Heavy Metal musicians have never being known for generally talking or acting like the smartest of people but that still doesn't affect the music when it's good.

They're ruthlessly dull.

S&M was better than expected but yeah.. it smelled.

Some Kind of Monster is amazing. 3 hours long and not a moment wasted!

I have always been a fan of master of puppets and justice for all, but I had never gotten too into ride the lightning, until my cd player busted in my car and I got the ride the lightning on tape from 1/2 price books for like a dollar and I blasted that shit in my car all loud and it was fucking amazing!
fight fire with fire blows me away

I loved them up to and including "And Justice For All", saw them play that live and it was fantastic. Then I saw them again touring the Black Album, and suddenly there were very long bass solos and drum solos involved. I went right off them as a result of that.

I find them ok. But just find it all very similar... Never been a huge fan of thrash metal and all that stuff really... Its seems to be too much about guitar virtuosity more than anything else.

I like them up to the Black Album.

Never liked them. They're listenable but for the rest they're awful.

I like sabbath

That's because Sabbath was way better then Metallica.

metallica are boooooring. and i hate the way that the alcoholic singer puts an "-ACH!" at the end of every phrase.

hahahaah!!!!!! so true!!!!

However, in 1986 metallica was ANYTHING BUT Boring! If only Cliff had not died....

so true

The saga of useless comparisons goes on. While prefering Sabbath to Metallica is a matter of taste (i love both bands as it happens), it is also true that they are substantially different sounding bands in order to make the silly comaparisons in the first place. Metallica these days are a joke and they have been for quite a number of years, but when they were at the height of their powers, they kicked ass, maaaannnn!!!They RuLEZZZZ Maaannnn!!!!

I was not comparing. Just threw in sabbath cuz they RUUULLEEE

Those were all great albums, but I gotta disagree about the bass on Justice. That record proved to me that in thrash metal, you don't need a bass. I like the "thrashiness" of the rhythm guitar and snare drums alone, with the occasional Hammett solo. More raw and scathing that way. I'm probably the only Metallica fan who feels that way.

What exactly is the problem with later Metallica compared to earlier? Its a thing people talk about in the same way that people talk about other older bands who continue (such as.... Sonic Youth). Is it for the same reasons (I.e. feeling the band has "sold out" or something like that)?

Seriously I don't know whether you've the vinyl version or the CD, but as far as the CD is concerned the production on Justice is ludicrously thin. Puppets sounded ferocious, but Justice sounds flat as hell, even if the playing is as tight as a snake's ass. If only they'd get Rubin or somebody to remaster the thing and put it out on SACD... it'd be a different album.

I'm a big fan of the *early* stuff too - their debut and 'Bonded By Blood' by Exodus are immense examples of early thrash.

That's my point. I think thrash metal should sound thin and trebly. At least on that record, I thought it was great. A bass player was not even needed.

Shitallica!

yea metallica is horrible

Weird, because my iTunes is running through from playing a Mars album and has now started to play Master of Puppets. Still can't fully see why they're such a big deal. I missed the whole Thrash hting so I suppose I don't have any real context for them. To me it still sounds like Heavy Metal which, as good as it can get (Maiden, Priest, etc) it's still Metal.

most people who insult metallica have only heard the radio hits.

I'm not insulting them. It's just that I think that to properly appreciate them i'd need more of an awareness of what was going on around them - which I don't have.

I just don't really get them I suppose.

That would have been fantastic. I love them videos for the Black album, part 2, the tour looks amazing. It all brings back good memories of a cool era, for me.

i usually refer to them as "mecrapica". only because that's what they are though. i can't stand vowel singers, w/ that horrendous holier than though voice.

They're crap to you.

I've spent alot of wasted time hating these dudes for no reason too.

Whatever/I can appreciate them.

They're okay depending on my mood.

What I like in the Metallica of the 80s is there are strong N.W.O.B.H.M influences but the guitars don't sound ridiculously high-pitched as in Iron Maiden for instance, Metallica could really border on the prog-metal (there are palpable classical music influences in several songs) but they don't cross the line (maybe because of their punk and hardcore influences), their music is massive, especially on Master of puppets (well off course that's why it was called thrash metal :p).

i didn't like them much in my metal phase. they were heave and trashy, alright, but too much "guitar virtuosity like" like somebody wrote above. enjoyed Sepultura, Pantera, Megadeath, White Zombie (but you can't really compare, can you).

and that thing with Napster....

please somebody, make an IRON MAIDEN thread. all time favourite in my metal phase, hehe.

I was more into weird stuff like Tiamat, Anathema and My Dying Bride in my "metal phase". Doom metal, they used to call it.

Word... Am I the only person willing to admit that I like the Black album?

It's not about the 'selling out' thing, it's just that by the time they got to make 'And justice For All' they weren't as good a band as they used to be. Much simpler than that. Duh!

I can't abide Metallica or Sabbath. What a prick, eh?

I do quite like Slayer and Blue Cheer though.

comparing sab and metallica is dumb since sabbath influenced metallica.

the black album bores me, it's still the album that introduced me to them but sandman is boring and dumb, nothing else matters is boring and stupid and every song after of wolf and man is boring; sad but true, holier than thou, the unforgiven, wherever i may roam, of wolf and man are great songs.

YES! "of wolf and man"!

I enjoy the black album, I've heard it too many times but... I remember where I listened to it every day for a year... back in like '95.. good times.

I loved them in my early teens, but I absolutely can't stand them now.

The Black album is fucking great. Although I also have nostalgia attached to that album. I'm not really interested in anything after that album, and wasn't at the time either.

St. Anger has some cool riffs, but they tried to get a sound that was popular at the time like System of a Down etc (which I'm not a fan of). Considering that sound is kind of dying out now, I assume they'll go back to the Black era next album - apparently they're not working with Bob Rock next time round though (or are they recording now? I don't know).

I ordered Master of Puppets yesterday.

yeah, st. anger has some really cool riffs and production... that's all.