Classic Albums: Metallica – Black Album

Year: 2001

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Longfellow

Review

classic album from my youth. some say it’s the first album of theirs that wasn’t good. too produced, nothing else matters is too touchy feely, they sold out, etc. i think it’s a great record, but my favorite remains “…and justice for all.” though the production on that one was lacking, and maybe it’s a bit too sprawling at times, it’s still a great record. the documentary gets into some of the drama around making this record. friction within the band, with the producer, etc. it seems as thought metallica just always has drama (watch “some kind of monster” for more on that). it’s cool to see here the beginnings of the s&m album, their thoughts on the justice album, and their thoughts on how far to push each element of a track into the mix. getting a window into the creative process was more evident in this installment than the other two “classic albums” documentaries that i saw.