10 Rock Bands That Released 2 Masterpiece Albums In A Row

At the start of the '80s, it looked like Metallica were about to usher in a completely new era for metal music. Off the strength of Kill Em All, this was the kind of balls to the wall metal that sent fans into a frenzy, having just the right amount of bite from metal along with the rapid fire speed of punk music that would become the basis for thrash. Metallica had other plans though, and Ride the Lightning was the beginning of their reign.

Although there were some traditional thrash ragers on here, this was where the musicality of the band came through a lot more, with Cliff Burton stepping up to the plate with his attention to harmony like on the opening of Fight Fire with Fire or his amazing bass runs on the album's closer the Call of Ktulu.

Though the regular thrash purists may have been a bit betrayed by something like Fade to Black, the band doubled down on the more adventurous side of their sound, with Master of Puppets being some of the most concentrated kickass to come from the metal genre. For this outing, there was a lot more attention to detail and some genuinely beautiful songwriting, going from the stomp of something like Disposable Heroes to the balladry of Welcome Home Sanitarium. Since Cliff wouldn't live to see the end of the '80s after dying in a horrific bus accident, these two albums are the purest example of Metallica at their peak.