On August 12, 1991, the Californian/Danish heavy metal band Metallica released their fifth record, a self-titled effort usually known as ‘the Black Album’. Packed full of bass courtesy of Jason Newsted, the record was a first in that sense for Metallica, whose previous albums had focused more on guitars and drums. Indeed, their most recent LP, the otherwise admirable 1988 release ...And Justice For All, had included no audible bass whatsoever.
As drummer Lars Ulrich accurately said at the time: “The bass guitar has always been this weird instrument in the band, it’s always been overlooked. With Jason I guess we misfired on Justice, but this time around I didn’t want to make the same mistake, so early on we steered the bass more towards the drum kit and away from the guitar a little.”