So I started doing these reviews back in 2020 and of course some of those earlier ones were the Big 6. The Big 6 is Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, and Testament. Obviously as time goes on, new albums are released so I’m doing something new. I’m doing what I like to call rewind reviews which are going back and updating older reviews with the new albums. The twist is that I’ll not only be updating the rankings but re-listening to all the albums to see if my thoughts and opinions have changed. So with that, the first rewind review is Metallica. Let’s take a look……..
Kill Em All- ah yes the one that started it all. The one that arguably was the first thrash metal album. So how do I feel about it now? Well honestly not much has changed. It’s a great thrash album and something that I don’t remember picking up before but the crunchiness of the guitars is badass. Again this is a classic and the one that I would say started it all.
Score from last review: 8/10
New score: 8/10
Standouts: Motorbreath, Phantom Lord, No Remorse
Ride The Lightning- like I said in the original review, this feels like a sort of continuation of Kill yet the songs seem to be more refined. I also forgot how badass this album is. Here we also start to get some of the ballad-y type songs like Fade To Black. This album also does feel a little darker. Either way, it’s another classic and badass album.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Fight Fire With Fire, Trapped Under Ice, Escape
Master Of Puppets- pretty much feel the same about this one that I’ve always felt about this one. It’s a goddamn masterpiece and an absolute must listen. But you don’t need me to tell you how great this album is so it goes without saying that I gave it a 10/10 before and it’s still a 10/10
Standouts: Battery, The Thing That Should Not Be, Disposable Heroes
And Justice For All- again my thoughts on this have not changed even with going back and listening to it again. There’s just so many great songs on here. Yes the lack of bass and what they did to Jason sucks but in spite of that, this is still a killer record and again I gave it a 10/10 before, and I’m still giving it a 10/10
Standouts: Blackened, Frayed Ends Of Sanity, To Live Is To Die
The Black Album- I love the fact that this is supposed to be the self titled album yet it’s called The Black Album. Ok so this is their best selling album, the one that helped make them one of the biggest bands in the world, so really though is it as good as they say it is? Well yes and no. Yes it’s a great album with lots of radio friendly songs such as the overplayed Enter Sandman (I’m sure they’re sick of playing that song live) but as a whole, it’s just ok. Listening to it again, there’s a reason why I would revisit other Metallica albums over this one. There’s a lot of overplayed songs such as Sandman and I absolutely cannot stand the song Nothing Else Matters (I think it may be one of my least favorite Metallica songs). You can tell though that they are moving away from the thrash metal sound and that they are evolving. And no Bob Rock did not “kill” their sound he’s actually not that bad of a producer. Either way, there’s a reason why this is their best selling album and that’s because it’s their most accessible album.
Previous Score: 9/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: Wherever I May Roam, Of Wolf And Man, Through The Never
Load: so how do you follow up your best selling album? Do you continue where you left off? Do you try to go back to what you were doing on your first couple albums? Well if you’re Metallica, you change your sound….sort of. By that I mean that by this point, they are completely done with thrash metal and this more of a heavy rock album. Something I didn’t pick up on before was that this is a very blues-y record. If you had asked me back in the day about this one, I would’ve said I hated this record but now, it’s so damn good. There is some great songwriting and some great guitar work on here. I urge anyone who maybe wrote them off because of this record, go back and listen to this. It’s actually really good, very underrated, and I appreciate it even more now.
Previous score: 8/10
New Score: 9.5/10
Standouts: Ain’t My Bitch, King Nothing, Ronnie
Reload- there are two kinds of people, those that like Reload better and those that like Load better. Me myself, I kinda prefer Load just a little bit better yes this does seem to sort of pick up where Load left off and I’m actually a little surprised that they just didn’t release this with Load as a double album. And yes there’s an Unforgiven II and yes it’s better than The Unforgiven (I said what I said). It’s not as blues-y as Load but it is a damn good follow up. I could see how some would say the songs aren’t quite as memorable but still give this album another chant if you haven’t.
Previous Score: 6/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: Devil’s Dance, The Unforgiven II, Attitude
Garage Inc.- again it’s their covers album. There are some great covers on it and no my thoughts haven’t changed on it. I still really like this album and some of the covers are better than the originals. I gave it a 9.5 last time and that hasn’t changed
Standouts: Die Die My Darling, Free Speech For The Dumb, Damage Case
St. Anger- ok so here we are. That album with the notoriously bad snare, that one album that was the subject of the documentary film Some Kind Of Monster. For YEARS I absolutely hated this album and like so many others, would trash this album. Listening to it now, I have a better appreciation for it. First let’s address the snare: once you actually LISTEN to the album, the snare is actually not so annoying. Next, if you actually listen to James singing, you can hear the pain in his voice, if you read the/listen to the lyrics, you can tell that making this record was very cathartic. That said, while this is a Metallica record, it very much is a James Hetfield record. I firmly believe that had Metallica not made this album, then they would’ve broken up. The music on here is actually really good too, sure there aren’t any solos on here but the riffs are so damn good. If you do not like this album and are a fan of this band, I would encourage you to really go back and listen to it again.
Previous Score: 0/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: St. Anger, Some Kind Of Monster, Sweet Amber
Death Magnetic- I feel like with this one, Metallica are back on track. They made their therapeutic album and now you can tell that they sound refreshed and almost happier on this album. I don’t know I really can’t explain it but you can tell that there’s a sort of new energy on here. The songs can seem a little long but aside from that, this is a very awesome follow up. I know there are some that say this one is mixed weird but it doesn’t bother me.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: That Was Just Your Life, All Nightmare Long, My Apocalypse
Lulu- yeah I know there are those that will be all like “this is a Lou Reed and not a Metallica album” to which I say it’s wrong!! This is absolutely a Metallica album. Now I tried to actually listen to the songs on here and most of them I got either 2/3rds or halfway through before hitting skip. This just isn’t a good album. Like at all. What was the point of this album? It’s just so boring and what’s up with that ridiculous album cover?? That has to be one of the worst album covers to exist. Last time I gave this the very rare score of -0/10 and I still stand by that score. Terrible album
Hardwired….To Self Destruct- this one feels very much like a continuation of Death Magnetic. I don’t know I like the songs on here and while there are some great moments, this one for some reason doesn’t really feel memorable. Like it’s good but not great.
Previous Score: 8.5/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: Murder One, Now That We’re Dead, Hardwired
72 Seasons- I must admit I had really only listened to this album once and didn’t remember much about it. So listening to it again was a fun experience. This time around, they really sound like they are having fun. One thing that stood out was Kirk Hammett’s guitar playing and his solos. The solos on this are some of the best that I’ve heard. This takes elements from their last few albums and dials them up to 10 and there’s even some thrash elements on here which makes this album even more badass. I’ll give this one 9.5/10
Standouts: Lux Æterna, Inamorta, 72 Seasons
Well this was a lot of fun to go back and revisit and while yes the obvious albums were great to listen to again, the lesser known albums were a lot of fun too. NEVER, and I mean NEVER in a million years did I think I would be defending or speaking positively about St. Anger. Again I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, James Hetfield is one hell of a songwriter and guitar player and definitely is overlooked as far as writing goes. And you know what? Lars is not a bad drummer in fact he’s pretty damn good. Still need to see them live but check out some of their lesser/not as popular albums they really are great.
Final Grade: A+
Previous Album rankings:
1. And Justice For All
2. Master of Puppets
3. Ride the Lightning
4. Kill Em All
5. Garage Inc.
6. Black Album
7. Load
8. Death Magnetic
9. Hardwired….To Self Destruct
10. Reload
11. St. Anger
12. Lulu
New Album rankings:
- And Justice For All
- Ride The Lightning
- Master Of Puppets
- Kill Em All
- 72 Seasons
- Load
- Reload
- Death Magnetic
- St. Anger
- Hardwired To Self Destruct
- Garage Inc.
- Black Album
- Lulu
Sinister Reviews 