just rating albums as I listen to them, work in progress

1. blind guardian - imaginations from the other side

2. helloween - keeper of the seven keys part II

3. wintersun - wintersun

4. symphony x - the divine wings of tragedy

5. gamma ray - land of the free

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Ratings go from:

WORSHIP ❤️❤️❤️: Absolute greatness, a mindblowing album.
LOVE ❤️❤️🖤: Amazing release with very few flaws.
LIKE ❤️🖤🖤: Enjoyable but far from perfect.
DISLIKE 💔: Not very good or maybe not fitting my tastes.

I've decided to stop rating albums with a numerical value as I tend to feel uncomfortable with that. This list has a minimalistic, subjective and visceral approach, based purely on sensations and personal tastes. Mainly for personal use and doesn't pretend to be a serious ranking, but emerges from the need to remember which bands and albums I enjoyed and the ones I disliked. I constantly revisit new releases so first impressions may change over time. It usually takes 8-10 spins for me to get completely sure of a rating.

1. Æther Realm - Tarot

2. Abhoria - Abhoria

3. Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4. Agrypnie - Metamorphosis

5. Allegaeon - Fragments Of Form And Function

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The bands are in that order on purpose, from most to least favorite, but favorite nonetheless. The format is:

band | favourite album by the band | favorite song (or 2) by the band

1. Meshuggah - Nothing

2. Opeth - Blackwater Park

3. Immolation - Close to a World Below

4. Death - Symbolic

5. Agalloch - The Mantle

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I like to create playlists for fun when I'm not busy. Usually, though, I abandon them soon after. I want this playlist to be a bit different - perhaps not infinitely useful, but I associate all these songs with the season of winter and the winter holidays, and I'll be listening to all these a lot at least for a while. I thought I'd share the songs I included in my digital playlist, maybe you'll find something you like. Many of these are purposely blasphemous - I live surrounded by fundamentalist Christians and they're gonna spend the holidays singing about the birth of Christ - I need me some counterbalance.

1. Dream Theater - Awake

2. Immolation - Close to a World Below

3. Vader - Impressions in Blood

4. Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane

5. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse

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1. Dream Theater - Images and Words

2. Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

3. Wintersun - Wintersun

4. Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane

5. Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

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Note: Tool intentionally ommitted because they don't consider themselves metal. Otherwise you'd see their first 4 albums in top 25.

Last updated: 3 June 2022

1. Agalloch - The Mantle

2. Opeth - Blackwater Park

3. Edge of Sanity - Crimson

4. Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

5. Lost Horizon - A Flame to the Ground Beneath

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These are my favorite opening songs of all time. When I listened to them, I was instantly hooked! Whether it starts with a slow instrumental build-up or an aggressive assault of riffs, these openers set the tone for the rest of their respective albums. Enjoy!

1. Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance

2. Judas Priest - Painkiller

3. Summoning - Minas Morgul

4. Megadeth - Rust in Peace

5. Testament - The Legacy

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I've included my top 3 songs from each album. below I have done a list for the bands with the most albums listed:

1. Running Wild (GER) 3, 5, 35, 39, 57, 63, 67.
2. Iced Earth (U.S) 6, 12, 26, 30, 45.
3. Blind Guardian (GER) 1, 4, 27, 56.
4. Helloween (GER) 14, 19, 51, 68.
5. Children Of Bodom (FIN) 38, 60, 62, 70.

1. Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

2. Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath

3. Running Wild - Black Hand Inn

4. Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

5. Running Wild - Death Or Glory

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These are (in my opinion) the best metal songs of all time. I've limited myself to choosing a maximum of TWO SONGS PER ALBUM so that there can be some diversity in the bands that appear.
The genres are mainly heavy, thrash, and death metal - with some black and power metal too.
Format: Band - Album - SONG

1. Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

2. Iron Maiden - Powerslave

3. Judas Priest - Painkiller

4. Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith

5. Dio - Holy Diver

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Must Listen: The First 10

1. Dark Tranquillity - Haven

2. Pain Of Salvation - The Perfect Element, Part I

3. Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World

4. In Flames - Clayman

5. Fates Warning - Disconnected

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1. Opeth - Still Life

2. Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down

3. Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4. In Flames - Whoracle

5. Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

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More than 15 years that I listen to Children Of Bodom they open me to extreme metal and have a huge impact in my life . Here my favorites albums in order .
the picture was the first time I see them in 2005 and the last time in 2019 in Montreal.

1. Children Of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll

2. Children Of Bodom - Follow The Reaper

3. Children Of Bodom - Hatebreeder

4. Children Of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet?

5. Children Of Bodom - Something Wild

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1. Nevermore - Dead Heart in a Dead World

2. Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element, Part I

3. Spiral Architect - A Sceptic's Universe

4. Fates Warning - Disconnected

5. Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite

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1997-2019

1. Children of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet?

2. Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper

3. Children of Bodom - Halo of Blood

4. Children of Bodom - Blooddrunk

5. Children of Bodom - Something Wild

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2005-2009 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5838
2010-2014 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5828
2015-2019 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6722

I sure do love this site and it's rating system, it makes finding great music so easy and, even more importantly, when an album is overlooked for a while but starts getting a buzz a few months later, boom, there it appears in the top 20.

1. Opeth - Blackwater Park

2. Agalloch - The Mantle

3. Tool - Lateralus

4. Wintersun - Wintersun

5. Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World

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