Metallica are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their blockbuster self-titled fifth studio album ‘Metallica’ – aka The Black Album – with two landmark releases out today (10 September 2021).
The first of which is The Metallica Blacklist, overseen by executive producer Giles Martin, mastered at Abbey Road by Frank Arkwright and cut-to-vinyl by Alex Wharton.
The Black Album spawned towering metal anthems including Enter Sandman, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters, and to date it has sold more than 35 million copies worldwide.
The Black Album Remastered
Metallica’s first release marking the three-decade milestone is a remastered reissue of The Black Album in multiple formats including 180-gram Double Vinyl LP, Standard CD and 3 CD Expanded Edition, digital, and a sprawling Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set containing more than 24 hours of music.
And for the keen Metallica aficionados, the Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set costs £229.99 and features the album remastered on 180G 2LP, a picture disc, three live LPs, 14 CDs (containing rough mixes, demos, interviews, live shows), 6 DVDs (containing outtakes, behind the scenes, official videos, live shows).
On the remasters, Metallica said: “Can you believe it’s been almost thirty years since its original release? Neither can we! Then off we went to hit the road for a massive 300+ show tour, and the ‘Tallica experience went to a whole new level. To celebrate this milestone, we had to go all out with a wide variety of configurations for all your listening pleasure.”
The Metallica Blacklist album
The second 30th anniversary release is an expansive 53 track charity album titled The Metallica Blacklist. Remastered at Abbey Road by Frank Arkwright and cut-to-vinyl by Abbey Road's Alex Wharton, the release will feature covers of the 12 songs from The Black Album by 53 eclectic artists.
Musicians, bands and singers that cover Metallica songs from ‘The Black Album’ include Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, Royal Blood, Ghost, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, Biffy Clyro, Cage The Elephant, Volbeat, The Hu, Idles, Kamasi Washington, St. Vincent, Sam Fender and My Morning Jacket.
‘The Metallica Blacklist’ will be available in multiple formats including digital (standard and high-def versions), 4CD, and a limited edition 7LP vinyl pressing.
