Spinoff thread: Metallica's best album after Cliff died?

"And Justice for All" & its not even close.

Load was the shite

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"And Justice for All" & its not even close.

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Master of Puppets, and it's not even close. Justice was formulaic repetition of Master. Ride the Lightning is my favorite album, but Master was technically superior. For those that like Justice, just curious...in what order did you hear all the albums?

...and Justice for All

Justice

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lololololololol

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I guess I should pay attention to the thread title. In that case, I don't have an answer. Justice, as stated, is just a formulaic ripoff of Master - rivaled only by Dio when it comes to creating carbon copies of previous albums. After that, nothing else matters (no pun intended). As far as I'm concerned, there were no Metallica albums after that. As albums go, the Black album is better than Justice. It's not "real" Metallica, but it is an original creatve production by Metallica that stands on its own, which Justice can not do. Justice was, without a doubt, the most disappointing Metallica album. If you could go back in time and erase any one album from Metallica's history, how can it NOT be Justice? Everything else was at least an honest attempt.

This place is a lot like the movie board, isn't it?

The black album will get zero credit here because it is too "commercial" - oh noz, how can I look cool if I like an album that was enjoyed by the masses? "Enter Sandman" has one of the most catchy and recognizable guitar riffs in any genre. "Sad But True" is probably the heaviest song Metallica has ever written. "Nothing Else Matters" rivals any ballad they've ever written, but is still surpassed by "The Unforgiven," which is lyrically one of their strongest. "Wherever I May Roam" and "Of Wolf and Man" are both great songs that stand on their own as opposed to being formulaic remakes of previous work, which is splattered all over "Justice."
The rhythm section is the backbone of music, yet the bass is indiscernible on "Justice" - and don't get me started on the tin can drums of that album. Metal without a backbone is not metal. Album format? Start off with slow intro/kick into up-tempo song. Follow with the title track. Follow that with a heavy plodding song. Insert ballad here. Toss some filler in the middle. Penultimate instrumental. Finish up with straight thrash/speed metal. Precise duplicate of "Masters."
"Masters" was very much a copy of "Ride the Lightning," but it showed a lot of progression musically. So much tighter, and the peak of production value without being overproduced.
But everyone wants to pick the "oldest" album that meets the criteria of the question...cookie-cutter answer.

Anyone that says anything but Justice deserves no say so.

"Hey, our bass player died. Let's hurry up and crank out an exact duplicate of the last album, turn down the bass so no one can hear it, and hope everyone thinks we're still the same band."

...and the followers followed.