The World’s Largest Consumer of Heavy Metal Music
The World’s Largest Consumer of Heavy Metal Music is the perfect place to get your metal fix. From the latest news to reviews and interviews, we’ve got it all.
The United States
The United States is the world’s largest consumer of heavy metal music. This is due to the large number of heavy metal bands that originate from the United States. The United States is also home to some of the largest heavy metal festivals in the world, such as the annual Rock on the Range festival.
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by drummer Lars Ulrich and vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The group’s fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship placed them as one of the founding “big four” bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. Metallica’s current lineup comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine (who went on to form Megadeth) and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton (who died in 1986) and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.
The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and won critical acclaim with its first five albums. The third album, Master of Puppets (1986), was described as one of the heaviest and most influential thrash metal albums. The fourth album, …And Justice for All (1988), featured their longest song to date, “One”, whose lyrics were inspired by author Ayn Rand. Metallica achieved substantial commercial success with their eponymous fifth album (also known as The Black Album), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2000, Metallica was among a number of artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band’s copyrighted material without permission. A settlement was reached and Napster became a pay-to-use service in 2003.
Metallica has released ten studio albums, four live albums, five extended plays (EPs), 39 singles, 10 video albums, 41 music videos, and an eponymous documentary film. The band has won nine Grammy Awards from 23 nominations,…
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, who were later joined by drummer Chris Adler and guitarist Marty Friedman. Mustaine is the only original member of the band who remains, as well as the band’s primary songwriter and leader. Megadeth is considered one of the pioneers of thrash metal, and their music features complex arrangements and fast guitar solos.
The band has released fifteen studio albums, five live albums, two compilations, one box set, and forty-seven singles. They have sold over 38 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling heavy metal bands of all time. Megadeth has received critical acclaim for their music, with nine Grammy nominations and four wins. In 2012, they were ranked number nine in Guitar World’s “100 Greatest Metal Bands of All Time”, while in 2010 they were ranked number 40 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock”.
Slayer
Slayer is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer’s fast and aggressive musical style made them one of the most popular bands of the 1980s and 1990s. They have released twelve studio albums, two live albums, a box set, six video albums, thirty-six singles and nineteen music videos. Slayer’s musical style involves fast tremolo picking, double bass drumming, and shouting vocals. Hanneman and King are credited with much of the band’s lyrical content which has been described as focus on topics such as murder, serial killers, torture, death, warfare, terrorism, religion, anti-religion and occasionally sex.
