Shavo Odadjian Explains Why Metallica’s ‘Master’ Beats ‘Ride’

System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian has one big factor in determining why Metallica’s Master of Puppets album is better than Ride the Lightning.

They are two masterful albums recorded and released back to back in Metallica’s catalog. They also represent the last two recordings to feature legendary bassist Cliff Burton, whose promise and influence on the metal band was just beginning to be recognized for its brilliance. The debate has raged on amongst Metallica fans over the years and now the System of a Down bassist has chimed in with his vote.

What Was Shavo Odadjian’s Metallica Album Pick?

While guesting on KCAL 96.7FM’s “Wired in the Empire” radio show with host Radioactive Mike Z., Odadjian was asked his preference between the two classic records and understandably had a difficult time making his choice.

“Personally, Master of Puppets was listened to more, but there’s some bangers on Ride The Lightning that are undeniably some of the greatest metal songs ever written,” said Odadjian working his way through the argument. “Those two albums not only have inspired me, but I still listen to them. That’s what they are. And that’s where you know something’s that good. So it’s so hard to compare. They’re different beasts.

“Master, to me, is more commercial, which is completely not a commercial, but, to me, it’s more [commercial] because there’s more memorable parts and songs because they have riffs are just like… But Ride the Lightning had these long compositions, and that’s what… I mean, so did Master,” he continued.

As he continued to weigh his options and bemoan the difficulty of the question, Odadjian reasoned, “Ride was the first one that I was, like, you have to listen — put those headphones on and just fricking go into it and just kind of let it take you… ‘Fade To Black’ was one of those tearjerkers, like, ‘Tears are coming out and I don’t know what’s going on’ — that kind of stuff. There’s vibes in there, bro, there’s vibes and they created that without any real future plans. They did that — they did that. It came out of them and I love that.”

He went on to praise Ride the Lightning for having more compositions, but then added that Master of Puppets has more memorable tunes.

The Determining Factor

Once Odadjian landed on “Orion” as a talking point, it eventually gave him the nudge he needed to pick a victor. “‘Orion’ is ridiculous. That’s like a masterpiece on that album,” he initially offered.

READ MORE: Metallica Launch Digital Cliff Burton Exhibit in Online Museum

He then added, “‘Orion’ is on Master, and that’s the debate that I’m gonna take that side because of the song ‘Orion.’ That thing is ridiculous and to know that humans wrote that and they’re still out there writing and they’re still out there performing, like all the power [to them].”

Metallica, “Orion”

Shavo Odadjian in 2024

While Odadjian has made a couple of appearances with System of a Down earlier this year, his current focus is on his new band Seven Hours After Violet. The group has already issued the songs “Radiance” and “Alive” from their self-titled album, due Oct. 11. The group will also play their first ever live show as part of the 2024 Mayhem Festival taking place Oct. 12 at the Glen Helen Amphitheatre in San Bernardino, California.

Shavo Odadjian Guests on Mike Z’s Wired in the Empire