Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler literally helped invent heavy metal as we know it today, yet there’s one record he still wishes he wrote. In an interview with Loudwire, Butler reveals that he’s still jealous of Metallica‘s 1991 self-titled (or The Black Album). Butler also mentions that he’s not a big fan of early Metallica, which makes sense considering his output – Black Sabbath was never quite a speedy band.
“I thought the riffs were great, great riffs,” said Metallica. “I always thought, ‘God, I wish I had written that.’ It’s just really good riffs and something I could relate to. I couldn’t really relate to their earlier stuff. I mean, a lot of people think the earlier stuff is the true Metallica, but it didn’t really appeal much to me. But when the Black Album came out, it felt more appealing to my taste.”
Butler later mentioned that the Black Album is “one of the few metal albums I could listen to from beginning to end. I really enjoyed listening to it. There are very few albums of any genre that I can listen to from track one to the end. It’s one of those albums that I could listen to the whole thing and I’m really impressed with it.”
Butler is far from the only person to feel this way too, I’m sure. The Black Album has sold over 17 million copies in the United States alone since its release, and is one of the best selling albums across any genre of all time. So Metallica purists be damned, The Black Album has an audience!
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