The 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Metallica
Heavy metal is often scorned by critics—and for good reason. Most of it sounds the same, and most of it sucks. Metallica, however, took speed and force and created a whole new kind of musical velocity. James Hetfield's lyrics stay away from beasts and torture implements and focus on his own often-scary insides while Lars Ulrich’s drumming is among the most ferocious and precise in rock. Metallica has also taken its share of risks, from diversions into new (though always heavy) sounds to a brutal self-financed documentary, Some Kind of Monster, that showed just how hard it is to be in a band for 25 years and remain friends.

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