METALLICA : THE GODFATHER OF Trash Metal. Metallica is an American metal band formed in Los Angeles , California . Their releases include fast , instrumentals , and aggressive musicianship times , which put them in place of one of the founding bands of the " Big Four" of thrash metal, along with Slayer , Megadeth and Anthrax . The band was formed in 1981 , after James Hetfield respond to an