@Swaye and I were podcasting a bit back and forth the other week on the subject of Metallica and our noble, hatchet packer made an interesting observation. The thought was has there every been another rock group with a similar career trajectory- i.e., a long slog of nearly a decade from 1983 to 1991 of being a moderately[/i] popular, but sill somewhat niche group, to then becoming one the most successful and popular groups in the world? I struggled to think of another example; it seems like more artists either hit is fairly big early on or they never do.
Take a look at the peak US Billboard Album chart position for all of their albums from Kill 'em All to Reload.
Kill ‘em All (1983) - #66
Ride The Lightning (1984) - #48
Master of Puppets (1986) - #29
And Justice for All (1989) - #6
Black Album (1991) #1
Load (1996) #1
Reload (1997) #1
We also agreed that Metallica's best work was in the rear view mirror, but the time of the breakthrough into the rock main stream- i.e., the Black Album in 1991.
The closest analog I could think of was AC/DC. They were considerably less commercially successful than Metallica at first - arguably due to their being an a foreign act - but their journey from unknown to mega band / superstars only took roughly 4 years in the US (i.e., 1976- 1980). But like Metallica, AC DC's artistic peak had already come and gone by the time of their first #1 record.
High Voltage (1976) – #146
Let there Be Rock (1977) - #154
Powerage (1978) - #133
Highway to Hell (1979) - #17
Back In Black (1980) - #4
For Those About to Rock (1981) - #1
Another comp, I wanted to pull was Van Halen. By comparison, the were already one of the biggest acts in rock by the second album, but didn't actually top the charts until the shitty, Van Hagar era.
Van Halen I (1978) - #19
Van Halen II (1979) - #6
Women and Children First (1980) - #6
Fair Warning (1981) - #5
Diver Down (1982) – #3
1984 (1984) - #2
5150 (1986) - #1
OU812 (1988) #1
Take a look at the peak US Billboard Album chart position for all of their albums from Kill 'em All to Reload.
Kill ‘em All (1983) - #66
Ride The Lightning (1984) - #48
Master of Puppets (1986) - #29
And Justice for All (1989) - #6
Black Album (1991) #1
Load (1996) #1
Reload (1997) #1
We also agreed that Metallica's best work was in the rear view mirror, but the time of the breakthrough into the rock main stream- i.e., the Black Album in 1991.
The closest analog I could think of was AC/DC. They were considerably less commercially successful than Metallica at first - arguably due to their being an a foreign act - but their journey from unknown to mega band / superstars only took roughly 4 years in the US (i.e., 1976- 1980). But like Metallica, AC DC's artistic peak had already come and gone by the time of their first #1 record.
High Voltage (1976) – #146
Let there Be Rock (1977) - #154
Powerage (1978) - #133
Highway to Hell (1979) - #17
Back In Black (1980) - #4
For Those About to Rock (1981) - #1
Another comp, I wanted to pull was Van Halen. By comparison, the were already one of the biggest acts in rock by the second album, but didn't actually top the charts until the shitty, Van Hagar era.
Van Halen I (1978) - #19
Van Halen II (1979) - #6
Women and Children First (1980) - #6
Fair Warning (1981) - #5
Diver Down (1982) – #3
1984 (1984) - #2
5150 (1986) - #1
OU812 (1988) #1
