Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists. Currently, the spot is held by Robert Trujillo. Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and critical acclaim, with the 1986 release Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success with its self-titled 1991 album, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. In 2000, Metallica was among several artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material for free without the band members' consent. Despite reaching #1 on the Billboard 200, the release of St. Anger alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. The band has won seven Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums peak at #1 on the Billboard 200, making Metallica the only band to top the chart five consecutive times. Metallica is the fifth highest-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales in 1991.

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_________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1512:

Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo finished repainting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in fresco. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel)

1520:

Portuguese maritime explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European expedition to navigate the Strait of Magellan, the passage immediately south of mainland South America, connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Magellan)

1755:

A massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami destroyed Lisbon, and killed at least 60,000 people in Portugal and Morocco. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake)

1928:

As part of the reforms implemented under the leadership of Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the current 29-letter Turkish alphabet, used for the Turkish language, was established, replacing the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_alphabet)

1963:

The Arecibo Observatory, with the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, officially opened in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_Observatory)

_______________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

incipient: (adj) Beginning, starting, coming into existence. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/incipient)

______________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Youth is not a question of years: one is young or old from birth. --Natalie Clifford Barney (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Natalie_Clifford_Barney)