What original working title was considered for Metallica's The Black Album?
Answer
Married to Metal
“Married to Metal” was an original working title considered for Metallica's The Black Album.
The phrase came from a period when Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and Jason Newsted were going through divorces. It reflected the personal circumstances surrounding the recording sessions, although Lars Ulrich later described the title as a running joke rather than a serious final choice.
Other possibilities were discussed, including “Five” and using the title of one of the songs. The band ultimately selected the eponymous title Metallica because they wanted to keep the presentation simple. The black packaging then supplied the nickname that fans adopted: The Black Album.
The working title is easy to confuse with the official name. “Married to Metal” was never the final album title, and The Black Album is not its formal title either. The official title is Metallica. The nickname refers to the cover's nearly black design, with the band's logo and a coiled snake deliberately made difficult to see on the original release.