i really like metallica... even when they changed sound with load ... i still think they were good. maybe not my kind of music, but nevertheless, a very good band.
i keep seeing things like we want more "master of puppets," "battery," "one," etc. you should realize that when you tour and play for like 5 years straight (ala the Black album tour) you get bored with the runs and style of a certain kind of music (in metallica's case, new wave of british heavy metal influenced stuff) ... sure they were great songs... but cmon, you must have realized metallica and its counterparts have used the formulas in those songs more than once... here are some:
1.) creeping death - its an E5 run used by slayer, exodus, etc. and as for the middle part, it uses the standard "metal formula 7th position runs" metallica also used on "Fade to Black" ... lets not even start with slayer abusing that formula to death.
2.) One - remember that chord shape? ... Welcome Home Sanitarium, and Fade to Black are all i could remember.
3.) Master of Puppets - slayer's Behind the Crooked Cross... and tons of Exodus songs.
4.) battery - fight fire with fire, blackened...
its understandable that metallica would get tired of that style... and besides, i dont find metallica fast at all... i find lars slow for a thrash metal drummer actually... however, the real strength of metallica are:
-great stage presence. probably the best compared to their batch mates
-great songs and lyrics that are easy to sing along to