On what date was Metallica's album commonly called The Black Album originally released?

Metallica's album commonly called The Black Album was originally released on August 12, 1991.

The album was issued by Elektra Records and carried the official title Metallica. Its release followed an unusually demanding recording and mixing process that began in 1990 and lasted into 1991.

The date is sometimes confused with July 29, 1991, which was the release date of “Enter Sandman,” the album's lead single. Other singles arrived later, including “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad but True.”

Upon release, Metallica became the band's first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. It sold 598,000 copies in its first U.S. week and remained at the top of that chart for four consecutive weeks.