Metallica are probably one of the most recognised rock bands of our modern day. With a career spanning decades James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Jason Newsted revolutionised what rock was all about for this generation. What we’ve got here is a DVD all about their self titled album Metallica (also knwon as the ‘Black Album’). Many fans regard the black album as their best, the turning point from being a live garage band to international rock stars. This disc looks at what it took to create this classic album with interviews, behind the scenes footage, the original multi-tracks of the album and previously unreleased demo recordings.

This disc is not a music video disc but more of a documentary on the band, and more particularly the album. It does contain snippets from some of their film clips, but the majority of the 93 minute feature are the interviews with the band members, producers and other executives who were involved in creating this revolutionary album. Overall it’s a great insight into the creation of the album and has some quite interesting interviews that keep it rolling well. If you’re a big fan of Metallica then this might be well worth checking out. However if your not a big fan, perhaps you should wait around for some other soon to be released ‘classic albums’ from a variety of other rock bands.

The transfer looks quite stunning. The video is presented with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is widescreen enhanced. The interviews look stunning and are fault free for aliasing, artefacts or any other distractions. Some of the old film clips look a little shabby, but this is because of the original source material. The transfer itself is perfect with the colours looking vibrant, clear and sharp. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and sounds very impressive. The dialogue is always clear, and the few snippets of audio we do get come thumping out beautifully.

The extras are a nice collection of alternative interviews that weren’t, in their entirety at least, in the main feature. Although split into chapters, these interviews are set up to play one after another for continuous play. There is also a discography listing all of their albums including their most recently released S&M live album. The menus are well animated and look stunning, with the intro and riff to ‘Enter Sandman’ blasting away in the background.