Metallica (album)

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Metallica

Studio album by Metallica
Released	August 12, 1991
Recorded	October 1990 - June 1991 at One on One Recording, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	1:02:26
Label	Elektra Records
Producer(s)	Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link
Metallica chronology
...And Justice for All (1988)	Metallica (1991)	Live Shit: Binge & Purge (1993)

Metallica (also known as The Black Album because of its largely black and featureless cover) is the fifth album by the band Metallica.

Metallica was released August 12, 1991 through Elektra Records and is the band's best-selling album to date, with 14.85 million copies sold in the United States alone. In 2003, the album was ranked number 252 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

On the cover, only the band's logo and a coiled snake (derived from the Gadsden flag - which can be seen hanging on a wall in the "One on One" recording studio where the album was recorded) are visible. The motto of the Gadsden flag, Don't Tread on Me, is also the title of a song featured on the album.

1 Reception
2 Bob Rock
3 Grammy success
4 The tour
5 Track listing
6 Singles
7 Credits
8 Charting
- 8.1 Album
- 8.2 Singles
9 References

[edit] Reception

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The Black Album was a controversial album amongst fans of the band. While the album and the band were critically and commercially praised, some fans expressed disappointment and even outrage at the new direction taken by Metallica. Gone, for the most part, were the faster staccato riffs during verses and throaty screaming found on the first four albums; the overall speed and complexity of the music were greatly reduced. The Black Album presented a more radio-friendly, commercially accessible Metallica, evidenced by the ballad "Nothing Else Matters". Moreover, following the success of "One," the breakaway single from their ...And Justice for All album, five videos were released from the Black Album. ("Enter Sandman", "Nothing Else Matters", "Sad But True", "Wherever I May Roam" and "The Unforgiven").

The Black Album stands as a dividing point for Metallica fans. Its supporters claim that it is still a "heavy" album. Songs as "Holier Than Thou", "Through The Never", and "The Struggle Within" and showing Metallica still had elements of the thrash genre's strict limitations on what is "metal" and what is not. On the other hand, detractors pointed at the ballads "Nothing Else Matters" and "The Unforgiven" as signs that Metallica were more interested in commercial gain, than they were in catering exclusively to their original underground fan base.

The lyrics of the Black Album were much more personal and introspective in nature (from the singer and lyricist James Hetfield - a trait that would continue on subsequent Metallica albums). For example, "The God That Failed" dealt with his mother's death from cancer and her Christian Science beliefs which kept her from seeking medical treatment. "Nothing Else Matters" expresses the connection he felt with his soulmate while out on the road. The album also ended Metallica's tradition of including a lengthy instrumental track on each album.

The band has not played certain songs like "Through the Never" and ""Don't Tread on Me" live in concert anymore due to James Hetfield's hatred for them as evidenced in the April 2001 interview with Playboy magazine [[1]].

The cover to the album is very similar to the Smell the Glove album from the glam metal mockumentary This is Spinal Tap. It added another, albeit minor, source of irony to the release.

When the song "Enter Sandman" was ranked by VH1 as one of the greatest metal songs of all time, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian criticized people who claimed Metallica sold out by saying, "Why? Just because 10 million people went out and bought this record?"

[edit] Bob Rock

Metallica was produced by Bob Rock, who was originally asked to mix the album as the band was impressed with his work as producer on the Mötley Crüe album, Dr. Feelgood.^[1] Initially, the band was not interested in having Rock produce their album, but changed their minds as Ulrich stated; "We felt that we still had our best record in us and Bob [Rock] could help us make it."^[1] The Black Album's sound was a marked difference from the stripped down production of the previous album. Rock altered the band's working schedule and routine so much that they swore never to work with him again. The animosity and tension between band and producer was documented in the DVDs A Year And A Half In The Life of Metallica and Classic Albums: The Black Album. Both explore and document the intense and merciless recording process that resulted in the Black Album.

Despite the initial friction between Metallica and Bob Rock, he was the producer for every Metallica release up to 2003.

[edit] Grammy success

Metallica won their third Grammy Award for the Black Album. Many felt the band should have won a Grammy for their ...And Justice for All album - the band was nominated in the "Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal" category, but lost to Jethro Tull. When accepting the Grammy for the Black Album, drummer Lars Ulrich made a point of thanking Jethro Tull for not releasing an album that same year. However, Tull did release an album that year, titled Catfish Rising, but it did not see the same critical success as Crest of a Knave.

[edit] The tour

The world tour following the Metallica album, initially dubbed the Wherever We May Roam Tour and then later the Nowhere Else to Roam Tour, saw Metallica on the road for the next three years. The tour was in part documented on the A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica DVD, as well as the 3-CD, 2-DVD (or 3-VHS) boxset Live Shit: Binge & Purge.

[edit] Track listing

"Enter Sandman" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett) – 5:29
"Sad But True" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 5:24
"Holier Than Thou" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 3:47
"The Unforgiven" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett) – 6:26
"Wherever I May Roam" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 6:42
"Don't Tread on Me" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 3:59
"Through the Never" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett) – 4:01
"Nothing Else Matters" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 6:29
"Of Wolf and Man" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett) – 4:16
"The God That Failed" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 5:05
"My Friend of Misery" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Newsted) – 6:47
"The Struggle Within" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 3:51
"So What" (Anti-Nowhere League cover, only on UK version)

[edit] Singles

[edit] Credits

James Hetfield - Rhythm Guitars/Vocals
Kirk Hammett - Lead Guitars
Jason Newsted - Bass
Lars Ulrich - Drums

[edit] Charting

[edit] Album

Year	Chart	Position
1991	The Billboard 200	#1

[edit] Singles

Year	Song	Chart	Position
1991	"Enter Sandman"	The Billboard Hot 100	#16
	"Enter Sandman"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	#10
	"Enter Sandman"	Modern Rock Tracks	#28
	"Don't Tread on Me"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	#21
1992	"The Unforgiven"	The Billboard Hot 100	#35
	"The Unforgiven"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	#10
	"Nothing Else Matters"	The Billboard Hot 100	#34
	"Nothing Else Matters"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	#11
	"Wherever I May Roam"	The Billboard Hot 100	#82
	"Wherever I May Roam"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	#25
	"Sad but True"	The Billboard Hot 100	#98
	"Sad but True"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	#15