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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This is a list of all the death metal albums I have listened to that I thought were at all worth remembering. Like my other genre lists, this is just a record of my own listening experience that I use for personal organization, not a definitive account of the best or all of the death metal out there; there will probably be albums or bands that are not death metal in the strictest sense. You'll find some OSDM, melodeath, tech death, death-doom, maybe a bit of deathcore, I don't know. Maybe some non-death metal albums by death metal bands that I put in here just because.

1.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

2.Death - Symbolic

3.At The Gates - With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness

4.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

5.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

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1.Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day

2.Enslaved - E

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Urn

4.Kauan - Kaiho

5.Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

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I feel like my overall favorites list is getting too long. I'm splitting it up by rating.

1.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

2.Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

3.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

4.Ayreon - 01011001

5.Igric - Svet Svetlom Stvorený

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1.Adagio - Life

2.Anathema - The Optimist

3.Annihilator - For The Demented

4.Anubis Gate - Covered In Black

5.Accept - The Rise Of Chaos

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1.Mors Principium Est - Embers Of A Dying World

2.Allegaeon - Elements Of The Infinite

3.In Vain - Ænigma

4.Obscura - Omnivium

5.Wolfheart - Shadow World

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These are MY Top 250 Albums that are featured on Metal Storm in chronological order to celebrate 50 Years of Metal.

Some bands are featured on this list with more than one album, which means that they are perticulary amazing to me.

I listen to a wide spectrum of metal genres, which is why I tried to keep it diverse and not focus on one genre.

1.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

2.Deep Purple - In Rock

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

4.Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

5.Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies

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1.Enslaved - E

2.Der Weg Einer Freiheit - Finisterre

3.Insania (CZE) - Na Počátku Byl Spam

4.Katla. - Móðurástin

5.Wolfbrigade - Run With The Hunted

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1.Septicflesh - Codex Omega

2.Spectral Voice - Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing

3.Paradise Lost - Medusa

4.Samael - Hegemony

5.Egonaut - The Omega

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1.Aetherian - The Untamed Wilderness

2.While She Sleeps - You Are We

3.Crimfall - Amain

4.Shade Empire - Poetry Of The Ill-Minded

5.August Burns Red - Phantom Anthem

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1.Septicflesh - Codex Omega

2.Zornheym - Where Hatred Dwells And Darkness Reigns

3.Havukruunu - Kelle Surut Soi

4.Deadwood Lake - Forest Of Whispers

5.Stone Sour - Hydrograd

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Some black coffee, some milky atmosphere, some folk syrup and some sweet death.

No special order.

(sorry for German commenting, i reuse the text mostly on my social media later)

1.Wolfheart - Tyhjyys

2.Kauan - Kaiho

3.Kreator - Gods Of Violence

4.

5.

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1.Soen - Lykaia

2.Dopelord - Children Of The Haze

3.Spaceslug - Time Travel Dilemma

4.Ordos - House Of The Dead

5.Mechina - As Embers Turn To Dust

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Last updated on 30.12.2017

1.Paradise Lost - Medusa

2.Kind Man - Kindness Ends

3.Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun

4.Septicflesh - Codex Omega

5.Immolation - Atonement

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1.Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand

2.Body Count - Bloodlust

3.Wolfheart - Tyhjyys

4.

5.Obituary - Obituary

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