The following is a Designated Cheerleader piece by @BrianZitzelman for the Best Album of 1991 tournament. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you follow the link to vote in the tournament. Thanks!
The best selling album of the last 30 years. Five huge singles that remain remain radio staples. Depending on who you ask, the 4th, and definitely not last, time the band "sold out."
There's a lot of venues to discuss Metallica's self-titled 5th album aka The Black Album. I'll go the most basic; the thing is filled with excellent songs. There's the "Kashmir of the 90s" classic "Sad But True", thrashers like "Holier than Thou" and "Through the Never" and the unsung, excellent mid-tempo rockers "My Friend of Misery" and "The God that Failed." The latter is a prime example of why Metallica stands above nearly, if not all, their peers; Hetfield can write lyrics. "The God that Failed" digs deep into the singer's turmoil of losing his mother at a young age, with her refusing traditional doctor's treatment for a Christian Scientist methodology.
The Black Album runs deep with quality works, but my personal favorite has long been "The Unforgiven," the standard track 4 ballad. Bob Rock's production lets the snare pop, but linger, Hetfield sings his heart out and we have the solo of Kirk Hammett's life. It runs for roughly a minute and every note can be sung; an efficient piece of beauty thats soars but doesn't get bogged down in being too showy.
