10 favorite records from each metal genre (one per band).

[karljant]

I always thought that Rap Metal/Nu Metal was and is shit to me. If you ask some members of these bands what are their influences. They don't tell you Maiden, Priest or traditional Metal. I've never considered Heavy Metal or some limb of the Metal genre. In fact I hate them.
If I would say some band. or some album about it I would say Anthrax (I'm the Man EP with Public Enemy collaboration. It's total shit) Faith No More with Angel Dust or The Real Thing albums, the first Living Colour albums (they're fantastic musicians) the first Rage against the Machine album and I think that's all. I don't want to offend anyone but the rest are absolutely shit I don't like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Korn, Slipknot,Linkin Park…

Mmmmm... I also hate the majority of Nu Metal bands (and some I hate them with a passion) but you have to check your facts.

To begin withe Anthrax's I Am The Man was recorded in 1987 and the song has no Public Enemy collaboration. It was composed and performed by the band alone. I think you're talking about the collaboration between that happened between the two bands in 1991 with Bring The Noise (a new version of a Public Enemy old tune).
Now, back when those bands started to appear from everywhere I also thought the same as you when you say " If you ask some members of these bands what are their influences. They don't tell you Maiden, Priest or traditional Metal." and later came to understand that the amount of traditional metal those bands like and quoted as influences is quite relevant. To begin with every single one of them are huge Sabbath and Metallica fans. Then:

• Papa Roach : huge fans of Queen, Zeppelin and Iron Maiden (just listen to the guitar harmony on last resort)... hey and bear in mind I don't like this band the slightest.
• Ice-T was already a metal fan at young age when he was making the first steps on his Rap career.
• Slipknot: One of their absolute favorite bands is Kiss. Corey Taylor is a huge Dio and Maiden fan (he even recorded covers of Rainbow In the Dark and Running Free with Stone Sour) and quoted Mercury, Dave Lee Roth, Dickinson and Hetfield as his favorite singers. The late Joe Jordison was a huge extreme metal and classic metal fan (Mercyful Fate, Anthrax, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Slayer, Led Zeppelin, etc...) while quoting names such as Keith Moon, Bonham, Benante, Lombardo and Ulrich among his most influential drummers. And once again this is a band I really don't like.
• Mudvayne: When it comes to these guys it even gets weirder: besides Sabbath and Zeppelin, the band cited a bunch of old prog bands as their influences like ELP, King Crimson, Genesis and Rush.
• Godsmack: Besides the obvious Alice in Chains vibe, these guys love way older stuff like Zeppelin, Rush and frontman Sully Emma even cites Aerosmith, Motorhead and Judas Priest (as matter of fact they made a cover of Hell Bent For Leather if I'm not mistaken). And this is another band I absolutely dislike.
• Stuck Mojo: Besides Sabbath and Pantera these guys love Motley Crue and Maiden to a point they made a cover of Wrathchild (it comes on the limited version of the album I picked: Pigwalk).
• Linkin Park quote bands such as Led Zeppelin, Queen and even The Beatles among their favorites... once again a band I'm not a fan of.
• Even when it comes to the infamous Limp Bizkit, guitar player Wes Borland cites albums such as The Dark Side Of The Moon, Kill 'Em All, and Carcass's Necroticism (!!!!) among his favorites ever alongside other more obvious influences like Prong and Ministry. And man do I hate Limp Bizkit!

So as you can see what are your influences may differ a lot from what you end up playing since other influences come to the equation while you're trying to create your own sound and style. There are also cases of big names in metal that quote really "unmetal" stuff among their favorite bands.

 

[DJMayes]

Haha, I've noticed a lot of stuff in your lists that I really love but for some reason most people here never mention anywhere.

Not surprising, I feel like I'm supposed to act ashamed for liking some of the bands as well...

 

[Forostar]

Body Count - Body Count (1992): Many may not know but Mr. Ice-T while making his ascension as a rapper has been a metal enthusiast since young age especially when it came to Sabbath and Slayer. So when his friend Ernie C suggested they could form a metal band, Ice-T was all in. And this record shows these dudes were really in for it. Body Count's In The House is one of the most iconic Rap Metal songs ever, with the title track and Momma's Gotta Die Tonight following the same pattern when it came to music and lyrics (racism, urban violence, social affairs and police brutality). On the other hand so me songs are more daring into metal territory like There Goes The Neighborhood, the hilarious Evil Dick or the hugely controversial Cop Killer. Overall this was the first chapter of a long career with its ups and downs (RIP D-Roc) but nonetheless a hugely influential album.

D-Roc was the third from that classic line-up of the first two albums, who died.
First went RIP Beatmaster V (leukemia, 1996), then RIP Mooseman (drive by shooting, 2001).
I take pride in having seen them, in 1994.

Clawfinger is a cool band as well! I'll probably go for their debut.
Senser as well. Wow, this brings back some memories. Takes me back, going out to a place where they played this, and a lot of other stuff. Loud.

 

[Forostar]

Rage Against the Machine - The Battle Of Los Angeles (1999): Unlike many I was never impressed with RATM's first two albums and always found them overrated. T

I reckon you've missed this.

It was live on TV here. The band made a HUGE impact, instantly. Their intensity! Insanely good. They lost that somewhat in later years.

 

[karljant]

First went RIP Beatmaster

Yeah... forgot to mention him

RIP Mooseman (drive by shooting, 2001).

Now this I wasn't aware of... and drive by shooting? F'd Up!

 

[karljant]

I reckon you've missed this.

It was live on TV here. The band made a HUGE impact, instantly. Their intensity! Insanely good. They lost that somewhat in later years.

Meh... I don't know but somehow neither their debut nor Evil Empire worked for me (the only track I recall liking somewhat was Take The Power Back). TBOLA on the other hand while not loving it like the others from my list has a different bounce, a different groove. And that's all in Morello's riff. I don't know how to explain because it is not like he drastically changed his playing style (far from it) but IMO there's a bit more old school groove in it.

 

[karljant]

Ok peeps... time for some Prog Metal:

Voivod - Dimension Hatross (1988): Well... here's the second appearance by Voivod. And while the differences between this record and the previous are not drastic, there's a slower pace and less heavier tone while the Prog and dissonant aspects remain untouched. Hymns like Tribal Convictions, Psychic Vacuum, Brain Scan, Macrosolutions to Megaproblems and Cosmic Drama prove once again that the Canadian quartet were at the top of their game.

Queensryche - Promised Land (1994): 'Ryche had to be here too and I was inclined to pick Rage For Order (perhaps my favorite) but when Prog alone comes to the table I think Promised Land is where the Seattle band mingled it the best in their sound. Nothing too flashy or really easy spotting similitudes with x or y band within Prog but with the said genre truly embedded within the record's DNA. The title track, Out Of Mind, Disconnected, I Am I, Damaged, On More Time and Someone Else? are the songs that for me build one of the most serious yet well crafted record the band ever did. Despite every song being significantly different from the next other there's this underlying link between every track's amazing vibe.

Devin Townsend - Infinity (1998): Well to put it simple this is easily one of my top 5 records of all time so... Yeah what can I say? Never did I listen to something so over the place, schizophrenic, chaotic yet at the same time comforting and exciting. This record is a paradox within itself, the spawn of a young genius under a severe drug abuse and workaholism, on the verge of losing it and living an ego trip (among many other trips). But in the end the result is absolutely overwhelming and majestic, a bizarre exercise that somehow bred a light of his own. From the orchestral huge prog rocker that is Truth, to a waltz in Colonial Boy, fusion experimentation in Ants, Doo-Wop meets Big Jazz band in Bad Devil or even some more accessible stuff like Christeen and Unity this record preserves a common trait: its uniqueness. No one has the kaleidoscope like perspective Dev has when it comes to make music. And regarding that particular aspect this was the extreme on how supernatural it became.. Even the man itself says he never managed to reach that warped vision again and he's happy about it because this thing ruined his sanity and nearly endangered his relations. That's how intense it gets. And even though Devin reminds it as a tough period filled wiith mistakes, shame and excesses, IMO that doesn't make a single inch of the monument Infinity is to crumble.

Opeth - Still Life (1999): Regarding Opeth's fourth album just forget for a moment the opener The Moor and closer White Cluster. No, they're not bad songs... they're really great tunes although IMO both have a couple of minutes more than they should (perhaps for depicting the start and end of the plot). And sure you should listen to them. But first give a listen to the spree of five songs in between those two that IMO catapult this thing to masterpiece status. Godhead's Lament and Serenity Painted Death are easily among my top 5 songs by the band. Then the two still tracks here are simply astonishing (Face Of Melinda is something but Benighted is just... wow!). Plus Moonlight Vertigo, another jaw dropping piece of composing wit and musical mastery from these guys. Based in the concept of a tragic love story what Opeth did here is far from tragic but I surely love it.

Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence (1999): Either one likes it or not Chuck Schuldiner is one of the most influential metal composers of all time. And soon he became one hell of a musician too. It's too bad The Fragile Art Of Existence was the last thing this man left us with before cancer deprived us of his presence and talent. But truth be told: he saved one of his best works for last. Recurring for the first time to other vocalist on Tim Aymar's traditional metal singing (that has a really interesting voice except when he hits high notes and kinda starts squealing - BTW the only negative point on this record) and bringing back long time partner in crime (and my favorite bass player) Steve DiGiorgio, the guys go to what Death's last album would sound like if it was even more into Prog meets traditional metal. And man this is top notch stuff. From the opener Consumed to What If? we're thrown into a four track tour de force of elite material within the genre, with the other songs beaing almost as good. Absurdly great album. RIP Chuck... you gave music so much in so little time.

Anathema - A Fine Day To Exit (2001): Who would gess eight years after their doom and gloom debut these guys would almost lose all their metal traits and dwell into ground much more familiar to Pink Floyd or sometimes Radiohead? And even more surprising is the fact that, despite achieving great quality as a Doom metal band (and later as a Gothic Metal one) A Fine Day To Exit remains to this very day my favorite record by the Cavanaugh brothers (and seems like they enjoyed it too... since this is more or less the sonority Anathema preserved till the day they disbanded). Pressure opens the record superbly. Although being quite calm and melodic tunes there's a sense of muted anxiety and anguish throughout every single song but without losing at any time a beacon of hope and purpose. That duality is perfectly depicted in Release, while in Underworld the band get back a bit into their Goth Rock influences. On the other hand the last three songs are utterly "Pink Floyd-esque" stuff and I must single the uptempo of Panic. Overall a record that bleeds through subtle geniality which is something only reserved for few.

Meshuggah - Nothing (2002): There are many debates on how to define this Swedish band's genre since what they created is so unique. Many of the bands that followed their traits named the genre "Djent", a really silly label the band understandably so refuses to endorse. I always regarded them as a Progressive Extreme Metal act, period. That being said I'm a Meshuggah's fan since Contradictions Collapse and although all their works up to this are quite revolutionary, Nothing brought some even more game changing stuff. First the use of costume built eight string guitars (the lower being a F#!!!!) that perhaps was pivotal on the decision of the band playing at way slower pace than before but with even more screwed up time signatures. Thordendal's soloing is even further more into Jazz fusion and while there's more breathing space in the second half of the record in tracks like Straws Pulled At Random, Nebulous, Organic Shadows or the ambiental Obsidian fact is the beginning of this monster feels like a thousand ton compressor overrunning your eardrums at 1 mile per hour. Stengah, Rational Gaze, Glints Collide and the superb Perpetual Black Second have the density of a black hole and the complexity of trying to escape one alive. Not a easy one but once you get the taste for it won't leave your head.

Aghora - Formless (2006): Featuring guitar player Santiago Dobles associated with acts such as Pestilence and late Cynic and Death drummer extraordinaire Sean Reinert (RIP), this is yet another excellent Prog/ Jazz fusion metal album much to the likes of Cynic fans yet with an identity of its own and fronted by the beautiful voice of Diana Serra. Dream like tracks such as Atmas Heave, Moksha, Open Close The Book, Fade and Skinned are simply among the best of the best material I've ever listened to within this band's genre. And it's with great antecipation that I to this very day wait the album next to Formless (although I reckon it will be one hell of a task to pull a record at least as good as this masterpiece). If you never knew about this band go listen to it. Now! You won't regret.

Cynic - Traced In Air (2008): Yet another of my top 10 albums of all time (three in this category the third is yet to come and another one will be mentioned). I'm writing this lines only a few days after getting their excellent new album. And although being a masterpiece of a record it still clearly falls short when compared with the absolute acoustic transcending experience that is Traced In Air. This record never gets old. Plus with the deaths of both Reinert and Malone (RIP) it seems to hit you even deeper in the soul. The peace this thing brings to me while listening to it is beyond words. The Space For This, Evolutionary Sleeper, King Of Those Who Know, Integral Birth Adam's Murmur... every single thing here is superbly done. And if you dislike the occasionally appearing death growls search for Trace In Air Remixed where Masvidal besides some minor tweaks removed all the growling. One of the best records ever done.

Tool - Fear Inoculum (2019): Speaking of one of the best records ever done... Now by half of the previous decade (even sooner) Tool's new album became a joke to me, something to use in situations like "Yeah... I'll pay you back when Tool release their new album". And this comes from a huge fan (especially Lateralus, another of my all time top 10) but by then the long wait lose entirely my faith in the band's future and (while still loving the albums) even used them as a recurring joke. Then Fear inoculum came out. And what was it? IMO it's their best album ever. And I had to swallow every single joke I said about Tool because credit where credit is due: this is near perfect. No, let me correct it: the title track, Pneuma and Descending are IMO indeed perfect, period. 7empest is close behind and the other songs are still amazing (except for the Chocolate Chip Trip experiment that is still somewhat interesting). Another one for my top ten while also being my favorite album from the past decade. That alone says how much I revere this release.

P.S. : Dream Theater's Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence is on the outside looking in but in the end I wouldn't switch it with any of these 10 records. Nevertheless it's a pity... great record from a band that unlike many I'm not a huge fan of.

 

[DJMayes]

Progressive Metal, eh? I haven't listened to a lot - not for any particular reason, mind, I just never really got round to it - but I enjoy it and will be keeping an eye out for recommendations. That said, I will do a smaller, five album list:

Dream Theater - The Astonishing

This is my favourite Dream Theater album. There, I said it. The album is cheesy, to the point of being downright ridiculous in places ("remember, Bug?") but I love it all the more for it.

Rush - 2112

The title track is one of the masterpieces of the genre, and I'd feel weird not including it. In fact, it was probably my introduction to it, as they included the entire thing on a Guitar Hero game.

Symphony X - Paradise Lost

I've probably listened to more of Russell Allen's side projects than Symphony X at this point, but this album is still where I heard him first. There are a few standout tracks here, but none moreso (in my opinion) than the double bill of Oculus Ex Inferni / Set The World On Fire.

Queensryche - Empire

Operation Mindcrime is probably the better Queensryche album, but I like this. That's probably more of a comment on how I consume music, which is more song than album oriented, and the songs here work better outside the context of the album. My favourite song, much to everyones chagrin, is quite possibly Another Rainy Night, which is not really progressive and not really metal.

Avantasia - Moonglow

I suppose Avantasia is more of a stretch than the other bands here, but I love the band and consider The Raven Child justification enough to include it here.

 

[Diesel 11]

Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence (1999)

What I found when playing this album was that my big problem was that it felt like TSOP Death remaking that album with a far blander and lesser vocalist. It still has its moments but I’ve never been driven to return to it (although I probably will someday).

Tool - Fear Inoculum (2019)

It’s not my favorite Tool album - both Ænima and Lateralus have it beat - but it definitely rounds out my Top 3. “Culling Voices” is fine but not something I come back to outside of the album, and “Chocolate Chip Trip” is a terrific drum solo but nothing more than an interlude. The rest of the songs are really great. Sure there are edits the band could have made throughout (not all of “7empest” has clicked for me, and on a songwriting level “Invincible” probably could have ended after the last chorus reprise), but that ruins the fun of the journey they lead you on. If they had ended “Invincible” after the last chorus, we’d have missed out on six building minutes leading up to an excellent climax. The chorus itself, btw, is great. “Pneuma” gets stuck in my head all the time. “Fear Inoculum” is a wonderful growing number. “Descending” is a journey into the deep. And “7empest” starts out as an angry Tool song before bringing the Fear Inoculum song cycle to a close beautifully. It’s a really really great record.

As for my own prog picks, V: The New Mythology Suite (Symphony X), Operation: Mindcrime (Queensrÿche), and Ænima (Tool) are certainly up there.

 

[Forostar]

Progressive Metal:

As told, I would like to list a few prog rock albums and albums that border on this genre.

Kiss - (Music from) The Elder (1981)

Magnum - The Eleventh Hour (1983)

Queensrÿche - The Warning (1984)

Manilla Road - Mystification (1987)

Stratovarius - Dreamspace (1994)

Opeth - Orchid (1995)

Labyrinth - Return to Heaven Denied (1998)

Manticora - Roots of Eternity (1999)


Steel Prophet - Dark Hallucinations (1999)


Legend - Spirit (2013)

 

[Sth2112]

Prog metal:

Pagan’s mind - Celestrial entrance
Pain of salvation - Remedy lane
Ayreon - The human equation
Dream theater - Awake
Opeth - Watershed
Meshuggah - Obzen
Symphony X - The odyssey
Gojira - The link
Sun caged - Sun caged
Devin townsend - Terria

 

[karljant]

What I found when playing this album was that my big problem was that it felt like TSOP Death remaking that album with a far blander and lesser vocalist. It still has its moments but I’ve never been driven to return to it (although I probably will someday).

I'm not saying TSOP is better or worst but it's definitely heavier... and although it's a melodic album TFAOE is is more melody prone. And TAOE's bass is on a league of his own. But hey... each person has his point of view.

It’s not my favorite Tool album - both Ænima and Lateralus have it beat - but it definitely rounds out my Top 3. “Culling Voices” is fine but not something I come back to outside of the album, and “Chocolate Chip Trip” is a terrific drum solo but nothing more than an interlude. The rest of the songs are really great. Sure there are edits the band could have made throughout (not all of “7empest” has clicked for me, and on a songwriting level “Invincible” probably could have ended after the last chorus reprise), but that ruins the fun of the journey they lead you on. If they had ended “Invincible” after the last chorus, we’d have missed out on six building minutes leading up to an excellent climax. The chorus itself, btw, is great. “Pneuma” gets stuck in my head all the time. “Fear Inoculum” is a wonderful growing number. “Descending” is a journey into the deep. And “7empest” starts out as an angry Tool song before bringing the Fear Inoculum song cycle to a close beautifully. It’s a really really great record.

Once again to each his own. IMO Opiate is cool, Undertow (the first one I listened to) is great, both Aenima and 10000 Days although being quite different are both excellent (still love Aenima a bit more) but sorry... For me Lateralus and Fear Inoculum are just on a league on their own. It's that thing called personal taste. And that's way it's got to be.

 

[karljant]

Death Metal next to shake things up:

Bolt Thrower - Realm Of Chaos (Slaves To Darkness) (1989): Perhaps my favorite album ever released within the genre, Bolt Thrower's trip into the grim dark 41st millenium of the Warhammer 40 000 lore is a megalithic album, both in grandeur and heaviness. First is way heavier than anything any Death Metal band as ever released till its release. Then, unlike their debut, the band does much more than simply going full speed on each track. Slow and pulverizing sections like those on Lost Souls Domain, World Eater, All That Remains, Through The Eye Of Terror, Dark Millenium and especially opener Eternal War go along with blast beat parts in a superb fashion. Karl Willets' deep growl is one of the most unique and best voices within the genre and fact is these guys never released an album I disliked with several being top notch. But still none as amazing as the pulverizing acoustic war machine that is Realm Of Chaos.

Obituary - Cause Of Death (1990): Another sophomore and this time by none other than the legendary Obituary. To begin with the mere fact they recruited James Murphy for this record is already a sign that it is condemned to be awesome (everything that guy touches turns to gold). Infected begins and seems there aren't much differences from the debut but the song's last part and soloing is quite amazing and as the sound of wind fills the background we're thrown into Body Bag, a masterpiece that combines groove and heaviness in an exquisite fashion. Now this record as an eerie ambiance and while not being a conceptual record every track seems to be somewhat connected with the next and it really feels to be its continuation. Chopped In Half's bursts and extraordinary drum work is another highlight. Find The Arise is full throttle first class Death Metal and then comes the pounding yet intricate title track. To sum it up one hell of an album that marked its era and influenced countless bands even outside its genre.

Napalm Death - Harmony Corruption (1990): Now this album could be named "the only time Napalm Death made a Death Metal album and still created one of the best records within the genre". Why? Well, mostly because these guys rule. But also due to the fact the band was entirely new besides drummer Mick Harris and bass player Shane Embury. Barney, Jesse (RIP) and Mitch left Benediction, Terrorizer and Righteous Pigs respectively and managed to shape shift their music direction. Curiously enough the album starts with an almost 100% Grindcore track in Vision Conquest (that also happens to be my favorite) but all the rest is mostly within Death Metal's domains with tracks such as If The Truth Be Known, Mental Snare, Suffer The Children or the excellent Unfit Earth featuring Benton and Tardy alongside Barney on the vocal department. In the next release the Napalm guys would return more to their Grindcore roots but still left behind one of the most relevant and exciting moments within a genre they briefly visited.

Entombed - Clandestine (1991): Many point out the band's debut as the best from their two purely Death Metal albums. Left Hand Path is really good, hugely influential and features Lars Goran Petrov (RIP) on vocals (although Nicke does a great job filling his shoes). But Clandestine (IMO) has much more to offer when one starts to observe it closely. All Entombed traits are there (especially the HM2 buzzsaw riffs) and we also get a fair share of excellent full speed, brutal cuts like Living Dead, Severe Burns, Through The Colonnades and Chaos Breed. But it's when it comes to the novelties Clandestine absolutely rules. Some of the other tracks are composed of mid paced creepy yet superbly crafted riffs, revealing an upgrade in complexity (sometimes showing a bit of a rock groove here and there that they would explore in records further). Some examples are Crawl, Sinners Bleed and Stranger Aeons. Another innovation was the use of a lot of movie samples to give the record an even weirder tone. To sum it up this is a truly carefully composed record yet having tons of energy and a must have in the collection of every extreme metal fan.

Carcass - Necroticism (Descanting The Insalubrious) (1991): Luckily I had the previlege of listening to this piece of art the day it came out. First off I couldn't believe it was the same band since I always thought Carcass' Grindcore era to be a bit meh (especially their debut). But this was a totally different animal: in comes Mr. Amott and while there's still a fair amount of grinding blast beats here and there, Necroticism's deeply rooted in several layers of gorgeous, catchy yet intricate and heavy Death Metal riffs that dance alongside amazing guitar harmonies in a rare equilibrium of melody and absolute corrosiveness. Inpropagation (my favorite track here) immediately shows what the quartet came to and Corporal Jigsore Quandary truly reinforces it (just check that drum intro by Ken Owen). And there's no need to examin any other song (justa nod to the anti animal cruelty manifesto in Pedigree Butchery) since there's not a single one that's not mind blowing. Another awesome trait are the intros alongside the overall indecipherable forensic medical terms on the lyrics give this damn thing an horror like movie like if you were trapped inside an hospital where every doctor and nurse was a sadistic psycho. This is the record where the Liverpool quartet indeed brought down the door and another true contender alongside Realm Of Chaos for my favorite album within its genre: a true masterpiece.

Death - Individual Thought Patterns (1993): Losing two amazing members in Masvidal and Reinert (I'll talk about them in a no time) could be a severe blow for any band, but mastermind Chuck Schuldiner didn't settle and recruited none other than the atomic clock Gene Hoglan for the drums and King Diamond's guitar virtuoso Andy Laroque to fill in guitar duties. Now... just stop and check this line up: Schuldiner, LaRoque, DiGiorgio and Hoglan. What were the chances that this damn thing would turn anything short of a masterpiece? Little to none. And truth be told the jaw dropping begins from the get go with Overactive Imagination (easily one of my favorite songs by the band), where full speed throtle mixes with great guitar licks in a prog like thrasher with DiGiorgio pulling what I consider to be one of the best bass lines in metal history. And as the solo begins it's easy to come to the conclusion this will be by far Death's best effort regarding that aspect because LaRoque is simply on fire and Schuldiner doesn't like to get behind in the race. As for the rest of the album itself it picks up where Human left: Prog and Fusion sparkled Death Metal but this time the former elements are even more prominent like in absolute stunning tracks like In Human Form, Trapped In A Corner, The Philosopher, Nothing Is Everything, Mentally Blind or the intricate title track. In a catalogue filled with masterpieces sure it's hard to pick but Death's fifth album always gets my #1 spot.

Morgoth - Odium (1993): Another old school band and although many pick Cursed as their best album I prefer the much more daring sophomore from this superb German band. And although the base of this monster is 100% Death Metal there are some passages thart seem to lend a bit of Neurosis sludge like ambiances and even tribal drumming and groove here and there. Blasters like Resistance, The Art Of Sinking and Under The Surface are as exciting as inventive but it's when it comes to the last two tracks that any Death Metal fan that isn't a purist/ elitist bonehead really must recognize the magnitude of the monster Odium truly is. Golden Age and the title track are much more than simple Death Metal... they're long epic voyages filled with twists and turns that lead you straight to the somber environment they portrait. It's a pity that they took their experimental vein too much further on the following album (that IMO is quite feeble) but nonetheless when it comes to Odium this is easily among the best offers within the whole genre.

Cynic - Focus (1993): Back to Paul Masvidal and the great lates Sean Reinert and Sean Malone. After the guitar player and drummer left Death they continued to polish their long time project in order to release a bang of a debut album. And man... no one was ready for this. Bands like Death, Atheist, Nocturnus and Pestilence already ventured themselves into Prog/ Fusion Death Metal but Cynic just took it to another level when it comes to the amount of those outer elements. While the virtuoso technical display of all members is simply out of this world, fact is the compositions are still really song driven and some are pretty heavy indeed. Besides this there are certain elements that gave Focus and Cynic a unique flavor. First the use of chapman stick by Malone in some tracks but overall the alternation between Death Metal vocals and Masvidal's vocoder modulated clean singing. Tracks like Veil Of Maya, Celestial Voyage and I'm But A Wave Too really show what the main core of this record is built of while Sentiment and Textures are much more Jazz Fusion prone. But I must single out 2 songs from the lot that are absolutely marvelous: The Eagle Nature and How Could I. Wow! Just.. wow! To have a notion of how self demanding these dudes were they said they wouldn't release another album until coming up with something as good or better than their debut. It "just" took 15 years until Traced In Air came out . And although IMO they managed it since I consider Traced In Air better, Focus remained as one of the most influential releases in extreme metal.

Vader - The Art Of War (2005): With truly devastating releases by these Polish veterans such as Litany or Black To The Blind , an EP may seem like an odd choice at first glance. And while it was a close call I must admit this was Vader's finest hour. Being the first release after the death of Doc (RIP) I feared it would be quite difficult to find a drummer as fast and vicious (as matter of fact the whole record is dedicated to him). Pure mistake: Daray steps in and dare I say manages to somehow increase the band's level of drumming (Doc would be proud indeed). Plus we have the intros: pompous amazingly well written symphonic pieces that start to mingle with the mayhem of each track. Para Bellum flows perfectly into the military march that drags This Is The War to light and holy molly! This thing puts the Morbid Angels and Cannibal Corpses of the world to shame when it comes to ferocity, heaviness and speed. Lead Us! is almost as intense as the opener with its riff burst filled chorus. Banners In The Wind is yet another glorious intro while the following track sounds like a mix of Slayer and Carcass. Finally Death In Silence theatrics spoken word pauses amidst the utter blast beat mayhem are purely ingenious and for all those who picked the limited edition there's still the 100% Death Metal no brakes roller coaster that is Die. Although not being that much original The Art Of War is one of the most well written and relentless records within the genre, released in a period when the genre was quite in need for something like this and therefore deserves to be among the best of their brethren.

Memoriam - To The End (2021): And to wrap things up a record so good that although it was released just a few moths ago it's already on my list. To be fair it could be either it or its predecessor Requiem For Mankind but i came to like To The End a tiny bit more (perhaps recency bias IDK). Fact is both albums are excellent and Karl Willets' new project has finally reached the absurd quality level of its previous legendary band to a point that if both these records had the Bolt Thrower logo on their covers they would be absolutely on pair with Karl's former band. To The End is once again a war themed record and while Bolt Thrower similarities are unavoidable this record is a bit slower and even melodic at times, with some tracks even tapping into Death Doom waters. The glorious and slow paced belicose war anthem Onward Into Battle opens the record but perhaps the best examples on how Memoriam flirt with Death Doom are One Step (Each Closer To The Grave) and As My Heart Grows Cold while the title track and No Effect bring extra doses of melody on the band's signature sound. There's still time to a somewhat Godflesh resemblng tune in Vacant Stare and the rest is filled with all the Death Metal goodies mr. Willets spoiled us with throughout the years. Honestly it's amazing how a pure old school Death Metal album like this one managed to be done in the 2020's and still rival the best ones within the genre from the golden era. Thank you Memoriam.

 

[Sth2112]

Death metal:

Cynic - Focus
Atheist - Piece of time
Pestilence - Malleus maleficarum
Morbid angel - Altars of madness
Death - Induvidual thought patterns
Gorefest - Erase
Napalm death - Scum
Possessed - Beyond the gates
Entombed - Left hand path
Deicide - Deicide

 

[karljant]

Atheist - Piece of time
Gorefest - Erase

Piece Of Time and False were nearly at my top 10. Two excellent records

 

[karljant]

Since there's not that much Death Metal fans here I'll toss another list.

This time another genre I'm not too much into this one has some true gems... Groove Metal:

Sepultura - Chaos AD (1993): This is my favorite Sepultura album alongside Arise and IMO the peak of their creative song writing. Plus it's one of the most influential (if not the most influential) and impressive metal records from the 90's. With Chaos AD the Brazilian quartet established their signature sound: from powerful batucada Brazilian drum rhythms to Kisser drinking from the cup of industrial metal acts like Godflesh, mixed with tons of groove and hardcore influences. With energetic mid paced tunes such as the anthemic Refuse Resist, Slave New World and Propaganda giving the moto, slower stomping groove filled giants like Amen, Territory, WWANAO or Nomad are equally intense. Of course there's always room for a couple of speedsters in Biotech Is Godzilla and Manifest and even an acoustic tribal jam in Kaiowas. Overall this album is a landmark, one that the band will never manage to achieve again even (and they kinda tried it years after in Kairos that, while being an amazing album, is not on the same echelon as Chaos AD), propelling the band once and for all as one of the metal pack leaders of the decade.

Sacred Reich - Independent (1993): Another band that added significant doses of groove metal to their Crossover Thrash. Of course old Sacred Reich's sound traits are still present but the opening title track already shows the updates Phil Rind and company injected their new release with. Free reinforces that idea even more, revealing itself to be a superb song and if there were still doubts when listening to the somewhat "Sabbathesque" Crawling or Open Book that one really comes to terms on how Sacred Reich are more concerned with the bounce and groove of their tunes than ever before. And it could sound forced but no... it fits really nicely. There is also time for a more Thrash like cut in Pressure and a more quiet tune in I Never Said Goodbye. Unfortunately Independent never took the band to the heights other Thrash Metal bands managed to reach while adding groove to their sound but it's still a great record that deserves to be listened and enjoyed.

Anthrax - Sound Of White Noise (1993): When Joey left the Anthrax and ex Armored Saint frontman John Bush was hired there was a ton of questions regarding the band's future. First they were at the peak of their success after releasing the Bring The Noise collaboration with Public Enemy. Then rock's landscape was shifting and almost every single big Thrash Metal act had somehow changed their sound for the new decade. So what would Anthrax pull out of its hat? Simply put the most intense transformation from the "big 4" but (IMO) by far making the best album. First of there are no bad songs here and John's voice is top notch. Then if Persistence Of Time was dark, SOWN is way darker. Plus it drinks from various sources. Of course one can still listen to some of their previous traits in excellent tracks such as Potters Field, Burst, 1000 Points of Hate and even Hy Pro Glo. (although being a more modern version of it, there's still lots of thrash on these bad boys). But it's when it comes to groove filled tracks like Room For One More, Invisible, Packaged Rebellion, This Is Not An Exit or the hit single Only that this record really shines. SOWN is incredibly refreshing, electrifying and spontaneous and Scott and the boys even venture in a somber and desolate Twin Peaks like approach on Black Lodge featuring none other than mr. Badalamenti himself. So SOWN was one heck of a risk but in the end it paid off both in critical acclaim, popularity and sales. And I don't care if it's Thrash or not: fact is this album is crazy awesome and it'll always be up there with the band's best albums in my rank.

Pantera - Far Beyond Driven (1994): Now my favorite Pantera album is The Great Southern Trendkill but when it comes to the album that better defines the genre I'm forced to go with Far Beyond Driven. This is what Groove Metal is at its purest essence and much of it resides on the riffage of mr. Darrel (RIP). Curiously enough it all starts with 3 and a half minutes of borderline Hardcore/ Crossover on steroids that spits aggression at every tab (what an opener!). But it's when Becoming's bounce (and excellent use of the whammy pedal) kicks in that the lesson begins. And it carries on throughout the addictive palm muted chords of 5 Minutes Alone with Anselmo delivering a jaw dropping performance. I'm Broken is yet another infectious tune that works almost as a tribute to Iommi's legacy with Vinnie (RIP) working as a gigantic anchor to this beast. The next two tracks are skippable especially the nonsense rant of Good Friends And A Bottle Of Pills. But the second half of this thing is just a continuum of heaviness. Slaughtered, Use My Third Arm and Throes Of Rejection riffage is so heavy it sounds like bricks being thrown at your eardrums. On the other hand 25 Years and Shedding Skin are much more introspective but equally corrosive (with the latter being another superb performance of Anselmo's new found sing/ scream vocal style). The album ends with a cover of the calm and trippy Planet Caravan and it's well needed since this is a brutal, intense, unstable and even at times uncomfortable record. Nonetheless it will always remain as a staple in metal and rightfuly so.

Ratos De Porão - Just Another Crime... In Massacreland (1994): One year after their friends Sepultura updated their sound, Ratos that spent their last two albums mixing more metal to their Hardcore/ Punk decided to experiment a bit themselves with new tendencies. Don't get fooled now: there are tracks like Suposicollor, Video Macumba or Bad Trip are absolute full throttle Thrash Core while there are still 100% Hardcore Punk stuff here like Diet Paranoia, Quando Ci Vuolle Ci Vuolle and The Right Side Of A Wrong Life. But on Money, Massacreland, Real Enemies, Satanic Bullshit, CRACK or the somewhat comical cover of Peter Frampton's Breaking All The Rules João Gordo and company really bathed their sound in a more groovy infusion (that nonetheless doesn't make any of these tracks lose one inch of punch). A somewhat different record for the band than soon returned to their own recipe in the next album, but nonetheless a banger and IMO a truly well succeeded experiment I come back to oftenly.

Machine Head - Burn My Eyes (1994): We were all seeing this album coming didn't we? Now I'm not a fan of Rob Flynn's band and I'll go as far as saying that when it comes to a record as a whole, Burn My Eyes is the only release of the band's discography I enjoy. But damn: this is one hell of an album. Davidian brings down the door with its pinch harmonics and what a monster of a track this is: Chris Kontos' drumming is seismic to say the least and the onslaught carries on throughout the slower yet equally thundering Old. And truth be told this album doesn't lose balance. Nevertheless I must single out the almost apocalyptic ambiance of Death Church, the breakneck pace of Blood For Blood, the grim A Thousand Lies or the absolutely relentless closer that is Block with Logan going absolutely berserk. And if it's true no other Machine Head release afterwards filled my measures (some of them quite the opposite) their debut is nothing short of brilliant, a reference within the genre and deserves all the recognition it gets.

Ramp - Intersection (1995): Hailing from Portugal Ramp launched their debut three years prior to Intersection (a traditional Thrash Metal album). But the band's sophomore is filled with groove while retaining some of its previous DNA. All Men Taste Hell opens the hostilities in a somewhat Testament meets Pantera mode and what Ramp may lack in originality they surely deliver in power. And to reinforce that notion we have the first single that dwells exactly within the same mix in the form of Black Tie, a barrage of cutting riffs upon which Rui's voice resounds leading to an addictive chorus. Speaking of addictive chorus what to say about the one on the much more melodic So You Say? Other highlights are Un-Pointless Name (love how the melodic pre-chorus flows into the the heavy as hell refrain) and the punching closer in Through. So there you have it... Ramp didn't invent the wheel. As matter of fact pretty far from it. But they sure did manage to pick the biggest wave at the moment while not becoming mere copycats and left us with their own contribute. And truth be told a surprisingly high quality one.

Lungbrush - Old School, New School (1999): If this band from Chicago released this record at least 5 years earlier I bet they would've become huge. But coming out in a time when Nu Metal was (alas) at its peak an album as good as Old School, New School unfortunately skipped under the radar of many. I was lucky enough to stumble upon it and man is this thing vicious! Imagine Machine Head with tons of ultra aggressive Hardcore layers upon it and this is what you'll get. Roach's voice seems to oscillate between Anselmo and late 90's Testament's Chuck Billy. Urban Tribes opens the damn thing with megalithic power (my favorite from the album) and the following Lost and Sometimes continue the mid tempo onslaught. Then out of nowhere comes Bound, an utterly insane speedster deeply rooted in Hardcore. And the muscular riffage of Corporal Bullshit can somehow become noticeable among the brutality feast that's going on. Clorazil is also a breath taking array of bombing riffs and the guys close the album with 100% full speed Hardcore fury with Soiled. So, if you like Groove Metal and Thrash-Core played at a crazy high level of intensity just pick this one. You won't regret.

Lamb Of God - Wrath (2009): To be Honest I never liked LOG and always thought they were way too close to Pantera's sound. But there is something unique in Wrath. The band certainly experimented with some more old school sounds here and after a great intro you can listen how they somehow reinvented Metallica's Blackened in the opener In Your Words. One may notice the influence in the riff but it's far from being a plagiarism and it sounds killer! Blythe's singed screams are also much better here, more specifically on the first verses and the chorus. Yes he still goes back to the more boring growl/ scream tone but the new approach gives way more dynamics to his performance. On Set To Fail the band returns to their "Panterized" sound and I simply have no patience for it. Contractor is a enjoyable full speed ahead Thrash Core blaster and then the awesome first acoustic notes of Grace give way to another Pantera like riff... but this time it unfolds into a somewhat of a reprise of the first track's chorus. And although being derivative I quite like it. Next is Broken Hands, a stellar song filled with intricate groove swings and melodies where LOG show how the cooking of this record had much more ingredients than usual. Everything To Nothing has a bit Hardcore Thrash in it and after some more of the usual LOG I'm not into the band closes the album with a high note in the 7 minutes plus Reclamation that swings between calm parts and slow grinding Thrashy double bass cuts filled with groove culminating in a Slayer like apotheosis. So I may not like at least a handful of songs here but the remainder are truly amazing, making me hold Wrath in really high regard.

Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage (2012): Life is ironic. It happens that one of my favorite metal records from the last decade mainly moves itself within a genre I'm not much a fan of (That being Groove Metal). Of course Gojira brings more flavors to the table (Prog and some other far fetched sounds at times) but fact is I consider L'Enfant sauvage to be mind blowing to say the least. Opening with the rightfully so titled Explosia (those palm mute squealing slides...) this thing starts shaking the ground from the get go... but look and behold! As the song unfolds it turns out into something more common in a Western soundtrack... and the transition is smooth as silk. Liquid Fire is a feast of pinch harmonics and the vocoder used in the chorus lays beautifully upon it. The psychedelic tappings on The Wild Healer are disrupted by Planned Obsolescence, a borderline Morbid Angel like Death Metal track. And after the vast choirs of Mouth Of Kala, The Gift Of Guilt starts weaving its form around the simple yet absolutely gorgeous guitar tapping that serves as its base. In Pain Is A Master Gojira once again revisit their Death Metal roots yet this time with tons of groove and slides sneaking in. Born In Winter is a calm and ambiental mantra that blasts into a intense refrain and the album closes with the slow prog like procession of sonic hues that is The Fall. So there you have it... I'll really lack originality (something Gojira has plenty of and IMO that's the main reason why they're special) while describing L'Enfant Sauvage in one word but on the other hand I think that word alone portrays what the French quartet achieved here: a masterpiece.

 

[MindRuler]

Prog Metal

Evergrey - In Search Of Truth
Dream Theater - Awake
Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime
Enchant - A Blueprint Of The World
Fates Warning - Parallels
Vanden Plas - The God Thing
Spock´s Beard - Beware Of Darkness
Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane
Eldritch - Headquake
Exises - Reternity

 

[karljant]

Well, time for a really popular genre nowadays... none other than Symphonic Metal:

King Diamond - The Eye (1990): The King's fifth full length is once again a concept album but his time horror tales are given a vacation. Instead the record is about The Eye, a necklace that allows to stare back in time and witness some of the inquisition' atrocities that took place between the 15th and 17th century (BTW these happenings are based upon real events and characters). First of I love every song here. Then we all know that Mr. Diamond has always had a passion for orchestrations yet here he takes it a step further. Filled with layers of keyboards like never before the album dives deep into symphonic metal helping the listener to get a better portrait of the several narrations. And that achieves exquisite mastery levels like that sweet Harpsichord on Behind These Walls, the chilling minimalist piano and keys on Two Little Girls, the Opera like background of The Trial or the triumphal and mystical organ on the brutal opener that is The Eye Of The Witch. Plus needless to say Andy is once again killing it. Amazing album... a lesson on how to create enviroments and pulling you inside the narrative while making great metal.

Samael - Passage (1996): After three black metal albums (with the third being acclaimed as a classic and already featuring some slight symphonic influences) and an EP in Rebellion (pushing that aspect even further and introducing some industrial twitches) Samael were ready to define the bases of their new genre on the next release. To begin with all the drums are electronic (a fact that along some other traits gives a somewhat of a Industrial aftertaste) with ex drummer Xy embracing fully the keyboards, something he started on the previous EP. And man... is this guy a monster of a composer and player when it comes to the keys! Sound wise both him and his brother Vorph took a much more futuristic approach while bathing it in layers of keyboards and orchestrations noticeably influenced by names like Wagner or Ravel, a mix that bred this duality that somewhat resulted wonderfully. Tracks such as Rain, Shinning Kingdom, Jupiterian Vibe, Liquid Soul Dimension and Born Under Saturn alongside the Rebellion Ep were game changers in the mid 90's. It showed a band without fear of breaking boundaries to a point Xy made a version of the entire album just with keyboards and piano. Now if you like this record and have the software to mix and overlap both versions I recommend you the extra effort. It will blow your mind.

Bal-Sagoth - Starfire Burning Upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule (1996): Known for their brand of Symphonic Blackened Death Metal and the never ending titles of songs describing all kind of Dungeons And Dragons creatures and stuff, this English band truly did things their own way. The use of keyboards and spoken words to increase the epic flavor is all over the place (sometimes to an amount it's even cheesy) yet there's lots of quality stuff here. So... "To Dethrone The Witch Queen of Mytos Kuun" really shows what the album is all about. And "As the Vortex Illuminates the Crystalline Walls of Kor-Avul-Thaa" is much more straight forward but always going hand in hand with both the more than present orchestrations and narration but its when (pause to catch my breath...) "And Look, When the Imperium Marches Against Gul-Kothoth, Then Dark Sorceries Shall Enshroud the Citadel of the Obsidian Crown" (uuuuffff...) kicks in that every exaggerated trait in this record goes REEEALLLYYY over the top (even regarding the tittle's length) but overall has a catchy folk like vibe to it beneath all the chaos. Not that In the "Raven-Haunted Forests of Darkenhold, Where Shadows Reign and the Hues of Sunlight Never Dance" is the epitome of simplicity but it's much more straight forward and once again there are some fantastic Folk metal guitar harmonies all over the place. So yeah... I feel like half of my commentary was just writing the songs' names. Nevertheless this is a cool and unique album. So if you're a metal head with somewhat of a geek like spirit give it a try.

Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth (1998): When I first listened to this record I was long since lost Blind Guardian of my radar (since Tales From The Twilight World to be more precise). But then a friend of mine showed me Into The Storm and damn that thing sounded fantastic! I mean it's far from the early mix of Speed and Power Metal I loved in these guys but nonetheless it still sounded amazing. Now beforehand let me tell you that besides liking other songs here Into The Storm is by far my favorite. And sure... since I like what I've listened I went and asked my friend to borrow me the two albums I've never heard but somehow they didn't stick with me. In Nightfall though Blind Guardian are once again deep into Tolkien's lore the band sounds terrific (Hansi's voice especially) but it's precisely the pomp, hooks and orchestrations put here that are on another level. Yeah, I consider some passages to be borderline boring. But tracks like Time Stands Still, Noldor and Mirror Mirror are really well crafted and catchy. Hey, still below their early material in my book but nonetheless contains a handful of gorgeous tunes.

Emperor - IX Equilibrium (1999): As I said before I prefer later Emperor and therefore, unlike many, I think IX Equilibrium is an improvement regarding its predecessor (viewed as many as their best album). Curse You All Man comes blasting in and from the get go one can notice Ihsahn and company came up with much more far fetched guitar melodies and time signatures (sometimes sounding borderline Prog) without losing any speed and intensity. Decrystallizing Reason opens with the superb orchestrations the band always gave us but it's when it comes to An Elegy Of Icarus with its epic clean intro followed by twists and turns always backed by superb arrangements that one can be sure that Emperor is mastering this aspect like never before. The Source Of Icon E follows once again filled with great arrangements but this time relying primarily on its relentless fury (man... I simply love this song... even the King Diamond like vocals by Ihsahn). Another absolute blaster is the strongly Bathory influenced mid tempo grind on Warriors Of Modern Death (once again the orchestrations are stunning.. the bells, horns... perfect!). Of Blindness And Subsequent Sores follows and as it unfolds reveals its rich and varied structure, embracing various sonorities Black Metal back then rarely ventured to go (like an omen of what would be the band's next album) closing a truly great album on an high note. Not a easy listening but strongly recomend it.

Peccatum - Amor Fati (2000): Back to Ihsahn, this time his side project alongside his wife Heidi (here under the name of Ihriel). Now while containing some black metal sparkles here and there this is quite different from what Emperor were doing at the time. This is a purely outside the box album (commonly labeled as "Avant Garde") with Symphonic arrangements. One Play No Script opens with Ihriel's falsetto over a string note until it's interrupted by Ihsahn with a Mercyful Fate like stunning riff upon which he places his gnarlling vocals and as the song advances both "registries" start to mingle and form new textures with the orchestration's presence increasing: superb start. No Tittle For A Cause is simply mind blowing: the riffs are absurdly good and the arrangements are so bizarre as astonishing... just wow! Another highlight is the 7 plus minutes A Game Divine? that starts with a phyrigian guitar riff and this part has some weird yet soothing melodies with Ihsahn singing clean. Then by the 2 minute mark Ihriel's scream almost ripps your eardrums making space for another superb symphonic moment before Ihsahn disrupts the harmony with state of the art metal riffs before the song returns to the initial sections. Rise, Ye Humans arrangements and vocals are once again top notch but this time is the guitar riffing that simply destroys. Between The Living And The Dead is more doom like with Ihsahn delivering some flashy soloing and the two parts of The Watcher's Mass is almost like a synthesis of all the songs in Amor Fati but pulled a bit further when it comes to eccentricity. So to wrap things up all I have to say is open your mind and listen to this record. It's an absolute jewel and those who know Ihsahn's solo work can easily spot lots of early traits here. Amazing album.

Scepticflesh - Communion (2008): From Greece comes Scepticflesh and their seventh album. These dudes can get heavy as bricks, building layers of orchestrations alongside blast beats and extremely brutal Death Metal bursts and then go full melodic mode in a no time without sounding forced or misplaced. And it's when they mix these three elements that Communion really impresses. Cuts like the title track Anubis, Sangreal, Narcissus or the mind blowing Celtic Frost like Sunlight/ Moonlight reveal pomp, heaviness, ambition and a sense of composition that is rarely found. If you like dense and heavy as hell Death Metal outside the box, orchestrations and exquisite melodies here and there take my word of advice and pick Communion, since it's easily one of the best records ever combining those aspects.

Christopher Lee - Charlemagne: By The Sword And The Cross (2010): The mere fact that this is a metal album the great late Sir Christopher Lee made when he was 88 years old is almost reason enough for this album to make it to my list. I must confess I dislike his Rhapsody contributions but this is a more solid release. And man... I don't know how much studio magic this thing has but even so to sound like this at almost 9 decades old is unreal. This is the first of two Rock Operas about the life of King Charlemagne (who happens to be Lee's ancestor) of the Franks and his ascension to Emperor of the Romans. Now one of the things I truly dislike here is the guitar sound (absolutely plastic mix that stands out even more when you're playing alongside the European Cinematic Symphony Orchestra). Other than that the arrangements and choirs are top notch, Lee's voice rules and all the other singers make an acceptable job. The overture is quite grandiose but several stuff here is too theatrical for my taste so while I skip almost half of the record there are some exceptions. And those exceptions are Act II - The Iron Crown Of Lombardy (featuring some really well penned passages), Act III - The Bloody Verdict Of Verden (being quite heavy and intense although it wasn't necessary to repeat so many times how many Saxon men's blood he spilled), Act V - Starlight (having that melodic 70's rock opera feel to it) and Finale/ Iberia (both providing excellent reprises to once again make a picture of the heat of battle and set the tone for the next record). It can drag itself at times and be overwhelming to a non opera fan like me but overall this is an interesting experience, thought and sang by a more than interesting personality. RIP Sir Lee.

My Dying Bride - Evinta (2011): Evinta was a project the guys in My Dying Bride were cooking for a long, long time. Basically is a neoclassical adaptation of several of the band's songs wrapped in completely different disposition. Furthermore there's the absence of any traditional rock instruments. All the Symphonic arrangements were made by Andrew (the main composer on the band), Aaron is still on vocals and none other than Bal-Sagoth's (remember them?) ex drummer plays the keyboards while a considerable amount of passages feature an operatic female singer. My Dying Bride has always been strongly into symphonic tunes as one can notice on their debut's opener Silent Dance or their sophomore's amazing track (and curiously also the album's first song) Sear Me MCMXCIII (that happens to be recycled on this album on the superb Seven Times She Wept). So this was nothing that strange to the doomsters excelled while writing songs such as In Your Dark Pavilion, Of Lilies Bent With Tears, And Then You Go or Vanité Triomphante. Daring even for fans, overwhelming at times (this is a 3 record release) and requiring a certain predisposition to give it a listen, Evinta is nothing short of a superb work of art, revealing how crafty My Dying Bride can be as composers.

Moonspell - 1775 (2017): Now I'm far from being a Moonspell fan. To be fair I loved their debut Ep (and strongly considered to put it in this list instead of 1755) liked their Second Skin EP and some songs from Wolfheart (although Vampiria is utterly ridiculous). Everything else IMO is quite meh. But 1755 is truly well composed and achieved. Here the band is doing much more than their usual Gothic/Black Metal. Based upon the major earthquake and tsunami that leveled Portugal's capital in 1775 it's truly fitting the lyrics are sang in Portuguese in its entirety (it would sound somewhat artificial otherwise). And Moonspell sound more Symphonic than ever with 1755 assuming Rock Opera traits at times (and a good one to be honest). Em Nome Do medo (In The Name Of Fear) is a glorious prelude and the tittle track is also really strong (the choirs throughout the entire album sound stellar). Other standouts is the truly poignant and heavy trilogy of Desastre (Disaster), Abanão (Earth Shake) and Evento (Event) three songs that build up to explode in Symphonic choruses of gargantuan proportions. My favorite track is Todos Os Santos (All The Saints) a punching yet epic tune to conclude the narrative (and a smart pun regarding the day the whole devastation took place: all hallows day. Overall a really good album and it is always great when a band you're not into releases something that you truly like.

Honorable Mentions: Angra's Holy Land and Angels Cry; X Japan's Art Of Life

 

[Diesel 11]

Nightwish - Once. Boom. It’s over. All competition is destroyed. A top 10 album overall.

 

[karljant]

Goth Metal now:

Celtic Frost - Into The Pandemonium (1987): After the legendary To Megatherion no one was expecting the absolutely sonority shift Celtic Frost went through. Heavily influenced by mid 80's Gothic/ Death Rock bands (especially Christian Death... just check Tom's voice) the band went through uncharted territory here, mixing their less uptempo material with more melodic stuff and even orchestrations and female vocals. Tracks like Inner Sanctum or Babylon Fell are still 100% early Celtic Frost stuff but it's when it comes to I Won't Dance, Sorrows Of The Moon, Caress Into Oblivion, Mesmerized and Tristesses De La Lune that this thing is an absolute game changer and IMO my favorite album ever released by the Swiss collective. The only con I have to point is the weird choice for a opener in Wall Of Voodoo's Mexican Radio cover. Besides being quite meh it has nothing to do with the overall vibe of the remaining songs. This is a daring, controversial album (especially regarding it also contains one pure industrial rock track in One With Their Pride) that was pivotal while enlarging metal's horizons and influencing countless future bands and that alongside its undeniable quality makes out of Into The Pandemonium a must have as far as I'm concerned.

Tiamat - Clouds (1992): One of the first records where Into The Pandemonium's legacy was heavily noticed was Tiamat's third full length. Well... also the way Paradise Lost established it as a genre's template in 1991's Gothic... but we'll talk about them soon. Adopting a way softer, melodic, keyboard filled and ambiental sound than it's predecessor this bad boy kicks in with In A Dream. And after some acoustic guitar intro the first notes look like they leaped straight out of the aforementioned Celtic Frost album while the Phrygian like chorus show us Edlund venturing into clean vocals for the first time. The title track is more Doom like and while Smell of Incense is another tribute to the Swiss masters, A Caress Of Stars is five minutes and a half of guitars and keyboards dragging this beauty deep into gorgeous Gothic Metal's domains. The next two songs (The Sleeping Beauty and Forever Burning Flames) are a mix of every single influence Clouds feeds of in almost equal doses (Gothic, Doom and even some sparks of Death Metal). The Scapegoat once again is truly Celtic Frost like but the Swedish quartet saved the best for last: Undressed is a Goth Metal masterpiece musically but especially when it comes to feeling and ambiance (that outro... wow!). Great album indeed from a band that little I did know was far from stopping to amaze me.

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (1993): After releasing a truly weird debut that mixed Hard Core Punk, Doom, Goth, Industrial and a lot of controversy, Type O took those very same albums but increased their composing skills several notches. The result was a crushing success and platinum sale status. And man it was absolutely deserved. This time Pete Steele (RIP) uses at the majority of times his unmatched baso voice that he lays upon superbly crafted Goth Metal anthems peppered with the amazing keyboard work of Josh Silver. Yes there are still controversial stuff and Hard Core top tier stuff on We Hate Everyone and Kill All The White People, some Industrial interludes and even Psychedelic 70's influenced cuts like Set Me On Fire and Too Late: Frozen (or even the tongue in cheek version of Summer Breeze). But the bulk of this classic are Goth to the core absurdly good and long compositions like the hits on Christian Woman, Black Nº1, Blood & Fire or the title track. Bloody Kisses is a classic, an immensely great and unique album (with some dark humor passages here and there). It's a true testament to the entire genre that established Type O as the undisputed leaders of gloomy psychedelic soundscapes on the western side of the Atlantic ocean and propelled them to fame.

Pyogenesis - Waves Of Erotasia (1993): Second EP from the German collective on my lists and although being quite brief it's a truly amazing one. This was my first contact with the band and while retaining some Doom Metal traits from Pyogenesis' debut Wave Of Erotasia is way lesser gloomy. It starts with Through The Flames (simply put my favorite song by these guys) a stunning melodic Goth influenced song featuring guitar leads (much in the vein of Paradise Lost) backed by a crushing mid tempo. In The End starts really doomy with some female vocals contrasting with Tim's roaring yet by half time it takes a turn towards the same genre the previous tune established (while not achieving its awesomeness but still being quite good). Down opens up with violins and is quite slow with some Goth rock vocalizations and Lost In Revery wraps the whole thing: a gorgeous acoustic take with Flo's clean vocals combining perfectly with the growling parts. Overall another win hands down and a record that would help Pyogenesis to make a strong streak of two albums until they took their experiments too far.

Cemetary - Black Vanity (1994): Hailing from Sweden Cemetary started as a Death Metal act but with the rise of acts like Paradise Lost convinced them to redefine their sound. And that's what Black Vanity is: a 100% Goth Metal record. One may say it's too much of a collage to Paradise Lost's Icon and I'm forced to agree. But nonetheless it still offers us some truly enjoyable tunes. A good example of both claims is opener Bitter Seed with its lead guitar melodies being more than familiar but in the end it turns out to be a really cool track. And while not escaping much from that area Ebony Rain is much slower while Last Departure/ Serpentine Parade mingles Doom Metal with the aforementioned main influence. Other two good examples of this bias are Sweet Tragedy and Out In The Sand. So there you go: Black Vanity is really far from being the most original record made but even relying so much on another band's formula it can pull tricks of its own here and there and be truly enjoyable for all fans of the genre in particular. Plus the cover is sublime (Dave McKean can't go wrong).

Paradise Lost - Draconian Times (1995): Now let's get to the real deal! I could pick 1991's Gothic that almost single handed established the genre's foundations for the 90's or even 1993's Icon when the band finally achieved the sound formula that they're more revered for. Nonetheless when it comes to pure Goth Metal I think Draconian Times is the band's zenith and the ultimate record for the entire genre. Yes, One Second is my favorite album but there are so many influences mixed there and so little metal the only category I can see myself including it in would be perhaps Alternative Metal (and even that is a stretch). But let's get back to the British powerhouse fifth album and man... this thing simply starts with my favorite track from their entire catalogue, a six minute plus opus by the name of Enchantment I listen to this very day with the same amount of awe I did more than 26 years ago when the album came out on my 19th birthday. What follows is a parade of amazing song after amazing song (perhaps the only less exciting moment is Yearn For Change) and when you have tracks such as Hallowed Land, The Last Time, Forever Failure, Shadowkings, Shades Of God, Hands Of Reason or Jaded on the same record you know these guys are simply built different. Nick's voice is even softer (oscillating between sort of a James Hetfield and a poor man's Peter Murphy) and Greg' guitar leads are jaw dropping beautiful as always. As matter of fact I truly believe the reason why these guy's sound is so unique is because young Greg was much more into Post Punk and Goth before really getting into Metal. Yes, because when it comes to these bleak landscapes Paradise Lost are on a league of their own and Draconian Times' critical acclaim and sales once again confirmed it. A masterpiece in any way possible.

My Dying Bride - The Angel And The Dark River (1995): Oh joy! In less than one month two of my favorite bands bands (and still among my favorites nowadays although I'm not that much of a fanatic as i was back in the day) come out with an album and this time it was none other than Paradise Lost's long time friends and neighbors My Dying Bride. Now this is not a pure Goth Metal album... there are still lots of Doom elements all over the place. But fact is the band simplified their sound, making it more melodic and accessible. Plus Aaron doesn't growl a single time throughout the entire record, going all in with his mournful baritone and at times even getting as low as baso voice. That's the case of opener The Cry Of Mankind. This song is ridiculously awesome: a simple yet addictive guitar tapping resounds throughout the entire tune, a dire opus filled with dark yet off the charts beautiful guitar melodies and keyboard arrangements courtesy of Andrew and Martin (he'll pick the violin in a moment, fear not) for nearly 7 minutes of wonderful music with the remaining 5 minutes being filled with ambiental effects. From darkest Skies follows and the violin is there once again. And man this must be one of the more depressive yet more melodic songs I've ever listened to: simple yet astonishingly beautiful tune (that chorus is pure gold). Black Voyage is perhaps the most similar tune to the band's Doom roots in the album but when the piano and violin makes way to A Sea To Suffer In its plain to see that, although bearing an uneasy sense of anguish, My Dying Bride is once again going all in with their most melodic side on this amazing composition (Rick's drumming here is superb). Two Winters Only acoustic verses alongside its powerful violin driven chorus is perhaps one of the most Goth like tracks here while closer Your Shameful Heaven mixes the overall sonority of the previous songs with uptempo parts somewhat similar to Paradise Lost's Pity The Sadness. To sum it up, although I like its predecessor a bit more, The Angel And The Dark River is a jaw dropping quality Gothic Doom album that although being gloomy is filled with hooks and addictive melodies, proving that My Dying Bride was in a ridiculously high form at the time.

Anathema - The Silent Enigma (1995): Now I must say I was really spoiled in 1995. If it wasn't fantastic enough having two amazing records from Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride a couple of months later the last of the 90's Doom Metal big three also releases a new album. Here Anathema start moving away from their Doom Death roots and firmly basing their new sound in Celtic Frost's Into The Pandemonium alongside some sparkles of Pink Floyd's more ambiental landscapes. The first aspect that reflects this paradigm shift is Vincent's assuming the lead vocals (now that Darren White left the band) and really going for the Christian Death like moaning voice alongside harsher shouts in a similar manner T. G. Warrior did on Celtic Frost's third album. Then although preserving some Doom Metal aspects here and there, The Silent Enigma is much more melodic, featuring tons of fingerpick guitar lines filled with reverb. Restless Oblivion is the perfect point of entry and is an example of the band's new direction (what a monster of a song) but it's songs like the superb A Shroud Of Frost, Celurean Twilight and title track that reveal every single influence I mentioned before. Nonetheless I must single out the jaw dropping A Dying Wish, perhaps the best track from the lot and the most Gothic Metal moment in the entire record (the clean guitar and keyboards on the verses and that bridge are simply out of this world). So this was the first of many transformations Anathema suffered throughout the ages, a band that never stopped evolving until resting upon their more Pink Floyd like sonoroty. Yet their sophomore is undoubtly a monument and one of the band's best releases.

Sentenced - Amok (1995): Previously known for their Melodic Death Metal, Sentenced went for something really refreshing on their third release. Preserving some riffage from the previous record they peppered it with blatant Goth Metal traits and ambiance all over the place and the result is absolutely exciting: energetic heavy riffs alongside melodic arrangements and female vocalizations here and there makes Amok a blast of an album with a unique sound. The War Ain't Over is a good example of how well this mixture results but Phenix is the absolute top song here IMO: a brilliant mesh of adrenaline, pomp and melody. New Age Messiah, Moon Magick, Dance On The Graves and Forever Lost follow the same path while beeing even more Gothic influenced but there's also room for the Sabbathesque Funeral Spring or the traditional metal cuts on Nepenthe and The Golden Stream of Lapland. It's a pity Sentenced went for a much more straight forward basic Gothic Metal formula in the following releases since Amok is absolutely uncanny in a genre filled with copycats. Highly recommend it.

The Gathering - Nighttime Birds (1997): After getting the media's attention with their first release with Anneke Van Giersbergen on vocals The Gathering wasted no time and soon released Nighttime Birds. Once again the voice is wonderful (although Anneke seems a bit too contained... I strongly recommend listening to these songs live) and the arrangements are simple yet filled with hooks. The best example is the moody opener On Most Surfaces, an intense and beautiful composition that carries you to snow blizzard filled landscapes followed by Confusion, something that wouldn't sound out of place on an album like The Division Bell. The May Song's Goth undertones give life to what would be a somewhat pop rock song without them while The World Is My Witness mingles the more Pink Floyd side of the Dutch collective with the Goth depth of the opening song. Third Chance is kind of generic Goth Metal and the following while dwelling a bit into symphonic Metal is also quite mundane. On the other hand the title track is yet another gorgeous tune where the band recollect some 70's prog rock vibes in stellar fashion. Shrink closes the record with a piano based lullaby that features some latent tension underneath its calm outfit. So yeah... although I think half the record is sort of average the other half is crazy good. Plus once again Anneke (my young self rock star crush) while being still really young, proves to be a absurdly skilled singer (although I'll say it once again: if she was allowed to record these songs with the same intensity she sings them live the result would've been even better) and the remainder of the band smart and skilled song oriented composers while making a great album that strenghtened even more the band's ascension.