Metallica‘s Black Album, you know, the album that turned metal legends into pop metal/rock superstars, sold quite well.
It is still the number one selling album of the Soundscan era. Here’s the top:
01. METALLICA – “Metallica” (15,735,000)
02. SHANIA TWAIN – “Come On Over” (15,513,000)
03. ALANIS MORISSETTE – “Jagged Little Pill” (14,714,000)
04. BACKSTREET BOYS – “Millennium” (12,168,000)
05. BEATLES – “1” (11,985,000)
Not bad, eh? Considering albums sell like 2,000 copies nowadays, it’s safe to say the record is safe. The band’s overall sales are doing quite well, also:
01. GARTH BROOKS (68,561,000)
02. THE BEATLES (63,299,000)
03. MARIAH CAREY (53,612,000)
04. METALLICA (53,170,000)
05. CELINE DION (51,492,000)
More info on Blabbermouth.
Metallica may have turned soft in the 90s, but it’s still pretty impressive to see how much records they have sold, their sound is not exactly mainstream — at least I wouldn’t call it that.
Too bad they have forgotten what they were all about in the 80s. Nothing wrong with experimenting and stuff, just go back to your thrash roots man, come on.
The Black Album will be played in its entirety this summer, Metallica has a few European dates announced and they’ll be celebrating the album’s 20th birthday.
