Metallica was the first album in Metallica's career to debut at number one on the Billboard 200.
The self-titled 1991 record, commonly called The Black Album, sold 598,000 copies in its first U.S. week and entered the chart at the top. It then spent four consecutive weeks at number one, giving the band its first chart-topping album in the United States.
The achievement marked a sharp change from the band's earlier career, when its records had built a large following without reaching the top of the main U.S. album chart. The album's commercial breakthrough helped turn Metallica from a major metal act into a global rock phenomenon.