Which Los Angeles studio hosted the main recording sessions for Metallica’s 1991 album?

One on One Recording Studios hosted the main recording sessions for Metallica’s 1991 album.

The studio was located in Los Angeles, where Metallica began recording in October 1990. The album’s sessions continued for roughly eight months, ending in June 1991. The long schedule reflected the band’s perfectionism, the producer’s insistence on repeated takes and the extensive editing and overdubbing required for the final tracks.

Metallica also worked briefly at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, and completed additional overdubs and mixing at A&M Studios in Hollywood. Those additional locations can cause confusion when people identify the album’s recording site, but One on One was the principal studio listed for the record.

Producer Bob Rock wanted the musicians to capture a more unified, live-feeling performance. The band recorded collaboratively, then refined the material through further guitar, bass and vocal overdubs. The resulting production helped give the album its dense, controlled and radio-ready sound.

One on One therefore represents the album’s main recording home, rather than every studio used during its production.