“Married to Metal” was the working title considered for Metallica’s self-titled album.
The title came from the divorces of Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and Jason Newsted during the album’s troubled production. According to the band’s account, the phrase was later treated as a running joke rather than adopted as the final name.
Other possibilities were discussed, including “Five” and the title of one of the songs. The group ultimately chose the simple eponymous title Metallica. Fans later popularized “The Black Album” because of the cover’s nearly black design and barely visible embossed emblems.
“Married to Metal” is easy to confuse with titles from other stages of Metallica’s history, especially “Metal Up Your Ass,” which was an early proposed title for the debut album Kill ’Em All. The two phrases belong to different albums and different periods of the band’s career.