Metallica hit rare milestone after classic album breaks huge record
The hit 1991 self-titled Metallica album, also known as The Black Album, has officially spent 750 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, making it only the fourth album in history to do so.
The only other LPs to achieve such a rare milestone are Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, which spent 990 weeks on the album chart; Bob Marley‘s Legend, which amassed 843 weeks; and Journey’s Journey’s Greatest Hits, which had an 813 week stay.
The James Hetfield-fronted band seemed on their way to this coveted achievement back in 2019 when it was revealed that the album had become only the fourth to endure 550 weeks on the Billboard 200. The rock icons also released a reissue of the album in 2021, which saw it regain its place in the charts at number nine, marking the first time it broke the top ten since 1992.
Since its release, The Black Album has become their signature record and a major touchstone in the history of metal music. It is one of the quintessential works in the history of thrash metal music after their 1984 release Ride The Lightning and 1986 release Master of Puppets previously helped put the genre on the map.
Home to hits like ‘Enter Sandman‘, ‘The Unforgiven’, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, ‘Wherever I May Roam’, and ‘Sad But True’, The Black Album marked a significant transition period for the band, whose sound had become much more polished and refined than their earlier works.
Due to its notable commercial-leaning nature, The Black Album is Metallica’s only album to top the album charts and is one of the best-selling albums worldwide, amassing over 30 million sales. However, reflecting on the album’s creative process for Classic Albums in 2002, Hetfield recalled feeling no such sense of grandeur, explaining: “I just knew it was a bunch of good songs. That’s all it had ever been to me. This is the best music that we can write, and we’ll put ’em out.”
More recently, Hetfield revealed he had started to work on new music after being inspired by one of his longtime muses, Sir Elton John. “The Elton John thing was so fantastic. Had a blast there. Elton, what a beautiful soul,” Hetfield recalled on The Metallica Report, referring to their cover of ‘Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding’.
“[I’ve] been doing some skiing, getting up on the mountain. There’s been tons of snow in Colorado, where we’re at, so a good snow season and writing loads of music,” he added. “[I’ve been] playing guitar pretty much every day. I have to. It’s like breathing.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.