MetalMusicArchives.com Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home >Metal Music Lounges >Metal Music Lounge
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - 25th anniversary of the release of the Black album
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

25th anniversary of the release of the Black album

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
Author
Message
Vim Fuego View Drop Down
Forum Admin Group
Forum Admin Group
Avatar
Death, T/S/G, Grind, VA Teams

Joined: 05 Jul 2015
Location: Canterbury, NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 6391
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vim Fuego Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: 25th anniversary of the release of the Black album
    Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 5:26am
Just noticed on my "not endorsed by Metallica" Metallica calendar that today (12th August where I am) is the 25th anniversary of the release of the Black album, more correctly known as "Metallica".

I remember the hype behind this thing coming out. I picked up a flyer in the record store about 10 days before it came out. It actually had TV ads advertising it! Then, the "Enter Sandman" video debuted a week before. Yes, the video was cool, even though the song was somewhat unexpected. It was heavy as fuck, but it was a bit...slow.

Due to study commitments, lack of funds, and not being allowed out that night (at university, but still living at home- "no, you're not going out to a record store at midnight!" :( ) I picked up said album the next day (I also bought "The Massacre" by The Exploited). I stuck it in my Walkman (cassette obviously, high tech times, 1991!), and of course, the first song was "Enter Sandman", which I'd heard probably half a dozen times by then. The second song was "Sad But True", which just simply HAD to be faster! This was Metallica after all!

Well, "Sad But True" is heavier than fuck, but it's still slow. The entire 12 tracks of this album were just too fucking slow, too over-produced, too shiny, too commercial, too not-Metallica. For me that day, a part of my metal soul died. It seemed like a bigger chunk back then than it is now.

This album sold fucking millions of copies, but it alienated so many of Metallica's old fans. It popularized metal, but sold it down the river at the same time. To this day, I have a love/hate relationship with this album. Some days I love the odd track, but most days I hate it.

Anyone else remember the first time they heard this thing? What do you think of it now? For better or worse, what did it do to metal? Is there a possibility of any metal band ever producing another monster album like this again? And how the fuck can it be a quarter of a century old??
Back to Top
siLLy puPPy View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Prog/AG Team

Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Location: SF, CA, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 2720
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 7:21am
I've never hated it nor loved it. It's actually a decent album but of course symbolized the end of their thrash years. I never saw it as selling metal down the river. In fact, popular metal was becoming less popular due to the grunge thing stealing its distorted thunder. If anything the black album kept metal relevant in the popular music world which allowed all the really good underground bands to keep doing their thing. I would say that the 90s owes a lot to the black album and Pantera for keeping metal on the charts and in the faces of the public. While the black album was a step down, it's really the ones after that i can't listen to. They are basically heavy pop. I did like the videos :)
Back to Top
Time Signature View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 7690
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Time Signature Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 8:04am
Interestingly, when it came out I liked it very much but was at the same time disappointed in it. I was diasappointed because, compared to the three previous albums, the songs were so simple and decidedly non-thrashy. At the same time, because they were so simple, I could actually finally play Metallica on my guitar. ;-)

Edited by Time Signature - 12 Aug 2016 at 8:04am
Back to Top
siLLy puPPy View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Prog/AG Team

Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Location: SF, CA, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 2720
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 8:08am
^ yeah, i think that was part of its success. i always saw the 90s as a backlash to the shredding and complexities of the 80s. it seems that when music gets more complicated than non musicians can comprehend there is always a backlash against it. it happened with punk and prog and with grunge and metal. metallica was simply one of hte more successful metal bands to jump into the new game
Back to Top
Unitron View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: 30 Apr 2014
Location: Cypress Hill
Status: Offline
Points: 8051
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Unitron Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 9:17am
I wasn't born yet when it came out, so I don't have any experiences with it from then. I really like the album, as it does have some killer tracks on it, but I just can't listen to Enter Sandman anymore. To this day, it's overplayed to death, I've probably heard it 100 times while skimming through the car radio.

I'm in the minority, but I actually like Load a bit better then The Black Album.
If I say fuck two more times that's forty-six fucks in this fucked up rhyme
Back to Top
Bosh66 View Drop Down
Forum Admin Group
Forum Admin Group
Avatar
Sludge, MC, HC, Post-Metal & Noise Rock

Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Location: Bolton, Lancs
Status: Online
Points: 24270
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bosh66 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 9:34am
First album I bought by Metallica on release day was Ride and the last in that sequence was AJFA. Black album came out at a time I couldn't rub two ha'pennies together and was completely skint. So I didn't hear much past Sandman for about five years. Actually think it's a pretty decent album, albeit a break from what went before. And I can't believe it was a quarter of a century ago either!
Back to Top
Nightfly View Drop Down
Forum Admin Group
Forum Admin Group
Avatar
Death, D/S/D, T/S/G Teams

Joined: 07 Apr 2010
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 4937
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nightfly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 10:49am
Totally different but for me it was an improvement on And Justice For All which sounded shit. That album frustrated me to death as it could have been so much better if they'd produced it properly. The Black album was slow but it did have some great riffs and the production was great.

It was the beginning of the end though and those first 3 albums are what matters.
Back to Top
LittleBig View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
Banned

Joined: 17 Jul 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 0
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LittleBig Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 12:58pm
Originally posted by Unitron Unitron wrote:


I'm in the minority, but I actually like Load a bit better then The Black Album.

I prefer the Loads to the black album as well. Big smile
Back to Top
Time Signature View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 7690
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Time Signature Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 2:01pm
I fucking hate Load and ReLoad.
Back to Top
Jbird View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member


Joined: 12 Nov 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 309
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jbird Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Aug 2016 at 12:12am
I'm an old-school Metallica fan, but I love the Black album.

I remember being at a band practice and my drummer friend bringing a cassette of the brand-new album Kill "em All. Going to see Metallica in early '85 on their Ride The Lightning tour, with WASP & Armored Saint. 1st album I bought on cd when I was in the Air Force was Ride The Lightning.

But the Black album was/is still a killer album. Different to be sure, but still great.


They lost me on Load & Reload though (though there are still some decent tracks on those, as well).
Back to Top
Warthur View Drop Down
MMA Metal Reviewer
MMA Metal Reviewer
Avatar
Metal Reviewer

Joined: 26 Nov 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 136
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Warthur Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 11:20am
Originally posted by Nightfly Nightfly wrote:

Totally different but for me it was an improvement on And Justice For All which sounded shit. That album frustrated me to death as it could have been so much better if they'd produced it properly. The Black album was slow but it did have some great riffs and the production was great.

It was the beginning of the end though and those first 3 albums are what matters.
Gotta agree there, I draw the line at Justice For All too because the production was just so horrible.

The Black Album was at least a bit of fun... but at the same time it wasn't the same Metallica we remembered, or even anything resembling what that Metallica seemed to be evolving into, and I can't listen to it without thinking "Eh, I wish I were listening to Right the Lightning or Master of Puppets instead" and switching to one of those albums.
Back to Top
bartosso View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Location: coffin on Io
Status: Offline
Points: 1555
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bartosso Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 11:27am
All post-AJFA albums from Metalllica, Black album, Load and Reload especially, leave me cold. Country-metal is just not my cup of tea.
Back to Top
Time Signature View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: 04 Apr 2010
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 7690
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Time Signature Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 11:28am
For some reason, the production of Justice never really bothered me although it clearly is terribly imbalanced.
Back to Top
Nightfly View Drop Down
Forum Admin Group
Forum Admin Group
Avatar
Death, D/S/D, T/S/G Teams

Joined: 07 Apr 2010
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 4937
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nightfly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 1:36pm
Originally posted by Warthur Warthur wrote:

Originally posted by Nightfly Nightfly wrote:

Totally different but for me it was an improvement on And Justice For All which sounded shit. That album frustrated me to death as it could have been so much better if they'd produced it properly. The Black album was slow but it did have some great riffs and the production was great.

It was the beginning of the end though and those first 3 albums are what matters.
Gotta agree there, I draw the line at Justice For All too because the production was just so horrible.

The Black Album was at least a bit of fun... but at the same time it wasn't the same Metallica we remembered, or even anything resembling what that Metallica seemed to be evolving into, and I can't listen to it without thinking "Eh, I wish I were listening to Right the Lightning or Master of Puppets instead" and switching to one of those albums.

I'm pretty much the same, although I do play it now and then if I pull any Metallica off the shelf it's nearly always the first 3 albums.
Back to Top
Vim Fuego View Drop Down
Forum Admin Group
Forum Admin Group
Avatar
Death, T/S/G, Grind, VA Teams

Joined: 05 Jul 2015
Location: Canterbury, NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 6391
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vim Fuego Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 3:03pm
Originally posted by Time Signature Time Signature wrote:

For some reason, the production of Justice never really bothered me although it clearly is terribly imbalanced.


I loved it, and wondered why more bands didn't have a sound like that! It used to make the speaker housing on my tinny old ghetto blaster stereo vibrate almost to pieces, especially the intro to Blackened and parts of the title track.
Back to Top
siLLy puPPy View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Prog/AG Team

Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Location: SF, CA, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 2720
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 3:25pm
Originally posted by Vim Fuego Vim Fuego wrote:

Originally posted by Time Signature Time Signature wrote:

For some reason, the production of Justice never really bothered me although it clearly is terribly imbalanced.


I loved it, and wondered why more bands didn't have a sound like that! It used to make the speaker housing on my tinny old ghetto blaster stereo vibrate almost to pieces, especially the intro to Blackened and parts of the title track.

I'm in the same camp as your guys with AND JUSTICE. I actually LOVE how distorted and non profressional it sounds. It really suits the fuck the world anger driven attitude of the album. The main complain seems to be that the bass is indistinguishable from the guitar and i would agree that Jason Newsted got buried in the mix and they could've had the bass shine a bit more but as it stands it is one of my all time favorite albums
Back to Top
LittleBig View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar
Banned

Joined: 17 Jul 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 0
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LittleBig Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 1:08am
I've never understood why some hate AJFA, it's one of my favorites from Metallica.
Back to Top
Unitron View Drop Down
MMA Special Collaborator
MMA Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: 30 Apr 2014
Location: Cypress Hill
Status: Offline
Points: 8051
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Unitron Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 10:49am
Originally posted by LittleBig LittleBig wrote:

I've never understood why some hate AJFA, it's one of my favorites from Metallica.

It's mostly because of that fact that you can't hear the bass at all, making the production pretty flat. I love AJFA, but I'd be lying if I said the lack of bass didn't annoy me.
If I say fuck two more times that's forty-six fucks in this fucked up rhyme
Back to Top
aglasshouse View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: 12 Jul 2014
Location: GoodAsNew York
Status: Offline
Points: 943
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aglasshouse Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 4:58pm
I preferred post Justice Metallica, and Load is my favorite album. Sue me. 
Back to Top
Vim Fuego View Drop Down
Forum Admin Group
Forum Admin Group
Avatar
Death, T/S/G, Grind, VA Teams

Joined: 05 Jul 2015
Location: Canterbury, NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 6391
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vim Fuego Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 7:32pm
Originally posted by Unitron Unitron wrote:

Originally posted by LittleBig LittleBig wrote:

I've never understood why some hate AJFA, it's one of my favorites from Metallica.

It's mostly because of that fact that you can't hear the bass at all, making the production pretty flat. I love AJFA, but I'd be lying if I said the lack of bass didn't annoy me.


Ever heard ...And Justice For Jason? Basically, some guy has stuck a bass track on the album. Can't say I like it much, but I suppose I'm so used to the original.

Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 10.16
Copyright ©2001-2013 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.156 seconds.