I listened to the Black album in-full today for the first time in probably 20 years. I wanted to go to different Metallica, since I have been on an AJFA binge with the box set and plowing through it all.
It's weird. I mean, it is a good record, for sure. And EVERY BAND made a record like this during that 1989-1992 time period. Slicker production, more concise songs, etc. But the re-listen to the whole album just solidified the opinion that thrash bands have much less leeway in this sort of thing. It just doesn't sound like the same band - AT ALL. I mean the voice is there, sure. But the guitar tones are different, the pace is so much slower, and while it is still dark, its not at all...really angry.
I get it. Metallica was in a different space, having been a successful arena act. They were more comfortable financially for the first time in their lives. But man, while the songs are good songs, its like Metallica on pain meds. A style very much by their own design -- slower, etc. But it was such a huge disparity from the crazy thrash meets progressive from Justice, and the thrash/punk metal vibe ride from KEA through Master of Puppets.
Megadeth did it too, but Countdown wasn't AS drastic a departure from Rust in Peace. Testament did it, Death Angel did it, Anthrax did it (although they got darker in a better way, not an unrecognizable way with Persistence and then later with Bush and Sound of White Noise), etc.
But Metallica -- its like they just absolutely shifted from the angriest and most aggressive band on the planet to a hard rock band.
Kudos to them, it propelled them into legendary status (they were global stars with Justice, but the Black album put them into legendary range), but it certainly wasn't the band I was personally a fan of.
Still love a bunch of songs from the Black album, the Loads, all the way up until Hardwired. But this re-listen to the Black album, in-full, reminded me of just how much more incredible they were...before they dialed it back a notch.
p.s. down the rabbit hole I go. Listening to Load now, in-full, for the first time probably since 2003 or 2004.