So, I've listened to Metallica's self titled, aka the Black album, an incalculable amount of times, but I thought it might be interesting to hear people's opinions on the deeper cuts from that record. Excluding "Enter Sandman," "Sad But True," "The Unforgiven," "Wherever I May Roam," and "Nothing Else Matters." Those were the main singles, right? So that leaves these seven other tracks, some of which still retained a thrash metal vibe, albeit more streamlined. But what I really want to know is, what is your favorite among just these 7 songs?

Holier Than Thou
Don't Tread On Me
Through The Never
Of Wolf And Man
The God That Failed
My Friend Of Misery
The Struggle Within

Personally, I'm partial to "Don't Tread On Me." I really love the chorus melody, and I think the intro is pretty clever in utilizing that bit from West Side Story's "America." I know Hetfield has said in the past that he doesn't really like that song, perhaps because of it's sort of bouncy rhythm, and they didn't actually play it live not until 2012 when they performed the entire Black album in concert.

Thoughts? I'd like to make this a poll if possible. *just those seven songs as options, thanks.

Final Countdown might be my first heavy rock/metal memory, but it's the songs like Disposable Heroes and ESPECIALLY Sad But True that really got me interested in heavy music. Heard from my cousin's cassette, that riff after the intro was like nothing else. I still like that song, though after hearing it a million times it doesn't really move me like it did.

I don't have the Black album anymore in the shelf, but of those "other songs" it's propably The God That Failed and My Friend of Misery I love the most. Not a single bad cut on the whole album. It's perfect for what it is: a catchy mainstream heavy rock record.

Really, any of them, but if I had to pick then I would say either Holier Than Thou, Of Wolf and Man, or The Struggle Within. Those are all really great songs with a nice punch to them.

I heard all of the Black Album after I had picked up their classics, but even then I've still really liked it. It's just a very solid, incredibly well-produced album.

All of the singles (barring 'The Unforgiven') are the weakest songs on that album. Naah, the real shit lies with stuff like 'Holier Than Thou' and 'Through The Never'. The atmosphere laden dirge 'My Friend Of Misery' deserves mention too.

The God That Failed, followed closely by Wolf and Man.

Many underrated songs on this album... including Struggle Within.

Wow, I didn't know Metallica had a jizzed-on version of their logo.


The Black Album is a legitimately good album. "The Struggle Within" is such a good fucking song. The breakdown towards the end is awesome. Also, "The Unforgiven" and "Enter Sandman" are in my opinion, the worst songs from that album.

The album gets mostly better as it goes along with some exceptions, favourite song would have to be Through the Never.

Judging that album by the pop quality of which song gets stuck in my head most frequently, it would be "My Friend of Misery" for me. Something really catchy about that one.

'The Struggle Within' and 'The God that Failed' are two other great tracks on the album. 'Of Wolf and Man' is kinda silly, but hey, who cares. To be honest, most of the stuff on that album is good, it just has such a poor one-two groove bomb opening it.

Yea, "Don't Tread On Me" is alright. I prefer it to singles such as "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters", actually.

Excluding it and the other singles mentioned, I don't like the album as a whole. It just bores me.

I had to wait until their Black Album anniversary tour in 2012 to fully embrace songs like ''Don't Tread on Me'' and ''The Struggle Within''. But, generally, as Napalm_Satan said the singles tend to overshadow the remaining (great) material this album consists of. If you aren't aware of this version of ''The Struggle Within'' please check it out, it just gets me pumped every time; I think it should have been included in the album version.



This one's cool too!

^ I really like the extended intro the band used when they played the album in its entirety live where all the instruments and harmonies come in piece by piece, but that one's ok, too. If there ever turns out to be a remixed version of the song with it, I'd certainly purchase it.

The only song I like on The Black Album is The Unforgiven, but it's not a "tve deeper cut" apparently. Best thing that came from 'Don't Tread on Me' is Front Line Assembly sampling the opening riff.

I honestly haven't listened to their black album in forever, but out of all of those listed, I remember really liking Of Wolf and Man. A lot of power and groove, not as complex as their other songs, but it's digestible and good to bang your head to. Also My Friend of Misery is a really good pick of the list that I enjoy.

Single or not, Wherever I May Roam is one of my favorite Metallica songs ever. Of Wolf and Man is probably my most enjoyed song as far as the "other tracks" go.

"Through the Never" was decent, as was "The God That Failed." The rest of the album was (and still is) very boring to me. "Through the Never" still had a respectable speed metal vibe to it, not unlike what Testament was doing at that time (back when I still liked Testament.) "The God That Failed" was a good song all around. But everything else on that record was kinda, meh.

Favorite non-single is The Struggle Within. When I first heard the album I used to turn it off after Of Wolf & Man on impatient days and after My Friend of Misery on better days. But then it was just too many songs. Now its one of my favorites. I used to love My Friend of Misery, but then I listened to it after ignoring it for many years and just found it middling and boring. Haven't listened to it since.

I'll take Holier Than Thou... Could be its placement on the album. After the first two tracks (of which, Enter Sandman actually is decent), Holier Than Thou kind of picks the album up, gives it some swagger, lets you know the band hasn't totally checked out. Of Wolf and Man and The God That Failed would round out my top three from the album.

Man the 3 or 4 thrashed to bits on the radio songs have ruined them forever... the rest is pretty good though, Holier Than Thou and Of Wolf And Man both get my foot tapping

I don't really separate the singles from the non-singles because I think almost everything on this album is great. The only two weaker songs for me are Don't Tread On Me and The Struggle Within. My favourite non-single is a toss-up between Holier Than Thou, Of Wolf and Man, and The God That Failed. I find which songs I'm really enjoying on this album seem to change almost every time I listen to it, but those three are pretty consistent.

I don't have a problem with the singles. It's just that those songs have become so overplayed, so sometimes I skip over them when listening to this album. Also, I just wanted to see what people thought about the deeper cuts on the album, and about how the band was changing at the time, streamlining their sound, and focusing more on groove.

POLL ME PLEASE!

I just repurchased the black album. Walmart has all the Metallica CD's for $5.00, save for Kill Em' All of course. It's a classic 90's banger no doubt. My favorites are Through the Never because it's so trippy and Sad But True because it's so quotable. I listened to the original CD thousands of times between the ages of 11 and 15.

When I was young, 12-14ish, I would come home from middle school and immediately start on homework. This was a big ritual where I would get a snack (including chocolate milk) and listen to lots of metal, usually Maiden and Metallica and the like. And I ended up drinking so much chocolate milk while listening to the Black Album that, 10 years later, I still get a mild Pavlovian desire for chocolate milk when I hear "Don't Tread on Me".

Great album, thoroughly underrated, possibly better than the two that came before it.

"Through the Never" is one of the better Metallica deep cuts.

Its decent for commercial metal. I wish they'd thrown at least one no holds barred speed fest on it, though.

i love this album -it's not fast but heavy as fuck , well written and produced masterpiece - james roared last time on this album - don't tread on me fav. deep cut

overplayed is exactly what they are, the songs are good for sure! I always skip - sandman, sad, unforgiven, nothing
funny thing is when load and reload came out I was no longer listing to the 'rock' radio stations so never got sick of those albums

I was absolutely peeved off whenever the DJ would announce "and up now some Metallica!" then he'd play unforgiven or nothing else matters
After the first note of sandman plays I'm hitting next >>

I used to think this was the greatest album at the time, granted that it was a departure from previous excellence. So I listened to it after years and years. Man is it slow, and formulaic, and long. What's with all the near 7 minutes songs. If can't make your musical point in 5 minutes, two additional minutes aren't going to help at all. Oddly enough the vocals aren't as annoying as I remembered and in fact, I'm having a hard time tolerating the shriller vocals in previously albums. And the pop production is so backwards, emphasizing the weakest aspect of the band: vocals and drums. From this album alone the band comes across as a bunch of one-trick ponies--the guy with the out-of-place wah-solos, the guy who can do snare+crash and not much else, a country singer in the wrong genre who plays great riffs but repeats them ad nauseam. Heck, Newsted seems to be the most competent musician here.

Of Wolf And Man is my favorite song because it's surprisingly aggressive in an album that's otherwise rather flat and flatter; it's not as formulaic as the rest of the songs, even Lars manages to come up with near 3 second long fill; it's got good bass too.

I'd say the best track is The Struggle Within, because it's the song that sounds the closest to 1980s Metallica in style.

As a whole song, it's gotta be Don't Tread on Me. People that say Sad But True is the heaviest song on The Black Album clearly have not listened to this song much. I find it fascinating that Hetfield hates it like he does. Still, all the non-single songs on the album are great, with the exception of maybe Of Wolf and Man. That one never really gelled with me.

It has to be their 'safest' album, nothing terribly exciting on here at all, not even any awful songs.
boring drums...?

Ok, I have some problems with what you said here.

First of all, the black album has 4 songs out of 12 that are over 6 minutes long. None of them are over 7 minutes. Master of puppets has 4 out of only 8 songs over 6 minutes, and two of them are over 8 minutes long. And Justice For All has 5 songs out of 9 that are over 6 minutes, and 2 of them are over 9 minutes long. Your "If you can't make your musical point in 5 minutes" point is far more applicable to Master of Puppets and And Justice For All than it is to the black album.

Secondly, how does James do or sound anything like country on this album? Load and Reload maybe, but not before that.

EDIT: 6 of the songs on AJFA are over 6 minutes, not just 5.

One thing that's strange is that the shorter tracks are mainly closer to 1980s Metallica. The aforementioned The Struggle Within, the song that sounds the most like a 1980s Metallica song, is the second shortest song on the album. (The shortest, Holier Than Thou, is also amongst the songs that are closer to 1980s Metallica).

I wouldn't take what that other guy was saying too seriously. It sounds like he's been drinking the Ultraboris brand kool-aid.

sigh...
were did I talk about songs that are "over 7 minutes"?
Master of Puppets isn't the topic of this thread, neither is And Justice For All. And if they were, well, then it may apply too, or not, depending on what they do in those seven minutes. In the Black album, they don't do much with all that time.
I hear some country in James' voice. If you don't, then you don't.

Ultraboris kool-aid

I'd like some of that kool-aid

Totally man. "Yea-yeah, whooooaaaa" is both country and American as fark. I really truely actually love thrash. If you listen to Rust in Peace it sounds like a rodeo on ice - as in the drug, not a Disney musical. Metallica brought metal out of the shadows with the "Black". I don't like it musically in a metal sense, but I like it musically because thrash IMO set up the rise from sketchy underproduced BM like Venom to an artform where people like us can talk to each other on the internet.

That to me validates the Black album far more than its sound. It wasn't a thrash album at all. I don't have to like it musically to like it, I just need to respect it for what it means to me.

PS I love Venom.

(EDITED PS: Yes I know that RIP is a Megadeth album).

It's funny I was going to make a comment about James' country vocals but changed my mind ha ha
He's way worse live though - whooooha heeey yeaaaayaa bebbeeeaaay

Uggh.

Thanks. Now I'm gonna go to sleep thinking of Jimmy in a hotel room, serenading some young thing with "Of Wolf and Man". The fark is with the sexy bits near the end?

Of Wolf and Man. Such a great flow to that tune. Love the into, the main riff, the vocals. Just a great tune. Great metal album all over. well other than Nothing Else Matters.