Metallica are marking the 30th anniversary of their classic 1991 self-titled Black Album with a tribute album full of fascinating covers.
Their self-titled epic was a colossal album, it spurred Metallica onto worldwide success and has only grown in popularity over the years. It’s been certified 16 times platinum, sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, and remains the best-selling album in the U.S. ever since Nielsen began its Soundscan tracking in 1991.
As per Stereogum, this new tribute album, titled The Metallica Blacklist, celebrates the enduring influence of the band with an unprecedented 50+ artists spanning a vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more. Each artists offers a unique interpretation of their favourite track from the iconic album.
The metal legends first teased the tribute album a few months back and since then we’ve been treated to some of the covers already, including indie favourite Phoebe Bridgers taking on ‘Nothing Else Matters’, maligned rockers Weezer putting their own spin on ‘Enter Sandman’, and art-rock provocateur St. Vincent performing ‘Sad But True’.
Check out ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Phoebe Bridgers:
But considering the tribute album is 53-strong, there’s still plenty of unheard covers to explore (the AV Club have already ranked all the best of the 53 tracks). Just cast your eyes over some of these stellar names: My Morning Jacket, Mac DeMarco (who’s fond of playing Metallica songs in his concert encores), Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, the Neptunes, Flatbush Zombies, PUP, Moses Sumney, White Reaper, Cage The Elephant, Portugal. The Man, Cherry Glazerr, Jason Isbell, Kamasi Washington, Chris Stapleton, J Balvin, and Rina Sawayama.
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The Metallica Blacklist is officially out now. The album will also be arriving on vinyl and CD on October 1st, with all profits going to charities of each contributing artist’s choice along with Metallica’s own foundation, All Within My Hands.
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Check out ‘Enter Sandman’ by Weezer:
