Roo Returns
Skjeikspeare No More
Disagree. I still enjoy Ride a lot. And actually quite a bit of Kill Em' All.
Master whilst musically great is a chore to get though. I listened to it in the first time in years recently and found it boring. And even at the peak of my fandom I never considered Justice or Garage perfect. No where close. And their material since Load has been bad. St Anger is one of the worst albums I have ever purchased. Yet they are still revered.
Kill 'Em All is tremendous. In some ways it might be my favorite album they did. Compositionally though it's more "green" than Ride/Master/Justice.
I think between those four and Garage EP (plus the 1998 Garage Inc. had some really great stuff too) is enough protein to take them out of the overrated convo and into the greats. We didn't even touch on Black Album.
Has there been a metal band who has made more money, been on the radio, and sold more in albums and concerts consistently? Sabbath even at their peak, Maiden, or Priest don't come close and those are all great bands.
St .Anger isn't a good album but it has 4-5 songs that I can at least workout to. I'd take it over Death Magnetic which is a complete snoozefest and I start day dreaming while listening to (Rick Rubin from 2006-present as producer is batting below .200). Even Hardwired which has maybe 3-4 good songs, in some ways I'd take the peaks of St. Anger over.
Modern Metallica's biggest weakness is they have one of the top five bass players in all of rock/metal and they don't let him write. I'm not saying Rob should start slapping and go full Infectious Grooves but he should contribute riffs and use his full arsenal. Lars is a better drummer when he's challenged which is what Cliff used to do to him.