Since it's Metallica weekend (saw them live on Friday and again tonight) I've spent a lot of the week just listening through the discography again. And I thought just for fun I'd throw in my album rankings from worst to best with a little bit of info about my motivations and such.
11. St. Anger
I know it has some defenders but for me it's pretty much dead last with no real challenger (I'm not gonna count Lulu). There are some good riffs and ideas but most of the songs are way too long, way too repetitive and the production on this album just makes it borderline unlistenable. They have done some of the songs live and 'redeemed' them so it's not all bad, and I can get a little bit of guilty pleasure enjoyment if I listen to this for nostalgia. (Takes me back to listening to this album, and a bunch of nu-metal albums around 2005 or so playing Need For Speed). Biggest negative is that I don't think there's a single song on here that I love. Even the better ones drag on too long or have an unlistenable drum snare in there. It's not the worst thing ever but it's not great.
10. Death Magnetic
I've gone back and forth on this one. When it came out people hailed it as a return to form, "best since AJFA" and so on. After that there was some backlash about the sound of the album, and I must admit I always felt this sounded a bit passionless. Like a band returning to a safe sound to win the fans back, but to me it didn't feel like their hearts were in it. Upon revisit I do think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It's a decent album with a couple of good songs, for me The Day That Never Comes and That Was Just Your Life stands out. The second half is where the album runs out of steam for me though, Unforgiven III feels like a pretty pointless sequel to an already pointless sequel to a classic. First half of the album has enough highlights to make this enjoyable.
9. 72 Seasons
I've been debating about this album and whether it would be 9 or 8 but I think in the end this feels like a good spot. There are some similar complaints with this that I have with Death Magnetic, at times a bit flat sounding, at times the songs are a bit overly long, but there are some nice highlights that really make me enjoy this a bit more than Death Magnetic. Inamorata, 72 Seasons, If Darkness Had a Son, Lux Aeterna and You Must Burn! are all pretty great imo. There's a few songs that are a bit unremarkable like Sleepwalk My Life Away but overall I think it's a pretty solid album from a band who has been active for 40 years.
8. Reload
90's Metallica actually holds a special place in my heart and I do not dislike that era as much as many people, with S&M playing a key part in me getting into the band. Reload never quite scratched my itch as much as its predecessor and I think one big reason for that is that I never loved the singles here. Fuel is okay (certainly better live than on album) and The Memory Remains is also... okay, but neither of the two blew me away. I also never quite dug Unforgiven II, so this album actually starts off a bit lackluster for me. I will say that Devil's Dance is a great tune with a nice groove. I do feel overall that Load has the stronger batch of songs and Reload has a couple of interesting experiments that don't quite land, but it does have a couple of huge songs for me like Low Man's Lyric (would probably make my top20 Metallica songs) and Fixxxer owns bones. But yeah it's 75 minutes and a lot of it is just kinda OK.
7. Hardwired to Self-Destruct
I was late to the party on this one and before my most recent revisit of these albums, I had this a spot or two lower. I didn't hear this album until earlier this year for the first time and went into it a bit skeptical because the praise was pretty high. But it is a pretty great album and especially taking into account it's a later era Metallica album, when most of their other output was mixed, this is really an accomplishment. The one thing holding it down is that I haven't really identified my favorite/standout tracks yet, but I do consider this to be a very solid listening experience. It also sounds pretty good by modern Metallica production standards and it has a nice energy to it.
6. Kill 'Em All
The debut is probably higher for some people but I consider it more of 'signs of better things to come'. James vocals aren't up there yet, the production isn't as great as the next few albums and it's not without its flaws. Yet it is probably the best debut album by one of the big four thrash metal bands. There are some great songs on here, I still love Seek & Destroy even if it's been overplayed and other songs like Whiplash or Hit the Lights are great. Overall a great album.
5. Metallica (The Black Album)
The one that fans either love or hate it seems like. For me this album falls in a similar place as The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden, where it's slightly diminished by having a few hit songs that have been overplayed to the point where I feel fatigued. Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters are songs I could take a break from and be okay with. But I do think Sad But True is one of their greats, Unforgiven is very good and Wherever I May Roam is low key maybe even my favorite song on here. I do think Black Album has a bit of filler though, there's definitely a couple of songs on here that aren't as good as the rest. But overall it's a classic for a reason, for me it just sounds great as an album. Say what you want about Bob Rock but his 90's Metallica albums sound great IMO.
4. Load
The controversial one, even more because I almost want to push it into my top3. I love alternative metal/rock from the 90s though so I don't mind them doing something different. The first half of this album is about as good as any Metallica album for me. Ain't My Bitch is a solid opener, 2X4 is great, The House that Jack Built is heavily underrated, Until it Sleeps rules, King Nothing is one of my favorite Metallica singles, Hero of the Day is a good ballad and Bleeding Me is a top10 Metallica song for me. The second half does lose some steam and you could cut maybe 2 songs or so and make it better. But there's still great songs there. Mama Said, Thorn Within and The Outlaw Torn especially are some great tunes.
3. Ride the Lightning
The top3 is hard to separate for me and I know this one will be some people's favorite. I'm really splitting hairs though and the only 'weakness' I found is that I'm not that huge on Escape, and even Trapped Under Ice is a song I can take or leave. I don't dislike it by any means but it's not Creeping Death/For Whom the Bell Tolls/Fade to Black levels or anything. This album is a classic though and I can't really say much negative about it at all because I love it.
2. And Justice For All
Yes, having audible bass would most definitely have improved this album. However, I do find myself digging the vibe of this album and it feels proggier in nature than their other albums. Some of their best songs like Blackened, Harvester of Sorrow, One, the title track, but also some killer fast songs like The Shortest Straw and Dyers Eve. The Frayed Ends of Sanity also slaps hard. I totally get people putting this third or fourth because the mix bothers them that much, but for me the songs are so good.
1. Master of Puppets
Perfect album if you ask me. Battery-Master of Puppets-The Thing That Should Not Be-Sanitarium, what a crazy first half. And when you think "Oh surely the album will dip now" you get Disposable Heroes kicking you in the face followed by the underrated Leper Messiah and Orion - imo their best instrumental. When you think the album will end with a ballad or something you get Damage Inc that just ends it all on a high. I know most debates come down to Ride vs Puppets for the best album and in my opinion Puppets is just slightly better. Battery for me is a more iconic and stronger opener than Fight Fire With Fire, Master of Puppets is the better title track, and while Bells might be a hair better than The Thing, and Fade to Black might be a hair better (or equal) to Sanitarium, I definitely think Disposable Heroes and Leper Messiah spanks Trapped Under Ice and Escape. Orion for me beats Kthulu, I can't say Damage Inc beats Creeping Death but overall MoP still wins most of those matches for me.
Topic: Metallica Thread (Read 179733 times)
