The Black Album At 30

It was titled simply Metallica, but it would forever be known as The Black Album. And after 30 years it stands tall as the band’s greatest success: one of the biggest selling albums of all time; a heavy metal classic that both defined and transcended the genre; an inspiration to guitar players across the decades.

Released on August 12th 1991, The Black Album was a bold reinvention from the band that had revolutionised heavy music in the 1980s as progenitors of thrash metal. They had reached a tipping point in 1988 with ...And Justice For All, an album so dark and complex it seemed they could go no deeper. But with The Black Album, they found the way forward, and simplicity was the key.

As rhythm guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield said: “We wanted shorter songs that were meatier.” That remit was nailed in monolithic tracks such as Sad But True and Enter Sandman – the latter arguably the definitive metal anthem of the 90s. And while Metallica stayed true to their roots with hard-and-fast thrashers Holier Than Thou and Through The Never, there were two songs with a classic rock sensibility and a heavy emotional weight that would connect with a vast audience – The Unforgiven and

Nothing Else Matters.

The Black Album hit number one across the world. To date it has sold more than 16 million copies in the US alone. The first three Metallica albums – Kill ’Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets – had made them the biggest cult band in the world. The Black Album made them global superstars.

Marking its 30th anniversary, this iconic album is now being reissued in deluxe formats, and as a measure of its influence and crossover appeal, there is a new sister release, The Metallica Blacklist, in which songs from The Black Album are reinterpreted by a diverse array of artists including St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Royal Blood, Biffy Clyro, Cage The Elephant and Miley Cyrus.

In TG’S 29-page Metallica special, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett tells the story of The Black Album’s creation, James Hetfield discusses the art of the heavy riff and the never-ending quest for ultimate guitar tone, and Blacklist stars Cage The Elephant and Rodrigo y Gabriela explain how to cover a Metallica song. Plus, we speak with Ukranian blogger and Metallica superfan Andriy Vasylenko, who recounts a story about how Total Guitar’s very own ‘deepfake’ track acquired a cult status online in the early 2000s...