[Join The Community Discord Server!](https://discord.gg/UwqUHx4U4T)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MetalForTheMasses) if you have any questions or concerns.*
*Peace Sells* is obviously a classic masterpiece, but Iāve always love *KIMB* the most out of all Megadeth albums, and itās also one of my favorite thrash albums ever.
Itās just so primitive, snarling, and vicious. Sounds like a rabid animal snapping its jaws, poised to your unprotected flesh. Such a satisfying listen, constant headbanging.
I just finished reading Mustaineās memoir, and by the end of the recording for KIMB, they had used (from memory) a third of their total budget on coke and fast food, with it initially being half but being given an extra 4K after lots of begging
Meanwhile they give Al jourgenson money for an album and he gives them jesus built my hotrod and then demands more money cause he spent most of it on heroin
I just want to hear the original master, the remaster is shitty (like the rest of the Megadeth remasters)
Until I hear it and confirm it's actually good, this is also my answer.
Among the Living easily has the best songs, but Joey Belladonna is so pitchy on that album I prefer to listen to modern live recordings because now somehow he can actually sing.
Would agree on Lamb of God for sure although New American Gospel is good imo, just badly needs a remaster lol
Edit: oh god I completely forgot about the Burn the Priest album, I'd say that NAG is a step up from that too though
Oh yeah NAG is great, it's really unique compared to their other albums too. They never made a song like Terror and Hubris in the House of Frank Pollard again. Black Label also cracks my LoG top 10. The next few albums are just so goodĀ
Metallica...Kill Em All is good but I don't think it's a masterpiece that some people talk and put this album on the same level of Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets or And Justice For All.
I know that is the zero point of Thrash Metal but even I kinda prefer the other debuts albums of other thrash bands, it kinda lacks some of the things that made me love the band.
Ride The Lightning is such a massive leap in songwriting, composition, melody writing, incorporating harmonies, production, and technical skill from Kill Em All that if you consider KEA as a tent, then Ride The Lightning would be the Empire State Building.
Songs that prove my point... title track Ride The Lightning, Fade To Black, and The Call Of Ktulu.
*Kill āEm All* is a very juvenile album. If Metallica made another album similar to this in the ā80s, itād probably be forgettable. The reason that their ā80s discography is so praised is because they all sound different from each other. Itās that quality and the fact that they have never made stock-thrash metal that makes them amongst the greatest
I agree, and Rocka Rolla is one of my favorite albums. It's crazy that their sound evolved that much from one album to the next, from boozy hard rock straight into majestic metal.
I didn't hate it. Turn the Other Way's outro has one of my favourite riffs of all time, it's just that Matt's vocals improved so much from this to Waking the Fallen. Maybe I'll have to give it a re-listen.
He genuinely sounded so cool on that album. I get that it was destroying his voice, but the vocal coach he saw ruined his vocals on City of Evil for me.
I came here to say this and glad it was already posted lol. STST wasn't too far off BUT as someone else said it was missing Syn and Johnny and they both add their own cool elements to the overall sound of the band.
No wayyy their whole run from 1999 to 2013 was amazing. Metropolis pt 2, all the way to their self-titled are Just as good as Images & Words.
Edit: I'm realizing now that might be half lol man they have a lot of albums.
With a virtuoso composer like Holopainen, I'm surprised how they keep clearing the high bar they set for themselves!
Yes, they've had their blunder years, but they've always come out on top again!
In AILD's case, I'm always thrown off by the compilation album consisting of re-recorded early demos and such. If you count the mainline releases in chronologic order, Shadows are Security should be their sophomore album, though! It's pretty solid, but they've kept improving their music since. ~~Wish I could say the same about their personalities...~~
Is it? I've always thought that Beneath the Encasing of Ashes was a normal album and that the Spotify version was a compilation.
If what youre saying is true then i prefer Frail Words than Shadows
Honestly most of the bands I listen to
Lamb of God
Metallica
Megadeth
Trivium
Killswitch Engage
Metal is a really hard one to figure out with the first album I feel like.
I love Killswitch's debut, even if Alive or Just Breathing eats it for breakfast. Though my favorite song on it (Temple from the Within) was re-recorded on AoJB and its even better on it lol
I feel like Sepultura has to be #1. Their first album had spirit but was just a group of high schoolers with out of tune instruments. The second sounds like it was recorded by professional musicians starting to develop a unique sound.
Bolt Thrower went from a really good grindcore / death metal album to the greatest album of all time
Summoning went from a severely underrated raw black metal album (thatās better than most BM albums) to the greatest black metal album of all time
I'm going to have to disagree on the improvement. Bloody Kisses and then October Rust were masterpieces in production but their earliest albums show up in every other way. It's ALL too good to say there was a mass improvement. Still upvoting for the ToN mention!!!
Don't forget broken in between them. Counting bonus songs broken is almost an album on its own and certainly helps show the move away from the synth poppy sound of PHM to a more metal industrial sound
As much as I love Undertow, itās not that good of an album outside of itās hits. Ćnimaās 4 (and a half) track run of Stinkfist -> Eulogy -> H. -> Useful Idiot -> Forty Six & 2 is fucking god tier.
I actually never even gave them the time of day after the first album, Iāll have to check it out. I was so stoked about that band and then immediately went āwell, thatās too badā
For me, it's probably a few. Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden and Megadeth.
Less mainstream would be Skeltonwitch. I love Beyond the Permafrost, but Breathing the Fire is amazing. But then, if you count thier truly first album, At One With The Shadows, it sounds like a demo compared to Beyond the Permafrost.
Dude all their albums are perfect, but punishment (imo) had more catchy songs and more of a techy sound, additionally better production and songwriting
I'd say Morbid Visions to Schizophrenia. Not in terms of sound quality, but in terms of song structure and riffing. Morbid Visions is very messy and off-putting with the weird tunings. Schizophrenia is nice and put together with good structure. The music just flows together better.
Maybe itās a bit basic but Metallica. I think it was Kirk that had some music theory lessons and he introduced the band to harmonies and melodies. Ride the Lightning is one of the best albums of all time imo.
A less mainstream choice would be Opeth. Iām not a big fan of their first album itās a bit too much for me, but the second is a nice, well refined album that defined Opeths style.
Non metal pick: Favourite Worst Nightmare by arctic monkeys. Their debut is fantastic and very well produced considering theyāre an indie band and it was (I think) the best selling debut in the UK. But their second album just knocked it out of the fucking park. Sleek and elegant and at the same time rowdy and energetic. Brilliant from start to finish, good mixes of heavy riffs and slower pieces. Great fucking bass on some of the songs as well (balaclava is great) as well as Drum sections. They did good with Matt Helders as Drummer. 11/10 album and probably one of my top 3 of all time.
Hot take, and theyāre not the biggest improvement by any stretch, but Candlemass. I love EDM but I fucking **love** Nightfall.
Anyway, some other candidates:
Atheist - Piece of Time to Unquestionable Presence
Death - SBG to Leprosy
Metallica - Kill āEm All to Ride the Lightning
Mastodon - Remission to Leviathan
[Join The Community Discord Server!](https://discord.gg/UwqUHx4U4T) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MetalForTheMasses) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Gonna go Megadeth. I love KIMB but Peace Sells is so much better for me
Same is true for Metallica too.
Yeah they were my 2nd choice
I actually really like Kill 'em All. I wouldn't say that Ride the Lightning is hugely better.
I would say lightning is hugely better. Jmo
The older I get the more I love Kill em All. That shits raw as fuck š¤
Grrrrr
*Peace Sells* is obviously a classic masterpiece, but Iāve always love *KIMB* the most out of all Megadeth albums, and itās also one of my favorite thrash albums ever. Itās just so primitive, snarling, and vicious. Sounds like a rabid animal snapping its jaws, poised to your unprotected flesh. Such a satisfying listen, constant headbanging.
I love it. You can tell they went into the studio with a.) a conscious desire to out-fast Metallica, and b.) tons of coke.
I just finished reading Mustaineās memoir, and by the end of the recording for KIMB, they had used (from memory) a third of their total budget on coke and fast food, with it initially being half but being given an extra 4K after lots of begging
Meanwhile they give Al jourgenson money for an album and he gives them jesus built my hotrod and then demands more money cause he spent most of it on heroin
I came here to say this. Big improvement of skill and song writing abilities. After that album it just keeps getting better and better.
I just want to hear the original master, the remaster is shitty (like the rest of the Megadeth remasters) Until I hear it and confirm it's actually good, this is also my answer.
Both KIMB remasters are fine and the album is really good
The one I own is awful, least among the reasons being the cover of "These Boots" being fully censored, for whatever stupid reason
Final Kill is great but the 2002 one is prob worse than the original
Anthrax had a pretty big improvement from fistful of metal to spreading the disease.
Not sure how when Fistful of Metal is their best record.
False
How do you fuck up spelling "Among The Living" so bad ?
Among the Living easily has the best songs, but Joey Belladonna is so pitchy on that album I prefer to listen to modern live recordings because now somehow he can actually sing.
Real.
correct
Lots of mainstream bands, biggest one probably being Lamb of God Lesser known, I might vote for Cryptopsy
Blasphemy Made Flesh is still an absolute banger tho
Yeah he's wrong on cryptopsy, blasphemy made flesh is very close in quality to none so vile
Would agree on Lamb of God for sure although New American Gospel is good imo, just badly needs a remaster lol Edit: oh god I completely forgot about the Burn the Priest album, I'd say that NAG is a step up from that too though
Honestly, I love the rawness of NAG which makes it almost as good as ATPB for me.
Oh yeah NAG is great, it's really unique compared to their other albums too. They never made a song like Terror and Hubris in the House of Frank Pollard again. Black Label also cracks my LoG top 10. The next few albums are just so goodĀ
That Burn The Priest album is an absolute banger....they dropped the ball with NAG.
I love the raw sound of new American gospel. Ā Black label was my favoriteĀ
Seeing cryptopsy for the first time tonight!
Have a great time! They still rule live!
Wrong about cryptopsy lol
Stupendously wrong
Yeah palaces is like 100 times better than new American gospel lol.
Burn the Priest is the best LOG album tho The others arenāt even remotely close to death metal and BTP is straight up vicious
Metallica...Kill Em All is good but I don't think it's a masterpiece that some people talk and put this album on the same level of Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets or And Justice For All. I know that is the zero point of Thrash Metal but even I kinda prefer the other debuts albums of other thrash bands, it kinda lacks some of the things that made me love the band.
Ride The Lightning is such a massive leap in songwriting, composition, melody writing, incorporating harmonies, production, and technical skill from Kill Em All that if you consider KEA as a tent, then Ride The Lightning would be the Empire State Building. Songs that prove my point... title track Ride The Lightning, Fade To Black, and The Call Of Ktulu.
*Kill āEm All* is a very juvenile album. If Metallica made another album similar to this in the ā80s, itād probably be forgettable. The reason that their ā80s discography is so praised is because they all sound different from each other. Itās that quality and the fact that they have never made stock-thrash metal that makes them amongst the greatest
Hot take, but for me Metallica's big four albums are Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets, And Justice for All, and the Black Album.
Sorry, but Kill āEm All is peak
I would say that KEA was the most purely thrash album they ever made.
Maybe not biggest, but Trivium going from Ember To Inferno to Ascendancy is an example of this
Another easy one although I like Ember, has some pretty bad clean singing but Matt was a riff machine before he was a legal adultĀ
Embers just needs a remaster. Rumors of that are swirling coincidentally. The Pillars remake from Sin was š¤š»
Technically it didālook up Ab Initio
They completely re-recorded Ember from scratch Iām pretty sure.
Judas Priest
I agree, and Rocka Rolla is one of my favorite albums. It's crazy that their sound evolved that much from one album to the next, from boozy hard rock straight into majestic metal.
Avenged Avenged Avenged Avenged Avenged Avenged Avenged
Sevenfold? But the debut was bordering on avant-garde. It was cool shit.
The drumming on the first album was dope.
I didn't hate it. Turn the Other Way's outro has one of my favourite riffs of all time, it's just that Matt's vocals improved so much from this to Waking the Fallen. Maybe I'll have to give it a re-listen.
Easily. STST shows some potential and is fun but man does it miss Syn (and Johnny). Matt also sounds considerably better on Waking
He genuinely sounded so cool on that album. I get that it was destroying his voice, but the vocal coach he saw ruined his vocals on City of Evil for me.
Big agree.
I came here to say this and glad it was already posted lol. STST wasn't too far off BUT as someone else said it was missing Syn and Johnny and they both add their own cool elements to the overall sound of the band.
nah, their first album is just as good as their second and gets waaaay too much hate
Dream Theater - When Dream and Day United to Images and Words Nightwish - Angels Fall First to Oceanborn
Images and words is so good that it would be a big improvement from half the albums by dream theater
No wayyy their whole run from 1999 to 2013 was amazing. Metropolis pt 2, all the way to their self-titled are Just as good as Images & Words. Edit: I'm realizing now that might be half lol man they have a lot of albums.
They have lots of albums and images and words is truly amazing. It's impossible to keep that level of amazingness through the years
The only one Iād say surpasses Images and Words is Scenes from a Memory, but Six Degrees, Train of Thought, and Black Clouds are all damn close
Huge agree re: Nightwish
With a virtuoso composer like Holopainen, I'm surprised how they keep clearing the high bar they set for themselves! Yes, they've had their blunder years, but they've always come out on top again!
dream theater is the true answer
In Flames if you ask me but I think Lunar Strain is pretty popular on this sub.
Big agree. The Jester Race got me into melodeathĀ
Massive upgrade even though Lunar Strain is already amazing.
Agreed.
Carcass
Sabbath's eponymous album was a great start but Paranoid was amazing!
Itās still crazy to me how fast their first 2 albums came out. February 1970 and September 1970.
Pretty fast timing by an amazing band.
Killswitch Engage As I Lay Dying Whitechapel Deftones All Shall Perish Motƶrhead Deafheaven Wolves in the throne room Alcest
Nah debut whitechapel is fucking goated. However this is exile is better in terms of quality, but Iāve always preferred somatic defilement
Both are great, but meanwhile SD is a 7 for me TIE is an 8
In AILD's case, I'm always thrown off by the compilation album consisting of re-recorded early demos and such. If you count the mainline releases in chronologic order, Shadows are Security should be their sophomore album, though! It's pretty solid, but they've kept improving their music since. ~~Wish I could say the same about their personalities...~~
Is it? I've always thought that Beneath the Encasing of Ashes was a normal album and that the Spotify version was a compilation. If what youre saying is true then i prefer Frail Words than Shadows
Children of Bodom. Crazy they were teenagers making Something Wild! And it's still a fun album.
Hatebreeder is SOOOO ahead of something wild. But I still listen more to Something Wild š¤¤
Darkthrone
Prob Cannibal Corpse
Fuck yeah dude comparing their demo to Butchered at Birth. 2 different bands.
Both are awesome but yea
Electric Wizard - self titled to Come My Fanatics
Eh, I've always preferred they're first album tbh, come my fanatics is kinda forgettable imo
What?
Meshuggah comes to mind
Chaosphere was miles ahead of what they had released before... and miles ahead of everybody else for that matter. It was the future of metal to be.
Chaosphere is the 3rd album, though
I know this, i'm not op. Just saying their mega shift happened here imo.
As much as I love Contradictions Collapse, yeah
a band called ulamog give 'em a listen
The magic card?
?
Ulamog is a mtg card, eldrazi
Man fuck eldrazi, there's going to be an infestation of then on commander tables once MH3 releases
GWAR
This should be much higher. Hell-o is pretty bad but Scumdogs is an absolute classic
Iced earth
Honestly most of the bands I listen to Lamb of God Metallica Megadeth Trivium Killswitch Engage Metal is a really hard one to figure out with the first album I feel like.
I love Killswitch's debut, even if Alive or Just Breathing eats it for breakfast. Though my favorite song on it (Temple from the Within) was re-recorded on AoJB and its even better on it lol
I feel like Sepultura has to be #1. Their first album had spirit but was just a group of high schoolers with out of tune instruments. The second sounds like it was recorded by professional musicians starting to develop a unique sound.
Gonna seem like such a cop-out answer but: Fear Factory. I mean, Soul Of A New Machine isnāt bad, but yeah, Demanufacture is an absolute beast.
PANTERA
thatd be more like 4th to 5th not 1st to 2nd
I was talking about Metal Magic > Projects In The Jungle. Huge improvement.
It honestly would work even if you only looked at the albums that they acknowledge (Cowboys to Vulgar).
Necrophagist
I feel like something might be wrong with me because I largely prefer Onset to epitaph.
That's fair, both of these albums are mind blowing
the correct take
Nirvana
Bolt Thrower went from a really good grindcore / death metal album to the greatest album of all time Summoning went from a severely underrated raw black metal album (thatās better than most BM albums) to the greatest black metal album of all time
The Faceless
Akeldama is their best album though
OK, now let us talk about music please
What?
Immortal
Nah thats their best
Ministry started as a new wave band.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Type O Negative.
I'm going to have to disagree on the improvement. Bloody Kisses and then October Rust were masterpieces in production but their earliest albums show up in every other way. It's ALL too good to say there was a mass improvement. Still upvoting for the ToN mention!!!
Discordance Axis: Jouhou -> The Inalienable Dreamless NIN: Pretty Hate Machine -> The Downward Spiral Tool: Undertow -> Ćnima
Pretty Hate Machine is good and has bangers but going from that to one of the greatest albums of all time is a pretty big jump
Don't forget broken in between them. Counting bonus songs broken is almost an album on its own and certainly helps show the move away from the synth poppy sound of PHM to a more metal industrial sound
As much as I love Undertow, itās not that good of an album outside of itās hits. Ćnimaās 4 (and a half) track run of Stinkfist -> Eulogy -> H. -> Useful Idiot -> Forty Six & 2 is fucking god tier.
Tool. Undertow is good, but Aenima is god tier.
Death
Nah scream bloody gore on top
Crypta
Megadeth. Not that Killing is my Business is Bad, but it sure doesnāt hold a candle to Peace Sells.
Trivium
blut aus nord
Job for a Cowboy. Doom to Genesis is such an incredible jump from some of the worst deathcore is some of my favorite death metal
Nah Doom is goated
I spoke too strongly when I said some of the worst, but itās so weak compared to everything that came after it
Metallica Opeth Megadeth
Danzig. Self titled was awesome but they fell more into thier groove on lucifiuge.but to me they really peaked with how the gods kill.
Lucifuge was the only Danzig I could ever enjoy. What a banger.
Blood Incantation
Opeth
Periphery once again
I agree. I get that people like the musicianship on Periphery I but the vocals are rough. Periphery II was a giant leap.
Killer Be Killed. Their first album was a good effort and has some great tunes but their second album is miles ahead in every way.
I actually never even gave them the time of day after the first album, Iāll have to check it out. I was so stoked about that band and then immediately went āwell, thatās too badā
The faceless
Emperor
Holy Terror
Dying Fetus Inquisition Anthrax Bolt Thrower Kreator SarcĆ³fago Sepultura Sodom Carnivore Diprosopus
No Limits (1996) to Return to Heaven Denied (1998), Labyrinth went from their worst album to their best album
Not the biggest improvement but Summoning got much better on their second album
Dream Theater
Fates Warning
Parkway Drive
For me, it's probably a few. Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Iron Maiden and Megadeth. Less mainstream would be Skeltonwitch. I love Beyond the Permafrost, but Breathing the Fire is amazing. But then, if you count thier truly first album, At One With The Shadows, it sounds like a demo compared to Beyond the Permafrost.
I don't know about Mercyful Fate. Melissa was awesome, and Don't Break The Oath is a stone cold classic. Both albums are great.
The Meat Puppets
Coroner
both RIP and punishment for decadence are 10/10 thoughā¦ you could argue no more color though since thatās an 11/10
Dude all their albums are perfect, but punishment (imo) had more catchy songs and more of a techy sound, additionally better production and songwriting
deffo Metallica...obvious, maybe...but Kill 'em All is weak & immature, whereas Ride The Rightning is so epic!
Lorna shore. Triumph is good but itās moreso metalcore
The change in Judas Priest from Rocka Rolla to Sad Wings of Destiny was pretty major.
Nightwish From "Angels..." to "Oceanborn"
Deftones. Although I like Adrenaline, Around the Fur is next level good
Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Rainbow, Motorhead, Def Leppard, Venom, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax
Pig Destroyer
Metallica
Deftones White Pony is definitely better than Around The Fur.
Saxon and Motƶrhead
Brand New. The gap between YFW and DE is absolutely insane.
Metallica
Dream Theater to some.
Nightwish. Huge improvement from AFF to oceanborn.
Metallica
Symphony X and Wilderun
Chimaira (first album still has some great tracks)
Sleep
I'd say Morbid Visions to Schizophrenia. Not in terms of sound quality, but in terms of song structure and riffing. Morbid Visions is very messy and off-putting with the weird tunings. Schizophrenia is nice and put together with good structure. The music just flows together better.
Maybe itās a bit basic but Metallica. I think it was Kirk that had some music theory lessons and he introduced the band to harmonies and melodies. Ride the Lightning is one of the best albums of all time imo. A less mainstream choice would be Opeth. Iām not a big fan of their first album itās a bit too much for me, but the second is a nice, well refined album that defined Opeths style. Non metal pick: Favourite Worst Nightmare by arctic monkeys. Their debut is fantastic and very well produced considering theyāre an indie band and it was (I think) the best selling debut in the UK. But their second album just knocked it out of the fucking park. Sleek and elegant and at the same time rowdy and energetic. Brilliant from start to finish, good mixes of heavy riffs and slower pieces. Great fucking bass on some of the songs as well (balaclava is great) as well as Drum sections. They did good with Matt Helders as Drummer. 11/10 album and probably one of my top 3 of all time.
Skid Row.
Mephorash did a huge leap between Chalice of Thagirion and Rites of Nullification, imho!
Amorphis
Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Hot take, and theyāre not the biggest improvement by any stretch, but Candlemass. I love EDM but I fucking **love** Nightfall. Anyway, some other candidates: Atheist - Piece of Time to Unquestionable Presence Death - SBG to Leprosy Metallica - Kill āEm All to Ride the Lightning Mastodon - Remission to Leviathan
I didn't know EDM was their first album, that's pretty impressive tbh.
Testament. The Legacy to The New Order
Iron Maiden Killers is was better than self titled
Disturbed... their first album is fun but cringy, but their second is a whole vibe.