One of the most popular metal bands of all time, Metallica has released 11 studio albums of original music. The first five made the band famous, and the ones afterward have gotten mixed receptions. However, through thick and thin, they’re still one of the most successful metal bands of all time. They’ve sold millions upon millions of records, and they’ve had more influence on heavy metal and thrash metal genres than most other artists could ever dream of. Frontman James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammet, and bassist Robert Trujillo (who has been with the band for over two decades now) are still touring, and they’re still coming up with new music. Not many bands can say that.

So when you go through every single one of their albums, you should be able to find at least one good track. It’s a testament to their consistency, not just as musicians but as songwriters, that they’re still delivering material that can get their fans (old and young) on their feet and head-banging away. When it comes to the albums that are pretty much excellent all the way through, it can be tough to say which song is better than the rest of them. Everyone has their favorites, after all, but this is certainly a good excuse to revisit the band’s discography. Ranging from the incredibly layered and emotionally complex to the simple but sweet (or maybe extra-hot is a better word for this genre), here is what this writer considers the best song from every single Metallica album—in the order in which they were released. We’re also including their one cover album, because why not?

12

“The Four Horsemen”

‘Kill ‘Em All’ (1983)

Metallica is the master of heavy-hitting epics, and they have been since the beginning. Case in point: “The Four Horsemen” from their first album, Kill ‘Em All. The song has a somewhat springy rhythm to it, something that distinguishes it from the rest of the album—including its other epic, “Seek and Destroy.” Capturing the intensity of the apocalypse takes more than just rough guitar and smashing drums, but the vocals and riff here have enough nuance to do their job.

There’s also the intricacy of this song’s structure. It has many parts, and the way it transitions from one to another tells us that Metallica paid very close attention to their craft even in the early years. It’s not just about going fast; it’s about meeting our expectations, subverting them with more emotional power than we expected (as in a rather mournful tone about half-way through the song), and raising our expectations for every other thrash-metal band.

11

“Fade to Black”

‘Ride the Lightning’ (1984)

The atmosphere in “Fade to Black” is nothing less than unforgettable. The minor tones of the acoustic guitar with that electric playing over it is the perfect introduction to one of Metallica’s most beautiful and elegiac pieces. Ride the Lightning was only their second album, but they were already writing stuff as intricate and delicate as this. Incredible.

Whereas Metallica’s other songs about suicide focus primarily on a heavier, fast sound, this song’s ability to tap into intense depression with a less aggressive (but no less dark) sound makes its thrash-ier sections feel more genuine. There is a dramatic build here that is practically impossible to surpass, as everything just flows into each other so well. Along with how “Fade to Black” literally fades away at the end, the band’s focus on the craft has hardly ever felt stronger.

10

“Master of Puppets”

‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)

The best track from Metallica’s best album is none other than the eponymous “Master of Puppets.” Right off the bat, the song cracks into gear and takes a full minute to bring the vocals into play. But it doesn’t feel like a single second is wasted, and Hetfield’s vocals intensify the already furious atmosphere. Addressing drug addiction with this legendary metaphor of a puppet master, the lyrics elevate the material to its greatest heights.

But the song isn’t just rage; it also has one of the band’s saddest sections and solos. This starts up at around the three-and-a-half minute mark, and it takes the perfect amount of time to develop and build on itself. The transitions that eventually get us back to the verse are just as thrilling and epic as a song of this magnitude calls for, and by the end it feels like you’ve just taken a ride through hell and back.

9

“One”

‘…And Justice for All’ (1988)

Like “Fade to Black” and other similar songs, “One” builds up its suspense gradually. We hear gunfire during what’s taken to be a battle during an unnamed war (and therefore all war), which chillingly establishes the song’s anti-war stance before we even hear the music. Despite the lack of bass, the entire introduction to this feels like it was performed by a terrific, angry symphony. It is profoundly sad without losing the band’s metal roots.

The lyrics are even darker than the song’s atmosphere. Lines like “I can’t remember anything / Can’t tell if this is true or a dream” and “Fed through the tube that sticks in me / Just like a wartime novelty” are among the band’s most disturbing, and the music truly captures the rage of these words. Then we get to the iconic second half, which seems to embody the grand, unrepeatable peak of the thrash-metal genre.

8

“The Unforgiven”

‘The Black Album’ (1991)

There are so many great songs on The Black Album, so having to choose only one as the best feels a bit unfair to the others. However, if one of them has to be singled out as the best, then the most surprising and movingly executed out of them all might be “The Unforgiven.” As heavy as the verse is, it balances that out with a much softer chorus and a strikingly dramatic structure overall.

The horn at the beginning is very unexpected, and that moves into one of the band’s signature acoustic guitar-driven introductions. The guitar solo magnificently underscores the gorgeously tragic story of a man who is forced to suppress his feelings his entire life. The sadness in the chorus and the rage in the verses hit hard every time, making “The Unforgiven” one of the band’s greatest songs—and possibly its best on The Black Album.

7

“Until it Sleeps”

‘Load’ (1996)

Another top-tier example of Metallica’s brooding mode, “Until it Sleeps” is easily stronger than most of the band’s long-awaited but controversial return to the studio, Load. It’s a pretty simple song, structurally, but its lack of epic scale allows it to get to the point quickly and without feeling melodramatic. The bass in the beginning is compelling, and the background guitar during the verse is key to expressing the speaker’s dark state of mind. Then the band’s heavier side arrives in the chorus, showing the right balance between soft and hard that songs like “The Unforgiven” and “Nothing Else Matters” display.

The verses are surprisingly short, but better to have them briskly keep up the pace than overstay their welcome and slow things down. The song forgoes the band’s usual virtuosic solo for something that basically just lets the song stew in its atmosphere, and it works. This is a poignant evocation of depression, and one of the few memorable pieces from Metallica’s latter half of the 1990’s.

6

“Fuel”

‘Reload’ (1997)

Reload was another album that didn’t exactly wow, but it did see the band’s return to its heavier roots. “Fuel” is the first track, and it’s placed at the beginning of the album for a reason. Hetfield immediately sings, “Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which I desire, ooh!” Having the band crash in as he says “ooh!” makes for a creative and fun intro that paves the way for a minor but solid piece of metal.

“Fuel” isn’t ambitious in scale, which is to the song’s benefit. Straight and to-the-point is sometimes the name of the game. The chorus is surprisingly different in its tone, but it fits in perfectly with the verse. There’s also a cool bridge, followed by a good solo that focuses on mood than speed. Overall, the song feels like a crisp and fast effort that wants to get this album started on the right foot. It definitely succeeds on that front, even if Reload in general doesn’t exactly live up to its best single’s promise.

5

“Free Speech for the Dumb”

‘Garage Inc.’ (1998)

Garage Inc. opens with a cover of Discharge‘s “Free Speech for the Dumb” from 1982, hammering its way through your skull. The guitars have the perfect tone to translate this song to Metallica’s style, and it has practically no vocals to get in the way of its repetitive yet absolutely captivating riff. This may be the simplest song on the album, but that’s not a bad thing when all you’ve got to do is get people riled up. It takes no time getting started, and it wastes no time keeping up the pace for a brief but effective two and a half minutes.

None of the other covers hit quite as hard as this one. Some of them feel like they’re trying to capture this kind of rage and don’t quite measure up. As the riff refuses to relent, Kirk Hammett supplements it with a few of Metallica’s signature guitar solos in the background. Granted, this album has a lot of material on it, but this piece is arguably the most successful. Sometimes, going back to basics is the name of the game.

4

“Some Kind of Monster”

‘St. Anger’ (2004)

“Some Kind of Monster” starts off pretty strong, with a very heavy riff that doesn’t hold much promise of any vocals anytime soon. Lars’ controversial drums somehow fit in with it, maybe because the guitar just feels so raw. It takes over two minutes for the vocals to start in, and they don’t really work. Neither do the lyrics. This song feels like it would be really strong as an instrumental, but that nevertheless seems to make it better than the other tracks on St. Anger.

Like many of Metallica’s tracks, this song has many sections to it. It’s quick to shift from one section to another, creating an amalgamation of darkness that fans a little more sympathetic to the album overall may find interesting. Like the rest of the album, there is no solo here—but that piece of the puzzle is less missing here than in the other songs. Of course, it’s still an acquired taste—but, for what it’s worth, it does a pretty good job of conveying the band’s sensibility at the time.

3

“That Was Just Your Life”

‘Death Magnetic’ (2008)

First of all, what a dramatic opening! With those resounding seven notes, the band compellingly sets the tone for what many consider Metallica’s renaissance. The background guitar adds to the buildup, gradually (but not too gradually) escalating into one of the hardest-hitting riffs in their repertoire. And once things pick up the pace, “That Was Just Your Life” doesn’t let up. The verse, the pre-chorus, the chorus, and the bridge all lead perfectly into each other.

It took a while for Metallica to come up with material after St. Anger, but it was worth the wait. This opener to Death Magnetic immediately and aggressively conveyed that the band had some real bangers this time—to the point where “That Was Just Your Life” only narrowly surpasses songs like “The Day That Never Comes” and “All Nightmare Long.”. It’s no wonder the band also led with this song on their Death Magnetic tour.