Song · Metallica
“Blackened” by Metallica
From the album …And Justice for All (1988)
“Blackened” by Metallica appears on 7 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 2002 and 2025. It was first released in 1988 on the album …And Justice for All. Its best result is #20 on the WJJO Frequent Rocker Top 100 Songs of 2025. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,577 classic rock song of all time.
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"Blackened" kicks the door in on ...And Justice for All, Metallica's fourth album, released August 25, 1988: a thrash assault about nuclear war wiping out humanity and laying waste to the planet. It's also a milestone for Jason Newsted, whose writing credit alongside James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich is his first on a Metallica song and his only one on the record. Hetfield and Ulrich produced it with Flemming Rasmussen, Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero mixed it, and Hetfield sings over the guitars he shares with Kirk Hammett.
Critics singled out its construction and its punch as an opener, fans made it a favorite, and it's one of the Justice songs the band plays most often live. In 2020 they recut it acoustically as "Blackened 2020", and the name later went on the band's own independent label and its whiskey.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 544 | KISW | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) | 999 |
| 2010 | 70 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2010) | 70 |
| 2013 | 89 | KBPI | KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time | 200 |
| 2022 | 443 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 41 | 94.1 WJJO | WJJO Frequent Rocker Top 100 Songs of 2023 | 100 |
| 2024 | 186 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
| 2025 | 20 | 94.1 WJJO | WJJO Frequent Rocker Top 100 Songs of 2025 | 100 |
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