Metallica are the biggest metal band of all time The California quartet have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, won nine Grammy Awards, and had five consecutive albums hit number one on the US Billboard chart But theirs is a tale about much more than just sales figures and critical acclaim - and their journey from scuzzy Los Angeles garages to the world's most famous stadiums has been both dramatic and painful Birth School Metallica Death is the definitive story of the 'Led Zeppelin of their generation' It's a story about family, community, self-belief, and the pursuit of dreams, which unfolds through first-hand interviews with the band and those closest to it Piece by piece, Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood reveal just how Metallica have stayed ahead of the competition for so many years, and in Volume I - the first half of this epic story - they detail the band's rise to international fame right up until the eve of the release of their seminal 'Black Album'