Out of curiosity, let's compare. Is Slayer's best record superior to Metallica's second best (for many)? I didn't compare it to Master of Puppets because I think it would be disproportionate...

Probably unpopular opinion here, but I pick Ride The Lightning.

Dont get me wrong - Reign In Blood's standout tracks "Angel Of Death" and "Raining Blood" are divine (or, I guess, the opposite ) and represent everything great about thrash metal.

But when weighing an album as a whole, I think Ride The Lightning is more consistent but also offers some variation and nuance. From the emotional ballad "Fade To Black" to the haunting "Call of Ktulu", from the headbanging-inducing intro of "For Whom The Bell Tolls" to the thrashy epicness of "Creeping Death", I think Ride The Lightning reigns supreme in this case.

Both are unforgettable landmarks, no doubt about it. But for me, personally, Metallica's masterpiece takes the cake.

For me best Slayer clearly takes the cake over second best Metallica, since Seasons is way better than MOP.

I prefer 80s Matallica to 80s Slayer in general, Slayer's South of Heaven is the only real competition for me for 80s Metallica.

Reign In Blood -vs- Ride The Lightning, tough one They are both classics in their own right, and are both amongst my favourite albums of all time. But personally I would go with Reign In Blood, due to it's non stop ferocity and tempo, and the fact I've always found it quite addictive to listen to, but that's just down to personal preference. I still think Ride The Lightning is a masterpiece, and imo the best Metallica album.

If I had to choose between the two bands overall, it would be Slayer hands down for me.

Reign In Blood > Ride The Lightning > Master Of Puppets.

Of the three, I think that Ride The Lightning has the best songwriting; as F3ynman said, that album has the most variety in songwriting and each track stands out in its own way, so as a collection of individual songs, Ride The Lightning is easily superior not just to its competition here but, I would say, to any Metallica or Slayer album, with the possible exception of Seasons In The Abyss.

The question, though, is how it functions as an album, and as a full-album experience, Reign In Blood wins easily. I think that every song on Reign In Blood is great and it's a 10/10 album for me, but aside from the bookends of "Angel Of Death" and "Raining Blood," all of the songs tend to blend together into one long riff, so its character is based more on feeling than on detail, and that, to me, is essential for an album to have. The album essentially functions as one complete song all together and it has much better production than Ride The Lightning, so it feels more like a single cohesive work.

It probably yields to Master Of Puppets in terms of production, because Master Of Puppets is one of the best-produced metal albums of the '80s, but Master Of Puppets has always felt to me somewhat unwieldy and uneven; I don't love every song like I do on Ride The Lightning and there's more interruptions in flow than on Reign In Blood. What Reign In Blood has is consistency in pace, structure, and texture plus the energy to drive it all the way from start to finish, and when you factor in that the whole album sounds much more frantic, violent, and evil than any Metallica album, it comes out feeling more impactful and exciting by comparison.

The question of this thread is clearly leveled at people who like Metallica more than I do, though; accepting as a foregone conclusion that Master Of Puppets would win overall probably predisposes you to prefer Ride The Lightning more, so I wouldn't be surprised if that turns out to be the consensus. Looking at my own ratings, I'd take Slayer's best (Reign In Blood) over Metallica's best (Ride The Lightning), Slayer's second best (Seasons In The Abyss) over Metallica's second best (Master Of Puppets), and Slayer's worst (Diabolus In Musica) over Metallica's worst (Load). Some controversial selections, I know, but basically I prefer Slayer to Metallica.

Written by ScreamingSteelUS on 23.06.2022 at 17:31

Looking at my own ratings, I'd take Slayer's best (Reign In Blood) over Metallica's best (Ride The Lightning), Slayer's second best (Seasons In The Abyss) over Metallica's second best (Master Of Puppets), and Slayer's worst (Diabolus In Musica) over Metallica's worst (Load). Some controversial selections, I know, but basically I prefer Slayer to Metallica.

I couldn't agree more with everything you said

Seasons In The Abyss > Ride The Lightning > Kill'em All > Master Of Puppets > Reign In Blood, that's what I'm going with

I actually prefer Reign in Blood over Master of Puppets.. Dont get me wrong, both albums are the very top shit thrash metal ever produced but Slayer is my obssession besides Iron Maiden..

Nope, Metallica's top three is better
Black Album > ...And Justice for All > Master of Puppets > Seasons in the Abyss > Ride the Lightning > Kill Em All > Garage Inc. > Show No Mercy

Written by Vinther1991 on 27.06.2022 at 00:33

Nope, Metallica's top three is better
Black Album > ...And Justice for All > Master of Puppets > Seasons in the Abyss > Ride the Lightning > Kill Em All > Garage Inc. > Show No Mercy

Oh, I'm taking you down into the abyss, my friend

So, South Of Heaven v Load?

1. Reign in Blood
2. Show No Mercy
3. Ride the Lightning
4. Master of Puppets
5. South of Heaven
6. Seasons in the Abyss
7. Hell Awaits
8. Kill Em All
9. AJFA
10. God Hates Us All
11. Christ Illusion
12. Death Magnetic
13. Hardwired to Self Destruct
14. Divine Intervention
15. Repentless
16. Diabolus in Musica
17. Black
18. World Painted Blood
19. Load
20. Reload
20. St. Anger

If I'm going for an album ranking between the The two bands, my top ten would be:

1. Reign In Blood - Slayer
2. Ride The Lightning - Metallica
3. Seasons In The Abyss - Slayer
4. Show No Mercy - Slayer
5. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
6. Hell Awaits - Slayer
7. And Justice For All - Metallica
8. South Of Heaven - Slayer
9. Kill Em All - Metallica
10. Metallica (Black album) - Metallica

Written by AndyMetalFreak on 27.06.2022 at 19:44

my top ten would be

Same ten albums here, in a different ranking.

1. Seasons in the abyss
2. South of heaven
3. Ride the lightning
4. Reign in blood
5. Show no mercy
6. Master of puppets
7. Kill em all
8. Hell awaits
9. ...and justice for all
10. The black album

Only now realizing that it really nails down to these ten albuns only for me, five on each of them. The rest of their studio albums is basically irrelevant for me, with the possible exception of Divine intervention.

Written by Redel on 27.06.2022 at 20:44

Only now realizing that it really nails down to these ten albuns only for me, five on each of them. The rest of their studio albums is basically irrelevant for me, with the possible exception of Divine intervention.

I think exactly the same way, basically it was the first 5 albums that really count for both bands, after that they both went down hill, especially Metallica, there isn't many bands who release their best albums late in their career.

Ride the Lightning with the exception that Lombardo is/was way superior drummer to Lar$

If you would have asked me this question 10 years ago I would have said the top 5 Metallica albums are better than any Slayer release. Nowadays I would say that Reign In Blood/Show No Mercy are better than most Metallica albums.

Mmm hard to say... both bands play their unique style of thrash metal. It depends what your mood is up to.
SLAYER's Reign in Blood is more direct, faster and less technical. 28 minutes of pure fast thrash metal.
METALLICA's Ride the Lightning is more melodic and more technical. Both albums have ups and downs, both albums have fillers.
I like them both, no matter what.

MASTER OF PUPPETS is the best thrash metal album, ever.

Written by AndyMetalFreak on 27.06.2022 at 19:44

If I'm going for an album ranking between the The two bands, my top ten would be:

1. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
2. Metallica - Master of Puppets
3. Slayer - Reign in Blood
4. Metallica - And Justice For All
5. Slayer - Season in the Abyss
6. Slayer - South of Heaven
7. Metallica - Kill Em All
8. Slayer - Hell Awaits
9. Slayer - Show no Mercy
10. Metallica - Black

Written by gavdann on 04.07.2022 at 00:44

1. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
2. Metallica - Master of Puppets
3. Slayer - Reign in Blood
4. Metallica - And Justice For All
5. Slayer - Season in the Abyss
6. Slayer - South of Heaven
7. Metallica - Kill Em All
8. Slayer - Hell Awaits
9. Slayer - Show no Mercy
10. Metallica - Black

Good ranking

I guess Ride The Lightning, simply because I think that's Metallica's strongest album. And also because both Seasons In The Abyss and South Of Heaven are better than Reign In Blood in my opinion. Seasons In The Abyss vs Ride The Lightning would be close, though.

A truly useless comparison. It doesn't do justice to either band's output.

First of all, why compare classic albums at all? To prove what exactly? They're different style altogether, vocal, sound, style. There is no better here. Thrash metal? Don't even bring that one up. Every single band from the 80s did thrash differently. One used over the top down the well echo on vocals (RtL), the other didn't (RiB); one had melodic solos (RtL), the other didn't (RiB); one had acoustic on (RtL); the other didn't (RiB); one clocked at 48 mins; the other did at 28 mins; one was recorded in 1984; the other was recorded two years later; one was a band's 2nd record (RtB); the other was a band's 3rd record; one contained satanic references (RiB), the other did not (RtL), one inspired an entire genre (RiB, death metal), the other didn't.... You couldn't have picked two more disparate thrash albums from 1980s. Comparing the two makes little sense. Fans of Metallica will tell they like theirs more, so will fans of Slayer. And still it wouldn't be fair, as Metallica received more airplay, being more MTV friendly, unlike Slayer, whose fanbase is likely an order of order of magnitude smaller. Slayer didn't have their songs featured on Netfix etc.

Secondly, what prompted the choice of Ride of Lightning rather than Master of Puppets? If you must compare, then at least make the game level. Otherwise, it's a popularity contest, proving little merit-wise.

If anything, such nostalgia polls always prompt the question aren't there enough great albums released nowadays that one needs to relive the past and ask redundant questions that are down to commercial exposure?

Stack up Judas Priest against Iron Maiden next and you'll no doubt get the same story... No point to begin with.

Written by mdx54 on 11.07.2022 at 14:45

Every single band from the 80s did thrash differently. One used over the top down the well echo on vocals (RtL), the other didn't (RiB); one had melodic solos (RtL), the other didn't (RiB); one had acoustic on (RtL); the other didn't (RiB); one clocked at 48 mins; the other did at 28 mins; one was recorded in 1984; the other was recorded two years later; one was a band's 2nd record (RtB); the other was a band's 3rd record; one contained satanic references (RiB), the other did not (RtL), one inspired an entire genre (RiB, death metal), the other didn't.... You couldn't have picked two more disparate thrash albums from 1980s. Comparing the two makes little sense.

While I do enjoy comparing albums, you made very good points! It's true that it's basically impossible to "objectively" say which of two albums is "better" because each tries to do something else - each has its own flair, own goals, and own specific fanbase.

Every great classic became a classic exactly because it was for its time different from all the other albums. So, when comparing classics, they're bound to be vastly different even if one can vaguely categorize both as the same genre.

I'll take any of the 1986-1990 Slayer over any Metallica. On the other hand I had became Slayer's fan before I knew anything besides "Nothing Else Matters" and "The Unforgiven" from Metallica, so I'm biased

Written by Spacerunner on 11.07.2022 at 16:37

I had became Slayer's fan before I knew anything besides "Nothing Else Matters" and "The Unforgiven" from Metallica, so I'm biased

Same for me.

Written by mdx54 on 11.07.2022 at 14:45

A truly useless comparison. It doesn't do justice to either band's output.

First of all, why compare classic albums at all? To prove what exactly? They're different style altogether, vocal, sound, style. There is no better here. Thrash metal? Don't even bring that one up. Every single band from the 80s did thrash differently. One used over the top down the well echo on vocals (RtL), the other didn't (RiB); one had melodic solos (RtL), the other didn't (RiB); one had acoustic on (RtL); the other didn't (RiB); one clocked at 48 mins; the other did at 28 mins; one was recorded in 1984; the other was recorded two years later; one was a band's 2nd record (RtB); the other was a band's 3rd record; one contained satanic references (RiB), the other did not (RtL), one inspired an entire genre (RiB, death metal), the other didn't.... You couldn't have picked two more disparate thrash albums from 1980s. Comparing the two makes little sense. Fans of Metallica will tell they like theirs more, so will fans of Slayer. And still it wouldn't be fair, as Metallica received more airplay, being more MTV friendly, unlike Slayer, whose fanbase is likely an order of order of magnitude smaller. Slayer didn't have their songs featured on Netfix etc.

Secondly, what prompted the choice of Ride of Lightning rather than Master of Puppets? If you must compare, then at least make the game level. Otherwise, it's a popularity contest, proving little merit-wise.

If anything, such nostalgia polls always prompt the question aren't there enough great albums released nowadays that one needs to relive the past and ask redundant questions that are down to commercial exposure?

Stack up Judas Priest against Iron Maiden next and you'll no doubt get the same story... No point to begin with.

The topic's intention is not to reach an undisputed universal truth, but to discuss with different users the aspects that each one believes to be the most important of each work. Anybody can express their tastes without fear of censorship, without belittling any of the two albums or the opinions of others. You should try to participate from time to time. Stay Heavy!!

Written by F3ynman on 11.07.2022 at 15:34

Every great classic became a classic exactly because it was for its time different from all the other albums. So, when comparing classics, they're bound to be vastly different even if one can vaguely categorize both as the same genre.

Within the span of two years in the fruitful 1980s, the sound of a band could evolve with the goal posts moved by whichever band produced most successful sound at the time (cases in point: Kill'em All and RtL, Show No Mercy and RiB). So I'd pick wisely what to compare, especially from an era of musical progress in metal. Nowadays, post 2000-2010 (some may claim in the 1990s with the onset of grunge), metal has stagnated (name a truly novel genre sound wise) so comparing a say 2010 and a 2015 release may not highlight such striking differences.

Written by Marcelo Hissa on 13.07.2022 at 18:37

The topic's intention is not to reach an undisputed universal truth, but to discuss with different users the aspects that each one believes to be the most important of each work. Anybody can express their tastes without fear of censorship, without belittling any of the two albums or the opinions of others. You should try to participate from time to time. Stay Heavy!!

I appreciate the intent, my point is to highlight some comparison issues i.e. when a question is posed to include two disparate entities, you won't get any meaningful result (e.g. which is better, oranges or pears (not apples specifically here)). For future comparisons' sake, I'd rather pick those that have more in common, if compare you must.

Band-wise from the era, I think I prefer Slayer, being the commercial underdog. Their initial choice of subject prevented them from going fully mainstream, especially in the US where major labels and retailers avoid carrying controversial items. I can't recall a band that has hit it big that used to inspire controversy, religious or otherwise. Metallica was much more careful in picking political or social over overtly satanic.

And the perception seems to carry on nowadays, otherwise why would Netflix pick Metallica over Slayer? How many movies was a Metallica song featured over Slayer?

Suppose they considered Slayer, why would an exec pick Metallica to feature in a tv series? It is a safe choice, Slayer could be a liability, likely losing some audiences or religious zealots cancelling subscriptions on those grounds. It's likely changing but for the sake of US audiences a tv network exec might rule out the choice of Slayer for an OST solely on their satanic or antisemitic controversies (regardless of lack of merit to either claim).

Metallica is a household name for anything metal, for better or worse.

I prefer more or less any Metallica album over any Slayer album. Not St. Anger or Lulu, though.

Reign In Blood wins fairly easily for me. Short bursts of adrenaline, done and dusted in 30 minutes leaving you wanting more. The less standout tracks are still better than then slower ones on RTL. And opener and closer, the two high points, are pretty untouchable even as much as I thoroughly love Creeping Death.

And while it was pretty much just a copy of the preceding album with the 7th and 8th tracks swapped, I still prefer Master of Puppets to Ride The Lightning.