Controversial opinions on metal

I never got around to listening to Redeemer of Souls before the Priest thread, so that album aside, and keeping things at roughly the same length as Virtual XI...

Prophecy
Take on the World
Bullet Train
Decapitate
Night Comes Down
Parental Guidance
Living Bad Dreams
Love You to Death
Monsters of Rock
Heavy Duty/Defenders of the Faith

OK that would still be pretty fucking bad if only because half the songs would be arena rock, but whatever, I think I'd still pick it over Virtual XI. There isn't a single song as bad as Lightning Strikes Twice, The Educated Fool, or Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger, even if Futureal is better than most/all of those songs.
 
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As of @crimsonfloyd's Iron Maiden thread, I'm questioning whether I still think Judas Priest are more consistent than Iron Maiden.

I don't think that's very controversial. Sure, some of Maiden's post-80s albums are rather bloated and have their filler, but there's very few flat out bad songs. The only album that I find straight up unenjoyable is X Factor (I've only heard Virtual XI once so I withhold comment on that one for the moment) and even then, it's mostly just boring, not offensive.

Contrast that with Priest who have the two terrible Ripper Owens albums, the neverending snoozefest that is Nostradamus, and then a number of albums (Point of Entry, Turbo, Ram it Down) with tracks that are so bad they are virtually unlistenable. Granted, two of those those albums have some great songs too, but Maiden rarely, if ever, hits the lows "Johny B. Good" "Parental Guidance" or "All the Way."
 
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So it's happened that we've already done all four the years containing the first four Metallica albums. I've come to the conclusion that Ride the Lightning is the weakest of the first four Metallica albums, though it is still an A- album with numerous masterpieces on it.
 
No, it's the strongest by far. "Escape" being then only weak point. And even then it's tolerable. MoP is the weakest. Plodding and dull and not very memorable.
 
No, it's the strongest by far. "Escape" being then only weak point. And even then it's tolerable. MoP is the weakest. Plodding and dull and not very memorable.

WTF? Plodding and dull? I could see the case for The Thing that Should Not Be and Welcome Home, but the rest of the album is driven. And Escape is easily the worst song of the first four albums. The only one that is lower than a 8/10 (I'd give it a 6/10).
 
Never heard that one. Alex Jones is fucking amazing. Info Creepin is better though, I legitimately get chills listening to it (YOU DON'T SELL WHISKY TO A GOD)

 
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So it's happened that we've already done all four the years containing the first four Metallica albums. I've come to the conclusion that Ride the Lightning is the weakest of the first four Metallica albums, though it is still an A- album with numerous masterpieces on it.
No, it's the strongest by far. "Escape" being then only weak point. And even then it's tolerable. MoP is the weakest. Plodding and dull and not very memorable.

Ride the Lightning > Kill 'em All > Master of Puppets > And Justice for All

And Justice for All loses points (or whatever) especially because its production is utter trash.
 
The Shortest Straw < all

yeah, and i know you disagree but i'd have 'harvester of sorrow' down there as well. 'escape' is clearly worse than anything on MoP though, 'trapped under ice' arguably is as well. RtL hits high peaks more often though and it's their most economical and atmospheric record overall, still probably my favourite by a hair. these are obviously the best two in their discography in any case, i have a huge soft spot for AJFA and it may actually be my personal favourite (and the production is the best thing about it so fu cig, one of my all-time favourites in that respect) but the songwriting's very ropey, while KeA, though super-consistent, just generally aims lower and isn't as far removed from its influences as the next three.
 
Ride the Lightning > Kill 'em All > Master of Puppets > And Justice for All

And Justice for All loses points (or whatever) especially because its production is utter trash.

Wow, mine is the exact opposite. AJFA>MOP>KEA>RTL. However, I really couldn't begrudge someone for ranking these four in any order, as I see what makes each one special.

I have always loved the production on AJFA. Super raw and visceral.
 
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yeah, and i know you disagree but i'd have 'harvester of sorrow' down there as well. 'escape' is clearly worse than anything on MoP though, 'trapped under ice' arguably is as well. RtL hits high peaks more often though and it's their most economical and atmospheric record overall, still probably my favourite by a hair. these are obviously the best two in their discography in any case, i have a huge soft spot for AJFA and it may actually be my personal favourite (and the production is the best thing about it so fu cig, one of my all-time favourites in that respect) but the songwriting's very ropey, while KeA, though super-consistent, just generally aims lower and isn't as far removed from its influences as the next three.

Harvester of Sorrow used to be my least favorite for a long time tbh, I can see why people wouldn't like it and it's still far from an album favorite.

Escape is better than Battery and Leper Messiah. Possibly Sanitarium and Damage Inc as well.