With 10 albums under their belt, Metallica have a bit of a shorter discography than some other bands that have been around for four decades, but you know what they say — quality over quantity. They’re the biggest metal band in the world because of those 10 albums, but which of them is the best?
That’s what we want to hear from you 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, most recently, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. 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 Pearl Jam album was voted the best, and hear three songs from the winner.
Loudwire Nights with Toni Gonzalez airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.
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