Musical Snapshots: “The Black Album” – Today marks the release of the Metallica album that divided audiences and critics

A full decade after their formation as an underground thrash metal group in Los Angeles in '81, "Black Album" is a pivotal moment in their career.

In the history of metal music, there is perhaps no other album that has caused as much division among audiences and critics as Metallica's self-titled album. Known as "The Black Album," it is the band's fifth album and was released on August 12, 1991.

A full decade after their formation as an underground thrash metal band in Los Angeles in '81, the Black Album is a pivotal moment in their career, gaining them a much more mainstream audience and commercial success – for many it was an introduction to the genre and inspired a new generation of metal musicians – while also proving to be largely divisive for the band's hardcore and non-hardcore fans.

The album's simple, gray-black cover with the image of a rattlesnake, which refers to a controversially symbolic American flag, and the band's barely perceptible logo set the tone for the album's content and essence: An impressive work in which Metallica consciously and voluntarily leave behind much of their previously known thrash aesthetic. Stripped of the compositional complexity of the group's previous decade, the Black Album tends towards simpler, more direct songwriting structures, with much less aggression and speed, and yet still confidently embraces various aspects of heavy metal (and even, classic rock), with the quartet demonstrating a deep introspection that, while not entirely new to them, is perfected here.

It's clear that with the Black Album, Metallica is building on the significant achievements of their previous album, “…And Justice For All” (for example, “Sad But True” sounds like a remastered version of “Harvester Of Sorrow”), and taking them in a new direction.

Part of this change should certainly be credited to the presence of Canadian producer Bob Rock.

It's not hard to see how Rock, who also worked as a producer for Mötley Crüe among others, could influence Metallica towards a more groovy - even downright funky - sound: " Holier Than Thou" features a distinct glam-metal aesthetic while songs like "Don't Tread On Me" or "Through The Never" have intense riffs and grooves reminiscent of Pantera.

It's also not hard to see how Rock's input could convince the band to write a power ballad, which to this day remains one of the band's most popular songs, even for many non-metal listeners: "Nothing Else Matters" works for Metallica like "Stairway To Heaven" did for Led Zeppelin or "Child In Time" did for Deep Purple.

And there's more. There's the nightmarish, terrifying atmosphere of the relatively market-friendly opener "Enter Sandman" and the melancholic, beautiful musings of "The Unforgiven" and "My Friend Of Misery" (arguably, both sonically and lyrically, two of the album's strongest tracks and among the most inspired Metallica have ever created).

“ Wherever I May Roam” has a nomadic, free spirit and a heavy stoner background, while “Of Wolf And Man” is eerie and poetic. “The God That Failed” is a very personal song from James Hetfield, inspired by the death of his mother, who refused medical treatment due to her Christian Science beliefs. Finally there is the fast outro “Struggle Within” , arguably the most thrashing track on the album.

Alongside Metallica's trademark riffs, Hetfield consistently showcases his clean vocals and flexibility – not to mention the loud screams, of course, and Lars Ulrich's signature drumming is also present here, despite the lower bpm. Kirk Hammett, in addition to the awesome lead guitars – with extensive tremolo picking and use of wah-wah – is also credited with the most famous riff Metallica have ever written, that of “Enter Sandman”. Jason Newsted's bass lines (which were non-existent on “…And Justice For All”) are heard here for the first time, which is also due to Bob Rock.

Given the multitude of sounds and styles, Metallica manages to create a unified whole. In this regard, it is easy to draw a parallel with the Beatles' "White Album". The similarities, whether intentional or coincidental, are many: Both have the band's name as their title, but they became known as "white" and "black", due to their almost monochrome covers. It is also the first double album for both bands. Most importantly, these are collections of very different songs, with intense experimentation and exploration of new paths, and they come after the albums that were artistically considered the peak for the bands until then, "Sgt. Pepper's" and "Justice" respectively.

The “Black Album” received widespread critical acclaim and became Metallica's best-known and most successful album.

It peaked at number one in ten countries and spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide.

Part of its huge success is certainly due to the tours and concerts that followed (where Metallica played it in its entirety, but in reverse order, starting with its last album). In 1991, for the fourth time, Metallica played at the “Monsters of Rock” festival. The attendance was very large throughout the tour, culminating in the last concert, which took place on September 28, 1991 in Moscow.

Described as "the first free open-air Western rock concert in the history of the Soviet Union", it was attended by an estimated 150,000 to 500,000 people, with some unofficial estimates putting the attendance at 1,600,000. It was certainly the largest concert ever held in the Soviet Union, and for many it is symbolically linked to its dissolution a few months later.

Whether you love it or hate it, there's no doubt that the "Black Album" is a game-changing record for both Metallica and the history of music.