Metallica's 1991 self-titled record, known as The Black Album, is the band's fifth studio album.
It followed Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice for All. Those four earlier releases established Metallica as one of the leading American thrash-metal bands, while the fifth album expanded their audience with a more polished and spacious production style.
The self-titled name distinguishes the album from the band itself, although listeners commonly use “The Black Album” because of its nearly black cover. That nickname is not the formal title printed on the release. The album's official title is simply Metallica.
The fifth-album milestone also matters historically because it became the group's commercial breakthrough. It was their first album to top the Billboard 200, spent four consecutive weeks at number one there, and introduced several of their most widely recognized songs, including “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters.”