Mick Thomson spoke about the change in sound on Metallica's Black Album
Mick Thomson , guitarist for Slipknot Metallica 's Black Album .
Released in 1991, the so-called Black Album represented a shift towards a calmer, more melodic sound. Many Metallica fans believe that songs like "Enter Sandman" and "The Unforgiven" betrayed the thrash metal roots of their earlier albums.
The album, whose original name is Metallica , was the band's biggest release, producing five singles and establishing them as the biggest artists in the world of rock.
Thomson told Metal Hammer that his initial impression when he first heard the album was not positive.
“I understand, now that I’m in a band, that you have to stop repeating yourself. But I love the first four albums. And I was horrified when I first heard the Black Album,” he said. “I felt insulted and didn’t listen to the band for years, but now I’ve stopped. Are there similarities with Slipknot’s changes? I don’t know. Despite that, I never cut my damn hair.”
Lars Ulrich, Metallica's drummer, has said that the change happened because they felt like inadequate musicians. "That made us push further, around the time of Master of Puppets and …And Justice For All . We wanted to prove ourselves. We did all those strange things to prove that we were capable musicians and songwriters."
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