{"id":41442,"date":"2026-08-12T19:10:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41442"},"modified":"2026-08-12T19:10:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:10:46","slug":"metallicas-black-album-took-them-from-metal-heroes-to-rock-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41442","title":{"rendered":"Metallica&#8217;s &#8220;Black Album&#8221; Took Them from Metal Heroes to Rock Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Metallica-Black-Album.jpg?quality=80\" \/><\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-id=\"956953\" data-title=\"Metallica\u2019s \u201cBlack Album\u201d Took Them from Metal Heroes to Multiplatinum Rock Giants\" data-url=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/08\/metallica-black-album-anniversary\/\" data-page=\"1\" data-pages=\"1\">\n<p>With their fifth LP, a self-titled effort better known as <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2KGV6W3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">\u201cThe Black Album\u201d<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/artist\/metallica\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Metallica<\/a>\u2019s popularity skyrocketed from metal heroes to international rock superstars. And while the album earned Metallica millions of new fans, there was a contingent of thrash purists who lamented the band\u2019s foray into the mainstream.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For years, despite emerging during the rise of MTV, Metallica refused to embrace the medium of music videos. In fact, it was not until their fourth full-length, 1988\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2018\/09\/metallica-and-justice-for-all-album-anniversary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>\u2026And Justice for All<\/em><\/a>, that they finally relented and agreed to a video for \u201cOne\u201d (which looking back, made the success of 1986\u2019s <em>Master of Puppets<\/em> all the more impressive, as it became a big seller almost entirely on word of mouth and touring). But with MTV fully embracing the \u201cOne\u201d clip and it serving as the mainstream\u2019s true introduction to the band, Metallica were primed to break through in a big way with their fifth studio album.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vivid-seats.pxf.io\/c\/1882189\/952533\/12730?subId1=metallica%2Ablack-album-button&amp;subId2=&amp;subId3=&amp;sharedid=&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vividseats.com%2Fmetallica-tickets%2Fperformer%2F529\" class=\"button button-ticket\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Get Metallica Tickets Here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And while <em>Justice<\/em> had peaked at No. 6 on the <em>Billboard<\/em> 200 chart and made Metallica an arena headliner, the band \u2014 frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Jason Newsted, and drummer Lars Ulrich \u2014 sought to try something different for their next album. Having admired the sounds of recent albums that producer Bob Rock had overseen (particularly The Cult\u2019s <em>Sonic Temple<\/em> and M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce\u2019s <em>Dr. Feelgood<\/em>), a meeting was arranged to discuss having Rock twiddle the knobs on the metal band\u2019s next effort.<\/p>\n<p>Related Video<\/p>\n<p>In the book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Birth-School-Metallica-Death-1\/dp\/B00G4GVMWO\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><em>Birth School Metallica Death: The Biography, Volume 1<\/em><\/a>, Ulrich recalled, \u201cWe were sitting there, saying, \u2018Well, Bob, we think that we\u2019ve made some good albums, but this is three years later and we want to make a record that is really bouncy, really lively, [and] just has a lot of groove to it.\u2019 We told him that live we have this great vibe, and that\u2019s what we wanted to do in the studio. He was brutally honest with us. He said he\u2019d seen us play live a bunch of times and [then told us that] \u2018You guys have not captured what\u2019s live on record yet\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Metallica: Enter Sandman (Official Music Video)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CD-E-LDc384?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Setting up shop once more at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles (the same site where <em>Justice<\/em> was recorded), the band got to work \u2014 but interestingly, kept their previous producer, Fleming Rasmussen, on stand-by for a month, in case things didn\u2019t work out! But things did indeed work out, as sessions lasted from October 6th, 1990, through June 16th, 1991. And in addition to attempting to capture their live sound on record, a faux pas committed on <em>Justice<\/em> would be corrected on the new album \u2014 Newsted\u2019s bass would finally be heard.<\/p>\n<p>Released on August 12th, 1991, the band\u2019s fifth LP \u2014 simply titled <em>Metallica<\/em> but best known as \u201cThe Black Album\u201d \u2014 was undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated hard rock \/ heavy metal releases of the year. The album\u2019s cover was almost entirely black, except for the band\u2019s logo in the upper left corner and a coiled-up snake in the bottom right corner (both hard to see) \u2014 amusingly calling to mind <em>Smell the Glove<\/em>, the fictional LP that was famously described as <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/mHy6_vQueLI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">\u201cnone more black\u201d<\/a> in the mockumentary <em>This Is Spinal Tap<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>But musically, it was clear from the get-go that the album certainly contained a much more multi-dimensional and thicker sound than <em>Justice<\/em> \u2014 especially with the album-opener, \u201cEnter Sandman\u201d. Also serving as the album\u2019s lead single (accompanied by a popular-yet-creepy music video), \u201cSandman\u201d featured a killer guitar riff.<\/p>\n<p>According to the riff\u2019s author, Hammett, it was inspired by another heavy rock act. \u201cIt was about 2 or 3 o\u2019clock in the morning,\u201d the guitarist recounted on the \u201cToucher and Rich\u201d radio show. \u201cI had just been listening to <em>Louder Than Love<\/em>, the Soundgarden album. It was when Soundgarden [were] still somewhat underground and [were] on an independent label. I just love that album; it\u2019s a great Soundgarden album. And I heard that album, I was inspired, I picked up my guitar and out came that riff.\u201d Eventually, \u201cSandman\u201d would become ingrained in popular culture, including major sporting events (perhaps most famously blasted at Yankee Stadium whenever relief pitcher Mariano Rivera would enter baseball games).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Metallica - Wherever I May Roam (Official Music Video)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cwPg8gJq_Kw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Upon first listen of \u201cThe Black Album,\u201d it was quite apparent that the speed metal approach of Metallica\u2019s earlier albums (particularly 1983\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2019\/07\/metallica-kill-em-all-album-anniversary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Kill \u2018Em All<\/em> <\/a>and 1984\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2019\/07\/metallica-ride-the-lightning-album-anniversary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Ride the Lightning<\/em><\/a>) had been dialed down considerably, as evidenced on such tunes as the slower\/crunchier \u201cSad But True,\u201d \u201cWherever I May Roam,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Tread on Me,\u201d \u201cOf Wolf and Man,\u201d \u201cThe God That Failed,\u201d and \u201cMy Friend of Misery.\u201d Also, for the first time the first time, Metallica included more than one ballad on a single album, with \u201cThe Unforgiven\u201d and \u201cNothing Else Matters.\u201d But granted, there were points where the pace picked up \u2014 \u201cHolier Than Thou\u201d, \u201cThrough the Never\u201d, and the album-closing \u201cThe Struggle Within\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A rousing reception to the album was immediate from record buyers, as it debuted at No. 1 on the <em>Billboard<\/em> 200 chart, and has since sold more than 16 million copies in the United States alone. In fact, it continues to land on the <em>Billboard<\/em> chart to this day, selling roughly 4,000 to 5,000 copies per week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey, the Metallica \u2018Black Album\u2019 brought women to metal,\u201d former <em>Rip<\/em> magazine editor Lonn Friend once said in the book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Survival-Fittest-Heavy-Metal-1990s\/dp\/1512073067\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><em>Survival of the Fittest: Heavy Metal in the 1990s<\/em><\/a>. \u201cIf you\u2019d seen Iron Maiden shows in the late \u201880s, there were no women. The only chicks there were the girlfriends who were picking their dudes up afterwards in the parking lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the same book, Slayer\/Exodus guitarist Gary Holt offered his thoughts. \u201cI look at \u2018The Black Album\u2019, and it\u2019s like, \u2018The album still would have been the biggest rock album of all-time if you snuck in a couple of fast ones.\u2019 [Laughs] You\u2019d still have \u2018Nothing Else Matters\u2019 and \u2018Enter Sandman\u2019, but throw in some f**kin\u2019 high-speed mayhem and it\u2019s all good. But it\u2019s an awesome record, front-to-back. It\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Is \u201cThe Black Album\u201d Metallica\u2019s finest hour? A few tunes could be considered \u201cfiller\u201d and have rarely been played in concert (\u201cHolier Than Thou,\u201d \u201cThe Struggle Within,\u201d etc.), and many fans agree that <em>Master of Puppets<\/em> is the band\u2019s masterpiece. But there is simply no denying that \u201cThe Black Album\u201d is the release that made Metallica a household name.<\/p>\n<p><em>Catch Metallica performing songs from \u201cThe Black Album\u201d and more during their upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/02\/metallica-2026-las-vegas-sphere-how-to-get-tickets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cLife Burns Faster\u201d residency at Las Vegas\u2019 Sphere<\/a>. Tickets are <a style=\"display: inline !important;\" href=\"https:\/\/vivid-seats.pxf.io\/c\/1882189\/952533\/12730?subId1=metallica&amp;subId2=sphere-u2&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vividseats.com%2Fmetallica-tickets%2Fperformer%2F529\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">available here<\/a>, with 20% off your first order of $200 or more using the code <strong>CONSEQUENCE20<\/strong>. Watch former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted discuss \u201cThe Black Album\u201d in 2026 in the video below.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/Db8UEOPz0gm\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:500px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=1;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('set','agent','tmgoogletagmanager', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('track', \"PageView\");\n\t<\/script><script defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v7.0&#038;appId=434175690014\" nonce=\"6gwmbCtM\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With their fifth LP, a self-titled effort better known as \u201cThe Black Album\u201d, Metallica\u2019s popularity skyrocketed from metal heroes to international rock superstars. And while the album earned Metallica millions of new fans, there was a contingent of thrash purists who lamented the band\u2019s foray into the mainstream. For years, despite emerging during the rise&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Metallica-Black-Album-featured.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}