Metallica (Pro)

Metallica (Pro) is a significant addition to Stern's legacy of music-themed pinball machines. Released in 2013, this solid state electronic game was designed by John Borg and captures the essence of one of the world's most iconic heavy metal bands. As a licensed theme, Metallica features immersive artwork that puts players in the band's high-energy universe.

The gameplay is where Metallica (Pro) truly shines, with a unique blend of challenging shots and rewarding combos. Players can navigate the playfield, activating pop bumpers, slingshots, and a captive ball to rack up points, plus a Newton ball feature among the machine's toys. With its 3-in-line drop targets and Crank It Up mode, Metallica (Pro) demands skill and focus from players. The game's signature toy is an electric chair with a "Sparky" figurine, voiced by Brendon Small, who also voices "The Snake."

The design and artwork are a key aspect of this machine's appeal, with the backbox translite featuring art caricatures of the band members. The playfield is illuminated by a mix of LEDs (in the pop bumpers, snake, extra ball, and Crank It Up features) and incandescent lamps elsewhere, with a single fluorescent tube lighting the backbox. Metallica (Pro) had an MSRP of $4,995 when new, and a second version with additional LEDs was released the following year as Metallica (Pro LED).