Alright, so my current ranking goes like this
- Master of Puppets
- ...And Justice For All
- Ride the Lightning
- Kill Em' All
- The Black Album
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Every other album.
With
Kill Em' All I can't find a song other than "Hit the Lights," "The Four Horsemen," and "Seek & Destroy" that I can really get into, though "Hit the Lights" kicks major ****ing ass and at this moment is possible tied with "Sad But True" for my favorite Metallica song.
Ride the Lightning just seems...unfocused to me. I really like the "clean" aspects of some of the songs like the first track and especially "Fade To Black," but overall those aspects were considerably refined in
Master of Puppets with "Battery" and the mellow intro of "Damage, Inc." Even the instrumental "Orion" flows better than "Call of Ktulu."
RTL also seems to be the least varied I dare say of Metallica's first five albums?
...And Justice for All basically takes my favorite elements from "Master of Puppets" (the song) and makes that into an album. "...And Justice For All" even sounds very similar to "MoP." I've noticed that this album doesn't sound as aggressive as their earlier work? Like it was filtered/mixed too much/too well perhaps? When I listen to "...And Justice For All" then listen to "S&D" the difference is startling. Anybody else notice that?
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
Also, ignore what I said about St. Anger. The vocals just kill that album.