Metallica Make Big Announcement—And They’re ‘As Surprised As Anyone’
Metal band Metallica has made a major announcement and hit a new milestone, and they’re surprised about it. – Author: Scarlett Hunter, Metallica photo via Tim Saccenti
Metallica is one of the biggest metal bands in the world, so it should come as no surprise when they hit new benchmarks and milestones. But, the guys of Metallica are also just human, so their latest announcement, they say, is a pretty big surprise.
Metallica released “The Black Album” back in 1991, and it’s seen as a seminal piece of work for the group. Many Metallica fans rejected the release, because it featured a more mainstream sound and attracted a new, larger audience, but “The Black Album” has held up over time, and it really did introduce metal to the masses.
It’s quite possible that metal music would have never achieved the massive, worldwide audience that it has without “The Black Album.” It kind of did for metal what Nirvana and “Nevermind” did for grunge.
New Milestones for Metallica
Now, Metallica say that they are “as surprised as anyone to learn that two of their landmark albums have attained new RIAA certifications.” Those albums are Metallica’s self-titled fifth album, “The Black Album,” which has been certified 20 times platinum for sales of more than 20 million copies, as well as the group’s third full length, “Master of Puppets,” which has been certified eight times platinum having sales of more than eight million.
Metallica announced the news in a press release, noting that “The Black Album,” back when it was released, “gave Metallica its first No. 1 album in no fewer than 10 countries, including a four-week run at No. 1 in the U.S.” Also, “its unrelenting series of singles, ‘Enter Sandman,’ ‘The Unforgiven,’ ‘Nothing Else Matters,’ ‘Wherever I May Roam’ and ‘Sad But True,’ fueled the band’s rise to stadium headlining, radio and MTV dominating household name status.”
“The Black Album” has been praised in the decades since its release and was named one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
“‘The Black Album’s’ impact and relevance continue to grow with successive generations,” a release states. “It remains unchallenged as the best-selling album of the Luminate era, outselling every release in every genre over the past 30-plus years.”
The release adds that “Master of Puppets,” which was released in 1986, was the “heaviest rock album ever to be selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.'” They add that the album “has long been regarded as a watershed moment in the history of rock music.”
“The album’s peerless balance of sheer power and complex song craft would earn Metallica its first gold record, elevating the band to new heights of critical acclaim on the strength of enduring favorites including ‘Battery,’ ‘Orion’ and of course the title track,” a release adds.
Metallica has three singles in the billion streams club, including “Master of Puppets,” “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters.”
Metallica is currently touring on the third ear of the band’s massive M72 World Tour, which has been played in front of more than three million fans around the world. For details on Metallica’s M72 World Tour and where they’ll be performing next, head to the band’s website.
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