Top 10 Worst Metal Albums Of All Time...

[ToonaRockGuy]

Here's the list...

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listof ... -all-time/

Discuss, except for ucjoe and Hawk, who are too busy approaching 40 pages of worthless argumentative political bullshit and namecalling. Sad.

[UncleScabby]

I like some tracks from Fear of The Dark. Def low on the totem pole for Maiden albums, but I have a hard time thinking it belongs anywhere near the worst of all time.

[Larry]

I liked this line - "All Van Halen albums with Sammy Hagar qualify for this list. But that was too obvious."

Also interesting that Ozzy made the list twice. I actually liked Bark at the Moon when I was in High School, but looking back, much of it was pretty soft.

As for the Metallica albums listed, I try to pretend that they don't exist.

[songsmith]

Raven's The Pack Is Back was, I think, pretty good overall. The Spencer Davis song was begging for a metal update, the signature riff badly needed some crunchy guitar. Thin Ice and Black Angel both covered Raven songs (Seek & Destroy, Stay Hard, etc.) and though chicks didn't like it, and vocally-challenging, dudes LOVED it.
Bark At The Moon definitely shouldn't be on the list. I bought the cassette on the day it was released, and saw the tour TWICE. Jake E. Lee had the unenviable task of following one of the top 5 guitarists in rock history, a guy who died (furthering his mythical status), and Jake didn't play note-for-note Randy Rhoades solo's. He was a hired gun, and made $600 a week, no points on record sales, none of that. Despite all that, BATM is a classic album.
As a lifelong Kiss fan, I think Music From The Elder might actually be the worst rock record ever made. I spent my pubescent years playing Kiss records over and over, and plastered my bedroom walls with magazine cut-outs, if they'd crapped on a vinyl LP and packaged it with some Kiss temporary tattoo's, I'd still have it in a box somewhere. I do not own, and have never owned, Music From The Elder. The solo records aren't much better, except for Ace Frehley's.
I can't believe bands like Britney Fox and London Quireboys didn't make this list, or the vast majority of the early Metal-Blade compilations. The later glam stuff was lost on me, too.

[KeithReynolds]

Discuss, except for ucjoe and Hawk, who are too busy approaching 40 pages of worthless argumentative political bullshit and namecalling. Sad.

Why even bring that shit into this thread then???
Its just gonna bait them or someone else into dragging it here.
Dont fuel the fire if you think its sad, dude.

About this list, some I havent heard, but im sure they suck anyway. I certainly agree with the number one though. Metallica's Trifuckta of records are nothing short of audio diarrhea .


I think its funny they mentioned the Loutallica record thats coming out. Ive heard some clips....its the worst shit ever put out. Pure trash.

[Don Hughes]

I hated that Def Leppard album (except for "Work It Out"). For some reason that song grew on me.

As far as Bark At The Moon, I'm biased to having keyboards (for obvious reasons). I think it still gets a bad rap just because it's the first without Randy.

Yes, Load and Re-Load are certainly not the greatest out there, but they still have some good moments in it (in my opinion). I would have just put St. Anger there.

Unfortunately, I think metal is turning into a nitch thing. It will always have a core group of fans, but it will never get as big as it once was again. My father HATES anything even remotely close to metal, but he once admitted to me that he thought they were talented as all hell. The new crop of metal seems to have a higher education influence and classical influences (John Petrucci though he's not new, Adam Dutkiewicz), so the talent has to be there. It's just like prog. You either get it, or you don't.

[f.sciarrillo]

I disagree with the dudes statement about Van Halen lol. I do agree with the GnR and Metallica albums, although, until recently, I would say to add "...And justice for all" to the list as well. The rest I kinda liked, except Raven. I never heard of them?

[bassist_25]

I actually like Load and ReLoad. I dig some of the songs from St. Anger, but the faux "raw" production on it makes for a bit of a difficult listening experience.

I found the author's comment interesting about people not buying Def Leppard's album for their natural tone. I have their first album, On Through the Night, on vinyl. This was back when Def Deppard was still a NWOBHM band in the vein of Saxon or Sweet Savage - only with better songwriting. This was very pre-Mutt, and Rick Savage's bass sounds like an actual Fender through an Ampeg rather than a synth through 13,523 different processors. That album still kills, though. The great Leppard harmonies are there, and the album really highlights the band's musical chops. Sadly, this was also pre-Phil Collen, but the guitar playing still kicks ass on it.

[MistValkyrie]

ugh... St. Anger deserves the top spot IMO, heard some stuff from Load, wasn't bad but wasn't great. Never cared to listen to Reload though. Honestly, a friend of mine put on St. Anger for me to listen to when it came out and it took him a few minutes to convince me that it wasn't a Metallica parody album.

And I think Chinese Democracy should be at #2...again, I haven't heard all of it, but what I've heard of it is pretty bad.

[sstuckey]

I disagree with the dudes statement about Van Halen lol. I do agree with the GnR and Metallica albums, although, until recently, I would say to add "...And justice for all" to the list as well. The rest I kinda liked, except Raven. I never heard of them?

Are you INSANE?! ...And Justice For All is one of the BEST heavy metal albums of all time!!! Had it not had been for that album, and to a larger extent the video for 'One', I never would have picked up a set of drumsticks.
My entire life changed the day I brought it home. I like most of what you write Frank, but this time buddy I think you fell and bumped your head.

I don't know if I'd add it to the top 10 but Pantera's 'Reinventing the Steel' deserves a footnote. That CD was a real let down. So was Fear Factory's 'Transgression'. Now how about a top 10 BEST metal albums of All-time?

[Gallowglass]

Personally, I like Load a lot...Reload isn't bad either. I think if any other band in the world other than MetallicA had put them out they would have been appreciated better. St. Anger...well unfortunately that's just shit. I think Reinventing the Steel is a really kick ass album too.

When I was in 6th grade I thought Bark at the Moon was the coolest album ever. In hindsight, I can see where the criticism comes from but I'd have put Ultimate Sin as a definite worse album than Bark.

[KeithReynolds]

In all honesty, none of these records are really "HEAVY METAL".
All belong in the Hard Rock category. Atleast I think so.

[Jim Price]

Interesting list.

I agree with Def Leppard's Slang on the list; easily their worst album, in my opinion.

I'm surprised at Black Sabbath's Never Say Die being there; although it might not have been their best in the original Ozzy era, and was put out during a period of turmoil in Sabbath's history, I think it was still way too good to be considered on a "worst" list.

Although they pale next to Ride the Lightning and Master Of Puppets, there were enough good tracks on Metallica's Load and Reload to keep them off a "worst" list, although opinions vary between old-school and new-school Metallica camps on those two albums.

Raven's The Pack Is Back has its moments. That was Raven's attempt to sound like produced L.A. glam; their earlier and rawer stuff is better.

The list makes for interesting discussion; but ten metal fans will give you ten different lists of what qualifies as the worst ten albums.

[songsmith]

When I was in 6th grade I thought Bark at the Moon was the coolest album ever. In hindsight, I can see where the criticism comes from but I'd have put Ultimate Sin as a definite worse album than Bark.

Ultimate Sin, if I remember, came out in 1986, the same year as Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet. To me, that was a watershed moment, the point when metal ceased to be a "guy thing." The industry had toyed with the idea of "metal" for chicks before that, but that's when they really marketed what had once been the domain of pimply-faced teen boys, to pimply-faced teen girls. Suddenly, leather and chains gave way to highlighted hair and purple tiger-stripes. Believe me, I did it, too, but I'll take Judas Priest's British Steel over Turbo any day of the week.
After '86, we got Poison, Cinderella, Winger, Slaughter, and a minimum of two power-ballads per record, and even then, I knew that somebody like Nirvana was going to come along and knock it all down.
Speaking of Ozzy, I noticed that his latest album has failed to go gold in America, and the last one failed to go platinum. Perhaps exposing yourself as a drug-riddled old man on reality TV wasn't the best idea for selling the Prince of F**king Darkness.

[MistValkyrie]

Speaking of Ozzy, I noticed that his latest album has failed to go gold in America, and the last one failed to go platinum.

Personally, I think if you're going to put Ozzy on this list, his newer albums would be better choices than Bark at the Moon, which mayn't be great but I'm sure isn't as bad as his newer stuff. I bought a copy of Down to Earth when I came out and really hoped that would be his last album because -other than very few tracks- it really wasn't that great. From what I've heard of his last two albums, they are worse than Down to Earth and -IMO- MUCH worse than his pre-2000 era albums. But then again...thats just me.

[bassist_25]

Personally, I like Load a lot...Reload isn't bad either. I think if any other band in the world other than MetallicA had put them out they would have been appreciated better.

Even though that's a counter-factual, I think you'd be right. Actually, the same could be said for a lot of the albums on that list. Most of them are flops by fairly well-known metal bands. There are actually about a bazillion crappy albums released by 5th rate thrash bands out of the late 80s and early 90s. Dream Death, At War, or Midas Touch, anybody?

[ToonaRockGuy]

Speaking of Ozzy, I noticed that his latest album has failed to go gold in America, and the last one failed to go platinum. Perhaps exposing yourself as a drug-riddled old man on reality TV wasn't the best idea for selling the Prince of F**king Darkness.

No, failing to go gold is what happens when your wife is a bitch and decides to fire Zakk fucking Wylde. They deserve it.

Ozzy - Zakk = SHIT.

[songsmith]

He did really have a great run of unknown American guitarists there for awhile. I remember reading a number of years ago that all his bandmembers, including Randy, were simply employees. Jake E. Lee was the one who revealed he was paid $600 per week, plus travel and meals, of course. On one hand, that was pretty decent pay for a musician with no risk involved in the project, on the other, Ozzy GREATLY benefitted from his bandmates. It's my opinion that without Randy, Ozzy's solo career after Sabbath would have been a historical footnote. Imagine Blizzard with a session guitarist.

[witchhunt]

If Ozzy offered me travel, meals, and $6oo.oo to go on tour just to carry his luggage, I'd tell him to piss off.

[bassist_25]

He did really have a great run of unknown American guitarists there for awhile. I remember reading a number of years ago that all his bandmembers, including Randy, were simply employees. Jake E. Lee was the one who revealed he was paid $600 per week, plus travel and meals, of course. On one hand, that was pretty decent pay for a musician with no risk involved in the project, on the other, Ozzy GREATLY benefitted from his bandmates. It's my opinion that without Randy, Ozzy's solo career after Sabbath would have been a historical footnote. Imagine Blizzard with a session guitarist.

From what I understand, Ozzy's solo career started off as actually being a band project, Blizzard of Ozz. I don't know the pay details there. But then it morphed into Ozzy as a solo artist as time went by. That seems to happen with a lot of eponymous named bands. Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, and Marlyin Manson were all names of bands in which the people they were named after became known as solo artists.

Ozzy did greatly benefit from his bandmates, though, particuarly Randy and most recently Zakk. Ozzy and Sharon gave Bob Daisley a major fuck-job despite what he contributed to Ozzy's career. While Ozzy has a unique voice, he wouldn't have made it far in his career without coattailing on the talents of people like Rhoades, Wylde, Daisley, Iommi, and Butler.

[f.sciarrillo]

I disagree with the dudes statement about Van Halen lol. I do agree with the GnR and Metallica albums, although, until recently, I would say to add "...And justice for all" to the list as well. The rest I kinda liked, except Raven. I never heard of them?

Are you INSANE?! ...And Justice For All is one of the BEST heavy metal albums of all time!!! Had it not had been for that album, and to a larger extent the video for 'One', I never would have picked up a set of drumsticks.
My entire life changed the day I brought it home. I like most of what you write Frank, but this time buddy I think you fell and bumped your head.

I don't know if I'd add it to the top 10 but Pantera's 'Reinventing the Steel' deserves a footnote. That CD was a real let down. So was Fear Factory's 'Transgression'. Now how about a top 10 BEST metal albums of All-time?

lol Notice I said till recently? I have found a new appreciation for "...And Justice for all" over the past couple of months

Ozzy - Zakk = SHIT.

I agree, Kevin.

[sstuckey]

I disagree with the dudes statement about Van Halen lol. I do agree with the GnR and Metallica albums, although, until recently, I would say to add "...And justice for all" to the list as well. The rest I kinda liked, except Raven. I never heard of them?

Are you INSANE?! ...And Justice For All is one of the BEST heavy metal albums of all time!!! Had it not had been for that album, and to a larger extent the video for 'One', I never would have picked up a set of drumsticks.
My entire life changed the day I brought it home. I like most of what you write Frank, but this time buddy I think you fell and bumped your head.

I don't know if I'd add it to the top 10 but Pantera's 'Reinventing the Steel' deserves a footnote. That CD was a real let down. So was Fear Factory's 'Transgression'. Now how about a top 10 BEST metal albums of All-time?

lol Notice I said till recently? I have found a new appreciation for "...And Justice for all" over the past couple of months

Ozzy - Zakk = SHIT.

I agree, Kevin.

Poor Gus G. Suffering from the same fate that Jake E. Lee suffered from. Following another legendary guitarist. Honestly I like Gus and the newest CD. "Life Won't Wait" and "Scream" are pretty damn good jams. Not to mention it's about time Ozzy found a drummer that uses his feet for a change. Zakk cast a pretty darn BIG shadow and this poor guy has no chance of breaking away from the comparisons, but he CAN shred!

[Merge]

Did any of you have a chance to hear Joe Holmes when he played for Ozzy??

[f.sciarrillo]

Poor Gus G. Suffering from the same fate that Jake E. Lee suffered from. Following another legendary guitarist. Honestly I like Gus and the newest CD. "Life Won't Wait" and "Scream" are pretty damn good jams. Not to mention it's about time Ozzy found a drummer that uses his feet for a change. Zakk cast a pretty darn BIG shadow and this poor guy has no chance of breaking away from the comparisons, but he CAN shred!

I agree that Gus is a great guitar player. I like his band Firewind. He just doesn't fit the ozzy style the way that Zakk and Randy did. That is just my opinion of course.

[KeithReynolds]

Did any of you have a chance to hear Joe Holmes when he played for Ozzy??

I saw Joe Holmes a couple times with Ozzy. Ozzfest '97 and '98. Pretty sure JH played with Ozzy on the '98 Ozzfest tour. I know '97 for certain, but I dont really remember much of '98 Ozzfest.

About the whole Zakk Wylde thing...yeah, he's good...but he is not THAT good. I can name 10 guitarists who are better right off the bat. He does have the attitude though, that draws alot of people in. He isnt just some asstard up on a stage shredding for 2 hrs.
He knows what he is doing.

Ozzy said the reason for the split was he thought his stuff all started to sound like BLS stuff. Which was true. Zakk has a certain sound and does squeals every 2 seconds, I guess Ozzy was just tired of it.

I personally dont listen to much BLS or newer Ozzy. There are a couple BLS songs I like...but its certainly not a band I listen to with any kind of regularity.

Randy Rhoads is better than every other guitarist that Ozzy has ever laid eyes on.
IMAGINE what RR couldve accomplished had he not died!!! HOLY SHIT.