Metallica is the band’s fifth studio album.
The album followed ...And Justice for All, released in 1988, and came after Kill ’Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. Its official title is simply Metallica, but its nearly black artwork made The Black Album the standard nickname.
As the fifth record, it marked an important point in the band’s development. Earlier albums had established Metallica as a leading thrash-metal group, while the 1991 record used more spacious production, mid-tempo grooves, and concise arrangements. Those changes broadened the band’s audience dramatically.
The album’s position is sometimes confused because it was Metallica’s first record to top the Billboard 200, even though it was not their first release. It also began a sequence of commercially successful albums that continued with Load in 1996 and Reload in 1997.