#255 - Metallica - Metallica (1991)

MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:

BACKGROUND – METALLICA

Like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden before, Metallica has managed to transcend the genre from which it originated. To their metal fanbase they are considered one of the Big Four bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. They are also one of the most commercially successful bands in all of rock music, having sold 110 million records.

The band name came from Ulrich's friend Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a fanzine and was considering MetalMania or Metallica. After hearing the two names, Ulrich wanted the latter for his band, so he suggested Quintana use MetalMania instead. 

Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, after drummer Lars Ulrich placed an ad in the classifieds which was answered by singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield. They were soon joined by lead guitarist Dave Mustaine(who later formed Megadeth after being kicked out of the band due to substance abuse), and bassist Ron McGovney, a childhood friend of Hetfield. These two early members were replaced with Cliff Burton—who relocated the band to San Francisco—and ex-Exodus lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, to form the band’s classic line-up. They released three albums, 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, 1984’s Ride The Lightning and 1986’s Master of Puppets, before the tragic and untimely death of Cliff Burton in 1986 while touring in Sweden (bus hit a patch of black ice, spun out, fell on it's side, and crushed the bassist. He was the only one to die in the accident). The band chose to go on and, after lengthy auditions, selected Flotsam And Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted. They produced 1988’s Grammy nominated …And Justice For All (which lost Metal Album of the Year to Jethro Tull of all bands), which included the 1989 Grammy winning single “One.” The bleak and overtly complex nature of the album inspired the band to seek a stylistic change.

The rest of the 1990s saw Metallica releasing more blues-influenced hard rock with 1996’s Load and its companion album, 1997’s Reload. While the band’s creative output during this period was markedly different from their earlier metal roots, they continued to sell out stadiums, top charts, and push the boundaries of rock music; both Load and Reload debuted at number one on the US Billboard charts, while the 1999 live album, S&M, featured the San Francisco Symphony orchestra in a daring cross-genre move.

This era was not all positive; Lars Ulrich found himself at the center of a war with file-sharing network Napster and was later hospitalized following anxiety attacks while on tour. James Hetfield also checked into rehab (for the first time) to deal with alcohol abuse. After an infamous Playboy magazine interview in 2001, Jason Newsted left the band; and Bob Rock covered bass duties during the recording sessions for 2003’s St. Anger. With lyrics conveying the band’s angst—as documented in the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster—and a controversial sound change featuring no solos and poor drum audio, St. Anger achieved commercial success, but was widely criticized by reviewers and fans. For the tour, the bassist role was eventually filled by Robert Trujillo, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves and Ozzy Osbourne In the aftermath of St. Anger, as well as a resurgence in the popularity of metal, the band decided to return to their earlier roots and in 2008 released their ninth studio album, the Rick Rubin-produced Death Magnetic. The album was critically appraised and again debuted at #1 on the US Billboard chart, making them the first band to have five consecutive debuts at that position. Their tenth album, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, was released in 2016. It received good reviews and topped the Billboard 200, making them one of four artists with six #1 debuts—the second group after the Dave Matthews Band; the overall record is seven by Kanye West. After celebrating the 20th anniversary of the S&M Shows with S&M2 in 2019, and their 40th anniversary in 2021, the band got to work on their 11th studio album, 72 Seasons, which came out this past April. 

The band has sold more than 125 million records worldwide, making Metallica one of the most commercially successful bands of all time. In 2009, Metallica were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in the second year they were eligible and first year they were nominated. Metallica's induction into the Hall included its current lineup, and former members Jason Newsted and Cliff Burton. 

Jonathan Davis of Korn said he respects Metallica as his favorite band; he said, "I love that they've done things their own way and they've persevered over the years and they're still relevant to this day. I think they're one of the greatest bands ever." Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkins said Metallica has been the biggest influence on the band, stating, "they really changed my life when I was 16 years old—I'd never heard anything that heavy". Chuck Billy of Testament has also cited James Hetfield as "an inspiration with clever lyrics"; he added, "When I first started hearing Metallica it was something new to me the way his cadence of vocal styles sang to the music." Robb Flynn of Machine Head said that when creating the band's 2007 album, The Blackening, "What we mean is an album that has the power, influence and epic grandeur of that album Master of Puppets—and the staying power—a timeless record like that"

ALBUM BACKGROUND – METALLICA

Metallica (commonly known as The Black Album) is the fifth studio album by  Metallica. It was released on August 12, 1991 by Elektra Records. Recording sessions took place at One on One Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month span that frequently found Metallica at odds with their new producer Bob Rock. The album marked a change in the band's music from the thrash metal style of their previous four albums to a slower, heavier, and more refined sound. 

Bob Rock was chosen in 1990 to produce The Black Album due largely to the band's admiration of his production of Mötley Crüe's 1989 long player Dr. Feelgood. He would subsequently produce all of the band's material until their 2008 Rick Rubin helmed Death Magnetic.  

Ulrich, Hammett and Newsted were all going through divorces while making the album. Hammett told Playboy in 2001: "I was an emotional wreck. I was trying to take those feeling out of guilt and failure and channel them into the music, to get something positive out of it. Jason and Lars were too, and I think that has a lot to do with why The Black Album sounds the way it does."  

In December 2019,Metallica became the fourth release in American history to enter the 550-week milestone on the Billboard 200. It also became the second longest-charting traditional title in history only behind 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, and the second to spend 550 weeks on the album charts. 

The band took a simpler approach partly because the members felt the songs on...And Justice for All were too long and complex. Hetfield said that radio airplay was not their intention, but because they felt "we had pretty much done the longer song format to death," and considered a good change doing songs with just two riffs and "only taking two minutes to get the point across". Ulrich added that the band was feeling a musical insecurity "We felt inadequate as musicians and as songwriters. That made us go too far, around Master of Puppets and Justice, in the direction of trying to prove ourselves. 'We'll do all this weird-ass shit sideways to prove that we are capable musicians and songwriters'" Hetfield added he wanted to avoid getting stale: "Sitting there and worrying about whether people are going to like the album, therefore we have to write a certain kind of song — you just end up writing for someone else. Everyone's different. If everyone was the same, it would be boring as shit." 

Metallica had many discussions about the album title; the members considered calling it Five or using the title of one of the songs, but eventually chose an eponym because they "wanted to keep it simple." The album's cover depicts the band's logo angled against the upper left corner and a coiled snake derived from the Gadsden flag in the bottom right corner. For the initial release, both emblems were embossed so they could barely be seen against the black background, giving Metallica the nickname "The Black Album". These emblems also appear on the back cover of the album. For later and current releases, both emblems are dark gray so they stand out more prominently.