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Metallica’s 1991 self-titled fifth studio LP, better known as “The Black Album,” has been certified a whopping 20-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), strengthening its long-standing status as the biggest-selling album of any genre in the Soundscan/Luminate era.
The new certification, marking 20 million copies moved in the United States alone, represents a massive jump from the LP’s previous certification, 16-times platinum, in 2012. “The Black Album” continues to sell consistently 34 years after its arrival, as a constant presence on the weekly Billboard 200 chart.
Upon its release in 1991, “The Black Album” propelled Metallica from metal heroes to rock superstars, with such classics as “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad But True.” It has now spent 789 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200, the fourth most overall of any album.
And that not all. Metallica’s third full-length, 1986’s Master of Puppets, which landed at No. 1 on Consequence‘s ranking of the band’s studio albums, has now been certified eight-times platinum by the RIAA. That marks a jump from a six-times platinum certification back in 2003.
Master of Puppets, widely considered one of the best, if not the greatest, thrash metal albums of all time, features favorites like “Battery,” “Welcome Home (Sanitarium),” “Orion,” and the iconic title track, which gained newfound popularity by playing a major role in the fourth season of Stranger Things.
Songs from both “The Black Album” and Master of Puppets are among the most performed on Metallica’s ongoing “M72 World Tour,” which is in the midst of another North American leg (pick up tickets here), and just added a 2026 UK/European leg. See the band performing “Enter Sandman” in Los Angeles on the “M72” tour in 2023 below.
English (US) · 