JamesT

That's a great question! The first Metallica album I really got into was "...And Justice for All", which still stands as my favorite album in their discography. It wasn't long after that I got into "Master of Puppets" and "Ride the Lightning". Funny enough, an album of theirs that I wasn't crazy about at first listen was the debut "Kill 'Em All". Sounds crazy now, I know! But now I absolutely love that album and would rank it 3rd in their discography. Regarding the Black Album, I was never crazy about it, and I still view it as quite overrated, although there are some songs I really like on it. In more recent years, I've given albums like "Load" and "Reload" more of a chance. I've found a few tracks on those that I enjoy, because I really love blues-based hard rock with a groove to it. But ultimately, I turn to Metallica for heavy, thrash metal, rather than bluesy hard rock, so I don't listen to those albums much. Glad to hear you're starting to like a couple of tracks on "St. Anger" a bit more!

Great call with Alabama Thunderpussy! I love the "Open Fire" album from 2007. It had Kyle Thomas on vocals (of Exhorder fame), and it's just a killer album. "The Cleansing" is a phenomenal track. Their 2002 release "Staring at the Divine" is my second favorite album next to this one.

Yeah! It's definitely different than what their first two albums sounded like. It's heavy in a different way. "City of Evil" contains the best guitar work the band has ever done, in my opinion. Great harmonies and killer solos throughout. The first 4 tracks alone are worth the price, but the whole thing is great. I actually remember hating it when it first came out, because I really liked the metalcore sound on their first 2 albums, but I've grown to really love it over the years.

Herman Frank - "The Devil Rides Out" (album) Fantastic choice! Man I was 13 when that album came out, and it still stands as one of my favorite metal albums of all time. I can't decide if that one or "City of Evil" is my favorite A7X album in their catalog. Those are two very different sounding albums in terms of style, but I love them both!

Metallica - "St. Anger" (album)

That's an interesting point about "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct". I would rank it right behind the 80's classic albums and just one slot ahead of "Death Magnetic" in my discography ranking. But yes, I do think there are a couple of tracks on "Hardwired" that I'd probably take out. "Murder One" was a track I was never too crazy about. But man I absolutely love the album as a whole. The title track, "Moth Into Flame", "Atlas, Rise!", "Am I Savage?", are all great. But the best track on it, in my opinion, is "Spit Out the Bone", because it's the most thrash-y that they've sounded since their glory days. On "Death Magnetic", you're absolutely right about "Judas Kiss"! Great track. "All Nightmare Long", "Broken, Beat and Scarred" and "Cyanide" are all really good tracks, too. And I'm glad to hear you're thinking about checking out those tracks from "St. Anger". It's really not as bad as a lot of folks say it is. Happy listening, and rock on!

100 Watt Vipers - "Holy Water" (album)

Skull Fist - "Chasing the Dream" (album)

Really glad to see a fellow hair metal fan! I love a few Motley Crue albums: "Shout at the Devil", "Girls Girls Girls", "Dr. Feelgood". Tesla's 1986 album "Mechanical Resonance" is one of my favorite albums of all time, although I never got into much of their stuff after that. Cinderella's "Night Songs" gets heavy play time through my headphones. I really like a hair metal band called Loudness. If you haven't heard of them, their album "Thunder in the East" is great from start to finish. Ratt, Quiet Riot and Dokken are also great hair metal bands. What are some of your favorites?

Debauchery - "Germany's Next Death Metal" (album)

Metallica - "Kill 'Em All" (album)

Iron Maiden - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (album)

Nice! Great to see another Powerwolf fan on here. "Bible of the Beast" is probably my favorite album from them, but their most recent release is really good as well. "Incense & Iron" is a great track.

100 Watt Vipers - "Cold Sunday Blues" (album)

That's totally understandable about "St. Anger"! I'd rank Metallica's discography like this: #10 Load #9 Reload #8 St. Anger #7 The Black Album #6 Death Magnetic #5 Hardwired...to Self-Destruct #4 Ride the Lightning #3 Kill 'Em All #2 Master of Puppets #1 ...And Justice for All How about you? Any favorites that stand out?

Fuel Eater - "Centralia" (album) Nice man! Throwing it back to 1998. Korn just played live in my area last week, and I'm a little disappointed I missed it.

Cinderella - "Night Songs" (album)

Oh yeah, I've been in this situation many times. The first one that comes to mind is "City of Evil" by Avenged Sevenfold. "I Hear Black" by Overkill is another one. I've even grown to like "St. Anger" by Metallica, although I know I'm in the vast minority on that.

AC/DC - "For Those About to Rock" (album)

I haven't heard their newest album yet, but I really liked their first two. I prefer Enforcer and Exciter when it comes to speed metal.

Yeah man, Enforcer are really cool! I'm not the biggest speed metal fan (much more into thrash), but I really enjoy the music from these guys. Great choice there with "Wolverine Blues". That's always been a favorite of mine. Have you ever heard of a band called Skull Fist? They're pretty killer. Definitely have some elements of speed metal and traditional metal with a fantastic vocalist.

Enforcer - "Death by Fire" (album)

I'm loving all of the quotes making use of "groove"! Machine Head has certainly fallen into the "groove" category, but they're also pretty thrash-y at times as well. Those two styles often blend together for a lot of bands.

What a fantastic choice! Candlemass is without a doubt my favorite doom metal band in existence. The trilogy of albums they released to begin their career just can't be beat. If pressed, I'd have to go with "Nightfall" as my favorite Candlemass album, but some of their more recent material is really solid. "King of the Grey Mountains" and "Death Magic Doom" are superb.