What Grammy Award category did Metallica's 1991 album Metallica win?

Metallica’s 1991 album Metallica won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

The award recognized the album at the Grammy ceremony held in 1992. It was an important moment because Metallica had helped establish heavy metal as a major Grammy category, following the band’s earlier win for “One” in 1990.

The album’s victory came during a period when Metallica was expanding beyond its thrash-metal beginnings. Its polished production and wide commercial reach brought heavy music to a much larger audience, while the band’s songwriting and aggressive performances kept the record firmly connected to metal.

The category is easy to confuse with awards connected to individual songs. “Enter Sandman” received a nomination for Best Rock Song, but the album itself won Best Metal Performance. The album was also nominated for other honors, but this Grammy category is the specific award it won.