"Black Metallic" is the debut single by English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

Catherine Wheel Catherine wheel may refer to: * wheel or breaking wheel, an instrument of torturous execution originally associated with Saint Catherine of Alexandria * Catherine wheel (firework), a firework that rotates when lit Arts and entertainment * Cather ...

, released on 11 November 1991 by Fontana Records. It was later included on the band's 1992 debut studio album ''

Ferment Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

''. The song "broke, and betrothed Catherine Wheel to the American public", hitting No. 9 on ''Billboard'''s Modern Rock Tracks chart and earning "massive attention" due to the band's yearlong American tour and heavy rotation of the song's video on MTV. "Black Metallic" also reached No. 68 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic Amy Hanson said that "Black Metallic" "could probably be counted in the ranks of ballad -- albeit one with a droning guitar and a subsonic wailing that cudgeled the listener over the head, at the same time as caressing them to ecstasy," and noted, "With a deeply textured guitar drone and wallop to lead the way, and backed by a forcefully lazy drum beat,

Rob Dickinson Robert Dickinson (born 23 July 1965) is a British musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter previously of the band Catherine Wheel.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 664-5 Dickinson was raised ...

's vocals, which he renders quite tender here, play beautifully off the noise behind in an ebb and flow which drains to nothing by the end of the song -- a seven-minute epic".

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Metallic 1991 debut singles 1991 songs Fontana Records singles Catherine Wheel songs