Sunday 1 December 2013

Metallica Top 50

Like with the Iron Maiden chart I did previously, Metallica were a band I was familiar with from the many singles released from the Black album, but I had never bought an album until much later.  In fact I saw them for the first time headlining Reading Festival in 1997 before owning any albums and was surprised that I actually recognised a lot of their set.  Following the hottest act around at the time, an 'Antichrist Superstar'-era Marilyn Manson, was no mean feat given they had supposedly gone off the boil, but it's safe to say I was impressed.

It wasn't long before I bought the Black album on cassette, followed by the latest album, 'Reload', and then filled in the gaps from there.  It was a strange time to get into them properly, there were plenty of people saying they had sold out, they weren't as good as the old days etc. etc.  Listening to the older albums you could immediately pick out the timeless classics, obvious from the entries in this chart, but you could also say the impact of some of the albums or songs was lost to me as a latecomer, 'Kill 'Em All' especially sounding fairly primitive when compared to the later albums, something that wouldn't be as pronounced if I'd have heard it at the time when there would have been no modern albums to compare it to.

But that's the same when revisiting any band you were too young to listen to the first time around, eventually the songs take root in your head and you forget about everything else.  So, the earlier albums win out on the whole, but there are probably more entries from later albums than a lot of fans might include.  'Load' may be the album that I consider their weakest overall, but the 4 songs in the chart are of the highest quality.  And I might get some stick for having more songs from 'St Anger' than 'Master of Puppets' but that's just what I think!  I would still consider 'Master of Puppets' their third best album behind 'Metallica' and 'Ride the Lightning'.  All healthy debate as always!

1. For Whom the Bell Tolls
2. Master of Puppets
3. Blackened
4. Wherever I May Roam
5. Sad but True
6. Battery
7. One
8. Nothing Else Matters
9. Enter Sandman
10. Fade to Black
11. Whiplash
12. Through the Never
13. Damage Inc
14. Fuel
15. St Anger
16. Ride the Lightning
17. Creeping Death
18. The Unforgiven
19. Ain't My Bitch
20. The Four Horsemen
21. King Nothing
22. Of Wolf and Man
23. Fight Fire with Fire
24. The Unforgiven II
25. Bleeding Me
26. The Call of Ktulu
27. Metal Militia
28. Hit the Lights
29. Turn the Page
30. The Outlaw Torn
31. Some Kind of Monster
32. That Was Just Your Life
33. All Nightmare Long
34. The Memory Remains
35. Frantic
36. Don't Tread on Me
37. The Unnamed Feeling
38. Sweet Amber
39. Holier than Thou
40. The Frayed Ends of Sanity
41. The God that Failed
42. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
43. Dyers Eve
44. Motorbreath
45. Last Caress/Green Hell
46. My Friend of Misery
47. Carpe Diem Baby
48. The Shortest Straw
49. Prince Charming
50. To Live is to Die

By Era
Kill 'Em All 5
Ride the Lightning 6
Master of Puppets 4
...And Justice For All 6
Metallica 11
Load 4
Reload 5
Garage Inc 2
St Anger 5
Death Magnetic 2