The new issue of Classic Rock magazine celebrates 30 years of METALLICA‘s self-titled LP, better known as the “Black Album,” with new interviews with both the members of the band and some of the album’s famous fans. Among the other musicians paying tribute to the effort is KISS frontman Paul Stanley who shared what the album means to him.

“How could you not be a METALLICA fan?” he asked. “Eric Carr (former KISS drummer, who died in 1991) was the one that brought METALLICA into our realm, and he did that quite a bit earlier, in the early, early days of METALLICA. But in terms of becoming a worldwide phenomenon, I would have to say the Black Album was what did that.

“‘Enter Sandman’ — that song really flicked a switch, it changed something. It retained the grit, the passion and the rawness of what they had done until that point, but it managed to package it in a way that had a more widespread appeal. It wasn’t a coincidence that Bob Rock produced that album. He became the go-to guy for bringing out the most commercial aspect of a band’s sound, whether we are talking METALLICA or THE CULT.

“But the most important thing when you are a band or a creative person is to do what you want,” Stanley added. “Kudos to METALLICA for that. Where they’ve gone since the Black Album, and factoring in their beginnings, is nothing less than amazing. Their appeal became massive, in capital letters, because it crossed boundaries. That’s always a great plus.”