Formed in Los Angeles in 1981, Metallica has become the best-selling heavy metal group in music history, with an estimated 100 million worldwide album sales. The band has toured and performed on all seven continents. In this updated edition, acclaimed heavy metal journalist Martin Popoff leads a roster of celebrated heavy metal writers in taking on Metallica's story, analyzing studio albums, and providing a complete discography. More than 300 images complement the band's story: their formative years spent woodshedding in the clubs of Los Angeles; tragedies, such as the death of founding bassist Cliff Burton; the triumphs of multiple platinum recordings; personnel changes, such as the departures of Dave Mustaine and Jason Newsted; and tours around the world. Live-performance and candid backstage photographs are accompanied by memorabilia. This updated edition includes coverage of Metallica's two Orion Music + More festival gigs in 2012 and 2013; the band's 2012 departure from Warner Bros. and the formation of Blackened Records; the release of the Quebec Magnetic two DVD live set in 2012; and the release of Through the Never, an innovative 3D, no-dialog horror movie interspersed with Metallica live footage and a live soundtrack album in 2013. The band's Antarctica performance generated a digital live album, Freeze 'Em All, and Metallica toured the world in 2013, 2014, and 2015, with shows from England to Norway to Peru. Consider this updated edition a loud tribute to one of heavy metal's hardest-rocking bands.