Metallica plays music.
Metallica is an American heavy metal band based in San Rafael , California . The band expanded its musical direction and achieved substantial commercial success with its eponymous fifth album Metallica ( 1991 ) , which resulted in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience . The release of St. Anger ( 2003 ) alienated fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the `` steel-sounding '' snare drum , and a film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording of St. Anger and the tensions within the band during that time . The band returned to its original musical style with the release of Death Magnetic ( 2008 ) , and in 2009 , Metallica was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . St. Anger is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica , released on June 5 , 2003 , by Elektra Records .