5 Times Metallica Were The Best Band In The World (& 5 Times They Were The Worst)

Everyone has their favourite Metallica album - and most are especially fond of the first four, which put a firm stamp of ingenuity and genre frills and thrills on the thrash metal label. But it is their self-titled/untitled Black Album that changed music.

In 1991, Metallica shocked everyone by branching out from their thrash roots and crafting a nuanced heavy metal record with unforgettable headbangers, ballads and future fan favourites all crammed into a tight and crisp 62 minutes. It took everything the world thought they knew about the band, shook it up and turned it on its head.

Their first record to court true mainstream success, The Black Album's debut at number one in ten countries and four consecutive weeks at the head of the Billboard 200 pissed off some of their heavier fanbase (who pined for the comfortable niche of dark corners and garage recording sessions seen in days gone by) - not to mention the orchestral arrangement. An orchestral arrangement on a heavy metal record?! The scandal of it all.

But, naysayers be damned, The Black Album marked Metallica as a band unafraid to try new things, expand on their sound and not get pigeonholed into the thrash metal label - and made them a household name at the same time. This is the album that changed the scene and influenced generations to come, both in and outside of metal and rock.