A Gifted CD

The CD was compiled with others in a case that, if memory serves, was a bit like a photo album with those filmy sleeves. When late-elementary or early-middle school me discovered it while helping my grandmother babysit some of my cousins for the summer, finding the title of the CD seemed impossible. The display side was almost entirely black with a small relief of a coiled snake. Younger-me thought it must be called 'Elektra' since that was one of the words that stood out.

(It was not called 'Elektra.')

I played that CD in my younger cousin's room (she's five years my junior), and, for a while, we unknowingly jammed out to metal. What I had found was my younger cousin's dad's stash of CDs, including Metallica's 1991 black album.

This is the album 'Enter Sandman' features on, the one that started 'The Unforgiven' saga that continues on Reload and Death Magnetic (the former I got as a CD for Christmas some time down the road and the latter I downloaded in pieces onto my iPod Touch). It's the one with sitar-sounding "Wherever I May Roam," which is one of the songs that hooked me most.

It's funny to think about what I consider my introduction to metal. Up to this point in my life, I mostly listened to whatever my family listened to around me. My mom and grandmother treated me to country music (one of my least preferred genres now) while my older cousins drove us to the beach with disco boogying the majority of the way there (how can you not dance a little to "That's the Way I Like It"?). Otherwise, the music I liked was associated with the movies I watched. Disney's Fantasia had me enjoying classical music, while Dreamwork's Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron rocked with Bryan Adams.

But here I was, listening to metal and adoring it! I doubt I had the appreciation of guitar and bass and drums then that I do now. I can't remember if I loved sick basslines and the liberal use of the kick drum like I do now (which probably was influenced by Tool's 2001 album Lateralus I first listened to either in late middle school or high school and the wide range of songs featured on Guitar Hero's various games), but power chords and some good guitar solos? I can imagine those hooked younger-me pretty easily with Metallica's black album. After all, 'Sad But True' became one of my favorite songs after the CD was placed in my possession.

One day, after finding out that I enjoyed the music so much, my cousin's dad gave the CD to me! Within a couple of years, I had gotten the Metallica-focused Guitar Hero game (which has 'Sad But True', 'Wherever I May Roam', 'Enter Sandman', and 'The Unforgiven' as playable songs), and amassed a good selection of the band's discography on iTunes. Metal became one of the first genres of music I liked because it suited my own taste.

My musical tastes have changed a bit since I was the younger-me just finding Metallica. Metal became more nuanced for me, where I began leaning more into nu metal and progressive metal rather than heavy or thrash metal. I've ventured into hard rock, alternative, grunge, and many other genres and subgenres. It's been a while since Metallica was my favorite band, but Metallica truly did hold that spot for several years.

All because of the black album CD.

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Thank you for reading! Also, thank you to angela hepworth and her unofficial challenge below for inspiring me to think about a favorite music album!