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.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallica
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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)
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
incipient: (adj) Beginning, starting, coming into existence.
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/incipient)
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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)