My favorite Metallica album has always been "Ride the Lightning". I think it stands as their peak and almost every track works.
I am not a big fan of he black album or "And justice for all", but they have some good songs. However "St. Anger" was a total misfire. They attenpted to create a heavier sound, but it came across and lame, stiff and contrived. The drum sound was even worse than all of the above.
I'm with you on both of these. Master of Puppets is probably their best album, because it really managed to reach out beyond thrash without sacrificing much. Still, Ride the Lightning has more intensity. It remains my favorite.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think And Justice For All is certainly their most overrated effort, it has its moments. St Anger doesn't get as much undeserved praise, but it really has nothing to offer. I've never been able to get through it in one sitting. It's like an exercise in dull.
Master of Puppets is my undisputed favorite metal album of all time, but I have a soft spot for Ride the Lighting because it was the first time I ever heard Metallica.
ReplyDeleteI think that "And Justice..." gets a bad rap. It has aged terribly, but it was an impressive statement at the time. And God knows there's a big difference between trying to hard to stretch your boundaries (a la "And Justice for All") and trying too hard to be someone you used to be 20 years ago (a la St Anger, Death Magnetic).
I still hold the most scorn for the Black album. That probably says more about me than it does about the music.
I have always been partial to Ride the Lightning as well. On my 21st birthday a local cover band did "For Whom The Bill Tolls" in my honor. =)
ReplyDeleteLoved hearing them play it live Tuesday night. I must agree that St. Anger is god awful.
St. Anger was awful, I don't think there is much debate with that. Even the damn movie was awful, but I'm not going to be popular in naming my favorite. The Black Album is what got me started on Metallica so I must say that is my all time favorite. As I've gotten older I do love the earlier stuff based on intensity, but Black will always be my favorite.
ReplyDeleteKill Em All will always be my favorite. I got the No Life Til Leather demo right before the album came out and played both of them constantly.
ReplyDeleteI remember buying Ride The Lightning the day it came out and rushing home to hear it. The song "Escape" really bummed me out. I still hate that song but the rest of the album is great.
Even though I've never heard all of Load/Reload I will pick those as my least favorites because I was outraged by their lame "alternative rock" makeover.
Master is still my hands-down favorite, and (stop me if you've heard this before) St. Anger is literally unlistenable.
ReplyDeleteI remember my first reaction to hearing Metallica, and Ride The Lightning, was "What the hell is this crap?" since it was so different than the mainstream metal I was listening to. But after going back to it after worshipping Master (no pun intended), I now appreciate (and love) Lightning a whole lot more.