IN THE BLACK
BY THE END of the 1980s, heavy metal — and, in particular, thrash metal — had become something of a musical arms race. “It was all about impressing the other bands with your heaviness, with your speed, with your technical prowess,” Metallica frontman James Hetfield recalls to Guitar World. “Everyone wanted to come up with the heaviest riff on earth or the fastest song possible.” Given that Metallica had already spent most of the decade gleefully pushing the boundaries of heaviness, speed and technicality on each of their first four recordings — 1983’s Kill ’Em All, the following year’sRide the Lightning, 1986’sMaster of Puppetsand 1988’s…And Justice for All — they decided that, for their fifth release, they’d try something a little different. “The next album,” guitarist Kirk Hammett says, “was going to be shorter, simpler songs.”
“WHEN WE WENT OUT ON TOUR AND STARTED PLAYING ... AND JUSTICE FOR ALL SONGS LIVE, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT WE LOST THE AUDIENCE A LITTLE BIT. WE LOST OURSELVES A LITTLE BIT”
— JAMES HETFIELD
That album, officially released August 12, 1991, as Metallica, but better known as the Black Album, was, true to Hammett’s words, characterized by more concise and straightforward compositions, in particular when compared to its exceedingly proggy predecessor, …And Justice for All. But it was also much, much more.
Working with a new producer, Bob Rock, who had recently helmed Mötley Crüe’s mainstream smash, 1989’s Dr. Feelgood, the band — which, in addition to Hetfield and Hammett included drummer Lars Ulrich and now ex-bassist Jason Newsted — crafted something that not only became the biggest heavy metal album of its day, but one that, at more than 35 million copies sold worldwide, is quite likely the most successful heavy metal album ever. Metallica topped the charts in 10 countries, including the U.S., and managed the seemingly conflicting feats of redefining the very sound of heavy metal (sure, the music was still heavy, speedy and technically proficient, but it was also hookier, groovier and, sometimes, even — gasp! — softer) while also rocketing Metallica up and out of the genre’s somewhat stifling sonic confines. Post-Black Album, Metallica were not just the biggest metal band going; they were an undeniable, unstoppable, unabashed global rock phenomenon.
The album’s hit singles — and there were a lot of ’em (like, Michael Jackson and Madonna levels of ’em) — need no introduction. “Enter Sandman.” “Sad But True.” “Nothing Else Matters.” “The Unforgiven.” “Wherever I May Roam.” If you’ve listened to rock or metal radio over the past 30 years, spent any time growing up watching something called MTV or woodshedding the tabs in various issues of this very magazine, you likely know them by heart.
But you’ll know them — along with the Black Album’s additional seven tracks — in a whole new way after listening to the new 30 anniversary reissue. Befitting a record as monumental as the Black Album, the amount of music on offer on the new release is, in a word, staggering. is available in various formats, including remastered standard CD and 3CD
