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 27th, 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

      View entire list ››

1.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

2.Machine Head - The Blackening

3.Alter Bridge - Blackbird

4.Nile - Ithyphallic

5.W.A.S.P. - Dominator

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This list shows only my preferences in metal. These albums are not necessarily the best of the bands written by, but I return to them again and again. In my opinion, all this masterpieces confirm the variety and greatness of metal music.
Rules:
1. One album per band.
2. Ordered from highest position (top) to lowest (bottom).
3. No heavy, power, doom, gothic, sludge/stoner albums.

1.Children Of Bodom - Follow The Reaper

2.Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia

3.In Flames - Clayman

4.Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos

5.Gojira - From Mars To Sirius

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The albums below is my definition of extreme metal music, regardless of their genre. Entire list is based only on my personal preferences in metal.
Rules:
1. One album per band
2. 305 groups/305 albums

1.In Flames - Clayman

2.Metallica - ...And Justice For All

3.Chimaira - Chimaira

4.Death - Symbolic

5.Testament - The New Order

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Hardcore, Metalcore, Deathcore, Grindcore, Earthscore, Applecore...these are my top "core" albums

1.The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works

2.Cephalic Carnage - Anomalies

3.Every Time I Die - Low Teens

4.Poison The Well - Versions

5.Between The Buried And Me - Alaska

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1.Afgrund - Vid Helvetets Grindar

2.After Forever - After Forever

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

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1.All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals

2.Bleeding Through - The Truth

3.Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache

4.Dry Kill Logic - The Darker Side Of Nonsense

5.Evergreen Terrace - Sincerity Is An Easy Disguise In This Business

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Well, here I put my personal top with which to me have been the best albums of 2007. They are not all they are, but if they all are.

1.The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal

2.Machine Head - The Blackening

3.Between The Buried And Me - Colors

4.The Sorrow - Blessings From A Blackened Sky

5.Darkest Hour - Deliver Us

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A bunch of albums with a big circle on the cover

1.Karnivool - Sound Awake

2.Skyclad - The Silent Whales Of Lunar Sea

3.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

4.Pentagram - Pentagram

5.Russian Circles - Empros

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Under Construction

1.Baroness - Blue Record

2.Baroness - A Grey Sigh in a Flower Husk [Split]

3.Black Tusk - Taste The Sin

4.Kylesa - Static Tensions

5.Darkest Hour - Deliver Us

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Metal albums (and yes, I consider metalcore to be metal) that rocked my world, with maximum 2 albums per band sorted by bands in alphabetic order. Live, EP and compilation albums allowed, also including hard rock and stoner rock albums.

It will be updated as I discover new bands so check it sometime

1.Alabama Thunderpussy - Open Fire

2.Alice In Chains - Dirt

3.All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals

4.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

5.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

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Metal and not so metal albums that had huge impact on my taste as metalhead and love for "heavy" music, ordered approximately by time I first listened to them

1.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

2.Children Of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll

3.In Flames - The Jester Race

4.Lamb Of God - Sacrament

5.Sepultura - Arise

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1.Dio - Holy Diver

2.Huntress - Spell Eater

3.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

4.Judas Priest - British Steel

5.Nightmare - Insurrection

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Some albums are really good. Many of these are good all the way around. And, in many cases, there is a single song that stands out, sometimes it's the last song on the album. This is a list of those songs.

For a more in depth look at this, I've codified each into a given category:
Type 1 - 'The long song at the end.' Often the title track. These have a tendency to be most well written and dynamic pieces on the album.

1.!T.O.O.H.! - Order And Punishment (Řád A Trest)

2.Abigail Williams - Becoming

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Amon Amarth - Versus The World

5.Anekdoten - Vemod

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1.Avenged Sevenfold - City Of Evil

2.DevilDriver - The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand

3.Five Finger Death Punch - War Is The Answer

4.Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes

5.Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache

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