You can say whatever you want about Metallica but they’ve earned their status as the top selling metal band of all time and one of the top selling artists of the Nielsen Soundscan Era. They’ve amassed fans all over the world with over three decades of touring and album releases.
But for non-fans, the band has been around too long for them to know where to start listening to them. Yeah, you can say start with Kill Em All and work your way forward but today’s production sounds too tight and too focused for non-fans to appreciate that raw, unpolished style. Besides, you cant’ throw someone into the fray and expect them to keep their head afloat.
So it got me thinking about “Greatest Hits” albums, which are meant to give non-fans a chance to dive into the world of a specific band. But oftentimes those albums are simply their big radio hits and nothing more. They don’t show off the band’s other work, which should be equally appreciated.
What I’ve done is taken two tracks from each major Metallica album to compile what I believe to be a solid Best Of Metallica release. Now, I’m not saying that every song on here is the best offering from the album. Instead, what I put together is what I believe to be the best representation of the diversity of this amazing band. It goes from the blisteringly fast shredders to the slow acoustic ballads and incorporates everything in between.
So, without further ado, jump ahead for the Best Of Metallica that I’d put together!
1. Seek & Destroy (Kill Em All)
2. The Four Horsemen (Kill Em All)
3. Fade To Black (Ride The Lightning)
4. The Call Of Ktulu (Ride The Lightning)
5. Battery (Master Of Puppets)
6. The Thing That Should Not Be (Master Of Puppets)
7. Eye Of The Beholder (…And Justice For All)
8. Harvester Of Sorrow (…And Justice For All)
9. Sad But True (Metallica)
10. Nothing Else Matters (Metallica)
11. Until It Sleeps (Load)
12. Mama Said (Load)
13. The Memory Remains (Reload)
14. Where The Wild Things Are (Reload)
15. No Leaf Clover (S&M)
16. Wherever I May Roam (S&M)
17. Some Kind Of Monster (St. Anger)
18. Shoot Me Again (St. Anger)
19. All Nightmare Long (Death Magnetic)
20. The Unforgiven III (Death Magnetic)
21. Breadfan (Bonus Track)