Throughout his years as a bassist and co-writer in Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler built up one of the most impressive discographies in metal history — some would argue the most impressive. Most heshers would sell their souls to have their names in the credits of genre-defining classics like Master of Reality and Paranoid, and it turns out Butler feels the same way about a different band's masterwork.
In a new interview with Loudwire, Butler revealed the one metal album he wishes he could've written himself: Metallica's "Black Album." Interestingly, Butler mentioned that he didn't care for Metallica's faster sound prior to their stompy, mid-tempo 1991 breakthrough, but once he heard the "Black Album," he felt a twinge of jealousy that it wasn't him who put those songs to tape.
"I thought the riffs were great, great riffs," Butler said. "I always thought, 'God, I wish I had written that.' It's just really good riffs and something I could relate to.
"I couldn't really relate to their earlier stuff. I mean, a lot of people think the earlier stuff is the true Metallica, but it didn't really appeal much to me. But when the 'Black Album' came out, it felt more appealing to my taste."
Later in the interview, Butler added that Metallica's "Black Album" is "one of the few metal albums I could listen to from beginning to end."
"I really enjoyed listening to it," he continued. "There are very few albums of any genre that I can listen to from track one to the end. It's one of those albums that I could listen to the whole thing and I'm really impressed with it."
