Metallica has remained the monster of American metal music for more than two decades, surviving death, drug and alcohol abuse, raging egos, legal battles and a film capturing its feuding members in group therapy.

The band has been on a roller-coaster ride since its thrashing 1983 debut album, "Kill 'Em All." But nothing has been able to squelch the band's reason for being — creating complex, driving rock that transformed hard-edged speed metal into a radio-ready sound that mainstream listeners have embraced to the tune of 100 million albums sold.

With its fifth consecutive No. 1-debuting album, "Death Magnetic," Metallica has launched its first major tour in four years.

The band's members — snarling singer-guitarist James Hetfield, co-founder and drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and new bassist Robert Trujillo — have reached their mid-40s but show no inclination toward surrendering the title of best-selling mainstream metal band ever.

"I feel 'Death Magnetic' is just a launch pad for even more, and possibly better, stuff creatively," said Trujillo, who came on board in 2003 after Jason Newsted departed.

"I've heard Lars go, 'This (CD) is old news, let's get on with the next one.' "

Like any rock band that has been around for decades, Metallica has taken its share of missteps, but that hasn't stopped fans from buying albums and attending the group's overpowering concerts in droves.

Metallica's determination to evolve musically, a multigenerational fan base and a catalog that includes such hard-rock classics as "Enter Sandman," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "The Unforgiven" and "One" earned it a nomination in September for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility.

"Point blank, Metallica IS metal," said Ivan Moody, vocalist for the rising California metal band Five Finger Death Punch, which toured with Slipknot and Disturbed last summer.

The Hall of Fame nomination comes 22 years after bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a tour-bus accident, 16 years after Hetfield was badly burned onstage in a pyrotechnics mishap, eight years after a messy legal fight with Napster over file sharing and seven years after Hetfield checked into alcohol and drug rehab.

In addition, the group's last album, 2003's "St. Anger," received lukewarm response from many fans despite topping the charts. Some followers also were turned off by "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," a 2004 documentary about the making of "St. Anger" that showed the band hiring a $40,000-a-month therapist to help ease squabbling.

"They are kind of the superheroes of rock because you want to see them win and champion over adversity," said David Weier, head of music and talent for the Fuse music-video channel.

Part of Metallica's magic has been its willingness to push its listeners into new territory.

"They never wanted to repeat themselves," said Cliff Burnstein, who has co-managed Metallica since 1984. "They've gotten into trouble with their fan base at various times because of that, but they have a drive to create and do it their way."

Metallica built a core following early on with such classic thrash-metal albums as 1984's "Ride the Lightning" and 1986's "Master of Puppets."

After being ignored by radio and MTV, the band softened its sonic edge and shortened its songs in 1991, resulting in its eponymous breakthrough album (also called "the Black Album"), which connected with mainstream rockers and sold 15 million worldwide.

Then band members cut their hair, seen as a symbolic turning point in some circles, and slowed up many of their songs for 1996's "Load," causing some thrash-loving early fans to rebel.

There also were gripes about the group's decision in 1999 to record a live album with the San Francisco Symphony and about the "St. Anger" CD, which was largely devoid of lead guitar as the group focused its songwriting inward.

But that hasn't kept Metallica from expanding its fan base as its CDs continue to go multiplatinum and top the charts.

"Sometimes the fans get (angry), and they have a problem with it," Trujillo said. "They're always there, though. They always stick around."

It hasn't hurt that "Death Magnetic" is being hailed as a return to the group's roots. The first single, "The Day That Never Comes," has topped rock charts, and other tracks have charted in three radio formats: alternative, active rock and rock.

Innovative producer Rick Rubin, who has worked with artists ranging from Johnny Cash to Neil Diamond to the Dixie Chicks to U2, nudged the band toward the more stripped-down sound of earlier years, Trujillo said.