and vice-versa. Sometimes bands can get a bit lazy, cocky or overpressured after a killer release and create something sub-par that doesn't stack up at all. Some might consider Atheist's Elements, an album I personally enjoy, this coming after the monumental Unquestionable Presence.

Sometimes a bad release and fan/label response will force a band to get their shit into gear and release a masterpiece. I can't think of any off the top of my head at the moment, but perhaps someone who does can help lead a a fan back to a band they may have given up on.

(BTW, I'm not talking about comebacks i.e. a good album after a string of disappointments like Megadeth's Endgame) I'm talking about bottom of the barrel followed by the top of the heap and inversely.)

ive got this feeling with monotheist, vanity/nemesis just is so meh.

I actually think elements is a great album that was the logical next step in the evolution of atheist.

Arguable, but I consider Symbolic the best Death album (shortly followed by Human), while TSoP I don't usually feel like listening... Very much a mood album for me, thus I'd say it's their worst.

While I enjoy TSoP, it was a bit too over the top for me. It was apparently composed of eftovers from Control Denied which might explain why it sounds so different.

I guess it says alot about a band when their "worst" is still fucking awesome.

It's certainly not a bad album, yeah, but I need to have a certain mindset to listen to it, I guess.

Another band that sprung to mind is Virgin Steele: Life Among the Ruins is just so dull and bad, while Marriage pt. I kicks ass, a lot.. But then again, I find it hard to rank VS albums post-1994, so it mightn't be their best...hmm! A huge step-up in quality either way.

They weren't leftovers, but some - if not all - of the songs were originally written for Control Denied and I suppose a clean vocalist. That said, The Sound of Perseverance is an album that's too overflowing with its technicality and very disjointed in its songwriting, thus making for a very lackluster effort.

*Obligatory Turbo -> Painkiller comparison.*

I'd say Bolt Thrower. They released their best album right after their worst album, and their worst album right after their best album.

Ugh, what about Ram it Down in-between? Besides Jugulator's an absolute abomination of an album - that's the worst they ever did and Painkiller's vastly inferior to the likes of Sad Wings of Destiny and Stained Class. Four years is hardly right after, in any case.

At least Turbo was catchy, if utterly dissaposable, it didn't have "Ripper" Owens 'singing' in his Fred-Durst-meets-John-Greely voice. Tribute band material, indeed (a tribute to Machine Head, anyway).

How does that work?

He might be ripping on how Bolt Thrower supposedly release the same album over and over.

Are you sure you're not confusing Jugulator with Demoliton?

They release their worst one, then their best one, then one worse than the previous worst one.

I think you're being asked to specify which albums you are referring to, since you're being more vague than a politician caught being whipped by a gay dominatrix.

He asked how it worked, I told him. I don't know what albums he was referring to, I've only heard one Bolt Thrower album.

Aww, no love for The Sound Of Perseverance?
I would agree with Atheist's Elements, but I gotta say, that's probably the best rushed album I've ever heard. 40 days to make it and it came out the way it did?
It's too easy to invert the topic, so I'm going to try the harder way.
Let's be controversial...
Immortal's At The Heart Of Winter after Blizzard Beasts. Blizzard Beasts isn't bad, necessarily, I just didn't care for it, especially since it came between two great albums.
Metallica's ...And Justice For All after Master Of Puppets.
Opeth's Watershed after Ghost Reveries.
Feel free to be pissed off at me.

I think Marriage I is their best. It's simply the pinnacle of modern PM; everything about it is done so well that no other band has quite captured the same level of songwriting skill and feel.

Savatage is another one. After the low point of Streets, which is far and away the worst thing Jon Oliva has ever puked up, they came out with the fantastic Edge of Thorns, which is definitely on my top 10 or at least 20 metal albums of all time.

Which one are you saying is the best?

People on MA seem to find Fate of Norns to be the worst Amon Amarth album. After this they released With Oden On Our Side which is deemed their best and for very good reason. It really says a lot about Amon Amarth though when the album seen as their worst is still excellent.

Dream Theater's Scenes from a Memory to follow up Falling Into Infinity. FII lacked a lot of what made their previous two albums great, which can somewhat/entirely be attributed to the producer and label pressure. SFAM showed a return of the unusual quirky progressive style of the band and the blend of songwriting and over-the-top musicianship, making it their best album as a whole.

Scenes for a Memory sucks. It's way too long, bloated and just not enjoyable at all. It's like Images and Words or Awake played twice without any interesting parts.

It may not be my personal opinion concerning their best, but Immolation's Close To A World Below is often cited as their landmark album, which came after probably their most poorly received work, Failures For Gods.

Amon Amarth releasing Oden On Our Side after the shitjob that was Fate of Norns.

Seeing as how the worst one is probably Honour - Valour - Pride according to most people, I'm guessing he means

Best - Mercenary
Worst - Honour Valour Pride
Best - Those Once Loyal

Can't say I agree with calling Mercenary their "best".

The thing is, I actually rather liked Fate of Norns.

Ugh, alright, I'll explain what he was trying to say.

When ...For Victory came out, that was their best album up to that point. Followed by Mercenary which was their worst up to that point. Then Honour Valour Pride which set a new low point, became the band's worst album, followed again by Those Once Loyal which was the best thing the band released. In other words, they fulfilled the OP's criteria (both iterations of it) and two different points in their career.

Although, unless a band's first and second releases are of the exact same quality, you could say the same thing (from a historical perspective, of course) about any band's first two albums.

Of course ill choose one that has already been said (twice), Amon Amarth releasing their worse, Fate of Norns, then releasing (easily) their best, With Oden on Our Side. I also want to add Immortal, releasing (imo) their worst, Damned in Black, then releasing one of their best, Sons of Northern Darkness.

Judas Priest released Painkiller after Ram it Down. Actually, ever since Priest acquired Scott, they've been at an all time high imo. It's probably the aggressive aspect of it, but I always liked Painkiller and every other album after that (even the Owen era) better than before Painkiller.

Vomitory (Swe) released Blood Rapture, which I think is the best Vomitory album I've heard. They then follow that up wiht Primal Massacre, which is alright, but fairly weak, in comparison to the rest of their output. Then they release Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize that, despite the cliche title, turned out very well indeed, and shows that Primal Massacre may have just been a blip in the radar for Vomitory.

...And Justice For All.

Master of Puppets is worse than St. Anger and the Load albums??

Yea totally, when you let UltraBoris do your thinking for you.

Well, even Boris admits that the album rightfully deserves a score in the 60's, which is higher than what he gave St. Anger.

He said that a while back.

EntilZha, let me guess; IVth Crusade, ... For Victory, Mercenary.

How'd I do?

When I browse other metal sites, people even talk about it there.

Of course im going to say the one that everyone else has said... Amon Amarth releasing their worst, Fate of Norns, and then releasing (easily) their best, With Oden on Our Side. I would also say Immortal, releasing their worst (IMO), Damned in Black, then releasing on of their best, Sons of Northern Darkness.

Master Of Puppets is the 2nd worst of their first 4. Nowhere close to the Loads or St. Anger, though. Forgot about what the original post specified. Sorry.
What's the worst of the first 4, then? Ride The Lightning. Just listened to it about 30 minutes ago, and I like it even less than before.

The funny thing is, now that you say you were excluding everything after the first four, as well as Ride the Lightning, your original post of "...And Justice For all after Master of Puppets" means pretty much nothing.

Suffocation deserves a mention, similar to that of Bolt Thrower's. Effigy of the Forgotten is considered a DM masterpiece, while Breeding the Spawn was a bit lacking. Mike Smith even left the band because of that album. They bounced back with Pierced From Within, which is considered on of their best.