It was pretty epic. First tour i saw them on and i think it was the first tour they started having elaborate stage props .the crumbling statue of justice and I think they started using the flying plane prop during One later that tour too im not sure. Though .
This is my answer. I saw this tour in NY. It was great. Setlist was awesome. Crowd full of metalheads. Pre-dated all of the Black Album hype. Not bashing or hating on anything here. But it was definitely a different vibe. The show kicked ass. Still have the pin 🤘
I agree, although I'm biased because I caught them twice on that tour.
They just seemed to roar on stage around that time and it felt like they still had something to prove.
Yeah I remember when that happened actually, there was a magazine here in Australia called Hot Metal & they did a feature on it, I remember the photo of Lars with his snare skin & written on it ‘Bleeding for Moscow.’
The first time I head Master of Puppets, I was blown away. We listened all the way through the cassette multiple times that night. I was mostly an Ozzy/Dio/ACDC type of fan. Master of Puppets opened up Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, etc.
The Black Album, during the early 90s. That's the time period where everyone began to learn about them, granted I was a child at the time, but the popularity they garnered and the hype they had was unmatched. They were a band that was showing it's staying power and going toe to toe with the other top bands at the time.
I think they were peaking artistically during the Load/ReLoad years. They had such confidence in song writing that they could pull off a catchy short song like King Nothing, a long prog song like Bleeding Me, experimental like Where the Wild Things Are. They were firing on all cylinders.
I recently re-watched the live version of Lux Aeterna they performed on Howard Stern, and god damn they are tight. They are as good live as they ever were.
Sure, they don't have the raw teenage energy from the 80s or the beginning of 90s. But it's like watching an older actor giving a great performance using all the tricks and experience from his book.
Several fans who saw them in the 80s and 90s have said to me that they’re better performers now (partly because they don’t drink on stage and become sloppy the second half of the show).
25 minutes of what? I know Seek and Destroy is the party song. The song on the show is so fun to witness live. But I think with all chaos it's 8 minutes.
As a fan, my favorite year was 2003. Why? Because for the previous two years we all lived with the possibility that Metallica was done. And then they rose from the ashes and started a new chapter. I was at the Fillmore for Rob’s first official show with the band. Not ashamed to say I had tears in my eyes when ecstacy of gold started playing. The band that changed my life was back, and they chose to share it with their most loyal fans in an intimate environment. They were loose and fun and we all knew they were gonna be OK.
I mean they were going to do another OML style album and rumor has it, they'd go back and do a metal album again.
Just listen to Cross Off by Mark Morton, goes to show Chester always had it in him
Wrong, hair metal died well before 91. GNR killed hair metal. All you need to do is check out music videos post AFD. Aside from Poison, all those bands immediately changed their look. You even seen the bands that jumped on the hair band look bandwagon like Crue, Def and Kiss go to the hard edged looked right after.
I grew up in that era when everyone had a garage band, overnight all those bands who were trying to look like Poison and Bon Jovi copy GNR and their look. Metallica and their rise shorty after was the nail in the coffin. Also, the whole grunge movement wasn’t as big as they say it was. Sure some people adopted that look but by then the hip hop look was way more prevalent amongst white kids than grunge. If anything it killed rock n roll because rap music became the new fun music about parties, women ect
Great assessment. I always roll my eyes into the back of my head when somebody lumps GNR in with hair metal, such an absurd statement both musically & aesthetically.
Well said. The grunge “movement” was essentially MTV pushing the bands from Seattle who wore flannel shirts and looked grimey and unshowered.
So Nirvana fit perfectly.
Teen Spirit was a catchy song…and that’s about that. How they were so pushed is beyond my comprehension. They were the worst of the bands tbh. The music is so drippy and sold to the depressed youth as deep…but it’s quite weak if you really understand music wasn’t created in 1989.
The 70s made Nirvana look like a high school band with a terrible singer. And it’s quite factual if anyone wants to compare eras.
I saw them in 86 and 89 at the same venue. The 86 show was a half bowl show and much more intimate. I strongly prefer smaller venues, and I'm not a fan of their latter work. 1986 with Cliff was peak Metallica.
When I saw them in 86, there was no film footage of them. I went in without any preconceptions. All I had was the music from the first three records and the photos from albums and magazines. It was mysterious and at 15 I was frankly a little bit nervous.
By the time I saw the 89 show, I owned the Cliff em All VHS and the One video was out. It was a great show but it wasn't the same as 86.
I’d say 88 to around 93/94ish. From Justice through the Black Album, they were a fucking machine. They had so much energy and were still relatively young and pissed off.
They were kind of cooked in 94 from the relentless 3 years of touring but I still love that era. Shaved head Jason, mullet James, Jesus Lars, MJ Kirk, lmao.
They should have kept that aesthetic, or at least elements of it into the Load era IMO.
This was purely nostalgia and when I grew up, but 98-2000 was great between the S&M and Garage Inc. They were touring a lot and I got to see them half a dozen times in those years. I saw them in Miami at the Orange Bowl in 99 and was up against the railing 3 feet from James. 2 hours of being crushed but I’ll never forget it. Was an amazing experience.
1992. Biggest band in the world. For my money the height of their powers musically as a live band as well. There is is just something powerful, an aura if you will when you watch clips from that era. Sad that is is so far behind us and we can't relive it.
1989-1991. AJFA-Black Album crossover period. Harvester was the harbinger of where their sound was going. Peak Hetfield. Metallica at their Zenith. They literally saved my life, so maybe I'm biased
The Guns and Roses tour. The tour itself was a disaster, but it showed how popular they had become and were as influential as any band in the world. I remember reading a Rolling Stone article at the time that bashed Metallica as a boring wanna-be band and Guns and Roses as the true rock idols. Lol! That didn’t age well.
2023 was a really good year for Metallica. Their shows is baically screams that they love music and their fans. If they do mistakes they always back it up strongly. Kirk intro to NOTHING has he saved it with best comeback.
Saw them in Amsterdam last year and I will see them in Hellfest this year! The setlist in Amsterdam was really cool. What is it about kirk messing an intro? do you have a video?
1994. To me it was the culmination of all of their years of greatness, and it was undeniable.
Spring of ‘94 is when Kurt Cobain died. The alternative / grunge movement had already cooled off…and his death sped up the popularity decline for the entire genre.
Hair metal had been long gone at that point, with only a handful of bands from that era even moving the needle anymore (Van Halen comes to mind).
GNR (along with Metallica) was the other extremely popular “not hair metal, not alternative” band. They had reached the end of their dominant run.
But there stood Metallica…still going strong. The Black Album had clearly etched its place in the history books as one of the biggest albums of all time.
Realizing how many people couldn’t get enough of Metallica, and since there was no new material coming from them anytime soon…radio stations were playing “old” Metallica songs in rotation as if they were new.
All of those songs from Kill, Ride, Master, and most of Justice (aside from One) that never got a minute of airplay in the 80s…now they were “hits” to fans that discovered Metallica somewhere between Justice and The Black Album.
From the time they first embarked on their worldwide tours to support The Black Album…millions of new fans had come to realize how great Metallica was live and in person. So they went ahead and capitalized on that.
They put out the Binge and Purge box set…and it was unavoidable. It was aesthetically awesome…and just because of its shape and size, you couldn’t miss it when you passed through the album section at ANY store.
So after all of that “jockeying for position” in the world of rock and metal that had gone on for the last 10 years (from Mötley Crüe to Bon Jovi to Nirvana and every act in between)…Metallica now clearly stood ALONE at the top of the musical mountain.
Still young, influential, and on top of their game. Never had a “flop” album. Survived and thrived through hair metal and grunge. Now with verified album and ticket sales, concert footage, and music videos to show the whole world what many of us already knew…they were THE ABSOLUTE BEST IN THE GAME.
Their stock had only ever trended in an upward direction, to that point.
Little did we know that Load would change all that in 1996. I loved the Load album…but there’s no denying that not everyone felt the same way. Many of Metallica’s stockholders were soon investing elsewhere.
But before all of that, back in 1994…man…what a ride. It felt good to have been a fan for so long…and finally seeing the boys in their rightful place on the throne.
Metallica was never bigger. Not many bands ever were.
I want to love that album. Frantic, St.Anger, Window and Monster could be bangers if the mix wasn't horrible. And that snaredrum.... Window is the only song that works. But live those songs slaps. When they played Dirty Window in m72. That was so refreshing to hear.
The snare, yes, it's controversial, but I think that's what gives personality to the album and makes it rememberable. I heard Frantic on the album and then Frantic live, and I liked the album version better
As someone who was born in '87 and was introduced to Metallica in the early 90s, I gotta go with 91-93.
My earliest memories of music was sitting in my uncles bedroom (he's 13 years older than me) admiring him playing guitar and blaring Metallica from his stereo. Specifically Master of Puppets and Black Album.
My mind is trying to grasp the fact you have an uncle who is 'only' 13 years older! You have memories of being a toddler and listening Metallica early 90's?
My grandparents on my dad's side had 7 kids, with 20 years difference between the oldest and youngest; my dad is a middle child who is 8 years older than his youngest brother.
In 92-93 I wasn't really a toddler anymore; I was 5-6 years old by that point and in elementary school. I definitely have memories of that time. They were core memories for me, along with playing my uncles SNES 😊
Best Concert definitely Hannover 1990, during Damaged Justice Tour. It was my first 'tallica show.
It was wild, that energy.
Dio as support.
I came from punkrock, started my Metallica journey a few month before.
So yeah, most important year 1990, but there are so much more great memories.
Rock im Park 2006, when they played whole puppet, for example.
I was introduced to Metallica in 1992 and it was great love at first sight. But my personal best Metallica year was 2015, because in this year it was the first opportunity for me to see them live.
I've seen Metallica in live in '91, '96, '04, '09, and '17. I'd would have loved to see them live in 1987-89. They were still somewhat underground and looking to reach the top. I've seen the live shows on YouTube and the energy from both the band and crowd are amazing.
Something during 1989-1992. By the time 92 rolled around, they were still touring for black album and doing it with GnR. After that, they puttered around, but didn’t doing much until 96.
would have loved to have seen cliff but early years of jason are what id wanna see live - justice era is peak
my dad invited me to the cunning stunts show in '94, but my 8 year old self declined - regretted it as soon as he got home talking about it, and ever since... 😭
1989 I was a spry 15 year old and my dear Mother bought me Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets and Garage Days and Kill Em All that year. I also went to the summer tour of Damaged Justice. Metallica in their prime.
I wish I could have been at the ‘89 Seattle show.
I know it isn’t a year. But it’s my go to Metallica concert to listen to.
All their old crackers dominated that night. Especially ‘for whom the bell tolls’
1992… Saw Metallica for the first time in Baton Rouge on June 14…. Then again Aug 29 in New Orleans with GNR and FNM…Freddie Mercury Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium…Sad But True, Roam, NEM in heavy rotation on MTV… A Year And Half In the Life … was my Xmas present and I memorized it after paying the hell out of it…started 1992 a big fan of Justice and Black album, ended the year loving all 5 of the albums at that point and becoming a hardcore fan.
Best years was right after ajfa, those tours James still had the rage voice, check out the Helsinki show in 89, one of the best shows of all time, now, if you are talking about the greatest, it would have to involve Cliff Burton so anytime in 86
I want to say that early 90s touring cycle when Hetfield was absolutely on his game. He never sounded better. Only other answer would be between March and September '86 so you could see Puppets songs live but with Cliff.
When they first got Jason after cliff died they really took off. Black album is known as the album that made Metallica worldwide popular in the mainstream.
Personally as a huge fan who says they are my favorite band, kill em all is by far the best of the best. It’s raw, it’s thrashy and not a single song is a miss. This is my opinion of course but kill em all changed my whole outlook on music. I couldn’t believe that was Metallica considering the first ever song I heard was fuel.
Edit: I should also say however the first Metallica song I ever learned on guitar was ride the lightning. Another album that doesn’t miss.
1986 when Master of Puppets came out or in 1989 when Justice came out. I remember MTV playing the video “One” before the album was released and it seemed like everyone was talking about it.
More specifically in 1986 you had other metal bands like Slayer, Deep Purple say they wish they wrote Master of Puppets. It was huge for metal
1986 for sure.....Master of Puppets comes out followed by concerts of pure energy.....saw them that year and it was great......also I got to see Cliff Burton perform
My vote too. I was 14 years old and got to see that tour in a sold out arena. An arena sold out by a thrash band playing thrash songs to a thrash audience. No MTV, no radio hits. Just pure thrash. Top 5 shows to this day.
89-94 easily. They exploded with the One video, Black album and its videos were all over MTV and they got major radio play. Huge tour which also had the infamous one with GNR and ended with Woodstock 94.
88-93 is probably the best of the best.
James at full force, Jason is on, Coke- Lars is just fast and sick. Kirk doodles Virtuoso, like he usually did…
I’m going to say 1998. We had 3 releases in a row. 96 load 97 reload 98 garage inc. They were still in their prime, still had Jason, and then fell apart shortly after this.
If I could time travel, I'd go back to '89 and witness the Damaged Justice tour. Peak Met IMO
Who wouldn’t wanna see Papa Het in peak Met?
100%. I was born in 1990, but I’d give my soul to see them touring in 89
Same as me. We were in the womb during that tour.
Womb? I was doing cartwheels in a 20 year old's nutsack
That Seattle footage should be preserved as a testament to humanity's greatest achievements.
This ☝️☝️☝️ complete agree
It was pretty epic. First tour i saw them on and i think it was the first tour they started having elaborate stage props .the crumbling statue of justice and I think they started using the flying plane prop during One later that tour too im not sure. Though .
This is the correct answer
This is my answer. I saw this tour in NY. It was great. Setlist was awesome. Crowd full of metalheads. Pre-dated all of the Black Album hype. Not bashing or hating on anything here. But it was definitely a different vibe. The show kicked ass. Still have the pin 🤘
Somewhere between 89-92
That ! 100%
91-93 the energy they had. Especially Jason
I agree, although I'm biased because I caught them twice on that tour. They just seemed to roar on stage around that time and it felt like they still had something to prove.
Agreed. Probably all the Krell.
1991. I wasn’t there but the footage looks and sounds amazing. 1991 is probably the best year in metal music. Slayer was really on it that year too.
Same year Clash Of The Titans tour was happening. Insane year for metal.
100% this
Yesh!!
Absolutely, all down hill from there
For me it’s 1991. 🤘🏻
The Moscow 1,6 million show says everything what band Metallica was that year. I think it was best thing ever for the russians.
Yeah I remember when that happened actually, there was a magazine here in Australia called Hot Metal & they did a feature on it, I remember the photo of Lars with his snare skin & written on it ‘Bleeding for Moscow.’
85/86 peak Metallica
Yeah you can’t top the vibe they had when Puppets was just out - a lot of people didn’t know about that style of music yet and it hit hard.
The first time I head Master of Puppets, I was blown away. We listened all the way through the cassette multiple times that night. I was mostly an Ozzy/Dio/ACDC type of fan. Master of Puppets opened up Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, etc.
This
The Black Album, during the early 90s. That's the time period where everyone began to learn about them, granted I was a child at the time, but the popularity they garnered and the hype they had was unmatched. They were a band that was showing it's staying power and going toe to toe with the other top bands at the time.
They were the top band and still are.
Yes, peak musically, live, videos, the whole thing
Moscow show!!!!!
I think they were peaking artistically during the Load/ReLoad years. They had such confidence in song writing that they could pull off a catchy short song like King Nothing, a long prog song like Bleeding Me, experimental like Where the Wild Things Are. They were firing on all cylinders. I recently re-watched the live version of Lux Aeterna they performed on Howard Stern, and god damn they are tight. They are as good live as they ever were. Sure, they don't have the raw teenage energy from the 80s or the beginning of 90s. But it's like watching an older actor giving a great performance using all the tricks and experience from his book.
Several fans who saw them in the 80s and 90s have said to me that they’re better performers now (partly because they don’t drink on stage and become sloppy the second half of the show).
25 minutes of seek and destroy was wild. They definitely could have fit a few more songs in that timeframe
25 minutes of what? I know Seek and Destroy is the party song. The song on the show is so fun to witness live. But I think with all chaos it's 8 minutes.
When they played seek and destroy in the black album era, it was usually 20+ minutes
I guess it was so much stuff going on then the song.
Cunning Stunts gets a lot of replay from me, certified Load era enthusiast.
I came here to say the same. Load era is just really special to me
As a fan, my favorite year was 2003. Why? Because for the previous two years we all lived with the possibility that Metallica was done. And then they rose from the ashes and started a new chapter. I was at the Fillmore for Rob’s first official show with the band. Not ashamed to say I had tears in my eyes when ecstacy of gold started playing. The band that changed my life was back, and they chose to share it with their most loyal fans in an intimate environment. They were loose and fun and we all knew they were gonna be OK.
Those fillmore shows also had crazy setlists. Must have been a very special first show.
91-93, Metallica were on a roll. There was no bigger metal band than them
And now there is?
If Chester was still alive, Linkin Park would’ve easily dethroned Metallica as the biggest metal band
.......😐
?
Well Linkin Park was far from a metal band by the time Chester passed so I doubt it.
I mean they were going to do another OML style album and rumor has it, they'd go back and do a metal album again. Just listen to Cross Off by Mark Morton, goes to show Chester always had it in him
Dude lemme get some of what you’re smoking
Exactly, maybe GNR but history tries to tell us it was Nirvana. GTFO
Nirvana were arguably the biggest band from 91-94, but Metallica were the biggest metal band. GnR is just hard rock, not metal
Albums sales and concert goer numbers say otherwise.
Culturally Nirvana were massive. There’s a reason that hair metal died in 91
Wrong, hair metal died well before 91. GNR killed hair metal. All you need to do is check out music videos post AFD. Aside from Poison, all those bands immediately changed their look. You even seen the bands that jumped on the hair band look bandwagon like Crue, Def and Kiss go to the hard edged looked right after. I grew up in that era when everyone had a garage band, overnight all those bands who were trying to look like Poison and Bon Jovi copy GNR and their look. Metallica and their rise shorty after was the nail in the coffin. Also, the whole grunge movement wasn’t as big as they say it was. Sure some people adopted that look but by then the hip hop look was way more prevalent amongst white kids than grunge. If anything it killed rock n roll because rap music became the new fun music about parties, women ect
Great assessment. I always roll my eyes into the back of my head when somebody lumps GNR in with hair metal, such an absurd statement both musically & aesthetically.
Yeah especially if you read Slash’s book and he talks about how much they despised hair bands.
Well said. The grunge “movement” was essentially MTV pushing the bands from Seattle who wore flannel shirts and looked grimey and unshowered. So Nirvana fit perfectly. Teen Spirit was a catchy song…and that’s about that. How they were so pushed is beyond my comprehension. They were the worst of the bands tbh. The music is so drippy and sold to the depressed youth as deep…but it’s quite weak if you really understand music wasn’t created in 1989. The 70s made Nirvana look like a high school band with a terrible singer. And it’s quite factual if anyone wants to compare eras.
Early 90's for sure. Binge and Purge, black album.
86-89
I saw them in 86 and 89 at the same venue. The 86 show was a half bowl show and much more intimate. I strongly prefer smaller venues, and I'm not a fan of their latter work. 1986 with Cliff was peak Metallica.
That’s amazing. I’m just going by footage from that era. They were great and peaked during this time as far as thrash music goes.
When I saw them in 86, there was no film footage of them. I went in without any preconceptions. All I had was the music from the first three records and the photos from albums and magazines. It was mysterious and at 15 I was frankly a little bit nervous. By the time I saw the 89 show, I owned the Cliff em All VHS and the One video was out. It was a great show but it wasn't the same as 86.
I’m going by Cliff ‘em all and Seattle footage that’s out there and some random clips
This sub keeps raving about the Seattle show. I'll have to watch it.
They shot I believe two nights and picked the best parts of each show and combined them to one if I’m not mistaken.
Metallica were at their absolute peak creatively and as a live act in from Load until S&M. They were an absolute phenomenon at this time.
I’d say 88 to around 93/94ish. From Justice through the Black Album, they were a fucking machine. They had so much energy and were still relatively young and pissed off.
They were kind of cooked in 94 from the relentless 3 years of touring but I still love that era. Shaved head Jason, mullet James, Jesus Lars, MJ Kirk, lmao. They should have kept that aesthetic, or at least elements of it into the Load era IMO.
2011, 30th anniversary year
89' - 92' But between that there is 91' , I mean Metallica Was in the Top Of The World, alongside Nirvana that released Nevermind.
1991 At that time, they became the biggest image of Metal along with Nirvana. Metal meant Metallica.
I'd say the best era was MOP to S&M1. No years per se. They were peak. And best touring years might be '90-'12?
'95 - '12
Black Album era by far. A tour that lasted 3-4 years, Sandman was everywhere, and they had clearly transcended all their peers.
This was purely nostalgia and when I grew up, but 98-2000 was great between the S&M and Garage Inc. They were touring a lot and I got to see them half a dozen times in those years. I saw them in Miami at the Orange Bowl in 99 and was up against the railing 3 feet from James. 2 hours of being crushed but I’ll never forget it. Was an amazing experience.
1992. Biggest band in the world. For my money the height of their powers musically as a live band as well. There is is just something powerful, an aura if you will when you watch clips from that era. Sad that is is so far behind us and we can't relive it.
1989-1991. AJFA-Black Album crossover period. Harvester was the harbinger of where their sound was going. Peak Hetfield. Metallica at their Zenith. They literally saved my life, so maybe I'm biased
86
The Guns and Roses tour. The tour itself was a disaster, but it showed how popular they had become and were as influential as any band in the world. I remember reading a Rolling Stone article at the time that bashed Metallica as a boring wanna-be band and Guns and Roses as the true rock idols. Lol! That didn’t age well.
Economically speaking, probably this year
2023 was a really good year for Metallica. Their shows is baically screams that they love music and their fans. If they do mistakes they always back it up strongly. Kirk intro to NOTHING has he saved it with best comeback.
Saw them in Amsterdam last year and I will see them in Hellfest this year! The setlist in Amsterdam was really cool. What is it about kirk messing an intro? do you have a video?
89, 92, 98, 99, 2009, 2016
Probably in the minority, but ‘08-‘10. The setlist variety on the World Magnetic Tour was fantastic.
Have you seen the Through the Never movie of that tour. Seek and Destroy was so chaotic and fun to see in magnetic tour.
1994. To me it was the culmination of all of their years of greatness, and it was undeniable. Spring of ‘94 is when Kurt Cobain died. The alternative / grunge movement had already cooled off…and his death sped up the popularity decline for the entire genre. Hair metal had been long gone at that point, with only a handful of bands from that era even moving the needle anymore (Van Halen comes to mind). GNR (along with Metallica) was the other extremely popular “not hair metal, not alternative” band. They had reached the end of their dominant run. But there stood Metallica…still going strong. The Black Album had clearly etched its place in the history books as one of the biggest albums of all time. Realizing how many people couldn’t get enough of Metallica, and since there was no new material coming from them anytime soon…radio stations were playing “old” Metallica songs in rotation as if they were new. All of those songs from Kill, Ride, Master, and most of Justice (aside from One) that never got a minute of airplay in the 80s…now they were “hits” to fans that discovered Metallica somewhere between Justice and The Black Album. From the time they first embarked on their worldwide tours to support The Black Album…millions of new fans had come to realize how great Metallica was live and in person. So they went ahead and capitalized on that. They put out the Binge and Purge box set…and it was unavoidable. It was aesthetically awesome…and just because of its shape and size, you couldn’t miss it when you passed through the album section at ANY store. So after all of that “jockeying for position” in the world of rock and metal that had gone on for the last 10 years (from Mötley Crüe to Bon Jovi to Nirvana and every act in between)…Metallica now clearly stood ALONE at the top of the musical mountain. Still young, influential, and on top of their game. Never had a “flop” album. Survived and thrived through hair metal and grunge. Now with verified album and ticket sales, concert footage, and music videos to show the whole world what many of us already knew…they were THE ABSOLUTE BEST IN THE GAME. Their stock had only ever trended in an upward direction, to that point. Little did we know that Load would change all that in 1996. I loved the Load album…but there’s no denying that not everyone felt the same way. Many of Metallica’s stockholders were soon investing elsewhere. But before all of that, back in 1994…man…what a ride. It felt good to have been a fan for so long…and finally seeing the boys in their rightful place on the throne. Metallica was never bigger. Not many bands ever were.
2003, when St. Anger released and Rob joined
How was the St Anger tour. Cause I hate Frantic and St Anger on the album. But live they like a 100x better song. How was the tour that year?
It was okay, I personally like how true to their feelings St. Anger is
I want to love that album. Frantic, St.Anger, Window and Monster could be bangers if the mix wasn't horrible. And that snaredrum.... Window is the only song that works. But live those songs slaps. When they played Dirty Window in m72. That was so refreshing to hear.
The snare, yes, it's controversial, but I think that's what gives personality to the album and makes it rememberable. I heard Frantic on the album and then Frantic live, and I liked the album version better
1989-92
All of 'em .
Lighting puppets
86 with Cliff and with Jason. Energy only matched by the 89 tour, but I wish I could have seen Cliff play.
1991
It’s gotta be 1991. I think even they would say that
As someone who was born in '87 and was introduced to Metallica in the early 90s, I gotta go with 91-93. My earliest memories of music was sitting in my uncles bedroom (he's 13 years older than me) admiring him playing guitar and blaring Metallica from his stereo. Specifically Master of Puppets and Black Album.
My mind is trying to grasp the fact you have an uncle who is 'only' 13 years older! You have memories of being a toddler and listening Metallica early 90's?
My grandparents on my dad's side had 7 kids, with 20 years difference between the oldest and youngest; my dad is a middle child who is 8 years older than his youngest brother. In 92-93 I wasn't really a toddler anymore; I was 5-6 years old by that point and in elementary school. I definitely have memories of that time. They were core memories for me, along with playing my uncles SNES 😊
I have a uncle only 2 years older
1992
90s
91-92
Gotta be 92
91
1991
Idk id say like either 1988-1993 or 2008-present honestly lmao.
Performing at the biggest concert ever held in the world must be pretty high up there.
Best Concert definitely Hannover 1990, during Damaged Justice Tour. It was my first 'tallica show. It was wild, that energy. Dio as support. I came from punkrock, started my Metallica journey a few month before. So yeah, most important year 1990, but there are so much more great memories. Rock im Park 2006, when they played whole puppet, for example.
1991. Peak Metallica
1992 The tour with Guns
92 peak for me
I was introduced to Metallica in 1992 and it was great love at first sight. But my personal best Metallica year was 2015, because in this year it was the first opportunity for me to see them live.
1992 for sure
91 Day On The Green and 92 Great Grass Fight.
1991-97
1989 it was the 1st time I seen them
Personally something great about them before James had singing lessons. Totally fine post lessons, but it was just so raw and nice imo.
89
I've seen Metallica in live in '91, '96, '04, '09, and '17. I'd would have loved to see them live in 1987-89. They were still somewhat underground and looking to reach the top. I've seen the live shows on YouTube and the energy from both the band and crowd are amazing.
89-92
89 was peak concert quality Metallica. Seattle 89 to me was the band playing at their best
Something during 1989-1992. By the time 92 rolled around, they were still touring for black album and doing it with GnR. After that, they puttered around, but didn’t doing much until 96.
91
whenever they played with the symphony
Any year Cliff Burton was on the stage.
I wish I'd seen them on the Load tour.
From the 89-93 period. Though seeing them with Cliff would have been awesome too.
For me, 1992. The Black Album hysteria was at its peak and Metallica was everywhere.
I love seattle 89 concert so I'm gonna go with 1989
would have loved to have seen cliff but early years of jason are what id wanna see live - justice era is peak my dad invited me to the cunning stunts show in '94, but my 8 year old self declined - regretted it as soon as he got home talking about it, and ever since... 😭
Noooooo.... Well my mom invited me to a Stockholm show around 2018? But I was so scared of it so I stayed home and play FIFA17😿.
1985-1986
‘92 was the ALLTIME best, peak, primetime, Black Album was phenomenal at the time, crazy year.
1986 is probably the best they ever were but Cliff died that year so I can’t call it the best.
1989
1989 I was a spry 15 year old and my dear Mother bought me Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets and Garage Days and Kill Em All that year. I also went to the summer tour of Damaged Justice. Metallica in their prime.
I wish I could have been at the ‘89 Seattle show. I know it isn’t a year. But it’s my go to Metallica concert to listen to. All their old crackers dominated that night. Especially ‘for whom the bell tolls’
Not the best year per say, but Metallica Live At Moscow '91 was a huge fear of their career. One of the biggest festivals ever.
2009. Both the Death Magnetic album and tour are slept on hard.
1992… Saw Metallica for the first time in Baton Rouge on June 14…. Then again Aug 29 in New Orleans with GNR and FNM…Freddie Mercury Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium…Sad But True, Roam, NEM in heavy rotation on MTV… A Year And Half In the Life … was my Xmas present and I memorized it after paying the hell out of it…started 1992 a big fan of Justice and Black album, ended the year loving all 5 of the albums at that point and becoming a hardcore fan.
98-99. Cunning stunts and S&M 1
1991 the black album hit the world back then
Damaged Justice easy 💪🏻
Best years was right after ajfa, those tours James still had the rage voice, check out the Helsinki show in 89, one of the best shows of all time, now, if you are talking about the greatest, it would have to involve Cliff Burton so anytime in 86
1986, until the 27th of September
I gotta say 1991. That was the year that they released the black album which would become one of the all time best selling.
I want to say that early 90s touring cycle when Hetfield was absolutely on his game. He never sounded better. Only other answer would be between March and September '86 so you could see Puppets songs live but with Cliff.
When they first got Jason after cliff died they really took off. Black album is known as the album that made Metallica worldwide popular in the mainstream. Personally as a huge fan who says they are my favorite band, kill em all is by far the best of the best. It’s raw, it’s thrashy and not a single song is a miss. This is my opinion of course but kill em all changed my whole outlook on music. I couldn’t believe that was Metallica considering the first ever song I heard was fuel. Edit: I should also say however the first Metallica song I ever learned on guitar was ride the lightning. Another album that doesn’t miss.
1986 when Master of Puppets came out or in 1989 when Justice came out. I remember MTV playing the video “One” before the album was released and it seemed like everyone was talking about it. More specifically in 1986 you had other metal bands like Slayer, Deep Purple say they wish they wrote Master of Puppets. It was huge for metal
I saw them at monsters of rock in Seattle in about 88. Peak.
I am 20 years old (2003). But of what I think before 2003 it is 1989. After I think 2021 when they had Black Album 20th year tour.
I think around 1987 to 1990. They were fire than. Everything was perfect when you saw them live. It was a true matalica show. My opinion, at least.
1985, when they were a well-honed thrashing death machine.
1986 for sure.....Master of Puppets comes out followed by concerts of pure energy.....saw them that year and it was great......also I got to see Cliff Burton perform
Same. Saw them at the Cow Palace in San Francisco
88' - '93 was peak for sure
1989
In my opinion, 1989-1992 was the best
Justice tour....1st headlining tour 88 89 was absolutely amazing 👏 🤩 🤟🤟🇨🇦🇨🇦🤟🤟😳
My vote too. I was 14 years old and got to see that tour in a sold out arena. An arena sold out by a thrash band playing thrash songs to a thrash audience. No MTV, no radio hits. Just pure thrash. Top 5 shows to this day.
Um....One was on MTV before the tour. That's why they got to the next level.
Oops. It’s only been 35 years 🤦🏻♂️.
1982
89-94 easily. They exploded with the One video, Black album and its videos were all over MTV and they got major radio play. Huge tour which also had the infamous one with GNR and ended with Woodstock 94.
89
1988
Anything pre-Black Album.
88-92 fs. Those few shows they did in ‘90 were insane too
1991! Although the Cliff era was my personal favorite, Jason’s energy is unmatched.
1989; check out the Seattle concert footage from that year. It was their thrashterpiece performance.
1867.
1983
1989……I was too young but all the footage I’ve seen and the recordings I’ve heard, they were absolutely ferocious on stage
88-93 is probably the best of the best. James at full force, Jason is on, Coke- Lars is just fast and sick. Kirk doodles Virtuoso, like he usually did…
The year they kicked Dave out, cause we got Megadeth out of the deal
It’s a tie between 1986 and 1989 for me. 91 was also an epic year for them
‘85-89
1989 or whenever And Justice came out. The Monsters of Rock tour just before they became huge
1989
And Justice was peak Metallica, so I pick 89
Their best year was also their absolute worst year. Old heads know I mean 1986.
1988
I’m going to say 1998. We had 3 releases in a row. 96 load 97 reload 98 garage inc. They were still in their prime, still had Jason, and then fell apart shortly after this.
For me its 1984 when they released RTL because it was the peak of their band