During which months and years was Metallica’s 1991 album, The Black Album, recorded?

Metallica recorded The Black Album from October 1990 through June 1991.

The sessions began on October 6, 1990, and concluded on June 16, 1991. They took place at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles, where the band worked with producer Bob Rock on the album’s more polished and accessible sound.

The recording period followed an intensive writing phase in which James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich developed many songs together. The band’s collaboration with Rock was demanding, and the sessions were documented in the later film A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica.

The album was released only weeks after recording ended, on August 12, 1991. That compressed timeline is one reason the recording dates are useful for distinguishing the album from later Metallica projects and from the extensive touring that followed its release.