Heavy metal is the genre most closely associated with Metallica’s 1991 album, The Black Album.
The record is widely classified as heavy metal, although it marked a change from the faster thrash-metal style associated with Metallica’s first four studio albums. Its songs use heavy guitar tones and forceful drumming while often favoring slower tempos and more streamlined structures.
That stylistic shift helped the album reach audiences outside the band’s established thrash-metal fan base. Tracks such as “Enter Sandman” and “Sad but True” retain the weight of metal while using direct, memorable arrangements.
The album is therefore sometimes described with multiple labels, including hard rock or commercial heavy metal. Heavy metal remains the clearest broad genre classification, while the more specific description explains how the record differed from its predecessors.