Bang your head to 50 great albums.
 

Terrible title I know! The idea of this thread is to provide a countdown of my favourite 50 Metal albums. I have started a few fave album threads in various guises without attaining personal gratification but this is a genre I feel I can give justice to.

There is a small amount of criteria. I won't include bands that have adopted a Metal sound through their history so this would include artists as diverse as Porcupine Tree (who began life as a prog band) or D.R.I (who began as a Hardcore Punk Band).

I will however include every genre attatched to the metal genre no matter how splintered their sound may have become as long as the original sound was metal. Prog/Thrash/Death/Speed/trad etc are all included in this list.

I am hoping that a few albums that slipped through the net first time around may get more notice but also provide a 'fan's' list and not a cliched run down of the usual suspects.

Also the fact that a band is low down on the list shouldn't reduce it's merit as I have around 500 metal albums and it's a difficult task choosing!

Possessed (to an extent), Morbid Angel, Death and of course Obituary. All titans of the Death Metal scene but Obituary will always be one of the most distinctive and recognisable.

Obituary's sound always moved effortlessly from doomy sludgy riffs to speed bursts all topped with a genuinely unique vocalist in John Tardy whose voice is far removed from the cookie monster vocals of many bands that followed in their wake. I often get bored with near permanent doomy riffs or continuous speed so Obituary fit the mould perfectly balancing the two whilst also having a relatively clean sound which is not always the case in Death Metal.

When it comes to Death Metal you really do only need a handful of albums. This is one of them (terrible snare sound aside!).



Despite stating it's the original it's a re-recorded version they did a few years back but still killer.

No PM'S are available to all.

I have decided not to include any stoner rock and Anant Garde Metal if it comes from that background and uses metal riffs instead of a metal band using avant garde techniques (if that makes sense).

Onwards and upwards.


Well here we have some nu metal but this is no ordinary nu metal. For a start it's one of the earliest examples of the genre. It is also most certainly not groove based and the sampling and scratching used is an integral part of their sound and not just an add on to be used as a gimmick.

Senser were a part of the infamous 'Squat' bands who formed in squats in the ealy 90's and often had political agendas and played music with various genre styles.

Before the whole Rap/Metal hybrid became a walking cliche, Senser was making music with genuine attitude and a sound that borrowed as much from late 80's Hip Hop as it did Metal. What makes them so effective is the rapping of Heitham Al-Sayed and the melodic vocals of Kerstin Haigh giving each song an identity and not always a 'rapping over crunchy riff' banality. Many songs barely feature guitar at all adding another dimension.

Undeniably dated yet ridiculously forgotten with the explosion stateside of many inferior (IMO) bands with a Nu Metal tag, it still is very listenable and distinctive. I caught them live last year in a small 300 capacity club and they absolutely kicked ass after a hiatus whilst Kerstin Haigh bore children.

You may find this old hat but you have to remember the time it came out and at that time very few bands were fusing these genres and not many bands since have done it so well.

hearing that Obituary track made me whip out my only classic straight death metal album, 'Scream Bloody Gore', whicn i treasure. I will hassle you for a rink in due course if that's okay.

Senser are amazing, i take it they're british? old skool british hip hop is few and far between so that would be a real treat, they remind me alot of some of those early PE tracks where they sampled metal - the same hard-hitting raw politicking (made up word/spelling)
this is the best kind of thread you could have stickied, whatever happened to your history of thrash metal project? If that died a death it goes without saying i hope you will be incorporating it into this one

Green Carnation album/song is just fantastic except for the female vocals in the middle. Otherwise though it was a great ride.

Do you have the original version of Slowly We Rot?

Yes I do. An upload will be forthcoming.

Senser are indeed British but alas; I think only a few of us will like them due to the Hip Hop influences, compared to say Stinkin Fart who just add a few lines to each track and made bloody millions!

Can a mod clean this thread up a little please as it's turned into another bitchfest :(


It's happened again hasn't it? Yet another Metal album that balances musical dexterity with passion and intelligence get's completely overlooked. Probably because it's not deemed 'heavy' enough by the usual close minded crowd.

Imagine a combination of Opeth's more mellow moments, Porcupine Tree's juxtapostion of light and dark with a smattering of Tool without the obvious chugging riffs and you are half way there.

The album works more on mood and atmosphere than conventional riffs and is all the better for it. If you dislike metal due to the ill percieved simplicity and crass delivery then this album should change your mind.

Lyrically poignant and musically uplifting yet sombre, Anathema are a thinking mans Metal band who barely conform to the cliches associated with the genre.

Quite simply it is one of those albums that sneaks up on you and ensnares you it's eloquence and beauty.