Metallica
Master of Puppets Named the 2nd Greatest Metal Album of All Time
Discussion
Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' was number one, by the way. Saved you a click.
Thank you for your service
Paranoid at 1 is fair. Easily Black Sabbath’s best album and is one of the most influential albums of all time across any genre. I still like Master of Puppets more but Paranoid having War Pigs, Paranoid, and Iron Man is insanely good. Like those are some the most iconic songs ever made all in one album.
Surprised I didn’t see Slipknot’s All Hope Is Gone though. Arguably their best album imo.
Man I know that War Pigs, Paranoid, and Iron Man are all legendary. But the Side B of that record is also unbelievable. What a fucking flawless record. Hand of Doom is probably my favorite track.
Fairies Wear Boots!! My favorite Sabbath song.
When I was growing up, it wasn't possible to buy tons of albums, there just wasn't enough money or space ... so my primary experience with Sabbath was via the compilation Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll.
I'd frankly list that, if compilation albums were considered. Incredible collection of tunes for those of us who could afford a cassette, but not all 4 at once.
That was my intro to Sabbath as well! I played the hell out of it (no pun intended)
I've still got it floating around here somewhere though the last player I tried to put it in tried to eat it
Compilation albums were the best in the pre-steaming days! Let you get a taste for an artist without breaking the bank on multiple albums
“Iowa” would like a word…
Iowa is pretty damn good, just personally AHiG edges it out a bit
I think that album gets overlooked since the band isn’t high on it if I’m correct. I believe Clown has said it was a dark time for the band.
All Hope Is Gone is criminally underrated. I'm glad to see that album getting more love. However, I think that Iowa and Self-titled are their two best albums.
I'd put Master over Paranoid. I'd put Painkiller and RIP above Reign in Blood.
But yeah, that top 5 are the correct albums.
And it is! Right after Ride the Lightning!
Puppets is probably a stronger album overall, but if I can only pick one to take to the Mars colony, I'm taking Ride the Lightning.
Ride the Lightning has Fade to Black, which is my favorite song of all time, but I do think that Puppets is the stronger album like you said. It takes what they learned from RtL and pushes it even further, tightens the sound, and explores heavier topics.
Both are phenomenal albums though, so while I think Puppets is my favorite, that's a hard decision to make.
Yep. FWTBT, FTB and Creeping Death are all in my top 5. But there are a couple on there I don't care as much for too. Puppets is more consistent, but the peaks aren't as high. Definitely a tough choice.
I like Lightning better, Puppets feels so much more mechanical to me, I'm honestly not interested in hearing (song) Master anymore. It's oversized influence in the rest of the metal world cannot be denied, but I prefer listening to Lightning, or any album after Master.
I think from a purely metal standpoint, that's fair, but the versatility from RTL is just unmatched.
Paranoid was voted the for number one spot
These lists usually retread all the same albums in slightly different order, but this one had some interesting choices
I usually hate lists like this, but have to admit overall this one is solid. One band i never understood how anybody likes them though is Sunn o. I just don't understand how that band got a record deal lol.
Where's AJFA?
It's the bass guitar of the ranking
Where it belongs, not on the list.
Damn straight
This is more like “hey here are 75 metal/grunge/hard rock albums you should check out”. Other than that the ordering and inclusions/exclusions are mostly nonsense.
where’s St. Anger?
I’m shocked that AiC was listed. Also shocked how low black album and peace sells are
It was definitely a pleasant surprise, at least for me. Beautiful album.
Without a more nuanced reordering, I'd probably have swapped Ride the Lightning and Metallica. Real surprise of the list for me is the absence of Appetite.
Why can I hear Lars saying “Fing Ozzy!”
Jesus. Piece of Mind not on this list is just stupid.
Paranoid being first is solid It’s iconic with legendary songs but I lean toward Master of Puppets
The list is trash. Way too much numetal in the top 30 and missing a lot of amazing albums.
Where is justice placed on the list I wonder
No avenged sevenfold is criminal
Waking the Fallen if I had to choose one.
SOAD doesn’t deserve to even sniff the top 10
They had some great albums.
But I mean..Ride is way above all their albums.
Agree
Easily should be in the top 20-30 with Toxicity. One of the greatest metal albums of the 2000’s, if not the greatest
Toxicity is a great album. Not top 10 to anything from the 70's or 80's but still.
Heavily disagree
Either their debut album or Toxicity can easily fit in a top 10
They’re very talented. Serj has great vocal range.
But there is absolutely no reality where any of their albums should be at the top of an all-time metal list.
2nd?!?!
The only album i won't have problem see above MoP in a Metal list would be Painkiller.
Rust In Peace?
Above puppets? No
It's a tough call...but I think Five Magics is just so good, it tips it, for me. Justice will always be my favourite Metallica record.
How tf is Exodus Bonded by Blood behind Def Leopard and Living Color…I do hate these lists sometimes…lol
List isn't idiotic for once. Would probably replace Painkiller by either Maiden's number of the beast or Pantera's reinventing the steel, but Painkiller isn't stealing its slot.
RTS?!
I’d substitute Pain Killer for The Legacy
Death Angel gets forgotten once again, The Ultra Violence should easily Be on this list, along with albums such as : Spreading the Disease - Anthrax
Speak English or Die - S.O.D.
Violence has Arrived - GWAR
Where the hell is Kill ‘em All? Did I miss that one?
Iron Maiden should be on there instead of Judas Priest or Slayer.
Dude how tf is slayer even in the conversation!? I know that they’re popular and all but reign in blood isn’t even the best slayer album, and putting it over painkiller and RiP is criminal. I could think of so many albums from better bands that deserve to be in that spot way more than slayer.
Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales needs to move within the top 20. Nothing sounded like that when it came out.
Sepultura Arise needs to be on there in top 20
Some really good picks here, and a few bands I've never heard of, but Operation Mindcrime way down at 38th is just not right. Top ten, easily.
Rust at 5 is insanity. I'd place it as...
Rust In Peace
Justice
Puppets
Reign In Blood
British Steel/Number of the Beast
RIP #1. Nothing comes close to it
I like there's no Maiden albums here.
Number of the Beast got #6
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Because they're metal?
No
go back and listen to Dam That River, Dirt, and Them Bones and you’ll see why Dirt is on the list
I’m a huge fan of rage and AIC. Neither band is metal. Great albums but not metal. Slipknot and A7x don’t have an album on here but AIC and rage do? It’s really not judging metal. Call it a ‘good hard album’ list not a metal list.
Slipknot is on the list.
Stopped looking after the top 50 because I saw all I needed to see.
slipknot’s there twice, self titled and Iowa
They were really standing on the borderline between grunge and metal. I'd count them in the list
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Damn,...its not even in my top 10.
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Slipknot is literally on there twice
Paranoid
Master of Puppets
Reign in Blood
Painkiller
Rust in Peace
Is the top 5.
Ride the Lightning is at 14. Black Album at 34.
That's a top 5 I won't argue much with.
Yeah, I'm not mad at that. I might rearrange a few or have some different entries, but there's an argument for every one of those to be there.
It's nice to see a list like this that isn't total garbage. I could quibble over a spot or two, but in general the top 20 is essential heavy metal listening. Even deeper in the list is solid. Loved seeing the Melvins listed.
Yeah I'm personally not a huge fan of Sabbath but can't really argue with this list
This is probably more or less my list (for best not favorite) but swap MoP with Paranoid
It’s hard to argue with it, but I’m also a little miffed there’s nothing in the top five past 1990.
I got some big issues with the rest of the top 10, though.
Kind of makes sense though. Metals formative years were primarily the 70' and 80's. While the top 5 wouldn't all be my favourite albums, they were definitely hugely influential on metal as a whole.
I get it, but this is a list of greatest metal albums, not most influential. There’s a lot of really great metal after 1990.
"Great" is less about personal taste, technical quality, or musicianship. It's about the album's reach, influence and importance to metal in general.
By the 90's most of the big metal subgenres were already fairly well defined, or had their roots firmly planted. Adding the original of death and black metal would also add to the list - Symbolic does show ups at number 7, and perhaps blood fire death. But even they were heavily influenced by the albums listed, and are approaching the more niche aspects of metal.
In terms of great metal post 1990 - absolutely agree! There are some great bands making top tier music now too, and anyone who ignores modern bands and whines "they don't make it like they used to" needs to have a good look at what bands are putting out these days, and take off the nostalgia goggles.
But the thousands of albums released over the last decade can trace a lot of their roots back to only a few dozen albums that formed the foundation, and that's what makes those albums the greats.
"Great" isn't always an indicator of quality, though.
I listen to much more modern than older metal but it's hard to find an album above those 5 in ''greatness''
Symbolic by Death is a shout... but after that, I dunno
But bro this is the metal community of course we are gonna argue!
Well, yeah. I wouldn't put anything Megadeth in the top 20, personally, but it's hard to argue that either Peace Sells or Rust in Peace are highly influential and popular releases.
I would argue So Far So Good... So What! Is better than both of those albums and is top 3 for sure.
Yep. I love all those albums, their order be damned, it’s doesn’t matter to me. They could all be 5 number 1’s.
Not bad
...I agree
https://i.redd.it/lkkop6goznbf1.gif
Honestly, I can fuck with this list. All legendary albums.
I might not jam with everything on the list, but I can't deny the influence of every album.
I’ll support it.
Justice should take black album's spot at the very least, and I honestly think it could take rtl's
Nah, black album is far more important and influential to metal than justice or RTL. Master and black are THE most important Metallica albums
Important? Yes. I still think Justice is a better album musically
When you're making a greatest of all time list for albums, importance and influence is one of, if not the most important aspects. Justice is my personal favorite tho
Very true. My personal favorites goes AJFA, MoP, TBA, RTL, KEA, and HTSD
I got ajfa, mop, RTL, tba, dm
Interesting
The list is for metal albums not hard rock albums.
“tHe bLaCk aLbUm iS hArD rOcK”
Hard rock is much more groove-oriented and less emphasis on steady and heavy riffs, has less distortion, and usually less aggressive and slower tempo. Also usually does not have double-kick bass drums, cleaner vocals, and less emphasis on dark or fantastic themes like war, death, mythology, etc.
TBA has heavy distortion, heavy and fast-paced riffs, aggressive growling vocals, double-kick bass drums, and darker themes like death and fear. Are Load and Reload hard rock? Yes, you could argue that. But TBA is a heavy metal album.
Do you consider Judas Priest a hard rock band too? 🤔
Considering that Priest released Painkiller a year before the Black album, I would say that they holding down the metal fort better than Metallica during this time period.
How so? Metallica was just wrapping up their Damaged Justice Tour, was selling out stadiums, brought more love and attention to the underground thrash metal scene and sound making its way into the mainstream, already has a popular music video on MTV with “One” which brought more extreme/heavier sounds into homes that wouldn't have heard much of it otherwise. I wouldn't say Priest was holding down the metal fort better than the younger band pioneering sounds and concepts within the scene about ten years after the former had already done that.
You are talking popularity/financial success which of course Metallica wins hands down. I'm talking about being true to the metal sound, but who am i to tell those guys to leave piles of money on the table to keep true to their original metal sound.
The Black Album is metal. Just traditional heavy metal, the same way Priest's early albums were heavy metal. It's not extreme metal, but it's metal nonetheless. Compare “Night Crawler” and “Through The Never”. Close in tempo and sound similar, but they're both done in their own respective metal styles, and one's not ”less metal” than the other. The Black Album sort of changed the sound of traditional heavy metal and added more edge and sleekness to the sound, which would be seen with bands like Pantera and even Rammstein if you can believe it. It was straightforward and often deceptively simple, but it was very much a redefinition of “heavy” at the time.
Metallica was already quite successful by the recording of The Black Album and had taken thrash as far as it could go with Justice and its proginess. Slowing it down just a tad bit wasn't too out of the ordinary for them either.
When an album comes out makes a difference. Motley Crues Too fast for love in 81 is metal but if it came out in 91 then it would not be metal. I may still be a little salty after almost 35 years since TBA came out (I bought it at midnight the day it was released in 91 when I was a Metallica freak at the age of 14) and was highly disappointed in how commercial it was. OK I admit TBA is a metal album.
Reign in Blood over Painkiller is crazy. Also Number of the Beast missing the list. But overall not bad
Number is on the list just isn’t in the top 5.
Yeah that’s what I meant
That is a solid list. No complaints, really. You got the big 4 plus one of the originators of the sound. I can't think of a more deserving album to knock any of those off.
That is a decent ranking ngl.
I’d put Rust in Peace a few spots higher but that’s honestly a perfect list IMO.
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War Pigs, Iron Man and Paranoid are legendary tracks. Fairies Wear Boots, Planet Caravan and Electric Funeral are amazing tracks. Hand of Doom and Rat Salad are still decent tracks despite me not listening to them often. Regardless of when this album was released, its an epic fucking album.
Yeah I started disagreeing with myself lol
Idc much about rat salad but Hand Of Doom is such a groovy track, I love it
I love Priest but there is absolutely no universe in which Painkiller is better than Rust In Peace.
Painkiller absolutely defines heavy metal.
It's a great album and it's top-10 material, yes, but Rust is transcendent. I'd put it above Reign In Blood too and I love Slayer as well.
Rust In Peace and Justice are absolute masterpieces, showcasing all that they had learned through their careers up to then, but rightly, neither band put out another album like those, they both spent a few albums stripping down from that high point, which I think did both of them very well -- and their commercial success after those albums I would say indicates that that was the right call for them. Rust definitely deserves a place at the table, but I think that the next two and a half albums should outshine it in the Megadeth discography.
Judas Priest defined the look of heavy metal in the early 80's, then came back with Painkiller to say "OK, we've distilled everything awesome everyone else has come up with in the years since, and here's pure 100% heavy fucking metal". I don't know that Priest has one specific album that is a masterpiece like AJFA and RIP, their greatness is spread across all 50 years they've been around... but Painkiller is a collection that just screams "This is metal."
Yes RIP should be swapped with Reign in Blood.
Justice for Justice!
Sabbath will always be hard rock to me.
Era and time.
Somebody that exclusively listens to deathcore and slam death metal would listen to Metallica and say the same thing. Just because you’ve heard heavier doesn’t mean the less heavy stuff isn’t metal.
Context matters, and in the overarching context of rock music Sabbath is 100% heavy metal.
Swap Paranoid and Reign in Blood and put AJFA as number 5, then it's correct.
In no universe should Reign be above MoP
Just a reminder that every concert someone screams FUCKIN SLAYER!!
Whens the last time you heard someone yell METALLICA! at a concert that wasnt theirs?
My point is valid and overwrites your opinion. ;)
FUCKIN SLAYER!
Yes, this universe and timeline.
No. Lmao. No.
Master of Puppets is worlds better than RiB.
My opinion, but I think most also share that opinion as well.
Hey man, that's like, your opinion! ;)