Top album's form 2010-2019

1.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

2.Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance

3.Corrupted - Garten Der Unbewusstheit

4.Ihsahn - After

5.Mar De Grises - Streams Inwards

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Hey Folks! It’s me… Again!

I’m coming back once more to explore the depths of a genre that arguably did not begin where you all thought it did! Yeah yeah… Alright, maybe Left Hand Path, Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious, Like An Ever Flowing Stream & The Red In The Sky Is Ours aren’t exactly the sound you would expect, but they were certainly a sign of something incredible that was about to happen. The birth of Melodic Death Metal!

Most of you, them, us… Would agree that Melodic Death metal really appeared in the form of Carcass’s 1993 album Heartwork. Even though some shades of what would become staples of the genre were heard before, this one would truly be the first album to be called as such. Mixing OSDM with more classic heavy metal styled riffs & melodies, our beloved genre (along with Thrash) would become for a lot of our teenage selves, a gateway into the more extreme bowels of metal’s subgenres. I would argue that it’s an almost obligatory step in the grand metalhead’s journey. Ah, how amazing it was to first taste the somewhat delicate sound of melodeath before rattling our ears with the obscenities & nonsensical wankery of grindcore, brutal tech-death, dissonant death and post metal… Rrrrright.

As you have become accustomed to by now, I will attempt to honour the genre by listing the absolute best Melodic Death metal albums to be ever released throughout the years. And I will do so starting with a few albums that are arguably not Melodic Death metal… Because I can and I did, hah! F*ck you! Along the way, you might stumble upon some strange & unorthodox choices mixing a plethora of other genres as well and that’s ok. Truly. Take it easy, don’t hyperventilate over it and just go with the flow. The main goal here is to help people who don’t know much about melodeath discover it and where it came from. I also want to push forward some less known jewels amongst highly praised landmarks of the style and sprinkle a bit of my personality along the way because that’s always fun. The albums will be ordered in years of release and there will be no other restriction or specific rules.

I hope you have a blast going through my list and that it brings you joy and a slight tingle on your nostalgia strings. Though, if it pisses you off, if I forgot your absolute favourite album of all goddamn time or if you think I’m an idiot, well… Just remember that I’m right, always and forever, thank you. Regardless It will be a pleasure for me to hear your recommendations or discuss anything related to melodeath below. Cheers & have fun!

-Guib-

Note: Albums with a 🇨🇦 are from my country (Canada) and albums with a ★ are my personal favourites.

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Last Updated: April 19th, 2024

1.Entombed - Left Hand Path

2.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

3.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

4.At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours

5.Carcass - Heartwork

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My favorites 2010 albums.

1.After The Burial - Dig Deep

2.Shadow Of Intent - Melancholy

3.Gojira - Magma

4.Slash - World On Fire

5.Batushka - Litourgiya

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It is standard that albums contain several different songs that are separated by distinct track markers. Sometimes, these songs may contribute to one story, which is the case on concept albums. The next, more radical step is to include only one long song on an album, which may be presented as a single track. These one track albums provide a special kind of journey for the listener, demanding full commitment without the help and orientation that the separation in several tracks may have provided.

This list includes albums that consist of only one single song presented in one track.

Please feel free to suggest more one track metal albums.

1.Abruptum - In Umbra Malitae Ambulabo, In Aeternum In Triumpho Tenebrarum

2.Abruptum - Vi Sonus Veris Nigrae Malitiaes

3.Agalloch - Faustian Echoes

4.Alkerdeel - Dyodyo Asema [Collaboration]

5.Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

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I've always been a fan of melodic death metal, having listened to bands such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates in my first few years of getting into metal around 2005-2008. Now, thanks to MS, I've gotten into many more amazing bands such as Wintersun, Insomnium and Scar Symmetry and it has become one of my favourite sub-genres.

So here are my favourites of the genre with my rating, its sub-genre and release year:

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of melodic death metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

1.Wintersun - Time I

2.Wintersun - Wintersun

3.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

4.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

5.The Haunted - The Haunted Made Me Do It

      View entire list ››

This is my top albums (only with those where I gave 8 or more). I will update the list now and then

1.Slipknot - Iowa

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

4.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

5.Slipknot - Slipknot

      View entire list ››

1.Vektor - Terminal Redux

2.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

3.Mare Cognitum - Luminiferous Aether

4.Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale

5.Borknagar - Winter Thrice

      View entire list ››

Insomnium is possibly my favourite melodeath band of all time. I certainly think they're the most consistently great when it comes to albums. I'd rate all of their Albums between an 8-10 easily. Saying all of that, this makes these guys an insanely hard band to rank. I think this ranking could change a lot on here. I certainly change my mind IRL which is my favourite. Disclaimer: I love every single album on this damn list...

1.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

2.Insomnium - Shadows Of The Dying Sun

3.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

4.Insomnium - Above The Weeping World

5.Insomnium - One For Sorrow

      View entire list ››

2016 was... well... oh oh... oh oh... well... what the fuck!

Anyhow, here is my top 50 ranking of albums I scored 8+

Album count: 126
Average rating: 7.1

1.Alcest - Kodama

2.Khemmis - Hunted

3.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

4.Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale

5.Skuggsjá - A Piece For Mind & Mirror

      View entire list ››

The MS top 200 is supposed to represent the absolute peak of metal music, the timeless classics. I have been listening to metal for about 6 years now and would consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the genre. Yet, I have barely heard half of what the top 200 has to offer. I am now on a quest to listen to it all and give an honest opinion on what I thought of it.
This list will show every album of the top 200 and if I've listened to it whether it's an all-time favourite of mine (+++), I really like it (++), I like it (+), it’s good (*), it’s not great (-), I really dislike it (--) or I hate it from the bottom of my heart (---). The same symbols will be used to characterize what I think my opinion of the albums I haven't heard yet will be, based on my knowledge of the bands and of the genre they play. (?) signifies that I have no idea of whether I'll enjoy it or not and (/) means that my opinion of the album is probably obsolete, and I need to listen to it again. A ★ means the album is in my own top 200.
Edit: The bottom of the top 200 has been changing a lot, with some stuff formerly in the list now closer to 240th, so this is now a top 250. I’m not sure I want to expand the list further down, but I’ll see whenever it’s completed if I feel like going for a top 300 or something like that.
Best discoveries so far: Wildhoney, Nightfall, Out Of Myself, Portal Of I, Autumn Aurora, Nemesis Divina, Abigail, V: Hävitetty, Sounds Of Pain.

1.

2.

3.W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol

4.Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die

5.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

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Listen to metal for more than the half of my life, here is the list of my favorites albums of all time.

1.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

2.Alcest - Kodama

3.Alcest - Spiritual Instinct

4.Alestorm - Sunset On The Golden Age

5.Alestorm - No Grave But The Sea

      View entire list ››

A little list series where I list my top 20 favorite metal albums every year starting from the year I was born in.

2016 was pretty solid year for metal, a couple of masterpieces in melodic death metal and power metal, black metal keep going strong and some old acts returning stronger than ever.


My favorite non metal albums of 2016

1. ★
By David Bowie (Art rock)


2. Atrocity Exhibition
By Danny Brown (Experimental Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop)


3. Runaljod – Ragnarok
By Wardruna (Dark Folk, Neo-Pagan Folk)


4.Blonde
By Frank Ocean (R&B, Neo-Soul, Ambient Pop)


5. Act V: Hymns With the Devil in Confessional
By The Dear Hunter (Progressive Rock, Rock Opera)



My favorite movie from 2016

1.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

2.Eternal Champion - The Armor of Ire

3.Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale

4.La Torture Des Ténèbres - Civilization Is The Tomb Of Our Noble Gods

5.Demon Bitch - Hellfriends

      View entire list ››

1.Agalloch - Pale Folklore

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

5.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

      View entire list ››

The second part of my list year by year!

1.The Foreshadowing - Oionos

2.Aquilus - Griseus

3.Saturnus - Saturn In Ascension

4.Hamferð - Evst

5.Shylmagoghnar - Emergence

      View entire list ››

Subject to change from time to time. (Currently in a remaking process)

1.Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen

2.Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier

3.Avenged Sevenfold - City Of Evil

4.Opeth - Still Life

5.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

      View entire list ››