Classic Albums – Metallica: The Black Album
Netflix
DVD
Directed by Matthew Longfellow
Starring James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newsted, Bob Rock
Eagle Rock Entertainment
Originally Released: November 06, 2001

With the buzz surrounding Metallica‘s upcoming movie, Through The Never, I thought I’d take a glance back at the band during a major turning point in their career that would see them go from heroes of the Thrash Metal scene, to a worldwide phenomenon. The Black Album became Metallica’s springboard to international recognition, propelling into the mainstream, an accomplishment that still largely divides fans to this day.

Prior to 1991, Metallica’s reputation was legendary among metalheads following underground movements. During the Eighties, as far as MTV was concerned, Heavy Metal was all glam and hair; with bands such as Ratt and Poison taking a front seat in the mayhem mainstream. But elsewhere, metalheads knew there was far more to the rapidly growing genre, and that there was more variety in the scene that involved less hairspray and less lipstick.

To accompany their upcoming 3D feature film, Metallica Through The Never, Metallica will release a 2-disc soundtrack album called Metallica Through The Never (Music from the Motion Picture).

The soundtrack, which will be released on the Metallica’s own record label Blackened Recordings, will feature highlights from the band’s shows last year at Rexall Place in Edmonton and Rogers Arena in Vancouver, which is where all the performance footage from the film was shot.

Metallica Through The Never (Music from the Motion Picture) will be released on both CD and digitally on September 24, 2013. There will also be a vinyl edition in both 33 1/3RPM and special limited numbered 45RPM versions later in the Fall. Check out the album’s track listing here below.

Back in January, we wrote about the first single and video from Newsted, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted‘s new band, from their EP Metal.

Now, the band’s full debut album, titled Heavy Metal Music, will be released on August, 6, 2013. But in the meantime, Newsted himself is streaming the entire 11-song album online for free and you can listen to it in full here below!

In an interview Geeks of Doom did with Jason Newsted back in January on the eve of the EP’s release, we asked him about plans for a full album. Here’s what he told us…

San Diego Comic-Con can be one of the greatest and worst experiences you can have. There’s insanely long lines, terrible food, and overcrowding, but if you can brave through it, you’ll be rewarded with some amazing footage of upcoming movies and TV, breaking comics, movie, and TV news, and exclusive convention collectibles and swag, as well as being surrounded by over 100,000 fellow geeks as you all converge upon the welcoming streets of San Diego. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you embrace the experience, chances are, you can have the time of your life.

There was a lot of fun things happening this year in and around the convention center, including fantastic panels for the X-Men and Marvel movies, as well as a secret Metallica concert.

Here’s our 10 Favorite Moments From Comic-Con 2013.

The members of Metallica made their first appearance at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 19, 2013, at a panel where they brought the new trailer and exclusive footage for their upcoming 3D movie, Metallica Through The Never.

Everyone who attended the panel in Hall H had the chance to win tickets to go to a secret show the band was playing later that night, where they played mostly songs from their first four albums (“Fuel” was the newest song they played). The crowd at the Spreckels Theater in San Diego got to see Metallica in a rare, striped-down setting – no pyro, no stage set – playing tunes like “One,” “Ride The Lightning” (my favorite Metallica song ever), and “Creeping Death.”

Now, the band has released official video from the show, which you can watch here below. In the video, you’ll see the band perform “Seek and Destroy” live (which was the encore), as well as guitarist Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich switching instruments, band rehearsal, and Tuning Room footage.