No one can deny that. Metallica was, like a million other underground bands, meaningful to people who loved them and the fans felt a sense of ownership over it. When the QB of the HS football team likes it now too, it totally loses that appeal. No denying it.

But, I’m listening to the Black album right now and , man, it’s slow. There’s nothing fast here. No fast picking. No double bass drumming. It’s slow.

Older stuff had some slower stuff and there’s some kinda faster stuff on Black, but not much overall. It just feels slow overall.

It’s also really straightforward. Like, the songs open themselves up to you. There’s nothing odd or offputting about them. It’s a hard rock album. That’s not the end of the world. But that’s what it is.

And of course it is. A real thrash album wouldn’t have been that popular.