The Batlord

I said Megadeth were going down. I figured Master would win easily. I actually had to think about it, cause MoP's status for me has steadily declined over the years, but its solidness as a whole album beats out RIP, and those mid-paced songs, "The Thing that Should Not Be" and "Leper Messiah", are just so heavy and brutal. "Orion" also just has so much class. Metallica's first four albums were some of the first metal albums I ever listened to, and considering that each of them has an instrumental, along with a fair few of the eighties albums I was listening to at the time---Powerslave, Metal Church's debut, So Far, So Good, So What, etc---I was really surprised when I later learned that most metal bands actually didn't have instrumentals. I just figured it was par-for-the-course.

But the songs on RIP that were brilliant were just so brilliant, and hadn't aged at all to me. They just have the misfortune of never quite crafting an album that could surpass whatever Metallica was doing at the same time period that Megadeth put something out. I'd possibly rate Megadeth's debut over MoP, and almost certainly over AJfA, but Kill 'Em All beats it hands down, and Ride the Lightning---released a year earlier---is clearly the superior record as far as songwriting goes. So the early years go to Metallica.

Then MoP > Peace Sells, and MoP >>> So Far, So Good, So What. So, mid-period still goes to Metallica.

The first, and only time, that Megadeth was on a higher level at the same time was with Rust In Peace vs. AJfA. Too bad they flubbed it when they tried to follow Metallica into pop rock territory. Although they had one shining moment with Youthanasia---Countdown to Extinction had some cool songs, but it was embarrassing lyrically and vocally. Youthanasia wasn't really much better in that regard, but it at least was the more solid record.

If only Mustaine could have kept the line-up consistent, the band would have been so much better. That first band was just so perfect.

Edit: Oh, and after this thrash battle is done, we'll move on to trad metal. Plenty of people with opinions on that, so it should keep the momentum going. So, anybody with any issues with the album line-up should speak up before it gets posted (check the spoiler in the OP). No changes after that. I'll look at it myself to make sure I'm satisfied.

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