Thrashcast Episode 26: Metallica's "The Black Album" (Self-titled) from 1991
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Thrashcast is the place to find riveting discussions on classic thrash albums, news and reviews. Your hosts are three thrash loving maniacs who grew up during the golden age of the genre. Kenneth, Billy and Jim will get together weekly to bring you a deep dive on some of your favourite thrash records.
Show Notes:
Episode Twenty-Six: We discuss the most divisive period in Metallica's recording history. Many consider this a landmark album and many consider it an abomination. No matter what side you land on, the Black album released August 1991 will be far remembered as the turning point for Metallica's career in thrash metal.
Produced by Bob Rock, this began Metallica's turn towards slower and heavily written songs. Gone were the complex recordings of Justice, and now being replaced with a streamlined template. Many can argue this is not thrash metal at all, but you can't deny the commercial success of this release. Enter Sandman was the first single and it became a massive hit. In fact all the singles released on this album landed well on the charts.
The Black album entered the charts at number one in ten countries and it racked up a whopping 30 million copies sold worldwide. This was Metallica's first album to enter the charts at the number one position. They launched the Wherever I May Roam tour soon after and embarked on playing arena's all around the world. The tour also overlapped with the Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion Tour.
Fun Facts: The album art featured a stark contrast to previous artwork on past albums. The black background was supported by a logo in the top left corner, and featured the image of a coiled snake placed down in the bottom right. The snake derived from the Gadsden Flag; symbolized in the American Revolutionary War.
Kenneth Gallant, HMS
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