10 Amazing Albums Turning 30 In 2021
3. The Black Album - Metallica
When looking back on the grunge revolution, it's hard to really take into account the amount of careers it destroyed in the process. While acts like Mudhoney and The Smashing Pumpkins may have had more opportunities to reach the mainstream, any potential for a metal act to make it to the top of the food chain felt like a lost cause once the age of flannel started to rear its head. There was one exception though, and Metallica managed to become metal's endorsers on the Black Album.
Shedding their thrash metal skin, Metallica hooked up with Bob Rock to create one of the most perfect sounding metal albums ever made, with songs that were as forceful as they were heartfelt. Though songs like Nothing Else Matters and The Unforgiven may have been considered soft by the rest of their fanbase, something like Sad But True or Of Wolf and Man showed that these guys hadn't forgotten the importance of a heavy riff and a menacing hook.
Despite thousands of metalheads accusing them of selling out, Metallica really had a watershed moment with this record, taking the hooks of pop music and approaching them on metal's terms. If the '80s were the golden age of heavy metal, this was the real victory lap that made it a household name.