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traxan
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 6:52 pm
Posts: 1434
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 12:48 am 
 

So what is everyone's absolute Top 10 albums? Mine:

1) Testament, "The Gathering"
2) Overkill, "Ironbound"
3) Motorhead "No Sleep til Hammersmith"
4) Soilwork, "Natural Born Chaos"
5) Slayer, "World Painted Blood"
6) Shadow, s/t
7) Nevermore, "This Godless Endeavor"
8) Silver Talon, "Decadence and Decay"
9) Nightwish, "Once"
10) Aldious, "Deep Exceed"

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Oxenkiller
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Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:42 am
Posts: 3607
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 12:51 am 
 

I'd say Testament "The Legacy" and Slayer's "Reign in Blood" would be on my list for sure. Interesting picks from those bands. I don't really know much of Nightwish, Aldious, or Silver Talon so I can't comment.

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nephilim80
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:49 am
Posts: 233
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 3:14 am 
 

Something like this
1. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans
2. Metallica - And Justice For All
3. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
4. Judas Priest - Painkiller
5. Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
6. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
7. Slayer - Hell Awaits
8. Cult of Luna - Salvation
9. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
10. Cradle of Filth - Dusk and Her Embrace
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democracyiscringe
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2023 5:44 pm
Posts: 183
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 4:33 am 
 

Dio - Last in Line (the perfect commercial 80s metal album? maybe.)
Burzum - DSEV (HLTO has its charms, but this just has more going on musically to my ears)
Grim Reaper - See You in Hell (the perfect raw, close-to-no-budget 80s metal album. Besides some stiff competition from Venom, Omen, Manilla Road, Slayer's debut, Maiden's debut, blah blah... Anyway! "Recorded in one take" spontaneity in every song. Truly great vox from a singer who would probably be considered up there with the greats if his band lasted longer, and if he had "the look.")
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules (the best "80s metal" album ever released by a 60s/70s metal band. Is there a more sonically heavy 1981 release? That's rhetorical. The answer is no. Welcome to Hell comes close but not quite actually. You're not playing Mob Rules loud enough if you disagree.)
Graveland - Carpathian Wolves (lugubrious nocturnal forest BM stuff from a band that never got exactly "bad," but who would never really get this wild and rabid again)
Emperor - ...Nightside... (nuff said)
Ulver - Nattens Madrigal (as "uncool" as they're considered now, I sorta see this as the platonic ideal of late 90s black metal. Lots of peaks and valleys despite its musical simplicity. Palpable bloodthirst and hunger. Very 'talkative', folky basslines give everything an extra dimension you don't hear in its [also great] immediate stylistic ancestors, like Darkthrone's TH.)
Peste Noire - La Sanie... (probably the most convincing BM release of the 2000s)
Iron Maiden - Powerslave (the ultimate lead guitar album? maybe. it's also got great songs to boot)
Guttural Engorgement - The Slow Decay of Infested Flesh (disgustingly heavy BDM/slam right before the genre became some sort of self-conscious ironic jokey haha thing)

Or something. Plenty of glaring omissions. Limited to metal; my "metal and everything else" list would be about 40% different.


Last edited by democracyiscringe on Sat Mar 16, 2024 4:48 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Benedict Donald
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Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:36 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:08 am 
 

1) Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
2) My Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans
3) Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
4) Queensryche - Mindcrime
5) Overkill - Years Of Decay
6) Mercyful Fate - Melissa
7) Black Sabbath - Sabotage
8) Judas Priest - Stained Class
9) Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind
10) Ozzy - "Diary Of A Madman"


Last edited by Benedict Donald on Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
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lordcatfish
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
Posts: 1458
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:36 am 
 

Something like this I guess. If I was including all genres, then only Follow the Reaper would have a chance of a look in.

Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper
First heard this over 20 years ago, and it still blows my mind when I listen to it now. Incredibly atmospheric, with so many memorable and catchy melodies woven around the riffs.

Kreator - Coma of Souls
This album is a bit of a battering ram - just wall to wall grade A riffs and lead work.

Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Shows an immense growth and maturity from Kill 'Em All, with a diversification of sound and a great flow to the album. There's a reason they used this as a template for the next few records.

Edguy - Hellfire Club
Tobias Sammet's songwriting peak, bringing in some hard rock influence whilst retaining their power metal core. He and the band also bring their A game performance wise, backed up by some beefy production.

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
There was something really special about this line up. I think the chemistry really shows in the performances and song writing. The guitar tone is also a thing of beauty, elevating Randy's already exceptional playing. Shout out to Bob Daisley too for his work on bass.

Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Not sure why this one sticks out above all of Maiden's other work. They have such a strong catalogue. Here, the hits are hits for a reason, the deep cuts are fantastic (Invaders chorus aside… but I can live with it), it flows really well and has a good energy to it.

Black Sabbath - Sabotage
The pinnacle of their '70s experimentation. Mixes riff driven songs like Hole in the Sky and Symptom of the Universe with more expansive stuff like The Writ and Megalomania. The Thrill Of It All might be the ultimate Sabbath deep cut. Also, this is Ozzy's vocal peak.

Slayer - South of Heaven
The change of pace really works, with the slower tracks having a gloomy aura about them. The fast stuff is high quality, as was par for the course with classic Slayer. Also has one of the best drum productions and performances of any metal album I've heard

Cradle of Filth - Midian
An effective mix of superb guitar work and a murky, filthy (for lack of a better term) and at times savage atmosphere. Dani delivers the goods both vocally and lyrically.

Type O Negative - World Coming Down
Devastatingly heavy, but also melodic and beautiful. It really encapsulates depression as I have experienced it.
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ColdWindRider
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:01 am 
 

It hasn't changed for years (apart from last two albums):

Bathory - Hammerheart
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
King Diamond - Abigail
Death - Individual Thought Patterns
Dark Angel - Darkness Descends
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Judas Priest - Stained Class

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nightbreaker33
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:02 am 
 

1) Ostrogoth - Feelings of Fury
2) Scanner - Terminal Earth
3) Leviticus - Setting Fire to The Earth
4) Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite
5) The Lord Weird Slough Feg - New Organon
6) Taym Aut - Prometheus
7) Magnit - Dies Irae
8) Lynx - Watcher of Skies
9) Lynx - Caught In A Trap
10) Heavy Load - Stronger Than Evil
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Bronze Age
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Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2022 11:55 pm
Posts: 678
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:37 am 
 

These are always tough to answer.

Scanner - Hypertrace
Mekong Delta - Mekong Delta
Agent Steel - Unstoppable Force
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Impelliteri - Screaming Symphony
Virgin Steele - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part 1
Angra - Angel's Cry
Gamma Ray - Land of the Free
Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth
Riot - Born in America

I just realized I left Priest off. I told myself 'not Painkiller, decide on a 70's album' but I just kept typing. Oh well, we all know these lists aren't perfect.

I think this thread will be interesting especially with the age differences. I am seeing some 90's picks that reminded me of meeting people who preferred the Star Wars prequels.


Last edited by Bronze Age on Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
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MetlaNZ
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:40 am 
 

A near impossible task but here's today's Top 10:

Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
Mercyful Fate - Melissa
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Manilla Road - Open The Gates
Death - Leprosy
Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Danzig - Danzig
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Pentagram - Day Of Reckoning

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Evil Entity
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2023 5:31 am
Posts: 122
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:47 am 
 

1. Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer
2. Judas Priest - Painkiller
3. Motörhead - Bastards
4. Accept - Death Row
5. Thin Lizzy - Thunder & Lightning
6. W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol
7. Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
8. Danzig - II: Lucifuge
9. King Diamond - Them
10. Overkill - W.F.O.

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Marken
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2016 8:09 am
Posts: 103
Location: Norway
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:39 am 
 

Hmm...

1. Morgana Lefay - Grand Materia
2. Dark Tranquillity - Haven
3. Riot - Thundersteel
4. Lost Horizon - Awekening the World
5. Metal Church - Blessing In Disguise
6. Vicious Rumors - Digital Dictator
7. Dirty Looks - Cool from the Wire
8. Scanner - Hypertrace
9. Artillery - By Inheritance
10. Lethal - Programmed

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MorbidEarth
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:39 am
Posts: 506
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 12:12 pm 
 

Always a hard question to answer but this is what it is at the moment:

1. Metallica - Ride The Lightning
2. Carcass - Heartwork
3. Judas Priest - Stained Class
4. Opeth - Blackwater Park
5. Power Trip - Nightmare Logic
6. Kreator - Pleasure To Kill
7. Sepultura - Arise
8. Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
9. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
10. Slayer - South Of Heaven

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SanPeron
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:56 pm
Posts: 980
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 12:26 pm 
 

Pantera - Cowboys from Hell
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Slayer - South of Heaven
Motörhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith
Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme
Death - Scream Bloody Gore
Sepultura - Arise
Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops
Cannibal Corpse - Butchered at Birth
Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten

I don't think this is objectively true as the top 10 metal albums of all time, that is not a possible task to do and is a laughable matter, but these are the albums that I have heard the most in my life. I don't listen to some of them too much anymore, but it's a more realistic approach to my top ten of all time, than throwing newer names for the sake of doing a more interesting list.

Edit: I replaced Soundgarden - Superunknown and Alice in Chains - Dirt with Slayer and Black Sabbath because even if Alice and SG are awesome bands, they aren't pure metal, they fall more into the grunge scene. So, my new top could be something like this.
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Last edited by SanPeron on Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:41 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Reid
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:33 pm
Posts: 580
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 12:42 pm 
 

This could easily change slightly month-to-month, but the first half would stay pretty consistent...

1. Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath
The apex of what heavy metal is, IMO. Aggressive, dark, slightly progressive, each track stands on its own and comes together as a whole perfectly.

2. Bathory - s/t debut
Picking this or Hammerheart as my favorite Bathory LP is tough, but I have to give the edge to this.

3. Type O Negative - October Rust
Arguably Type O's least "metal" release, but easily my favorite. One of the best production jobs in metal history.

4. Judas Priest - Unleashed In The East
Best live album ever, listening to this repeatedly on morning bus rides during high school is indelibly etched into my memory.

5. Sodom - Agent Orange
My first Sodom album and the best thrash LP ever.

6. Candlemass - Nightfall
Choosing between this one or the debut is another tough one, but everything came together for me on this release.

7. Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera
The band was at its best here: Thomen's drumming, the lead guitar work, songwriting, Hansi's vocals--and the production is over-the-top but works so well.

8. Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless
The absolute pinnacle of grindcore.

9. Death - Human
Has been my favorite Death album and death metal album overall for quite some time, the perfect mix between their more straightforwardly brutal early years and the progressive sounds that followed.

10. Voivod - Dimension Hatross
One of those albums that's so good but so strange it really does sound like it was recorded by aliens.

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Defenestrated
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2022 1:50 pm
Posts: 295
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 1:28 pm 
 

Without repeating bands:

Opeth - Blackwater Park
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness
Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
Neurosis - The Eye Of Every Storm
The Ruins Of Beverast - Rain Upon The Impure
Meshuggah - Chaosphere*
Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing*

This is obviously personal in the extreme (lots of gateway/formative albums, albums with important memories attached), but I tried to keep things reasonably "objective" (in terms of critical acclaim etc.) and representative of most of my preferred genres.

*Metal status questionable. (Discharge = punk? Meshuggah = djent?) If needed, alternative selections would be Darkthrone's Transilvanian Hunger followed by, oh, Nile's In Their Darkened Shrines.

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brain hammer
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:55 pm
Posts: 174
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 1:59 pm 
 

Gun to my head, going by the gut:

01. Judas Priest - Stained Class
02. Slayer - Reign In Blood
03. Van Halen - S/T
04. Scorpions - Taken By Force
05. Mercyful Fate - Melissa
06. Fates Warning - The Spectre Within
07. Exodus - Bonded By Blood
08. Motörhead - Overkill
09. Metal Church - S/T
10. Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 1

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LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
Posts: 2288
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 2:04 pm 
 

Kamelot - The Black Halo
Nightwish - Oceanborn
Type O Negative - October Rust
Cradle of Filth - Dusk and Her Embrace
The Gathering - Nighttime Birds
Therion - Secret of the Runes
Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica
Theatre of Tragedy - Aégis
Blind Guardian - Tales From the Twilight World
Moonspell - Irreligious

I'd say the first three are in the correct order. It's hard to rank after that but these are the metal albums I can listen to ad naseum without ever getting sick of them.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35140
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 4:24 pm 
 

Tough to narrow it down, but here's 10...

1. Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time - magisterial songs, just the band cooking on full power
2. Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction - the best riffs, songs, attitude - a spellbinding tour de force
3. Slough Feg - Down Among the Deadmen - some more of the best riffs ever, maybe the best trad metal album outside the 80s
4. Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding - individual, atmospheric, aggressive, what else do ya need
5. Savatage - Edge of Thorns - emotional, bluesy metal with power and heart
6. Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild - a sensitive and striking listen
7. The Chasm - The Spell of Retribution - death metal done up to 11 - some of the best riffs and most towering atmospheric moments
8. Tad Morose - Undead - mysterious, arcane power metal that grooves and rages by turns
9. Seasons of the Wolf - Once In a Blue Moon - old school 70s style stuff that becomes timeless through the songwriting
10. Edguy - Age of the Joker - a bunch of their most inimitable, individual songs ever
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Ivan Drago
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Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:10 pm
Posts: 289
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 4:44 pm 
 

I could so this again next week and come up with a mostly different list, and not even going to try putting them in an order

Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Rhapsody - Power of the Dragonflame
Death - Symbolic
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
Cynic - Traced in Air
Vektor - Terminal Redux
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Faith No More - King for a Day
Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden

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gabber
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 11:57 pm
Posts: 507
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:02 pm 
 

I've actually got an elaborate rating/ranking system. I use iTunes, I've utilised the 'hack' for half star ratings and with this I rate all albums, songs, bands etc.

My top 10 (and I'm counting Rush as metal here)

1. Rush - Hemispheres
2. Iron Maiden - Number Of The Beast
3. Rush - Power Windows
4. Manowar - Kings Of Metal
5. Bathory - Hammerheart
6. King Diamond - Fatal Portrait
7. Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
8. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
9. Metallica - Master Of Puppets
10. Helloween - Keeper Of The 7 Keys Part 2

If you do want to exclude Rush, then the next two are Maiden's 7th Son and Candlemass' Ancient Dreams.
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MetlaNZ
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:45 pm
Posts: 2692
Location: Lost in Necropolis
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 7:09 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
Tough to narrow it down, but here's 10...

1. Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time - magisterial songs, just the band cooking on full power
2. Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction - the best riffs, songs, attitude - a spellbinding tour de force
3. Slough Feg - Down Among the Deadmen - some more of the best riffs ever, maybe the best trad metal album outside the 80s
4. Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding - individual, atmospheric, aggressive, what else do ya need
5. Savatage - Edge of Thorns - emotional, bluesy metal with power and heart
6. Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild - a sensitive and striking listen
7. The Chasm - The Spell of Retribution - death metal done up to 11 - some of the best riffs and most towering atmospheric moments
8. Tad Morose - Undead - mysterious, arcane power metal that grooves and rages by turns
9. Seasons of the Wolf - Once In a Blue Moon - old school 70s style stuff that becomes timeless through the songwriting
10. Edguy - Age of the Joker - a bunch of their most inimitable, individual songs ever

Fuckin cool list Emp. Would've loved to have put Down Among The Deadmen on my list coz it had a huge and lasting impact on me when it came out.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35140
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 8:16 pm 
 

Yeah - fuck I should've added Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion instead of one of those, possibly Edguy. But there's always too many choices. That was just 10 albums I've loved for at least over a decade just plucked out of my brain.
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Benedict Donald
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Posts: 3052
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:31 pm 
 

ColdWindRider wrote:
It hasn't changed for years (apart from last two albums):

Bathory - Hammerheart
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
King Diamond - Abigail
Death - Individual Thought Patterns
Dark Angel - Darkness Descends
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Judas Priest - Stained Class


A fantastic list.

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CelestialEmissary
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2023 8:19 pm
Posts: 51
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:28 pm 
 

Tough question but I'll give it a shot:
In no particular order:
Riot-Thundersteel
Carcass-Necroticism
Bolt Thrower-For Victory
Death-Individual Thought Patterns
Bathory-S/T
Darkthrone-Panzerfaust
Morbid Angel-Altars of Madness
Danzig-Danzig II: Lucifuge
Black Sabbath-Heaven and Hell
Iron Maiden-Somewhere In Time
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rarezuzuh
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Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:33 pm
Posts: 217
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:06 pm 
 

Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath
Mystifier - Goetia
Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon
Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Panopticon - Kentucky
Gorgoroth - Pentagram
Pentagram - Relentless
Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä



This was an easy list to make, but would be an impossible one to perfect. I'm almost certain it would be slightly different from month to month, with only the top few remaining solidly in place.

I did give myself a few rules though.

1. Only one album per band, just feels right.
2. I have to have loved the album for several years at least. There are multiple new or new to me albums that I feel could end up on my top ten, but they'll have to wait their turn.
3. I need to have some kind of emotional connection with the album. It needs to make me feel something that other albums can't.

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Opus
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Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4258
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:26 pm 
 

I see some people have good taste in music.

Tad Morose - Undead
Morgana Lefay - Grand Materia
Falconer - s/t
Lost Horizon - Awakening the World
Nocturnal Rites - The Sacred Talisman
Riot - Thundersteel
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
Samson - Before the Storm
Trow in some Death and King Diamond at the end.
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hells_unicorn
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:31 pm 
 

Over the years I've grown more averse to making Top 10 or 20 lists because I always end up second guessing myself, even if I distilled down to one specific sub-genre and not metal as an entire genre. So I'm going to take this opportunity to pick one favorite album out of different sub-genres (excluding grindcore and metalcore/deathcore as I haven't really followed them to a great enough degree to make a proper selection).

1. Dio - Dream Evil (probably an unlikely choice in light of the rest of Dio's classic entries, but for me this combined the brilliance of Ronnie's amazing vocals and Craig Goldy's masterful guitar work, not to mention the best instrumental input from the rest of the band)

2. Lost Horizon - Awakening The World (this was the apex of the 2nd wave of power metal, hands down; it just leans in on every aspect of what made the movement great while also avoiding many of the excesses, which is why I put this one slightly ahead of their second album, which is otherwise equally perfect)

3. Overkill - The Years Of Decay (this is basically the perfect blend of kinetic, impact-based thrash metal with a mildly progressive sense of stylistic eclecticism, oh and Blitz's vocals are why I chose this over a lot of truly amazing Bay Area and Teutonic albums)

4. Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten (it's odd because overall I'm more of a Florida and Stockholm fan when it comes to old school death metal, but for me this album perfectly blends all 3 of the elements that I truly love about death metal: brutality, technicality and speed)

5. Queensryche - The Warning (This is sort of an odd pick for a progressive release given how heavily in line with USPM and earlier heavy metal practices, but every song on this just works on every level and it's tough to top Geoff Tate in his prime)

6. Ensiferum - Ensiferum (to me this is the end all, be all of the folk metal craze, it has a slight remnant of that rawness from before the style full emerged from its 90s roots into a more clearly distinct sub-genre from the hybrid black/folk approach common to said period)

7. Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark (I still can't believe that this thing came out back in 1987, Quorthon all but codified what would become the 90s black metal sound about 5 years before the second wave truly exploded)

8. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (from a musical standpoint, one could argue that the Marcolin albums were more full developed, but there is just some sort of mystique about the combination of this album's rustic, 80s character and Johan Längquist's anguishing bellow that keeps me coming back to it)

9. Skyfire - Timeless Departure (as far as melodic death metal goes, this album perfectly merges a number of niches that were either common just before or soon after it came out, in many ways it more closely resembles the ultra-consonant power metal character of Children Of Bodom's early sound, but it also plays heavily into that extremely atmospheric and melancholic sound of late 90s Dark Tranquillity, as well as makes some early strides into the progressive and symphonic melodeath that would later be explored on Wintersun's self-titled album and, to an extent, Persefone and Ne Obliviscaris)

10. Rhapsody Of Fire - Symphony Of Enchanted Lands (there are scores of symphonic albums out there that are almost as good, with special note of Nightwish's Oceanborn on one end of the spectrum and Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse on the more extreme side, but this was a life-changing album for me and also one that I regard as almost completely distinct from the rest of the principle 2nd wave power metal bands following either the Helloween Keepers albums or the Grave Digger-inspired speed metal approach. In short, it taught me to let my nerd flag fly without an iota of shame)

Note: These are not in any particular order, and there are several other albums that I could throw in as honorable mentions from Iron Maiden's Somewhere In Time to Dark Angel's Darkness Descends. One of the reasons why I've grown to dislike doing these lists just a tad.
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Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4258
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:36 pm 
 

nightbreaker33 wrote:
9) Lynx - Caught In A Trap

That really is a good album. But for early Swedish one album bands I'd go for Proud. Or maybe Universe.

nightbreaker33 wrote:
8) Lynx - Watcher of Skies

:lol: And a completely different Lynx. What are the odds?
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Coastliner
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:49 am
Posts: 655
Location: beyond the blue on some ancient, tattered Fates Warning cover
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 4:00 am 
 

Only one album per band, alphabetical and excluding Rush, Deep Purple and similar borderline bands.

Black Sabbath – Headless Cross
Celtic Frost – Into the Pandemonium
Fates Warning – Awaken the Guardian
Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time
Judas Priest – Sin after Sin
Metallica – Master of Puppets
Queensrÿche – Rage for Order
Savatage – Hall of the Mountain King
Slayer – Reign in Blood
Voivod – Nothingface

PS: In a previous discussion I chose "British Steel" instead of "Sin after Sin". I wonder where that brain fart came from as "Sin after Sin" has been my favourite Priest album since the 80s. That must have been a slip of the mouse or something.
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ChoujuX
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 2:05 pm
Posts: 42
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 9:25 am 
 

1.) Theocracy - Mosaic
2.) DragonForce - The Power Within
3.) Jorn - Spirit Black
4.) Deliverance - Weapons of Our Warfare
5.) Dio - Dream Evil
6.) Skid Row - Skid Row
7.) Dream Theater - Images and Words
8.) Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer
9.) Judas Priest - Turbo
10.) Trivium - The Crusade

First two have near-perfect discographies, but I went with the albums I play the most.

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ChoujuX
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 2:05 pm
Posts: 42
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 9:25 am 
 

oops double post


Last edited by ChoujuX on Sun Mar 17, 2024 9:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Xytras71
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:57 am
Posts: 485
Location: Toronto, Canada
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:06 am 
 

We’ve had a similar thread during the Pandemic. I dug it out and seems no changes as far as my top 10 go. So copy and paste for me:

10. Iron Maiden - Killers
9. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Satanas
8. Suffocation - Pierced From Within
7. Entombed - Clandestine
6. Death - Spiritual Healing
5. Slayer - Show No Mercy
4. Judas Priest - Sin After Sin
3. Immolation - Unholy Cult
2. Morbid Angel - Covenant
1. King Diamond - Conspiracy

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MorbidSaint69
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:42 pm
Posts: 22
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 11:58 am 
 

In no particular order because I love them all:

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
Cryptopsy - None So Vile
Kreator - Terrible Certainty
Eternal Champion - The Armor of Ire
Opeth - Orchid
Discharge - Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing
Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
Bathory - Blood on Ice
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops

It was hard not to make this a top 10 Black Sabbath albums list lol.

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HelluvaGuy
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2023 4:59 pm
Posts: 38
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:55 pm 
 

Metallica - Master of Puppets
Megadeth - Rust In Peace
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
Alice In Chains - Dirt
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
Sevendust - Animosity
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
Savatage - Edge of Thorns
Slayer - Reign in Blood

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Horned_Owl_Holocaust
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:04 am
Posts: 301
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 3:59 pm 
 

The more I thought about it the harder it got. Couldn't get it under 15 and even then there's at least 5 honorable mentions that would be near equal with many of these. Basically just albums that have stuck with me from the time I heard them and never lost their grip.

Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond
Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Lost Horizon -A Flame to the Ground Beneath
Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death
Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
Agalloch - Pale Folklore
Lacuna Coil - Comalies
Dark Tranquility - Character
Into Eternity - Buried in Oblivion
Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper
Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing
Paradise Lost -In Requiem
Hypocrisy - Abducted
Skullfist - Chasing the Dream

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Ghost of Christmas Last
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:37 pm
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 4:05 pm 
 

Sure I could throw together a list of 10 but at the same time there are several albums which to me are absolutely timeless - the list is always open to expansion however. Maybe a better way of framing this would be that my top 10 is still in progress, although I can never see myself ranking them either. Thus in no particular order I nominate:

The Chasm - The Spell of Retribution
Vital Remains - Forever Underground
Shaarimoth - Temple of the Adversarial Fire
Skáphe - Skáphe³

All arguably sound unique and also without any clear imitators down the line.

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darthlazy
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:59 pm
Posts: 117
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:02 pm 
 

I believe it is nearly impossible for me to list my top 10 all time albums, but I can list 10 albums that most certainly put me on the road to where I am today. I have the utmost respect and love for these records each uniquely, and could never imagine not having them in my life.

Corrosion of Conformity- Blind
Prong- Beg To Differ
Metal Church- Blessing In Disguise
Faith No More- King For A Day
Acid Bath- When The Kite String Pops
Trouble- S/T
Unleashed- Where No Life Dwells
Morbid Angel- Altars of Madness
Metallica- ...And Justice For All
King Diamond- Conspiracy

I also was following the hair/glam scene as a youngster, and could easily comprise a list of records from those bands that were equally personal to me, but I'm sure there is another thread for that already :lol:

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j_bentley12885
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:01 pm
Posts: 385
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:08 pm 
 

1) Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
2) Motorhead - Orgasmatron
3) Rainbow - Rising
4) Poison Idea - Feel the Darkness
5) AC/DC - Powerage
6) Iron Maiden - Killers
7) Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
8) Germs - GI
9) Gnawed - Purge
10) Metallica - Master of Puppets (had I not heard this in my younger years I probably wouldn't listen to any of the above albums)

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Ace_Rimmer
Metal freak

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:30 am
Posts: 4580
PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:24 pm 
 

Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Judas Priest - Stained Class
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Motorhead - Ace of Spades
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath

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