"Off to never, never land!"
"Exit light!
Enter night!
Take my hand!
We're off to never, never land!"
Enter night!
Take my hand!
We're off to never, never land!"
— "Enter Sandman"
Metallica, commonly known as "The Black Album", is Metallica's self-titled fifth studio album, released on August 12, 1991 through Elektra Records. It was the band's true commercial breakthrough, largely due to the lead single "Enter Sandman".
Tracklist:
- "Enter Sandman" (5:34)
- "Sad But True" (5:24)
- "Holier Than Thou" (3:48)
- "The Unforgiven" (6:26)
- "Wherever I May Roam" (6:44)
- "Don't Tread on Me" (4:01)
- "Through the Never" (4:03)
- "Nothing Else Matters" (6:30)
- "Of Wolf and Man" (4:17)
- "The God That Failed" (5:09)
- "My Friend of Misery" (6:48)
- "The Struggle Within" (3:56)
Personnel:
- James Hetfield - rhythm guitar, lead vocals
- Kirk Hammett - lead guitar
- Jason Newsted - bass
- Lars Ulrich - drums
"Twisting, troping, through the never":
- The Drifter/Walking the Earth: "Wherever I May Roam".
- Eagleland: "Don't Tread on Me" is Type 1 all the way, even opening with the band playing the melody of "America" from West Side Story.
- Enter Eponymous: "Enter Sandman".
- Epic Rocking: "The Unforgiven", "Wherever I May Roam", "Nothing Else Matters" and "My Friend of Misery" all top six minutes.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: The subject of "The Unforgiven".
- Ignored Expert: Ironically, a clip from the documentary "A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica" showed that Bob Rock, who the band brought in to make their sound more accessible, favored releasing the much more aggressive "Holier Than Thou" as the first single instead of "Enter Sandman". James and Lars paid this suggestion no mind, and the rest is history.
- Lyrical Tic: Just about every other lyric begins with "You."
- Merry in Minor Key: While "Nothing Else Matters" is an uplifting love song about marriage, it is played in E minor in the verses, creating an odd Lyrical Dissonance where the music sounds mournful.
- Minimalistic Cover Art: It's nicknamed "The Black Album" for a reason. Reportedly, they were inspired by Spın̈al Tap's "Smell the Glove". In "A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica", James even repeatedly jokes "none more black" when he first sees the cover mock-ups, and he and Kirk were later "confronted" by David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in London.Tufnel: Tell us, where did the idea to do an all-black album come from, Metallica representatives?Hetfield & Hammett: (*coughing to prevent answering*)
- New Sound Album: They slowed down to a degree, and the songs aren't as long as on …And Justice For All. It's also the rare Metallica album without an Instrumental.
- Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: Quoted verbatim in the Ironic Nursery Tune "Enter Sandman".
- Our Werewolves Are Different: "Of Wolf and Man".
- Power Ballad: "Nothing Else Matters," which is the first thing they've ever released resembling a Silly Love Song.
- Record Producer: Bob Rock, with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.
- Religion Rant Song: "The God That Failed", about how James' mother died of cancer because her Christian Scientist beliefs wouldn't let her accept medical treatment, is a Type 2.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Subverted with "Don't Tread on Me", since the snake (also featured on the album's cover), taken from an early version of the US flag (the Gadsden flag, specifically), is supposed to represent strength and honor.
- Self-Titled Album: Well, duh.
- The Sandman: Take a guess.
- Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: "Enter Sandman"."Hush little baby don't say a word
And never mind that noise you heard
It's just the beasts under your bed
In your closet in your head" - Thrash Metal: This is the album where they start to abandon the genre, in favor of a more Traditional Heavy Metal sound. That said, traces of it remain here, most notably on "Holier Than Thou" and "The Struggle Within," songs that wouldn't sound too out of place on Master of Puppets or …And Justice for All.
- Wham Line: "Sad But True".
