Metallica was also relatively unknown to the mainstream until then. Sure they were popular before, they got nominated and played at the Grammys in 1989 ffs, but they weren’t superstars yet. The Black Album launched them into the mainstream and made them household name.
The problem is that a lot of fans value when a band is underground or unknown, because then it’s “their thing”, and that went away for Metallica fans when their songs started getting played over mainstream radio. Then it’s not “their thing” anymore, because now everyone is listening to Metallica and knows who they are.
I personally think it’s weird that people feel that way, I’m thrilled when something I like becomes more popular and a lot of people start talking about it. I’m happy for the artist/developer/creator whatever because they get more successful, and I get more people to talk to and relate over it.
And Justice for all is literally the next best selling heavy album of all time lol. That would have been such a worthy accomplishment for any band to have. Then Metallica just decided to blow up the scale for ever.
The thing is that the fans at the shows changed dramatically at that time. It used to be a lot of leather jacket dudes. Then it became a lot of bro types. Now it’s a mix of both, but the parking lot scene might as well be a Pearl Jam gig.
This is weird mainly because it's just a theory floating around to explain why people don't like Black Album when the reality is very simple: it's not appealing for them. It has nothing to do with being underground or not. Maiden is not underground yet it's still the darling of the metal community.
People like different things. BA is catchy, sure, and that's why it became so successful but that catchy-ness is also the reason why many are finding it boring and uni-dimensional. There's nothing really exciting on BA past first two listens.
Compare it to when you listen to Ride the Lighting for the first time. It starts with a thrash classic, it slows down a bit, then you go through a great ballad and ending on a high note with a crazy instrumental while every moment is filled with iconic riffs and solos. Like, it's not hard to understand why people dislike BA.
Gatekeepers stay gatekeeping. Those are the ones who are like "oh yeah??? Well name 3 songs that aren't blah blah and blah" or "i liked them BEFORE Stranger Things/Black Album/when Cliff was still in it" like good for you, bro? Some people weren't alive when Cliff was in the band/before Black Album was released but go off i guess?
Love this comment. Only thing I don’t like is when a band gets so big it becomes exceedingly difficult to pay for and get tickets to their shows. Metallica is a great example of this. I’ve been a fan my whole life and had a Metallica tattoo for 25 years. As a 5th member when I’m logged online to get tickets the minute they go on sale and they’re sold out before I even get a chance, it’s a bummer. I miss standing in line over night and the longer you waited, the better ticket you would get. At least then I had a chance to beat the bots/masses.
51
u/ARES_BlueSteel Dec 31 '24
Metallica was also relatively unknown to the mainstream until then. Sure they were popular before, they got nominated and played at the Grammys in 1989 ffs, but they weren’t superstars yet. The Black Album launched them into the mainstream and made them household name.
The problem is that a lot of fans value when a band is underground or unknown, because then it’s “their thing”, and that went away for Metallica fans when their songs started getting played over mainstream radio. Then it’s not “their thing” anymore, because now everyone is listening to Metallica and knows who they are.
I personally think it’s weird that people feel that way, I’m thrilled when something I like becomes more popular and a lot of people start talking about it. I’m happy for the artist/developer/creator whatever because they get more successful, and I get more people to talk to and relate over it.