Metallica Announce Black Album Anniversary Release Featuring Corey Taylor, Ghost, Miley Cyrus, Weezer, and More
Metallica have announced their plans for celebrating this year’s thirtieth anniversary of The Black Album, and fortunately, they’re way bigger than just a batch of “sonically enhanced” whiskey.
First up: as they’ve done for the anniversaries of all their previous classics, the band will reissue Metallica in a super-duper-extra-special deluxe edition. Consisting of fourteen CDs, six LPs, six DVDs, “and so much more,” the set includes:
- The original Black Album remastered on 180 gram vinyl & CD
- “Sad But True” Picture Disc
- “Live at Wembley” EP
- “Live in Moscow” double LP
- Two Interview CDs
- Five CDs of Demos & Rough Mixes
- Six Live CDs
- Six Live & Behind the Scenes DVDs
- Lyric Folder
- Three Lithos
- Lanyard
- Tour Laminates
- Three Guitar Picks
- A 120-page book filled with never before seen photos and stories from those who were there.
That will cost you a hefty-but-fair $240. There are also pared-down versions of the set for considerably cheaper. They’ll all be released on September 10; you can pre-order ’em here.
Next up — and more intriguing, IMO — is The Metallica Blacklist, an album that “celebrates the enduring influence of Metallica with an unprecedented 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut.” Notable metal-oriented participants include Ghost (“Enter Sandman”), Corey Taylor (“Holier Than Thou”), Volbeat (“Don’t Tread on Me”), and The Hu (“Through the Never”). The set will also include a cover of “Sad But True” by celebrity metalhead St. Vincent, Weezer doing “Enter Sandman,”and the long-fabled Miley Cyrus/Elton John /Yo-Yo Ma/Chad Smith take on “Nothing Else Matters,” which includes Robert Trujillo on bass.
Here’s the tracklist, which the band apparently allowed David Draiman to type out for them:
- ALESSIA CARA & THE WARNING / ENTER SANDMAN
- MAC DEMARCO / ENTER SANDMAN
- GHOST / ENTER SANDMAN
- JUANES / ENTER SANDMAN
- RINA SAWAYAMA / ENTER SANDMAN
- WEEZER / ENTER SANDMAN
- SAM FENDER / SAD BUT TRUE (LIVE)
- JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT / SAD BUT TRUE
- MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF SOUND FEAT. LA PERLA & GERA MX / SAD BUT TRUE
- ROYAL BLOOD / SAD BUT TRUE
- ST. VINCENT / SAD BUT TRUE
- WHITE REAPER / SAD BUT TRUE
- YB / SAD BUT TRUE
- BIFFY CLYRO / HOLIER THAN THOU
- THE CHATS / HOLIER THAN THOU
- OFF! / HOLIER THAN THOU
- PUP / HOLIER THAN THOU
- COREY TAYLOR / HOLIER THAN THOU
- CAGE THE ELEPHANT / THE UNFORGIVEN
- VISHAL DADLANI, DIVINE, SHOR POLICE / THE UNFORGIVEN
- DIET CIG / THE UNFORGIVEN
- FLATBUSH ZOMBIES FEAT. DJ SCRATCH / THE UNFORGIVEN
- HA*ASH / THE UNFORGIVEN
- JOSÉ MADERO / THE UNFORGIVEN
- MOSES SUMNEY / THE UNFORGIVEN
- J BALVIN / WHEREVER I MAY ROAM
- CHASE & STATUS FEAT. BACKROAD GEE / WHEREVER I MAY ROAM
- THE NEPTUNES / WHEREVER I MAY ROAM
- JON PARDI / WHEREVER I MAY ROAM
- SEBASTIAN / DON’T TREAD ON ELSE MATTERS
- PORTUGAL. THE MAN FEAT. AARON BEAM / DON’T TREAD ON ME
- VOLBEAT / DON’T TREAD ON ME
- THE HU / THROUGH THE NEVER
- TOMI OWÓ / THROUGH THE NEVER
- PHOEBE BRIDGERS / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- MILEY CYRUS FEAT. WATT, ELTON JOHN, YO-YO MA, ROBERT TRUJILLO, CHAD SMITH / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- DAVE GAHAN / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- MICKEY GUYTON / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- DERMOT KENNEDY / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- MON LAFERTE / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- IGOR LEVIT / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- MY MORNING JACKET / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- PG ROXETTE / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- DARIUS RUCKER / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- CHRIS STAPLETON / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- TRESOR / NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
- GOODNIGHT, TEXAS / OF WOLF AND MAN
- IDLES / THE GOD THAT FAILED
- IMELDA MAY / THE GOD THAT FAILED
- CHERRY GLAZERR / MY FRIEND OF MISERY
- IZÏA / MY FRIEND OF MISERY
- KAMASI WASHINGTON / MY FRIEND OF MISERY
- RODRIGO Y GABRIELA / THE STRUGGLE WITHIN
All profits from every track on The Metallica Blacklist will benefit Metallica’s charitable foundation, All Within My Hands, along with a charity of each artist’s choice. You can pre-order the collection here in a variety of formats.
You can watch trailer’s for both releases below.
On top of all of that, the band will also release a new book of photos by Ross Halfin, The Black Album in Black and White, on October 19:
“Metallica, the self-titled fifth studio album released in 1991 quickly became known as the Black Album. The landmark record turned Metallica into global megastars and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. To date it has sold in excess of 35 million copies worldwide. Photographer Ross Halfin was with the band during the album sessions at One on One Studios in North Hollywood and documented the 300 date tour that followed between 1991 and 1993. The hectic performing schedule is mixed in with many unique portrait sessions and candid, backstage documentary style photography, rehearsals, interviews, band meetings and travel.
“This official Metallica book features many classic and previously unpublished images with introductions by Ross Halfin, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newsted and Robert Trujillo who performed on part of the tour with his band Suicidal Tendencies. Printed with a metallic silver jacket with block-foil lettering, this volume is an epic celebration of one of rock’s most legendary albums.“‘By the time the songs and the recording were coming together, the confidence level was at an all-time high and we felt better than ever about who we were and how we viewed ourselves with regards to being photographed.’ – Lars”
The book can be pre-ordered here.
Metallica will headline several American festivals this year, and several European festivals next year. Here are all the dates they have lined up thus far:
9/24/21 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life at Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center [tickets]
9/26/21 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life at Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center [tickets]
10/8/21 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock at Discovery Park [tickets]
10/10/21 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock at Discovery Park [tickets]
11/12/21 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville at the Daytona International Speedway [tickets]
11/14/21 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville at the Daytona International Speedway [tickets]
6/15/22 – Copenhell – Copenhagen, Denmark [tickets]
6/17/22 – Firenze Rocks – Florence, Italy [tickets]
6/19/22 – Prague Rocks – Prague, Czech Republic [tickets]
6/22/22 – Rock Werchter – Werchter, Belgium [tickets]
7/1/22 – Mad Cool – Madrid, Spain [tickets]
7/6/22 – NOS Alive – Lisbon, Portugal [tickets]
