Looking back at the Year of our Rock 1991, as Metallica is wont to do with 2021 being the landmark 30th anniversary of their best-selling and fan-favorited 'The Black Album,' guitarist Kirk Hammett recently discussed the impact he believes his band had on another group who broke into the mainstream that same year -- Nirvana.
Along with Metallica's self-titled offering, 1991 also saw the arrival of Nirvana's second album, Nevermind, which took the band from relative obscurity to overnight stardom following its release.
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"Surprised" by how much of a fan of his band that late singer Kurt Cobain was, Hammett tells Classic Rock Magazine, "Cobain came to one of our shows in Seattle, on the Black Album tour... I knew Kurt kind of well, and I hung out with him quite a bit. He was a pretty big Metallica fan."
“Rock radio embracing our sound – our heaviness – helped the whole grunge thing take hold," says Hammett. "Not long after 'The Black Album’ came out, Nirvana put out ‘Nevermind.’ I like to think we had something to do with the acceptance of Nirvana,” he says. Adding, the record is "a cultural force in itself... As much as modern culture changes and morphs, there’s something within that album that continues to resonate around the world."
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"What’s truly amazing now is the fact that I still feel like we haven’t really peaked," Hammett told NBC Sports discussing the band's upcoming 40th anniversary. "We’re still real hungry, we still wanna make music, we still care about music, we still care about each other. I don’t see any signs of us slowing down, man, ’cause we have stuff that we wanna do."
Formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, Metallica has consistently brought the thunder with ten studio albums, epic live releases, some of the best merchandise to ever exist... and they're still going strong. This year, they're celebrating 30 years since the release of their record-breaking, self-titled 1991 offering affectionately known as The Black Album with a huge re-issue, sneaker collabs, collector's whiskey, and more. Check out former bassist Jason Newsted as he unboxes the deluxe vinyl release.
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While you're in a headbanging mood -- take a look and favorite some of Audacy's all-new exclusive Rock stations like Metallica Radio, Masters Of Metal, Don't Metal In My Affairs, Venom, Arena Rock, Wake Up and Rock, and The Roots of Rock for those who crave the early days.
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