Apologies, but after a long, long time... continuing the countdown of my top 25 metal albums of all time! Presenting my number 17 and 16!

16. METALLICA : RIDE THE LIGHTNING (1984) - ELEKTRA

Metallica's debut album "Kill 'em All" is widely claimed as one of the best debut albums to come out in the 80s. However, anything found on "Ride the Lightning," surpasses that of their debut album, twice over. The band, in their sophomore effort, evolves in every aspect - musically and lyrically. They replace some of the raw edge the first album had with more polished track listing in their second one.

It's heavy, it's fast and it's furious!! Take the acoustic intro to "Fight Fire with Fire" for example. When it starts out, you might think you bought the wrong album, but then the heavy guitar hits you like a ton of bricks and leaves you spellbound. Another forgotten classic, "Creeping Death," leaves its marks with it's almost visceral lyrics. Also, how can one forget the most amazing metal ballad of all time "Fade to Black"? It begins with a distant guitar solo, but the acoustic strums actually make the first part of this song rather tame. However, the choruses still have heavy riffs, and the end is an ascending and cascading solo.

Put in other songs like "For Whom The Bell Tolls," and "The Call of Ktulu," and what you have in your collection is an album that is unlike any other sophomore attempt! If you want to build a good collection of metal CDs, you need this CD more than you need your next breath!

Line-Up: James Hetfield – rhythm guitar, lead vocals, Lars Ulrich – drums, Cliff Burton – bass guitar, backing vocals, Kirk Hammett – lead guitar

P.S : "Ride the Lightning" and "The Call of Ktulu" were the last Metallica songs to feature Dave Mustaine in the credits.

17. MACHINE HEAD : BURN MY EYES (1994) - ROADRUNNER RECORDS

"LET FREEDOM RING WITH A SHOTGUN BLAST!!!"

-is a scream from the opening song "Davidian" from the debut album from the metalheads from Oakland. This one is defined by its particularly aggressive style, and Machine Head's penchant to lighten up a little on the speed of the songs in order to simply make the songs heavier by adding baselines and thundering drums. Though just that little short of being a masterpiece, Burn My Eyes is close to being Machine Head's Sistine Chapel.

Throughout the album, although Machine Head talk about societal problems, the lyrical content of "Burn My Eyes" is often anything but negative. Logan Madder's fleet fingered guitar playing on "A Thousand Lies"is the stuff of legends. Robb Flynn sings with tremendous intensity, and Chris Kontos speed thrashes through every song, while Adam Duce keeps the low end with his heavy bass licks.

This album signaled the beginning of metal trying to throw off the whole grunge scene and step it up to the next level and get to the roots of the modern "extreme" metal scene. Standout tracks are "Davidian," "Old," and "Blood For Blood." Machine Head's debut stands the test of time as one of the best debut metal albums ever. All in all, a milestone for modern metal.

Line-Up : Robb Flynn - vocals, Guitar, Logan Mader - Lead Guitar, Adam Duce - Bass Guitar, Chris Kontos - drums

P.S : In 1994, this album quickly became Roadrunner Records' best seller and was the label's best-selling debut album for a number of years, until the release of Slipknot's 1999 self-titled debut.