Black Album 25 years old today!

[JamesPeters]

"...The album was certified 16× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2012 and has sold over sixteen million copies in the United State, the first album in the SoundScan era to do so."

Which state though?

I understand how it helped them gain popularity, and for that it's hard to fault them. They got snubbed at the Grammys after AJFA in a huge WTF moment, so knowing how much the black album sold, I felt there was some "justice for Justice" in it all. Also this album helped Metallica become a "gateway metal band" for the industry, allowing so many more to achieve some measure of success. It was a "gateway album" in another sense: people would be exposed to them by that one album, and then listen to the rest of their discography. I'm sure it helped convert a lot of would-be non-metal listeners into metal listeners.

However at the time I was one of the people who were so excited to get the album, and was let down...but kept trying to convince himself how great it was. Megadeth's Rust In Peace sealed that though. Even Voivod, who had been getting a bit tamer over the years, with The Outer Limits album, sounded more energetic and arguably "heavier" in some ways.

Going to the following Metallica concert and being surrounded by people who would've fought me for listening to Metallica in high school, suddenly "fans" of the band, was a bit annoying. That annoyance disappeared though as soon as Metallica started playing songs which weren't from the black album...and all these new "fans" had no idea what was going on. Thousands of people looking around, bewildered and confused. That was an amazing sight! Yes morons, they had other albums too! And they were definitely heavier...

What really made the black album disappointing to me at the time was how they managed to set expectations at a higher level, or let's say "different level" to be fair. The old "we're returning to our roots" talk started happening then. (Remember how many times Lars has said that since? Well, that's when it started.) It wasn't just Lars' lip service though. They released a few songs in North America at the time, covers, around the time the black album was due to be released. So What, Breadfan, Stone Cold Crazy, The Prince, Killing Time--these were pretty energetic and kick-ass. I wasn't expecting the black album to be AJFA II. I thought it might be more along the lines of those songs, sort of a "Kill 'em All but more up-to-date production and with more practiced musicians". Instead it was slower, simpler...well there was the last song on the album which came close to those covers released before the album: The Struggle Within. The rest of the songs were a couple notches down in terms of energy. And it wasn't like you could just go buy those 5 cover songs at the time; they got released on Garage Inc. in 1998. At the time of the black album release those covers were on compilations including other bands' stuff (who's going to pay $40 to get a compilation of songs of other bands they don't care about just to get 2 Metallica covers? Not me!)

So yeah...they released some cover songs which I got to hear on the radio once in a while that I preferred to the black album, the album promised by Lars to effectively more like those covers in terms of their approach. The album which I paid for without previewing it. That was the last time I did that.

 

[sg guy]

-funny how the music sucks when you stop being a drug addict or ALCOHOL-IKA...

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

You're out of your mind. If they had never put out those first four and only showed up in 1991 with the black album they'd be looked at like Nickleback.

Yes indeed Sir. ^^^

Black Album cementing their legendary status...

That's a good one.

 

[alan67]

You're out of your mind. If they had never put out those first four and only showed up in 1991 with the black album they'd be looked at like Nickleback.

Yes indeed Sir. ^^^

Black Album cementing their legendary status...

That's a good one.

Hmm, not sure who you were trying to quote there but if it was me....the caveat was "legendary" status with a wider spread more commercial audience..

 

[RaceU4her]

one thing i know for sure about metallica, threads about them never disappoint. theres always some serious love and some serious butt hurt lol.

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

If you are the black album cemented in legend status, yes I quote you kind misdirected Sir.

 

[alan67]

If you are the black album cemented in legend status, yes I quote you kind misdirected Sir.

LOL, literally a cement Black album?

 

[Oblivion DC]

I'd dare say that the Black album did more to cement their legendary status than the first 4 albums did

You're out of your mind. If they had never put out those first four and only showed up in 1991 with the black album they'd be looked at like Nickleback.

Just like Guns n Roses were instantly huge out the gate with Appetite..........if the Black album was Metallica's first introduction to the world in 1991, then they would have been instantly mega huge hard rock/metal gods. No question......

the Nickleback reference is beyond ridiculous

GnR were instantly huge because that first album was fucking excellent!! I can't say the same about the black album.

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

I'd dare say that the Black album did more to cement their legendary status than the first 4 albums did

You're out of your mind. If they had never put out those first four and only showed up in 1991 with the black album they'd be looked at like Nickleback.

Just like Guns n Roses were instantly huge out the gate with Appetite..........if the Black album was Metallica's first introduction to the world in 1991, then they would have been instantly mega huge hard rock/metal gods. No question......

the Nickleback reference is beyond ridiculous

GnR were instantly huge because that first album was fucking excellent!! I can't say the same about the black album.

Yep, still imo one of the greatest raw rock n roll albums ever. Too bad they never captured that exact magic ever again.

 

[Beyond Black]

"The album debuted at number one in ten countries and spent four consecutive weeks at the top spot of the Billboard 200, making it Metallica's first album to top album charts. By February 2016, the album spent 363 weeks on the Billboard album chart, making it one of the ten longest running discs of all time. Metallica is one of the best-selling albums worldwide, and the best-selling album in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began. The album was certified 16× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2012 and has sold over sixteen million copies in the United State, the first album in the SoundScan era to do so."

Can any of the haters say the same thing about any of their albums?

Haters gonna hate.

Hmm, shouldn't it be more like opinioner's gonna opinionate? We're all entitled to that aren't we? You miss the point of what most of who you label as "haters" are saying......that they----key word here being they--don't care for it.....like it matters to them how many copies it sold? If my reason for liking something.....anything...is because because 16
million others like it, perhaps I should worry more about being a "non-hater".

Wow. Way to completely miss our point, Philo Beddoe. So, if 16 million lemmings run off of a cliff, it must be the thing to do, huh? Britney Spears also sold millions upon millions of albums. Using your rationale, those albums must also kick ass. My reasons for not liking the Black album and everything after it are because their music became much less aggressive and much more commercial. So basically, your post proves my point even further.

 

[hammered]

Ah yes, I remember. This was the album that marked the time I stopped listening to Metallica.

Besides, the epic "Rust In Peace" by Megadeth was out... no comparison.

The music is killer on RIP I just could never stomach Mustaines voice for too long

 

[rottingcorpse]

I dig a lot of the black album. Lots of great riffs on it. But it was the last one I enjoyed.

Also,the last one with good guitar tone IMO.

I will always be a fan of James. Great riff writer with a great right hand. There is still always a riff or two on the subsequent CDs worth copping.

 

[Oblivion DC]

I will always be a fan of James. Great riff writer with a great right hand. There is still always a riff or two on the subsequent CDs worth copping.

Same here. I'm a huge fan of James. I named my firstborn after him. I will never not be a fan.
\m/

 

[Tone Zone]

I'm on the side that likes both the Black album and the older stuff. Did they sell out?...obviously. But, I think it goes a bit deeper than than. I think James (and probably a lot of the other guys) wanted to make an album with simpler arrangements and with slower tempos that would draw more regular rock fans into the fold. I thought the songwriting was brilliant for that style of an album. And, the production value is outstanding. As others have said, I think they were burnt out on making the brand of music they had done on their first four albums and wanted to go off into a totally different direction.....as they even continued to do with Load/Reload. So, I don't think it was necessarily all about money, but that James really wanted to explore that more commercial side of songwriting. They had grown older and after AJFA, just didn't have the desire to continue making that type of music. I really don't begrudge them for it. But, anyhow....I can appreciate both styles of their music for different reasons.

 

[Loudness250]

I was definitely disappointed with this record, while not the worst ever it did nothing for me as a listener, it was just ok.

 

[midnightlaundry]

I remember buying Black. I remember not being wowed by it. I remember seeing the Enter Sand Man video for the first time and not being wowed either..

But then 2 years latter they started playing Metallica on the radio which was unheard of back in the day because Met was considered way to heavy. Then the album got new legs. This opened doors for all the new heavy 90's bands that came along.

The production of the band was never better. They got a new sound, but I kinda checked out after that because the songs were more pop orientated instead of epic. Load?? Where's ur feather boa lrz??

 

[Philo Beddoe]

"The album debuted at number one in ten countries and spent four consecutive weeks at the top spot of the Billboard 200, making it Metallica's first album to top album charts. By February 2016, the album spent 363 weeks on the Billboard album chart, making it one of the ten longest running discs of all time. Metallica is one of the best-selling albums worldwide, and the best-selling album in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began. The album was certified 16× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2012 and has sold over sixteen million copies in the United State, the first album in the SoundScan era to do so."

Can any of the haters say the same thing about any of their albums?

Haters gonna hate.

Hmm, shouldn't it be more like opinioner's gonna opinionate? We're all entitled to that aren't we? You miss the point of what most of who you label as "haters" are saying......that they----key word here being they--don't care for it.....like it matters to them how many copies it sold? If my reason for liking something.....anything...is because because 16 million others like it, perhaps I should worry more about being a "non-hater".

Yep, and this "opinioner's gonna opinionate" opinionates:

 

[metalsoup]

... The Sad But True intro is my definition of what heavy sounds like ...

This is something I can't understand, but, of course, we're talking personal preferences here.

To me, the beginning of Fight Fire With Fire (especially with it barreling in right on the heels of an acoustic intro that deceptively lulls you into a relaxed state) -- that's heavy. The thrash element there with its (seemingly) out-of-control over-the-top speed and fury displays an iconic we don't care so prepare to die assault that all but gave me goose bumps the first time I listened to it. It's a rage/fury thing that's not looking for acceptance or popularity or radio airtime, just conquest by annihilation.

It takes a lot of energy to make THAT kind of music, and maybe as people get older they just can't maintain that insane level of productivity. But they did give us four unquestionably brilliant albums of it, and for that I will always be grateful (even though I find their later work to be patently impotent by comparison and too boring to listen to for the most part).

 

[RaceU4her]

To me, the beginning of Fight Fire With Fire (especially with it barreling in right on the heels of an acoustic intro that deceptively lulls you into a relaxed state) -- that's heavy. The thrash element there with its (seemingly) out-of-control over-the-top speed and fury displays an iconic we don't care so prepare to die assault that all but gave me goose bumps the first time I listened to it. It's a rage/fury thing that's not looking for acceptance or popularity or radio airtime, just conquest by annihilation.

i agree. i was kind of backwards, i got into underground hardcore and metalcore in the mid 90s before i got into any of the mainstream bands. i knew who metallica was obviously cause of enter sandman and the black album, but when i first heard fight fire with fire i was like holy shit what the fuck is this??? still the most intense song ever. same thing happened with PanterA

 

[Tone Ranger]

Metallica was the first heavy band I got into as a teenager. Sandman was the song that made me want to play guitar, of course there were other bands that were even more influential later on.

My take on Sandman.