Top 10 Best Songs by Metallica

The holy grail of metal. Eight minutes long, you are swept into a story about addiction ("The Master") that takes control. The riffs are fast and complex, the precision is terrifying. But in the middle is a sudden beautiful, melodic section that sounds like classical music, before hell breaks loose again. Complex, hard, beautiful, and brilliant. Perfection.

A haunting masterpiece. It starts quietly and sadly, telling about a soldier who has lost his limbs and senses to a landmine. The despair grows with each minute. Then comes the shift: the machine gun rhythm on the drums (double bass drum) and aggressive guitars embody pure panic and horror. The finale is one of the most intense pieces of music ever recorded.

Perhaps the most famous metal riff of all time. It's menacing, gripping, and grand. It's about nightmares and the things under your bed. The buildup is perfect: from the clean intro to a wall of sound. The prayer in the middle makes it extra creepy. This is the song that made Metallica worldwide stars and made stadiums explode.

The song that changed everything. James Hetfield wrote it over the phone for his girlfriend and almost didn't dare show it to the band. It is vulnerable and open. The orchestration gives it a timeless beauty. It's about trust and connection, regardless of distance. Even people who hate metal love this song.

Back to the basics. This is raw, unpolished thrash metal. The sound is dry and aggressive, as if recorded in a garage. The riff is simple but deadly effective. It's an anthem for youthful aggression, made to break things. Live, this is often the closer, with the audience screaming the lyrics "Searchiiiiing..." at the top of their lungs.

The first time the band dared to make a ballad. It starts with a sad acoustic guitar and is about deep depression and suicidal thoughts. But halfway through the tone shifts: the electric guitars take over and the song ends in a furious, desperate finale. It's a musical representation of fighting darkness. Touching and intense.

Metallica turned the rules upside down here: the verses are heavy and hard, the chorus is soft and melodic. It starts like a spaghetti western. Hetfield sings with emotion about a life controlled by others, full of regret and bitterness. The guitar solo is one of the most beautiful Hammett ever played; full of sadness and pain.

That intro... the ominous bells and then that bass line of Cliff Burton that sounds like a lead guitar. It builds like an army going to war. The song is based on Hemingway's book and captures the senselessness and horror of war perfectly. It's majestic and menacing at once. A classic that always gives goosebumps live.

Heavy, heavier, heaviest. This song is like a steamroller slowly running over you. The guitars are tuned lower than normal, creating a deep, growling sound. The rhythm is slow and heavy, giving it enormous "swagger". It's about the dark voice in your head pulling you down. An absolute neckbreaker for headbangers.

Actually an Irish folk song (and a cover of Thin Lizzy), but Metallica makes a party of it. It's one of their loosest and most energetic songs. You hear that the band is having fun. The guitars are heavy, but the atmosphere is that of a wild night in the pub. Hetfield sounds tough and raw. A crowd favorite that proves metal can just be fun.