"Metallica", commonly known as "The Black Album", is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 12, 1991, by Elektra Records. Recording took place at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month period, during which the band frequently clashed with producer Bob Rock. The album represented a stylistic shift for Metallica, moving away from the thrash metal sound of their first four albums towards a slower, heavier, and more polished approach. To promote the album, Metallica embarked on an extensive touring schedule and released five singles: "Enter Sandman", "The Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters", "Wherever I May Roam", and "Sad but True". These songs became some of the band's best-known tracks. The song "Don't Tread on Me" was also distributed to rock radio shortly after the album’s release but was not issued as a commercial single. "Metallica" received widespread critical acclaim and became the band’s best-selling album. It debuted at number one in ten countries and spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200, marking the first time Metallica topped the chart. With more than 30 million copies sold worldwide, it is among the best-selling albums globally and one of the highest-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began. In 2025, it was certified twice Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales exceeding twenty million copies in the Un