On This Day: Metallica releases "The Black Album"

With the release of what has come to be known as "The Black Album" on this day 30 years ago, Metallica became more than a thrash metal band.

Through the 1980’s, Metallica had a lot of success as each album seemed to evolve a bit from the one that preceded it. But they were unmistakably a heavy metal band, with a good bit of “thrash” to them that never quite went away.

On Aug. 12, 1991, what became known as “The Black Album” was released, with not-so great reaction out of the gate. Some blamed producer Bob Rock for the change in Metallica’s sound, though subsequent albums proved they were heading a different direction and wanted to not do the same record over and over.

“The Black Album” put Metallica on mainstream radio (“Enter Sandman”, “Sad But True”, “Wherever I May Roam”, etc.), as grunge was starting to take hold. Clearing 16 million copies sold several years ago, the proof is in the pudding (and in the years since, streaming numbers have been kind).

What’s your favorite track from “The Black Album”? Bang the “leave a comment” button below to share.