Review Summary: Great effort, inconsistent endeavor
Coming off the heel of the incredibly controversial album
...And Justice For All, Metallica's self-titled effort, simply referred to as
"The Black Album", was a sign of reassurance for many fans of the band's earlier works. Though
...And Justice For All had it's moments, it often felt estranged to listeners, focusing on progressing the band's sound without delivering the same instant gratification. On top of that, while the album did put Metallica into the mainstream eye with the classic hit
"One", the rest of the album didn't capitalize on this idea. In this respect,
The Black Album does a great job of correcting many of the flaws mentioned, while also expanding the band's popularity. Though the result is fairly unimpressive in many regards, the album delivers where it counts.
Short and sweet seems to be the name of the game here. While
The Black Album features numerous tracks, combining to make a longer experience than any other Metallica album up to this point, songs are often shorter and more concise. No experience here dare teeters over the seven minute mark, though few come close. By comparison, even
"The Four Horsemen" off the debut is longer than any song on here. This makes the record all the more awkward however. In all reality, making songs shorter should give the band as well as the audience more breathing room. But often Metallica express their most repetitive works yet with the likes of
"Sad But True",
"Enter Sandman", and just about every other number on
The Black Album. This creates a strange dichotomy for the record, because while it could be heralded as a more precise and quick to the point package with less tedium, the band often fails to use their time frames properly to progress the songs in any meaningful way. I guess you could say that while Metallica used
...And Justice For All's intimidating lengths to explore every route that could possibly be taken in a single song to wavering effect, on
The Black Album they do it to needlessly repeat themselves and add more monotony. It's such a peculiar problem to have, because by the end of each song you still get the same feeling of accomplishment that the group strived for. But it is nowhere near as potent as it could have been, and the lack of any consequential changes to a song's structure makes them dull, even by
Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets's standards. It doesn't help that songs often fail to ever change pace, with almost every track being indicative of the same generic medium tempo tune structure.
Musically speaking, it's hard to figure out if this was a good direction to take. Did it hit the mark or not? Well, the answer is very inconsistent.The record as a whole can be seen as a more melodic, hard rock experience. While this drags the band down with the almost obsessive focus on recycled vocal work over evolving solos or interludes, it works surprisingly well. Perhaps because of the more singular mindset taken when writing hard rock music, or maybe just because of overwhelming creativity, Metallica ended up making some of their best riffs here. Though they often get loss in the process of filler, they are there.
"Enter Sandman" and "Sad But True" are both great for instance, but
"Holier Than Thou" exchanges amazing riffage for some of the worst songwriting in the band's history up to this point in their career.
"Don't Tread on Me", "Through the Never", "Of Wolf and Man", and "The Struggle Within" aren't particularly offensive, but don't grab your eardrums much at all besides the guitar work. If the album was trimmed down a bit, or had more hooks(ironic, i know), than maybe these endeavors wouldn't feel so forgotten. But often they feel lost in transition. Songs like
"Wherever I May Roam","The Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters", and "My Friend of Misery" are probably better testaments to this new wave of difference. Both The Unforgiven and Nothing Else Matters are more melancholic works with power ballad influences, with The Unforgiven having a distinctly western vibe and Nothing Else Matters being a bit more theatrical in it's use of drama. Wherever I May Roam, on the other hand, mixes James Hatefield's more melodic vocal work with heaviness quite well without feeling overly drawn out. My Friend of Misery is melancholic like The Unforgiven or Nothing Else Matters, but changes things up with a more straightforward punch to the heart and a more somber tone.
If we are to talk about lyricism, it's also hard to counter. On the one hand, Metallica has always been a bit overblown when it comes to their writing. Sure, I give them a lot of credit for
...And Justice For All, but more than anything that was a great concept with a fairly well realized lyrical style. Metallica's self titled, on the other hand is a bit harder to analyze. Is it meant to be cheesy and fun at times? Probably. With it's talk of Werewolf transitions, soul crushing nether-realms, and ghostly monsters invading private property. But Metallica simply go to far with
"Holier Than Thou". Ridiculous fun is one thing, gossip is another. And, it's feels rather odd to come from such things to speak of social awkwardness, isolation, depression, and bullying. In general, not bad, but only occasionally great.
Overall, Metallica's fifth album is a mixed bag. While it may never be as bad as the band's later crafts, it shouldn't be held up to higher heights because of it. It can often feel sluggish, with a snail's pace and a lack of any real momentum. But treated as a collection of songs, there are some real gems here. Recommended.
Best tracks :
Enter Sandman
Sad But True
The Unforgiven
Wherever I May Roam
Nothing Else Matters
The God That Failed
My Friend of Misery
