Metallica Tops Poll Of Greatest Heavy Metal Albums [VIDEO]

No less than four albums from Metallica made the Top 10 list of "The Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time," as voted by the online readers of Rolling Stone magazine. The band's classic 1986 effort Master Of Puppets topped the survey, followed by Black Sabbath's 1970 landmark Paranoid at Number Two. In fact, the only band in the Top Five besides Metallica and Sabbath was Iron Maiden, who landed at Number Four with 1982's The Number Of The Beast.

Rolling Stone's editors wrote about the poll, "Metal fans are a very passionate bunch. They're also very opinionated, so when we asked them to vote for their favorite metal albums we expected a huge response. We also expected a big debate about the very definition of 'heavy metal.' Some metal fans say that groups like Led Zeppelin and Guns N' Roses are metal. Others think that's completely insane. We aren't here to settle these debates. We're merely here to count the votes."
Metallica and Black Sabbath also happen to be the only two "pure" heavy metal bands inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When their induction was announced in 2009, Metallica members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo were asked who else should be in there: [(Hetfield) "Motorhead. (Frontman) Lemmy is rock and roll." (Lars Ulrich, drums) "I'd say Deep Purple. If you say Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, you also have to say Deep Purple. They come as a threesome." (Kirk Hammett, lead guitar) "I would have to say Rush. I think they're a great band who took rock to a different level altogether in terms of like songwriting and technical proficiency, and I believe that they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame." (Rob Trujillo, bass) "I mean, I love UFO, I know Kirk's a huge fan of UFO too, and a band like that, you know, should be recognized, and hopefully someday will be."] SOUNDCUE (:30 OC: . . . someday will be.)
"The Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time," according to the online readers of Rolling Stone magazine:
1. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
2. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
3. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
4. The Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden
5. ...And Justice For All - Metallica
6. Reign In Blood - Slayer
7. Appetite For Destruction - Guns N' Roses
8. Metallica (the "black album") - Metallica
9. Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
10. Ride The Lightning - Metallica