Metallica’s “Black Album” Took Them from Metal Heroes to Multiplatinum Rock Giants

With their fifth LP, a self-titled effort better known as “The Black Album”, Metallica’s popularity skyrocketed from metal heroes to international rock superstars. And while the album earned Metallica millions of new fans, there was a contingent of thrash purists who lamented the band’s foray into the mainstream. For years, despite emerging during the rise of MTV, Metallica refused to embrace the medium of music videos. In fact, it was not until their fourth full-length, 1988’s …And Justice for All, that they finally relented and agreed to a video for “One” (which looking back, made the success of 1986’s Master of Puppets all the more impressive, as it became a big seller almost entirely on word of mouth and touring). But with MTV fully embracing the “One” clip and it serving as the mainstream’s true introduction to the band, Metallica were primed to break through in a big way with their fifth studio album. Get Metallica Tickets Here And while Justice had peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart and made Metallica an arena headliner, the band — frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Jason Newsted, and drummer Lars Ulrich — sought to try something different for t...