Metallica’s self-titled fifth studio album, commonly referred to as “The Black Album,” was released on August 12, 1991. “The Black Album” is a departure from the band’s previous thrash metal releases in favor of a slowed down, more melodic approach to making heavy metal. Considered to be Metallica’s career masterpiece, “The Black Album” has been the band’s best-selling album to date. Selling over sixteen million copies, “The Black Album” has been certified 16x platinum and is now the second longest-charting title to consistently remain on the Billboard 200 chart thirteen years after its release. This album propelled Metallica into the cultural zeitgeist with mainstream success that continued throughout the remainder of the 90’s and early 2000’s, spanning multiple sold-out world tours, and launching a prolific catalogue of music videos. As the album nears its 30th anniversary, relive some of the key tracks that changed the direction of rock radio and brought a newfound appreciation to the heavy metal genre including: “Sad but True,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “The Unforgiven,” and the mega hit “Enter Sandman” by streaming the album now on Spotify.