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Your Top 10 Metal Albums of All-Time
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Saperlipopette! View Drop Down
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    Posted: July 31 2023 at 09:51
So here's an attemt at a trad. Heavy Metal/Heavy Rock/Heavy Psych/Heavy Prog/Hard Rock, or my...

...vintage Prefix-Metal top 15:

Led Zeppelin - IV (1971)
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (1971)
Rainbow - Rising (1976)
Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971)
Blue Öyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin (1981)
Warlord - Deliver Us (long EP) (1983)
High Tide - Sea Shanties (1969)
Thin Lizzy - Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
Jerusalem - St (1972)
Judas Priest - Stained Glass (1978)
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast (1982)
Manowar - Battle Hymns (1982)
Icecross - Icecross (1973)
Truth and Janey - No Rest for the Wicked (1976)
November - En ny tid är här... (1970)

Originally posted by Saperlipopette! Saperlipopette! wrote:

I'm not taking early heavy rock or heavy prog bands into consideration. Because although I acknowledge they are an essential part of metal history, I don’t personally think of them as metal as such.

Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
Slayer - South of Heaven (1988)
Аспид [Aspid] - Кровоизлияние (1992)
Sadus - Illusions (1988)
Death - Leprosy (1988)
Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal (2005)
Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious (1991)
Vektor - Black Future (2009)
Atvm - Famine, Putrid and f**king Endless (2021)
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains (1989)
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath (1984)
Demoniac - So it Goes (2020)
KVIST - For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike (1996)
Morbid Angel - Covenant (1993)
Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race (2019)
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Originally posted by essexboyinwales essexboyinwales wrote:

10, off the top of my head:

Ayreon - The Human Equation
Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Dream Theater - Images And Words
Cellar Darling - The Spell
Metallica - ….And Justice For All
Devin Townsend - Empath
Avantasia - Ghostlights
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt 2
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
King’s X - Out Of The Silent Planet

I’m not sure if King’s X are considered heavy metal but this album is heavier then some mentioned in this thread and it’s awesome….


Can’t believe I forgot Ghost😳Prequelle HAS to be on my list….but which to remove?….probably Powerslave….
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bardberic View Drop Down
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So for heavy rock-based "traditional heavy metal," I'm not really a big fan of this style, to be honest. My taste in metal really begins to pick up in the late 80s with the development of sludge, death, and progressive metal, peaking in the mid-90s at the height of these genres, imo.

Nevertheless for pre-NWoBHM traditional heavy metal, for me it'd be:

1.) Queen, Queen (1973) [England, UK] {I much prefer Queen 2, but this is more progressive rock imo than traditional heavy metal}
2.) Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, Budgie (1973) [Wales, UK] {this one is also very prog rock-oriented, their eponymous debut is also great if this one doesn't count}
3.) Machine Head, Deep Purple (1972), [England, UK]
4.) Stained Class, Judas Priest (1978) [England, UK]
5.) Master of Reality, Black Sabbath (1971) [England, UK] {this doesn't mean that I don't still think that Black Sabbath is one of the most overrated bands in history; there's just not a lot from which to choose, here, and again I'm going to express my opinion that this band has no place whatsoever on the progarchives}
6.) Caress of Steel, Rush (1975) [Ontario, Canada] {this one is very borderline with both hard rock and prog rock, and the closest thing to straight up heavy metal that Rush ever did}
7.) Sea Shanties, High Tide (1969) [England, UK]
8.) Volcanic Rock, Buffalo (1973) [Australia]
9.) Kingdom Come, Sir Lord Baltimore (1970) [New York, USA]
That's pretty much all I can include, right now but for 10, I'll add an honorable mention:
10.) Vincebus Eruptum, Blue Cheer (1968) [California, USA] {Very proto-metal, maybe being the earliest album to breach into true heavy metal territory, but this is a hard/blues rock/heavy psych album, really, and the production job here is terrible, even by 1968 standards}


Edited by bardberic - July 21 2023 at 16:13
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TheGazzardian View Drop Down
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My Top 10 is probably an odd list, here's what comes to mind without spending a lot of thought on ordering...

Devin Townsend Project: Deconstruction
Pin-Up Went Down: 2Unlimited
Luca Turilli: Infinite Wonders of Creation
Leprous: Coal
Diablo Swing Orchestra: Pandora's Pinata
Oxxo Xoox: Namidae
Orphaned Land: All is One
Stolen Babies: There Be Squabbles Ahead
Sleepytime Gorilla Musem: Of Natural History
Unexpect: Fables of the Sleepless Empire 
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Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

Guess I'm seeing that any lists generated by my OP could/should be relegated into two separate categories: "Heavy Metal" (1966-1981) and "Metal" (1980-to-present).
Quite a problem with this distinction is that not so little of the '80s Metal is widely labelled as Heavy Metal, while much of pre-'80s Metal has been defined as NWOBHM.

Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

With this in mind, here is my list for my favorite "Hard Rock" or "Heavy Metal" albums:
And does that mean you won't for the years 1966-1981 distinguish between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal?
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10, off the top of my head:

Ayreon - The Human Equation
Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Dream Theater - Images And Words
Cellar Darling - The Spell
Metallica - ….And Justice For All
Devin Townsend - Empath
Avantasia - Ghostlights
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt 2
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
King’s X - Out Of The Silent Planet

I’m not sure if King’s X are considered heavy metal but this album is heavier then some mentioned in this thread and it’s awesome….
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David_D View Drop Down
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Okay Drew, if you now would like to see our pre-'80s Hard Rock favourites, here're mine:

Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond (1972)
Alice Cooper - School's Out (1972)
                Deep Purple - s/t, In Rock, Fireball
Golden Earring - Moontan (1973)
Groundhogs - Split (1971)
                Led Zeppelin - II, IV, Houses of the Holy
Scorpions - Lonesome Crow (1972)
The Stooges - Fun House (1970)
Uriah Heep - Look at Yourself (1971)
The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)
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^ Big smile
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Guess I'm seeing that any lists generated by my OP could/should be relegated into two separate categories: "Heavy Metal" (1966-1981) and "Metal" (1980-to-present).

With this in mind, here is my list for my favorite "Hard Rock" or "Heavy Metal" albums:

Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy
Blue Öyster Cult Secret Treaties
Uriah Heep Demons and Wizards
AC/DC Back in Black
Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies
Aerosmith Toys in the Attic
Rush Fly by Night
Black Sabbath 4
AC/DC Highway to Hell
Drew Fisher
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bardberic View Drop Down
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I'm going to make another post here, since it is difficult for me to compare different subgenres of metal in a top ten list like this. So I am making three different lists with the top ten from each of my favorite metal categories. Prog and prog related metal, Doom and doom-related metal, and Death and Black metal.

Prog (adjacent):
1.) The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR, Orphaned Land (2010) [Israel]
2.) The Art of Life, X Japan (1993) [Japan]
3.) Exodus: Slaves for Life, Amaseffer (2008) [Israel]
4.) Strangers, Scardust (2020) [Israel]
5.) V: The New Mythology Suite, Symphony X (2000) [New Jersey, USA]
6.) In a Flesh Aquarium, Unexepct (2006) [Quebec, Canada]
7.) In Forgotten Sleep, Lör (2017) [Pennsylvania, USA]
8.) 殯――死へ耽る想いは戮辱すら喰らい、彼方の生を愛する為に命を讃える――。, Imperial Circus Dead Decadence (2022) [Japan]
9.) The Dot Above the Eye, Venus in Fear (2018) [Israel]
10.) Magma, Gojira (2016) [France/Pennsylvania, USA]

Honorable Mentions:
* Fishing for an Apparition, Iomair (2022) [Ontario, Canada]
* Humananke, Embrace of Disharmony (2017) [Italy]
* The Director's Cut, Fantômas (2001) [California, USA]
* Liquid Tension Experiment 2, Liquid Tension Experiment (1999) [New York, USA]

Doom (adjeacent); note that since Advaitic Songs is really only borderline metal, I have 11 listed here:
1.) Through Silver in Blood, Neurosis (1996) [California, USA]
2.) Lysol, Melvins (1992) [Washington state, USA]
3.) Amplifier Worship, Boris (1998) [Japan]
4.) Advaitic Songs, Om (2012) [California, USA]
5.) Transcendence Into the Peripheral, disEMBOWELMENT (1993) [Australia]
6.) El Norra Alila, Orphaned Land (1996) [Israel]
7.) קדישKaddish, Salem (1994) [Israel]
8.) Nighttime Stories, Pelican (2019) [Illlinois, USA]
9.) Nightfall, Candlemass (1987) [Sweden]
10.) Folium Limina, The Otolith (2022) [Utah, USA]
11.) Saint Vitus, Saint Vitus (1984) [California, USA]

Honorable Mentions:
* Dopesmoker, Sleep (2003) [California, USA]
* In the Name of Suffering, Eyehategod (1992) [Louisiana, USA]
* Foreverglade, Worm (2021) [Florida, USA]
* Primitive and Deadly, Earth (2014) [Washington state, USA]
* Electric Messiah, High on Fire (2018) [California, USA]

Death/Black Metal:
1.) Feathers and Flesh, Avatar (2016) [Sweden]
2.) Hidden History of the Human Race, Blood Incantation (2019) [Colorado, USA]
3.) Mental Funeral, Autopsy (1990) [California, USA]
4.) Moringrise, Opeth (1996) [Sweden]
5.) Annihilation of the Wicked, Nile (2005) [South Carolina, USA]
6.) Maestro, Winterhorde (2016) [Israel]
7.) Symbolic, Death (1995) [Florida, USA]
8.) King, Fleshgod Apocalypse (2016) [Italy]
9.) Graves of the Archangels, Dead Congregation (2008) [Greece]
10.) Hail Horror Hail, Sigh (1997) [Japan]

Honorable Mentions:
* Meanders, Anachronism (2023) [Switzerland]
* Bellum I, Aquilus (2021) [Australia]
* Skin Age, Odious (2015) [Egypt]

I think my list from earlier is more or less still fairly accurate enough.


Edited by bardberic - July 21 2023 at 15:31
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Metal is not my genre but I have a soft spot for a few bands. Here's my holy metal trinity:

Dream Theater - Images And Words
Shadow Gallery - Tyranny
Angra - Holy Land / Holy Live

From time to time I also like:
Ingwie Malmsteen - Rising Force / Concerto Suite
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non-prog, one-per-band, alphabetical order:

Agalloch - The Mantle
Cradle Of Filth - Cruelty And The Beast
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Estatic Fear - Somnium Obmutum
HIM - Venus Doom
Iron Maiden - Brave New World
Ministry - Filth Pig
My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours
Rammstein - Reise Reise
Subrosa - More Constant Than The Gods

there are also non-metal releases that I love, but by metal bands (Paradise Lost - Host, Deafheaven - Inifinte Granite, Metallica - Reload, etc), won't include these here
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Originally posted by Boi_da_boi_124 Boi_da_boi_124 wrote:

I can only give five because Metal is just NOT my genre, but I would say:

5. Vovoid - Nothingface

When Metal is just NOT your genre, I'm impressed with this one. Thumbs Up
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I can only give five because Metal is just NOT my genre, but I would say:

5. Vovoid - Nothingface
4. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
3. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
2. Edge of Sanity - Crimson
1. Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Edited by Boi_da_boi_124 - July 17 2023 at 13:38
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Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

Ah... got it. I get where you were coming from now. If you're referring to "Metal" as the next phase then that makes total sense however some of us do consider early Maiden and many others as "Metal" and not "Heavy Metal." It's an arbitrary line that we personalize i know. Any way. It's all good no matter what we call it :)


Yes, I think that the IM debut is still NWOBHM, Killers is on the edge, and everything after is “Metal”. More riff oriented. Scorpions might have beaten them to it with Blackout, which btw was the first record I ever bought.
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Originally posted by Nogbad_The_Bad Nogbad_The_Bad wrote:

I think we have reached the point of diminishing return here. I suggest that we cease this circular discussion and allow some people to post their top 10's unhindered by the back and forth. 


But Sir Ian, "Back And Forth" is in the true spirit of METAL!!!! Clown

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Originally posted by MikeEnRegalia MikeEnRegalia wrote:

Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

The claim was Kill Em All was the FIRST METAL ALBUM. Hardly.[/COLOR]


That was not my claim. First, I used conditional language - second, I put “Metal” in quotes, on purpose. Kill ‘em All was about 1983. It, together with many other albums of the early 80s, may have kicked off the third phase of metal. You mentioned Iron Maiden - they also changed notably in style. Compare their debut with Powerslave, and the difference between the phases might become more palpable.


Ah... got it. I get where you were coming from now. If you're referring to "Metal" as the next phase then that makes total sense however some of us do consider early Maiden and many others as "Metal" and not "Heavy Metal." It's an arbitrary line that we personalize i know. Any way. It's all good no matter what we call it :)

I can't possibly pick 10 albums of all-time. I probably couldn't even pick 100 so i'll have to abstain from the actual intent of this thread.

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The fact how much the music is based on Blues can't IMO be the central point of Metal definition because if it was, we couldn't 
distinguish between Metal and other very little Blues-based genres. 
As I see it, more central points are heavy, aggressive power-chord based riffs with a lot of distortion, specific rhythms 
and drumming styles.






Edited by David_D - July 18 2023 at 09:56
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I think we have reached the point of diminishing return here. I suggest that we cease this circular discussion and allow some people to post their top 10's unhindered by the back and forth. 
Ian

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Originally posted by siLLy puPPy siLLy puPPy wrote:

The claim was Kill Em All was the FIRST METAL ALBUM. Hardly.[/COLOR]


That was not my claim. First, I used conditional language - second, I put “Metal” in quotes, on purpose. Kill ‘em All was about 1983. It, together with many other albums of the early 80s, may have kicked off the third phase of metal. You mentioned Iron Maiden - they also changed notably in style. Compare their debut with Powerslave, and the difference between the phases might become more palpable.
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