The four members of Metallica entered a studio and recorded a six track C.D. that was composed entirely of cover songs. This proved to be successful and the band decided to record a new album of original material relatively soon thereafter. (Krgin 58)Right before entering the studio Metallica decided that they should pay some sort of tribute to their former bassist and friend. In late nineteen eighty seven they released a video entitled "Cliff 'Em All." It was a dedication to the late Cliff Burton and was composed entirely of bootleg videos shot by fans during Metallica's early days. About a month after this video's release Metallica went into the studio and recorded their fourth album entitled "…And Justice For All." By this time their previous album, "Master of Puppets," had gone platinum and the public was waiting eagerly for the new material. "…And Justice For All" was released in September of nineteen eighty-eight and sold very well. The band was even nominated for a Grammy Award that year. This still would not be their greatest achievement. (Crocker 125-131)After what seemed to be an endless tour the band got together in the recording studio in early October of nineteen ninety to record their fifth album. The approach they took for this album was different than all the others since the songs were already written; all they needed to do was record them. This seemed to be a simple task but their new producer, Bob Rock, turned them into perfectionists which led to the completion of the album a year later. It proved to be worth the wait. Within a week of release Metallica's fifth album, which was self-titled but better known as "The Black Album," sold over six hundred thousand copies in the United States alone and debuted as number one on the Billboard Charts. This has proven to be Metallica's best selling album to date. (Krgin 59)The band went on a two year world tour to support the album, which resulted ...
