Well, I’m sure some metal enthusiasts would hate the title of this column due to the album this birthday is referring to. But, it’s Metallica, so I’m putting it there.
Yes, the four horsemen of metal’s foray into hard rock superstardom, its self titled “Metallica” album, turned 29 years old this past week. Otherwise known as “The Black Album,” this record sticks with me for a variety of reasons.
I remember when I never really “listened” to music at all. I never had an iPod until sixth grade, and didn’t really think to keep up with the scene as a kid. My concentrations at the time were in sports and whatever new Cartoon Network show was about to debut.
Therefore, my musical knowledge was limited to whatever MTV documentaries or Sirius radio stations my parents would be watching or listening to while I was in the room, or travelling in the car. My favorite song for a while was, no joke, “Centerfold,” simply because I liked the bouncy beat.
When I finally did get my iPod, one of the first songs I put on there was “Enter Sandman.” Of course, I had no idea who these Metallica folks were, but I figured they had to be cool if they did the theme song for The Sandman. Yep, back to a professional wrestling mindset as always.
So, I listened once. Then, again. I picked up on the transitions, the lyrics, and especially how groovy Kirk Hammett’s riff on the track was. Sooner, not later, I made “Enter Sandman” my song for when I actually decided to listen to music.
I didn’t get too big into Metallica themselves until a little later on, about 10th grade. Then, I dove right in, listening to every song on every record I could find. The blend of power and groove in the music, the blend of harsh reality and blistering fantasy in the lyrics, it really was something to behold for someone that didn’t have other music to gravitate towards. When my options at the time are what is played at house parties, it was quite the eye-opener for me.
Because I was still a wideeyed, eager fan, I didn’t really notice anything different from “Black Album” than other entries. All the songs were awesome in my book.
Then came my foray into musical forums online, where the album doesn’t get nearly its due. It’s hard rock, people theorize, therefore it isn’t worthy of the Metallica label, or worthy to be mentioned with other classics of the era.
Despite being as jaded as possible about everything else in life at the time, I never bought into this argument. Just because the music has an altered sound doesn’t mean it’s “bad,” it just means it’s different. LeBron James, for example, has went from the best forward in basketball to becoming one of the best guard/forward hybrids ever seen. Because his positioning on the court is different, are we going to say he’s “worse,” even if he leads the league in assists? That’s what “Black Album” is, a band going from the best thrash unit alive to the best hard rockers in the land. If anything, it confirms Metallica is an all-time great band, being able to succeed in two different areas of expertise.
“We wanted to create a different record and offer something new to our audience,” Hammett said of the album. “I hate it when bands stop taking chances. A lot of bands put out the same record three or four times, and we didn’t want to fall into that rut.”
There is nary a rut on “Black Album” as far as quality, with every track providing something new and refreshing.
“Wherever I May Roam” is the classic mission-statement song, with the “I don’t care what you think” attitude shown in earlier efforts such as “Escape,” with a dash of Led Zeppelin thrown in for good measure.
“Nothing Else Matters” is an all-time beautiful song, in any genre, an atmospheric ballad with the same “us against the world” mentality that defined the band in the 1980s.
Is it metal? Probably not, but it still holds up to this day. Happy Birthday to a true classic.