Metallica
Black Album

The black album is a formidable record, one of those albums that may be 100 years old yet always manages to convey so many emotions and energies; a record I would dare to say should be listened to in the dark for its sound that always gives off a gloomy atmosphere. We start off strong with "Enter Sandman," the track I’d say (I’m not sure, but I say it because it's always been my favorite) is the most famous of Metallica. It begins with a "slow" played with the classic "clean" that, thanks to those notes, immediately takes you on a mental journey. I try to lie in bed, close my eyes, and from the very first seconds, I start having continuous mental trips, try it; that melody is perhaps the only one (aside from Pink Floyd's pieces) that always manages to "make me travel." Then Lars starts pounding like crazy on the toms and the timpano, which from the first listen makes you want to clap your hands in time and move your head in rhythm, but the true "headbanging" begins when the guitars play distorted. The rest is the "classic" metal piece, with the solo done with the wah-wah and so on... But my favorite part is when James starts saying phrases repeated by a child like "now lay me down to sleep," "pray the Lord my soul to keep"; if you hear it at night, it’s truly nightmare-inducing. I can’t mention too many tracks (because they still have the same sound), except for "Nothing Else Matters," a beautiful piece, yes, but isn’t it a bit too commercial? Obviously, of course, it is (without overdoing it), but it doesn’t mean it sucks; come on, compared to what we hear now on TV with "streaming music," there’s no comparison; it can be said to be the track that after an hour (I don’t know how long the record lasts) of "heavy metal" you don’t expect a slow one, with a delicate sung part, a slow musical base from start to finish (including the guitar solo) and so on... anyway, I don’t mind it at all. In my opinion, the first two tracks are the most beautiful. Back then, they were still those Metallica who had an insane energy and desire to play, which unfortunately now, personally, I only feel Live. The ideas seem to me quite scarce in "Hardwired," the subsequent album after the excellent "Death Magnetic." They are still a great band, but those times were different times...