Black Album Goes Double-Diamond as Metallica Plots Suncorp Return
Metal behemoths Metallica have achieved a feat only a handful of artists can claim: the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has confirmed the band’s self-titled 1991 LP – better known as The Black Album – is now certified double-diamond, or 20× platinum, recognising more than 20 million sales in the United States alone. The updated certification was posted to the RIAA database on 28 May and first reported by industry bible Billboard.
The sales jump cements the record’s status as the biggest-selling album of the SoundScan/Luminate era, outstripping classics by the likes of Eagles, Garth Brooks and Adele. It also makes Metallica the first metal act ever to reach double-diamond territory.
There was more good news for the Bay Area quartet: their 1986 thrash landmark Master of Puppets simultaneously moved up to 8× platinum, propelled in part by a revival sparked by Stranger Things’ viral finale in 2022.
Queensland metalheads will remember that the last time James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo hit a local stage was more than a decade ago, headlining the Soundwave Festival at Brisbane Showgrounds on 23 February 2013.
That drought is finally ending. Metallica’s M72 World Tour will roll into Suncorp Stadium on 12 November 2025 – and if you were hoping to snag a ticket you’re already too late. Both standard tickets and the band’s premium “Enhanced Experiences” packages have sold out.
The Suncorp date will be the only Queensland stop on a six-show Australia–New Zealand run, and the first arena-scale metal show booked at the venue since Guns N’ Roses in 2022.
If recent setlists are any guide, Brisbane can bank on hearing thunderous renditions of “Enter Sandman”, “Nothing Else Matters” and “Master of Puppets”, plus a rotating grab-bag of deep cuts. The band have also been teasing unheard material in rehearsals. Local promoter Frontier Touring says load-in for the Suncorp show will take four days and involve more than 200 crew, making it one of the largest single-night productions the venue has hosted.
For Queensland fans who’ve waited since that sweaty summer night at the Showgrounds in 2013, double-diamond bragging rights are the icing on a very heavy cake – and a timely reminder to start limbering up those neck muscles for November 2025.
