What was the official running time of Metallica's 1991 album, commonly called The Black Album?

The official running time of Metallica's 1991 album, commonly called The Black Album, is 62 minutes 40 seconds.

That length covers the album's 12-song original program, which moves from the dramatic opening of “Enter Sandman” through tracks such as “Sad but True,” “The Unforgiven,” and “Nothing Else Matters.” The sequence balances compact, riff-driven songs with longer, more spacious arrangements.

The album's duration is easy to confuse with the lengths of later editions. Anniversary releases and expanded box sets include demos, live recordings, rough mixes, and cover versions, making their total playing times much longer than the original 1991 album.

The record was issued during the early compact-disc era, when a running time of more than an hour was common for major studio albums. Its polished production and broad dynamic range helped the extended program feel cohesive rather than like a collection of unrelated tracks.