Exit Light: An In-Depth Look at Metallica's Black Album

An Illustrated Lecture with Ben Apatoff

Few records in the history of music are as canonized or as controversial as Metallica's Black Album. The album was a smash hit, selling 16 million copies. It also infuriated the band's original fans, drastically reshaped modern rock, and helped make Metallica one of the greatest forces in American music. Is The Black Album a sellout? Is it cutting edge? Both? Neither?

Tonight, in honor of the album's 25th anniversary, we hope you'll join musician and teacher Ben Apatoff for an illustrated examination of The Black Album's aesthetic value and cultural impact through a variety of lenses, including connections to Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Ellison, Vegetius, Kanye West, and more.