Poll: What’s the Best Metallica Album? – Vote Now
As they prepare to release their 11th studio album, what better way to celebrate Metallica than to look back on their incredible discography? We want to know which of their albums you think is the best (so far) in this week’s Loudwire Nights Album of the Week poll.
You’ll have until Friday at 12N ET to cast your votes. We’ll then play the three tracks from the album with the most votes during Loudwire Nights’ Album of the Week block to start the following Monday’s show!
Metallica helped launch the thrash metal movement in the Bay Area in the early ’80s with their debut Kill ‘Em All. Originally titled Metal Up Your Ass, the record was released through Megaforce Records after founder Jon ‘Johnny Z’ Zazula decided to take a chance on them. It didn’t break the Billboard 200 chart until a few years later, after the release of 1984’s Ride the Lightning and 1986’s Master of Puppets, which was considered their true commercial breakthrough.
The group faced tragedy that year when bassist Cliff Burton died in Sweden in a bus crash, but they made the decision to carry on and hired Jason Newsted to take his place. …And Justice for All was their first album to feature Newsted, and it earned them their first Grammy award in 1990 with the hit song “One.”
But their 1991 self-titled — known as The Black Album — was truly what catapulted them into superstardom. Tracks such as “Enter Sandman,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “The Unforgiven” and more helped them expand their loyal audience into a massive following, though some of their diehard fans considered the move a sellout.
Since then, they’ve also put out Load, Reload, St. Anger, Death Magnetic and, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. Soon, we’ll be able to add 72 Seasons to the list as well, as the album comes out this Friday, April 14 (pre-order it here). We’ve already heard “Lux Aeterna,” “Screaming Suicide,” “If Darkness Had a Son” and, most recently, the title track.
READ MORE: 10 Non-Metal Covers of Metallica Songs That Still Rule
We aren’t counting Lulu for the sake of this poll since it was a collaborative effort with Lou Reed, or Garage Inc. since it was all covers, but you still have a great selection of records to pick from without those two.
Head below to vote for your favorite Metallica album, and tune into Loudwire Nights next Monday at 7PM ET to find out which record prevailed. During tonight’s show, you’ll get to find out which Linkin Park album was voted the best, and hear three songs from the winner.
Loudwire Nights with Chuck Armstrong airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.