I'm sure I could name a bunch of albums, but I'm just going to start with Whitesnake's self-titled album. Great vocals and riffing, solid drumming, pumping bass, and THOSE SOLOS HOLY COW. Makes me wish Sykes would release music quicker. Too bad that thing with Portnoy and Sheehan never worked out...

Ludovico Einaudi's Divenire. That is the only masterpiece, which does not lose any of its replayability.
It has the ambience of a large room filled with antique wooden furniture of the romantic era, and a lot of paintings and tapestry covering the walls. You feel like you are the pianist, playing his lone melodies in this room.

There is of course a lot of other non-metal albums worth mentioning, but that one is the one most worth mentioning.

Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda (Om, eat your heart out. Totally blissed out, Eastern influenced jazzy trance jams featuring the prismatic saxophone playing of Pharoah motherwanking Sanders. Not Karl.)

John Coltrane - Blue Tane (Even though his later stuff can be, when all is said and done, more satisfying, Blue Trane is the album by him that I continually go back to and never tire of.)

Miles Davis - Quiet Nights (Davis' most unappreciated album. Featuring the beautiful orchestral arrangements of Gil Evans. Absolutely perfect.)

The John Coltrane & Kenny Burrell Album (The best sax/guitar jam I've ever heard. I write to this album all the time.)

Madvillain - Madvillainy

In the past month I have known this, I have listened to it a few times (although it doesn't show up on my last fm). This album basically has been a gateway album into hiphop for me. I like this album so much, it really feels mind expanding, and it makes me want to look up more hiphop. I used to be in the mindset that hiphop just wasn't for me. And I'm pretty sure everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about, and I feel like a less shallow person now that I'm over that. This album is incredible to listen to.

Slowdive - Souvlaki
Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll
Christian Death - Only Theatre Of Pain
The Psychedelic Furs - s/t
The United States Of America - s/t
Subhumans - From The Cradle To The Grave

Do compilations count?:

The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs

What about mini-albums?:

Current 93 - Lucifer Over London

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head, Paul's Boutique
Living Colour - Time's Up!
Hendrix - Are You Experience, Axis, Electric Ladyland
Van Halen - I, II
Al DiMeola - Electric Rendezvous, Casino, Elegant Gypsy

The only album that comes to mind is The Doors' S/T. It's probably the best debut I know of too. That record plays like a greatest hits album, song after song is an acidic masterpiece. The souls of each band member just pour out of the instruments.

I came in here all ready to geek out about Rush, but I see it was covered on the first page. In that case, Hey Stoopid by Alice Cooper.

Good one! Excellent album front to back, I still have my cassette I bought when it came out.

Dr dre 2001....annnnnd the slim shapy LP

the Meteor's - In Heaven
Demented are go - in sickness and health
Choking Victim - No Gods No Managers
Leftovercrack - Mediocre Generica

Sinead O'Connor's The Lion And The Cobra.

Seriously. And I know, I know, you're only aware of her as that "crazy feminist" from the 1990s who shaved her head and broke down on television. But you'd do well by yourself if you listened to her debut album, and listened well.





Her voice shines.

I'm just putting down what I can think of right now:

Procol Harum - Self titled (1967)
Cream - Disraeli Gears
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Wishbone Ash - Argus
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced 'Leh-nerd' 'Skin-nerd'
Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) and Rain Dogs (1985)
The Cure - Faith
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Oasis - Definitely Maybe
Jeff Buckley - Sketches For My Sweetheart the Drunk
Slowdive - Souvlaki
The Pineapple Thief - Little Man

Anyone who has the balls to rip the pope's pictures on Saturday Night Live deserves some aknowledgement, regardless of how poor the music is.

Second the first Van Halen album. Great album start to finish (even Ice Cream Man)

No doubt. That was probably the most metal thing I've ever seen a non-metal musician do - and it came from this tiny little bald Irish girl in combat boots live on national American television.

And the great thing is that she has the musical chops to back her act up. A lot of her music is reminiscent of stuff like My Bloody Valentine or Slowdrive, and some of it is more typical aetherial late 80s-early 90s pop. By far the largest portion of it is good. She has a Hell of a voice.

Watch this and tell me the spirit of metal isn't clear and present somewhere in her.

The Gathering - Sleepy Buildings. Beautiful stuff, Anneke's voice is angel-like. Acoustic live album of some of their best songs.

And holy shit, Sinead O'Connor was crazy!

Really? Referring to the late 60's Psychedelic band? I had no idea you were that old, haha. I've never seen that record on cassette, either, tho I'm sure it exists.

Or did you mean The PRESIDENTS of the United States of America?

Either way, I actually have their s/t as well (on cassette too, no less, haha).
And, yes, that's also a really good album!

HA! Reading comprehension is FAIL. I did mean Presidents... guess I should look into that 60's album!

fuck yeah, it's an awesome record (but still, like I said, so is the "President's" one).




Um... Other albums:

Crass - Penis Envy (I forgot how good this record is until hearing it again recently)
Andy Dale Petty - Stick To The Shadows
Cry Blood Apache - Performing Diversion Acrobatics
Rudimentary Peni - The E.P.'s of R.P. compilation
Desaparecidos - Read Music, Speak Spanish (yes, really)
Bright Eyes - Digital Ash... (YES, really!)
Disrupt - All their stuff

Mentioned it in the free for all thread, but Harry Belafonte's Quiet Room is sterling. Every song maintains the laid back, relaxing atmosphere of the record. 100% all the way. Candy for my ears.

Any Mischief Brew album.

People HATE Ice Cream Man? Quite a sick world we live in.

Agreed. Sykes destroys the guitar and Coverdale sounds so powerful! I even think that album is heavy metal enough to be included on the archives, but that's another matter.

For jazz fans, I recommend Gary Willis - Bent. Basically you have the best bassist in the world with 2 of the best drummers ever: Kirk Covington and Dennis Chambers. The songs are masterfully crafted and every instrument shines.

Well, I would give Michael Jackson's first albums 100% too, as well as George Michael's first 2.

Depeche Mode's trilogy of Black Celebration/Music for the Masses/Violator is simply flawless.

Rise Against - Siren Song of the Counter Culture

Quite possibly has one of the best opening tracks of any album that just throws you right into an album. Its only weak point is the acoustic song "Swing Life Away" which is still a good song in it's own right.

Oomph! - Wahrheit Oder Pflicht

Even if all the songs are in German, they will stick with you. The vocals are top notch as far as industrial goes. Definitely worth checking out by fans or Rammstein.

Teenage Bottlerocket - "Total" and "They Came From the Shadows"

Both of these albums show how pop punk is supposed to sound. Every song is super catchy and makes you want to start moving.

VNV Nation - Empires

I don't know where to start on this one. It is the album that got me into electronic music. Every song is just absolutely moving.

Some others that I don't have anything to say about

Bad Religion - No Control
Authority Zero - A Passage in Time
Emilie Autumn - Opheliac

I agree that "State of the Union" is one of their best songs, but most everything after that falls short to me. I much prefer The Sufferer and the Witness because it has a little bit of everything and it's all well done. "Bricks" is one of my favorites from the band.

Completely off the scale but I would give 100 percent to Lords of Acid - Voodoo U. I don't sit around listening to it all the time, but that is a GREAT album. Was never part of that scene, but a former roomate of my mine turned me onto that album. Great album to listen to if you have a system in your car.

Dead Kennedys - Frankenchrist
Korn - Korn
Hatebreed - Rise of Brutality
Gorilla Biiscuits - Start Today
Faith No More - Angel Dust

ACM - Lords Of Acid are awesome! Great electronics going from acid to techno to industrial. Hella funny lyrics. And so very subversive. The outrageous sexyness aside, I always thought the various LoA vocalists had serious singing talent.

Have you heard the latest LoA album, Deep Chills? First new material in 10 years. I really like the lead single, Little Mighty Rabbit, and the first five or so tracks from the album. There's a not-at-all-worksafe and kinda cheesy video going around for Little Mighty Rabbit. The album does have a few weak moments but it made my top 5 for 2012.

Glad somebody agrees with me!

I second that!

Faith No More is on MA. Therefore, they are metal.

Carlos Vamos, Piece of Eternity
Howard Shore, The Lord of The Rings Complete Recordings (all 12 hours of soundtrack to the extended trilogy)
Jeremy Soule, Skyrim soundtrack
Ulf Söderberg, Tidvatten and Vindarnas Hus
Sephiroth, Draconian Poetry
Lustmord, Carbon/Core
Desiderii Marginis, Seven Sorrows (their best work is on That Which is Tragic and Timeless but this album is less uneven)


Not necessarily all 100%, but all are pretty close.

Does this band sound like metal to you?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4zXjwcVIH0

Nope, it isn't. It was probably accepted based on the side project stipulations. That isn't the case with FNM btw.

You make it easy. FNM have metal influences (the riffs on "The real thing" for example) but are not a metal band in my opinion. Although they were labelled as funk metal back in the 90s, I wouldn't put them in the metal category. So no, I beg to differ.

I'd label FNM as avant-garde metal. Listen to this song minutely. There are doom metal inspired passages in this song, and the overall style of the song later became known as sludge metal.

I know this song very well and what you say is plausible. However, FNM are not limited to the doom/sludge elements you are referring to. Angel Dust is a varied album with a plethora of different influences. Listen to a song like "RV" for instance. And what about the other albums? TRT is perhaps the most metal sounding record but that's not saying much when you put it in perspective, when you compare it to the other records. That's why I think one should not label FNM as metal. I call them crossover which is an outdated term. For me, it simply means that they merge different influences and musical styles and it is therefore impossible to place them into one specific genre.

Agreed. That's why I said I'd classify them as 'avant-garde' metal. You'll notice avant-garde and experimetal metal/rock, these two terms are frequently associated with them for their highly creative sound.

I'd give DGAF s/t (Don't Give A Fuck) a 100%. It's fucking fun white boy krunk music with hard and intense beats. They rap about smoking, drinking, fighting, fucking, and burning backstabbers. Some say it's immature, I say it's fucking fun as hell.