Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

If you listen to the brilliance of "Whoracle" their best album, you`ll see why I don`t like their more recent stuff.

Metallica basically followed a 3 step formula for world domination which worked:

Step 1: Dominate the thrash market which they did with "Kill Em All" and "Ride the Lightning"

Step 2: Dominate the metal market which they did with "Master of Puppets" and "AJA"

Step 3: Consolidate world domination which they did with "The Black Album" and its subsequent tour putting them in the same league as a band like U2. Once you reach this level you`re big for the rest of your career.

After this they could put out anything good or bad and it didn`t matter as they had reached the big league. It was a simple formula which worked, I doubt if Dave Mustaine had stayed with the band it would`ve worked though