Metallica's 1991 self-titled album is the band's fifth studio album.
It followed Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All. The sequence is sometimes obscured because the fifth record has no descriptive title and is usually identified by its nickname, The Black Album.
The album continued the band's established lineup of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Jason Newsted. It was also the first Metallica studio album produced by Bob Rock, whose approach encouraged the musicians to record more collaboratively and pursue a broader, more polished sound.
Although the record represented a stylistic change, it remained unmistakably Metallica through its heavy guitar riffs, forceful rhythm section and Hetfield's vocals. Its status as the fifth studio album places it at the midpoint of the band's early classic-album run, between the highly technical ...And Justice for All and the later Load era. That numbering is separate from the album's release year and from its informal Black Album name.