16 guitar greats name their favorite moments from Metallica's Black Album

Jen Majura, Jerry Cantrell, Bill Kelliher, Lzzy Hale
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Having spoken to Metallica's Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield about their memories of their totemic 1991 eponymous unit-shifter, aka The Black Album, it's time to check in with the pros, the peers who saw the Bay Area metal titans' evolution in real time, and those who were inspired by this new hi-definition, radio-friendly brand of stadium metal.

Here, have 16 guitar greats, from Jerry Cantrell to John Petrucci to Mark Tremonti to Diamond Rowe, each explaining the riffs, the tracks and the tones that made the album something special.

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Amit Sharma

Amit has been writing for titles like Total GuitarMusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!Metal HammerClassic RockProgRecord CollectorPlanet RockRhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).