Metallica’s Black Album has become the fourth album in history to spend 750 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
The heavy metal rockers’ self-titled fifth studio album, which was released in 1991 and has become commonly known as The Black Album, has followed in the footsteps of the likes of Pink Floyd’s legendary record The Dark Side Of The Moon, which has amassed a staggering 990 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart.
Bob Marley‘s Legend, which has spent 843 weeks on the Billboard 200, and Journey’s Greatest Hits, at 813 weeks, are the only other records to have achieved the feat.
A post on Billboard Charts’ X account read: ‘@Metallica’s Metallica has now spent 750 total weeks on the #Billboard200 (No. 178 this week).
Metallica’s Black Album produced five singles – Enter Sandman, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters, Wherever I May Roam, and Sad But True.
In 2019, the record became the fourth album to hit the 550-week milestone on the Billboard 200.
In May, Metallica’s James Hetfield revealed he’s been writing new music, and said he had been inspired by Sir Elton John.
Speaking on The Metallica Report podcast, he said: ‘The time off has been pretty fantastic but, at the same time, I missed playing with the guys. And I let them know, ‘Man, I miss jamming with you guys!’
‘We’ve done a few things here and there.
‘The Elton John thing [covering Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding on TV in April] was so fantastic. Had a blast there. Elton, what a beautiful soul.
‘[I’ve] been doing some skiing, getting up on the mountain – there’s been tons of snow in Colorado, where we’re at, so a good snow season – and writing loads of music.
‘[I’ve been] playing guitar pretty much every day. I have to. It’s like breathing.’
Formed in 1981, the band – made up of James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and Lars Ulrich – are currently on their M72 World Tour, which is making its way through the US and Canada, ending in Mexico in September.
The rockers hit headlines during their UK appearance at Download Festival in June, after which they donated £40,000 to a local UK homeless charity.
Shortly after coming off stage, Metallica’s official non-profit organisation All Within My Hands announced they had given a generous grant to Help the Homeless Leicester.
The official All Within My Hands Twitter account tweeted: ‘After an awesome first night of @Metallica’s #M72 World Tour at @DownloadFest, we were proud to grant £40,000 to @homelessleics.’
They added: ‘This grant will help HTH in its goal to provide relief from homelessness by gaining insight from those most at risk, and by working in complement with other service-providing organizations, all while fostering a platform for empowerment and independence for those in need.’
Metallica clinched a number one album in the UK charts with 72 Seasons last year – their first number one in 15 years.
The recent releases marked the band’s first collection of new material since 2016, and outsold their last five albums combined.