Metallica, informally known as The Black Album, is the fifth album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released August 13, 1991 through Elektra Records. The album features songs that are considered today among Metallica's most well-known tracks, with songs such as "Enter Sandman", "The Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters", "Wherever I May Roam" and "Sad but True".

It spent four consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard 200. Metallica is the band's best-selling album to date, with over 15 million copies sold in the United States and over 22 million copies worldwide^[2]. It is the best-selling album of the SoundScan era. ^[3][4] The album was certified 15x Platinum (Diamond) by the RIAA on November 13, 2009.^[5]

Album information

The album cover features the band's logo, angled against the upper left corner, and a coiled snake (derived from the Gadsden flag) on the bottom right corner, both in a dark shade of gray in order to be made out against the black background. The motto of the Gadsden flag, "Don't Tread on Me", is also the title of a song on the album.

The cover is reminiscent of Spinal Tap's Smell the Glove album, something the band jokingly acknowledged themselves in their A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica documentary (where members of Spinal Tap appeared and asked them about it).

The album and the band were critically praised and commercially successful. The band changed their sound from previous albums. The Black Album presented a more commercially accessible Metallica. 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 lyrics of The Black Album, written by James Hetfield, were more personal and introspective in nature than previous Metallica albums.^{[citation needed]} For example, "The God That Failed" dealt with Hetfield's mother's death from cancer and her Christian Science beliefs which kept her from seeking medical treatment. Another example is "Nothing Else Matters", which expresses the connection Hetfield felt with his girlfriend while out on the road. The album ended Metallica's tradition of including a lengthy instrumental track on each album until their 2008 album Death Magnetic.

Metallica was produced by Bob Rock, who was asked to mix the album as the band was impressed with his work as producer on the Mötley Crüe album, Dr. Feelgood.^[6] 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."^[6]

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 documentaries 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 controversies between the band and Rock, he continued to work with the band up until the 2003 album St. Anger.

Metallica DVD-Audio 5.1 mix was released in 2004 through Elektra Records.

[edit] Reception

Tour

The world tour following the 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 in the A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica documentary, as well as the 3-CD, 2-DVD (or 3-VHS) boxset Live Shit: Binge & Purge. It was during this time that Hetfield's voice slowly deteriorated from extensive touring, especially after blowing out his voice box during a 1992 performance of "So What?".

Some songs, such as "Enter Sandman", "Nothing Else Matters" and "Sad but True" would be become permanent staples of the band's concert setlists during these and subsequent tours. Other songs though, such as "Holier Than Thou", "The God That Failed" and "Through The Never", by 1995, were no longer a part of any performances and would not be played again until more recent years when the band, with Robert Trujillo on bass, began performing a more extensive back catalog of songs.

Charting singles

1991  Metallica             The Billboard 200               No. 1
1991  Enter Sandman         The Billboard Hot 100           No. 16
1991  Enter Sandman         Mainstream Rock Tracks          No. 10
1991  Don't Tread On Me     Mainstream Rock Tracks          No. 21
1992  Nothing Else Matters  The Billboard Hot 100           No. 34
1992  Sad But True          The Billboard Hot 100           No. 98
1992  The Unforgiven        The Billboard Hot 100           No. 35
1992  Wherever I May Roam   The Billboard Hot 100           No. 82
1992  Nothing Else Matters  Mainstream Rock Tracks          No. 11
1992  The Unforgiven        Mainstream Rock Tracks          No. 10
1992  Wherever I May Roam   Mainstream Rock Tracks          No. 25
1993  Sad But True          Mainstream Rock Tracks          No. 15

Year	Chart	Position
1991	The Billboard 200	1
	The UK Album Chart
	Australian ARIA Albums Chart

Singles

[edit] Certification

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