

The band was approached in April 2008, who quickly agreed to the game as a "no brainer". Guitar Hero: Metallica was revealed to be in production when an analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities discovered mention of the game in Activision's 2008 SEC filings, slated to be released in "fiscal 2009". If players miss too many notes, they will eventually fail the song and will have to retry it. Players earn scoring multipliers for playing several consecutive notes or phrases correctly, and by correctly completing marked phrases, players can earn Star Power which can be released for a higher scoring multiplier. For lead and bass guitar players, this is done by holding down colored fret buttons on the guitar neck while striking a strum bar for the drum players, this requires the player to strike the appropriate drum pad or kick with the bass drum pedal for vocals, the player must attempt to match the pitch of the notes through a microphone. To successfully complete songs and score, players must use the instruments to play notes that scroll on-screen in time with the music.

The game is based on the band approach presented in Guitar Hero World Tour, and features parts of lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. Guitar Hero: Metallica, like other games in the Guitar Hero series, allows players to simulate the playing of rock music using special instrument controllers.
