4) Metallica

Vocals: James Hettfield
Guitar: Kirk Hammett
Bass: Cliff Burton / James Newsted / Rob Trujillo
Drums: Lars Ulrich


Finally we broke the top 5 (sorry for being such a bum and not posting) and we have reached the greatest metal band of all time, Metallica! Along with U2 Metallica defied the synthesizer sounds of the 80’s and made some of the most influential music of all time. Lead by the signature deep growls of James Hettfield and the amazing guitar playing of Kirk Hammett, Metallica set the tone for where metal was directed. In 1983 they released “Kill Em’ All” an adrenaline filled album of thrash metal. This was basically the foundation of greater things to come. Here in this album we have the bass player Cliff Burton pulling out some amazing work, one of the best bass players I’ve ever heard, he could play solos that would make you wonder if he was on guitar or bass. Songs like “The Four Horsemen” would prove to be the institution for the future of Metallica’s impressive stamina when playing lightning quick metal. A year later they went on to release “Ride the Lightning” my personal favorite Metallica album. “Fade to Black,” “Ride the Lightning,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and the unforgettable instrumental “The Call of the Ktulu” proved to be the direction Metallica was going in, long epic songs, with fantastic lyrics, and some of the most talented musicianship anyone’s ears will ever hear. Two years later Metallica had created their landmark album “Master of the Puppets.” Sometimes it is a mystery how this album became so successful considering it was nowhere to be heard, but it made the Top 30 for record sales. Unlike the transition from “Kill Em’ All” to “Ride the Lightning,” “Master of Puppets” is more of a tweaking of their previous album. The same musical intention of “Ride the Lightning” was evident. The album opens up with the Spanish style acoustic on “Battery” then turns it into a full fledged ambush of aggressive drumming and fast guitar riffs. Once again Hettfield dug deep into his soul to create some fantastic lyrics. Critics will often say “Master of Puppets” is the greatest metal album of all time and it is hard to disagree. Unfortunately after “Master of Puppets” Metallica faced a terrible tragedy; the death of bassist Cliff Burton, they would continue with recording and recruited Jason Newsted, not quite as talented but none the less a good bassist. Recording with the new bassist came “…And Justice for All” filled with nothing but epic songs, the most notable being “One,” a haunting song based on the incredible novel “Johnny Got His Gun.” The rapid pounding of the double bass pedal make you feel like your in the middle of a war scene, it’s a song you experience more than listen to. In 1991 Metallica hit the mainstream with an album that was a bit different than their previous 3 masterpieces. Their new self titled album simply known as the Black Album contained shorter songs that didn’t lose their edge, but here we found a softer side to Metallica. There is the beautiful “Nothing Else Matters” and “The Unforgiven” which is a cry of a rough childhood of James Hettfield, but it was track one “Enter Sandman” that drove Metallica to stardom. Possibly the most famous guitar riff just builds and builds until the song finally explodes, and there is no better way to open the album. Metallica then went with a pretty large one of them was THEY CUT THEIR HAIR! a clear no-no for metal heads. The next change was their style of music which had a more alternative feel. This was heard on the albums “Load” and “Reload” decent albums but they did not capture the sound of Metallica. After issues within the band such as the alcoholism of Hettfield and once again a change of bassist, Metallica recorded “St. Anger” once again not quite capturing the once epic sound of Metallica. As I always say change is much needed for every band, and although their last few albums have not been quite as grand as their albums of the 80’s Metallica was destined to evolve their sound. In the end I honestly feel they recorded four of the top 5 Heavy Metal albums of all time. Some may remember Metallica as the band who brought down Napster but they should go down as the greatest Heavy Metal band that influenced music more than nearly any band we have ever seen.