I give the nod to Metallica. Part of it is when I grew up ... I entered grade 10 in 1986. Listening to start of Master of Puppets made me a metal lover for life.
For me, Maiden is a bit like the AC/DC of metal ... they stuck to the same formula. My eyes glaze over after a while. It's too bad that Metallica fell off the rails after the Black album (Death Magnetic is actually pretty good, except for horrible mixing), but they've always tried new things. Their 5 first albums trump Maiden's work. Maiden has better musicianship in most cases, except Cliff Burton and Steve Harris who are both bass legends; they're a tie. If musicianship was the only factor, I'd be into classical music or Yngwie, lol.
Metallica for the win.
For me, Maiden is a bit like the AC/DC of metal ... they stuck to the same formula. My eyes glaze over after a while. It's too bad that Metallica fell off the rails after the Black album (Death Magnetic is actually pretty good, except for horrible mixing), but they've always tried new things. Their 5 first albums trump Maiden's work. Maiden has better musicianship in most cases, except Cliff Burton and Steve Harris who are both bass legends; they're a tie. If musicianship was the only factor, I'd be into classical music or Yngwie, lol.
Metallica for the win.