Metallica

Metallica redefined heavy music from the moment they emerged from the Los Angeles thrash scene in 1981. James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett developed a guitar partnership that became the template for modern metal rhythm and lead playing. On Kill 'Em All (1983), Hetfield played a Gibson Flying V through a modified Marshall JCM800, while Hammett — fresh from studying with Joe Satriani — used a 1974 Gibson Flying V and a Fernandes Stratocaster copy. The real tonal breakthrough came with Master of Puppets (1986), recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with Flemming Rasmussen: Hetfield's downpicked rhythm attack was captured through a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ head, which became his signature amp through the late 1980s. Hammett's lead tone on that album relied on his ESP KH-2, a modified Strat-style guitar loaded with EMG 81 pickups, run through a wah pedal (his signature Dunlop KH95) into the same Mesa rig. The Black Album (1991), produced by Bob Rock at One on One Studios, marked a seismic shift: Hetfield switched to an ESP Explorer loaded with EMG 81/60 pickups, and Rock insisted on re-amping rhythm tracks through a combination of the Mesa Mark IIC+ and a modified Marshall to achieve the massive, scooped tone on "Enter Sandman" and "Sad But True." Cliff Burton's bass work on the early albums used a Rickenbacker 4001 through a Mesa Boogie amp with a Morley Power Wah and an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, creating his signature distorted lead-bass style. Live, Hetfield's rig evolved through the decades from the Mesa heads to a combination of Diezel VH4 and Kemper Profilers, though the ESP Explorers and Snakebyte models remained constants.