Metallica is the self-titled fifth studio album by the American
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band
MetallicaMetallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
. Mainly produced by
Bob RockRobert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
, it was released on August 12, 1991 through
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
to critical acclaim. Metallica produced six hit singles that are considered today among the band's best-known songs: "
Enter Sandman"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
", "
Don't Tread on Me"Don't Tread on Me" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica, from the eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The title is connected with the American Revolutionary War...
", "
The Unforgiven"The Unforgiven" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the second single from their eponymous fifth album Metallica...
", "
Nothing Else Matters"Nothing Else Matters" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the third single from its self-titled fifth studio album, Metallica. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart as well as top-ten positions on many European charts...
", "
Wherever I May Roam"Wherever I May Roam" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the fourth single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica.-Music:...
", and "
Sad but True"Sad but True" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the fifth and final single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica....
". The band promoted the album with a series of tours. In 2003, the album was ranked number 252 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
. The album marked the debut of a sound less complex than the
thrash metalThrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
of previous albums.
The recording of Metallica was troubled, with the band frequently entering conflicts with Rock during production. The album debuted at number one in ten countries, and spent four consecutive weeks at the top spot of the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, making it Metallica's first album to top album charts. Metallica is the group's best-selling album to date, selling more than 22 million copies worldwide. It is the best-selling album of the
SoundScanNielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
era. The album was certified 15x platinum (diamond) by the
RIAAThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on November 13, 2009. On November 10, 2011, Lars Ulrich revealed (on
Zane LoweZane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
's BBC Radio 1 show) that Metallica will be playing the album, in its entirety, at Download 2012.
Production
Metallica's songwriting at that time was done mainly by singer-guitarist
James HetfieldJames Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
and drummer
Lars UlrichLars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
, with Hetfield being the lyricist. The duo frequently joined forces at Ulrich's house in
Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
to compose. Several song ideas and concepts were conceived by other members of the band, lead guitarist
Kirk HammettKirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
and bassist
Jason NewstedJason Curtis Newsted is an American bassist known for his work with Metallica, Voivod and Flotsam and Jetsam. Joining Metallica in 1986 after Cliff Burton's death, Newsted remained a member until 2001, making him the band's longest-serving bassist...
. For instance, Newsted wrote the main riff of "My Friend of Misery", which was originally intended to be the
instrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
that had occurred at every previous Metallica album. The songs were written in two months in the summer of 1990, with the ideas for a few dating back to the Damaged Justice Tour.
The band decided to hire
Bob RockRobert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
for mixing after they were impressed with his work producing
Mötley CrüeMötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
's
Dr. Feelgood*Disc one contains the original albumThe original Korean LP edition does not contain the first two tracks, "T.N.T. " and "Dr...
. Initially, the band was not interested in having Rock producing the album as well, but changed their minds as Ulrich stated, "We felt that we still had our best record in us and Bob Rock could help us make it."
DemoA demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
s of the album were recorded on September 13, 1990, with its lead single "
Enter Sandman"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
" being the first song written – and the last to receive lyrics. In October 1990, Metallica entered One on One Recording Studios in North Hollywood,
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to record the then-forthcoming album. The band also recorded the album at
Little Mountain Sound StudiosLittle Mountain Sound Studios was a music recording facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. In its day, it was the most successful recording studio in Western Canada and was the home for many years to producers Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock...
in Vancouver, Canada, but only for about one week.
Since it was his first stint at producing a Metallica album, Rock had the band make the album in different ways, where they would record songs collaboratively rather than let the band members do so in separate locations. Other suggestions included recording tracks live and more harmonic vocals for Hetfield. Rock was expecting the production to be "easy" so that he could have conquered their creative freedom. Nevertheless, he had trouble with the group, often engaging in arguments with the band members over aspects of working on the album and wanting Hetfield to write better lyrics, as well as finding his experience recording with Metallica disappointing. Since the band was perfectionist, Rock insisted on as many takes as needed to get the sound they wanted. The album was remixed three times, and cost US$1 million. The troubled production led to Ulrich, Hammett and Newsted entering divorces, something Hammett said influenced their playing as they were "trying to take those feeling of guilt and failure and channel them into the music, to get something positive out of it."
Rock altered the band's working schedule and routine so much that they swore never to work with him again. The animosity and tension between Metallica and Rock was documented in the documentaries A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica and Classic Albums: Metallica – Metallica. Both explore and document the intense recording process that resulted in Metallica. Years following the production, a petition signed by 1,500 fans was posted online, and was an attempt to encourage the band to prohibit Rock from producing Metallica albums, claiming he had too much influence on the band's sound and musical direction. Rock indicated that the petition hurt his kids' feelings, saying, "sometimes, even with a great coach, a team keeps losing. You have to get new blood in there." Despite the controversies between the band and Rock, he continued to work with the band through the 2003 album
St. AngerSt. Anger is the eighth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on June 5, 2003 through Elektra Records. It was the band's last album released through Elektra. The album marked the end of the longest timespan between studio albums from Metallica, with nearly six...
.
Music and lyrics
TempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
s were often slowed down in exchange of slower BPMs, while they expand its music and expressive
rangeIn music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing voice, the equivalent is vocal range...
, said Robert Palmer of Rolling Stone. The album was a change in direction from the
thrash metalThrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
style of Metallica's previous four studio albums and saw the band moving towards a more commercial heavy metal sound. Many fans consider the album to be a transition from the often ostentatious compositions of their previous releases, to the slower, divested style of the group's later albums, where "old" and "new" Metallica are distinguished from one another. Instruments unusual for a heavy metal band, such as the cellos in "The Unforgiven" and the orchestra in "Nothing Else Matters" were added at Rock's insistence. Rock also decided to raise the volume of the
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, which had been nearly inaudible in the predecessor
...And Justice for All...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on August 25, 1988 through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Metallica album to feature bassist Jason Newsted following the death of Cliff Burton in 1986...
, with Newstead adding that he tried with his bass to "create a real rhythm section rather than a one-dimensional sound". Ulrich said that in his drumming he tried to avoid the "
progressiveProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
PertianNeil Ellwood Peart , OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer for the rock band Rush.Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario . During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer...
paradiddles which became boring to play live" and employ a basic sound similar to
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
'
Charlie WattsCharles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
and
AC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
's
Phil RuddPhillip Hugh Norman Rudd is an Australian drummer. He is best known for his membership of rock band AC/DC from 1975 until 1983, and again from 1994 to present. After the 1977 departure of bass guitarist Mark Evans, he became the only Australian-born member of the band...
.
The simpler approach was partially because the band felt the songs in ...And Justice for All were too long and complex. Hetfield said that radio airplay was not their intention, but because they felt "we had pretty much done the longer song format to death," and considered a good change doing songs with just two riffs and "only taking two minutes to get the point across". Ulrich added that the band was feeling a musical insecurity — "We felt inadequate as musicians and as songwriters, That made us go too far, around
Master of Puppets-Personnel:Metallica* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on track 1, first solo on tracks 2 and 7* Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals* Lars Ulrich – drums* Kirk Hammett – lead guitarProduction...
and Justice, in the direction of trying to prove ourselves. 'We'll do all this weird-ass shit sideways to prove that we are capable musicians and songwriters.'" - and Hetfield added he wanted to avoid getting stale: "Sitting there and worrying about whether people are going to like the album, therefore we have to write a certain kind of song — you just end up writing for someone else. Everyone's different. If everyone was the same, it would be boring as shit."
The lyrics of Metallica (written by
James HetfieldJames Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
) were more personal and introspective in nature than previous Metallica albums, often compared by Rock to
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
,
Bob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
and
John LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
. "
Enter Sandman"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
" is about "nightmares and all that come with them", according to Chris True of Allmusic. "
The God That FailedThe God That Failed is a 1949 book which collects together six essays with the testimonies of a number of famous ex-communists, who were writers and journalists. The common theme of the essays is the authors' disillusionment with and abandonment of communism...
" dealt with Hetfield's mother's death from cancer and her
Christian ScienceChristian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
beliefs which kept her from seeking medical treatment. "
Nothing Else Matters"Nothing Else Matters" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the third single from its self-titled fifth studio album, Metallica. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart as well as top-ten positions on many European charts...
", was a love song Hetfield wrote about missing his girlfriend while on tour. Hetfield said the themes were more introspective because he wanted "lyrics that the band could stand behind - but we are four completely different individuals. So the only way to go was in."
Packaging
Lars Ulrich said the band had much discussion on the album title, considering the titles "Five" or naming after one of the songs, but eventually opted for a self-titled work because they "wanted to keep it simple." The album cover features the band's logo, angled against the upper left corner, and a coiled snake (derived from the
Gadsden flagThe Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. Positioned below the snake is the legend "DONT TREAD ON ME." The flag was designed by and is named after American general and statesman Christopher Gadsden. It was also used by the...
) on the bottom right corner, both in a dark shade of gray in order to be made out against the black background, giving Metallica the nickname "The Black Album" (these aspects are also seen in the back cover of the album). The motto of the Gadsden flag, "
Don't Tread on Me"Don't Tread on Me" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica, from the eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The title is connected with the American Revolutionary War...
", is also the title of a song on the album. A folded, page-less booklet contains the faces of all Metallica band members exposed at a black background, as well as the lyrics and liner notes printed againist a grey background. The cover is reminiscent of
Spinal TapSpinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
's album
Smell the GloveSmell the Glove is the name of a fictional album by the mock heavy-metal band Spinal Tap in the movie This Is Spinal Tap. It was released by Polymer Records .-Cover sleeve art:...
, something the band jokingly acknowledged themselves in their
A Year and a Half in the Life of MetallicaA Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica is a two-part documentary about the process of making the Metallica album , and the following tour. It was produced by Juliana Roberts and directed by Adam Dubin....
documentary. Members of Spinal Tap appeared on the film and asked them about it.
Singles
Metallica spawned six singles. "Enter Sandman" was chosen and released as the
lead singleA lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
on July 29, 1991, reached number 16 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart and was certified "Platinum" by the
Recording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). The follow-up single, "
Don't Tread on Me"Don't Tread on Me" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica, from the eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The title is connected with the American Revolutionary War...
", was released promotionally, and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks singles chart. "
The Unforgiven"The Unforgiven" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the second single from their eponymous fifth album Metallica...
" was a Top 40 hit, and peaked at the Top 10 in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In 1992, "Nothing Else Matters" was released to a bigger success, reaching number six in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The fifth single off the album also released in 1992, "
Wherever I May Roam"Wherever I May Roam" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the fourth single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica.-Music:...
", peaked at number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks but was a commercial mess at the Hot 100 chart, failing to reach the Top 80. In 1993, "
Sad but True"Sad but True" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the fifth and final single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica....
", however, was not able to copycat the success of the album's previous singles, and just charted for one week near the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 at 98. Almost all singles were accompanied by
music videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, with the
Wayne IshamWayne Isham is an American music video director who has directed music videos of many popular artists; such as Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Roxette, Mötley Crüe, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Whitesnake, David Cook, Simple Plan, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys,...
-directed "Enter Sandman" promotional film winning a
MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock VideoThe MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video was first given out in , and it was one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. That year, though, the award was called the Best Heavy Metal Video. From 1990 to 1995, the award was called the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, and...
at the
1992 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 1992 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 9, 1992, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1991, to June 15, 1992. The show was hosted by Dana Carvey at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles....
.
Tours
Metallica went on the
Monsters of RockMonsters of Rock was an annual music festival held in England, then moved in other locations like The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile.The Last show was in 2008....
festival tour a fourth time. The last concert of the tour, held on September 28, 1991 at Tushino Airfield in
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, was described as "the first free outdoor Western rock concert in
SovietThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
history" and had a crowd estimated between 150,000 and 500,000 people, with some unofficial estimates as high as 1,600,000.
The first tour directly intended to support the Metallica album, the
Wherever We May Roam TourWherever We May Roam was the fifth concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It began in autumn of 1991...
, included a performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, with the band performing a short
set listA set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
and Hetfield performing with
QueenQueen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
and
Tony IommiAnthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...
. One of the first gigs of the tour had the floor of the stage collapsed, however. The stage was repaired afterwards. The January 13 and 14, 1992 shows in
San DiegoSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
were later released in the box set
Live Shit: Binge & Purge-San Diego:Recorded at the San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California on January 13 and 14, 1992.-VHS one/DVD one:#"20 Min. MetalliMovie"#"The Ecstasy of Gold"#"Enter Sandman"#"Creeping Death"#"Harvester of Sorrow"#"Welcome Home...
, while the tour and the album were later documented in
A Year and a Half in the Life of MetallicaA Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica is a two-part documentary about the process of making the Metallica album , and the following tour. It was produced by Juliana Roberts and directed by Adam Dubin....
.
Metallica's Wherever We May Roam Tour also overlapped with
Guns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
'
Use Your Illusion TourThe Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Guns N' Roses which ran from January 20, 1991 to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 194 shows in 27 countries...
. On August 8, 1992, during a
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
show in the co-headlining
Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium TourThe Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour was a famed joint, co-headlining concert tour by the American rock bands Guns N' Roses and Metallica during 1992...
, Hetfield suffered second and third degree burns to his arms, face, hands, and legs. The tour included the
pyrotechnicsPyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
being installed to the stage. As a result, Hetfield accidentally walked into a enormous 12 feet (3.7 m) flame from shot from a pyrotechnic during a live performance of the introduction of "
Fade to Black"Fade to Black" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first promotional single from its second studio album, Ride the Lightning...
". The gig was cut short shortly after this accident, so that Guns N' Roses began their concert, to malicious reactions from fans. Newsted recalls that Hetfield's skin was "bubbling like on
The Toxic AvengerThe Toxic Avenger is a 1984 comedy horror film released by Troma Entertainment, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts. Virtually ignored upon its first release, The Toxic Avenger caught on with filmgoers after a long and successful midnight movie engagement at the famed...
". Although Hetfield was able to sing, he was unable to play guitar for the remainder of the tour. Guitar technician
John MarshallJohn Marshall is a former guitarist for the thrash metal band Metal Church . Before joining the band in 1989, he was the guitar tech for Metallica's lead guitarist Kirk Hammett...
(who had previously filled in on rhythm guitar and was then playing in
Metal ChurchMetal Church was an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in Seattle, Washington as Shrapnel in 1980. Their first album was released in 1984, and the band's most recent work, This Present Wasteland, was released in 2008....
) filled in on guitar for the recovering Hetfield.
The shows in
Mexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
across February and March 1993 during the
Nowhere Else to RoamThe Nowhere Else To Roam was the concert tour by American band Metallica, which took place in 1993 in support of their fifth studio album Metallica . This tour was the third part of the huge tour the started, after the Wherever We May Roam Tour and Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour...
tour were recorded, filmed and later also released as part of the band's first box set, which was released in November 1993 and titled Live Shit: Binge & Purge. The collection contained three live CDs, three home videos, and a book filled with riders and letters. Pressings of the box set since November 2002 includes two DVDs, the first one being filmed at San Diego on the Wherever We May Roam Tour, and the latter at Seattle on the Damaged Justice Tour. Binge & Purge was packaged as a cardboard box resembling that of a typical tour equipment transport box. The box set also featured a recreated copy of an access pass to the "Snakepit" part of the tour stage, as well as a cardboard drawing/airbrush stencil for the "Scary Guy" logo. The Mexico City shows were also the first time the band met future member
Robert TrujilloRobert Trujillo is an American bassist who currently plays bass in Metallica. He has also played in Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, and with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.-Career:...
.
The final tour supporting the album, 1994's
Shit Hits the ShedsThe Shit Hits The Sheds was a concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica, which took place in 1994. The band played in 51 shows in North America, including a concert in Woodstock '94, which had an attendance of over 350,000 people. This is tour is also known for the debut of the song...
, included a performance at
Woodstock '94Woodstock '94, often called the "commercial Woodstock" or "Mudstock", was a music festival organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969...
that followed
Nine Inch NailsNine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
and came before
AerosmithAerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
on August 13 in front of a crowd of 350,000.
Some songs, such as "Enter Sandman", "Nothing Else Matters" and "Sad but True" would become permanent staples of the band's concert setlists during these and subsequent tours. Other songs though, such as "Holier Than Thou", "The God That Failed" and "Through the Never", by 1995, were no longer a part of any performances and would not be played again until more recent years when Metallica, with
Robert TrujilloRobert Trujillo is an American bassist who currently plays bass in Metallica. He has also played in Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Black Label Society, and with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.-Career:...
on bass, began performing a more extensive back catalog of songs, after he joined the band upon completion of the St. Anger album.
After touring duties for the album were finished, Metallica filed a
lawsuitA lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, which attempted to force the record label to terminate their contract, while the band would gain ownership of their master recordings. The band based its claim on a section of the
California Labor CodeThe California Labor Code, more formally known as "the Labor Code" is a collection of civil law statutes for the State of California. The code is made up of statutes which govern the general obligations and rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the State of California.-Division 1...
that allows employees to be released from a personal services contract after seven years. Metallica sold 40 million copies worldwide upon the filing of the suit. They were signed to the label for over a decade, but were still operating under the terms of their original 1984 contract, which provided a relatively low 14% royalty rate. The band also claimed that they were taking the action, since they were ambivalent about Robert Morgado's refusal to give them another record deal, along with Bob Krasnow (who retired from his job at the label shortly afterwards.) Elektra responded by counter-suing the group, but in December 1994, then-
Warner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
United States chairman
Doug MorrisDoug Morris is an American music executive. He is the current Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011.-Life and career:...
had offered the group a lucrative new deal in exchange for dropping the suit (which was reported to be even more generous than the earlier Krasnow deal). In January 1995, both parties settled out of court with a non-disclosure agreement.
Critical response
Metallica received critical acclaim upon its release. One of the first reviews of the album came from
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, and was published in its August 16, 1991 issue. Giving it a B+ rating, the magazine declared it "[Bob] Rock's preeminent
speed-metalSpeed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
cyclone", while thinking that "Metallica may have invented a new genre:
progressiveProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
thrashThrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
."
Melody MakerMelody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
delivered similar reactions to the album, noting the differences between Metallica and ...And Justice for All (1988): "In a committed move away from their thrash roots, Metallica was slower, less complicated, and probably twice as heavy as anything they'd done before." Allmusic was also positive, and found it to be impressive.
After the album was released, critics continued to praise the album. Melody Maker put Metallica to number 16 in a December 1991 list of the top 30 albums of 1991. On January 21, 1997, Rolling Stone delivered a perfect 5-star review of the album, and included it in a list of "Essential Recordings of the 90's". In 2003, the album was ranked number 252 on their list of
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
(another Metallica album, 1986's
Master of Puppets-Personnel:Metallica* James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on track 1, first solo on tracks 2 and 7* Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals* Lars Ulrich – drums* Kirk Hammett – lead guitarProduction...
, had a higher ranking).
SpinSpin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine ranked Metallica number 52 in a 1999 list of the "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s" and stated, "this record's diamond-tipped tuneage stripped the band's melancholy guitar excess down to melodic, radio-ready bullets and ballads." It was included in
Q magazineQ is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
's August 2000 list of the "Best Metal Albums of All Time", and made comments that the album "transformed them from cult metal heroes into global superstars....bringing a little refinement to their undoubted power." In 1992, Metallica won the
Grammy Award for Best Metal PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre...
.
Commercial performance
Metallica was the band's first album to debut at number one in the
United StatesThe Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. It had the ninth most weeks spent on the Billboard 200, with a total of 282, and last appeared on the charts in the issue dated January 18, 1997, after soaring up to 106 on the week before, then dropped out afterwards.
Metallica has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, in terms of physical formats. In 2009, it surpassed
Shania TwainShania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
's
Come on OverCome On Over is the third studio album recorded by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997. It became the world's best-selling country music album and the best-selling studio album ever released by a female artist in any genre...
(1997) as the best-selling album of the
SoundScanNielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
era. The songs "Enter Sandman", "Nothing Else Matters", "Sad but True", "Wherever I May Roam" and "The Unforgiven" were among the 49 songs included on the 2009 rhythm video game
Guitar Hero: MetallicaGuitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
.
United States
Metallica sold over 650,000 copies upon its opening week of release domestically, overshadowing all albums released in that week. It was certified "Platinum" by the RIAA after a couple weeks. Metallica received a diamond certificate in 1997. The album was responsible for bringing Metallica to the attention of the mainstream and has been certified 15 times platinum in the United States by the
Recording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), which makes it the 25th best-selling album in the country.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Metallica debuted at number one in the
United KingdomThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. The only chart where it failed to reach the Top 20 is the
Irish Albums ChartThe Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically...
, having peaked at number 27. After its release, the album was certified Platinum in the UK by the
British Phonographic IndustryThe British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
(BPI).
International
Metallica topped the charts in
AustraliaThe ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
,
CanadaThe Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It also reached numbers three, five, and four at
Oricon, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
respectively. In the 21st century, the
Australian Recording Industry AssociationThe Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) certified the album 11 times platinum. It was given a Diamond certificate from the
Canadian Recording Industry AssociationMusic Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
(CRIA). The album was certified five times platinum in
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Track listing
Personnel
Metallica
- James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
– lead vocalsThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, acoustic guitar on tracks 4, 5 and 8; sitar on 5; lead guitar on 8; first solo on 11
- Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
– drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
– lead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Jason Newsted
Jason Curtis Newsted is an American bassist known for his work with Metallica, Voivod and Flotsam and Jetsam. Joining Metallica in 1986 after Cliff Burton's death, Newsted remained a member until 2001, making him the band's longest-serving bassist...
– bassThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocalsA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Additional
- Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
– orchestral arrangementOrchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
on track 8
Production
- Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
; James Hetfield; Lars Ulrich – producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s
- Randy Staub
Randy Staub is a Canadian recording engineer. He has been nominated for the Juno Awards' "Recording Engineer of the Year" award nine times. He won in 2002 for the songs "How You Remind Me" and "Too Bad" by Nickelback. Staub also mixed Alice in Chains' fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to...
; Mike Tacci – engineerAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
s
- George Marino – mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Michael Wagener
Michael Wagener is a music producer, mixer, and engineer from Hamburg, Germany, best known for his work with many top hard rock and heavy metal bands in the late 80's. Wagener's works have sold over ninetyfour million albums worldwide. Wagener was the original guitarist for the German band Accept...
; Mark Wilzcak – mixingIn audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Q-Prime – management
- Metallica; Peter Mensch – "cover concept"
- Don Brautigam – illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
- Ross Halfin
Ross Halfin is a British rock and roll photographer. He began his career working for Sounds magazine in the 1970s, shooting various artists on the punk scene including The Clash, The Jam, The Sex Pistols, 999 and The Adverts...
; Rick Likong; Rob Ellis – photographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
| 1991 |
Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
1 |
| UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
|
| ARIA The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
Albums Chart |
Hit ParadeSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
|
Dutch ChartsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
|
Swedish ChartsSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
|
Norwegian ChartsNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
|
| Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
|
MusiclineGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
|
| New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Albums Charts |
| Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Albums Chart |
3 |
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Charts |
5 |
Finnish ChartsFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
|
4 |
Irish ChartsIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
|
27 |
End of decade charts
| Chart (1990–1999) |
Position |
| U.S. Billboard 200 |
8 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart | Position |
| 1991 |
"Enter Sandman" |
Billboard Hot 100 |
16 |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks |
10 |
| Modern Rock Tracks |
28 |
| UK Top 40 |
5 |
| "Don't Tread on Me" |
Mainstream Rock Tracks |
21 |
| "The Unforgiven" |
UK Top 40 |
15 |
| 1992 |
Billboard Hot 100 |
35 |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks |
10 |
| "Nothing Else Matters" |
Billboard Hot 100 |
34 |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks |
11 |
| UK Top 40 |
6 |
| "Wherever I May Roam" |
Billboard Hot 100 |
82 |
| UK Top 40 |
25 |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks |
25 |
| "Sad but True" |
Billboard Hot 100 |
98 |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks |
15 |
| 1993 |
UK Top 40 |
20 |
Certification
See also