Wheel of Rock - Metallica Albums Tier List (with Mike Portnoy) 

I love how much of a music nerd Mike Portnoy is beyond being a phenomenal musician. Makes me appreciate him even more.

Love this! Doesn't matter if it's the "prog" report - you guys should do wheel of whichever band you all enjoy! So fun to watch. Hope there's more coming soon!

I love that you guys are branching out from prog to hit other bands in different genres. Here are some suggestions, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Symphony X, the entire Devin Townsend catalog, take the top 6 albums from the Big 4 and rank em, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Deep Purple, UFO. Some great Jazz Fusion artists that have some prog elements as well that coulee be explored. Cheers, can't wait for the next one.

OMG. Portnoy explaining which albums he has in his "A" and in his "S" (with the long island accent). Absolute chef's kiss. 🤌

Both Load and Relod have gems, the problem is that its 2 albuns that could be only one.

I'm with Vic , the house that jack built is one of the coolest song of this album

I still tend to rank Death Magnetic pretty high. Love that one.

I love this era we live in where music legends just casually doing podcasts :)

There is NO way Reload is worse than St Anger and LuLu. NO WAY!!

22:00 - Am I Evil was NOT on Kill ‘Em All originally. It was a b-side of the Creeping Death picture disk (along with Blitzkrieg). Those were added to Kill ‘Em All for its 1987 reissue (subsequently removed on the 1996 reissue).

Load and Reload have some good deep cuts like Bleeding Me, Outlaw Torn, Low Man's Lyric and Fixxer. But they're are a lot of filler songs too. You could combine all the good songs from these two and make one high end B tier album. I always came from the mind frame that the only reason people don't like these albums is because it's Metallica and it's not their normal sound. If some new band had made these and sounded more or less the same, people would have had no problems with them.

Another superb show and so good to have Mike present again. With all of the commitments he has, it’s fantastic that he shares any of his down time with us. Love Kyle’s enthusiasm for the Load album 😂

Kinda surprised by Mike's opinion on Load. I was expecting him to praise stuff like Bleeding Me and Outlaw Torn.

As a major Metallica fan from my teens i really liked the approach of the Load album. It has deeper meaning lyrics, great compositions like the house that jack build, bleeding me and the outlaw torn. Also, the production of this album for me is a masterpiece, especially the rhythm guitars which sound so alive and crunchy with perfect amount of distortion.

Mike Portnoy participating in every show recently since he rejoined Metallica 😂👍🏻

Reload is D really? I love it so much😢

The Prince. One of the best cover songs of all time, so underrated in the Metallica catalogue!

Agree with Mike Portnoy on the S&M. As someone who also listens to classical music, I feel like Michael Kamen composed a totally different piece instead of staying faithful to the motifs of the songs and compliment it. I remember watching it for the first time and it gave me a headache. Like listening to 2 different bands playing at the same time.

Great show, gentlemen! Great to see Mr. Portnoy on TPR and Sea of Tranquility.

Only yesterday I was thinking about Disposable Heroes, which came about after watching a Devin Townsend update in which described agonising over writing lyrics which got me thinking, "which tracks do I hold In high regard for their lyrical content?" Disposable heroes came to mind straight away, even the title itself is strong.

My list (just the main discography) S: Master, Ride, Justice A: Kill, Magnetic, Metallica B: Load, Hardwired D: Anger, Reload, 72 Seasons

Man! I had so much fun listening/watching this episode of wheel of ROCK lol I think you guys nailed the the list! For me, and I'm almost Kyle's age, the video for One was embedded in my brain as a 5 year old when it aired on MTv and I never forgot how dark it was... years later when I was fully capable of appreciating music, I listened to Load and it marked me, but through the force of nature I discovered their 80s albums and felt like I had found pure gold! So even if I was in my teens by then listening to a decade old music I knew that was Metallica's best music ever

If you remove from the Black Album the most “sellout-y” song or songs (Nothing Else Matters, maybe The Unforgiven, MAYBE Enter Sandman), we would all look back on it more fondly, yes it’s slower and less complicated but it kicks ass.

Kyle absolutely killed it arguing for Load! It’s not perfect, but its best tracks feel so vital, and have aged really well. Can you imagine ANY other metal band writing a country ballad as heartfelt as Mama Said?

Death put out Symbolic in 95 and The Sound of Perseverance in 98 their 2 best albums so not every metalband sucked in the late 90s. Obviously not too high profile compared to your Metallicas and Megadeths

Prog channel, AJFA at #1, calling it. As it should be. Very interested to see where the post-03 material ends up.

Had a great time watching the vídeo, congrats guys! My personal ranking would be: S: Ride, Puppets, Justice A: Kill em All, Black Album, B: Death Magnetic, Garage, Hardwired C: Load, 72 Seasons D: Reload, St Anger, Lulu

I disappear is the song that triggered the Napster stuff.

You need to have Mike back to do the Megadeth wheel!

I need a video on Black Sabbaths catalog! Thanks for sharing, loved yo see Portnoy back on the show!

Had they put the best Load era songs on one album, and used the lesser songs as "bonus tracks" on special edition releases, people would have a better opinion of that era. Also, some of the quirky stuff on Re-Load holds up a lot better than the weird white trashy rockers on Load. Stuff like Ain't my Bitch, and especially 2X4.... Just an embarrassing aesthetic and musical dumbing down. King Nothing also just sounds boring and contrived to me nowadays.

Ha! Mike, the reactions (thumbs up, fireworks, etc) are from your camera settings in MacOS. You can turn the auto reactions off.

i think the napster debacle actually started with the mission impossible soundtrack / i disappear.

If S&M is included because the previously unreleased tracks, Beyond Magnetic EP should have been included. 😉

I severely disagree on puting S&M that low. This is a live album and in my mind, quite separate from the bullshit released on the 90's (load and reload), and this album has (in my opinion) the best version of a lot of classics of the band (One and For whom the bell tolls included). For whom the bell tolls in this album is just incredible. It has the best guitar distortion of their career, all of them on their peak (phisically speaking) and James singing was on another level. Mike has a good point though....more technical view perhaps.....but the orchaestration is part of the equation, not everything. For me is S tier.

Considering you started with Metallica I think you should go onto Megadeth

Lulu should be considered the worst album of all time.

There were at least few epic albums that came out in 1997. Children of Bodom's debut "Something Wild" and Symphony X's "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" 😄

Not surprised Load and Reload were rated so low. They are criminally underrated, mostly by purists or people who "felt betrayed". It's more authentic then anything they released after 2000.

Of Wolf and Man and My Friend of Misery are my faves from the Black album.

I think load/reload can be made into 1 amazing album , same with hardwired/seasons. Top under appreciated Songs for me from those albums are outlaw torn, bleeding me, fixxxer, where the wild things are, Inamorata and spit out the bone. My tiers below: S - Justice, Puppets, Lightning A - Magnetic, Kill ‘em all, Black B - S&M, Load, Seasons C - Garage, Hardwired, Re-Load D - St Anger, Lulu

Hell yea let's get portnoy back for a megadeth wheel next .

It makes me extremely happy to see Death Magnetic ranked as highly as it is.

59:18 Mike Portnoy's Stewie pyjamas reveal

I'm with Kyle, I love Load and I would easily put in A tier.

Th song sequencing on side one of Ride is absolutely brilliant Awesome show guys!

Liked this episode! I never got into post-black-album Metallica, but the first five will always be metal favorites of mine, with Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets being tied as my top favs. I think the next logical band for a metal episode would be Iron Maiden. Cheers!

The best part of this video is the Portnoy special FX mystery being solved just in time.

PLEASE do a Megadeth list. Id love to see all the different takes on all the crazy directions Megadeth has gone. Also really would love to see a Symphony X list. Another band with a super varied catalogue.

The ...and Justice for Jason version of AJFA is definitely S tier.

I love s&m but im a band nerd. And love michael kamen.

Im listening to this yet, but the dude saying that death magnetic with Rick rubin was good for audiophiles... What? The album is nearly meme material because the original release is almost inaudible.

Im with Kyle on Load and Re-load, but then I was also a similar age... interesting AJFA was my first encounter with Metallica and then followed swiflty by Load and Reload.... sure they we're very different sounds but at the time... i didnt care... I just thought these guys are so cool... I loved it all.

Does anyone else really wish they’d release the wheel episodes on the podcast feed? I often use tools to download and convert the videos to audio files and handle it myself but most people are not willing to go through all that effort.

As always, an awesome watch!!! ❤

Fantastic video guys. I haven't watched a 100min RU-vid video in a very long time but I was hooked on this. Very knowledgeable men talking about the greatest metal band of all time. Addictive viewing. I'm off to listen to all 14 albums back to back. 😂

36:12 bro I never thought Portnoy would go so hard on Load😂

That subtle dig at Falling Into Infinity from Mike Portnoy was funny; some things never change!

They only have 4 albums (and a worthy ep), but I cannot recommend Oceansize enough. They definitely deserve more praise and recognition.

I'm going to have to disagree with Mike here, Falling Into Infinity is from 97 and is a top tier album. Love you MP ❤

Great one, I have enjoyed watching every minute of it. I would love to see Riverside albums tier list!

Love that Death Magnetic is finally getting it's love, it's A for sure, for me personally it's an S.

Yes, thanks for mentioning the "loudness" problem on Death Magnetic. The vinyl sounds better but it is still not where it should be. Wish they'd remaster this one.

Wheel of thrash would only cover the first 4 albums. 5.98ep garage days should really be considered seperate than garage inc.

There is definitely a line of demarcation for Metallica and I'm in the Mike Portnoy camp. Being older, and having seen Metallica live in 1985 and many times later, load and reload was an off ramp for me from Metallica. It felt like a couple of big fuck yous to their longtime fans. When kill em all came out, it was one of a kind. The rawness of it was part of it's charm. Ride the lightning was a continuation with better production. Master of puppets was somewhat evolutionary and still great. All three were God tier. And justice for all would be s tier if Lars hadn't done Jayson a disservice by almost mixing out the bass, and compared to what was coming next, the black album was good in retrospect.

This is the last hurrah (and album/tour). It's definitely gonna be a go big or go home kit.

Srsly happy to have found your podcast - MP is a legend and I’m so happy he’s back with Dream Theater!!! Loving this, got yourself a new fan. Please keep up the good work 🎉

S - Black, Master, S&M A - Death Magnetic, Justice, Ride B - Kiill 'Em All, Load C - Garage, Reload D - Lulu, St. Anger, Lux, Hardwired

my all time favorites from Load/Reload: LOAD: - House that Jack Built - Until it Sleeps - King Nothing - Bleeding Me - Thorn Within - Outlaw Torn RELOAD: - The Devil's Dance - Unforgiven II - Carpe Diem Baby - Low Man's Lyric - Fixxxer (god damit!)

So glad Mike isn't a wimp who is too afraid to give an honest review of an album from another band. He's a great guest on here.

Load is a masterpiece and reload follows behind... Melodies, solos, atmosphere, different exciting times...

This was fun. Great show, guys👍🏻!

Where can I find that remixed version of death magnetic that Mike talked about????

Agree but I would rank Black Album on S and 72 seasons on D. The first half of Hardwired is A.

Every song on 72 season is decent. Every song on 72 seasons is not bad. Every song on 72 seasons is not good. In other words, it's just bland. It's the SAFEST record they've ever done. And, to my ears, it's also the first Metallica record that doesn't contain a single hook. It's just....boring.

I was/am one of those, that when the news broke, was pumped as hell. DT needs Mike Portnoy!!! Thank God it came to life!!!

Bleeding Me... Outlaw Torn... Fixxxer .. Prince charming

Minor correction: While MoP and RTL are closely aligned in terms of their tracklisting, the instrumental isn't the penultimate song on RTL, it's the final track.

That wheel looks like a clickable banner ad from the nineties. And it even spins like it’s coming over a dial up modem.

The Napster thing started with the leaked release of I Disapear from the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack.

I Disappear from Mission Impossible 2 was the Napster leak /m\ . Good as always.

I dont get the defense for St Anger: It would be great If It wasnt bad?

I was 17 and working on a house (our house) and this 18 year old from my dad’s friend and he put on a master of puppets cassette. I was floored. I was like … finally done great heavy stuff. It came at the hieght of glam and I was going back In time looking for great music. To me master came out and saved modern music then Janes addiction live xxx album in 87’ and appetite came out in 87’. Hard rock was saved by those three to me. Then dirty ass grunge came in 89’. I went opposite of progressive. I wanted simple and wild.

"only 3 albums per tier" or not, all of the 80s stuff is S-tier compared to most of latter outputs, tbh. Intrigued to see where Death Magnetic lands!

I love St. Anger. I get all the arguments, but I love the songs. The lyrics and the music compliment each other perfectly. The song St. Anger is perfect!

New to the channel had to comment. I watched for Mike but couldn't finish the video. Twenty minutes in and 72 seasons gets a B, you know where this video is going. Maybe some other albums will get ranked lower but I just can't take the rest seriously. These videos are only interesting if it's not all metallica fanboys. A nice mix of opinions. Not omg this is my fav band 72 seasons is practically a classic even though kirk sounds asleep.

Mike P and KG are the only ones with any brains on this thing.

If Load and Reload was made by any other band in the 90’s, it would get far more love. Even a first or sophomore release for a new band, it would be considered amazing. I think it would have made a much better solo album. Also, I don’t get why people include Lulu. It is not a metallica album! It’s a collaboration with Lou Reed. It stands on its own as a pile of crap. I loved this though!

I almost gave up on Metalica until they HAPPILY surprised me with Death Magnetic. They should work with Rick Rubin again

I think Disc 1 of Garage Inc. is possibly their best sounding mix for me, as a guitar guy.

Why is LuLu in there? Also I disagreed with 11 of your choices 🤣

Excellent episode, always great to hear inside baseball from Mike Portnoy.

We need a wheel of metal !!

i remember they uploaded the version of Dead Magnetic with the "good mastering" in Myspace first, that's the one i listen to too!

Please, I think you are the best people to do it, and consider it: DT's tier list of albums without him.

This was fun. St. Anger brought me back to Metallica after L and RL. For me the ranking is: S: MOP, RTL, AJFA and DM A: KEA, HW and 72. Also original GD EP B: Black C: St. Anger, S&M D: L, RL and Lulu

So cool to see Mike hanging out with these guys!

Great video! I would love to see this for Riverside, but I understand about them maybe not having enough material yet

S- Ride, Justice, Puppets A- Magnetic, Black, Kill B- Hardwired, Seasons C- Anger, Garage, Load D- Re-load, S&M, Lulu I really like S&M2 if for nothing more than that version of All Within My Hands and I would probably have it at C tier. Same for Beyond Magnetic.

I dont get the hate for Load. Its my favorite Metallica album and the only one Ive listened to in recent years.