High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Metallica (also known as The Black Album) is the self-titled fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Mainly produced by Bob Rock, it was released on August 12, 1991 through Elektra Records to critical acclaim. Metallica produced six hit singles that are considered today among the band's best-known songs: "Enter Sandman," "Don't Tread on Me," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters," "Wherever I May Roam," and "Sad but True." The band promoted the album with a series of tours. In 2003, the album was ranked number 252 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album marked the debut of a sound less complex than the thrash metal of previous albums.