Metallica owned any other metal band during the 80's.
Heck, they were compared to AC/DC!

People who hate them now definitely never heard about the pre-90's Metallica.
I mean, seriously, "Fade To Black"? "For Whom the Bell Tolls"?
"Master of Puppets"? "Orion"?

...ad infinitum.
Those songs are just a chosen few of all their old classics.