What is Metallica's 1991 fifth studio album commonly called because of its cover design?

Metallica’s 1991 fifth studio album is commonly called The Black Album because of its nearly black cover design. Its official title is simply Metallica, matching the band’s name.

The cover is not completely featureless: it includes the band’s black logo and a subtle gray outline of a coiled snake. The restrained artwork helped inspire the nickname, which became more widely used than the formal self-titled name in everyday conversation.

The album was a major stylistic and commercial shift for Metallica. Compared with the band’s earlier records, the songs used more direct structures, slower grooves, and a polished production style. The change helped tracks such as “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters” reach a much wider audience.

The nickname should not be confused with Blackened Recordings, the label later associated with Metallica’s catalog. “The Black Album” refers specifically to the 1991 studio album, not to a separate official album title.