Metallica: Everything Ranked
Metallica are, without question, one of the most important bands to have ever played on Planet Earth - and they have certainly toured it plenty of times. There are a lot of other Metallica album rankings out there, so we have gone one step further and included EPs, live albums and collaborations, ranking them in order of quality and how essential they are. Check out this Spotify playlist for a selection of fan favourites and obscurities, and have your say in the comments!
It had to be, really, didn’t it?
Few albums throughout history have inspired such universal confusion and derision as ‘Lulu’, an unlikely collaboration between Metallica and Lou Reed. It was certainly an intriguing concept, to combine Lou Reed’s near-spoken delivery of vivid, often vulgar poetry with Metallica’s bruising riffage. But stretching this concept over a double album made for an endurance test that challenged even the most devout of fans.
It’s unlikely anyone would ever call ‘Lulu’ the best Metallica record. But that doesn’t necessarily make it as bad as it is often made out to be. There are moments of genuine tension and excitement, such as the undulating structure and machine gun snares of ‘Pumping Blood’, and the brutally stark lyrics of closer ‘Junior Dad’ (“The greatest disappointment…”). But these moments are few and far between, and the double album as a whole is an endurance test of the highest order. The riffs tend to be more ‘stock’ (to use an insult from the ‘Some Kind of Monster’ movie), and even the lead single ‘The View’ has little to sustain interest.
‘Lulu’ is perhaps best considered as an artistic statement, rather than as a musical experience to enjoy. That, or an opportunity to giggle at James Hetfield comparing himself to a table.
Standout tracks: ‘Pumping Blood’, ‘Junior Dad’
Released more than 2 years after ‘Death Magnetic’, ‘Beyond Magnetic’ is an EP of 4 songs that were recorded during the DM album sessions. While all four songs have their merits, it is quite obvious why they didn’t make it onto the main album tracklisting.
Opener ‘Hate Train’ is reminiscent of ‘Fuel’ from the ‘Reload’ record, with the addition of the expansive riffs that peppered the ‘Death Magnetic’ album. If it meandered less then it could have become a Metallica classic - but in the absence of a memorable vocal refrain and coherent structure, it becomes more of messy riff-fest. Elsewhere, ‘Hell and Back’ feels forced, like a garage band just starting out. ‘Rebel of Babylon’ has some excellent Black Sabbath-esque moments, but it becomes quite a slog over 8+ minutes.
Best of the bunch is ‘Just a Bullet Away’ which is based on a Kyuss-esque riff and a kick-ass groove, with creative, percussive vocals. The only criticism of this track is its length - there was no need for it to be extended to 7+ minutes with the meandering interlude, and if it had ended after 3 minutes it could have been brilliant.
Standout Track: ‘Just a Bullet Away’
In hindsight, it all happened so quickly. Cliff Burton died tragically in a tour bus accident on 27th September 1986 (aged just 24). Jason Newstead, aged 23, became Metallica’s new bassist in October 1986, literally less than a month after the accident. He played his first show on 8th November 1986, at the Country Club in Reseda, California, and the relentless Metallica touring train continued with little, if any, pause.
‘$5.98 EP - Garage Days Revisited’ was released in August 1987 - an EP of covers, paying tribute to Metallica’s early influences. The songwriting process for ‘…And Justice For All’ had begun, but the new songs were intricate and complex, so the EP was a carefree, swiftly-recorded break from working on their next full-length album, capturing the energy of those early Jason Newstead shows.
The playing is loose, confident and high-octane, especially on opener ‘Helpless’ (originally by Diamond Head') and the double-header of Misfits classics ‘Last Caress’ and ‘Green Hell’. James Hetfield’s roar in ‘The Wait’ is exhilarating, and ‘Crash Course in Brain Surgery’ is fun. ‘The Small Hours’ is less essential, though was arguably a pre-cursor to the slower groove that Metallica developed in upcoming songs like ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ (and, later, The Black Album).
So, why so low on this list? ‘$5.98 EP’ is great fun, but all these tracks feature on the ‘Garage Inc’ album too, making this less vital as a standalone release.
Standout tracks: ‘Last Caress / Green Hell’, ‘Helpless’
As a surprise treat, at the end of the ‘Hardwired’ tour cycle, Metallica released ‘Helping Hands’ as a limited double album to gain attention and money for their own charity organisation https://www.allwithinmyhands.org.
Acoustic albums, such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Korn and Pearl Jam’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ records, have been pivotal moments in time, giving louder bands the chance to showcase a softer side. ‘Helping Hands’ certainly makes for an interesting listen, but it isn’t vital. Some of the songs, including ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Hardwired’, are played exactly as the originals, only without any distortion, which makes for a strange experience. Elsewhere, Metallica introduce bluegrass instrumentation to make classics like ‘Bleeding Me’ and ‘Enter Sandman’ sound like they belong on a back porch in a desert. They lack the grandeur that they had with the orchestration in ‘S&M’, but they have a fun, country & western flavour.
The acoustic version of Bob Seger’s ‘Turn The Page’ is arguably better than Metallica recorded for ‘Garage Inc’, helped in particular by the biting grit in James Hetfield’s voice, sounding both defiant and regretful. Also well worth your time is ‘Veteran of the Psychic Wars’ (a Blue Öyster Cult cover), one of Lars Ulrich’s favourite songs, which suits this format brilliantly. The reimagined ‘Disposable Heroes’ and ‘The Four Horsemen’ are also worth checking out.
Standout Tracks: ‘Veteran of the Psychic Wars’, ‘Turn The Page’
The hype machine was in full force when ‘Through The Never’ was announced. A huge stage production! Capturing Metallica at their absolute live best! Playing all of the hits! And not just that, but a FULL-LENGTH MOVIE, with EXPLOSIONS! FIRE! GUNS! EXCITEMENT!
And…a terrible storyline.
In fact, as a movie, ‘Through The Never’ is a spectacular mishmash of scenes that go absolutely nowhere and leave no impression whatsoever. There is a vague story about a member of the road crew who has to go somewhere urgently, to get something important, or else. But you won’t care one bit, and you won’t remember it.
On to the music, and the accompanying live album. As you would expect, especially given the production values, it is amazing. This is arguably the best-recorded Metallica live album. However, something is missing. It all feels a bit sterile and clinical. Compared to ‘Live Shit: Binge & Purge’, where the listener is transported into the pit in Mexico City, or ‘S&M’, where the songs are augmented beautifully by a huge orchestra, ‘Through The Never’ simply features solid performances of Metallica’s best-known songs. As such, it isn’t such an immersive experience - but, crank it up loud, and it sounds HUGE.
Standout Tracks: ‘Ride The Lightning’, ‘Cyanide’, ‘Hit The Lights’
‘S&M2’ had all the potential to be bigger, bolder and even better than its 1999 predecessor. Unfortunately, at best it is a missed opportunity, and at worst it is a pale imitation of ‘S&M’. The artwork is stunning, though.
Frustratingly, rather than using this concert as a chance to add orchestra to some classics that were missed the first time around (‘Fade to Black’, ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’, ‘Mama Said’, ‘The House That Jack Built’, ‘Orion’, ‘Fixxxer’, ‘Seek and Destroy’, ‘The Unforgiven 1 & 2’, ‘Ride the Lightning’, ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ - how amazing some of these would have been), more than half of the songs on ‘S&M2’ were on the first album. Admittedly, the orchestrations are slightly different in some cases, but nothing really improves on Michael Kaman’s original arrangements.
‘S&M2’ is still a good record, with moments of brilliance that include the then-new ‘Moth Into Flame’, ‘Halo on Fire’ and ‘Confusion’, the orchestra-led opening to Act II, and James Hetfield’s stunning vocal performance, minus guitar, in the beautiful ‘The Unforgiven III’. If the show had utilised a different setlist, it could have been amazing. Shame.
Standout Tracks: ‘Moth Into Flame’, ‘The Day That Never Comes’, ‘The Unforgiven III’
Double albums are notoriously tricky beasts, both for the artist to make and for the listener to consume. If there is a range of styles and sounds, perhaps held together with a narrative ark that takes you through a journey of tension and release (see: ‘The Fragile’, ‘Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness’, ’The Wall’, ‘The House of Gold and Bones’, ‘Opposites’ etc) then it can be amazing.
‘Hardwired’ doesn’t have the range of styles and sounds, nor a narrative ark. It is simply a long Metallica record, which they couldn’t / wouldn’t cut down. If the mediocre parts had been trimmed, it could have made a brilliant single album; but unfortunately the end result is too bloated and one-dimensional.
It starts brilliantly, with the thrashy ‘Hardwired’, and it ends on a similar note with ‘Spit Out The Bone’ which is easily the best song on the record and arguably Metallica’s finest tune of the 2000s. Disc 1 includes the absolutely brilliant ‘Moth Into Flame’ (check out the live version with Lady Gaga - it’s even better than the studio version), the triumphant ‘Atlas, Rise!’ and a deliciously cracked vocal performance by James Hetfield on ‘Halo on Fire’. Disc 2 starts promisingly with the clinical riffs of ‘Confusion’ (which became bigger, bolder and better in the live version with the symphony orchestra on ‘S&M2’). Unfortunately, there is little else to write home about on Disc 2 until ‘Spit Out The Bone’. ‘ManUNkind’, ‘Am I Savage?’, ‘Here Comes Revenge’ and ‘Murder One’ are unlikely to make anyone’s list of favourite Metallica songs. None are bad, but there is very little that grabs the listener’s attention or demands a second play, much like the leftovers from ‘Death Magnetic’ that were saved for the ‘Beyond Magnetic’ EP.
The production is superb, and arguably the clearest and most powerful-sounding release in Metallica’s entire catalogue. A more refined and edited version could have made this a top 5 release; but, as it stands, ‘Hardwired…To Self-Destruct’ is bloated, repetitive and frustratingly hard to enjoy in one sitting.
Standout Tracks: ‘Moth Into Flame’, ‘Spit Out The Bone’ ‘Atlas, Rise!’
Hot on the heels of ‘Load’ / ‘Reload’, Metallica were on a roll. The world had more or less become used to the short hair and slower tempos, and Metallica had a licence to do more or less what they wanted, when they wanted.
This led to the release of a double album of covers. Disc 2 was comprised of tracks that had already been available on the ‘$5.98 - Garage Days Revisited EP’ that pre-dated ‘…And Justice For All’, plus some other covers and live tracks. Disc 1 was an entirely new set of covers, recorded in the aftermath of ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’, with each member of the band contributing song ideas to illustrate their respective influences.
The production is amazing, striking a balance between studio polish and raw energy. Lead single, and clear stand-out, is a cover of ‘Whisky in the Jar’, a traditional Irish folk song made famous by Thin Lizzy in 1973. Accompanied by a raucous video, ‘Whisky in the Jar’ suits Metallica perfectly and still features regularly in the setlist to this day.
‘Garage Inc's main strength, and arguably its biggest weakness too, is that all the songs sound, well, like Metallica songs. Whether the original artist was an abrasive punk band like Discharge (‘Free Speech For the Dumb’ and ‘The More I See’), morose storyteller Nick Cave (‘Loverman’), or freewheelin’ rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd (‘Tuesday’s Gone’), the playing is so utterly, unmistakably Metallica that these could all be Load-era Hetfield originals. It makes for a curious album that is fun to dip into occasionally, but isn’t as varied as the diverse range of songs suggests that it could be. More of a hit than a miss, but not essential.
Standout Tracks: ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, ‘Die Die My Darling’, ‘Sabbra Cadabra’
The announcement of ‘72 Seasons’ came in late 2022, with the release of the breakneck, 3-minute ‘Lux Æterna’, an absolute masterclass of short, sharp thrash. With absolutely no fat whatsover, ‘Lux Æterna’ was a thrilling, well-produced re-introduction to Metallica, at the point in time when the world was returning to normal following the covid pandemic. What if ‘72 Seasons’ could maintain this level of quality? Was the release of a 3-minute single a sign that Metallica were dialling back the lengthy excesses of the ‘Hardwired’ record and recapturing the sound of their ‘Kill ‘Em All’-era youth?
Sadly, ‘72 Seasons’ falls victim to some of the same traps as ‘Hardwired…To Self-Destruct’. Namely, making songs far longer than they need to be, and having very little dynamic range. Every single one of Lars’ snare hits sounds exactly the same throughout the record (just the opening of ‘Shadows Follow’ is enough to induce an eye roll pointed in Lars’ direction). Yes, it sounds crisp, clear and powerful, but did someone take away his toms for this record? Are all his kicks and snares triggered? It all feels a bit too ‘on the grid’ and clinical - and if you listen to live versions of ‘Too Far Gone?’ and ‘If Darkness Had a Son’ then you will hear more of swing and variation than there is in the studio counterparts.
There isn’t a bad song on ‘72 Seasons’, which makes it better than ‘Hardwired’, and the energy is contagious and empowering. But is somewhat frustrating at times, because it lacks the dynamic range and variety of other records. Still, it is well worth a listen for James Hetfield alone, as there is an argument that this record is the best his vocals have EVER sounded. Pretty good for a man of 60!
Standout Tracks: ‘Lux Æterna’, ‘Room of Mirrors’, ‘Too Far Gone?’
We have deliberately chosen an alternative ‘St. Anger’ artwork for this ranking, for good reason. This is one of the many meme-worthy alternative covers that fans have produced - in this case, to make it look more “80s“. It is a good indication of how, no matter how much ‘St. Anger’ is criticised, people simply cannot let it be forgotten. Perhaps this means that, beneath the abysmal production and overly long songs, there is actually a GOOD record in there somewhere..??
If you are discovering ‘St. Anger’ for the first time, it may be better to watch the ‘Some Kind of Monster' movie first. Everything then makes a lot more sense.
As a statement of an intent - an artistic statement, if you will - ‘St. Anger’ works remarkably well. It is a blunt, singular, one-dimensional assault on the senses, focusing on down-tuned riffs, little (if any) melody or dynamics, no solos, and a pure expression of frustration and honest self-reflection.
The main problem is that it is so LLLOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG. There is a reason why versions exist on YouTube which are less than half the length. And some people have gone to great pains to re-record the whole thing, the best example being ‘St. (b)Anger’ by Michael Shea - check it out on YouTube. Less trash can snare, and more pummelling heaviness.
Standout Tracks: ‘Shoot Me Again’, ‘Frantic’, ‘Dirty Window’
Capturing the excess and lengthy stadium shows of the ‘Black Album’ world tour, ‘Live Shit: Binge & Purge’ is a truly thrilling live document. From the moment ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’ intro kicks in, the listener is transported straight to Mexico City. When the opening notes of ‘Enter Sandman’ then emerge, the crowd’s energy spills through the speakers as powerfully as Lars Ulrich’s drums.
Metallica’s live experience in the early 90s was all about excess. Loads of songs. Long sets. Lengthy jams. Drum solos. Guitar solos. Bass solos. Loads of beer. Loads of “Yeahs’, “Oh Yeahs” and “Ooh Yeahs”. More beer. Alcoholica. Loads of profanity. Loads of drunken banter. Goading the crowd. More beer. More songs. ‘Live Shit: Binge & Purge’ captures this excess in every way.
Anchoring the sound was Jason Newstead’s military precision bass and barked backing vocals, captured perfectly in the “Die Die Die’ chant of ‘Creeping Death’. Also great fun is ‘Justice (Medley)’, a combination of the best, riffiest parts from the ‘…And Justice For All’ album that weren’t in ‘One’ and ‘Harvester of Sorrow’, which appear in full.
Thanks to the inclusion of the various solos, seemimgly impromptu covers (‘Stone Cold Crazy’, ‘Am I Evil?’, ‘Last Caress’ and a snippet of ‘Smoke on the Water’) and crowd-goading, ‘Live Shit’ is nearly 3 hours long. If you have the time, crack open a beer, turn the speakers up loud, and mosh around your kitchen.
Standout Tracks: ‘Of Wolf and Man’, ‘Sad But True’, ‘Justice (Medley)’
It is hard to imagine a Metallica show without either ‘Fuel’ or ‘The Memory Remains’ in the setlist, such as they have become out-and-out classics over time. Marianne Faithful’s raspy ‘Nah nah nah’ refrain at the end of ‘The Memory Remains’ has become one of the best crowd singalongs you will ever experience, often continuing for a good couple of minutes after the song has finished.
After the masterful opening two tracks, ‘Reload’ struggles to maintain the same quality throughout, with some songs (‘Carpe Diem Baby’, ‘Bad Seed’, ‘Slither’ and ‘Prince Charming’) falling foul of the same issues as ‘Load’s weaker moments, with unadventurous, safe blues-influenced riffs.
Some moments are stunning though, such as ‘The Unforgiven II’ which was arguably better than its counterpart on ‘The Black Album’, and ‘Fixxxer’ which has a similar grandiosity to ‘The Outlaw Torn’ which closed ‘Load’. The brooding ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ and the languid ‘Low Man’s Lyric’ also add some interesting dynamics and depth to the record, which is something that Metallica have struggled to achieve in their 21st century albums. ‘Reload’ is far better than the derision and criticism it received from the metal community at the time, and if you combined the best moments of ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’ then you would have one amazing album.
Standout Tracks: ‘Fuel’, ‘The Unforgiven II’, ‘Fixxxer’
Released as a companion to the movie of the same name, the ‘Some Kind of Monster’ EP is noteworthy for what might have been.
The audio mix of the ‘single edit’ of the title track is superb, and miles away from the muddy, trash-can snare faux pas of the ‘St Anger’ album. With its more concise structure and brilliant production, imagine how the ‘St Anger’ record could have been if it had all been mixed and trimmed this way!
The other tracks on the EP are killer live recordings of 6 old-school Metallica tracks, 3 from ‘Kill ‘Em All’, 2 from ‘Master of Puppets’ and 1 from ‘Ride The Lightning’. They sound gloriously energised, unhinged and aggressive, as if channelling the frustrations of the ‘St Anger’ era when revisiting their early thrash years. As a standalone EP, ‘Some Kind of Monster’ is great fun for the aggression of the live tracks and the hugely improved mix of one of the better ‘St. Anger’ songs.
Standout Tracks: ‘Some Kind Of Monster (edit)’, ‘Damage, Inc’, ‘Motorbreath’
It all began here. Influenced by NWOBHM bands such as Diamond Head, Motorhead, Iron Maiden and Saxon, Metallica took thrash metal to a whole new level with their debut record ‘Kill ‘Em All’. The fact that ‘Hit The Lights’, ‘Whiplash’, ‘The Four Horsemen’ and ‘Seek & Destroy’ still feature regularly in the setlist says so much about how fully-formed Metallica were when they first entered the studio, with the average age of just 19.
Production-wise, ‘Kill ‘Em All’ is very much ‘of it’s time’. The vocals are drenched in reverb / echo that is, truthfully, harder to listen to nowadays. The drums lack the punch that Lars Ulrich achieved on the bigger-budget follow-up ‘Ride The Lightning’, and the analogue rawness is exciting but distant and powerless by modern-day standards. Fair enough though - it is more than 40 years old now!
On the plus side, the guitars and underpinning bass sound amazing. Especially considering his youth, James Hetfield’s singing is powerful and serrated, flirting with more melody than his early 80s peers (Slayer, Exodus etc) but matching them for bark. The numerous live versions of ‘Seek & Destroy’, ‘Motorbreath’, ‘Hit The Lights’ and ‘Whiplash’ over the following decades make for a better listening experience than their more primitive-sounding originals, but ‘Kill ‘Em All’ will always be legendary.
Standout Tracks: ‘The Four Horsemen’, ‘Seek and Destroy’, ‘Phantom Lord’
On its release, a great deal was made of the somewhat unfortunate, and presumably unintentional, similarity between the iron filings of ‘Death Magnetic’s artwork and, ahem, unkempt female genitalia; and a similar amount of fuss was made about the overly loud mastering of the record, which is admittedly abrasive and is far more listenable in the newer versions that fans have remixed and mastered. Unfortunately these things overshadowed what is actually an extremely strong album, and arguably Metallica’s best collection of unrestrained thrash outside of ‘…And Justice For All’.
‘Death Magnetic’ contains some absolute bangers. ‘Broken, Beaten and Scarred’, ‘All Nightmare Long’, ‘This Was Not Your Life’, ’End of the Line’ and breakneck closer ‘My Apocalypse’ are all superb, reminding the world that Metallica in 2007 were not only still capable of bringing the energy, but they could write memorable hooks that were just as good as their 80s classics.
As with all latter-career Metallica, ‘Death Magnetic’ could do with some trimming. ‘Suicide and Redemption’ is a perfectly serviceable instrumental but is overly long and somewhat forgettable. ‘Cyanide’ has great moments, but has a frustrating stop-start quality that loses momentum. ‘The Day That Never Comes’, which was the album’s lead single, is a brilliant tune full of twists and turns, but it has some truly awful, clunky single-snare-hit drum fills that don’t do Lars any favours when people accuse him of having limited prowess. With some more dynamic, interesting drum work, and some more decisive editing, ’The Day That Never Comes’ could have a place in a list of all-time Metallica classics - but sadly it comes across as more of a demo here - and it sounds SO much better live (especially on the ‘S&M2’ record with additional orchestra).
‘Death Magnetic’ has its flaws, but if you can get past the endless clipping and digital distortion of the final master then it certainly rewards multiple listens.
Standout Tracks: ‘Broken, Beaten and Scarred’, ‘My Apocalypse’, ‘All Nightmare Long’
There are numerous moments on ‘S&M’ that are utterly breathtaking. The thrilling opening to ‘Master of Puppets’. The majestic new song ‘No Leaf Clover’, the live recording of which was so good that they never needed to make a studio version. The truly epic ‘Bleeding Me’. James Hetfield calling out “I can’t hear you” in a moment of empowerment half way through ‘Hero of the Day’. The lush orchestration that takes the atmosphere of ‘The Thing That Should Not Be’ and ‘The Outlaw Torn’ to a whole new level.
‘S&M’ was, like much of their 90s output, originally met with equal parts derision and confusion. However, it has aged incredibly well. Listening to it nearly 30 years later, it leaves the impression that, in an ideal world, Metallica would have a 150-piece orchestra accompanying ALL of their live shows, such is the character that the San Francisco Orchestra adds to their music. Even the less revered tracks such as ‘Devil’s Dance’ and ‘Of Wolf and Man’ benefit immensely from clever call-and-response interplay between the guitars and violins, violas, cellos, oboes, trumpets, bassoons and additional percussion.
Strangely, the songs that have the least impact are the well-established hits, such as ‘Enter Sandman, ‘One’ and ‘Battery’, where the additional Michael Kamen score adds little more than a distraction and doesn’t seem quite as inspired. The production is occasionally muddy, with so many instruments fighting for space, but if you turn it up loud enough you won’t care. Overall, ‘S&M’ is a life-affirming, brilliant and unique live album.
Standout tracks: ‘No Leaf Clover’, ‘The Outlaw Torn’, ‘Master of Puppets’
When Metallica performed ‘The Black Album’ in full at Download Festival in 2012, there was a reason they played it in reverse order. They started with ‘The Struggle Within’, ‘My Friend Of Misery’ and ‘The God That Failed’ - all of them decent-ish songs, but none of them particularly spectacular or memorable. Playing the record in reverse meant that they could finish on ‘Sad But True’ and, of course, ‘Enter Sandman’. A wise move.
This intentional reversal of the album shows that Metallica themselves know that ‘The Black Album’ starts spectacularly, has moments of genius in the middle (the apex being ‘Nothing Else Matters’), then unfortunately drops off towards the end. Whereas ‘Kill ‘Em All’, ‘Ride The Lightning’, ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘…And Justice For All’ all had a superb finale, ‘The Black Album’ arguably heralded the new era of reduced quality control.
That said, ‘The Black Album’ is still fantastic. The production, while strangely quiet overall even in the 2021 remaster, sounds immense when turned up full, with thunderous drums and a weighty depth that was entirely lacking in ‘…And Justice For All’.
Metallica had flirted with slower songs before, but ‘The Black Album’ was the point at which everything slowed down, alongside trimming the more convoluted, proggy changes of the first 4 records and focusing on direct, punchy, fists-in-the-air groove. What an array of songs: ‘Sad But True, ‘Wherever I May Roam’, ‘The Unforgiven’, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, ‘Through The Never’; and, of course, ‘Enter Sandman’.
‘Don’t Tread on Me’ was a little ploddy, and the final 3 tracks were somewhat uninspiring, but there are many reasons why ‘The Black Album’ is one of the biggest-selling records of all time. It is a masterclass in tuneful, trendsetting hard rock, appealing to hardcore metalheads and casual rock fans alike. Also well worth a listen is the ‘Metallica Blacklist’ tribute album that was released to mark the 30th anniversary, with numerous covers from artists such as Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Weezer, Biffy Clyro, Royal Blood, Ghost, Volbeat, IDLES, Imelda May, Phoebe Bridgers and The HU. It is arguably the finest and most expansive tribute records ever assembled.
Standout Tracks: ‘Enter Sandman’, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, ‘The Unforgiven’
What started out as a simple ‘Making of an Album’ documentary quickly became something else entirely: a raw, visceral exposé of band tension, addiction, mental health, therapy, writer’s block, artistic expression, forgiveness and, ultimately, redemption.
‘Some Kind of Monster’ was shown in theatres around the world and is now regarded as one of the best music-related films of all time, as well as an important turning point in Metallica’s career. If you watch this before listening to ‘St. Anger’, the record makes so much more sense - and you will see it was a triumph that the album was even finished and released at all.
There are hilarious, meme-worthy moments, such as Kirk Hammett’s futile attempts to keep the peace when James and Lars are at each other’s throats; Lars Ulrich’s father’s blunt advice (“I would say… delete that”); Rob Trujillo’s reaction when he is told about his $1million sign-on bonus; and the look on James Hetfield’s face when Lars tells him one of his riffs is ‘stock’. However, ‘Some Kind of Monster’ is far from a comedy. This is a reality drama of unreal proportions. It explores how men talk through their feelings, how conflict can be tolerated, and how anger can be channelled in a positive way - which is the ultimate theme of the ‘St. Anger’ record.
For anyone battling their own demons or addictions, watching James Hetfield turn his life around is genuinely inspiring. We have ranked ‘Some Kind of Monster’ so high on this list - even higher than some of their great albums - because it is a genuinely essential part of the Metallica story, and arguably as important as their best music.
‘Load’ higher than ‘The Black Album’???? Sacrilege!!!
‘Load’ has had a complicated history, and the 30-year anniversary re-release of the album in 2025 seems to have reignited a generally universal respect for what was, at the time, an even more divisive move than ‘The Black Album’.
‘Load’ was released during a transitional time in the heavy music world. Thrash metal was getting very little attention. In their all-too-brief career, Nirvana made simplicity and great songs more important than showy musicianship. Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam were carrying the flag for hard rock, and metal fans were enjoying the advent of slower, groovier forms of brutality in Machine Head, Pantera and post-’Chaos AD’ Sepultura, paving the way for Korn, Snot, Disturbed and many, many more as we approached the late 90s and early 00s.
Metallica embraced their blues roots in songs like ‘2x4’, ‘Poor Twisted Me’, ‘Ronnie’ and ‘Wasting My Hate’, and dallied with country rock on the excellent ‘Mama Said’. But beyond this well-documented blues/country exploration, perhaps ‘Load’ was actually more grounded in being a darker, heavier form of grunge. ‘Bleeding Me’, ‘Until It Sleeps’, ‘Hero of the Day’, ‘The House Jack Built’ and ‘The Outlaw Torn’ are, sonically, in the same world as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, with echoes of Black Sabbath’s doomier moments. And most importantly, the songs themselves are utterly brilliant. Lyrically, structurally and melodically, there are songs on ‘Load’ that other bands never get close to matching. If some of the more mediocre moments (‘Thorn Within’, ‘Ronnie’, ‘Cure’) were culled, or if the best bits of ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’ were combined, then this could genuinely be a contender for one of the best albums of the 90s - just try not to join the debate of whether it is ‘metal’ or not, because this 30-year argument still hasn’t been resolved.
Standout Tracks: ‘Until It Sleeps’, ‘Bleeding Me’, ‘The House Jack Built’
Metallica fans love to dissect the details of each album, particularly the mixing / mastering - and ‘…And Justice For All’ was arguably where this all began. Even 40 years on, we still can’t get our heads around the logic to silence Jason Newsted’s bass. The incredibly dry production does lend the record a certain charm, and admittedly there is no other album on earth that sounds like it; but the various fan-made versions that are on YouTube are generally far more enjoyable than the original - and the anniversary remaster made next to no attempt to improve the bass situation officially, which was a shame.
Song-wise, ‘…And Justice For All’ was a huge step forward from ‘Ride The Lightning’ and ‘Master of Puppets’ in terms of progressive structure, classical composition and complexity, and the unpredictable riff-fests of ‘The Shortest Straw’, ‘Blackened’, ‘Dyer’s Eve’ and the title track are utterly compelling.
Hit single ‘One’, with its harrowing video depicting a veteran soldier’s PTSD, is a masterpiece, building from a gorgeous melody into a dramatic second half complete with kick drums that sound like machine guns. The weighty ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ sounds huge, even without bass. Opener ‘Blackened’ makes an even better use of a guitar intro than previous openers ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ and ‘Battery’, and is a riff-fest of the highest order. Even comparative low points ‘Eye of the Beholder’ and ‘The Shortest Straw’ are stll vital. This was Metallica 2.0 following Cliff Burton’s tragic death, and they were only getting better and better.
Standout Tracks: ‘Harvester of Sorrow’, ‘Dyer’s Eve’, ‘Blackened’
Metallica’s 3rd record had a lot of similarities to their 2nd, in terms of album structure, bold songwriting, energy and lyrical directness. To some, ‘Master of Puppets’ was Metallica’s peak, and it is easy to understand why. This is one of the best metal albums in history, and so many bands wouldn’t exist without it.
The opening one-two of ‘Battery’ and ‘Master of Puppets’ is practically unbeatable, with clever time signature changes, breathtaking speed, huge-sounding instrumentation and stadium-sized hooks. The fact that the title track was used to soundtrack an epic fight in the upside-down in ‘Stranger Things’ says a lot about Metallica’s enduring popular appeal.
‘Master of Puppets’ arguably added more bite and anger to the ‘Ride The Lightning’ formula, which led to the war-baiting of ‘Disposable Heroes’, the church-bothering ‘Leper Messiah’ and bruising closer ‘Damage, Inc’. ‘Master of Puppets’ is concise, punchy and full of attitude, with moments of sumptuous instrumentation (‘Orion’ and ‘The Thing That Should Not Be’ that heralded Metallica’s playing abilities from the rooftops.
Standout Tracks: ‘Battery’, ‘Master of Puppets’, ‘Damage, Inc’
If you were introducing someone to Metallica for the very first time, where would you start? ‘Enter Sandman’? ‘Master of Puppets’? ‘Sad But True’? ‘One’? ‘Seek and Destroy’? ‘Battery’? Or perhaps ‘Creeping Death’, the penultimate track on what is, in our opinion, the greatest Metallica record.
It is a difficult toss-up between ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Ride The Lightning’ for best Metallica album. They have a similar structure:
Symphonic instrumental build-up to a thrashy opening song - ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ / ‘Battery’
Riff-heavy title track second song - ‘Ride The Lightning’ / ‘Master of Puppets’
Ballad-ish song towards the end of side one - ‘Fade To Black’ / ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’
Slight dip in quality just past the half way point - ‘Escape’ / ‘Disposable Heroes’
Epic instrumental towards the end - ‘Call of Ktulu’ / ‘Orion’
Both records are practically flawless - but, in our opinion, ‘Ride The Lightning’ has the slight edge with its sense of melody, and its boldness to try new things. For example, Cliff Burton’s pioneering distorted bass in ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’, the breakneck ‘Trapped Under Ice’, James Hetfield’s raw, near-barked vocals; and, best of all, the additional emotional heft of the daring ballad ‘Fade To Black’, which showed the world that Metallica were not just another thrash band, but they had the capability of connecting with the listener on a much deeper level when needed.
More than 40 years on, ‘Ride The Lightning’ still sounds bold, ambitious and packed with killer songs.
Standout Tracks: ‘Fade To Black’, ‘Creeping Death’, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’
