Metallica

Here it is, one of the most famous, revered and hated albums – The Black Album (Or simply "Metallica"). A most sudden twist from the lengthy Prog Thrash of “…And Justice for All”, this one see’s Metallica play short, radio-friendly songs. Initially, I dismissed it as nothing more than a radio-friendly effort but gradually I began to enjoy it. Not enjoy it in that total “Kill ‘Em All” sense, enjoy it in the sense of “yeah, this isn’t half bad after all”. There are some good songs on here which though not as entertaining as the early days, still put up a nice headbanging session for the average metalhead. The production is crystal clear and really well done, I can hear all the instruments very well but the vocals seem a bit too loud.

Musically, this is Heavy Metal with a whole lot of groove and the occasional thrash riff with a lot of the ‘party’ feel to it. James voice is totally in that groovy party style that Modern Rock singers possess but he still puts up a good vocal performance on “The Unforgiven”, “Wherever I May Roam” and “Through the Never”. Kirk still delivers some great, though extremely similar solos yet this is where he relies heavily on the wah pedal and even though his solos are not the extreme wah-wah of Load or Reload, they still can be irritating. Jason Newsted is a better bassist than Cliff Burton and has always been awesome whether in Voivod or Flotsam and Jetsam but Metallica largely underplays him. Fortunately, Newsted’s bass can be well heard in this album unlike “…And Justice for All”. Lars has always been his sucky self but he actually delivers a good drum intro to “The God That Failed”!

“Enter Sandman” has that infamous start and infamous riff and is all in all an enjoyable song, horribly over hyped by MTV and yet pretty enjoyable. “Sad but true” is what some call “heavy” but what I call “unintelligent and overlong”. There’s a good reason why, a totally unintelligent and boring riff repeated constantly throughout the song with irritating vocal lines (that irritating “hey” chant). “Holier than Thou” has a good groovy riff with everything else being standard fare. “The Unforgiven” is the first really stunning song on the album – A nice acoustic start and for the first time on this album – Jame’s voice sounds good! The song is very catchy, strangely emotional and that chorus and solo are particularly memorable. Its slow but its excellent, the sequel sucked but this one wont get out of your head for a while when you first hear it. “Wherever I Roam” sends the album back to its groove sound and starts off promisingly with excellent guitar harmonies, Jame’s voice fits with the music and he does do a good job making the verses and chorus catchy, nothing special about solo and the song somehow lasts out its full length! “Don’t Tread On Me” has a strange rhythm to it and a memorable chorus but the song tends to get old fast due to the repetition the band seems to insist on.

“Through The Never” is where the album shines again. If the entire album was like this, it’d be awesome. The song is fast, heavy and the vocals are well done. “Nothing Else Matters” despite having some nice lyrics has an uninteresting structure and average vocals, extremely boring if you ask me. “Of Wolf and Man” is another excellently done number that has some groovy, somewhat thrash riffs in it. “The God That Failed” has an intro similar to Dawn Patrol and has a pretty heavy riff and a good solo by Kirk but even it tends to get repetitive. “My Friend of Misery” at least for once doesn’t have an overused riff or a bad structure and is actually a really fun song. Good solos and nice bluesy riffing and it sustain its length very well for once. “The Struggle Within” starts with a good drum intro (A first time for Lars?) and has nice heavy intro riff with annoying vocals by James’s that seems to be all over the place in the song thanks to effects but it actually manages to make through it’s length impressively.

Good Songs: The Unforgiven, Through The Never, Enter Sandman, My Friend Of Misery, Wherever I May Roam, Of Wolf and Man.
Decent Songs: Holier Than Thou, Don’t Tread On Me, The God That Failed, The Struggle Within.
Filler: Sad but true, Nothing Else Matters

So there it ends. The Black Album – revered by many, hated by many as well and a black mark on Metallica’s metal discography. Six good songs, four decent and Two fillers is actually good for an album that latched onto the mainstream. Everything after this album totally sucks but I’d reckon you’d like this album if you’re a metalhead who doesn’t mind Metal with groove and a whole party feel to it or a rock fan looking to become a metal fan – this is the perfect album for you. It’s a decent album, but nothing that makes me want to listen to it constantly.