Is there any one metal album that we can all agree is an absolute classic?

[Pitiless Wanderer]

Battery, despite the classic intro, is inferior to both.

You've got to be shitting me, dude. Battery itself is a classic song. Much stronger than TUI and Escape. Total no-brainer.

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

But you're right that The Shortest Straw is probably the weakest song they wrote during that 4 album period. Horrible song, actually, with one of the most annoying guitar riffs known to man.

 

[The Ozzman]

You've got to be shitting me, dude. Battery itself is a classic song. Much stronger than TUI and Escape. Total no-brainer.

Battery is the best song Metallica ever wrote.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

You've got to be shitting me, dude. Battery itself is a classic song. Much stronger than TUI and Escape. Total no-brainer.

Trapped Under Ice is a quintessential speed/thrash song, that riff (originally from Impaler of course) has been copied so many times ranging from Possessed's Death Metal to Helloween's Ride the Sky, and the intensity is incredible. Escape I love for the wonky drumming and sweet melodic chorus.

I don't deny that Battery is a classic, but it's one that gets old, much like Iron Man.

 

[CF87]

Actually you're wrong about that. Trapped Under Ice was written by Dave Mustaine, the riff is original.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Escape is the weakest track off the first four albums. The trash-talking on Leper Messiah and Battery is nonsense.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

No, you're thinking of Am I Evil. Trapped Under Ice was written by that black Jamaican guy who played in Metallica before Mustaine.

 

[no country for old wainds]

'harvester of sorrow' is the worst of the first four to me, but 'the shortest straw' is definitely in the running.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Harvester of Sorrow used to be my least favorite cuz I thought it dragged, but it kinda fits the bleak atmosphere of the album imo

 

[crimsonfloyd]

'harvester of sorrow' is the worst of the first four to me, but 'the shortest straw' is definitely in the running.

Both are very good. Nothing off AJFA is lower than a 9/10.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Your standard for a 9/10 must be quite low. Eye of the Beholder and The Shortest Straw are both serviceable, To Live is to Die has some good ideas considering it is a slapped-together tribute, and The Frayed Ends of Sanity is pretty cool, but none of those are 9/10s. More like 7/10s.

 

[no country for old wainds]

AJFA is pretty messy and/or repetitive on the face of it, loads of transparent gestures toward Serious Music in the absence of actual compositional intelligence - you can tell they were desperate at this stage of their careers to appear more clever and ahead-of-the-curve than they actually were. i still love it though, it has such an original sound and atmosphere and a number of really strong passages.

 

[Phylactery]

It's no more repetitive than Master of Puppets (some of those songs drag on for an eternity) from what I remember. I'm listening to AJFA now to see what my opinion of it is these days.

it's one that gets old, much like Iron Man.

Glad I'm not the only one that isn't huge on "iron Man". I don't even think it's due to overplay either, it's never been one of my favourites on the album.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Your standard for a 9/10 must be quite low. Eye of the Beholder and The Shortest Straw are both serviceable, To Live is to Die has some good ideas considering it is a slapped-together tribute, and The Frayed Ends of Sanity is pretty cool, but none of those are 9/10s. More like 7/10s.

As always, feel much better about my opinion when I know you disagree with it.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

AJFA is pretty messy and/or repetitive on the face of it, loads of transparent gestures toward Serious Music in the absence of actual compositional intelligence - you can tell they were desperate at this stage of their careers to appear more clever and ahead-of-the-curve than they actually were. i still love it though, it has such an original sound and atmosphere and a number of really strong passages.

Metallica was compositionally self-smart, that's all you really need in metal.

 

[grndrgn]

Master of Reality
Vol.4
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Ride The Lightning
Master Of Puppets
...And Justice For All
Rust In Peace
Countdown To Extinction
Youthanasia

 

[CF87]

AJFA is pretty messy and/or repetitive on the face of it, loads of transparent gestures toward Serious Music in the absence of actual compositional intelligence - you can tell they were desperate at this stage of their careers to appear more clever and ahead-of-the-curve than they actually were. i still love it though, it has such an original sound and atmosphere and a number of really strong passages.

Songs are 4,5 minutes to long.

 

[The Ozzman]

AJFA is pretty messy and/or repetitive on the face of it, loads of transparent gestures toward Serious Music in the absence of actual compositional intelligence - you can tell they were desperate at this stage of their careers to appear more clever and ahead-of-the-curve than they actually were. i still love it though, it has such an original sound and atmosphere and a number of really strong passages.

When did I join ANUS?

 

[no country for old wainds]

ehh that post wasn't very anusy, and i should know lol. you don't have to be a self-appointed nihilistic eco-terrorist or whatever the fuck to feel that overcomplicating or over-repeating for the sake of it doesn't equal good songwriting. metallica were obviously more compositionally savvy than most metal bands, they just bought into their own hype a bit too much by that point i think. feels weird to be saying this when i'm normally the one defending AJFA on here but there ya go

 

[HamburgerBoy]

The main thing was losing Burton probably. He was credited on pretty much all the most interesting and innovative songs of RTL and MOP.