A 15-minute video of former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted unboxing the upcoming limited-edition deluxe box set version of the band’s classic 1991 self-titled LP, better known as the “Black Album,” can be seen below.
“Metallica” marked Newsted‘s second studio album with METALLICA after he joined the group in 1986 as the replacement for the late Cliff Burton.
In a 2016 inteview with Billboard, Newsted reflected on the “Metallica” writing and recording process, saying: “Everybody had built themselves up through hard knocks and scars and so forth to be ready for what was coming, to create this thing that was bigger than all of us and greater than any of us. That includes all the people that worked with us, like the label and QPrime [management] and [producer Bob Rock]. [Rock] came in and he whipped us into shape about tonality of things and power of things and actual sound quality. We were ready for him, he was ready for us, the world was ready for the sound. We didn’t sit down and say, ‘It’s gonna be like this,’ no, but I think we pulled in somebody who could control us for a second, harness us for a second, and everybody put their nose to the stone and worked hard, like METALLICA always did, and the floodgates just opened and we got the fruits from it. I’m really proud of what we did.”
Newsted added that his favorite song on “Metallica” is “Sad But True” — “Just because of the weight, the six-string bass and that big, big bottom,” he said — but he was also very fond of “My Friend Misery”, on which he had a songwriting credit. “It was the bass, by itself, introducing that song, which was not the easiest thing to do at that time within that band,” he explained. “That was a moment where those guys kind of bowed and said, ‘Here you go, man, put your song on there,’ being the guy who came up with that; as opposed to being part of the team, I got to be myself for a minute there, which was a real accomplishment.”
The Black Album is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of all time. Its 1991 release not only gave METALLICA its first No. 1 album in no fewer than 10 countries, including a four-week run at No. 1 in the U.S., its unrelenting series of singles — “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Wherever I May Roam” and “Sad But True” — fueled the band’s rise to stadium headlining, radio and MTV dominating household name status. The album’s reception from the press was similarly charged, building over the years from the top 10 of the 1991 Village Voice Pazz & Jop national critics poll to becoming a constant presence in the likes of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. The album’s impact and relevance continue to grow — as proven by one indisputable fact: The Black Album remains unchallenged as the best-selling album in the history of Nielsen SoundScan, outselling every release in every genre over the past 30 years.
To commemorate its 30th anniversary, the Grammy-winning, 16-times-platinum-certified Black Album is receiving its definitive re-release on September 10 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. Remastered for ultimate sound quality, The Black Album remaster will be available in multiple configurations including 180-gram double vinyl LP, standard CD and 3 CD expanded edition, digital, and limited-edition deluxe box set (containing the album remastered on 180-gram 2LP, a picture disc, three live LPs, 14 CDs (containing rough mixes, demos, interviews, live shows), 6 DVDs (containing outtakes, behind the scenes, official videos, live shows), a 120-page hardcover book, four tour laminates, three lithos, three guitar picks, a METALLICA lanyard, a folder with lyric sheets, and a download card).
