The ‘Black Album’ tracks James Hetfield doesn’t like
There aren’t too many metal records that match Metallica’s pedigree on The Black Album. After spending years as the darlings of the underground thrash metal scene, Metallica stormed above ground with some of the most ambitious hard rock anyone had ever heard, with songs that would become anthems of a new generation. While most fans were frolicking to ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘Sad But True’, there were a few songs that James Hetfield could have done without.
From day one, James Hetfield never planned for the album to be a fireworks show from start to finish. As opposed to drummer Lars Ulrich’s grand vision for the group, Hetfield just saw it as the next record, telling Classic Albums, “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.”
As time went on, though, Hetfield began to sour on some of the tracks. When speaking with Playboy just one decade later, Hetfield discussed three songs that didn’t cut it for him, explaining, “There are some songs on there I don’t like. ‘Through the Never’ was a little wacky. ‘Don’t Tread on Me’, probably not one of my favourite songs musically. ‘Holier Than Thou’ was one of the sillier songs, more the old style of writing.”
Although there are some fans that defend the album up and down, it’s hard to deny where Hetfield is coming from on some of his picks. Despite having some strong hooks, ‘Through The Never’ tends to be a blatant retread of the songs they were making in their thrash days in the 1980s, especially with the tricky cascading riff from Kirk Hammett.
The same could be said for ‘Holier’, which is a far cry from Hetfield’s initial opinion. As Ulrich remembered it, ‘Holier’ was intended to be the first song and first single off the record before he convinced them that the key to success was with ‘Enter Sandman’.
And while musically, ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ isn’t anything complex, it’s certainly a different look for the metal stalwarts. As opposed to the usual straight-ahead drum groove that coats the album, Ulrich decides to switch to a swing feel as Hetfield expounds about the borderline-toxic American mentality will fill anyone’s heart with adrenaline.
Then again, Hetfield’s heart lay more in the introspective songs, either making demented stories on ‘Sad But True’ or biographical turns in ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’. When talking about his internal struggles, Hetfield knew he had found a way of writing that could appeal to many people, continuing, “It was songs that were more about me, y’know, instead of the other. More questions about life.”
In the context of the album these days, the less-than-stellar tracks seem to break up the scope of the more ambitious sides of the record. Metallica could have walked away with one of their most drastic turns into hard rock if they paired down the track listing, but the thrash tracks are just a reminder that the thrash juggernaut hadn’t run out of gas.
