Album: Metallica
Artist: Metallica
Year: 1991 (original) 2021 (remastered)
This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest albums of all time. One of the biggest rock albums ever and perhaps the biggest pure metal album in terms of mainstream success. That is Metallica's self-titled 5th album known more commonly as "The Black Album". It's hard to believe this album is 30 years old since my entire life Metallica fans and broader metal fans have always considered this album to be both the end of "classic Metallica" and the beginning of "New Metallica".
Personally, I consider this album part of their "classic" period. It ain't thrash. They aren't the young, pimply faced metal heads they once were (neither were they on 1988's .,,And Justice For All, but many still consider that their classic period) but this is the band reaching what seemed to be a collective prime. James Hetfield, becoming a more mature singer and songwriter. Lars Ulrich, a more solid drummer recognizing his own style and making the most of it to compliment James' riffs. Kirk Hammett, focusing less on flashy, technical guitar solos and more on writing solos, while sprinkling in his bag of tricks. Also, Jason Newsted, who on Justice was basically just there to make Lars' coffee and use his bass as a paperweight, was now presented as a key part in Metallica's rhythm section.
While Metallica matured as people and musicians who have now seen and heard the world, enter seasoned producer Bob Rock into the mix. A lot can be said about Metallica's relationship about Bob Rock. How they started off hazing him to see if he could handle it. Then when he didn't back down he earned their respect. The process of The Black Album was so harsh and argumentative at times that when it was over Lars swore they'd never talk to Rock again... but they did and continued working together for another 13 years and he became very close with the band. So close he was almost a part of the band, acting as a session bass player famously on their 2003 album St. Anger and to a lesser-known extent, he played bass on the "I Disappear" single for Mission: Impossible 2.
Bob was the tough coach Metallica needed. James and Lars always handled everything prior. Suggestions were heard, but not always listened to. They, themselves would admit this is why Justice sounds the way it does.
"All you can hear on the album is guitar and drums so it's pretty obvious who produced it... Me and Lars." - James Hetfield
In 2003 during the MTV Icon broadcast where Metallica's then 20 year career was being honored James stated the stars aligned for them during this period. Whether it was a throw-away line or not, he's 100% accurate. They all matured musically at the right time, and having already put out 4 albums and going gold on what was mostly a grass-roots following they also got the attention of a legit producer in Bob Rock. The Black Album is a culmination of all these pieces falling perfectly into place. Keep in mind, if you think The Black Album is mainstream, a year before this release "Cherry Pie" by Warrant was a big radio hit. A month after The Black Album, Nirvana's 'Nevermind' was released and turned everything on it's head. Through all that The Black Album stood on its own and survived a rapidly changing decade to launch Metallica from being a fairly big band in metal music, to being household names and one of the biggest bands in the world.
So, when people say Metallica "went mainstream" with this album, I think that's incorrect. The mainstream just changed and accepted Metallica. Compare this album to anything else that was a hit between 1990 and 1992. There was nothing like this getting heavy radio play. For that, this album is without a doubt one of the most important in metal's history, but for that reason metal fans, who inheritly claim to despise anything 'mainstream' tend to brush off this release and not give it its due.
Just a bit of a side-note. I personally find that sort of metalhead purist attitude baffling. I know those circles. I know how those fans are. They want the world to understand and recognize that their music is real music... Well, guess what. They did en masse with The Black Album and then suddenly those same fans were hating this album for having too much mainstream appeal. You can't have it both ways. Either you keep your little bands in your back pocket and not care what people think about your taste in music or stop crying for the world to accept your music only to cry more when they finally do.
Now, that the lengthy introduction is out of the way, let's discuss the songs...
Enter Sandman
I know. What can be said that hasn't already been said about this song? It's Metallica's biggest hit. Their bridge that connects metal to the mainstream. One of the most recognizable riffs and songs ever. It's their Smoke on the Water, Iron Man, Walk This Way. It's that song. That song you hear on the radio every day. That song you hear at sporting events today. That song every beginner headbanger on guitar tries to learn because Master of Puppets is too fucking hard.
That song.
One of the most iconic songs ever. Call it played out, but it's played out for a reason. The same reason Stairway to Heaven, Free Bird and More Than a Feeling are played out. They're incredible songs that still resonate with people today. I'm not saying I personally think Sandman is the band's best song, but at one time you, too were a young rock fan or metalhead who heard this song for the first time and played it over and over on repeat before you discovered the other great songs by this band. All the all-time greats have that song. That Hotel California that allows you to discover Victim of Love or Outlaw Man. This is that song for Metallica. Jason Newsted has been calling Nothing Else Matters the "barrier breaker" (which I'll get to) Enter Sandman is the bridge that connects us all around the world with this band.
Kirk Hammett is credited with writing the main riff in which the entire song is based around. That's a hell of a thing to have to your credit. Ed King will always have Sweet Home Alabama. Joe Walsh has Live in the Fast Lane. Kirk will always have Enter Sandman.
Sad but True
Sad but True is a nice change of pace for Metallica. In the past, they mostly relied on speed to be heavy, here they tune down and bring down the tempo as well. Kind of like a more radio accessible Thing That Should Not Be, which is the only prior song you could really compare this to in Metallica's catalogue. Sad but True is tuned a whole step down to D. The song is seemingly about James' battle with alcohol addiction before he really recognized or even cared that he had a problem. SBT was the 5th and also the final single off The Black Album and one of the band's biggest hits.
The break in the intro where you wait for the snare to come in is probably one of the more recognizable characteristics from this album. Fan of the band or not, I didn't know anyone in high school that didn't try and time that snare hit every time.
Lars Ulrich has said this is one of his favorite songs to play live. While I like this song, I wouldn't call it an all-time favorite of mine. However, as a musician, I love playing this song. I don't know why. It could just be because its a simple, catchy tune while also being pretty heavy.
Holier was producer Bob Rock's suggestion for the lead single of the album but Lars Ulrich fought hard for Enter Sandman to be the lead single... Good thing they listened to him. I like this song, but it was a grower for me. Look at it. It's Sandwiched between Sandman and SBT on one side and on the other, two other massive tracks with The Unforgiven and Wherever I May Roam. Holier Than Thou, while a fine song on any album seems like it is cornered between some massive hits.
Holier clocks in at 3:48. This is very short by Metallica's standards. Before this song, the only Metallica song to clock in at less than 4 minutes was Motorbreath from their first album, Kill 'em All, which clocks in at 3:09. Even after this album you're not going to find too many Metallica songs in the 3-minute range, so Holier still stands out as one of their few quick punch songs.
Back in the day, I used to hear some fans say that this was Metallica's last thrash song (before Death Magnetic and Hardwired to Self-Destruct) I don't think it's really a thrash song, but I just thought I would mention that since it was once a fairly popular opinion.... also I'm looking for more things to say about this song. There's that. It's fine.
The Unforgiven
Another Metallica classic, here. This is also a personal favorite of mine as it's one of the songs that really inspired me to start playing guitar. I wouldn't change a thing about this song. I love the melody. The guitar solo. James' vocal delivery. Everything about this ballad is powerful.
If I did a list of my top 25 favorite guitar solos, this song's would be somewhere on that list. Bob Rock pushed Kirk Hammett hard and got the perfect solo out of him for this song after previous takes were not well received by the rest of the band.
The Unforgiven was the 2nd single off the Black Album and remains one of the band's more popular songs. Despite this, the song was only played on the Black Album's tour and not played again for another 10 years until they toured supporting St. Anger. When I saw Metallica in 2004, I remember them playing this, not being very surprised, but then being surprised when James said "hard to believe it's been 10 years since we've played that song". It's been played on every tour since.
Wherever I May Roam
Another live set staple and another signature Metallica tune. The first half of this album is heavy on the Metallica trademarks. I really like this song, but I'm somewhat surprised it became a hit. The intro is pretty long for your average radio listener. The song itself is almost 7 minutes long, has two guitar solos and a bridge.
It's always interesting to me to try and hear what song I think has the closest connection to the album prior to it. I feel Wherever I May Roam is that song that sounds closest to something that could have been on Justice. It's long. It's built around a phrygian dominant structure like much of Justice. Has a harmony guitar break, like every song on Justice. The only thing really missing is the wild complexity in time signature, but that's what makes it fit well on The Black Album. If it was some random prog thrasher in the middle of this album it would really seem out of place.
Roam features, again, one of my favorite guitar solos by Kirk Hammett. Some of Kirk's best work is all over this album. I heard on a recent interview that Kirk approached his solos differently here than he does today where he goes mostly on feel. To each their own and the musician should do what they want and what seems right in the moment, but you can't really deny this album has some of Kirk's best work as a composing soloist even if the solos lack room for the improv he truly enjoys doing. Wherever I May Roam's closing solo was largely improv, though and it turned out great so even in improv you can often stumble on majic that you could never create by sitting down and writing for hours, days or weeks on end. There's room for both approaches, though.
Don't Tread On Me
Don't Tread on Me and Escape (from Ride The Lightning) were often said to be the band's least favorite Metallica songs. The rumor is that Escape was too much of their young attempt at a radio friendly hit and sounds too light to be on a thrashy album like RTL. As for Tread, I'm not sure what they don't like about it.
When I first got this album, my friends and I loved jamming this song. The riff is great, the solo is cool. It's a nice quick rockin' tune. I don't get it. This song isn't really disliked by the fans, either. I wouldn't call it some deep-cut fan favorite, but it's not really a hated song. Ya know, like Purify or Slither. (Actually, I like Slither, but it's an unpopular track).
It was finally played live 10 years ago when Metallica played TBA in its entirety. When it came time to play Ride The Lightning in its entirety James even joked around saying "do I have to???" before playing Escape.
Obviously, it's a patriotic song. The title from the gadsden flag used during the American Revolution. While much of Justice was politically angry in tone and anti-establishment. This song was written in a more positive tone. The message being that despite our issues, America is still a great place to call home.
Hetfield would say,
"This is the other side of that [what was said on ...And Justice For All]. America is a fucking good place. I definitely think that. And that feeling came about from touring a lot. You find out what you like about certain places and you find out why you live in America, even with all the bad fucked-up shit. It's still the most happening place to hang out."
The song is not pro (or anti) war. James would describe it as a "don't fuck with us" song. I think that's better than I could ever word it.
Through The Never
The song, not the feature film. Come to think of it, I find it weird that Metallica named their film after this song. This is what I would call a popular deep-cut, but it's not a very well known song. Why name your film after a deep cut from 1991?
Even though Never is somewhat a deep cut, it hasn't been forgotten about by the band. It's been played live on multiple tours. Again, it's a catchy, quick rocker. A trademark with this album. I've spoken a lot about the guitar solos on this album. There's not one that I don't think is incredible. Through The Never may be my 2nd-favorite guitar solo on this album. My favorite? Well, I didn't mention what my favorite was earlier, so you know it's coming after this song. Oh, the suspense. This solo is great, though.
Nothing Else Matters
Elton John recently said on The Howard Stern Show, that Nothing Else Matters is one of the greatest songs ever written. It sounds like hyperbole, but I ain't going to disagree with him. Along with The Unforgiven, this was the song that made me personally want to pick up a guitar and there are probably hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of other people who could say the same goes for them.
Earlier I called Enter Sandman the bridge, Jason Newsted called this song a barrier breaker. This soft love ballad was and is huge for metal. This song that everyone around the world wanted to hear, got to hear it... along with Creeping Death, Blackened, Battery, One, Whiplash and Sanitarium. Jason had a great point that can't go unnoticed. This one song opened doors to new countries and had this band play for new ears who got to hear this song for 6 minutes and then proceeded to hear songs like the aforementioned hard hitters for another hour and a half.
Many of you have heard the story. James Hetfield was sitting in a hotel, missing his then girlfriend, fiddling on his guitar while on the phone, heard the potential of this song, hung up the phone, and began writing. The song was a love song to his girlfriend that he hid from the band and never intended on it being on a Metallica record. To James, this wasn't a "Metallica song" it was just something he wrote. Once Lars heard the song, he was convinced to include it for the album.
The song is credited to Lars Ulrich as well, but I think it's a bit of a "Lennon/McCartney" type deal when it comes to this song. James wrote the whole thing, plays all the guitars and even the guitar solo on this song. It is very much a solo Hetfield effort with Lars maybe adding some direction. If it weren't for Lars, there's a strong chance this song wouldn't have been released so I suppose he deserves some credit for the track.
One of the best songs ever? That's hard to say. Rolling Stone recently updated their list of the 500 best songs ever written. I don't know if this song is on there because I don't give a shit about what those elitist, out of touch, old snobs have to say about music or anything else for that matter, but if I were to make such a list it would be there. Where? Who knows. Considering all the songs written in the history of this planet, being anywhere in the top 500 is pretty good. Also, considering Elton himself has written some songs that would be on that list as well, I'll take his word for it. Why not. Nothing Else Matters, one of the best songs ever written.
Of Wolf and Man
Any wolves out there? For this song, I could almost copy and paste what I said about Through The Never. It's a popular deep cut that has seen a lot of action on the road as well. Wolf has been played on multiple tours since The Black Album tour. On the 1999 album, S&M in which Metallica played a live performance along with the San Fransisco Symphony Orcestera, this song was included on the set list along side what was largely a "greatest hits" set.
The God That Failed
This is Metallica's first song in which they tuned the guitars down to Eb, which makes it one of two songs on the album that are not in standard tuning. The Black Album is the last Metallica album, until Death Magnetic, to be predominatly in standard tuning. Eb would actually be their main tuning from Load until St. Anger and remains to this day their tuning live for all standard tuned songs.
Musical theory babble out of the way, this song is one of my personal favorite Metallica songs of any era on any album. Remember I said my favorite guitar solo on this album was to come? Here it is. This song is just great. Love the intro with the bass highlighted. The riff is great. Its heavy. Its powerful. Everything down to the ending where they repeat that lick played before the verse and end with a clean E minor chord.
When I saw Metallica in Boston in 2004, they played this song live which was a total shock to me. I can't praise the song enough. My favorite on the album. One of my personal favorites to play on the guitar as well and one I even used to play with my first band. Myself and the other guitarist would do a dual-solo type deal where he played the first half and I played the 2nd half. It was pretty cool.
My Friend of Misery
To me this song has Joan Crawford syndrome from Blue Oyster Cult's "Fire of Unknown Origin". If I could change one thing about this album, it would be the placement of this track. It should have been the closer. It would have been a perfect closer for Black. It's so perfect as a closer that ever since I first heard this album, my brain always thinks the next track is some sort of bonus track.
Misery features a bass intro written by Jason Newsted and this song acts as his 2nd writing credit with Metallica. The song was originally intended... actually, "intended" in too strong a word... Jason Newsted wanted this song to be an instrumental track and the song would kind of act as his "Orion" type moment. The band was not interested in doing an instrumental song on this album. Honestly, I don't mind. I love this song. It's always been one of my favorites by the band. So, no complaints here with how it came out. My one complaint is that it should have closed the album, but hey, it's the digital age. I can always just track it last on my computer with a simple click.
The Struggle Within
The actual closer on The Black Abum. The Struggle Within isn't bad. It has a cool intro with a harmony guitar riff and a rolling snare. The solo is kind of wild. Its a fun track, its just miscast as a closer in my opinion. Unless the band was going for a sort of encore type feel, where they do a big epic song second-to-last and then close with an upbeat, quick punch.
That theory makes a little sense when you consider Bob Rock's approach to this album was to recreate the power that the band had live.
Struggle caps of The Black Album well enough, though. Again, its not a bad tune at all on its own, but placement does matter to me as someone who likes to take in albums the old school way and listen to them from start to finish as the journey the artist intended. Kirk Hammett sure finishes this album the way he started. Ripping another great solo to bless this track.
Bonus Material Thoughts
Disc 2 is full of demos, rough mixes, outtakes and bits from the band's riff tapes. Any hardcore fan is going to want to hear this stuff. You get a glimpse into how these songs were written before they were "perfect". Most of all, I loved hearing James' riff tape of Nothing Else Matters.
The demos are cool. You get a more raw version of the album, but a lot of the songs feature unfinished lyrics, so it can be a little distracting if you're listening just for the purpose of jamming out or recreation. Mostly, you're probably going to want to listen to these when you're in a more curious mood, but they're well worth the listen.
Remember what I said about My Friend of Misery originally being Jason's take on what he wanted to be a new instrumental song? You get to hear his expanded vision of what could have been. If it sounds familiar, he has played much of this live in the 90s before.
Disc 3 is live material from the lengthy Black Album tour. I always felt like this was Metallica at their peak live. The late 80's comes very close, though. The live disc features the Black Album songs that were played on tour. Enter Sandman, Sad But True, Holier Than Thou, The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, Through The Never, Nothing Else Matters and Of Wold and Man. Along with One, Creeping Death, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Whiplash and So What.
Enter Sandman in Moscow may be my favorite version of this song, so I'm especially glad that was included on here. That set in Moscow was so crushing and heavy and it sounds amazing on this disc. One and Whiplash on this disc were also from that performance.
Metallica is one of the best live metal bands ever. As great as their songs are on record, they truly had a life of their own on the road and this is the band at their live peak, so if the big LP box set is outside of your price range, I strong suggest this 3 disc CD set.
In closing, the 3 CD special edition of The Black Album gives you a lot of bang for your economically friendly buck. The packaging is nice. The booklet is expanded with many pictures to occupy your time. It comes in a cardboard enclosure with plastic pop trays inside, similar to previous special editions released by Metallica.
I personally like that style of packaging. A lot of bands go with the sleeve when doing cardboard packaging, which I think is ridiculous to release a CD in a sleeve where it is prone to fall out and almost always gets damaged any time you remove the disc and put it back in. Metallica themselves were guilty of this with the single disc re-release of Kill 'em All and Ride The Lightning. Pop try, people. Pop tray. Come on. That's the best way to protect a CD in its case. Not this sleeve bullshit.
Thanks again for reading, everyone. Want a review of the big Black Album box set? Well, unless someone sends it to me, that ain't happening any time soon. Thanks for reading, though. Be sure to like my Facebook page where I will also be posting videos and promoting my guitar lessons that will be starting up again in the near future. Just search Coffee Stain Music. You'll find it.
That's all for this review. What do you think of The Black Album and these new re-issues of it? Let me know. Take care and God bless, everyone.
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