What do you consider the weak moments on Puppets and Justice to be?
My thoughts from previous years, but I'll play the albums soon again for this edition:
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On Master of Puppets: I find that a big part of it lacks some inspiration and it sounds tame. The previous albums have so much more energy.
Ride The Lightning sets itself apart because of some really nice melodies, solos and harmonies (the Maidenish ending harmony in
Fade To Black still sends shivers down my spine!). Also this album contains a lot of variety.
Master of Puppets is the more successful/popular album but apart from a few tracks I miss the melodic/catchy-aspects from its predecessor. My favourite tracks are the title track and Welcome Home (Sanitarium). Of course there are some amazing riffs but some tracks tend to bore more me sooner. There’s also less variety, especially the mood feels the same most of the time. I don't care much for the whole b-side of Puppets.
One is
one of my favourite Metallica songs but most of the
And Justice for All album bores me to tears. To Live Is To Die is quite a good instrumental. My only "complaint" is that that the pieces don't flow that well into each other, as if the connections sound a bit forced (various recording sessions pasted together). But it has enough strong melodies and variation to to be liked well! AJFA suffers from the
Puppets syndrome, although One is a clear exception in the melodical department and I also thought Blackened was a very strong opener. Unfortunately most other songs are quite repetitive and monotone.
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@MrKnickerbocker I am also not a big fan of thrash in general. I do like some Slayer though, especially the South of Heaven album. Incidentally It was the first album for which the band prepared their songs well. I also dig some Metal Church albums. I like some Exodus. ... And I dig Kill'Em All. Those riffs are very infectious and the vocals are bearable compared to many Thrash vocalists imo. Whatever the genre, I find it a very enjoyable collection of songs with an own identity.