Essential: Albums all metal fans should own/know.

[Crimson Idol]

Okay, so I'm aware this is definitely a re-done topic, and probably a repeat offender at that.. but not everyone has been around for the entire time and it's (imo) better to create fresh and get new viewpoints than thread necro.

So, what albums do you think all metal fans should own/know and more importantly - WHY.

For me this is a mixture of two things, albums that whilst not necessarily the best of the genre (or even in the genre) had a major impact/influence on the way it would progress in future... and albums that are simply so amazing that every true metal fan should own it. I'm hoping we can provoke some in-depth discussion over what constitutes an 'essential' album, and some real talks about the albums themselves. Not exactly 'if you were trying to get someone into metal' type thing but, well you get the idea.

In the end I would expect there would be about 20 albums on a true list, because there is only a certain amount of influence on the ENTIRE genre. So say an album that started black metal, but is itself still just regular metal is potentially an important one as it is a generic metal album that changed the way people were making the music... but something that made black metal progress within it's own genre is not in my opinion because that's no longer influencing the ENTIRE genre, only a sub section. Really I wouldn't expect a list to get massively long as once you reach a certain amount you're basically just listing a collection of your favourites rather than truly important, or widely regarded staples.

So.. here's what has been proposed so far. If you can't see any more albums that would fit the bill it doesn't mean don't post, if anything.. just post your opinions about the ones already listed!

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath. Paranoid is, certainly for me but I suspect it's a more widespread opinion, the better album for early Sabbath. But you simply cannot get more influential than the album and the riff that started the whole genre. If you want to learn about the background of metal this is pretty much your starting point no matter it's quality.

AC/DC - Back in Black. It's not strictly metal but I think it's reasonable to say its on the border. Metal or not though it had a severe impact on the music that was being put out, and really should not be overlooked.

Judas Priest - British Steel. In my opinion, far from their best, but it brought metal to the masses and got it some real international recognition as well as kicking Priest's career up a notch a bringing them to push onto further things, becoming one of the most influential bands for the genre.

Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell. A masterpiece from start to finish, I just honestly don't know what else need's saying on this! (And I'm running out of ideas while trying to stay fresh ).

Rush - Moving Pictures. I'm not a major Rush fan (various reasons, never gave them a proper listen and now I can't) - but in a display of technical skill and composition it was a new direction. Another of the 'perfect example of metal' albums over influence. It's not totally proggy, keeping its roots a bit more in the generic heavy metal (imo), but it pushed a new sub-genre out. I'll let someone else do a better description I've probably described it pretty badly, as said, I'm not the best expert on Rush.

Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance. A real contender for Priest's best album but really made everyone sit back and marvel at the way things were taking off. With the new speed and style of the music that they'd progressed to from British Steel this album (more so than BS or anything that came before) brought the idea of a twin lead guitar attack into prominence.

Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast. Again, not their best by a long shot but it propelled them to new heights and inspired a generation. More catchy than SFV and ultimately more accessible, it had a major influence on a lot of the acts at the time and showed that metal wasn't going away, that it had great potential and power.

Dio - Holy Diver. Okay so we're starting to move from the 'influential/impact' albums and into the area of albums that blow your mind.

Metallica - Master of Puppets. Okay, this one isn't even near my top10 or anything, but I can't deny (and I think it would be foolish to) how heavy an influence this has on every band that has started in the past 15 years or so. America's real major act at the time. This one is less about the creation of thrash (bit late for that!) but it fits into the category of 'It's just that solid a collection of songs that you've got to hear it at some point!'.

Megadeth - Rust in Peace. Another of those albums that rather than propelling the genre in a new direction, it's there to make people sit up and think "HOLY FLERPING SHNICT!". Master of Puppets may have showcased some high speed and technicality but really this one, for me at least, is what really pushed the boat in the meaning of he word shred.

Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction. I would argue this isn't metal, but it sure has a solid foot in the door. The raw energy that was poured into the band and the guitar sound is immense. It's the biggest selling debut album of all time, and for me even ontop of the quality of the songs, is the oddity that is Slash's crunchy guitar during that time... compare the tone of Welcome to the jungle to Piece of Mind and then compare it to Brave New World. One of the best things about the post-2000 metal albums is that the 'heavy' part of the genre really starts to be more and more apt... Appetite seemed to find that area a good time ahead of the rest. There were a few other 'heavier' albums in the 80's, Defenders of the Faith was pretty strong in that department but no where near as cleanly done in my opinion.

Judas Priest - Painkiller. A further 'must hear' in terms of just sheer brilliance. But it had the honor of being one of (if not the) best metal albums of the 90's. The 80's had set a standard for metal and started to take it up a notch but Painkiller just blew it all out the water with it's fairly big footprint! It's like Screaming Mark II, but with heavier guitars!! Priests sound was getting heavier and heavier through the 80's and it hit a fairly important point when it reached Painkiller.


This is born from a chat with Mosh on IRC, but the descriptions written above are my own. I fully expect there to be disagreements and corrections (for instance "AFD wasn't a new standard in production!") .. but that's precisely what I'm hoping for from this thread, a good old deep, passionate metal discussion. With hopefully the outcome that everyone can agree on a staple list of albums.

If everyone gives reasons for picking their albums instead of just going "this ones good, this ones good too" .. then there can be real debates about whether they deserve a place on a list of this type and it wont turn into a top100 album list. Remember, we're looking for things that shaped the genre, and pure showcases of what metal should sound like!!

Let the fighting begin!

 

[Forostar]

Okay, so I'm aware this is definitely a re-done topic, and probably a repeat offender at that.. but not everyone has been around for the entire time and it's (imo) better to create fresh and get new viewpoints than thread necro.

Sorry man, I really disagree 100% here. There is already such a topic (called Essential Metal Albums):
http://forum.maidenfans.com/http://foru ... 70#p254670 and you are even aware of it.

I'm hoping we can provoke some in-depth discussion over what constitutes an 'essential' album, and some real talks about the albums themselves.

This has literally been done. You really can pick up the thread where it ended last time.

There's room enough for new viewpoints in that one, and I am afraid that if this one will be taken into use (as a double topic) the other one will be forgotten. Personally, I have put a lot of work in it, and there were some interesting discussions. Have you read the whole thread?

Why not post your thoughts in that one? You certainly would get the same amount of attention, and you'd also respect older views (which can still be actual).

Thanks for considering.

 

[Crimson Idol]

Well, we discussed it in the chat - including looking at that thread. Thread necroing is usually taken as a bit of an iffy subject - but redone topics are just as much so.

Me/Most/Vap were talking about it (and SMX for a short while before he vanished), and Mosh said if I didn't feel like making the thread he would do it. But, I figured seeing as I started the conversation I should lay the groundwork down. General consensus was to start a fresh one though.

Looking through the other thread it quickly turned into a "My favourite metal albums" thread with an extensive list being created. Well, thats my take on it. The title is essential albums but the first post just asks for a list of good metal. I'm less trying to find a list of good metal than important/influential ones. There is some crossover but there's also some not.

There is as you say a lot of work in there, but sometimes it's better to start fresh with a clean slate and a fresh... 'mission statement' if you will. We decided it was worth making a new thread instead of tacking onto one that was started over a year ago.

If the mod's feel different I'm sure they can merge the two.

 

[Forostar]

Looking through the other thread it quickly turned into a "My favourite metal albums" thread with an extensive list being created. Well, thats my take on it. The title is essential albums but the first post just asks for a list of good metal. I'm less trying to find a list of good metal than important/influential ones. There is some crossover but there's also some not.

Sorry for asking again, but did you or did you not read the whole thread? I'd be glad if you did.  

I ask this because besides trying to let you estimate well if you want to use that topic, I am also interested to know how much you are interested in older opinions.

That topic did not only turn into a list of favourite albums. There was an in depth discussion and there were various and opposed opinions. I reckon this is exactly what you were looking for.

 

[Crimson Idol]

I've read the whole thing, and there were some discussions on trying to make a short list of important albums in terms of their effect on the genre, but it was short lived for the most part. Those that were there were interspersed with favourites lists with little-no explanation (NP's list had reasoning for each album but he acknowledged it didn't quite fit with the 'essentials' idea).

People's viewpoints can change over time, and frequently do. I've tried to make a statement about what is wanted from the thread from the word go rather than the previous thread where the opening line was (paraphrasing) "list the best metal albums" followed by a monster of a list with in most cases a lack of reasons. Night Prowlers post gave a decent sized paragraph for each album as to why he included it (even if it was a favourites list), the majority of even the posts that talked about what 'essential' meant gave a 1 line statement for an album.

I'm pretty new, and I do acknowledge there are existing threads but I of course only have my experience to go on. In my experience after a certain amount of time people prefer a fresh post to a necro. The only real time people hate fresh posts over necro's are where it's asking for a specific question with a very definite answer thats already been given (and usually involves FAQ's), or when it's just a very poorly written post with no depth to it at all. As said, I pondered whether to make the thread at all because of the existence of a previous one but made the choice rather than drag up previous topics and attempting to steer it in the direction I wanted.... seeing as the opening post in that thread was not fitting to what I was hoping for from here.

End of the day, can't please everyone.. but hopefully can provoke some in-depth posts from start to finish, and produce a real topic to sink your teeth into and bury yourself in metal fan-dom.

 

[Forostar]

I've read the whole thing

Alright, then you must have read the discussion started by cornfed and Shadow.

I'm pretty new, and I do acknowledge there are existing threads but I of course only have my experience to go on. In my experience after a certain amount of time people prefer a fresh post to a necro. The only real time people hate fresh posts over necro's are where it's asking for a specific question with a very definite answer thats already been given (and usually involves FAQ's), or when it's just a very poorly written post with no depth to it at all. As said, I pondered whether to make the thread at all because of the existence of a previous one but made the choice rather than drag up previous topics and attempting to steer it in the direction I wanted.... seeing as the opening post in that thread was not fitting to what I was hoping for from here.

End of the day, can't please everyone..

I don't find the term necro a very respectful word for an in depth well written discussion which happens to be a year old.

Of course topics can be redone especially if they were done aeons ago, or when there isn't much discuss content, but what I did now was pointing at this particular topic because it went in depth (you call it short lived, but do you expect people to discuss months without interruption over the term essential?)

I need to point out I am not a mod, just wanted you to guide to that topic and explain my view. Hope that's OK.

but hopefully can provoke some in-depth posts from start to finish, and produce a real topic to sink your teeth into and bury yourself in metal fan-dom.

We'll see. At this point, I don't see yet how different this topic will become, or how much less short lived it will be.
Go ahead, I might join later.

 

[prowler71]

i'll play , but there are some glaring omissions
if you are going to include rush moving pictures , then some other old school albums need to be included as well
deep purple machine head , this album along with led zeppelin 2 and budgie ST debut is (are) the grand father(s) of metal, very heavy albums were metal before the term even existed...
for judas priest , i would have included sin after sin , because this album was almost a decade ahead of its time. and better than almost antything released that year (except maybe 2112 or physical graffitti)
that being said , your list is geared toward an old school crowd, (people like myself included)
there are great metal albums in the post 90's era
notably
pantera- vulgar display of power, this is one album even the 20 year old metal heads always seem to have in thier collections , it has such lovely tunes as walk, this love, and hollow
tool-aenima, very dark and minimalistic, yet profound musicianship, has such hits as 46 and 2, stinkfist and the title track
white zombie-astrocreep 2000 like its predecessor this album is dancable heavy metal, but this one had a more industrial feel to it (which in it self is important) astrocreep had many crossover artists, most notably charlie clouser of nine inch nails fame
slayer seasons in the abyss, the fact that no slayer was listed is going to aggravate some people, this album is the last in a string of very successful albums starting with riegn in blood
KORN st this one should be included just because its sheer heavyness and the albums abilty produced many clones and wannabes some of which survive to this day...

 

[Crimson Idol]

Thanks for the post Glad to see the topic isn't killed from the off ;p

I've not heard the last 4 albums you mentioned so I can't make comment on those, but I'll try respond to some of the others you said.

Rush: I'm not a big listener of Rush but MP is the album I know the most, it wasn't my suggestion (I don't know them well enough to suggest) but Mosh's in the chatroom, backed up by NP, Vap and (I think?) SMX.

Deep Purple: Machine Head... at yes, that most famous of rock riffs! It certainly pushed people to be heavier. I'm tempted to call it classic rock rather than metal, not sure if I'd cite it as a majorly influential album but I've not really listened to it enough to say for sure whether I think it is. Hopefully some others can contribute in that regard .

Sin after Sin (and Stained Class) were the developing of Priests sound in many many respects, and are fantastic albums - but whether they can be classed as important milestones/influences in metal I'm unsure. Comparing them to say SFV the standards being set have a pretty big gap, even just in terms of that specific sound. I'd be agian, interested to hear others takes on these.

The list is less intended to be geared towards old school crowd than trying to comprise a collection of the albums that shaped the genre, and ones that whilst not pushing it in a new direction are simply so fantastic they just should not be passed up. I wondered about including Halford's Resurrection in the list because of the overall standard throughout, but I don't think it really pushed the envelope OR was one of those albums that knocked people sideways and inspired a generation to pick up a guitar etc. In many cases the are better albums in terms of quality of composition, but (hence why British Steel is included despite not being their best) it was an album that brought metal to the masses, got it recognition and dragged in a wave of new fans.

Machine Head is definitely a good candidate but I myself don't know it well enough to make the call, which is where the collaborative discussion comes in. Certainly appreciate the suggestion . The only thing I can say (opinion wise) is that it came after Black Sabbath's debut, which kick-started the genre so I would deem BS to be the more important of the albums... but, there is no reason that both can't be on the same list if both had an impact on the genre to a high degree. I can't really say whether Machine Head had a high impact, but I've heard the BS debut mentioned a lot more over the years.

Zeppelin II is another album I don't really know well enough. It was earlier than both Sabbath and Machine Head, and it was certainly heavy, but whether it's metal or had a hand in the shaping of the sound is another thing. Again, other's opinions on this are more useful than mine.

Generally I find BS to be deemed the 'birth' of metal, for the most part due to the riff of the title track. It's certainly quoted as being an influence for a large amount of metal bands.

Great suggestions and some talking points that hopefully others will chime in with, I'm sorry I can't comment on the other 4 you mentioned. It's not meant to be an old school list, but the biggest impacting albums are going to be the ones that came near the creation of the genre. I think it'd be great if we can find some recent albums that fit the criteria (influence, impact and showcase of metals best) and truly are essential albums. My list above is by no means a completed article or instructional in anyway, but the starting points we came up with during an IRC chat and all open to debate/removal/addition. Likewise my feedback above to your suggestions are FAR from agree/disagree comments, but an attempt to reach a discussion and conclusion of what each specific album brings to the table. Feel free to critique the existing ones as well as proposing new ones!

I'm here to grow as a fan

 

[SinisterMinisterX]

My friends, I was part of the the chatroom discussion for a while, and it seemed to me that the standards were higher. Idol posted 12 albums, but the standards are such that there might be about 12 more.

The discussion wasn't just about musical quality or influence. It's significantly about must-own albums. The albums that, if someone says "I've never heard that" you ask which cave they grew up in. (Or at least from my time in the chat, it was a big factor.)

Sure quality and influence and such count hugely too. But even if Back In Black isn't quite metal (it's hard rock) it's an album that metal people universally know and often love.


A mod statement on the other matter:

It's OK to bump an old thread - even years old - if you have new relevant content. For quick news-type posts about some long-dead thread, it's fine. But since it was Idol's intent to start a fresh discussion, he is OK here.

Next time (and this is for everyone, not just Foro), go ahead and point out the old thread, but there's no need for an overzealous defense of it.

 

[Crimson Idol]

The discussion wasn't just about musical quality or influence. It's significantly about must-own albums. The albums that, if someone says "I've never heard that" you ask which cave they grew up in. (Or at least from my time in the chat, it was a big factor.)

The initial reasoning behind the list was mostly about the impact/influence/quality, say you were trying to educate someone new to the genre as to what really shaped it into the form it is today those would be essential listening to understand its evolution and high points... but upon a "I've never heard half of those" response most of us turned round and went "WTF!?" to the guilty party. So the first sentence was more correct in where it originated from (and so where the initial list formed from) but the second one is certainly an apt description of the list we had developed too.

I wouldn't classify Moving Pictures into the 'what cave' side personally, but it certainly fits the other side of quality/influence. I think there's space for both of them on the list and quite a lot of overlap. The most crucial albums are the ones that fit into both categories.

 

[Jupz]

I would say the essential metal albums are the ones which represent the genre best.

 

[mckindog]

Mindcrime needs to be part of this discussion.
Metal had never before trod so heavily into Floyd territory and still been so explicitly metal.
Metal has never had a concept album that had such consistently, relentlessly, good songs.

 

[Crimson Idol]

Metal has never had a concept album that had such consistently, relentlessly, good songs.

Personallly, I prefer another particular album ;D but in many ways I can't explain why I prefer it. Mindcrime is certainly a good album though! One of the first I ever bought. I'm sure it was mentioned at some point but can't remember if it was before or after we came up with the list.

Geoff Tate is certainly a vocalist that needs showcasing to all metal fans at some point, I don't know if I'd deem him essential but definitely a "Once you're done with these, get looking at...". Sort of an expanded list. That's my feelings.. but as I've said, this isn't just my list. It's intended to be a collaborate work.

Urf I can't remember what year it came out, I've never seen it cited as major influences for bands but I definitely agree with you on it's solidarity and overall quality. May have to add that one to the list, but I'm hardly the best to write a blurb of reasons why it's there (you can if you want? ). Fits into the impact/quality reasoning quite well but don't know if I'd use SMX's "Cave" analogy... however as said above the list is kind of a mix of reasons and there's certainly room for both.

Anything on the list currently you disagree with?

 

[Mosh]

Using SMX's cave analogy, these albums seem best fit to me:

Appetite for Destruction
Back in Black
Holy Diver
Heaven And Hell
Paranoid/Black Sabbath
Number of the Beast
Van Halen
1984
The Black Album
Master of Puppets
Moving Pictures
Painkiller
Screaming for Vengeance
British Steel
-----------------------------------------
And these are albums that every metal fan should own, but might not be as well known or important:
Operation Mindcrime
Piece of Mind
Powerslave
Iron Maiden
Killers
Ride the Lightning
And Justice For All
Empire
Rust in Peace
Among The Living
Reign In Blood
Spreading the Disease
South of Heaven
2112
Machine Head

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Perun]

(...) but might not be as well known or important:
Operation Mindcrime
Piece of Mind
Powerslave
Killers
Rust in Peace
Reign In Blood
2112
Machine Head

Seeing how these particular albums regularly top all kinds of polls in magazines and websites, I'd say they are very well-known and important. I've yet to meet a metalhead knowing these albums who will not say that Operation: Mindcrime and Reign in Blood for instance are not timeless classics. As for Rust in Peace, that is the classic album by one of the most well-known and most successful heavy metal bands ever.
And Machine Head "not as well known or important"? Are you kidding? The album that gave us Smoke on the Water, Highway Star and Space Truckin'? I'd be ready to discuss whether this or the following live album, Made in Japan is more famous or essential, but this is an absolute groundstone of hard rock music.

On the other hand, I ask myself who this proposed metalhead of whom we wonder where he grew up if he didn't know these albums is supposed to be. I know tons of metalheads, and I mean hard-core metalheads who live off beer and headbanging, who would not know half of these albums, or at least not be able to place them immediately by their title alone. The same type would argue that an essential classic metal albums list would be made up of releases such as Pleasure to Kill, Agent Orange, Scream Bloody Gore, Hammer Smashed Face, Eternal Devastation, Litany or In Battle There is no Law and sneer at you for not knowing what bands released those.*

So first of all, we should define our target audience. Are we talking to a casual metal listener? Someone who likes classic heavy metal? Someone who is mostly into death metal? That guy who goes to every metal party in town? Someone who's been around in one form or the other since it all began in the eighties? A kid who's just getting into it?

As for myself, I know all the albums listed in this thread so far, and I know them all very well except for ...And Justice for All, Van Halen and 1984. That is because I never really got into ...And Justice for All, and I really don't care for Van Halen. Sure, I'm very familiar with the hits from those albums because they play at every other metal party I'm at, but the albums never appealed to me. I would, however, add one very essential record to the list: Danzig. For the simple reason that at virtually every rock or metal club I've been, there was always at least one track from that album played... and while half of it is Mother, half of it isn't. And if you stand there and ask what it is, you're an outcast. To me, that's the definition of an essential record.

______
*For the record, it's Kreator, Sodom, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Destruction, Vader and Bolt Thrower respectively.

 

[Crimson Idol]

First off, thank you for taking the time to get into this 

Seeing how these particular albums regularly top all kinds of polls in magazines and websites, I'd say they are very well-known and important. I've yet to meet a metalhead knowing these albums who will not say that Operation: Mindcrime and Reign in Blood for instance are not timeless classics. As for Rust in Peace, that is the classic album by one of the most well-known and most successful heavy metal bands ever.
And Machine Head "not as well known or important"? Are you kidding? The album that gave us Smoke on the Water, Highway Star and Space Truckin'? I'd be ready to discuss whether this or the following live album, Made in Japan is more famous or essential, but this is an absolute groundstone of hard rock music.

I certainly agree on Mindcrime as being a classic, Reign in Blood I think is less so, and less 'essential' but can't really explain why. I think it's possibly the least accessible of the albums that have been mentioned so far, but quality is without doubt. I see it on more polls than Mindcrime but would say Mindcrime is the more important of the two. Naturally though not everyone will share opinions, and thats why I'm looking for some discussion so we can create a list that covers the full spectrum

Machine Head I would say is less known than the other albums we've agreed on so far among the 'average' metal fan. For instance back home I know someone who's pretty into metal, knows Holy Diver/Painkiller/MoP and the likes, listens to thinks like Dream Evil and Kreator... but probably wouldn't realise that Machine Head was an album not just a band. It's importance though, I think you can get away with no knowing it (because you pretty much are garaunteed to know Smoke on the Water anyway ) but in terms of its impact on the genre that's an entirely different thing.

On the other hand, I ask myself who this proposed metalhead of whom we wonder where he grew up if he didn't know these albums is supposed to be. I know tons of metalheads, and I mean hard-core metalheads who live off beer and headbanging, who would not know half of these albums, or at least not be able to place them immediately by their title alone.

So first of all, we should define our target audience. Are we talking to a casual metal listener? Someone who likes classic heavy metal? Someone who is mostly into death metal? That guy who goes to every metal party in town? Someone who's been around in one form or the other since it all began in the eighties? A kid who's just getting into it?

Ideally we should come up with a list which encompasses all the above without being too long. An album which is important to all metal fans, new or old, hardcore or casual, and still good for introducing someone... how more essential can you get?

I know very few RL metal fans who could name Danzig (or have even heard of) tbh, personally I know some stuff and could potentially guess it based on the voice and style, but that's about it. I'm not that well versed on the albums.

 

[Forostar]

I'd like to emphasize some aspects of this topic as well. The words in red triggered me especially.

So, what albums do you think all metal fans should own/know and more importantly - WHY.

For me this is a mixture of two things, albums that whilst not necessarily the best of the genre (or even in the genre) had a major impact/influence on the way it would progress in future... and albums that are simply so amazing that every true metal fan should own it.

+

This is born from a chat with Mosh on IRC, but the descriptions written above are my own. I fully expect there to be disagreements and corrections (for instance "AFD wasn't a new standard in production!") .. but that's precisely what I'm hoping for from this thread, a good old deep, passionate metal discussion. With hopefully the outcome that everyone can agree on a staple list of albums.

If everyone gives reasons for picking their albums instead of just going "this ones good, this ones good too" .. then there can be real debates about whether they deserve a place on a list of this type and it wont turn into a top100 album list. Remember, we're looking for things that shaped the genre, and pure showcases of what metal should sound like!!

I'd also like to ask some questions and I stress that I am not trying to kill this thread.

First of all, wouldn't it be boring if we all would agree on that final list of 20? Not sure if it's possible, but even if it is, what's so fantastic about that unison? Music is an individual experience.

And what's cool about having one list of 20 albums which are already presented on countless of other lists on the net? Why be busy with these often cited albums from these been-done-to-death-lists.

Isn't it much more interesting to discover other albums?

Yes, I do love Heaven and Hell and other classic and influential albums which are often 20+ years old but instead of continuously overemphasizing renowned works such as these, why don't we focus on a few other relatively obscured (not in the least because of these ever repeated lists), forgotten albums which people might find as least as strong.

So, in order to understand (the goal of all) this a bit better, could someone explain me why talking about all these classic albums is more interesting than discovering less known works? Honestly, to aim at the evolution of metal, we could simply read an encyclopedia or something. It's all there. Go to wiki, and you'll be reading lots of stuff on metal and its various roots, influences and subgenres.

I imagine that this topic isn't a quiz to see who knows the answer best, or is it?

I am just afraid that if we keep focusing on these giants, we may be blinded for other records.

Lots of critical questions, remarks, but Crimson, I'd appreciate your feedback!  
I stress that I love to see the discussion. It's always cool to see people explaining why they like an album.

edit:

One more thing:
To describe "how metal should sound like", I find that pretty restrictive. I wonder if there'll be room for death-, power-, speed-, black- and some other metal albums because they don't sound like classic albums of the 70s and 80s.

 

[Crimson Idol]

I stress that I love to see the discussion. It's always cool to see people explaining why they like an album.

That's basically it, the polls and lists you see in magazines/sites are usually just that.. a 1-100 list of "best albums". Best is not necessarily the same as impacting/influential for a start, but most these lists just list them with no reasons given as to why they are so important.

If everyone just said "I agree" then it would be boring, which is why I'm trying to provoke album discussion and why the initial list is not that long. Even so, I would suspect there to be SOME variation in peoples opinions and as such we'll probably find a great deal of albums mentioned and the discussion will help to whittle it down.

Not all albums have to be the old giants that there are, I'd love to see some really strong newer stuff on there which can be deemed as essential listening for anyone trying to get into the genre and/or learn more about it.

 

[Forostar]

Cheers!

 

[Crimson Idol]

D'oh, you edited while I was typing.

"What metal should sound like" was bad phrasing on my part. If you were trying to get someone into metal or trying to educate them.. putting on an album and going "THIS is metal!" that sort of thing, although I'm probably still not really saying it properly there.

Honestly, to aim at the evolution of metal, we could simply read an encyclopedia or something. It's all there. Go to wiki, and you'll be reading lots of stuff on metal and its various roots, influences and subgenres.

Whilst this is true, listening to it is going to give a far better impression of the evolution than reading about it ever can, especially for a new listener. I'd much rather hand someone a bunch of albums than a book if I was trying to draw them in, especially given that music needs to be heard