10 Terrible Songs That ALMOST RUINED Great Albums
8. Escape - Metallica
When it comes to thrash metal, you can't really miss when it comes to Metallica's classic run in the '80s. Even though people like to poke fun at the production of And Justice for All being pretty terrible these days, any of these songs have the potential to be any other metal act's crowning achievement. That is, when the band actually wants to go the extra mile.
As recording started to wind down for their sophomore effort Ride the Lightning, Metallica had made a purely concentrated thrash metal release, only to be told they needed one more song at the last minute. Recorded in just a couple of days, Escape sticks out like a sore thumb on the album in the worst way possible, sounding closer to an AOR song in the vein of someone like Journey than Motorhead or Black Sabbath.
It's not like the band aren't in on this joke either, virtually ignoring the song for their entire existence and only playing it once live when they were celebrating the anniversary of Ride the Lightning. Though you can still hear some good chunks of Metallica's menace in the breakdown, this is the one track that doesn't really have a reason to exist. While stuff like Fade to Black and Creeping Death are still amazing, Escape is the definition of filler if there ever was one.