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Rating: September 1991, the fifth album of the San Francisco band "Metallica" is released. The album is untitled and is immediately nicknamed "The Black Album" for its completely black cover. But perhaps it would be more correct to simply call it: "METALLICA".
It is certainly the most famous album of the Californian quartet but it has always divided their fans, creating a clear divide. Those who love it and consider it a masterpiece, and those who see it as the end of their career. This is because the "Black Album" was profoundly different from the earlier productions of our "4 Horsemen". At the time, I was 18 years old (how sad), and I already owned the band's entire previous discography. But for me, who mostly listened to "street", "glam metal" and "hard rock", Metallica still represented something I liked, but considered too harsh and niche. As far as I'm concerned, I consider this album the last true Metallica album. The subsequent "Load", "Re-Load", and "St.Anger" were, in my opinion, the real end of their career. In reality, due to "megalomania" crime by J.Hetfield, a character I've always deeply respected more as a communicator, front-man, and composer than as a musician. His decision to release a double album (Load and Re-L.), even if a year apart, to mimic "Use Your Illusion" and all the more famous double studio albums was his downfall. Perhaps a selection of only about ten pieces from those two albums would have produced a CD maybe not epic, but certainly more listenable. "St. Anger", on the other hand, is like Michelangelo's Moses. Many of its pieces would also be remarkable, but it sounds like something that was intentionally ruined by its author. Let's face it, the snare drum with the snares off has an ATROCIOUS sound! The bass parts played by Bob Rock, merely and pathetically following the guitars in the background. The guitar sounds seem to come from my "little Marshall" from the '80s. What a pity, I'll never understand!
Returning to the "Black Album", YES... I am among those who consider it a masterpiece. However, I also understand the fierce criticisms from fans from an earlier generation (the one before mine), too romantically attached to the sounds of (the splendid) "Kill 'em All", "Ride the Lightning", "Master of Puppets", and "...And Justice for All". Let me make another parenthesis here. "And Justice", the album preceding "Metallica" from 1988, was commercially speaking a flop. In my view, it is the most technical album they ever produced, but it was not understood. The tracks were excessively long (the average is around 8-9 minutes), the rhythms too fast, and Kirk Hammet's solos too "baroquely" exaggerated with tapping. As if that weren't enough, it was produced HORRIBLY in terms of sound by Flemming Rasmussen, to the point that it forced Hetfield and Ulrich (known "heavy-handed") to hire Bob Rock, the most "expensive" (but also the most "forward-thinking") producer of the time. The choice of Bob Rock already hinted at a shift in direction to the fans. A desire for greater notoriety? Or more money? The death of former bassist Cliff Burton greatly influenced this. Cliff was the dark soul of the group, perhaps the most virtuous, the most "cursed artist". But also the most coherent. With him in the group, I believe the shift towards the more "radio-friendly" sounds of "Metallica" wouldn't have happened. Or perhaps he would have clashed with Jamz and Lars and left the group? The fact remains that during a band tour in Scandinavia, Cliff Burton dies (officially) crushed inside the band's bus following a road accident. For over two years, the band closes in mourning silence and only in 1991 enters the studio with new bassist, Newsted. The exact opposite of Burton. Not a similar-replacement for Burton, but an honest "four-string instrument worker" who plays with a pick. Kirk Hammet (according to the chronicles of the time) has always been described as an introverted guitarist, a man of few words. Someone who would arrive last to put his solos like the final cherry on songs already fully written and played by the two buddies.
So, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich start writing what would become "Metallica", the "Black Album". They have to shake off the flop of "And Justice", the memory of Cliff Burton, and they know there's quite a number of people out there waiting to crucify their music with criticism. They weren’t few those who, after Cliff's death, hoped for the dissolution of the group. What to do? Hetfield is a decision-maker, one who likes challenges. His ten-year-old choice to get rid of an element like DAVE MUSTAINE and replace him with Kirk Hammet had already demonstrated that. He wants to be the only one to write lyrics, melodies, guitar, and bass parts, and wants to personify Metallica himself. He was born a leader in that bigoted family with the preacher father he so detests in his texts. Who knows what pieces we would have had with the creative input of Mustaine? The pieces he wrote on Kill 'em All together with Hetfield still leave us astounded today. He only repeated himself sporadically in Megadeth. And here’s Hetfield's stroke of genius. Ladies and gentlemen, Thrash is over! He realizes that "And Justice" marked the technical peak for Metallica. More than that they can’t and won’t play. He is not a virtuoso, but he’s tremendously good at playing and singing simultaneously. He has a very powerful rhythm yes, but the last open string played at those speeds places a limit on the imagination of the architecture of the songs and the melodies applicable to the playing. Hammet is good with solos okay, but they are starting to sound too similar between one song and another. Lars has a very fast double bass drum and dry and precise drums, but on the cymbals, he is not as virtuosic.
Newsted, the "new guy", no longer gives them that touch of madness in the rhythm changes underneath that Burton did. There’s nothing more to invent in that genre for Metallica, they need to turn the page. And God only knows how much I appreciate the courage of those who know how to do that. And Metallica did it brilliantly with this album. What is it? Is it still thrash? Is it hard rock? Grunge? No it is simply METAL. The perfect middle ground between two styles. The thrash remains in the "tractor-like" rhythms but the tempos change. They are no longer played at 1,000 per hour but the tempos become 4/4, square, slower. It is the sounds that become fuller and more powerful. Bob Rock gives Ulrich's drums a sound that... damn! It sounds like a TUM-CIAK-TUM-CIAK- TUM-TUM-CIAK from "we will rock you" but with dynamite in the arms and feet! Hetfiled's rhythm guitar sounds like a bazooka and together with the bass seems to create a true "wall of sound" reminiscent of Wagnerian grandeur. Those basses get inside you and make the glasses shake even with the stereo at a quarter of the volume! Hammet's guitar seems to soar liquidly over everything, and the solos are more "bending" than "tapping". Sometimes it almost seems blues (heresy) played by Mesa Boogie in saturation. The voice is warm but piercing, full-bodied (it must be said that compared to the early albums, he has improved a lot. The guy applied himself). In short, money well spent for Bob Rock who then also adds the "touch of class" filling the songs with new sounds. Bongos, castanets, banjo, gong, everything not seen in a studio since the Led Zeppelin era. So what to say. I believe some albums make music history not so much for the technical quality of the pieces within but sometimes for the intrinsic importance they manage to provide to the ethics of a musical genre.
The "Black Album" like it or not is an important album for the history of rock, which cannot remain unknown. Enter Sandman is one of the most listened to, played, and copied "commercial" metal pieces ever. Sad But True? Try playing it in the rehearsal room without the "Wall of Sound" by Bob Rock. It becomes crap! It lacks that "woooo-wo-wo-wo-wooooo___wo-wo. It's incredible! Yet they are just 4 crappy chords! The Unforgiven retraces a classic from previous albums. The epic, mythological piece, with acoustic arpeggios mixed with electric ones (which lays its foundations in "Fade to Black" from 1983) but it's damn beautiful with that "Morricone" atmosphere. Wherever I May Roam (my favorite) has that intro which is genius! And then it explodes underneath with that somewhat tribal drum rhythm, typical of Ulrich. Its lyrics are like a bible to me. Nothing Else Matters? Despised by many thrashers, if you listen to it well and don't think it's Metallica, it’s one of the most beautiful ballads ever. With such a profound text it brings tears to the eyes. The other pieces are filler, okay, but filler that makes you nod your head up and down. To the point that they would make for "singles" on many other bands’ albums. In short, this was Metallica's album of liberation. They came out of the somewhat niche world of thrash and entered the MTV & C. charts.
I understand all the "deontological" criticisms of the case. But it must be said that they did it with class, with style, with appeal. They managed to turn generations of kids into metalheads who without Nothing Else Matters or Enter Sandman might never have approached metal. And perhaps, like me, wouldn’t have explored the genre further. Then discovering Megadeth, Pantera, or Anthrax, starting precisely from listening to "Metallica". Is this a bad thing? No, this is a HUGE merit.
CARVED UPON MY STONE, MY BODY LIE BUT STILL I ROAM.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Enter Sandman (05:31)
Say your prayers little one
Don't forget, my son
To include everyone
I tuck you in, warm within
Keep you free from sin
Till the Sandman he comes
Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight
Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to Never Never Land
Something's wrong, shut the light
Heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren't of snow white
Dreams of war, dreams of liars
Dreams of dragon's fire
And of things that will bite
Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight
Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to Never Never Land
Yeah-heah!
Now I lay me down to sleep
(Now I lay me down to sleep)
Pray the lord my soul to keep
(Pray the lord my soul to keep)
If I die before I wake
(If I die before I wake)
Pray the lord my soul to take
(Pray the lord my soul to take)
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
Exit light
Enter night
Grain of sand
Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We're off to Never Never Land
Yeah, oooh!
Yeah, yeah!
Yo oh!
We're off to Never Never Land
(Take my hand)
We're off to Never Never Land
(Take my hand)
We're off to Never Never Land
We're off to Never Never Land
We're off to Never Never Land
02 Sad but True (05:24)
Hey (hey)
I'm your life
I'm the one who takes you there
hey (hey)
I'm your life
I'm the one who cares
they (they)
they betray
I'm your only true friend now
they (they)
they'll betray
I'm forever there
I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
sad but true
I'm your dream, mind astray
I'm your eyes while you're away
I'm your pain while you repay
you know it's sad but true
sad but true
you (you)
you're my mask
you're my cover, my shelter
you (you)
you're my mask
you're the one who's blamed
do (do)
do my work
do my dirty work, scapegoat
do (do)
do my deeds
for you're the one who's shamed
I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
sad but true
I'm your dream, mind astray
I'm your eyes while you're away
I'm your pain while you repay
you know it's sad but true
sad but true
(2x)
I'm your dream
I'm your eyes
I'm your pain
you know it's sad but true
hate (hate)
I'm your hate
I'm your hate when you want love
pay (pay)
pay the price
pay, for nothing's fair
hey (hey)
I'm your life
I'm the one who took you there
hey (hey)
I'm your life
and I no longer care
I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
sad but true
I'm your truth, telling lies
I'm your reasoned alibis
I'm inside open your eyes
I'm you
sad but true
03 Holier Than Thou (03:47)
No more!
The crap rolls out your mouth again
Haven't changed, your brain is still gelatine
Little whispers circle around your head
Why don't you worry about yourself instead
Who are you? Where ya been? Where ya from?
Gossip is burning on the tip of your tongue
You lie so much you belive yourself
Judge not lest ye be judged yourself
Holier than thou
You are
Holier than thou
You are
You know not
Before you judge me take a look at you
Can't you find something better to do
Point the finger, slow to understand
Arrogance and ignorance go hand in hand
It's not who you are, it's who you know
Others lives are the basis of your own
Burn your bridges and built them back with wealth
Judge not lest ye be judged yourself
Holier than thou
You are
Holier than thou
You are
You know not
(yeah! who the hell are you?)
Holier than thou
You are
Holier than thou
You are
You know not
Not!
04 The Unforgiven (06:27)
New blood joins this earth
And quickly he's subdued
Through constant pained disgrace
The young boy learns their rules
With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven
they dedicate their lives,
to running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven
[instrumental solo]
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been
What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven
You labeled me
I'll label you
So I dub thee unforgiven
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven
You labeled me
I'll label you
So I dub thee unforgiven
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven...
05 Wherever I May Roam (06:44)
... (And the road becomes my bride)
And the road becomes my bride
I have stripped of all but pride
So in her I do confide
And she keeps me satisfied
Gives me all I need
... And with dust in throat I crave
Only knowledge will I save
To the game you stay as slave
Rover, wanderer
Nomad, vagabond
Call me what you will -- yeah!
No -- but I'll take my time anywhere
Free to speak my mind anywhere
And I'll redefine anywhere
Anywhere I roam
Where I lay my head is home - yeah!
... (And the earth becomes my throne)
And the earth becomes my throne
I adapt to the unknown
Under wandering stars I've grown
By myself but not alone
I ask no one
And my ties are severed clean
Less I have the more I gain
Off the beaten path I reign
Rover wanderer
Nomad vagabond
Call me what you will -- yea will!
But I'll take my time anywhere
I'm free to speak my mind anywhere
And I'll never mind anywhere
Anywhere I roam
Where I lay my head is home -- yeah-yeah!
guitar solo 1
But i'll take my time anywhere
I'm free to speak my mind
And I'll take my find anywhere
Anywhere I roam
Where I lay my head is home -- thats right!
guitar solo 2
But i'll take my time anywhere
I'm free to speak my mind anywhere
And i'll redefiine anywhere
Anywhere I roam
Where I lay my head is home
Carved upon my stone
My body lie, but still I roam -- yeah yeah!
Wherever I may roam (3x)
Wherever I may roam - yeah!
Wherever I may wander wander wander
Wherever I may roam - yeah-yeah!
Wherever I may roam - yeah-yeah!
Wherever I may roam (3x)
06 Don't Tread on Me (04:00)
Don't tread on me
So don't tread on me
Liberty or death, what we so proudly hail
Once you provoke her, rattling of her tail
Never begins it, never, but once engaged...
Never surrenders, showing the fangs of rage
So don't tread on me
So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you will hear evermore...
Don't tread on me
Love it or leave it, she with the deadly bite
Quick is the blue tongue, forked as a lightning strike
Shining with brightness, always on surveillance
The eyes, they never close, emblem of vigilance
So don't tread on me
So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you will hear evermore...
Don't tread on me
So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
Liberty or death, what we so proudly hail
Once you provoke her, rattling on her tail
So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you will hear evermore...
Don't tread on me
08 Nothing Else Matters (06:28)
So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know
So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters
09 Of Wolf and Man (04:16)
Off through the new day's mist I run
Out from the new day's mist I have come
I hunt
therefore I am
harvest the land
taking of the fallen lamb
Off through the new day's mist I run
Out from the new day's mist I have come
we shift
pulsing with the earth
company we keep
roaming the land while you sleep
shape shift nose to the wind
shape shift feeling I've been
move swift all senses clean
earth's gift back to the meaning of life
bright is the moon high in starlight
chill in the air cold as steel tonight
we shift
call of the wild
fear in your eyes
it's later than you realized
shape shift nose to the wind
shape shift feeling I've been
move swift all senses clean
earth's gift back to the meaning of life
(guitar & drum solo)
I feel a change
back to a better day
(shape shift)hair stands on the back of my neck
(shape shift)in wildness is the preservation of the world
so seek the wolf in thyself
shape shift nose to the wind
shape shift feeling I've been
move swift all senses clean
earth's gift back to the meaning...
Of wolf, and man yeah
10 The God That Failed (05:08)
Pride you took
Pride you feel
Pride that you felt when you'd kneel
Not the word
Not the love
Not what you thought from above
It feeds
It grows
It clouds all that you will know
Deceit
Deceive
Decide just what you believe
(Chorus)
I see faith in your eyes
Never you hear the discouraging lies
I hear faith in your cries
Broken is the promise, betrayal
The healing hand held back by the deepened nail
Follow The God That Failed!
Find your peace
Find your say
Find the smooth road on your way
Trust you gave
A child to save
Left you cold and him in grave
It feeds
It grows
It clouds all that you will know
Deceit
Deceive
Decide just what you believe
(Chorus)
I see faith in your eyes
Broken is the promise, betrayal
The healing hand held back by the deepened nail
Follow The God That Failed!
Pride you took
Pride you feel
Pride that you felt when you'd kneel
Trust you gave
A child to save
Left you cold and him in grave
(Chorus)
Follow The God That Failed!
Broken is the promise
Betrayal, betrayal, yeah!
11 My Friend of Misery (06:49)
You just stood there screaming
Fearing no one was listening to you
They say the empty can rattles the most
The sound of your own voice must soothe you
Hearing only what you want to hear,
And knowing only what you've heard
You...you're smothered in tragedy,
And you're out to save the world
Misery!
You insist that the weight of the world
Should be on your shoulders
Misery!
There's much more to life than what you see
My Friend Of Misery!
You still stood there screaming!
No-one caring about these words you tell
My friend before your voice is gone
One man's fun is another's hell
These times are sent to try men's souls
But something's wrong with all you see
You...you'll take it on all yourself
(Remember), Misery loves company
Misery!
You insist that the weight of the world
Should be on your shoulders
Misery
There's much more to life than what you see
My Friend Of Misery!
Misery!
You insist that the weight of the world
Should be on your shoulders
Misery
There's much more to life than what you see
My Friend Of Misery
My Friend Of Misery!
You just stood there screaming, oh
My Friend Of Misery!
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Other reviews
By cliffburton86
You can’t mosh to it anymore!
Surely the black album may not be as powerful, fast, and pounding as the previous masterpieces, but personally, I believe it is undoubtedly a good album endowed with a decent melody and a very high level of listenability for any individual.
By Vic Sorriso1
The most "known" song, absolute crap without question when it comes to metal, is "Enter Sandman".
Metallica represents metal crap in the absolute sense.
By Jack_85
The black album. A true stroke of genius. That’s what this record represents.
An album that doesn’t need comments. Just listen to it. Long live the chaos.
By Edgar Allan Poe
"I consider the 'Black Album' a great Hard Rock work; it includes a very catchy single like 'Enter Sandman', which has certainly brought many newcomers to listen to Metallica."
"'Nothing Else Matters' is one of the group’s best ballads. I’ve heard it defined by someone as a song made to sell... but have you ever translated the lyrics?!"
By pep 92
"Enter Sandman"... 'hell breaks loose' with fierce guitars that force you to thrash around like mad.
"Nothing Else Matters"... a devastating and pure guitar solo that makes you feel forgiven and noble.
