"Metallica - Career Discography" Review by Dom

This is something I've wanted to do for some time now, pick an artist do a short review of their albums and give the artist a rating. I though why not start off with my favorite band, which makes me biased but still, so here it is, the career of Metallica.

Kill 'Em All(1983) - A straight up no BS thrashterpiece that paved the way for 80's thrash bands. 9/10

2. Ride the Lightning(1984) - In my, oh so humble opinion, this is truly Metallica's magnum opus. It exceeds all levels of thrash, metal and velocity. Every track is pure fire. 10/10

3. Master of Puppets(1986) - Many consider this to be one of if not the best metal album of all time, I agree with it being one of the best. It's phenomenal and an ear opening experience to listen to, only reason it's not the best is because Ride came first. 9.5/10

4. ...And Justice for All(1988) - The loss of Cliff Burton changed the dynamic of Metallica, Jason Newstead was by all means a suitable replacement but he wasn't Cliff. This album is very good, and gave the band its real first mainstream success with the track "One". This album is a transition from the straightforward thrashing into what the band would become. 9/10

5. Metallica(AKA The Black Album)(1991) - This album, if you haven't heard it, you haven't lived. This is one of the quintessential metal albums of all time. It's heavy yet commercial enough that it reached a worldwide audience and spawned a 4 year world tour. 9/10

6. Load(1996) - Ah, the album where most fans jumped ship, I think had I been alive and into the band to see this transition I would've probably jumped ship as well. I wasn't a big fan at first, it leans more toward hard rock but there are some very good songs on here but for me, this is the first album that's not fantastic. 8/10

7. ReLoad(1997) - The continuation of the previous album and this album continues the downward slide. This album gets a ton of hate from fans and critics alike but there are some diamonds in the rough. The first half of the album is a solid set, the second half, not so much. 7/10

8. Garage Inc.(1998) - A double disc album of covers of the bands influences. Sounds boring but there's a bit of a range in the track selection and it's a good enjoyable listen and provides some old songs with a good ol' Metallica twist. 8/10

9. St. Anger(2003) - 5 years fans waited for new Metallica music, 6 years for original music and this is what they got. Looking back I see why it was hated, but after listening to it multiple times it's grown a lot on me. It's a raw sound, full with some heavy good music that was better than what came out 6 years prior. 7.5/10

10. Death Magnetic(2008) - Another long wait for the fans, this one proved to be more worth it. This saw the return of thrash into the band, it's a modern take on the genre full of full throttle thrash with a couple songs to pump the brakes a little and this was a great return. 9/10

11. Lulu(2011) - A collaborative album between the band and Lou Reed of Velvet Underground fame and this was just awful, truly unlistenable, and this one goes on Lou Reed, it was his vocals that trashed this project and a waste of Metallica music. 2/10

12. Beyond Magnetic - EP(2011) - This EP came out mere months after Lulu and this proved that Metallica was not at complete fault for that train wreck of an album. Only fault on this is that it sounds like tracks that just didn't make it onto Death Magnetic, at the same time, they're still good tracks. 8/10

Overall: The band has released monumental albums, with a couple that weren't amazing and one that wasn't to blame on them they've had a respectable career. Supposedly they're writing for their next album due out in 2014, we'll see where that takes the band.

Final Rating: 8.5/10