Metallica Pic

Influenced by early heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin and New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands such as Venom, Motörhead, Diamond Head, and Iron Maiden, early Metallica releases contained fast tempos, harmonized leads, and nine-minute instrumentals. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that Ride the Lightning featured "extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers". Huey felt Metallica expanded its compositional technique and range of expression to take on a more aggressive approach in following releases, and lyrics dealt with more personal and socially conscious issues.
Lyrical themes explored on Master of Puppets included religious and military leaders, rage, insanity, monsters, and drugs.
St. Anger marked the biggest musical change of the band's career. Bored with guitar solos, Ulrich chose to omit them from the album, leaving a "raw and unpolished sound". The band used drop C tuning, and Ulrich's snare drum received particular criticism. New York Magazine's Ethan Brown noted it "reverberates with a thwong", Lyrics on the album dealt with Hetfield's stint in rehab, including references to the devil, anti-drug themes, claustrophobia, impending doom, and religious hypocrisy. At the advice of producer Rick Rubin, for their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, the band returned to E tuning and guitar solos, and adapted Middle Eastern influences.