I don't consider them metal, unless I was putting Leng Tch'e on there. Same with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Dog Fashion Disco, and all those bands, while they do incorporate metal elements, I wouldn't call them a metal band. To me, with their constant genre hopping, they're plain old experimental. Pretty much all those bands on the list can be pinned down to the metal end of things, while experimenting with other things. I'm sometimes even hesitant in calling Mr. Bungle's self titled a metal album because of that, but it is on the metal archives after all.

Naked City is an experimental band imo, although a case could be made for Painkiller, as their sound stems from heavy sludge riffs.

If you can call Mr. Bungle a metal album, Torture Garden is a metal album and a half. Perhaps Painkiller is more true to metal than NC.

:D Caught you before the edit. Great minds think alike.

I'd love to see Painkiller on that list.

What would yours be, out of curiosity?

Probably Guts of a Virgin. For Naked City, I'd say Torture Garden. My version came from a box set so that includes Leng Tch'e.

I meant if you were to come up with a top 10 for the survivor.

Mine could do without Arcturus, that was kind of a wildcard. I could change that one to Torture Garden.

I wouldn't be able to throw together a full list for avant-garde metal, my only exploration of the genre is primarily through John Zorn's many projects.

Of Zorn's projects I would certainly nominate Torture Garden as fair game, there are some very metal moments weaved into most of the album, maybe John Zorn's recent album Psychomagia, Moonchild's Songs Without Words, three pretty excellent albums.

Outside of Zorn's convoluted world maybe Ministry's Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs. Although it seems rather tame in light of Zorn's work I'd say it's experimental enough to make the list if Celtic Frost is going to be there too. I'm a huge fan of Rekombinacja's Domestic Props, which may be unreasonably obscure next to the rest of the albums on the final list, but it's an amazing technical feat I'd love to see included.

If you're interested in hearing it: REKOMBINACJA - Domestic Props - NKS prod 114 [experimental metal breakcore cybergrind glitch noise from Poland/Wroclaw]

Otherwise I think that's pretty much all I've got to add in terms of experimental metal.

EDIT: Would be nice to see Gridlink's Longhena too.

Oh I getcha. Some of the same albums from your list.

1. Naked City - Torture Garden
2. Gorguts - Obscura
3. Ehnahre - The Man Closing Up
4. maudlin of the Well - Bath
5. Celtic Frost - Monotheist
6. Fantomas - Fantomas
7. Fushitsusha - Hikari to Nazuyeko
8. Painkiller - Guts of a Virgin
9. Ulcerate - Vermis
10. The Body - All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood

So I edited the list to include Torture Garden (which itself is including Leng Tch'e), and I honestly think it's a pretty definitive list for avant garde metal.

Totally forgot about Obscura though.

I figured stuff like The Body and Ehnahre would be too obscure