Metallica - Black Album was released 25 years ago today...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by SammyJoe, Aug 12, 2016.

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  1. driverdrummer

    driverdrummer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irmo, SC
    Is the current in-print Blackened reissue cd the same mastering as the original from 1991?
     
  2. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I will play the singles today in honor of this thread. "Unforgiven" is my favorite by them.

    Interestingly, I saw the Black album in the Target bargain rack last week for $5.
     
  3. MikeVielhaber

    MikeVielhaber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Most of the old Metallica albums are at $5, I think, including the new remasters.
     
  4. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Finland
    I still think that "Black Album" is great album and to put it simply, there's nothing wrong with this album.
    Production and sound is what pleases me and all the performances/songs are great too.
    It's one of the precious albums in my life that has come as little soundtrack for my youth and I think it's essential part of my growing up.
    I had become total Metallica freak in '89-'90 with the enourmous "AJFA"-album which was totally something special for me then also.
    Think I also mentioned this before but "AJFA" truly made such an impression on me that I quicky bought the earlier albums on vinyl...
    I think the whole Metallica development as whole thing as I feel that "Black Album" & "Load" were important natural progression, they were inevitable and surely the band should/could not have been stuck only in the underground-scene for the rest of their lives. They surely were on top of their game on RTL, MOP and AJFA-eras but still not that mainstream as they would be by 1991..
    I feel that "Black Album" had some feeling and spirit that was never quite present on the albums that came after it.

    I can recall and have fond memories of the times when "Black Album" came out, listening to the songs for the few first times etc, has it really been that long time ago and years gone so fast?
    I was 13 when the album came out, wow!
    I remember going to the local store on the day the album was released and as I left the store, carrying vinyl (with vertigo-labels) I remember that I was happy.
    As soon as I was back home, I put the album on play and got fully immersed by the music.
    Sure it was different from the previous albums, but overall, I honestly believe that it was after all, just natural progression from the band and it became more evident as Black Album truly is sort of watershed for the band.

    Now in the later years it's become more clear how many people don't like "Black Album" or "Load" at all, which is really evident on forums or closed facebook-groups.
    I know how some feel that the band made constant downward-spiral starting over the release of 1991's "Black Album", which for many was too popular and radio-friendly as opposed to the bands 80's output.
    Sure, it does sound different, but they evolved and got older (like the rest of us) so it's not really wonder how things might change around..

    I think, that in retrospect the band had decided that it finally had come out of the tight minded metallists and thrash-norm, they were finally free to do whatever they wanted with their music.
    Also Im happy for them that they could really let their inspirations run more freely to their own music.
    Of course, Metallica had its course and destiny to be away from your norm little thrash-band and Im happy for the how they managed to evolve riff by riff, bit by bit, album by album.
    And remember that they were entitled to do whatever they wanted and felt, so I have to give them credit for proving courage to do so.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2016
  5. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    Damn, they sold a ****load of these. No wonder they don't pump out new records too often. How the hell hungry can you be to make new music when everyday you go to your mailbox & there's another massive royalty check.....still.

    Helluva record. Knew it sold big. Didn't quite realize that many. Wow!
     
  6. Great post, well said.
     
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  7. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    Great album, even better on DVD-AUDIO!
     
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  8. Clanceman

    Clanceman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Or
    I own like 6 DVD audio discs from the short period these were popular. Met Black is my favorite for sure.
     
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  9. bunkaroo

    bunkaroo Forum Resident

    As a musician I would never begrudge an artist their decision to explore and take chances. But you can't bash the people who don't care for what they tried to do.

    Perfect example: Opeth. Their last two albums and their imminent new album have followed a course that many of their longtime fans can't stand. But after 20+ years they are certainly welcome to try something new. I happen to love what they're doing. I don't bash those who say they only like everything before Blackwater Park as being stuck in the past or not wanting their band to get too popular. They can listen to what they like. Same with Metallica. I wish the Black Album, Load/Reload, St. Anger and Death Magnetic moved me, but they don't. It's disappointing but life goes on.
     
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  10. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Finland
    I know what you mean here.
    I didn't mean to bash anyone, but still always have to mention these things when talking about these bands that have done music for many years already.
    Some people have stuck to their own little worlds where only the first demo-tape or first few releases on independent little labels are only that ever mattered.
    I definitely understand theae opinions and sometimes I might even find myself be stuck with some bands aswell.
    In the end it does not really matter what these people think of these so called "lesser"newer albums, but one could and should always have little more open mind when entering genres and styles out of their safety-zones.

    Speaking of Opeth, they are truly wonderful band and I love everything they have released so far.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2016
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  11. Vinyl Fan 1973

    Vinyl Fan 1973 "They're like soup, they're like....nothing bad"

    I remember when this came out. I lined up with friends and bought it on cassette. I was lucky enough to sleep out for tickets and saw that tour as well, and they put on a great show.

    I think the album still holds up till this day, and although it can't be denied which are the great songs on the album, they are not my favorites. I've always had a fondness for tracks like Of Wolf and Man, The God That Failed and My Friend of Misery. In fact, when I want a quick fix of that album, those are the songs I play. I also really like Wherever I May Roam (incredible to hear live) and Sad But True.

    Even though I'm a fan of the Load album, it's hard to understand why the Black Album ended up being the last great Metallica album. What happened? How could the band deliver so many incredible albums to all of a sudden come to a stand still and deliver albums that make them look like a completely different band?? Perhaps that was the goal, and what do I know? They are still huge today so I guess the joke is on all of us, and they really knew best.
     
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  12. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    [​IMG]
     
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  13. bunkaroo

    bunkaroo Forum Resident

    Sorry I didn't mean you were bashing I should have been clearer. Was referring to some previous posts.
     
  14. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    You don't know the difference between a nerd and a preppy?
     
  15. Cymbaline

    Cymbaline Shiny Dog

    Location:
    Buda, TX
    Now I feel old.
     
  16. Cymbaline

    Cymbaline Shiny Dog

    Location:
    Buda, TX
    Their last good album. Then came Load, then Reload, then they hit bottom with St. Anger. I almost didn't care about Death Magnetic after that, even though it was miles better.
     
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  17. izombie73

    izombie73 Forum Resident

    Yes sir :)
     
  18. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Nothing Beats the Black Album on original vertigo Vinyl. If there is one album that should never meet digital, its this one!
     
  19. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    All I know is that they both confuse and anger me! :realmad:

    ;)
     
  20. cwd

    cwd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Clarksville, TN
  21. HiredGoon

    HiredGoon Forum Resident

    I got into Metallica around '89 when One was released, got the Justice CD but hated the sound without any bass. Then Black came out and it sounded huge. Played it to death in the car. Loved the album then, love it now.

    Gawd '91 was 25 years ago, I feel so old. A golden period with Metallica, Nirvana, and Gunners all releasing great albums

    --Geoff
     
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  22. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    IMO the 80s was the golden age of heavy metal. The NWOBHM kick-started it, then the spotlight moved to the US as glam took over the charts and thrash dominated the underground. The seeds were planted for every sub-genre that would emerge full-blown in the 90s.

    You always have that one band that captures the public's imagination like no other. There aren't enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe their first three albums. You don't even have to be a metalhead.

    My problem with the Black Album is the same one that I have with AJFA. I think that they're both over-produced. But even more, the 90s shift in the landscape didn't just effect mainstream rock. The metal focus was now on Continental Europe, especially Scandinavia.

    Even a year is a lifetime in popular music. We waited five for Load?

    "Not that bad" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. But who was their competition in 96. Was it Burzum and Tool, or was it Garth Brooks and Celine Dion? When the Backstreet Boys are at the top of the charts how bad can any hard & heavy rock really be?

    I wonder how many times those who loathe it, ReLoad, and St Anger have listened to them. I played them over and over and over trying to get my mind wrapped around what they were going for musically.

    Is it enough to be a good band when you were once the best band in the world? Is even being a great band enough? I found S&M and Garage, Inc. (disc one) much more interesting than those three.

    I once asked if we could have accepted them as a death or black or doom band. Could they have stuck with thrash the way that Maiden has stuck with their signature mix of prog and power? Or would they have eventually been written off either way?

    25 years since the Black Album? It's already been five since Lulu and I'm still trying to figure out what the ...heck they were thinking. It's like some movie star's art-house vanity project. Is there a version in the vault without Reed's "vocals"?

    Oct 14th, is that when the new album is coming out? Is it another multi-platinum across-the-board number one? Guess we'll find out soon enough.
     
  23. Stormrider77

    Stormrider77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Middletown, NY
    This album was my gateway, was my first real "event" album, I cannot say enough about what it meant to me and how it developed my musical tastes for decades to come. I was probably in 9th grade and it may have been one of the first cassettes I bought with my own money. The fact that I had not really explored the band's earlier works mercifully shielded me from the tiresome sell-out debate. It was my first experience with the band and you usually always love the first taste the best. This led me to exploring the rest of the catalog and being blown away as well by all the earlier releases. Still, watching the documentary A Year in The Half( highly recommended), I really understood why they made this style change and it's never been an issue for me. I think Unforgiven is an absolute classic and I wish they'd bring it back live, actually they should replace Nothing Else Matters with Unforgiven in the setlist. If I had a complaint, it's that they won't pull Matters or Sandman out of rotation live ever. Even if you left Sandman in, that's fine, I'm just so tired of the same NEM to Sandman transition on what feels like every tour since it came out. There are some great deep tracks like Wolf and Man, My Friend Of Misery that I'd love to hear live. Basically, this is such an enormous album and is so imprinted on me that no, I will probably never actually play it again from start to finish. The hits have been overplayed beyond to death but that isn't a negative, it's a sign of a classic album. Much respect to the band for this album.
     
  24. izombie73

    izombie73 Forum Resident

    I can understand and identify with much of what you have posted. These albums (from most of our childhoods basically) cut deep in our Psyche and can flood back memories, sometimes good, sometimes bad. I have a few albums I love that I can almost no longer listen to all the way through because they bring back such powerful memories that if left unchecked lead to ugly places. Plus as an older guy I have gotten way more emotional :) (not always a bad thing)
     
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