Favorite Metallica Album?

[kirksnosehair]

By the way, count me among those who would LOVE to hear a solo album from James Hetfield. 


Especially if it featured NO ONE ELSE from Metallica

[kirksnosehair]

Yeah, I honestly have zero use for anything they released after the black album.  So I don't know which songs are on which albums.  I just have no use for any of it.  Their thrash stuff is great though


The last two albums were a nice return to the style I prefer from Metallica


Some bands should just stay in their lane.  To me, Metallica is the quintessential example of a band that's only really good at one style: thrash

Shouldn't Black Album be included in the stuff you have no use for then? There's not much thrash on that at all

Well, no, I get that it's not very thrashy, but it's still a fairly good album.  I put it at or near the bottom of the pack, though. 

[TAC]

I thought they did a great job with Turn The Page, and especially Whiskey In the Jar. I mean, they're from a cover album, which I suppose is only as good as the songs they cover. But they also covered Mercyful Fate, Rainbpow, Blue Oyster Cult...I forget who else.

And Whiskey In The Jar is freaking awesome, especially when played in Ireland!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MNdOCQYOL8

[DoctorAction]

Load and Garage are pretty much the only Metallica albums I ever play these days.

(I did do a couple days retrospective after watching Murder In The Front Row recently, tho, but won't be doing again in a hurry)

Sign me up for a Hetfield album

[pg1067]

I thought they did a great job with Turn The Page, and especially Whiskey In the Jar. I mean, they're from a cover album, which I suppose is only as good as the songs they cover. But they also covered Mercyful Fate, Rainbpow, Blue Oyster Cult...I forget who else.

And Whiskey In The Jar is freaking awesome, especially when played in Ireland!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MNdOCQYOL8

Rainbow???

[TAC]

Wasn't the Ronnie Rising medley on that?
*checks*

Nope..carry on.

[Dedalus]

I have already done the mental exercise of imagining what my relationship with Metallica would be like if the band had remained forever as a purely Thrash band.

Considering that there are no exclusively Thrash bands that I really follow closely, it is quite likely that Metallica would be such a band for me.

[darkshade]

I remember listening to a remixed cut of Some Kind of Monster a while back, and it was shortened, but the production reminded me more of their recent albums, and I thought it sounded WAYYY better than Stanger's production, and I think the drums sounded real. I'd check out the whole album if it had the more modern mix.

[darkshade]

Also, poor Reload.

[NoFred]

Also, poor Reload.

Yeah, I bet those that rate it high picked Load in its place. Those 2 could have been a combined option.

AJFA for me, grew up with it and have never heard anything like it since.

[KevShmev]

Fact:

The Black Album > ...And Justice for All

 

[jammindude]

Fact:

The Black Album > ...And Justice for All

 

Don’t Tread on Me would like a word.

What a dumb song. I’d rather listen to a 10hr Lulu marathon.

 

[KevShmev]

Don't Tread On Me is great! 

For me, the magic in the Black Album is really found in the deep cuts.  Don't Tread On Me, The God That Failed, Of Wolf and Man and My Friend of Misery are all killer tunes.

[TAC]

Don't Tread On Me is great! 

For me, the magic in the Black Album is really found in the deep cuts.  Don't Tread On Me, The God That Failed, Of Wolf and Man and My Friend of Misery are all killer tunes.

Yeah, I agree. And Through The Never!

[KevShmev]

And of course The Struggle Within.

[OpenYourEyes311]

I remember listening to a remixed cut of Some Kind of Monster a while back, and it was shortened, but the production reminded me more of their recent albums, and I thought it sounded WAYYY better than Stanger's production, and I think the drums sounded real. I'd check out the whole album if it had the more modern mix.

This is the Edit version found on the SKOM single from 2004. It's about four minutes and remixed. It's pretty awesome

Yeah, I bet those that rate it high picked Load in its place. Those 2 could have been a combined option.

Not for me. I chose Load because it's my favorite. Slightly bloated toward the end but has more GREAT songs than any other Metallica album. Until it Sleeps, Outlaw, Hero, Bleeding Me, King Nothing are all top tier songs. The lyrics on this album really speak to me. They've become "true" for me over the past few years. I see them in a different light now than when they came out, which make them more powerful for me personally. Absolutely love this album.

Reload, on the other hand, is good for about four songs then takes a huge drop in quality. Fixxxer at the end is great, Low Man is pretty good, and I like Bad Seed (which in no way am I saying it's a great song). Reload is probably dead last for me. Maybe St Anger.

[twosuitsluke]

Garage Inc is one of Metallica's best albums, period! It sounds great, and the songs 

I remember having a holiday in Scotland with my first girlfriend, when I first got into the band. I exclusively listened to that album (as I'd just discovered it) for the entire week. I just fell in love. The Mercyful Fate medley is a particular highlight. I said it somewhere before but their 90s output was amazing, but because of Garage Inc and S&M, at least for me.

[DoctorAction]

I assume it's down to "we know best" but a twenty minute EP of original bangers (no bloat and get someone to mix it who can make it sound like Garage) followed by an EP of new covers would excite me.

[IDontNotDoThings]

For me, the magic in the Black Album is really found in the deep cuts.  Don't Tread On Me, The God That Failed, Of Wolf and Man and My Friend of Misery are all killer tunes.

I disagree. Of all of the band's discography, I think that TBA has the least memorable deep cuts - not necessarily the worst, but the ones I feel least inclined to revesit.

Except MFOM. That song is so good.

[twosuitsluke]

Every single song on The Black Album is a banger, I love all of them.

[KevShmev]

For me, the magic in the Black Album is really found in the deep cuts.  Don't Tread On Me, The God That Failed, Of Wolf and Man and My Friend of Misery are all killer tunes.

I disagree. Of all of the band's discography, I think that TBA has the least memorable deep cuts - not necessarily the worst, but the ones I feel least inclined to revesit.

Except MFOM. That song is so good.

Well, the deep cuts from TBA was integral in making me a fan, so that is a factor here for me. I think I have told this story before, but here goes again: I never cared for Metallica except for Wherever I May Roam until the mid 90's, shortly before the release of Load.  But I kept hearing Enter Sandman at Blues hockey games (at the time, it was often used as songs over the arena during stoppages and commercials), and it kind of hit me finally like, "Okay, that is a good song," which I mentioned to my younger brother who had TBA on CD, and he proceeded to play for me Don't Tread On Me and the last four songs from the record (all five are deep cuts), all of which knocked my socks off and I became a fan that very day. 

[Stadler]

It'll be a country album anyway..

That's what I'm hoping for.  That's what I meant with "preconceived notions".    Lot's of acoustic guitars augmented with electric... sort of a modern day Lynyrd Skynyrd.   An album of "Tuesday's Gone"'s and "Simple Man"'s.   Seriously.

[Adami]

It'll be a country album anyway..

That's what I'm hoping for.  That's what I meant with "preconceived notions".    Lot's of acoustic guitars augmented with electric... sort of a modern day Lynyrd Skynyrd.   An album of "Tuesday's Gone"'s and "Simple Man"'s.   Seriously.

Stop turning me on!

[twosuitsluke]

"Gay for Hetfield"

Steel Panther's next hit

[MirrorMask]

None other than Nergal from Behemoth (black metal) did a country album as a side project.

Check how cool this song is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOZe8Ubfa3w

Something like that in Hetfield's style, with his dark lyrics and voice? OH YES.

[Volante99]

By the way, count me among those who would LOVE to hear a solo album from James Hetfield. 


Especially if it featured NO ONE ELSE from Metallica

Call me crazy but being that he writes all the music, and plays all the guitars minus (most of) the solos- I bet

Anyways, this is really hard- Ride the Lightning through the Black Album is probably the greatest 7 year run of any band this side of the Beatles. They’ve truly earned every penny they have. I would choose any of those albums as my favorite, just depends on the day.

[KevShmev]

Anyways, this is really hard- Ride the Lightning through the Black Album is probably the greatest 7 year run of any band this side of the Beatles. They’ve truly earned every penny they have. I would choose any of those albums as my favorite, just depends on the day.

Eh, I can't go nearly that far.  Yes, that 4-album run was great, but it was only 4 albums, and plenty of bands have had great 7-year runs and been far more prolific and with just as high a quality.  Granted, 4 albums in 7 years IS prolific for Metallica, giving that they have released a whopping 10 studio albums in nearly 40 years (stand back, everyone!!  ), 11 if you want to count that monstrosity with Lou Reed, but it just doesn't stack up to other runs.

[MirrorMask]

Iron Maiden 1981-1988 is the greatest seven years in the history of mankind.

[KevShmev]

Except that is 8 years, not 7.

And now that I think about it, Ride the Lightning through TBA is 8 years as well (1984-1991), not 7, so the fail is strong here.

[Volante99]

Anyways, this is really hard- Ride the Lightning through the Black Album is probably the greatest 7 year run of any band this side of the Beatles. They’ve truly earned every penny they have. I would choose any of those albums as my favorite, just depends on the day.

Eh, I can't go nearly that far.  Yes, that 4-album run was great, but it was only 4 albums, and plenty of bands have had great 7-year runs and been far more prolific and with just as high a quality.

I agree 4 albums in 7 years isn’t exactly prolific from an output standpoint, but who matches that run when you combine influence, sales, quality of music, growth, etc. If you include their literal non-stop touring in that time it ups their status even more.

So, I guess, sure there are bands who put out more “hits” in that amount of time, but when you look at that run as a whole package, you’re getting into rare territory...Beatles, Michael Jackson, maybe Zep, maybe Floyd (although both of those last two are debatable).

[cfmoran13]

So, I guess, sure there are bands who put out more “hits” in that amount of time, but when you look at that run as a whole package, you’re getting into rare territory...Beatles, Michael Jackson, maybe Zep, maybe Floyd (although both of those last two are debatable).

What's crazy is Michael Jackson didn't even tour for Thriller.  He played one show in 1983, spent over 2.5 years recording Bad and didn't do another concert until 1987.  Now, look at Metallica.  Puppets comes out in 1986.  They support the album with almost 150 shows in the next 2 years.  And, that's with taking time off due to Cliff's death.  Justice comes out in 1988 and they perform about 250 shows over the next 2 years.  They take off most of 1990 for some much-needed rest.  Then, they put out Metallica and proceed to tour it over the next 3 years with about 350 shows.  That's insane.

Sure, MJ had the hysteria of a Beatles or whatever boy band there's been in the past 40 years and obviously had the album sales.  His is also a much more accessible type of music.  Metallica write and record all their own material (MJ didn't even write 1/2 of the songs on Thriller), didn't have a music video for the first 5-6 years of their existence and tour like fucking lunatics in sold-out arenas worldwide.  James breaks his arm during one tour and gets set on fire during another tour.  They reschedule a bit, slap a cast on James and get John Marshall to play rhythm guitar.  Like 'em or not, for what they've put out and what goes on in their world, Metallica has got to be one of the most, if not THE, most prolific hard-rock/metal band of all-time.

[DoctorAction]

I might be incorrect but I only think of prolific in terms of putting out albums.

[KevShmev]

Yep, prolific is not a word I would ever use to describe Metallica.  10 studio albums in nearly 40 years is prolific?  Not really.  Sure, if you want to throw in the covers, the Lulu debacle and S&M thing, we can fudge the numbers a little to make their case not so egregious, but there are tons of hard rock and metal bands who, while not as successful in the mainstream, have been far more prolific.  Hard-working? Given all of the touring they have done over the years, for sure, but just not a prolific band when it comes to the amount of new music they have written and recorded as a band on their own.

[MirrorMask]

They were prolific up until the Black Album, and the five years gap with Load is forgiven by three years of touring. From Garage Inc onwards, the pace with studio album has been so slooooow.

[WildRanger]

What's crazy is Michael Jackson didn't even tour for Thriller.  He played one show in 1983, spent over 2.5 years recording Bad and didn't do another concert until 1987.  Now, look at Metallica.  Puppets comes out in 1986.  They support the album with almost 150 shows in the next 2 years.  And, that's with taking time off due to Cliff's death.  Justice comes out in 1988 and they perform about 250 shows over the next 2 years.  They take off most of 1990 for some much-needed rest.  Then, they put out Metallica and proceed to tour it over the next 3 years with about 350 shows.  That's insane.

AJFA went 8 Platinum in the USA. It was a huge seller. I'm surprised it has outsold Master of Puppets (6 Platinum) since it has only one HIT - One.