Published: September 25, 2026 · 3:04 AM EDT
The “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters” album becomes only the fourth release in Billboard 200 history to reach 850 weeks, 35 years after its debut, while also charting on Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums
Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album, widely known as The Black Album, has reached 850 weeks on the Billboard 200, becoming only the fourth release in the chart's history to achieve the milestone. The album joins Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, Bob Marley and the Wailers' Legend and Journey's Greatest Hits in reaching the longevity mark.
The achievement comes 35 years after the album's original release on August 12, 1991. Metallica also holds No. 9 on Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart and No. 41 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, extending the record's presence across multiple U.S. album rankings.
Produced by Bob Rock alongside Metallica's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, the band's fifth studio album became their first No. 1 on the Billboard 200, spending four weeks at the summit. Its singles include “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam” and “Sad But True.”
The album received a 20-times-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America in 2025, representing 20 million certified units in the United States. It also remains the best-selling album of the Luminate era, which began when Nielsen SoundScan introduced electronic sales tracking in 1991.
The latest Billboard milestone reflects the album's continued presence in U.S. music consumption more than three decades after its release.
Watch Metallica’s official “Enter Sandman” music video, directed by Wayne Isham and originally released in 1991, below:
Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist
IMAGE CREDIT: Metallica
