The heavy metal album Geezer Butler wishes he wrote: “One of the few metal albums I could listen to”
It’s no secret that Black Sabbath had a defining impact on thrash pioneers Metallica. Without the influence of the British band, the Californian quartet would likely be without one of their defining features, the chugging low end that offsets the more treble-heavy moments they are known for.
It reflects Metallica’s connection to Black Sabbath that frontman James Hetfield has categorically said that they are his favourite band of all time. “Favourite all-time band is hard because there is so many,” he said in answer to the age-old question. “Led Zeppelin is in there, Motörhead, boy… they all offer a little bit different. But if I was stuck for one… Black Sabbath”.
The love isn’t all one-sided, either. At various points, the members of Black Sabbath have shared their respect for their younger peers. In co-founder and bassist Geezer Butler’s 2023 memoir Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath―And Beyond, the titan of the four-string revealed that he wasn’t necessarily a fan of Metallica’s earlier material, such as 1986’s Master of Puppets. He also said that modern metal bands like them had “nothing to do with” the sound that Sabbath “apparently” invented.
“The modern metal bands had nothing to do with the sound Sabbath had apparently invented,” he wrote in Into the Void. “Metallica’s Master of Puppets was a massive album in 1986, but I was more likely to be listening to soul or jazz.” However, in that same paragraph, he noted the brilliance of Metallica’s 1991 self-titled effort, most commonly known as The Black Album.
Later, when speaking on Loudwire Nights not long after the book’s release in June, the host, Chuck Armstrong, wanted to know more about Butler’s thoughts on Metallica. Here, Butler raved about the brilliance of The Black Album to the extent that, at the time, he wished he’d written it, as the riffs were “great”.
“I thought the riffs were great, great riffs,” Butler said. “I always thought, ‘God, I wish I had written that.’ It’s just really good riffs and something I could relate to. I couldn’t really relate to their earlier stuff. I mean, a lot of people think the earlier stuff is the true Metallica, but it didn’t really appeal much to me. But when the Black Album came out, it felt more appealing to my taste.”
Butler added that The Black Album was “one of the few metal albums I could listen to from beginning to end. I really enjoyed listening to it. There are very few albums of any genre that I can listen to from track one to the end. It’s one of those albums that I could listen to the whole thing and I’m really impressed with it.”
What’s the secret of The Black Album?
When the tour for And Justice For All wrapped up, the band realised they needed some guidance on the next record. Complex metal songs had gotten them so far, but now they wanted to strip it all back and take it back to the heart of metal. Enter: Bob Rock.
While Rock was originally supposed to be the mixer for the album, he was convinced that the band hadn’t committed their live sound to tape. Since Rock was responsible for classics from Bon Jovi, The Black Album gave us the best of both worlds, spanning rock classics like ‘Enter Sandman’, thrash mayhem on ‘Through the Never’, and mellow balladry on ‘Nothing Else Matters’.
The band were lenient to Rock’s suggestions at first, but when they let their guard down, the world was waiting at their feet.
