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1.
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Albums I am yet to hear: |
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2.
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----------------------------- |
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3.
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W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol
? |
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4.
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Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die
* |
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5.
|
Ensiferum - Ensiferum
? |
 |
6.
|
Crimson Glory - Transcendence
+ |
 |
7.
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Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell
? |
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8.
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Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World
* |
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9.
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Green Carnation - Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness
* |
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10.
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Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor
* |
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11.
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Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
- |
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12.
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Paradise Lost - Draconian Times
? |
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13.
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AC/DC - Back In Black
- |
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14.
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Primordial - To The Nameless Dead
+ |
 |
15.
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Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth
? |
 |
16.
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Anathema - Judgement
? |
 |
17.
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Moonspell - Wolfheart
+ |
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18.
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Running Wild - Death Or Glory
+ |
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19.
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Orphaned Land - Mabool: The Story Of The Three Sons Of Seven
+ |
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20.
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Insomnium - Above The Weeping World
? |
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21.
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Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
- |
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22.
|
Ensiferum - Iron
? |
 |
23.
|
My Dying Bride - The Angel And The Dark River
+ |
 |
24.
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Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath
? |
 |
25.
|
Testament - The Legacy
* |
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26.
|
Lake Of Tears - Forever Autumn
? |
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27.
|
Saturnus - Martyre
* |
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28.
|
Testament - The Gathering
* |
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29.
|
AC/DC - Highway To Hell
- |
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30.
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Equilibrium - Sagas
? |
 |
31.
|
Riot - ThunderSteel
* |
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32.
|
Riverside - Second Life Syndrome
- |
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33.
|
Slumber - Fallout
+ |
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34.
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My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours
+ |
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35.
|
Rotting Christ - Theogonia
? |
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36.
|
Swallow The Sun - The Morning Never Came
? |
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37.
|
Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome
- |
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38.
|
Warning - Watching From A Distance
+ |
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39.
|
Kamelot - Epica
- |
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40.
|
Tristania - Beyond The Veil
? |
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41.
|
Symphony X - The Odyssey
+ |
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42.
|
Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
+ |
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43.
|
Drudkh - Кров У Наших Криницях (Blood In Our Wells)
+ |
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44.
|
W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children
? |
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45.
|
Theatre Of Tragedy - Aégis
? |
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46.
|
Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea
+ |
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47.
|
Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes
- |
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48.
|
Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone
+ |
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49.
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Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet
+ |
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50.
|
Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding
? |
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51.
|
Lost Horizon - Awakening The World
? |
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52.
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Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black
? |
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53.
|
Avantasia - The Metal Opera Part I
-- |
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54.
|
Leprous - Bilateral
- |
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55.
|
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz
- |
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56.
|
Therion - Vovin
- |
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57.
|
Angra - Temple Of Shadows
+ |
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58.
|
Rhapsody - Symphony Of Enchanted Lands
* |
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59.
|
Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle
- |
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60.
|
Eternal Tears Of Sorrow - A Virgin And A Whore
- |
 |
61.
|
Tristania - Widow's Weeds
? |
 |
62.
|
Kyuss - Kyuss
? |
 |
63.
|
Whitesnake - Whitesnake
+ |
 |
64.
|
Running Wild - Port Royal
+ |
 |
65.
|
Septicflesh - The Great Mass
* |
 |
66.
|
Symphony X - Paradise Lost
+ |
 |
67.
|
Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
- |
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68.
|
Theatre Of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness They Fear
? |
|
69.
|
----------------------------- |
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70.
|
Albums I heard after making the list: |
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71.
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----------------------------- |
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72.
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Coroner - Mental Vortex
Expectations: +. Results: +. I actually don't know why I've never rated this one, I've heard it many times before. It's for sure my most listened Coroner album and my favourite as well. It's really melodic and the riffs are incredibly engaging. The Beatles cover at the end I really don't know what to think of but otherwise it's a really good album. |
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73.
|
Candlemass - Nightfall
Expectations: +. Results: ++. Wow, I'm incredibly impressed by this one. Regular doom metal is usually not quite my cup of tea, and I didn't enjoy Epicus Doomicus Metallicus all that much, but this album just goes above and beyond, I absolutely loved it. I already knew Bewitched, which is why I came in with positive expectations, but it really blew them out of the park. |
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74.
|
Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
Expectations: *. Results: *. As usual, melodic death metal isn't really my thing. This album is definitely not bad by any means, but I didn't find any part of it particularly great or memorable. |
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75.
|
Sodom - Agent Orange
Expectations: *. Results: *. This sure sounds like thrash! An above average album for the most average genre there is, so not anything I particularly crave. |
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76.
|
Be'lakor - Stone's Reach
Expactations: *. Results: +. Positively surprised by this one. As the list makes clear, I am not too fond of melodic death metal, but this album doesn't fit the bog standard Gothenburg mold and that's what helped it stand out from the rest. While I'm not in love with it, it's an overall very enjoyable experience and different enough from the rest of the scene that I might come back to it. |
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77.
|
Dark Tranquillity - Damage Done
Expectations: -. Results: -. On the other hand, Dark Tranquillity completely embraced the Gothenburg sound on this release and betrayed what made The Gallery so good. This album is not outrageously bad or anything, but I'd be lying if I said I ever wanted to hear it again. |
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78.
|
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Expectations: *. Results: -. Huh? Is that it? Someone should really have told Metallica that repeating the same riffs over and over is really not how you make a song more interesting. The tracks themselves all blend together, the solos are Metallica solos (derogatory), the production is garbage (almost as if they had forgotten an important instrument or something...) and it makes for an overall rather unmemorable experience, bar Blackened, One and The Frayed Ends of Sanity, which definitely are pretty decent tracks, though nothing I particularly crave. I should add that mid-paced thrash is something I usually really don't like, and this album is full of that. I admire the album for trying to do new stuff and going in a slightly more progressive direction, but it just does not work very well for me. |
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79.
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Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
Expectations: +. Results: +. An extremely solid thrash album. I always enjoyed Sepultura's style and while it was perfected on Arise, this release is also a really good execution of that style. |
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80.
|
Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side
Expectations: ?. Results: +. Something weird happened when listening to this album: I enjoyed it. I never particularly cared for power metal, bar a few exceptions here and there. Most of the genre bores or annoys me (as my discovery of Helloween has shown) but this, for some reason I really enjoy. It might be the vocals, the rawer, more aggressive instrumentation than other power metal bands, but there's something here that clicks, to my surprise. |
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81.
|
Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
Expectations: ++. Results: +. I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed with this release. I absolutely love Katatonia's debut, but Brave Murder Day sounds very different from it. It almost sounds like melodeath, while the debut has a black metallish sound. Nevertheless, this is really good as far as death doom goes, and even though I like the debut more, I will for sure revisit this one. |
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82.
|
Overkill - The Years Of Decay
Expectations: *. Results: +. On the contrary, while I didn't expect much from this one, it ended up being a really fun and engaging thrash album. As stated multiple times, thrash isn't really a genre I usually care about, but the songwriting here is different enough to really keep my interest. |
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83.
|
Nile - Annihilation Of The Wicked
Expectations: +. Results: +. I absolutely love brutal death metal. I think it's an underappreciated genre that very rarely gets the spotlight. Case in point: Annihilation Of The Wicked and None So Vile are the only bdm albums in the top 200. I've never been the biggest Nile fan, but this is still really really good. Bdm mixed with tech death always works well and Nile are masters of the genre, though I like None So Vile more when it comes to tech bdm from the top 200. The run time is a bit too long for bdm whereas None So Vile is more concise and to the point. Still, this is very much worth listening. |
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84.
|
Savatage - Gutter Ballet
Expectations: +. Results: +. As far as heavy metal goes, Savatage seem to be a safe bet when expecting quality. This album is great, and while it does lose some steam by the end, there's not a single unenjoyable moment here. |
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85.
|
Amorphis - Queen Of Time
Expectations: -. Results: --. I am mostly unfamiliar with Amorphis. I've heard their first three albums, of which I only really enjoyed Elegy, and their most recent one, Halo, which I absolutely despised. Queen Of Time is close in its sound to Halo, but honestly, it's fine. Halo made me want to bash my head against a wall, this one just makes me wish I were listening to something else. I could say that it's too melodic, too cheesy, that the synths are too over the top, but I think it's just that I don't enjoy this style of metal. Queen Of Time is probably one of the best releases of this specific blend of metal, and it's good enough that I didn't hate it. |
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86.
|
Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud
Expectations: -. Results: -. I figured that while I was at it I should listen to the last Amorphis release on the list, as I knew it wouldn't be a very enjoyable experience. In the process, I discovered something: there are some truly good ideas here. I'm still not a huge fan of their sound mind you, but at least here there were times where I was actually enjoying what I heard, which cannot be said about the previous album. Listening to this actually made me dislike Queen Of Time more because now I know for sure that even within that style I dislike they can make some enjoyable stuff. |
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87.
|
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
Expectations: *. Results: *. I like black metal and I like progressive metal, what could go wrong? Well, for some reason, Enslaved just doesn't do it for me. And I mean in general, whether it's their full-on black metal releases or this proggier stuff, I never managed to truly get into them. As far as their style goes though, this is still pretty decent. Nothing I'd ever willingly listen to again, but I did have a reasonably good time while listening to this, at least a much better one than with Amorphis. |
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88.
|
Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness
Expectations: *. Results: *. Of the Norwegian black metal pioneers, Immortal were the ones I could never get into. This is the third album of theirs that I've heard so far and I genuinely do not get what's supposedly so great about them. This is a less interesting version of some very standard black metal. It's not bad by any means but I've heard the same thing done better dozens of times already. |
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89.
|
Gamma Ray - Land Of The Free
Expectations: -. Results: +. I am once again positively surprised by a power metal album. I went into this expecting it to be a chore, but the very first song caught me by surprise with how good it was, and the same can be said about the rest of the album. It's very fun and engaging especially in the riffs department, but the most important thing is that the vocals are actually listenable and enjoyable. They're usually my main gripe with power metal and here they complement the music perfectly. |
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90.
|
Kamelot - The Black Halo
Expectations: -. Results: -. On the other hand, this feels like the complete opposite of what I've found myself enjoying in power metal. Weak riffs, vocals that do not in any way suit my tastes and some over the top cheesy synths which just do not help at all. I did somehow find some enjoyment in what should have been my worst nightmare, but this is definitely not a blend of power metal I'm looking forward to hear again. |
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91.
|
Insomnium - Winter's Gate
Expectations: ?. Results: *. Welcome back to the "this is a perfectly fine album in a genre I do not care about" show. Today, we have a perfectly fine album in a genre I do not care about. It's not bad but it doesn't particularly stand out or do anything I care about, as is the case with most melodeath I've been faced with. Once again, not an unpleasant experience, but nothing I want to listen to again. |
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92.
|
My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans
Expectations: +. Results: *. I'm a bit disappointed by this release. I usually really enjoy death doom, but this one didn't quite do it for me. It might be a little too gothic for my tastes. The more death metal sections were really good but I'm really not a fan of gothic metal, which makes up a considerable portion of this album, unfortunately for me. Still, this remains an enjoyable listen. |
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93.
|
Tiamat - Wildhoney
Expectations: ?. Results: ++. I know virtually nothing about gothic metal other than the fact that the male vocals sound a little stupid in many gothic metal releases, so I came in with absolutely 0 expectations, and wow I am blown away. The "atmospheric" tag is more than deserved here and that kind of music is something I am particularly fond of, with the Pink Floyd influences making themselves felt all throughout the album. I'm absolutely in love. ★ |
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94.
|
Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane
Expectations: -. Results: *. I have listened to Pain Of Salvation once in the past, and I remember not enjoying it in the slightest. This time around though, things have changed a little. This was a mostly pleasant experience, though I still have some gripes with it. To start things off, I really don't like the vocals. It's something personal but I don't think they sound really good. And my second man gripe is that the album is way too long for what it's worth, maybe ending it 20 or 30 minutes earlier would have been a better option. Nevertheless, this was still pretty pleasant, though I don't see myself ever coming back to it. |
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95.
|
The Gathering - Mandylion
Expectations: ?. Results: +. After the positive surprise that was Tiamat, I was eager to listen to more Gothic metal. And The Gathering did not disappoint. Once again, the atmosphere this album creates is very charming and overall pretty hypnotic. The vocals are beautiful and complement the music perfectly. My only real problem with the album would be that it's a little too long, the songs aren't the most memorable. But other than that, "Mandylion" was a truly great time. |
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96.
|
Machine Head - The Blackening
Expectations: -. Results: -. As stated 1000 times already, I'm not too big on thrash. I also really, really don't like groove metal. It's thus a miracle that I don't despise this, but some competent songwriting and a catchy riff here and there help this stand as a perfectly fine record, is what I would say if this weren't 20 minutes too long. For goodness’ sake, please someone tell them to shorten their tracks, they're going nowhere and the repetitiveness is killing me. This is yet another AJFA situation. |
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97.
|
Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory
Expectations: +. Results: *. I'm a little disappointed by this release. Though regular heavy metal isn't something I listen to very often, it's usually still something I can appreciate and enjoy. This release didn't really wow me like I thought it would, and its progressive tag is slightly misleading. The songs themselves are not really the most memorable and I'm not the biggest fan of those vocals. It was still a good experience mind you, but not an especially memorable one. |
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98.
|
Therion - Theli
Expectations: ?. Results: -. This release was very hard to rate. What it does is very original and groundbreaking, there are some very interesting musical ideas and some good riffs and melodies, but the vocals are definitely not to my tastes, both the male and female ones. However, this is but a minor issue when compared to the overwhelming problem concerning this album: oh my god it sounds so damn goofy. The midi orchestration is just way too funny for me to overlook, I can't take this album seriously and it unfortunately really undermines how much I enjoy it. |
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99.
|
Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I
Expectations: *. Results: +. Wow, talk about good songwriting, this album is amazing! I genuinely didn't expect to like it that much, but it really succeeds at what it does in terms of progressive death metal. It reminds me of Opeth of course, but still stays very fresh and different. The only thing preventing this from getting an 8/10 is its length, which does not feel entirely justified, but this is really damn good. |
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100.
|
Rammstein - Mutter
Expectations: +. Results: *. This brings me back, I used to listen to this album a lot when I was first really getting into metal. I had maybe not heard it in 4 or 5 years before writing this. It's definitely nowhere near as good as when I was 13 and it's not something I really enjoy enough to listen to again, but there are definitely some stand out tracks here. "Mein Herz Brennt", "Links 2 3 4" and "Feuer Frei!" especially remain fun to listen to, but overall this isn't a style of metal I particularly care about. |
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101.
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Isis - Oceanic
Expectations: +. Results: +. This isn't quite as good as Panopticon, but man what a great release. This is making me truly appreciate post-metal, there's such a weight to all the instruments and the music itself is so heavy, it's like being under pressure in the ocean, hence the album's name. Highlights include "Weight" and "Hym". |
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102.
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Tool - Ænima
Expectations: -. Results: -. This sure sounds like Tool! I had some hope that this would be better than Lateralus, as I enjoy Undertow much more than Tool’s later stuff, and thankfully it’s the case here. This is still really tough to get through and does not in any way justify its length, but I had more fun than when listening to Lateralus. |
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103.
|
Motörhead - Overkill
Expectations: -. Results: *. Motörhead are a band I never really managed to get into, but this album is actually pretty decent. I don’t really like Lemmy’s vocals and it is pretty repetitive, but it has its charm, and it can be fun while it lasts. |
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104.
|
Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls
Expectations: *. Results: --. Instrumentally, this is good. However, there’s something with the vocals that just rubs me the wrong way. This is a pretty decent prog metal album, but it comes with all of the usual cheese of the genre, which makes it hard to sit throug. |
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105.
|
Stratovarius - Visions
Expectations: +. Results: *. If there is one thing I discovered while making this list, it’s that power metal can actually be pretty decent. Visions is the textbook definition of a European power metal album, which means that it’s lacking in either the edge or progressiveness needed to truly elevate the genre. Nevertheless, this is fun and enjoyable despite its length and how repetitive it can be at times. |
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106.
|
Riverside - Out Of Myself
Expectations: -. Results: +. I went into this album expecting it to be a chore similar to Mercy Falls. Well, color me impressed, this was actually a pretty great release! Not once did I get bored, not once did it feel too cheesy, everything here is where it’s supposed to be. I’m torn between a 7 and an 8, this is a great album. |
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107.
|
Drudkh - Autumn Aurora
Expectations: +. Results: +. Drudkh are a band that have literally everything I need to fall in love with a band, but for some reason it simply doesn’t happen. This is still a great release of masterfully composed black metal, but I would not quite consider it a masterpiece. |
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108.
|
Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica
Expectations: -. Results: -. This was to be expected, given my distaste for this type of power metal, but Ecliptica did not click with me in any way. In fact, it did the opposite. It somehow manages to do every single thing I dislike in power metal. It’s repetitive, overly cheesy, repetitive, has annoying vocals, is repetitive and above all, it’s repetitive. If you’ve heard one song, you’ve heard them all, and they’re not particularly interesting. |
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109.
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Sonata Arctica - Silence
Expectations: -. Results: --. Take everything I just said about Ecliptica and make it last 15 minutes longer. It’s of the same quality as the previous album but it lasts long enough to make it really unbearable. |
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110.
|
Satyricon - Nemesis Divina
Expectations: +. Results: +. Of the classic Norwegian bm bands, Satyricon were one I never bothered checking out. And oh my, what a mistake, because this album is absolutely great. I did expect to enjoy it, but I had a real blast here. The riffs and atmosphere are expertly crafted and really make this release stand out among other bm ones. It might be because I’m listening to it after two Sonata Arctica albums, but I haven’t had that much fun with this list in a while. |
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111.
|
Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
Expectations: -. Results: *. This is a mighty fine album we have here! I’m not too fond of Steven Wilson’s solo project, but this was pretty good. Interesting melodies, some slight experimentation and some good songwriting are at play here and make this a rather enjoyable experience. My main gripe would be the vocals, which I don’t really like, but other than that this is pretty decent. |
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112.
|
Artillery - By Inheritance
Expectations: +. Results: +. As far as thrash goes, By Inheritance has always been a safe bet for me, but not one I return to very frequently. The songs are fun and really enjoyable, but they do lose in memorability as the album proceeds. Still, this is a really good album. |
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113.
|
Pain Of Salvation - The Perfect Element, Part I
Expectations: -. Results: -. What I have said about Remedy Lane can also be applied here. The songs are mostly pretty good instrumentally, but the vocals are incredibly annoying, and the album is just way too long. Take into account the fact that the songwriting is not as good as Remedy Lane in this album, and you have an overall rather unenjoyable and forgettable experience. |
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114.
|
Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale
Expectations: ?. Results: *. As has been stated several times already, I am not familiar at all with gothic metal. And while I loved Wildhoney and really enjoyed Mandylion, Hour Of The Nightingale didn’t really convince me. Now rest assured that I did enjoy listening to this release. However, I found its atmosphere to be lacking in comparison to my previous experiences with gothic metal. The female vocals are really good, but the male ones not so much and they do diminish my appreciation for this release. Additionally, the songs themselves aren’t the most inventive doom metal tracks and there isn’t any real diversity. This was still a good album, but not a particularly memorable one. |
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115.
|
Anathema - Alternative 4
Expectations: ?. Results: +. What a good surprise this album was! I didn’t really know what to expect but this alternative / atmospheric rock style is really pleasant to listen to. While it’s not really diverse, the album still remains fresh and interesting through its entire runtime. It’s far from the best thing ever, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. |
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116.
|
King Diamond - Abigail
Expectations: -. Results: +. And yet another pleasant surprise! I’ve made it clear already that I don’t really enjoy Mercyful Fate, and a huge part of it is because of the vocals. However, there is something about this album that makes me put them aside because on a strictly instrumental level it’s so damn good. It’s how I also feel about Helloween’s song “Halloween”, it’s so good that I just go past the problems I have with the vocals and can still enjoy it. And the whole album is like that! Definitely not a release I’ll be forgetting any time soon. |
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117.
|
Quo Vadis - Day Into Night
Expectations: +. Results: +. Tech death with a melodic edge, something not explored too often within the genre. And it works perfectly! The songwriting is good and the album remains engaging for its whole duration, though 52 minutes is just too long for tech death, and cutting 10 to 20 minutes would probably make this more digestible and even more enjoyable. The vocals also work perfectly and only add to the album. A highlight for sure. |
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118.
|
Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta
Expectations: +. Results: +. Everything I said about Kivenkantaja can also be applied here. It’s really fun and engaging from beginning to end, but it’s nothing groundbreaking. A great album for sure, and one I can see myself coming back to. |
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119.
|
Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle
Expectations: +. Results: *. I’m already not the biggest Summoning fan, so a lesser Summoning isn’t really the type of stuff I’m too invested in. Unlike Summoning, Caladan Brood lack in the gloomy and dark atmosphere that makes atmospheric black metal so good. The tracks here are epic and upbeat, which is the opposite of what I’m looking for in metal. Nevertheless, it works, and the songs are still good and enjoyable to some degree. But making this more than 1h long is a crime and it gets dull real fast. A slight disappointment. |
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120.
|
Running Wild - Black Hand Inn
Expectations: +. Results: *. I have heard many great things about Running Wild, and naturally I was expecting this to be great. However, what we have here is a fairly standard heavy / power / speed metal album. Those are not genres I’m particularly fond of in the first place, so an album that doesn’t do anything special isn’t really something I crave. It’s still enjoyable and the songs themselves are good, just nothing I’d particularly want to come back to. |
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121.
|
Falconer - Falconer
Expectations: ?. Results: --. This is the only release in this list that I knew absolutely nothing about. I have never heard anyone mention this band or album before, I didn’t even know what genre they played until I clicked play on the YouTube video and oh… It’s power metal… Yeah, you know how this ends. It’s one of the least engaging power metal albums I’ve heard so far, the songs themselves aren’t very interesting, but the one thing that stands out are those vocals. Oh my god what are those vocals. They make this release downright unlistenable, and I wasn’t even enjoying it in the first place. Yeah, I’m never listening to this one again. |
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122.
|
Overkill - Horrorscope
Expectations: *. Results: +. Once again, Overkill deliver. This is pretty much just as good as The Years Of Decay, and right now I’m feeling very positive about it. Only time will tell whether I actually come back to this in the future and whether its rating is really deserved. |
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123.
|
Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
Expectations: +. Results: +. This one doesn’t have anything comparable to Stargazer, but it’s overall much stronger and more consistent than Rising, so I’d actually say I like it more. Of all the albums I’ve heard with Dio on vocals, this is also perhaps the one where they’re at their best, so props for that. And it’s also a Jojo reference, so what’s not to love. |
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124.
|
Estatic Fear - A Sombre Dance
Expectations: ?. Results: *. Doom metal is always very hit or miss for me, but mostly miss. The same goes for symphonic metal. So a symphonic doom metal album? Yeah it’s kind of a miss. The atmosphere doesn’t really convince me, and I absolutely hate this kind of “beauty and the beast”. I do however appreciate the instrumentation, most notably the folkier passages which are really good, but the vocals are just too much of a negative point for me to truly enjoy this. |
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125.
|
Haggard - Eppur Si Muove
Expectations: ?. Results: --. No. Just no. I just said I didn’t really like symphonic metal and especially beauty and the beast vocals. This album has both. Overly operatic vocals in metal are absolutely horrendous in metal in my humble opinion, and them being contrasted by those very deep growls just sounds really poor. The instrumentation itself just doesn’t fit my tastes at all. This album was designed with everything I dislike in mind, and naturally it doesn’t click. |
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126.
|
Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty
Expectations: +. Results: +. On the other hand, this explores everything I like within Moonsorrow’s sound and pushes it to its limits. This is the best album I have heard from them so far, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it grew into a personal favourite with time. A highlight, for sure. |
 |
127.
|
Virgin Steele - Invictus
Expectations: ?. Results: *. I’m a little conflicted on that one, because it has some great moments, but there’s a whole lot of nothing as well. The vocals are the main weakness here, as they sound like the singer doesn’t want to be too loud, he sounds like he’s whispering, and it just feels absurd in a heavy / power metal album. There are some great riffs and melodies, but there are many moments that just leave me completely unimpressed, and that’s my overall feeling with this release. |
 |
128.
|
Swallow The Sun - New Moon
Expectations: ?. Results: *. I’m a little annoyed at my rating here. You see, this is definitely a great album and some truly high-quality death doom. Everything it does, it does well. But for some reason, I can’t get invested into the songs. This is one of the albums where it’s 100% a me problem and I don’t have any real gripes with the album itself, I just can’t really get into it. |
 |
129.
|
Uaral - Sounds Of Pain
Expectations: +. Results: +. This is an album that has no right working as well as it does. There is practically no metal to be found here, it’s mostly folk music with growls, but that somehow seeps so well. There are hints of a black metallish atmosphere, though the main attraction here is the death doom side of things, but all of this is really secondary to the folk. The cleans are not the greatest, but the deep growls somehow match perfectly the tone and atmosphere of the music and surprisingly do not feel out of place. This is great. |
 |
130.
|
Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond
Expectations: +. Results: *. After the great surprise that was Imaginations From The Other Side, I was eager to listen to what else Blind Guardian had to offer. Unfortunately, this release ended up being a little disappointing. I really liked it at first, but there are some things that just rub me the wrong way. The edge that made me enjoy its sequel so much is already there, but the song writing is lacking in something that I can’t really pinpoint. Tracks like “Theatre Of Pain”, “The Quest For Tanelorn” and “Ashes To Ashes” just get on my nerves for some reason and just diminish my enjoyment of the album. |
|
131.
|
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|
132.
|
Albums I had not listened to in very long: |
|
133.
|
----------------------------- |
 |
134.
|
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Former opinion: -. Updated opinion: +. I have been way too harsh with that one. The one thing that has always bothered me about this release are the dreadful solos. They suck so much that they almost completely removed any enjoyment I had of the album. But after some time, this album is honestly pretty good despite this massive flaw. The whole thing is very catchy and has some very fun riffs, and it goes by so fast that you don't even have time to get bored. I'm torn between a 6 and a 7/10, but overall an enjoyable experience. |
 |
135.
|
Bathory - Hammerheart
Former opinion: +. Updated opinion: +. While Blood Fire Death is an album I frequently come back to, the same cannot be said for Hammerheart. Upon relisten though, man this album is really damn great. The atmosphere it creates is absolutely unique, especially for the time it was made, and were it not for some tracks dragging a little, it could really be a killer album. I'm torn between a 7 and 8 for this one, but it's well worth listening to either way. |
 |
136.
|
Necrophagist - Epitaph
Former opinion: *. Updated opinion: +. Tech death has never really been my favorite thing in the world, and I find it to be an easily boring and repetitive genre. However, Necrophagist have always been an exception to that rule. Now I can't for the life of me figure out why I previously gave this such a low rating given the quality material at hand right there. They managed to make an insanely technical album that doesn't lose the listener's interest (take notes Archspire) and stays entertaining all throughout, which I absolutely salute. |
 |
137.
|
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Former opinion: *. Updated opinion: +. I have, for a few years, been overly harsh with Metallica for a number of stupid reasons. This album is a classic and it deserves it, it's way more intricate and interesting than an average thrash album. And while I still think that RtL may have the edge over this one, it's simply really damn good. |
 |
138.
|
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Former opinion: *. Updated opinion: +. This caught me by surprised by how much better it was from what I remembered. A headbanger from beginning to end, very close in quality to Seasons In The Abyss which is my personal favourite Slayer release. |
 |
139.
|
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
Former opinion: +. Updated opinion: +. An all around very fun and solid tech death album. Not quite the best thing ever made but extremely memorable nonetheless. |
 |
140.
|
Summoning - Stronghold
Former opinion: +. Updated opinion: +. An all around very solid release. Not really my favourite kind of atmoblack, I have to admit, as it lacks a little in the gloomy atmosphere I seek in black metal. Still, very enjoyable and worth listening to. |
 |
141.
|
Savatage - Hall Of The Mountain King
Former opinion: ++. Updated opinion: +. Savatage are a band I liked from the very start, and this album is the reason why. It stands out along other heavy metal releases, it sounds different, intriguing and it still manages to have fun riffs and catchy melodies. For sure a really good album, although it does start to feel very same-y by the time it ends. |
 |
142.
|
Metal Church - Metal Church
Former opinion: *. Updated opinion: +. Wow, I don’t know what I was thinking, this is seriously great! I usually don’t really care for stuff released in the first half of the 80s, but this release has enough edge and is so riff heavy that I just can’t dislike it. For sure one of the best metal releases of the 80s. |
 |
143.
|
Mastodon - Crack The Skye
Former opinion: -. Updated opinion: *. I’ll be honest, I still don’t really get why people love this so much. The vocals especially I think are really lacking compared to the previous three albums, and even the songs themselves aren’t all that great. Good? For sure. A masterpiece? Far from it. |
 |
144.
|
Summoning - Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame
Former opinion: +. Updated opinion: +. Much like Stronghold, this is a really solid release, but nothing I particularly crave. It’s enchanting and hypnotic, but it does lack in the gloomy atmosphere that makes black metal and especially atmospheric black metal particularly stand out. |
 |
145.
|
Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy
Former opinion: ++. Updated opinion: +. As far as power metal goes, this has always been a gold standard for me. The proggier elements manage to truly elevate it and make it way more interesting than a straightforward power metal release. It also has that edge that makes power metal interesting. It pretty much strays away from everything I dislike in power metal and has some really memorable tunes. Definitely worth listening to. |
 |
146.
|
Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
Former opinion: *. Updated opinion: *. Yup, I’m still not really into that one. This album has plenty of fun riffs and choruses, but they’re not all that memorable to me in the grand scheme of things. There are some true standouts, and the ambition this release showed as far back as 1988 is truly commendable, but this isn’t an album for me, and it just always comes back to some pretty standard heavy metal, which I’m not too invested in. |
 |
147.
|
Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream
Former opinion: *. Updated opinion: *. A few years after listening to this for the first time, nothing has changed. It’s a cool little death metal album with the occasional great riff here and there but nothing I particularly crave. |
 |
148.
|
Mastodon - Leviathan
Former opinion: +. Updated opinion: +. Yup, this one still rocks. This is still my favorite Mastodon release, though Remission isn’t too far behind. It’s their most creative and interesting, it has awesome riffs and melodies, and the vocals are really good, especially compared to whatever we got on Crack The Skye. |
|
149.
|
----------------------------- |
|
150.
|
Albums I heard before making the list: |
|
151.
|
----------------------------- |
 |
152.
|
Death - Symbolic
- I really am not too fond of Death's later albums. This one in my opinion has many pacing issues and there are several tracks I either don't care about or don't like. The most frustrating part is that songs do have really good moments, and right as I think a track is going to get interesting, it goes back to what I dislike. |
 |
153.
|
Megadeth - Rust In Peace
+++ A classic of thrash and not for no reason, one I still listen to very often. It's impossible to concisely express everything this album does right, and there are many reviews that explain it better than I ever will. This is the golden standard for thrash metal, and justifyably so. ★ |
 |
154.
|
Judas Priest - Painkiller
- Despite having an absolute killer opener, the rest of the album just doesn't do much for me unfortunately, being on the verge of dislikeable. I'm probably too harsh with it and maybe I should reevaluate my judgement but for the moment I can't get into this one. |
 |
155.
|
Metallica - Ride The Lightning
+ Probably the best thing they've done, full of catchy riffs and interesting compositions. It's on the verge of greatness but the solos are downright unenjoyabe and some tracks lack in memorability. |
 |
156.
|
Opeth - Blackwater Park
++ Took me very long to get into this one but it was worth it. I believe it's a very flawed album, yet I just have a blast whenever I put it on. Opeth's writing never really managed to get me too invested in them after this album, but this is the culmination of the unique blend of progressive and death metal they played from Still Life to Watershed. ★ |
 |
157.
|
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
+ While I definitely don't enjoy it as much as others might, there are still many catchy riffs and more than enjoyable tracks on here. More than 50 years later, this album is still very much worth listening to, which is not something I can say about every early metal album. |
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158.
|
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
++ What do I need to say, it's Powerslave. Potentially my favourite heavy metal album ever. Everything here is mastered to perfection, besides maybe some meandering parts that do not quite do the album justice. ★ |
 |
159.
|
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
+ While it does have some wonderful tracks (Hallowed Be Thy Name), it also has stuff I really do not care about (Invaders). But still, a very fun album to listen to. |
 |
160.
|
Agalloch - The Mantle
* I just can't seem to get into this one. I usually really like atmoblack, but The Mantle never manages to get me invested in where the songs are going, which is a crucial thing when crafting long atmospheric tracks. |
 |
161.
|
Death - The Sound Of Perseverance
-- What a fall from grace, this album is an absolute disaster for the ears. Random riffs that go nowhere and songs way too long for their own good, this one has almost nothing I enjoy. It tries to do things differently and never succeeds at making those thing sound good. |
 |
162.
|
Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
+ For some reason this one managed to catch my attention much more than The Mantle. Falling Snow is an absolutely great song and the rest of the album never bores me like The Mantle does. |
 |
163.
|
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
+ One of Maiden's best, I might have underrated it here. It's by far their most successful foray into progressive metal, maybe because it never strays far from the heavy metal sound they had mastered by then. The tracks are never too long for their own good and never lack in interesting ideas, making for an overall great listen. |
 |
164.
|
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
+ This one hits you with classic song after classic song, not one dull moment here. I have to admit that I'm not the greatest hard rock fan, which might be why I rate this album relatively low compared to other people, but it's still damn great. |
 |
165.
|
Rainbow - Rising
* Rising is a really unbalanced album, as Stargazer completely steals the show while the rest of the album is not nearly as memorable. Worth listening for that song alone, but I rarely see myself coming back to hear the rest. |
 |
166.
|
Edge Of Sanity - Crimson
+++ This album is a riff factory that never ceases to amaze. In my eyes, the greatest death metal album ever written. Not one second is wasted, it goes from interesting idea to interesting idea and with some of the best riffs ever written. I will never get tired of it. ★ |
 |
167.
|
Opeth - Still Life
++ I'm not sure whether I like this one or Blackwater Park the most. Either way, extremely replayable and catchy album despite some pretty long songs. It's always a pleasure to listen to it. ★ |
 |
168.
|
Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane
+++ The quintessential black metal album right there. It's the one that made me fall in love with the genre and only one other black metal album has managed to dethrone it in my heart. Some of the best riffs, solos and melodies ever written. Amazing from front to back. ★ |
 |
169.
|
King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
++ An incredibly weird album by 1969 standards and yet an incredibly fun, catchy and inventive one. It's been praised countless times and it's not for no reason. ★ |
 |
170.
|
Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory
+++ My favourite album of all time, nothing else to add. ★ |
 |
171.
|
Tool - Lateralus
-- I used to be really into this one circa 2019 but as time passes by I just keep disliking it more and more. I feel like the tracks really go nowhere most of the time and it's incredibly frustrating, as a few tracks actually do have a good progression (Lateralus, Ticks and Leeches), which shows that Tool actually know how to write good songs, and I wonder why they don't do it more often. |
 |
172.
|
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell
+ Incredibly fun album, Dio's vocals are just top notch. It's pretty different from the Ozzy era, with the doom metal aspect of Sabbath's sound being almost completely dropped, but this change seems to be for the better as Heaven And Hell is incredibly successful in everything it tries to do. |
 |
173.
|
Dio - Holy Diver
* / |
 |
174.
|
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II
- I am not a big fan of power metal, and this album perfectly embodies that. No song here manages to really have me invested and the vocals are downright unlistenable. |
 |
175.
|
Rush - Moving Pictures
+ While I like Rush's 70s sound much more, this album is still very fun to listen to and has a number of great tracks in it. I don't come back to it as often as I should but whenever I do it's always a great time. |
 |
176.
|
Dream Theater - Images And Words
++ As much as I love Dream Theater, I think this release is a tad bit overrated. It's still great mind you, but some songs (the ballads) just don't really do it for me. On the other hand, holy hell the rest of the album is SO GOOD. Take the Time, Learning to Live, Under a Glass Moon, Metropolis Pt.1... All these tracks are masterpieces and each listen makes me somehow appreciate them more. A prog classic and deservedly so. ★ |
 |
177.
|
Deep Purple - Machine Head
+++ The best hard rock album ever. The riffs, the solos, the vocals, the bass, the guitar, everything is absolutely perfect. It grabs you with Highway Star and only lets you go after Space Truckin' (or When a Blind Man Cries, depending on your version of the album) is over. A must-listen. ★ |
 |
178.
|
Wintersun - Wintersun
* This one really does nothing for me. I don't really like either power or melodic death metal, so it's still quite the prowess that I don't actively dislike this album, but I didn't find it particularly memorable and I never come back to it. |
 |
179.
|
Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter
- No matter how many times I tried to listen to this, I just never managed to like it. I have genuinely no idea of what it is about it that makes me dislike it because this should be an instant hit for me. |
 |
180.
|
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
- The very first metal album was not really one I enjoyed all that much. Black Sabbath would only really establish their sound on the next release, and this album, despite some good tracks, is too much on the bluesy side for me. It gets a little boring and for that reason I don't really ever come back to it. |
 |
181.
|
Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality
+ On the other hand, Master Of Reality is the perfection of what early Sabbath is all about and it's still an album I very much enjoy. |
 |
182.
|
Rush - 2112
++ I might have overrated this one a little, but the title track is just so much fun, I really love it. The other tracks are also fun, but the brilliance of the title track is still almost unmatched today. |
 |
183.
|
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
* Post-BP Opeth really doesn't work on me. This is definitely the best album of that era, and I might have actually underrated it a little, but it doesn't even compare to their first 5 releases. |
 |
184.
|
Death - Human
+ Now this is a good Death album. Their first proggy one and it's a hit. All the tracks are really good and memorable and the album overall flows really well and feels very distinct from the rest of the dm scene of the time. |
 |
185.
|
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I
* The sole reason I like this one more than its follow-up is because the track Halloween is an absolute banger. The rest of the album is once again really not my cup of tea. |
 |
186.
|
Sepultura - Arise
+ Another riff machine, this time coming from Brazil. As far as the more aggressive side of thrash goes, this is among the best there is. |
 |
187.
|
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
+ This is, I believe, the culmination of Slayer's carrier. It does everything right and improves in all the areas its predecessors lacked. It's the perfect compromise between the frantic Reign in Blood and the more atmospheric South of Heaven, and also one of the only Slayer albums where the solos don't magistrally suck. |
 |
188.
|
King Crimson - Red
* I do not know why I can't get into this one but it really does not quite convince me the same way the debut does. I have only heard it a few times, which might be why it didn't fully grab me yet, and hopefully a few relistens will get me more invested in it. |
 |
189.
|
Mgła - Exercises In Futility
+ Some very good black metal, nothing more nothing less. I really don't understand how this managed to please so many people, to the point of ending up in the MS top 200, but it's a high quality release that got the success it deserved. |
 |
190.
|
Rush - Hemispheres
++ Probably the peak of Rush's carrier. Some outstanding tracks here and nothing to throw away. ★ |
 |
191.
|
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
* I don't really know what it is about this one that I don't like, might be the singer's voice because I enjoyed the little I've heard of Nightfall much more than this one. Not bad by any means but nothing I particularly want to come back to. |
 |
192.
|
Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja
+ Just a straight up really fun album, nothing absolutely mindblowing but it's very enjoyable to listen to. This blend of folkish and melodic black metal album works surprisingly well without ever getting as cheesy as something like Nokturnal Mortum on Nechrist and Goat Horns, making for a really fun album. |
 |
193.
|
Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk
+ Most definitely my favourite Emperor album. The tracks here are much better written and overall much more memorable than on the debut. It's the perfect sophomore album, does everything the debut did right and improves on every other aspect. |
 |
194.
|
Ayreon - The Human Equation
- Might be too cheesy for its own good. I dig the gimmick of having each vocalist play a different character but the music itself is really not interesting enough most of the time and it ends up dragging despite some real highlights. |
 |
195.
|
Gojira - From Mars To Sirius
* Never really managed to get into Gojira, their tracks don't really grab me and it all sounds a little too similar for my liking, though World To Come is a real highlight here. |
 |
196.
|
Vektor - Black Future
++ A real riff machine that put Vektor on the map, and for a good reason. It's by far their thrashiest release and the progressive elements never take away from the tracks like they can do in Outer Isolation, but instead beautifully add to them. A masterful debut. ★ |
 |
197.
|
Septicflesh - Communion
* I am really not too fond of Septicflesh's style on this album. I dig their early style much more and it feels like they really lost themselves with that over emphasis on the symphonic part of their sound. |
 |
198.
|
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
++ What can I say, Maiden have done it again. Incredibly fun and memorable album with some of their very best tracks. ★ |
 |
199.
|
Alice In Chains - Dirt
+ As someone not really into grunge, this is a very catchy album and one I'm inclined to listen to every now and then. |
 |
200.
|
Coroner - No More Color
+ Just some pure good thrash, nothing more, nothing less. |
 |
201.
|
Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal
+++ Potentially the best thing that straightforward death metal has to offer. The riffs are absolutely immaculate and it's a non-stop headbanger. ★ |
 |
202.
|
Aquilus - Griseus
- This one just doesn't do it for me. The classical sections drag on and lose my attention while the black metal parts don't manage to convince me either. |
 |
203.
|
Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness
+ A really great album especially as far as early death metal goes, but I think Morbid Angel released some much better stuff afterwards, and maybe Covenant would fit better in this list. Nonetheless, this is a great release. |
 |
204.
|
Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance
+ The best JP album by a long shot, very fun and enjoyable all throughout with little time wasted. |
 |
205.
|
Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind
* While it does have some really good songs, overall the quality is much lesser than the rest of Maiden's output in the top 200. But I should probably revisit this album more often, as it is one of the ones I am the least familiar with. |
 |
206.
|
Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith
* One of the better JP albums but still not quite my thing. JP are not a band I particularly crave despite their qualities, so I'll stay with Screaming for Vengeance if I need a JP fix. |
 |
207.
|
Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery
++ I put listening to this one off for a long time due to my general dislike for the gothenburg style of melodeath, but I was positively surprised, this album is really damn fun! Definitely recommended as far as melodeath goes. ★ |
 |
208.
|
Windir - 1184
++ While it has some forgettable tracks, the majority of the album is immaculate and endlessly replayable. Top quality Windir writing mixed in with some less interesting stuff. ★ |
 |
209.
|
At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul
* This one starts off strong and then just loses me. Really not an album I ever come back to. Also I am not too fond of the vocals. |
 |
210.
|
Death - Individual Thought Patterns
++ Maybe my favourite Death album. Every track here is very memorable and Digiorgio's fretless bass is a superb addition to it. The vocals are definitely a bit weak but the rest more than makes up for it. ★ |
 |
211.
|
In Flames - The Jester Race
- The sole reason why I don't trust Gothenburg metal. This is painfully boring and unenjoyable and I do not want to hear it again. |
 |
212.
|
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
* Definitely one of the less memorable releases of early Zeppelin. It's not bad but I don't ever come back to it. |
 |
213.
|
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
* I am so sorry but I really don't like King Diamond's vocals and they make enjoying Mercyful Fate really hard for me. Instrumentally this is good but I can't bring myself to listen to it again very often. |
 |
214.
|
Carcass - Heartwork
+ Simply some very good melodeath, though it has worn down on me since I first heard it. It set some of the bases for the Gothenburg style, which I am not too fond of, and overall I like the 2 Carcass albums released before this one more, but it's still nice to listen to it every now and then. |
 |
215.
|
Motörhead - Ace Of Spades
- I'm guessing this is simply not my thing. Very repetitive and not something I find all that interesting, plus I am not too fond of Lemmy's vocals. |
 |
216.
|
Mercyful Fate - Melissa
- It's like Don't Break The Oath but less interesting instrumentally, so I find no reason to ever come back to it. |
 |
217.
|
Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards
+ An incredibly fun and catchy hard rock album. |
 |
218.
|
Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
* This one really lacks in memorability. I Am The Black Wizards is the only track I see myself returning back to, the rest of the album doesn't do much for me, which is a shame because there's a lot of potential, as Anthems has shown. Bonus point for the Mercyful Fate cover, which I think is a highlight of the album and somehow makes me enjoy both Emperor and Mercyful Fate at the same time. |
 |
219.
|
Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields
+ / |
 |
220.
|
Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors
++ This album is a real gem when it comes to avant-garde metal and all the tracks here are brilliant. Maybe what it lacks in would be the harsh vocals but otherwise it's magnificent. Arcturus never managed to make anything as good as this, and it being the only avant-garde album in the top 200 really shows that (although Imaginary Sonicscapes is just short of 200 votes, and DSO's Fas could do with the avant-garde tag). ★ |
 |
221.
|
Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes
* This is a cool album but it's really not the type of metal I enjoy the most. I am much more into Elegy than this, though to be fair I haven't listened to Tales a lot. |
 |
222.
|
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
+ One of the best Sabbath albums, this one is just incredibly fun all throughout. Whenever I feel like listening to them, it's between this, Heaven and Hell and Master of Reality. |
 |
223.
|
Between The Buried And Me - Colors
++ I haven't listened to it in a while but man what a fun album. Expertly written, engaging all throughout and with some very successful emotional passages, which is something pretty hard to pull off in metal. I'll never forget listening to Sun of Nothing for the first time. As far as metalcore goes, this is the golden standard. ★ |
 |
224.
|
Isis - Panopticon
++ I am not too fond of post-metal but this one album managed to capture my interest in a way no other has. ★ |
 |
225.
|
Opeth - Morningrise
+++ My favourite Opeth album, it captures everything I like about the early years of the band with maybe more of a black metal vibe than any of their other records, which I'm all for. It might be meandering at times and there are many superfluous moments, but I think it adds to the unique charm this album and Orchid have. ★ |
 |
226.
|
Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
+ Surprisingly my least favourite of Megadeth's first 4 albums. It is very good but the riffs and the tracks in general are not quite as good as what the other 3 albums have done, though its highs are very high. Bonus point also for the unique gloomy atmosphere it sets, it's something I haven't really ever seen replicated in thrash. |
 |
227.
|
Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny
* One of the better JP albums but once again I just don't think that band is really for me. |
 |
228.
|
Cynic - Focus
+++ Top quality progressive death metal. The songwriting is excellent, and the vocoder vocals are to die for. Not a singe dull moment here. ★ |
 |
229.
|
Bathory - Blood Fire Death
++ A masterpiece of early black metal. The atmosphere it creates is wonderful and the tracks are among the best ever written. Potentially my favourite album of the 80s. ★ |
 |
230.
|
Shining - V - Halmstad
- While I really like Shining's 4th album, this one just drags on and on and never gets too interesting unfortunately. I am not too fond of DSBM in general though, so that might explain my feelings toward this release. |
 |
231.
|
Van Halen - Van Halen
+ / |
 |
232.
|
Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse
+ Definitely the weakest out of Opeth's first 5 but there is still a lot to enjoy here for sure. It marks a real evolution from the early meandering style of Orchid and Morningrise toward something more concise and more conventionally progressive that they would expand on in Still Life and Blackwater Park. Unfortunately, being a transitional album, it doesn't really have all the qualities of the eras that came before and after but it's still a really damn good album. |
 |
233.
|
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
+ A very fun album full of catchy riffs and memorable solos. I'm probably very biased here as GNR were a big part of my childhood, but this album is very easy to just put on and enjoy without worrying too much. |
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234.
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Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
+ A very good and influential album for hard-rock as a whole. Once again, I am not the biggest hard-rock fan and even though I do really like Led Zepp, my favorite album of theirs is the more folk-oriented Led Zeppelin 3. |
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235.
|
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
- I do not like groove metal at all and this album catalyses all the tropes of the genre. Boring, repetitive and pointless. |
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236.
|
Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence
+ / |
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237.
|
Rush - A Farewell To Kings
++ Maybe my second favourite Rush album, this one is once again incredibly well crafted and engaging all throughout. ★ |
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238.
|
Edge Of Sanity - Crimson II
+ A good follow-up to Crimson and most importantly a great comeback album for EOS, this one manages to capture some of the brilliance of Crimson and make new, interesting stuff with it. |
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239.
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Exodus - Bonded By Blood
-- There are few albums that I dislike as much as this one. Each second spent listening to Exodus has me wondering when the torture will end. There is quite literally not a single thing I enjoy here, and it's one of the few albums I actively do not want to hear again. |
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240.
|
Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant
+ This is a more than decent album, but I feel like as far as symphonic black metal goes, there is just much much better stuff available. Obtained Enslavement, Odium or some of Nokturnal Mortum's stuff come to mind. |
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241.
|
Vektor - Terminal Redux
+++ This is, in my opinion, the best thrash metal album ever made. But I think that's in part due to it being much more focused on prog than on thrash. The heights this album reaches are unimaginable, and tracks like Recharging the Void just elevate it to the status of modern classic, and deservedly so. ★ |
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242.
|
Windir - Arntor
+++ My favourite black metal album of all times, the only one that managed to dethrone Dissection in my heart. A perfect release from beginning to end. ★ |
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243.
|
Kreator - Coma Of Souls
* A thrash metal album, nothing too special. I'm not the biggest thrash fan and this album doesn't do anything that particularly interests me. |
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244.
|
Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum
++ While I think DSO peaked later with Paracletus, this album is absolutely massive and a modern classic of the genre. Its intricate songwriting and excellent production make it something really special. ★ |
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245.
|
Dan Swanö - Moontower
++ Swanö once again delivers an incredibly engaging and fun prog album. Though it's not quite as great as what he's done with Edge Of Sanity and even Pan.Thy.Monium, it's still Dan Swanö. The man simply never misses. ★ |
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246.
|
Entombed - Left Hand Path
+ A really fun album packed with good riffs and fun songs. It might not quite be a classic in my eyes, but I still come back to it every now and then. |
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247.
|
Anthrax - Among The Living
+ A cool album, but Anthrax had a lot more potential, which was only fully realized on the much better Persistence Of Time. |
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248.
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Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
+ This one is much thrashier than VDOP and it shows, it's incredibly more engaging and enjoyable and an actually good album. I never thought thrash could elevate an album but Cowboys From Hell proves me wrong and it's the only Pantera album I ever come back to. |
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249.
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Deep Purple - In Rock
++ A gem of early hard rock with wonderful tracks and most notably the masterpiece that is Child In Time. Really showed the potential Deep Purple had (despite some already very solid early albums) and it's still one of the bery best hard rock albums ever written. ★ |
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250.
|
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
+ A quintessential record for black metal. Despite often being considered a basic and fairly regular black metal album, this is no one trick poney and it does experiment a lot. The vocals alone are enough to separate it from any other bm record of the era, and the recognition it gets is completely deserved. |
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251.
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Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious
+ Carcass' first foray into more melodic death metal is definitely its most successful, as it stays close to its grindcore-based roots. It's a uniquely successful blend that manages to capture my interest more than anything else the band has released. |
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252.
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Obituary - Cause Of Death
+ I am usually not too fond of Obituary's rather simplistic style, but this album is still very fun to listen to. It might be the best thing this interpretation of death metal can achieve without feeling boring and repetitive, a really good effort. |
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253.
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Cryptopsy - None So Vile
++ A real cornerstone of brutal death metal, it's not a surprise that it made its way here. The one thing distinguishing it from other technical brutal death metal records of the era is how it manages to retain a real sense of melody, making for a very enticing and entertaining album for its short 32 minutes run time. Each track here is a clasic. ★ |
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254.
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Rush - Permanent Waves
* While the 70s were the true peak of Rush' creativity, the 80s marked a drastic shift that Permanent Waves fully embodies. The complexity and inventiveness of previous outputs has been dropped off for a simpler and more radio-friendly sound. While it's a disappointment, the record is not bad by any means and maybe with a few more listens I could get more invested in it, but so far it hasn't managed to keep my interest. |
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255.
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Bolt Thrower - ...For Victory
++ One of the very best records by one of the very best death metal bands around. Bolt Thrower's style stayed relatively similar throughout their entire career, and this album is one of the best executions of said style. Memorable riffs and solos are plethora and will definitely make you come back for more. ★ |
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256.
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Wilderun - Veil Of Imagination
* This is pure Opeth-core in both the good and the bad, but mostly the bad. My main problem with this release is that it has some awesome riffs and melodies, but they’re lost in a sea of nothingness and boredom. Every once in a while you wake up and start thinking “oh shit this is good” but within 5 minutes my interest drops once again. |
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257.
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Opeth - Deliverance
-- Deliverance, o Deliverance. What a waste of an album. After 5 great releases, Opeth completely dropped the ball and made their most uninteresting album at the time. The songs are so painfully bland and unmemorable that it actually makes going through this album a chore, at least it does for me. This is one I avoid coming back to, because every time I do, I’m disappointed again. |
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258.
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Agalloch - Pale Folklore
- It seems that Agalloch got better with every release, because of their first 3, this is the one I like the least. Something’s missing here, the songs are not nearly as enjoyable or memorable and, the vocals are much weaker than usual. |
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259.
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Annihilator - Alice In Hell
+ Alice In Hell is a really good album and has some very enjoyable and memorable thrash tracks, but I can’t help but point out that Never, Neverland is superior in almost every way, and so I have close to no reason to ever come back to this one. |
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260.
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Necrophagist - Onset Of Putrefaction
* This one isn’t nearly as good an memorable as Epitaph, but it’s still very fun and enjoyable. |
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261.
|
Dissection - The Somberlain
++ Even before their groundbreaking sophomore, Dissection were already making huge waves in the black metal community with this absolutely amazing release. The riffs, melodies and solos are already there, all they needed was some extra polish that would later make Storm Of The Light’s Bane, but The Somberlain is still one of the greatest metal albums ever released. ★ |
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262.
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Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler
++ Talking about great black metal releases, Bergtatt is a true masterpiece of the genre and is very unique compared to the black metal of the time. It’s lighter, has some clean vocals making it more approachable, but man it’s such a beautiful release. It deserves all the praise it gets and more. ★ |
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263.
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Negură Bunget - OM
* On the other hand, I never quite got what was so great about OM. It’s a good release for sure, but I don’t really see anything in it warranting such a good rating. I find the album maybe lacking in memorability, and that’s quite a shame because it has a truly great sound. |
. I really tortured myself for this list, hope you guys enjoy it!