25th anniversary of the release of the Black album

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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

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Time Signature Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MMA Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: 04 Apr 2010 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 7690	Post Options Post Reply Quote Time Signature Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply 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


siLLy puPPy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MMA Special Collaborator Prog/AG Team Joined: 06 Oct 2013 Location: SF, CA, USA Status: Offline Points: 2728	Post Options Post Reply Quote siLLy puPPy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply 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 :)


Vim Fuego Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Forum Admin Group Death, T/S/G, Grind, VA Teams Joined: 05 Jul 2015 Location: Canterbury, NZ Status: Offline Points: 6527	Post Options Post Reply Quote Vim Fuego Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply 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??