Metallica - s/t (Black Album) at 30
It’s basically impossible to say anything about the Black album that hasn’t been said already, so I just want to riff on some stream-of-consciousness stuff as I crush the album on its birthday:
While Metallica’s self-titled album is largely dynamite, there’s a few duds. In one man’s opinion, take off Of Wolf And Man, The Struggle Within, and Through the Never and there’s no weak links. One man’s opinion!
…BUT, the aforementioned tracks are also super important because, 30 years later, they most certainly showed where Metallica was heading with Load/ReLoad. Or at least I hear it, but I’m not necessarily the right person to come to for musical analysis. In fact, I’m probably the wrong person for musical analysis, but I hear what I hear and I hear a lot of future Metallica happening in the tracks I think should have just been scrapped on the Black album.
I’m one of the nerds who thinks the self-titled record, while the most important, probably, of all their albums, is maybe one of their weaker ones overall. Yes, I’m aware I call it dynamite on the one hand and then say it’s a weaker Metallica record on the other, but let’s look at the few they put out before: a little album called …And Justice For All, another one called Master of Puppets and another beast by the name of Kill ‘Em All. Those three albums on their own—Justice, in particular—are so hard from top-to-bottom it’s not even funny.
While the self-titled disc obviously way more streamlined and accessible than the previous ones (gatekeeper-talk for THEY’RE NOT OBSCURE ANYMORE AND I FEEL THREATENED), it opened the door for a lot of people to walk through (GATEKEEPERS HATE THAT). Hearing Master of Puppets or Kill ‘Em All might not have been something that gets parents to say, “hey (insert name), that Metallica album isn’t terrible and heavy metal isn’t responsible for all life’s ills.” The Black album, however, had enough teeth that it wasn’t radio rock, but also had enough polish that it wasn’t WHAT IS THIS NOISE. And, of course, I know no one is ever going to confuse Metallica with Napalm Death or whoever else, but a cut like Damage Inc. isn’t something, necessarily, that goes on the stereo at home on a Sunday afternoon while the family sits around and listens. Maybe The Unforgiven, however, doesn’t get the record turned off immediately.
It’s absolutely hilarious to me how much everyone identified with Metallica’s hair and how when they all cut their hair short when Load came out, people were tripping. It’s just hair, bro!!
Find me an album that starts with a cut better than Enter Sandman. You probably won’t be able to.
Happy barfday, Black Album. Stay out of trouble, please.
