10 Hard Rock Albums That Divided The Fanbase

Without Metallica, thrash as we know it today may not have existed. The band's early blending of punk and metal resulted in some of the heaviest music of the 80's, with classics like Master of Puppets and And Justice for All becoming mainstays of the genre. Even though the band were poised to become metal superstars, things started to turn a page once Bob Rock entered the picture.

Coming off of producing records by Bon Jovi and Motley Crue, Rock's attention to detail led to the band creating some of their most accessible material like on the slamming "Sad But True" and the band's most tender ballad "Nothing Else Matters." This gave the band much more exposure, but the metalheads were horrified at this change of scenery.

For many Metallica fans, this was either a huge success or the moment the band sold out. While "Nothing Else Matters" is from being the heaviest in the band's catalog, other tracks like "Of Wolf and Man" show that the band had not forgotten their heavy roots. Metallica would throw their fans even more curveballs with subsequent albums, but this was the first moment when the metal community felt the band had lost their way.