Metallica

Metallica is American heavy metal band Metallica's fifth studio album. Elektra Records released it on August 12, 1991, and it is commonly referred to as The Black Album due to its packaging design. The album marked a departure from the band's previous four albums' thrash metal style in favor of a slower, heavier, and more refined sound. The song "Don't Tread on Me" was also released to rock radio shortly after the album's release, but it was never released as a commercial single.

Metallica received widespread acclaim and went on to become the band's best-selling album. It debuted at number one in ten countries and spent four weeks on top of the Billboard 200, making it Metallica's first album to do so. Metallica's album is one of the best-selling albums in the world, as well as one of the best-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album 16 platinum in 2012, and it has sold over sixteen million copies in the United States, making it the first album in the SoundScan era to do so.