SLAYER!!!
Much more consistent with Metallica. Never really changed there sound. Can't picture Slayer experimenting with country rock or banging on trash cans.

This post sums it up for except one thing: South of Heaven should be included as a 'peak' album.

Personally, my list with Slayer is:

1. Hell Awaits
2. Reign In Blood
3. Seasons in the Abyss
4. South of Heaven
5. the rest is garbage. Of course I don't mind the song 'disciple'.

Top 3 are the only ones that are that noteworthy. However, Slayer beats out Metallica because Metallica's sound sounds wayyy too prethought. Slayer has a more natural visceral tone. Metallica is amazing for moments of melody, but Slayer are lightyears ahead when it comes to chaos.

And good thrash = chaos.

Slayer are just frggin deadly. Reign in Blood is one of the most bad-ass albums ever.

Okay......I give Slayer A LOT of credit....for not selling out like Metallica with BS albums like Load, Reload, and St. Anger. Sure, Slayer had many great albums and have remained consistent for years and still remains one of the heaviest (and most devilish) bands now. However, NO BAND can top what Metallica did when they were still an honest heavy metal band that didn't conform to nobody. I can think of two monumental albums by Slayer: Reign In Blood and South Of Heaven. However, Metallica had Kill 'Em All, Master Of Puppets, Ride The Lightning, ...And Justice For All, and Metallica (othrwise known as "the black album". I can't possibly say that any of Slayer's work all together can top those albums. Plus, Death Magnetic, which was Metallica going back to the arrangements they once went through before "the black album", showed what could've been if Metallica never "sold out". What if Metallica made something that wasn't like Load or Reload and kept composing albums that were similar to Ride The Lightning?

So yeah...had to vent a little. Anyway I love Slayer but I love Metallica more. As Metal Gods, they totally pummel Slayer and their ANGEL OF DEATHHHHHH!! XD As mortals...well we can forget that part. =/

well, i love both of the bands, but i would have to go with Metallica though

My list would be:

1. Seasons in the Abyss
2. Reign in Blood
3. South of Heaven
4. Hell Awaits
5. Divine Intervention

Slayer wins for pretty much the same reason as Skaligojurah said.

i dunno, can they even be compared? besides being thrash

That's a good question. I mean, personally I haven't listened to Slayer that much, but Angel of Death, that ever famous song, doesn't really do anything for me. It's for the most part a bunch of people with instruments hitting everything as fast as possible while another guy screams **** over the top of it. I understand that some people like that sort of thing, but Metallica's work always had a lot more melody to it, which meant a lot more to me than anything I've ever heard by Slayer.

I would be more than happy to be proven wrong, I love finding new music. But if Reign in Blood is truly the best Slayer has to offer, while it's a good song, it for me doesn't measure up to half of what Metallica have created over the years.

i meant in terms of lyrical content and riffs - Metallica are mostly social conscious lyrics with angular Bartok-ish riffs

Slayer are mostly "shock" songs with chromatic riffs

Really? I honestly make no connection to Metallica riffs, and Bartok. I'd say Bach would be a well closer comparison.

Metallica are mostly 1st 2nd 4th 5th powerchords

i think some of Bartok's pieces use similar progression

i see no resemblance to Bach at all, unless you're pulling my legs

I don't dissect things for their chord progressions. To me, it's like starring at at a painting from an inch away.

From a listeners ear, and the way that Metallica utilize repetitions is far closer to what I've heard of Bach, albeit it's distanced from both. Actually, Beethoven would be an even closer comparison as both Metallica and Beethoven focus on establishing a powerful melody, and then through repetitions establish a relationship with the listener by it.

Bartok tended to be very sparse and varied with his melodies. Often all over the place, where as Metallica tend to play melodies for more prolonged time allowing them to establish themselves before building to the next.

i studied music theory so i usually end up analysing music that way, not by dynamics or melodic structure

Definitely Slayer

Gonna have to go with Metallica on this one. Not only for the fact that I love the Black Album and And Justice For All... as well as Death Magnetic, I have also seen them in concert, and their energy on stage is one of the best I have seen.

I've seen both in concert and I have to go with Mettalica! there awsome!

Have to say i'm a metallica fan over slayer any day

for all i'm a metallica fan having them play together with slayer in the big 4 is looking brill to me

slayer is still relivent after 20+ years while metallica hasn't been relivent since the black album. the choice is obvious..

I love Metallica and I will defend them, but Slayer kicks their ass. Better albums, faster, heavier, and just the greater thrash band. Should headline every Big 4 festival.

Metallica. Better band musically, and I prefer listening to them.

I voted Metallica here. Just a better listen for me personally. People talk about Slayer being so "consistent" but the 90's weren't very kind to them either. I consider myself a fan but Divine Intervention, Undisputed Attitude, and Diabolus in Musica just weren't very good. The nu metal elements found in the late nineties never really seemed to get criticized as much as Metallica's flirtations with hard rock and alt rock. Thankfully Slayer got their **** together on God Hates Us All; just trying to point out a double standard

undisputed attitude not good? someone doesn't have a punk background. they cover minor fricken threat and d.r.i. in those albums. those bands aren't good?

I really like Minor Threat, and Glen Danzig but those aren't Slayer originals. 90's Slayer I think is just a shadow of their 80's selves, and you can def make the same argument for Metallica. My punk background is lacking, you have me there. It's something i'm working on.

although your observation is interesting i don't think it measures up. slayer would put out a bad record and then get back on the horse with their next record, keeping them relivent. metallica didn't put out an album relivent for two decades.

i understand that it's not slayer origionals. the only reason i felt the sake to argue is b/c you jumbled it with those other two albums and said they weren't good. yeah, that albums just a cover album but it's also fricken sweet. i was so stoked the first time a heard slayer covering punk..

Calling the Black Album irrelevant doesn't quite make sense to me. The fact that it sold millions doesn't change the fact that it sounds pretty damn near what And Justice For All sounded like. 88' was when Metallica changed to me. Anyways, I've always stood by Load and Reload as solid hard rock albums. Not really metal but still good music nonetheless. There's no defending St. Anger, they should have been arrested pending its release.

Undisputed Attitude is a great covers album and one of the best that I know of. Slayer were originally going to cover metal songs on that album, but according to them the songs just didn`t sound right, which is the reason they switched to punk covers.

In general I think cover albums by metal bands to be a disappointment especially when they cover well known metal songs. In fact, the only good covers metal album that I really like is the "Black Sabbath Tribute Album" where most of the bands on their do some kind of justice to the original songs.

I think "...and Justice For All" to be much closer in style and feel to Master of Puppets than to that of the Black Album. I agree with "Load" its a great hard rock album, but I can see why some Metallica fans may not like the bluesy feel of the album.

voted Metallica

Slayer uses the pretty much the same old sound throughout except for their dabblings in nu-metal

That's what I ****ing love about bands like them. Somewhat similar to Iron Maiden, with their galloping palm-muted triplet. I think it is fucking great when a band has a couple of trademark riffs, and you hear it in their first album, along with their most recent albums.

Lol wut?! They sound nothing alike. ...And Justice Before All was progressive thrash, while The Black Album was more like arena metal. It reminds me of Journey with a little more balls.

Thats my favorite aspect of bands like Slayer, Iron Maiden, Pantera,..The guitar "Trademark Riffs". These guys produce some of rocks best on guitar along with some amazing vocals.

As far as actually listing to the music, I would go with Metallica or Journey's music anytime.

The albums do share similarities, for example, it's impossible to not notice the same sort of plodding riffing that "Sad But True" and "Harvester of Sorrow" have in common. As for the Journey comparison...utter blasphemy! lol

Of course there are similarities. They're both albums by the same band after all, but those similarities are too shallow to say they really resemble each other. But "Enter Sandman" gives me more the feeling of "Jukebox Hero" by Foreigner than "Seek and Destroy".

And you could make the same argument for One, see there's another resemblance. The two biggest singles from those respective albums sound un-thrash lol

i don't hear enough of Journey or Foreigner to make a comparison

calling the black album irrelevant makes sense to me because it's when they sold out and decided to play hard rock instead of metal. the fact that it sold millions goes along with that and is part of the proof. and sounding like and justice for all? i think the batlord cleared that up..

Selling 15 million copies is the exact opposite of being irrelevant. They might be irrelevant to you personally, but the fact that we're talking about them here and now proves how relevant they actually are.

by that logic i suppose the backstreet boys are relevant. they sold millions of records.. when i say relevant i mean, relevand to metal. after all this is the metal section and your name is metal connoisseur right?