Maps of Music

Metallica (1991)

Where the lyrics of Metallica take you, and where it was really made.

The album got its nickname from its cover: the emblems were embossed so faintly against the black background that the release became known as The Black Album.

Key places

Recording sessions at One on One Studios (1991)

Recording site One on One Recording Studios — Metallica recorded the album at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month span. The sessions often put the band at odds with producer Bob Rock. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

A week of recording in Vancouver (1991)

Recording site Little Mountain Sound Studios — For about a week in October 1990, the band also recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. The point is placed at the city centre, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Metallica: fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica
• Released 12 August 1991 by Elektra Records; commonly known as The Black Album
• Recorded at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month span
• Sessions often put the band at odds with new producer Bob Rock
• Marked a shift from the thrash metal of the previous four albums to a slower, heavier, more refined sound
• Became the band's best-selling album

Background

• Songs were written mainly by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, who often composed together at Ulrich's house in Berkeley, California
• Kirk Hammett and Jason Newsted also contributed ideas; Newsted wrote the main riff of My Friend of Misery
• The songs were written in two months in mid-1990
• Four demos were recorded on August 13, 1990
• Metallica chose Bob Rock after being impressed by his production work on Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood
• Some band members were initially not interested in Rock producing as well, but they changed their minds

Recording

• Recording began in October 1990 at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles
• The band also recorded for about a week at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Final overdubs and mixing took place over four weeks at A&M Studios in Hollywood in June and July 1991
• Rock had the band record as many takes as needed, then edited the best parts into one track
• The drum parts were kept and the other parts, including guitars, bass and vocals, were overdubbed afterwards
• The album cost US$1 million to produce

Cover

• The cover shows the band's logo angled against the upper left corner and a coiled snake derived from the Gadsden flag in the bottom right corner
• On the first release both emblems were embossed so they could barely be seen against the black background
• Later and current releases show both emblems in dark gray so they stand out more

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, later based in San Francisco for most of its career.
• Founded as one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.

Members

• Current lineup: Hetfield, Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.
• Former members include Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted and Dave Mustaine.

Career

• Commercial breakthrough with Master of Puppets (1986), often cited as one of the best metal albums of all time.
• The self-titled 1991 album moved the band toward a more mainstream audience and became its best-selling record.
• Returned to thrash roots with Death Magnetic (2008) and released 72 Seasons in 2023.
• Led the lawsuit against Napster in 2000.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Sold more than 163 million albums worldwide as of 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metallica was met with widespread acclaim from both heavy metal journalists and mainstream publications, including NME, The New York Times, and The Village Voice.
• Entertainment Weekly: David Browne called it "rock's preeminent speed-metal cyclone"
• Q magazine: Mark Cooper found the album's avoidance of metal's typically clumsy metaphors and glossy production refreshing
• Rolling Stone: Robert Palmer said several songs sound like "hard-rock classics" and called the album an "exemplary album of mature but still kickass rock & roll"
• Chicago Tribune: Greg Kot recommended it as "a great place for Metallica neophytes to start"
• Los Angeles Times: Jonathan Gold said the group was "no longer in love with the possibilities of its sound"
• The Village Voice: Robert Christgau wrote that he "put James Hetfield out of his misery in under five plays" of the album

Reappraisal

• Kerrang!: said the album "propelled [the band] out of the metal ghetto to true mainstream global rock superstardom"
• Melody Maker: said "Metallica was slower, less complicated, and probably twice as heavy as anything they'd done before"
• AllMusic: Steve Huey called it "a good, but not quite great, album"
• Classic Rock: called it "the absolute pinnacle of Metallica's long and successful career"
• Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson said the album "just gets it right"

Records

• Debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and spent four consecutive weeks at the top, the band's first album to top the chart
• Debuted at number one in ten countries
• Debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart
• Sold 598,000 copies in its first week in the US
• Certified 2× Diamond by the RIAA in 2025 for shipping twenty million copies in the US
• Sold 31 million copies worldwide on physical media
• Won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1992

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album is nicknamed The Black Album because its embossed emblems were barely visible against the black background on the first release.
• Metallica had been impressed by Bob Rock's work on Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood, and that led to hiring him for this album.
• The cover is reminiscent of Spinal Tap's album Smell the Glove, which the band jokingly acknowledged in its documentary.
• The first tour directly intended to support the album included a performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
• Some songs, such as Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, and Sad but True, became permanent staples of the band's concert setlists.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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