The Top Ten Metal Albums -- Ever!

The Batlord · 09-09-2014, 12:34 PM

**** me. I have no idea how to pick a favorite. I didn't even really know about choosing ten. **** it, I'll just go with Bathory's Hammerheart. I'll be as satisfied with that as anything.

Unknown Soldier · 09-09-2014, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Um, this isn't working. So far I've about 100 different albums, many of which I have never even heard of. I had hoped most people would have at least one or two albums the same so I could start ranking them, but this way it's never going to happen. Not that I don't respect your choices, but I don't feel I'll be able to whittle this down to a top ten.

So let's try this:

Your Top 10 CLASSIC Heavy Metal albums.

Criteria: they must either have nudged into the mainstream charts a little, they must be relatively well known or at least known outside the genre (Motorhead, Priest, Maiden, Metallica et al) and they must be known and respected within the genre.

I know, it cuts out a lot of favourites but I don't see another way to do this. I need some sort of consensus so I can pick the top albums. Either that or I'll present a list of fifty or whatever and you can only pick from those. I know it won't be a really true representation of the wide, varied and in some cases obscure (though no less good) tastes of some of our metal gurus here, but for the purposes of my "chart" and so that Metal Month II doesn't end up getting pushed back ten years, I think this is the way to do it.

If anyone has any suggestions then I'm open to them. If it doesn't work I guess it's no big deal; it's just an idea anyway.

You need to remember the average age of this forum, meaning that for most younger members their metal really starts in the 90s and 00s which means that most will be into extreme metal, its numerous sub-genres and metal fusions with other types of music. Therefore I'd expect most people's lists to be very different and diverse. Most people don't really pay attention to chart position or hit singles anymore, as the internet has blown everything wide open.

I think I've mentioned this to you before, but metal is just too vast now after 40 years for people to really pigeon hole bands and have a vast enough knowledge to create the type of list you're looking for.

I'd say you're better off getting people to do lists either by the decade or by metal sub-genre, it's the only way you'll get any real focus.

Trollheart · 09-09-2014, 02:07 PM

Yeah I know. On the face of it, dumb idea. Oh well. Probably just leave it then; no point creating EVEN MORE work than I already have set out for myself!

Isbjørn · 09-09-2014, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Yeah I know. On the face of it, dumb idea. Oh well. Probably just leave it then; no point creating EVEN MORE work than I already have set out for myself!

Gotta set limits for yourself. Don't wear yourself out, man! It doesn't matter all that much for us others on the forum, but for you, the man behind the project, it can easily lead to exhaustion. And exhaustion sucks.

Trollheart · 09-09-2014, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Briks

Gotta set limits for yourself. Don't wear yourself out, man! It doesn't matter all that much for us others on the forum, but for you, the man behind the project, it can easily lead to exhaustion. And exhaustion sucks.

It does that. And I've already plenty to work on. Gotta stop shooting for the stars, I know. Rein it in, Trollheart: rein it in...

AndrewZealand · 09-12-2014, 03:02 AM

Looking at some of the other lists and noting my ignorance of most of the bands listed, it's clear that I'm NOT a metal head. Well, anyway......

Oldest to newest:-

Black Sabbath's PARANOID (1970)
AC/DC's HIGH VOLTAGE (1975)
UFO's LIGHTS OUT (1977)
IRON MAIDEN (1980)
Judas Priest's BRITISH STEEL (1980)
Queensryche's RAGE FOR ORDER (1986)
AC/DC LIVE (1992)
The Offspring's SMASH (1994)
Manic Street Preachers' THE HOLY BIBLE (1994)
Steve Vai's FIRE GARDEN (1996)

Isbjørn · 09-12-2014, 03:43 AM

Psst... The Offspring is a pop punk band...

Zer0 · 09-12-2014, 01:22 PM

Not quite sure what's going on with this thread now but I want to do a top ten anyway. I'm keeping it one album per artist.

10. Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler
The peak of their black metal era. The perfect blend of atmospheric black metal and dark folk.

9. Sabbat - Dreamweaver
The English band not the Japanese band. Has some mind-bending lyrics inspired by Wyrdism and paganism and some great riffs courtesy of Andy Sneap. Thinking man's thrash metal.

8. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
A progressive metal masterpiece that I haven't grown tired of after nine years. This is Opeth at the peak of their game.

7. Slayer - Reign in Blood
The first metal album to both genuinely frighten me and make me think "this is friggin' badass!" You can read a review of it in my journal here.

6. Death - Human
I had a tough time deciding on a Death album. This album is the perfect introduction to death metal. It's relatively accessible in terms of the genre yet has amazing depth. This is the band at their most focused and best.

5. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
The best thing to come out of Norwegian black metal. It took the genre into a more adventurous and atmospheric territory with long compositions and some dark ambient electronica. Read my journal review here.

4. The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand
Residing at the meeting points of drone, doom metal and shoegaze. Probably the heaviest album in my music collection. Not solely in terms of crushing, speaker-destroying guitars, but also in terms of soul-sucking emotion.

3. Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics...
The choice between this and Dopethrone was tight, but I just love the guitar sound on this album. It's like being pinned to the ground by some invisible force as the sky above you turns red.

2. Bathory - Blood Fire Death
How do you know whether you love extreme metal or not? Listen to this album, turn the volume up so loud your ears start to itch and you will soon find out.

1. Iron Maiden - Live After Death
I could have gone with Powerslave but I decided to go with the live album they recorded during the Powerslave tour. To me this album represents Maiden at their 80's peak and is a damn perfect slice of heavy metal. Then there's that artwork. Just look at it. Iron ****ing Maiden.

Unknown Soldier · 09-12-2014, 02:02 PM

Well done Zero, even more albums that Trollheart won't know.

**Frownland** · 09-12-2014, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zer0

Not quite sure what's going on with this thread now but I want to do a top ten anyway. I'm keeping it one album per artist.

10. Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler
The peak of their black metal era. The perfect blend of atmospheric black metal and dark folk.

Totally forgot about this album. I'm amending my list to show how much I love it.

09-09-2014, 02:07 PM	#23 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Yeah I know. On the face of it, dumb idea. Oh well. Probably just leave it then; no point creating EVEN MORE work than I already have set out for myself! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

09-12-2014, 03:02 AM	#26 (permalink)
AndrewZealand Groupie Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 14	Looking at some of the other lists and noting my ignorance of most of the bands listed, it's clear that I'm NOT a metal head. Well, anyway...... Oldest to newest:- Black Sabbath's PARANOID (1970) AC/DC's HIGH VOLTAGE (1975) UFO's LIGHTS OUT (1977) IRON MAIDEN (1980) Judas Priest's BRITISH STEEL (1980) Queensryche's RAGE FOR ORDER (1986) AC/DC LIVE (1992) The Offspring's SMASH (1994) Manic Street Preachers' THE HOLY BIBLE (1994) Steve Vai's FIRE GARDEN (1996) Last edited by AndrewZealand; 09-12-2014 at 03:10 AM.

09-12-2014, 03:43 AM	#27 (permalink)
Isbjørn cooler commie than elph Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: In a hole, help Posts: 2,811	Psst... The Offspring is a pop punk band... __________________ fast(ml) Hear me play the guitar Look, mom! I got a journal

09-12-2014, 01:22 PM	#28 (permalink)
Zer0 ∞ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 3,792	Not quite sure what's going on with this thread now but I want to do a top ten anyway. I'm keeping it one album per artist. 10. Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler The peak of their black metal era. The perfect blend of atmospheric black metal and dark folk. 9. Sabbat - Dreamweaver The English band not the Japanese band. Has some mind-bending lyrics inspired by Wyrdism and paganism and some great riffs courtesy of Andy Sneap. Thinking man's thrash metal. 8. Opeth - Ghost Reveries A progressive metal masterpiece that I haven't grown tired of after nine years. This is Opeth at the peak of their game. 7. Slayer - Reign in Blood The first metal album to both genuinely frighten me and make me think "this is friggin' badass!" You can read a review of it in my journal here. 6. Death - Human I had a tough time deciding on a Death album. This album is the perfect introduction to death metal. It's relatively accessible in terms of the genre yet has amazing depth. This is the band at their most focused and best. 5. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss The best thing to come out of Norwegian black metal. It took the genre into a more adventurous and atmospheric territory with long compositions and some dark ambient electronica. Read my journal review here. 4. The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand Residing at the meeting points of drone, doom metal and shoegaze. Probably the heaviest album in my music collection. Not solely in terms of crushing, speaker-destroying guitars, but also in terms of soul-sucking emotion. 3. Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics... The choice between this and Dopethrone was tight, but I just love the guitar sound on this album. It's like being pinned to the ground by some invisible force as the sky above you turns red. 2. Bathory - Blood Fire Death How do you know whether you love extreme metal or not? Listen to this album, turn the volume up so loud your ears start to itch and you will soon find out. 1. Iron Maiden - Live After Death I could have gone with Powerslave but I decided to go with the live album they recorded during the Powerslave tour. To me this album represents Maiden at their 80's peak and is a damn perfect slice of heavy metal. Then there's that artwork. Just look at it. Iron **ing Maiden. __________________ Last FM \| RYM \| The Final Sound**