What is Metallica's 1991 album Metallica commonly called?

Metallica's 1991 album Metallica is commonly called The Black Album.

The nickname comes from the record's stark, predominantly black artwork. The cover features a subtle image of a coiled snake and the band's logo, making the album visually distinctive despite its restrained design.

The official title is simply Metallica, not The Black Album. The nickname became so widespread among listeners, critics, retailers, and the band itself that it is now the standard way to distinguish the record in conversation from Metallica's overall name.

The album was the band's fifth studio release and represented a shift from the dense thrash-metal approach of its first four albums toward slower, heavier, and more polished songs. Its success made the nickname inseparable from one of the best-known albums in heavy metal history.