What is it about?
Many hard-core metal fans describe Metallica's self-titled 1991 album, aka the "Black Album", as a "sell-out." But I argue that this album is not peripheral to the metal genre. Instead, it shows two important legacies of heavy metal music that are often forgotten by academics and underground fans: (1) Metal (and especially the Black Album) has had an enormous impact on alternative rock music; and (2) Metal has a large place in alt-right culture in the United States. Scholars and fans who want to understand the status and impact of metal within a broad picture of today's society need to devote more attention to albums like the "Black Album" to understand the genre's impact outside of the underground scene.
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Why is it important?
Academics studying heavy metal have often ignored bands and albums that have crossover commercial success. But those are often the albums which have the biggest impact on the world outside of the metal scene.
Perspectives
I like Metallica's "Black Album" even though many regard it as inauthentic or commercialized metal music. But it has influenced some troubling trends in United States politics, including the alt-right culture which led to the Jan. 6 events at the US Capitol building.
Stephen S. Hudson
Occidental College
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Thirty-one years later: A review of Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ and its legacy on alternative metal and alt-right politics, Metal Music Studies, September 2021, Intellect,
DOI: 10.1386/mms_00061_5.
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