25th anniversary of the release of the Black album
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URL: http://www.MetalMusicArchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11102
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Topic: 25th anniversary of the release of the Black album
Posted By: Vim Fuego
Subject: 25th anniversary of the release of the Black album
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 5:26am
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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?? |
Replies:
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 7:21am
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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 :) ------------- 
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Posted By: Time Signature
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 8:04am
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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. ;-) ------------- 
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Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 8:08am
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^ 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 -------------
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Posted By: Unitron
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 9:17am
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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 |
Posted By: Bosh66
Date 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! |
Posted By: Nightfly
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 10:49am
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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.
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Posted By: LittleBig
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 12:58pm
I prefer the Loads to the black album as well.
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Unitron wrote:Posted By: Time Signature
Date Posted: 12 Aug 2016 at 2:01pm
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I fucking hate Load and ReLoad. -------------
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Posted By: Jbird
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2016 at 12:12am
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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).
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Posted By: Warthur
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 11:20am
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. |
Posted By: bartosso
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 11:27am
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All post-AJFA albums from Metalllica, Black album, Load and Reload especially, leave me cold. Country-metal is just not my cup of tea. ------------- http://shrineofllyria.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow - http://shrineofllyria.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: Time Signature
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 11:28am
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For some reason, the production of Justice never really bothered me although it clearly is terribly imbalanced. -------------
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Posted By: Nightfly
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 1:36pm
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.
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Posted By: Vim Fuego
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 3:03pm
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. |
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2016 at 3:25pm
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 -------------
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Posted By: LittleBig
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 1:08am
| I've never understood why some hate AJFA, it's one of my favorites from Metallica. |
Posted By: Unitron
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 10:49am
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 |
Posted By: aglasshouse
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 4:58pm
| I preferred post Justice Metallica, and Load is my favorite album. Sue me. |
Posted By: Vim Fuego
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 7:32pm
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. |
Posted By: Unitron
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 8:02pm
^I actually have, and quite like it. However, I've gotten used the sound of the actual album as well, so despite liking it, it does sound strange.  ------------- If I say fuck two more times that's forty-six fucks in this fucked up rhyme |
Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2016 at 10:05pm
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^ Interesting but it ruins the orignal mood of the album but a noble experiment to give those who found the orignal lackluster. Personally give me the first run ;) -------------
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Posted By: Time Signature
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2016 at 10:03am
I won't sue you although I hate that album. Ironically, one of the few things I've won in my life was a copy of Load in a competition I didn't even know I partipated in. :-/ -------------
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