*** READ ME *** This list is about the greatest metal albums of all-time, from all sub-genres and all countries. You won't see bands like Deep Purple, Rush, BOC, Zeppelin, etc., nor will you see bands like Tool, Rage ATM, Melvins and Soundgarden. While I love many of those bands, my definition of metal does not include them.

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

3.Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

4.Death - Symbolic

5.Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath

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1.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

2.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

3.Master's Hammer - Ritual

4.Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

5.Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism

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This list is a guide to the first wave of Black Metal.
Releases here are considered to be a part of the first wave
or they stylistically are similar to the first wave bands.
Some releases are of thrash/death bands but please note that
at the time first wave wasn't really homogeneous style and that
those bands are included cause they were influence to the bands
that will later form Second wave.
Have in mind that First wave ceased to exist somewhere around 1987-1989.
Releases are ordered by release year.
Have fun!

1.Venom - Welcome To Hell

2.Venom - Black Metal

3.Mercyful Fate - Mercyful Fate

4.Slayer - Show No Mercy

5.Mercyful Fate - Melissa

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***Limit 2 albums per artist***

1.Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

2.Burzum - Filosofem

3.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

4.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

5.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

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Almost all album titles fall in one of two categories: The album shares the title with one of its songs (the title track) or, alternatively, the album title is independent from the songs (no title track).

However, there are examples of songs that have a central link to the album title without sharing the same name. In these cases, certain lyrics from the song were chosen as the album title.

This (alphabetical) list shows the names of these “hidden title tracks” and the central lyrics that gave the name to the corresponding album.

Please feel free to suggest more of your favorite metal/hard rock examples of these “hidden title tracks”.

1.40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

2.A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterdays

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

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My favourite black metal albums listed and ranked, all varieties within the black metal genre.

1.Summoning - Oath Bound

2.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

3.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

4.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

5.Mgła - Exercises In Futility

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Something like this...

1.Paradise Lost - Shades Of God

2.Morbid Angel - Blessed Are The Sick

3.Bal-Sagoth - Battle Magic

4.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

5.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

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These are the 211 essential hard rock/metal albums of the 80's, as were selected by the Greek Magazine "Metal Hammer" (August 2001 issue).

The albums followed by a star are the "must have", whereas the rest albums are the "could have".

1.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

2.AC/DC - Back In Black

3.Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell

4.Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations

5.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

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1.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

2.Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

3.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

4.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

5.Satyricon - Nemesis Divina

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1.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

2.Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

3.Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss

4.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

5.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

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As is the case with my other lists, this is for my own organizational purposes and is designed purely to help me keep track of all the many black metal bands and albums that I enjoy, since I can't keep all of this information in my head. It has no other benefit whatsoever and will likely result in tantrums should anyone else see it. I'm aware that I haven't listened to every black metal album that I should have. I only went down to the 6s on this list, so it's possible that I have listened to your favorite black metal album that you desperately need to suggest and I thought it was terrible. There are a lot of heinously incompetent black metal bands out there.

On the off-chance that you've found this and actually care about what I think (you shouldn't), be advised that my favorites come first. Some are favorites in the general sense; some are favorites within black metal. The first few of those are in some order and not so much after that.

Because this is for my own purposes and not intended to be a definitive list of pure black metal, there are some black metal-adjacent bands, or albums by black metal bands that may not themselves be black metal. That's why you'll find so much Sigh clogging up the top of the list. I prefer to keep whole discographies together on one list. I used to include Primordial, Forefather, and other such bands, but a while back I created a list for folk and I decided that those artists would fit better there.

I update these lists very infrequently. This was last updated December 7, 2022.

1.Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape

2.Sigh - Graveward

3.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4.Sigh - Heir To Despair

5.The Meads Of Asphodel - The Murder Of Jesus The Jew

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Updated 10/23/18

1.Toxik - World Circus

2.Death Angel - The Ultra-Violence

3.King Diamond - Abigail

4.Manilla Road - Mystification

5.Sacred Reich - Ignorance

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This is an alphabetical list of metal songs and albums that inspired the names of other artists.

While comparable lists often focus on the band name and explain its origin, this list turns the point of view and presents the influential albums and songs that were the basis for the inspiration of other artists and therefore highlights their general impact.

Please feel free to suggest more (MS listed) metal/hard rock examples.

SUMMARY
BANDS THAT INFLUENCED SEVERAL OTHER ARTIST NAMES WITH THEIR WORK

1st Place (14):
Black Sabbath

2nd Place (7):
Judas Priest

3rd Place (5):
Venom

4th Place (4):
Morbid Angel

5th Place (3):
Celtic Frost, Iron Maiden, Metallica

6th Place (2):
Cynic, Darkthrone, Deftones, Dio, Godflesh, Kreator, Motörhead, Rush, Slayer



SUMMARY
ALBUMS THAT INFLUENCED THE NAMES OF SEVERAL OTHER ARTISTS

1st Place (3):
Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath),
Ride The Lightning (Metallica), Altars Of Madness (Morbid Angel), Welcome To Hell (Venom)

2nd Place (2):
Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Master Of Reality (Black Sabbath), Mob Rules (Black Sabbath), To Mega Therion (Celtic Frost), Focus (Cynic), Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden), Sin After Sin (Judas Priest), Stained Class (Judas Priest), Pleasure To Kill (Kreator)

1.Amebix - No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings

2.Anathema - Alternative 4

3.Arch Enemy - Black Earth

4.Architects - Ruin

5.Ayreon - The Final Experiment

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These are the ones I can always listen to, no specific order, just as I remembered the albums.

1.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

2.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

3.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

4.Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith

5.Judas Priest - Killing Machine [Hell Bent For Leather]

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This is a list of my 20 favorite BM albums ever. Apparently Mystifier and Moonblood are too kvlt to be on Metal Storm at this time, but both are incredibly fucking awesome. Moonblood played Epic Black Metal and are the undisputed gods of horrible lo-fi production, with one of their rehearsals rumored to have even been recorded in a bathroom. Mystifier is another quite good BM band, who are from South America and play in a similar vein to that of Sarcófago, old Beherit, and old Sepultura, and is some of the most evil material I have listened to in a long time.

1.Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss

2.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

3.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

4.Blasphemy - Fallen Angel Of Doom

5.Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

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