Metallica is the band's fifth studio album, commonly known as The Black Album.
Before it came Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice for All. The self-titled record therefore followed four full-length studio albums and became the group's first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
The album's title is simply Metallica, rather than The Black Album. The nickname distinguishes it from the band while referring to the cover's almost entirely black presentation and faint gray snake image.
Its position in the discography is sometimes confused because Metallica had also released the 1987 covers EP The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited. That EP was not a studio album, so it does not alter the album's fifth-place position.