Metallica Album: “Metallica [UK Bonus Track]”

I was 16 when this album released, and have great memories of waiting for it to hit the shelves. The anticipation felt throughout the states was not surprising, for this album came at perhaps the height of this bands glory. With the exception of the single "One" from "...and Justice for All", up to this point Metallica had become a household name and had sold millions of albums without any radio play or any exposure on MTV. The album had a similar take with fans as did Van Halen's release of "1984". What was the self titled album was quickly becoming known as "The Black Album" and despite some fans having a hard time adjusting to the change of pace in with the direction the music seemed to be going, it was still an album that was received with praise and accolades by most of the band's fans. The Black Album became a classic nearly overnight, and still today holds its power among the top metal albums of all time.

The Black Album starts out with the powerful single that first blared over the airwaves to fans back in 1991. Nostalgic to think of a time when one listened to a song over the radio, then went down to the store to buy the CD as opposed to getting everything "online" instantly! Enter Sandman was the song and its opening riff builds up to a steady riot of continual onslaught as Hetfield blares a dark, haunting tune centered around the "Sandman". Kirk's guitar work on this is marvelous as is the crashing thunder of drums from Lars Ulrich. "Sad but true" has a choppy, repetitive riff that is addictive to the ears. "Holier than Thou" speeds things up with a fevered frenzy of guitar and drums. The vocals are more in the forefront of this album, along with the in your face lyrics.

Track four is "Unforgiven" and is a slow, melodic song that ever bit as powerful as the ones that came before it. In the days of mushy high pitched "power ballads" or "love ballads" as they are sometimes called, a song like this was welcome, and could still blow the doors off the car. "Wherever I may roam" is another thundering monster that has great bass in it from Jason Newsted, who had replaced the original bass player Cliff Burton a few years earlier. Poetic in lyrics, this song invokes some spooky guitar sounds throughout its course. "Don't tread on me" was actually a song dedicated to the troops at the time who were currently serving in Desert Storm. Another heavy, invigorating song that I never tire to listen to. "Through the never" is still somewhat thrash, although by now fans realize that despite being heavy and dark themed, this album does not have so much of the visual doom that past albums brought to the table.

"Nothing Else Matters" is another slow song, with beautiful guitar sounds throughout. It quickly downtrodden into a feeling of despair before rising up again to begin the chorus. This is not a song you hear, it is a song you FEEL. Perhaps the most "elegant" song from a metal band. I may get hit with rotten fruit on that, but that is okay. "Of Wolf and Man" has some great riffs and though isn't one of the stronger songs on the album, still belongs here. "The God that failed" is epic in its beginning intro and it breaks into some crashing drums that are again encompassed by the superb guitar playing by singer James Hetfield and Kirk Hammet. The song has great changeups and has addicting beats to it that never let up.

The album rounds out with a couple more powerful tracks that differ in tempo but not in taste. "My friend of Misery" has a classic Metallica feel to it in the beginning and launches into an alerting chorus that exclaims, "you just stood there screaming/fearing no one was listening to you!" The last song is "The struggle within" and starts out with an almost civil war type drum roll that quickly takes off into a bevy of flurried guitars. "Struggle" is fast paced and furious, which is a perfect way to end the album with.

The Black Album will forever be argued among fans. Was it the album that jumped the fence into the mainstream, or was it the one that clung to the fence as it was being pulled over, trying to stay on the side it came from one more day? This fan would prefer to think that it was the one that stood above both sides, on its own in all its own well deserved glory, receiving its props for what had come before, and not necessarily being a sign of what things were to come. There is an old saying I would apply to this album, and all who seem to despise it: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift." Although it is perceived by many as a time of change, The Black Album was still Metallica to most of us, and it wouldn't be until the release of the ever-strange "Load" album that fans would learn to appreciate Metallica's "Metallica" all the more. A top-notch album that today has proven to stand the test of time, trends and MTV talk, by a band that was at the time of its release, at the height of their glory.

Regardless of their commercial intent, Metallica had to make The Black Album. Their previous album "And Justice For All" had many brilliant moments, but it also edged toward excess. It's important to keep in mind that many of Metallica's influences wrote punchy 3-4 minute songs with a killer riff and solo. And their Garage Revisted album demonstrated their love to do something like that. But, they hadn't really done that since their early days, and they had gotten so far away from that by the time of "And Justice For All." As a result, The Black Album was an artistic, as well as commercial, commitment. Keep it simple; keep it memorable; keep it real.

No doubt, the craft paid off; Metallica's singles (Enter Sandman, Wherever I May Roam, Sad But True, Nothing Else Matters, Unforgiven) have become hard rock classics. Each song has killer hooks; they groove even, and the latter ballad is as powerful and moving as any song they've ever done. Sure, Bob Rock's production is a bit too smooth, but listen to the demos and realize that The Black Album is still thrash. Dismiss its difficult, then, consider that similar efforts by thrash outfits like Megadeth, Testament, and Anthrax were much, much less successful.

If there's any substantial flaw to The Black Album, it's that it reveals what true metal aficionados already know -- Metallica is an average thrash band with world-class compositions, The Beatles of the long-form composition. When you compare The Black Album with Pantera's "Vulgar Display Of Power." Where The Black Album waters down thrash's edge (relentlessly midtempo, simpler rhythms, production), "Vulgar Display of Power" distills it, retaining the creativity, craft, yet making it even more vicious. And compare it to Metallica's older work, and you miss out on the richness, dynamics and depth.

As a whole, though, The Black Album is a great kick-a** album. As close to the perfect mainstream heavy metal album anybody has ever gotten to. It also suggested that if Metallica could combine The Black Album's discipline with their 80s richness, their best work would lay in the future. Boy were we wrong . . .

...And arguably the greatest album ever.

This album is simply mesmerizing.Stunning.

Pros:

*Quite simply,the greatest Metallica album of all time.

*The songs are AWESOME!Here's a quick take:

-"Enter Sandman":the biggest Metallica song.Listen to it and you'll know why.Hot Hammett solo.Scary rhythm guitars.

-"Sad But True":pure power stomp.The instruments are so powerful,that you might get disoriented when you turn on the volume to a high level!

-"Holier Than Thou":one word:AGGRESSIVE!You know what,make it two words:AGGRESSIVE AND POWERFUL!

Fast,furious,powerful,punishing,with hot solos.I don't know why I have this strong feeling that it's aimed at music critics.

-"The Unforgiven":a new kind of song for Metallica,since they used orchestral instruments for the first time,if I'm correctly informed.Heart-breaking song.Hammett's solo makes it even sadder.A great display of James' song-writing abilities.

-"Wherever I May Roam":an instant classic,this is one of Metallica's finest songs.Cool opening,excellent lyrics,burning solos(one of Hammett's hottest solos),this song is pure art.

-"Don't Tread on Me":not one of my favorites(yes,you guessed right:I still listen to this album every single day),but didn't Metallica have a different point of view about this issue in "...And Justice For All"?

-"Through The Never":powerful song.Excellent lyrics,cool guitars(especially James'),strong ending.This one song everyone will love.

-"Nothing Else Matters":is it just me,or is Metallica very close to writing a love song(I hope not!)?You'll know what I mean when you hear this song.James' voice was warm,the instruments were amazing(Michael Kamen,the maestro behind the current Metallica S&M album,worked with them on this song).

-"Of Wolf and Man":probably the most powerful Metallica song.It's the perfect Metallica song.The opening has to be the most powerful opening you'll ever hear.This is what this song is all about:pure power.

Great opening,great instruments,great lyrics,great vocals,great ending and great solos.Everything is great about this song.Sometimes,I find my self singing the four first guitars,and then continuing with the drums,by stomping the ground or by punching the noisiest thing around,like a table or something!That's how obsessed I am with this song.It's virtually that powerful.

-"My Friend of Misery":mediocre.

-"The Struggle Within":old-style-Metallica.

*Metallica changed their style to a better one.

Cons:

Musically,I can't think of anything.

Bottom line:unless you've been living under a rock for the last ten years,you already have this album,right?

"I'll give you my Porsche if this album sells 10 million"; frank words from lead guitarist Kirk Hammett to the band's manager show Metallica's lack of confidence in this album. Why they weren't confident I will never understand. "The Black Album" is by far one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded by Metallica, if not by anyone. The metal quartet managed to find a way to blend modern rock (modern rock of '91) and 80's thrash metal in a way few other bands could. In this crossover album, Metallica went from composing garage-band type rock with expressive guitar solos in songs like Master of Puppets to popular rock using catchy melodies, shorter songs, and simpler structure while keeping the melodies hardcore metal. However, buried deep underneath each song of thrash is a message begging to be heard. The most popular songs off of the album "Enter Sandman", "Sad But True", and "The Unforgiven" display some of Metallica's best songwriting and lyrics they've ever concocted. Not only does "Metallica" prove that mainstream metal doesn't always mean a sellout, it proves that any band, if they work hard enough, can change their image to some degree. Metallica learns the hard way after a long break from each other that too much image-transformation can lead to poor album production like "Load" and "Re-Load". Now back to Hammett's Porsche comment, the album surpassed the 10 million mark in early '96, and sure enough, Hammett forfeited his prized vehicle.

First of All this go's out to that loser that says Zeppelin destroys Metallica, first and foremost no they dont. Zepplin sucks and ovibiously so do you. Second of all this isnt a Zepplin album there dumbass its Metallica. Metallica - The Black Album, ya know it simply amazes me just how stupid some ignorant people are. If you wanna comment on Zepplin do a review on one of their albums. Just maybe you will get lucky and somebody will read it but I highly doubt that seeing as how god awful they are and how nobody gives a shi* about Zepplin...Grow up nancy

Anyway on to TOPIC AT HAND, this is a great album. If your a Metallica fan and dont own this cd then u need to get it for the collection. Awesome album from and awesome band