OT: Is Metallica’s “Black Album” a good album?

Yeah other than Enter Sandman, it's pretty lousy. It was the beginning of their transition to Bob Seger-land. I don't think it was lazy, Hetfield still seems to have put effort into the song writing. It's just a departure from what came before. It's softer, it's weaker. It represents an aging perspective for the band members. It's natural, so I can't blame them for that. But it was definitely a turning point toward all the terrible stuff that came after it.

Actually I think it was AJFA that brought metal into the mainstream. One was their first music video, and it was hugely popular on Mtv. Even my sister liked it and she listened to New Kids On The Block for Christ's sake. I think I had been into them for about a year when AJFA was released. The thing about AJFA is that all the songs felt like they were 10 minutes long. The tracks on their previous albums weren't short by any means, but they were fun to listen to. AJFA just dragged in places. Maybe it's because their first three studio albums were so damn good (I consider them to be the holy trinity of metal, and it's all the same band) that it was an impossible act to follow.

To be honest, I can still listen to Kill Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets for the music's sake, whereas AJFA I'd probably only enjoy for nostalgic purposes. I wouldn't even bother with the black album and I never bought a Metallica album after that.