Style: Progressive metal, progressive rock, heavy prog, hard rock, heavy metal (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Dream Theater, Haken, Vektor
Country: United States
Release date: 12 August 1991

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Progressive rock and metal fans, for being so pretentious, are quite illiterate. Rather than actually acknowledging that the word “progressive” means boundary pushing, bands in the scene have stopped doing that since like 1998, with the release of Gorguts’ Obscura. Yet most so-called prog fans are content with that fact. There’s a lot of hoopla about lengthy songs, mind-numbing technicality, and “novelty.” For many of us, though, the reality of the prog scene in 2026 is a hard pill to swallow; indeed, those of us in the know acknowledge that the spirit of prog was crystallized by Metallica’s self-titled album. The Black Album, as fans lovingly call the record, is a paradigm-shifter unlike anything the prog metal world has had before or since—the quintessential progressive metal release, by definition. On Metallica, the Californians’ streamlined, less aggressive, and catchier tunes dragged the whole of metal from counterculture to mainstream. 

While undoubtedly a masterpiece, Dream Theater’s “Octavarium” plays into the same genre tropes that had plagued progressive rock/metal for thirty-six years. A track like “Enter Sandman” from Metallica—from its clean guitar intro to its anthemic chorus and badass lyrics—was new, professional, and, above all, progressive as a radical shift in the band’s, and metal’s, sound. Ask one of your non-metalhead friends what they think about metal; they won’t have a high opinion of it… with one exception. “Enter Sandman” is a perfect song, full stop. Prog fans are simply cringe to deny its compositional brilliance and aesthetic value. Other highlights include the tough “Wherever I May Roam,” where Kirk Hammett unleashes one of his classic whammy-laden solos; the renowned, heart touching prog power ballad “Nothing Else Matters,” which predates other highly philosophical prog metal tracks like Linkin Park’s “In the End” by nearly a full decade; and “The Unforgiven,” whose clean break surely is what Opeth ripped off starting four years later on Orchid and continuing throughout the rest of their career. Metallica show off their incredible range all on a single record. Sure, Dream Theater had a solid metal tune “Pull Me Under” lead directly into the ballad “Another Day,” but that was a full year later. Metallica is the blueprint.

The members of Metallica don’t need to display their virtuosity with frivolities and insecure solos: They let their playing speak for itself. Take Lars Ulrich’s performance, for instance. He plays the same drum parts throughout the record, perfectly suiting each song through blunt force. Ulrich doesn’t overplay like drummers from other prog bands, and his playing is more cerebral than it appears on the surface, full of explicit references to Phillip Glass in the way he repetitively pounds on his instrument artistically. Another vital member of the group, Hammett isolates his skills to solo sections, where they belong—his best on the album is on “The Unforgiven.” It’s a complex songwriting technique that still eludes other prog bands to this day.

I’d be remiss not to mention the stellar production of Metallica. No other prog band has sounded this good because Metallica could afford what other prog artists could not: a professional producer. Also breaking a barrier other metal bands could only dream of doing, I am sure the members of Metallica got hella laid after the release of The Black Album; we all know there’s nothing more prog than progressing the future of humanity by having children, and Metallica stand alone among metal artists in that regard—except for possibly the chicks in KISS, but that’s best saved for another Lost in Time piece. 

That Metallica created the most progressive progressive metal album of all time should be clear, yet there will be deniers among our readers and the prog community. And of course there will be, because having an open mind is a hallmark of prog, which, I will reiterate, all of their favorite bands lack. Your dads and non-metalhead friends are right. Go listen to “Enter Sandman,” a true paradigm shifter, and revel in the glory of the quintessential prog metal album.

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Recommended tracks: Enter Sandman, Wherever I May Roam, Nothing Else Matters, The Unforgiven
You may also like: Anthrax, Paradox, Daughtry, Nickelback

https://embed.music.apple.com/us/album/metallica-remastered/1572046434

Related links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Elektra Records

Metallica is:
– James Hetfield (guitars, vocals)
– Lars Ulrich (drums)
– Kirk Hammett (lead guitar)
– Jason Newsted (bass)
With guests:
– Randy Staub (tambourine on “Nothing Else Matters”)