Friday, May 18, 2012

Metal Friday: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" by Metallica

Remember when Metallica was a good--pardon me, a great band? Arguably the best metal band on the planet? I do. From roughly 1981-90 Metallica was on the top of the heavy metal mountain, almost untouchable with a catalog that included the immortal Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All. Metallica (aka The Black Album), released in 1991, was a decent album but was deliberately written for a mainstream audience and marked the beginning of a long decline for the Los Angeles quartet.

But going back to those first four albums... pure gold. I've pinpointed Metallica's peak moment, right down to the year, album, and song--Welcome Home (Sanitarium) on 1986's Master of Puppets. This is their best, in my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary, of course, but if you don't like this song then you probably don't like heavy metal. I'll still like you, just maybe not quite as much as before. Turn it up!



5 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Excellent choice! They aren't as hard as they used to be, but then again, they are getting older.
However, I think Dave Mustaine's Megadeth is just as heavy and hard as it was twenty years ago.

Lagomorph Rex said...

I was always partial to Orion actually..

Brian Murphy said...

Orion is pretty great too... the whole album is.

Andy said...

I love Master of Puppets but I'm still partial to Ride the Lightning as their best overall.

jason said...

leper messiah!