Some Kind Of Monster (2001 - 2004)

In April 2001, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky began following Metallica to document the recording process of the next studio album. Over two years, more than 1,000 hours of footage was recorded. The footage recorded by Berlinger and Sinofsky was compiled into the documentary, Some Kind of Monster, which premiered at the Sundance film festival.

What began as a simple documentary of the making of an album (St. Anger) turned into a much more personal exploration of the band's relationships with each other, and struggles with the creative process.

"This is not a film about Metallica - it's a film about relationships," explains 40-year-old drummer Lars Ulrich. Originally planned as a behind-the-scenes promo to accompany the band's new album, Some Kind Of Monster quickly spiralled into some kind of nightmare, as the band teetered on the verge of acrimony and collapse in the recording studio. Bickering, backstabbing, and all-out slanging matches were the result as the three surviving band members - Hetfield, Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett - prove that monsters of rock often have monstrous egos to match.