15 Greatest Hard Rock Albums You Need To Hear Before You Die

6. The Black Album - Metallica

At the start of the 90's, Metallica was facing a fork in their career path. After dominating their thrash metal competition throughout the 80's, the band could either double down on their heavy stuff, or create something that no one had ever heard from them before. In one of their riskiest choices, the band hooked up with Bob Rock and became one of the biggest hard rock bands of the modern age.

Make no mistake, there's still some great metal material to be found on The Black Album, from the headbanging sprint of "Holier Than Thou" to the thrashing speed of "Through The Never." At the same time, the album is so much more than its ferocious moments. The best parts of the record are when the band shows their chops at more melodic material like the more Eastern-sounding "Wherever I May Roam" or the most meaty power ballad ever written on "Nothing Else Matters."

On some tracks, the band manage to perfectly marry their styles into one amazing piece, with "Sad But True" showcasing a slow hard rock groove while still being the heaviest thing that the band had ever laid down. You can call the band sellouts all you want for this record, but this is exactly the switchup Metallica needed to go from a great band to a legendary one.

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