METALLICA ALBUM RANKING GAME: FINAL LIST

Diesel 11 said:
This is a wild take. I don't see how an album like TBA would rank lower than St. Anger or the Loads. For whatever it's worth, here's how Metal Archives ranks Metallica based on their reviews:
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Maybe, I don't want to fall victim to the fallacy of making assumptions about an opinion that doesn't actually exist, but I think historically The Black Album was more pivotal to Metallica's "betrayal" to the Metal community than the Loads were, just because by the time of those albums the hardcore metal fans had already dropped off. I could be totally wrong there, but I could imagine a level of animus toward this album compared to more of an indifference toward what came after.

In the internet era and with 30 years of context since the release, Black is solidified as a classic, but I think it is significant that it draws the line between Metallica as a underground metal titan and Metallica as a pop culture phenomenon. We all live in the world of the second thing, so it's hard to reckon with how big of a shift this album was for them.
 
Mosh said:
Maybe, I don't want to fall victim to the fallacy of making assumptions about an opinion that doesn't actually exist, but I think historically The Black Album was more pivotal to Metallica's "betrayal" to the Metal community than the Loads were, just because by the time of those albums the hardcore metal fans had already dropped off. I could be totally wrong there, but I could imagine a level of animus toward this album compared to more of an indifference toward what came after.
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This is certainly true, but I think the other thing to keep in mind is how much of a gateway album this was for young metal fans, both then and now. Even if we've heard better material since, there was truly something magic about hearing a song like "Enter Sandman" or "Wherever I May Roam" for the first time. So I think factoring in the nostalgia that many people have for it is also necessary. This would also be a much different discussion if we were talking in, say 1992 instead of 2024, where The Black Album is already considered 'classic rock' lol.
 
I ranked The Black Album pretty highly as my #4 and it's simply down to the strength of the songwriting, the performances, and the production. The songs that are good are absolute timeless classics, even if I'm sick to death of some of them.

That said, I also think it is one of the hardest albums to relisten to over time because there's just not much hiding beneath the top layer. It's pretty surface level. But it's a perfect, shallow album.
 
Jer said:
To me it was a sellout, dropping a lot of what made Metallica interesting in the first place in order to showcase Hetfield’s newly pristine metal voice and win over all the frat boys who like their stuff dumb, loud, and a little slower. That said, there are a number of genuinely great songs on offer here alongside the filler, and while I’d very rarely want to sit down and slog through the entirety of the album, I’d happily listen to the good stuff in isolation.
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The real sellouts were the Load -Reload twins, with those MTV video clips and them, the entire band cutting their hair. Black Album was too heavy to be called that.

EDIT: Or we can call Somewhere in Time a sellout too.
 
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____no5 said:
The real sellouts were the Load -Reload twins, with those MTV video clips and them, the entire band cutting their hair. Black Album was too heavy to be called that.
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Nope. Black album slowed everything down to 120bps or less (aiming for pop audiences), usually kept things down to 1 or 2 simplistic riffs, and ladled on one repetitive chorus after another. The musical sellout happened in 1991. The image sellout was in 1995.
 
Jer said:
Nope. Black album slowed everything down to 120bps or less (aiming for pop audiences), usually kept things down to 1 or 2 simplistic riffs, and ladled on one repetitive chorus after another. The musical sellout happened in 1991. The image sellout was in 1995.
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It must have been intentional which is the definition of sell out but the songs are so damn good and sound out of this world that I cannot spell this word for Black Album. Typical sellouts have something ugly on them, like Load -Reload or Risk or Judas Priest attempts or so it seems to me.
 
1:
2:
3: And Justice For All
4: Metallica
5: Death Magnetic
6: Kill Em All
7: Hardwired...To Self Destruct
8: Reload
9: Load
10: 72 Seasons
11: St. Anger

Total score: 182

Highest score: 11 (@frus @KidInTheDark666 @JudasMyGuide @Night Prowler)
Lowest score: 6 (@____no5)

What is known to some as the last "great" Metallica album unsurprising has a strong third place finish with a not-insignificant lead over Black and all albums before it. Very few detractors from this album with the vast majority of lists placing it somewhere in the top three and only two lists placing it lower than the top four. Really no surprises here IMO, while this album has a pretty strong contingent of fans who believe it to be the best thing Metallica ever did, it faces tough competition from its two predecessors.

I know I already made a Star Wars reference related to Metallica, but I'm going to do it again. If Ride the Lightning/Master of Puppets/AJFA represents the Original Trilogy, And Justice For All is Metallica's Return of the Jedi. Still a classic and has enough of that old school Metallica glow to make it charming to fans of that era, but at the same time you really start to see some cracks beneath the surface and hear hints of missteps to come. A lot of the songs are very long and sometimes meandering with several feeling like a collection of otherwise unrelated riffs. To Live Is to Die is a pretty good example, when you compare it to the instrumentals on their previous albums, you don't hear as much attention to arrangement and dynamic builds. This album also is the first of many where the production leaves fans scratching their heads. The lack of bass really hurts this album and makes several songs feel demo quality. I don't know if we'll ever have a clear answer as to why this decision was made (it seems like the official answer has changed over the years) but regardless of the reason it seriously hurts this album.

One thing that really stuck out to me on this discography listen is how similar And Justice For All is to Death Magnetic. Minus the more modern sounding production and James voice clearly having aged, I could easily see DM being a followup to Justice. Very similar stylistically and feels like they're exploring similar musical themes. Where Death Magnetic doesn't quite stick the landing is mostly less memorable lyrics and guitar solos, and also the previously mentioned lack of a huge standout song. On And Justice For All, One is the clear exception to what I was saying earlier about the lack os strong arrangements on this album. Despite the song's length, One is much more cohesive than a lot of the other songs on the album and the song contains one of the best marriages of music and lyrics found within the Metallica catalog. In general, the lyrics on AJFA are quite strong and a step up from previous albums, but a lot of times it feels like the lyrics and vocals exist separate from the instrumental arrangements. One is the exception here and, whether it's true or not, feels like there was more attention given to how the two would interact. It's one of Metallica's most beloved songs for good reason.

Despite its flaws I generally really enjoy this album. You can easily pick it apart obviously, but it's kinda similar to a lot of Iron Maiden's albums for me. Sure the songwriting can leave a lot to be desired and it doesn't really feel like much thought is given to the arrangements, but at the same time it's just a lot of fun to listen to. There are some great riffs, Kirk really pulled it together for his solos, and even Lars sounds pretty good on a few songs. I understand the band's decision to change gears after this album, but I would have liked to have heard them go one more level into the proggy territory with the same socially aware lyrical themes. Maybe it's for the better that it took until 2008 for us to get something resembling that, but I can't help but feel that AJFA gets really close to being Metallica's masterpiece and continues to fall short. They were on to something and could have developed it for more one more album, IDK.
 
I love how different …And justice for all and Metallica are from each other, just how different Metallica and Load/Reload are as well. The self titled have that fat guitar sound, James becoming a professional singer, the songs getting a little shorter. I really love it. But Nothing else matters is VERY overplayed and dull, especially compared to the S&M version.

And justice for all was my first Metallica studio album. And among my favorites. Tons of good solos and riffs. Blackened are one of the best opening songs ever. One kicks ass all day. The shortest straw, one forgotten album track just as good as any other 80’s Metallica song. To live is to die, very beautiful. Great last blast with Dyers eve.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
If Hetfield did a few more vocal takes to make it perfect, All Nightmare Long could be an all-time classic. It's one of the best choruses they've written since the 90s.
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Out of curiosity, what do you dislike about the vocals in All Nightmare Long? The only thing I notice is what might be obvious pitch correction in the choruses.
 
Midnight said:
Out of curiosity, what do you dislike about the vocals in All Nightmare Long? The only thing I notice is what might be obvious pitch correction in the choruses.
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It's just a bit rough. It sounds like an early take (or, more likely, like they did very few takes). The same can be said of all the vocals on St. Anger, the difference here is that it's actually a good melody and song.
 
1: Ride the Lightning
2: Master of Puppets
3: And Justice For All
4: Metallica
5: Death Magnetic
6: Kill Em All
7: Hardwired...To Self Destruct
8: Reload
9: Load
10: 72 Seasons
11: St. Anger

In the previous erroneous iteration of the list, MOP and RTL were tied for first place

RTL total score: 195

Highest score: 11 (@Iron Taipei @Siddharth @Confeos @Mosh @Sth2112 @LooseCannon)
Lowest score: 8 (@Shmoolikipod @Night Prowler @____no5 @KidInTheDark666)

MOP total score: 192

Highest score: 11 (@Diesel 11 @MindRuler @Jer @Azas @KiDDo @MrKnickerbocker)
Lowest score: 6 (@KidInTheDark666)

This one was very close! Almost every list had RTL and MOP in the top two, obviously the ordered varied somewhat and in the end I think it just came down to MOP having a couple more lists where it was rated lower compared to RTL. It might as well have been a tie, and this was by far the closest result between two albums. I'm not sure you can reliably say one is more beloved than the other in this case.

I personally go back and forth quite a bit, although I placed RTL #1 and MOP #2. Puppets is objectively better in quite a few measures. The production, the playing, James' vocals. The band took a pretty big leap from RTL and MOP and this feels like the first album where they are a "serious" band. On the other hand, I think RTL just has tighter and slightly more memorable songs. Some of the material on Puppets is a little overly long while RTL does not have a single riff out of place or a song that overstays its welcome. It's a close call though for sure. One very powerful thing MOP has going for it is that Battery/Master of Puppets could be the greatest 1-2 punch in Metal music. Possibly only rivaled by Creeping Death/Call of Ktulu...

Not much to say on this one, we all know these albums and I don't think anyone is surprised by these results. Overall I think this is a pretty solid Metallica ranking and pretty close to consensus on a few of these. Thanks for playing everyone!
 
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