In honor of the 30th anniversary of its 1991 self-titled album—commonly referred to as The Black Album—Metallica on Friday released The Metallica Blacklist. The 53-track cover album hosts contributions from 64 artists, as scores of musicians offer their own unique takes on classic heavy metal songs.
In the lead-up to the compilation’s release, a number of artists shared their covers including Jason Isbell, Phoebe Bridgers, Kamasi Washington, and more. Prior to the release of his jazz-infused version of “My Friend Of Misery”, Washington got to debut the cover live at the Hollywood Bowl with Metallica’s own Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo. Miley Cyrus also got to work with Trujillo—as well as Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, and Chad Smith—on her star-studded rendition of “Nothing Else Matters”.
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While the original 12 tracks of Metallica are already canon to an entire generation of angsty youths, The Metallica Blacklist offers numerous fresh takes on the classic songs. For their part, Flatbush Zombies with the aid of DJ Scratch simply sample James Hetfield‘s refrain in “The Unforgiven” while Erick Arc Elliot, Meechy Darko, and Zombie Juice lay down new verses over the remixed beat.
On the other end of the spectrum, My Morning Jacket takes “Nothing Else Matters”, bumps up the BPMs, and transforms the track into a radio-friendly indie hit that—while seemingly joyful on the surface—masks dark subject matter (think “Pumped Up Kicks”).
Along with The Metallica Blacklist, Metallica has released a remastered, deluxe box set of its 1991 self-titled album. The remastered Metallica hosts 193 tracks totaling nearly 12 hours of music, featuring demos, rarities, isolated tracks, and several live performances from the era.
Stream The Metallica Blacklist and the remastered, deluxe box set of Metallica via the players below.
Various Artists – The Metallica Blacklist
Metallica – Metallica (Remastered Deluxe Box Set)
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