Official Metallica top 50 Countdown Thread!! (Top 2 featured!!!!!)

[nobloodyname]

St Ang - 3

I could easily have included a couple more songs from St Anger. I think I had three songs from it between 51 and 60. Gutted I had to leave them out because I feel it's a good album.

That album is just too unlistenable and actually hurts my ears to listen to most of it.  Like Kirk says in SKOM, not having solos totally dates the album.  I've watched the movie way more times than I've listened to St. Anger.

Is "too unlistenable" a bit like being too dead or too pregnant?

I don't have any issue listening to it in terms of its sonic quality, unlike Death Magnetic, but I can understand everyone's criticism of both that and the music itself. It came along at a rather intense period of my life and perhaps that's why I developed a soft spot for it. And yes, it's certainly an album of its time although I don't think guitar solos would have fit the music, anyway. I think it was Dirty Window they added a solo to live and it didn't really work for me.

[nobloodyname]

It would seem my dislike for DM is a very minority view here.

I think it's a collection of reasonable songs but nothing more than that. And it's one of the most poorly mastered records in existence, of course. Although the award for *the* most poorly mastered belongs to Baroness's Purple. And that was a conscious decision, apparently. You want to hear any album that's genuinely unlistenable? That's the one.

Anyway, I digress.

Death Magnetic is simply fine. And that's why it has no songs inside my top 50.

[Dave_Manchester]

Probably some edge lord somewhere who'll leave out Ronnie.

You jest but I love that song and it'll probably make my list (if this were a top 60 then every song on Load and Reload would make it). I think it's a great 'story' song with music and vocals that perfectly fit the tale it's telling.

[devieira73]

Just a heads up, but I was listening to the work in progress - rough mixes of And Justice for All on Spotify, released in the deluxe version, and I think it sounds better than the actual album mix.
Edit: but... it's missing some lyrics and solos (as "work in progress" suggests)

[nobloodyname]

Probably some edge lord somewhere who'll leave out Ronnie.

You jest but I love that song and it'll probably make my list (if this were a top 60 then every song on Load and Reload would make it). I think it's a great 'story' song with music and vocals that perfectly fit the tale it's telling.

I do jest and I'm pleased it wasn't wasted!

I absolutely love the song and, no spoilers(!), it made my list. I'm not sure our common love for it will be replicated by the masses and I therefore suspect it shan't be bothering the scorer

[Dream Team]

It's sent. Definitely left out a few concert staples that I'm sick to death of.

[billboy73]

St Ang - 3

I could easily have included a couple more songs from St Anger. I think I had three songs from it between 51 and 60. Gutted I had to leave them out because I feel it's a good album.

I don't think anyone else will have Invisible Kid in their top 5.

I keed    But I do enjoy a good chunk of St Anger.  The snare gets a little annoying at points, but I like the looseness of the production overall.  I like that they didn't clean up the vocals and the guitars.  It's definitely a little repetitive at points and a few of the songs are crying out for solos...  There were a couple of other tracks that were close to my 50.

[cfmoran13]

I don't have any issue listening to it in terms of its sonic quality, unlike Death Magnetic, but I can understand everyone's criticism of both that and the music itself.

I hate the brickwalled sound of DM, too.  That's why I listen to the GH3 or Deceifer Remix.  Much better sound.  When the album came out, I was absolutely thrilled with the songs themselves.  To me, it was the best they'd done since AJFA.  You could actually hear that album in some of the songs, too.  However, even taking out the snare, St. Anger, to me, was just too abrasive-sounding.  I totally get that, as they say, timeline is everything.  When that album came out, I was 30 years old.  And, it just didn't really fit in with me, at the time.  Still doesn't.  I'm glad that there are music fans with whom the album resonates.  It just falls flat with me.

[nobloodyname]

I don't have any issue listening to it in terms of its sonic quality, unlike Death Magnetic, but I can understand everyone's criticism of both that and the music itself.

I hate the brickwalled sound of DM, too.  That's why I listen to the GH3 or Deceifer Remix.  Much better sound.  When the album came out, I was absolutely thrilled with the songs themselves.  To me, it was the best they'd done since AJFA.  You could actually hear that album in some of the songs, too.  However, even taking out the snare, St. Anger, to me, was just too abrasive-sounding.  I totally get that, as they say, timeline is everything.  When that album came out, I was 30 years old.  And, it just didn't really fit in with me, at the time.  Still doesn't.  I'm glad that there are music fans with whom the album resonates.  It just falls flat with me.

I was also 30 when St Anger was released, funnily enough.

Yes, I've had the Death Magnetic GH3 remixes* since release. I just irks me that even all these years later, if we want to hear Death Magnetic at its aural best, we have to listen to an unauthorised version. I know there's a debate regarding it not being the artist's true vision (hi, Stadler!) but yeah, when the original is as fucked as it is, I don't care about the artist's original vision. And I also can't justify Lars' cloth ears (if memory serves, he pulled an Iraqi Information Minister move and said he couldn't hear what was wrong with it).

*for anyone who doesn't know, they're effectively remixes rather than remasters as such because the creator had access to what were basically stems taken from the Guitar Hero files. Those stems were effectively unmastered so hadn't been subjected to everything being slammed to 11 and another 10db on top of that. Since Death Magentic was released concurrently in shops, online and in Guitar Hero, it meant the so-called Guitar Hero 3 Mix/Version/Remasters etc instantly became very popular. And yes, the Guitar Hero series was a really big deal back then!

[cfmoran13]

Wasn't it Death Magnetic whose final mix was hated so much by the guy that mixed it that he had his name removed from the album credits?

[Dave_Manchester]

Question for the group: did any of you know from the beginning, basically without needing to think about it, what your #1 song was going to be? I ask because for me Metallica has never been a band where I have a clear favourite song, there has always been an elite group of (hang on, let me count...) 9 songs, any one of which I can consider my favourite on any given day.

[Adami]

Question for the group: did any of you know from the beginning, basically without needing to think about it, what your #1 song was going to be? I ask because for me Metallica has never been a band where I have a clear favourite song, there has always been an elite group of (hang on, let me count...) 9 songs, any one of which I can consider my favourite on any given day.

I knew my top 2. The rest are likely to change on a day by day basis.

[TAC]

I knew my favorite song.

[The Realm]

I definitely knew what my number 1 would be, and probably my number 2. After that I wasn't at all sure until I started looking into it and doing the ranking.

[cfmoran13]

Question for the group: did any of you know from the beginning, basically without needing to think about it, what your #1 song was going to be? I ask because for me Metallica has never been a band where I have a clear favourite song, there has always been an elite group of (hang on, let me count...) 9 songs, any one of which I can consider my favourite on any given day.

I knew my Top 3 exactly how they came out.  After that, I was a little less sure.

[twosuitsluke]

I knew my favorite song.

[nobloodyname]

Wasn't it Death Magnetic whose final mix was hated so much by the guy that mixed it that he had his name removed from the album credits?

It's not usually the mix that people cite as being the issue with Death Magnetic, it's the mastering. It's brickwalled and then some. I don't recall if the mastering engineer disassociated themselves with it, though.

Regarding whether I knew my top song: um... sort of? But it ended up being between two and when I sat there and pondered which one I would take if I could only ever hear one Metallica song for the rest of my life, I went with the 'other' one because it contained more of the elements that make Metallica, Metallica. Truth is, I love both songs equally.

[Duetsch Dream Dates]

Just a heads up, but I was listening to the work in progress - rough mixes of And Justice for All on Spotify, released in the deluxe version, and I think it sounds better than the actual album mix.
Edit: but... it's missing some lyrics and solos (as "work in progress" suggests)

When I mentioned the Black Album rough mixes (which often come up for different songs on Spotify/Pandora), there are at least 3 songs on TBA that definitely had more bite to them in the rough mixes than the album, and for two of those mixes the vocal and guitar takes were closer to what they sounded like on Justice than the final black album mixes (at least to my ears).

[WilliamMunny]

Question for the group: did any of you know from the beginning, basically without needing to think about it, what your #1 song was going to be? I ask because for me Metallica has never been a band where I have a clear favourite song, there has always been an elite group of (hang on, let me count...) 9 songs, any one of which I can consider my favourite on any given day.

I instantly knew my top 5, and was pleasantly surprised when the ranker pretty much nailed my top 10.

Like so many of us, I was already intimately familiar with the Metallica back catalog, as those records are all a part of my formative years.

Still, as a 42-year-old, I rarely get the itch to listen MOP or KEA. So, when doing lists like this, I tend to go with 'what do I want to listen to today?'

I have a Load/ReLoad playlist that's gotten tons of play over the past ten years. In fact, I think that era of Metallica resonates more with me now than the band's 'thrash' years ever did when I was 15.

[DragonAttack]

I knew my favorite song.

Me, too....but nothing from 'Garage Inc' was allowed.

There's a handful of covers of a certain band that I actually like and admire (two by Tommy Johansson that you passed along were    ).  The rest....I get about 15-30 seconds in and 'click, that's enough'.

And then you have 'Stone Cold Crazy'  Seeing the rehearsal footage for The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert .....   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w21_dD8c0-k&t=27s ..... with James, Toni Iommi, Sir Brian May.....Roger Taylor discussing the set list with James, James and Tony briefly at a bar....

And then that performance!!!     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JNz7QlYwk4&list=PL598E5638FC92B022&index=3     

[hefdaddy42]

Just a heads up, but I was listening to the work in progress - rough mixes of And Justice for All on Spotify, released in the deluxe version, and I think it sounds better than the actual album mix.
Edit: but... it's missing some lyrics and solos (as "work in progress" suggests)

When I mentioned the Black Album rough mixes (which often come up for different songs on Spotify/Pandora), there are at least 3 songs on TBA that definitely had more bite to them in the rough mixes than the album, and for two of those mixes the vocal and guitar takes were closer to what they sounded like on Justice than the final black album mixes (at least to my ears).

If AJFA had been mixed the way that the Black Album was, it might be my favorite album of all time.

[Stadler]

Question for the group: did any of you know from the beginning, basically without needing to think about it, what your #1 song was going to be? I ask because for me Metallica has never been a band where I have a clear favourite song, there has always been an elite group of (hang on, let me count...) 9 songs, any one of which I can consider my favourite on any given day.

I know my favorite; but I'm not as major a fan as some here. Easily a third of that list I have to revisit to even remember how the choruses go.

[billboy73]

I definitely knew my top 3 going into this, and it hasn't changed in quite some time.

[pg1067]

Question for the group: did any of you know from the beginning, basically without needing to think about it, what your #1 song was going to be?

I was 95% sure about #1, and then the ranker confirmed it.  I did, however, move more songs around from what the ranker spat out than any of the countdowns so far.

[TAC]

  I did, however, move more songs around from what the ranker spat out than any of the countdowns so far.

This. Big time.

[axeman90210]

I refuse to alter the lists that the rankings engine spits out, if I start tinkering I'll drive myself mad . I submitted my list last night, concentrated in the "classic" albums, but representation for their entire discography:

Kill Em All- 3
Ride the Lightning- 7
Master of Puppets- 7
... And Justice for All- 6
Metallica- 7
Load- 7
Reload- 4
S&M- 1
St. Anger- 3
Death Magnetic- 3
Hardwired to Self Destruct- 2

[Deadeye21]

Question for the group: did any of you know from the beginning, basically without needing to think about it, what your #1 song was going to be? I ask because for me Metallica has never been a band where I have a clear favourite song, there has always been an elite group of (hang on, let me count...) 9 songs, any one of which I can consider my favourite on any given day.

I knew the top 2, figured a few of the ones in the top 10 would be in the top 20, was kinda surprised by what order other things fell in but still felt happy and like it was right.

[devieira73]

Relistening to all the albums last 2 weeks... wow, it kind of surprised me how Load is really good!! I always liked the album a lot, but it's even better than I remembered.

[Dave_Manchester]

Relistening to all the albums last 2 weeks... wow, it kind of surprised me how Load is really good!! I always liked the album a lot, but it's even better than I remember.

Yeah it's great. I far prefer it to the black album..

[Zoom E]

  I did, however, move more songs around from what the ranker spat out than any of the countdowns so far.

This. Big time.

I used the ranker yesterday and also need to make a lot of modifications to my list before I submit it.

[cfmoran13]

Wasn't it Death Magnetic whose final mix was hated so much by the guy that mixed it that he had his name removed from the album credits?

It's not usually the mix that people cite as being the issue with Death Magnetic, it's the mastering.

100% correct.  That's actually what I meant to type. 

[TAC]

Just submitted..

Kill 'Em All.....9
RIde The Lightning....6
Master Of Puppets....6
And Justice For All....6
The Black Album....9
Load....4
Reload....1
St. Anger...0
Death Magnetic....6
Hardwired....3

[NoFred]

Sent. Difficult to rank, lots of consistently good stuff. Went with what the ranker gave me.

I was probably most biased by what songs I’ve seen live here, when compared to the other lists.

Kill   1
Lightning   6
Puppets   8
Justice   9
Black   6
Load   4
Reload   6
Anger   5
Death   0
Hardwired   5

[wolfking]

Sent. Difficult to rank, lots of consistently good stuff. Went with what the ranker gave me.

I was probably most biased by what songs I’ve seen live here, when compared to the other lists.

Kill   1
Lightning   6
Puppets   8
Justice   9
Black   6
Load   4
Reload   6
Anger   5
Death   0
Hardwired   5

Maybe I won't have the most St Anger songs listed....

[KevShmev]

20 lists so far have been accepted and updated to the spreadsheet!

And none rejected so far!! 

One week left to submit, and I am guessing there are still at least 5-10 more to come.