Earlier this week we took at Metallica’s 3rd record, Master of Puppets. A universally praised release, it’s legacy is one that has not been forgotten since it’s 30+ years of existence. Today’s review looks at an album that most certainly has an incredible legacy, although it’s one that’s a bit more.....infamous. An album that has just as many fans as it does haters, and in the eyes of many metal historians signaled the change that was to come in the 90s. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the iconic Black album (Also called Metallica strangely), and see if it really did as much damage as it’s detractors says. Let the review begin!
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“At the time of Metallica's recording, the band's songs were written mainly by frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, with Hetfield being the lyricist. The duo frequently composed together at Ulrich's house in Berkeley, California. Several song ideas and concepts were conceived by other members of the band, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Jason Newsted. For instance, Newsted wrote the main riff of "My Friend of Misery", which was originally intended to be an instrumental, one of which had been included on every previous Metallica album. The songs were written in two months in mid-1990; the ideas for some of them were originated during the Damaged Justice Tour. Metallica was impressed with Bob Rock's production work on Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood (1989) and decided to hire him to work on their album. Initially, the band members were not interested in having Rock producing the album as well, but changed their minds. Ulrich said, "We felt that we still had our best record in us and Bob Rock could help us make it".
Four demos for the album were recorded on August 13, 1990; "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters" and "Wherever I May Roam." The lead single "Enter Sandman" was the first song to be written and the last to receive lyrics. On October 4, 1990, a demo of "Sad but True" was recorded. In October 1990, Metallica entered One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, to record the album. The band also recorded the album at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia about a week. On June 2, 1991, a demo of "Holier Than Thou" was recorded. Hetfield stated about the recording: "What we really wanted was a live feel. In the past, Lars and I constructed the rhythm parts without Kirk and Jason. This time I wanted to try playing as a band unit in the studio. It lightens things up and you get more of a vibe."
Because it was Rock's first time producing a Metallica album, he had the band make the album in different ways; he asked them to record songs collaboratively rather than individually in separate locations. He also suggested recording tracks live and using harmonic vocals for Hetfield. Rock was expecting the production to be "easy" but had trouble working with the band, leading to frequent, engaged arguments with the band members over aspects of the album. Rock wanted Hetfield to write better lyrics and found his experience recording with Metallica disappointing. Since the band was perfectionist, Rock insisted they recorded as many takes as needed to get the sound they wanted. The album was remixed three times and cost US$1 million. The troubled production coincided with Ulrich, Hammett and Newsted divorcing their wives; Hammett said this influenced their playing because they were "trying to take those feeling of guilt and failure and channel them into the music, to get something positive out of it".
Rock altered Metallica's working schedule and routine so much that the members swore never to work with him again. The animosity and tension between Metallica and Rock was documented in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica and Classic Albums: Metallica – Metallica, documentaries that explore the intense recording process that resulted in Metallica. After the production of St. Anger, the fourth and final Metallica record Rock would produce, a petition signed by 1,500 fans was posted online in an attempt to encourage the band to prohibit Rock from producing Metallica albums, saying he had too much influence on the band's sound and musical direction. Rock said the petition hurt his children's feelings; he said, "sometimes, even with a great coach, a team keeps losing. You have to get new blood in there." Despite the controversies between the band and Rock, he continued to work with Metallica through the 2003 album St. Anger.”
It should also be noted that the Black album managed to achieve some incredible feats back in the day & now. It debuted in 10 different countries at the number 1 spot, and managed to spend 4 consecutive weeks on top of the Billboard 200. By February of last year, the Black album had been on the Billboard album chart for 363 weeks, making it one of ten longest running albums ever! The Black album is also one of the best selling albums worldwide, not to mention being one of the best selling albums since the Nielsen SoundScan tracking began. To cap things off, the Black album in 2012 was certified platinum 16 times, the first album from the SoundScan era to do so.
Basic Description
Metallica didn’t sell out......but they planted the seeds of selling out.
That sounds like an odd thing to say, but hear me out. Metallica still put in a damn good amount of effort into the making of the Black album: instrumentation sounds solid, vocal work sounds crisp, production comes across as excellent, and the overall package is a well built metal album from the early 90s. However, in the ensuing process of the Black album, the band betrayed much of their free spirit from prior releases (See below for more details). Even And Justice For All from 3 years prior still felt like a wild animal. Instead, Metallica feels more caged, despite crafting an excellent record.
Best Track
Enter Sandman has, had, and will always be the best track of the Black Album, not to mention my personal favorite. Let me tell you a story: it’s 1991, and I’m just a wee lad of 4 years old. My Dad & I are on the couch, ad we happen to be watching MTV when the video for this song happened to show up on the screen. Normally in a family it’s the Mom that’s all “Don’t Tell Dad”, but not in mine. We watched the music video, and my tiny mind couldn’t comprehend when I was seeing or hearing! Drumwork that sounded like thunder, guitars that just shred the very air, and James Hetfield’s vocal work was absolutely mindblowing to someone of such a young age. However, my Mother was pissed that I was watching something that was way to mature fore me at the time, and I just so happened to get nightmares for the whole week afterwards. It was that kind of thing that has kept Enter Sandman in my head for so long, and it would take a nuclear bomb to get it out.
Enter Sandman
Worst Track
One again, nothing on here is bad. Metallica once again cranked out an album filled with classic songs, but I simply cannot deny the criticism the Black album gets. This record is far more commercial in approach than anything the band put out before: Metallica heavily slowed down with the pacing of this release, and the vibes & intensity that are on the Black Album are considerably more radio friendly than anything in the band’s history up to that point. The quality is still incredibly good, as the band is putting in an A+ effort, but this is the single most commercial thing that Metallica created up to that date (Later releases would eclipse this feel of commerciality).
Other
If you’re interested in listening to this release, check out the link below:
The Black Album
Overall Impression & Rating
The Black Album is perhaps one of the most controversial metal albums ever released. It signified a change in the Heavy Metal scene that was the early 90s, and it effects would be felt for what seems like ages after it’s release. In the mind of it's haters it is the very definition of sellout trash. In the mind of it's fans it is one of Metallica's best records ever, but all can agree that the Black album is an important piece of music history.
The Black Album gets a 10 out of 10 on pure nostalgia & fond memories, but it I was to be a little more objective, I’d probably give it an 8 out of 10.
So this was part 1 of Catchup Month. See you in about 2 weeks when I’ll have two birthday/retrospectives up on some classic FPS games. Until then, may the sounds of Metallica drift you off to thrashalla.
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