METALLICA — Metallica (review)

Album · 1991 · Heavy Metal

1.5/5 · 2010-05-20
Stooge

This is Metallica’s first venture into rock music, but they still have the long hair and jeans. So I really don’t know what to call them, rock or metal. I think it’s the in-between state that the band is in as being the main reason I can’t fully enjoy The Black Album. I’ve had this album in my collection for almost 10 years, but honestly, there are only 3 songs out of the 12 that I can still appreciate: “Sad But True”, “The Unforgiven”, and “Of Wolf And Man”.

The heavy riff in the verse of “Sad But True” is what draws me to that song, and the chorus is rather memorable. “The Unforgiven” is without a doubt the gem of this album. It’s a powerful song with a heavy verse and slower, clean chorus, a slightly unusual structure. It’s such a good song that the band would create “sequels” of it on future albums. “Of Wolf And Man” is the heaviest song on the album, even heavier than “Sad But True”. Lars Ulrich’s drums as thunderous on this song, and like the trading off of lines between the lead and backing vocals during the chorus.

The Black Album contains a number of tracks that might keep some of the old thrash fans happy in “Holier Than Thou”, “Through The Never”, and “The Struggle Within”. These three tracks are the fastest tracks on the album and the riffing and soloing is the closest you’ll find to something from one of their previous albums. To me, these tracks just seem like they were included to please their early fan base. Whether these songs are played next to classics like “Whiplash” or “Battery” or just played alone, they sound second rate to me no matter what.

I mentioned two of the five singles already, but what about the others? Well, I have to credit “Enter Sandman” as it helped introduce Metallica to the general public (though you could say the superior “One” from the Justice album did that as well), but as a song, it becomes less impressive the more I hear it. “Nothing Else Matters” would have shocked the hell out of me if I was a teenager back in 1991. It’s a great song to learn if you’re just learning the guitar, but it’s below average as far as ballads go. I think the version they do with the orchestra on S&M is a lot more moving. “Wherever I May Roam” has one of those riffs that gets stuck in my head that I wish would leave. Some might appreciate this track’s catchiness, but I just can’t get into this song.

“Don’t Tread On Me”, “The God That Failed”, and “My Friend Of Misery” are the remaining track left to discuss. I can’t think of anything positive to say about “Don’t Tread On Me”, but I like Hetfield’s lyrics in “The God That Failed” and the bass intro on “My Friend Of Misery”. It would have been interesting to hear “My Friend Of Misery” as a more developed instrumental piece as song co-writer Jason Newsted intended.

Overall, this album is more of something a mainstream rock fan would find interesting or a Metallica fan that wishes to complete their collection. I think Metallica learn to do the rock thing better on the Load albums.