something new!