Originally Posted by LOLPOCALYPSE

I would consider AJFA a transitional album for Metallica. In that respect, it sounds just as much like Master of Puppets as it does to The Black Album. The two can't really be pulled that far apart from each other. Despite what these posts would indicate, "One" is just as radio-friendly as "Enter Sandman", regardless of any differences found in the songs. People seem to forget that, despite the more instantaneous mainstream success The Black Album had, AJFA had quite a bit to do the popularization of the band within the non-metal suburban teen crowd (especially with the popularity of the "One" music video, the band's first Grammy nomination, the fact that it went platinum 9 weeks after release). Those who didn't see an album like the Black Album coming next were foolish. The Black Album, rather than being some sort of quick jump in a different direction, was actually a continuation down a path Metallica had already laid out with AJFA.

That being said, there are a couple differences between the two albums. Yes, AJFA has longer songs. Yes, AJFA has a more progressive metal sound. But these differences are far too overemphasized. The overall Metallica sound is retained between the two albums. The two are only different enough to allow preferences to lead one to liking one over the other. The Black Album wasn't some giant leap away for the band. It was just slightly more catchy (and wrongfully judged from its first three singles, "Enter Sandman", "The Unforgiven", and "Nothing Else Matters", which I think are the worst on the album) and capitalized on the increasing popularity the band initially gained from AJFA.

I am willing to bet that if AJFA was as immediately successful as The Black Album it would garner as much hatred and "irrelevance" on this thread as The Black Album did.

To say that The Black Album is irrelevant is ridiculous on so many levels. Yes, the amount of albums sold DOES make a difference. It was the best selling metal album of the time and the 25th best selling album in the US. The album is responsible for bringing countless new metal fans into the industry and helped the entire genre of metal grow exponentially. Making comparisons to the Spice Girls and The Backstreet Boys is simply juvenile. If anything is irrelevant in this thread, it is attempting to compare musical groups of a COMPLETELY different genre. The dynamics of pop and metal and the factors necessary to make each successful are so vastly different its almost laughable you thought the two could be compared, especially with the purpose of differentiating two metal albums. The only similarity is that fans within each respective genre liked the albums so a lot of albums were sold. How many albums the Spice Girls sold had nothing to do with Metallica. Period.

Whether you think so or not, Metallica has consistently offered quality music (except St. Anger and some of ReLoad). Other than a few ballads, Metallica's music really isn't mainstream sounding (even their newest). They are successful for the right reasons. They have a wide variety of fans because they have put out a wide variety of music.