25. Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
There are few albums I have ever heard more than Diary of a Madman. Ozzy’s second solo album and in my opinion, the clear best album he ever made. Of course the credit is due to Randy Rhoads who did more for guitar playing in two albums than most folks do in a lifetime. The title track itself remains my favorite Ozzy song, and hell I might put it over any Sabbath song for that matter. Randy’s playing on “Over the Mountain”, “Believer”, and “Tonight” is the reason I have listened to this hundreds of times.
24. Opeth - Still Life
After Morningrise and My Arms, Your Hearse Opeth had more than proven they were at the forefront of extreme metal. Still Life was where they seemed to achieve perfection. Every element of their sound just seemed a bit better this time around. The production was cleaner, the riffs heavier, the melodic passages were prettier, it was Opeth by numbers, but just better than it was before. They started to embrace progressive rock more openly here while maintaining their black metal background. In terms of their progression, they hadn’t even begun to peak.
23. In Flames - Whoracle
In Flames found their sound on The Jester Race, but for the follow up they decided to get a little heavier while keeping all the elements that worked on their previous success. “Food for the Gods” and “Episode 666” might just be the band’s two best pure metal songs. The latter includes one of the all time great breakdowns as well. It wasn’t as revolutionary as Jester Race, it was simply a metal band delivering an album’s worth of near perfect melodic death metal, one song after another. That isn’t to say they weren’t still about trying new things, and they offer a surprisingly wonderful sounding cover of Depeche Mode’s “Everything Counts”.
22. Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
Does one need multiple Agalloch albums on a greatest metal album list? Well I do. One could make a case for them as America’s single greatest black metal band, but their music seems so far beyond the limitations of the genre that I’m not sure it applies. With long folk passages, post-rock elements and a touch of the avant-garde they are uniquely their own thing. Like the album preceding and following it is one that seems to get better at each listen. I’ve always felt their music was made for cold weather and leafless trees, it is a beautiful journey whenever you hear it. There is enough “metal” on here to appease most fans, but few bands make better use of shifting tones and textures this side of Opeth.
21. Deafheaven - New Bermuda
New Bermuda doesn’t change the formula established on Sunbather, but in my opinion perfected it. Combining brutal black metal with shoegaze and long melodic pretty passages is some kind of hipster shit that felt right at home in San Francisco. I’d mock it if every element didn’t work perfectly. They are also probably the only metal band that can draw favorable comparisons to Red House Painters. New Bermuda feels heavier, tighter, and just overall better. It won’t have the same novelty as Sunbather but the more I listen to both the more this stands out.
20. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
When Ghost Reveries came out it was safe to say Opeth was the best metal band in the world. They had proven themselves time and again to be the most consistent and innovative band around. Somehow they just keep getting better, and depending on my particular mood I wouldn’t argue anyone saying this is their masterpiece. They continued their path of embracing 70s prog over death metal, but there are still some brutal parts to this album. The blueprint doesn’t change too much though, just more epic songs with heavy and acoustic passages randomly alternating. Another in a long string of brilliant albums from a brilliant band.
19. Death - Human
While making the difficult decisions of which albums to cut from this list I naturally thought the easiest place would be to look at the artists with multiple entries. Naturally always being partial to Sound of Perseverance and Individual Thought Patterns I questioned whether Human would be essential as well. Silly me, not only was it essential, it is now my favorite Death album. For many this was their great leap forward. Nothing against Schuldiner’s first three albums, but Human upped the technical chops and saw the group venturing into brave new waters. It is also what a little bit of remastering can do for some early 90s death metal. For this album Chuck grabbed Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert for the soon to be legendary in their own right Cynic, and had DiGiorgio on bass for the first of two albums.
18. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Kill ‘em All helped to establish the definition of “thrash” but it took all of one year for Metallica to start branching out from that. Purists never forgave them for “Fade to Black” but the growth of their songwriting was monumental between albums. Kirk Hammett got to put some of his own stamp on the songs, gifting us some amazing solos on the title track and the aforementioned “Fade to Black”. Hetfield was still screeching his way through things, but his lyrics got exponentially better, particularly on “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Creeping Death”. An all time classic.
17. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
There’s good Maiden, and then there’s really good Maiden. Powerslave most definitely falls into the second category. “Aces High” remains the best opener Maiden ever had and it perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album. Murray and Smith are in perfect synchronicity here, as their harmonies are never better. “Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)” is one of their few genuine instrumentals, and it most certainly does not disappoint. “Back in the Village” and “Flash of the Blade” feature two of their classic riffs, and well it goes on like that. For many this is the crowning achievement for Maiden, the definitive lineup at their peak. It’s hard to argue, considering this is everything you could ever want from a Maiden album.
16. Archspire - Bleed the Future
Since Bleed the Future has come out I’m not sure there is another album I have played more. Brutal, technical, and impressive as hell. It might have seemed like the bar on technical death metal was set decades ago, but Archspire somehow found a way to raise it. Hitting 300bpm and you can actually tell what the hell is happening. The runtime is also quite tight which helps the style not overstay its welcome. Hell we even get a shout out to the end of Alice Cooper’s “Killers”, what’s not to love? Bring back the fucking danger!
15. Baroness - Blue Record
Borrowing heavily from Mastodon’s love of the concept album, Baroness digs deep into 70s prog with their best album. Full of surprisingly beautiful acoustic passages, complex riffs, and great guitar harmonies, this is an absolute essential. They would repeat the formula for similarly named albums after colors, but it was absolutely perfected here. One might argue they are a bit more rock than metal, but my list I get to decide eligibility.
14. Necrophagist - Epitaph
Was Necrophagist even real? They came around oh so briefly, re-wrote the textbook on tech-death and proceeded to fuck off for 20 years. There have been hundreds of rumors about a third album which would instantly become the Chinese Democracy of death metal. As great as Onset of Putrefaction was, Epitaph was twice as great. Muhammed Suiçmez finally got himself a backing band, and what a band! Everything was remarkably tight, the musicianship was un-parelled and it also happened to be brutal as fuck. Every tech death band owed Necrophagist a great debt from the moment this album dropped. Legendary indeed.
13. Opeth - Watershed
I have spoken often about tossing a coin for a particular band’s best album. I’m pretty sure I literally did just that with Watershed and Opeth. All of Opeth’s albums from Morningrise to Watershed are phenomenal and list worthy (although Damnation is not metal in the slightest), but this was just a little better. Most of their albums impressed me right away but about halfway through “Burden” which is about exactly halfway through this album I was convinced this was the best album Opeth ever made. Keep in mind this was the first time hearing it, that's just a testament to how damn good the first four songs are on this album. “Heir Apparent” shows that the band hadn’t completely forgotten their metal roots, but it’s clear throughout this album that they’re continuing to move in a different direction. The out-of-nowhere funk breakdown in “The Lotus Eater” is a remarkable gamble that pays off spectacularly. This is their most progressive rock flavored album but still features enough metal to keep their old fans happy.
12. In Flames - The Jester Race
In Flames delivered two back to back masterpieces of Swedish death metal in the mid-90s and part of my ongoing debate was deciding which one I liked better. Whoracle might be the heavier album, but I’m a man who is obsessed with sweet guitar harmonies, and this album is in a class all by itself. I’m inclined to speculate this is what Boston might sound like if they were an extreme metal band. They aren’t afraid to break from tradition and occasionally write in a major key as well. This is on the short list of my favorite would-be death metal albums.
11. Maggot Twat - 8-Bit Apocalypse
Metal is full of bands that are regional heroes or obscure cult favorites. Rarely are any of those bands as deliberately hilarious as Maggot Twat. Aside from being the greatest live act in music history, they also had some great songs. “A Vampire Bit My Balls” is one of the all time greatest metal songs and the one I’m sure the fewest readers of this have heard of. Even the joke songs rule like “Hot Dogs President Bush”. The ridiculous lyrics would only be half the greatness if it wasn’t bursting with some of the sickest riffs ever recorded.
10. Agalloch - The Mantle
Folk black metal sounds like an odd combination, but I’m not entirely sure how else to describe Agalloch. Their second album, The Mantle is nothing short of astonishing. They seem to be a metal band almost begrudgingly, spitting out the occasional double bass and trem picked riff and gurgling barely audible vocals. Then they let their acoustic and melodic passages dominate, playing some progressions for minutes at a time. This album is hauntingly beautiful and needs to be heard by everyone. Admittedly I haven’t listened to The Mantle as much as Ashes and Marrow leading up to this list, but giving it one more spin it absolutely reaffirmed its place as my favorite album of theirs and shockingly enough in my top ten.
9. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
There were only four albums Iron Maiden made with the Harris, Murray, Smith, Dickinson, and McBrain line-up. Each is a masterpiece and all of them appear on this list. In my opinion though they saved their best for last. Seventh Son showed the band embracing their commercial side while improving on the occasional lazier moments from Somewhere in Time. This is also about as prog-rock as they got, and surprise it was a bit of a concept album. “Moonchild”, “Infinite Dreams”, and “The Prophecy” are among their most progressive and best helping to further the narrative. If there was one complaint with Somewhere in Time it was that the band occasionally got lazy when it came to writing a chorus, such a problem doesn’t seem to exist here. Maiden was the rare metal band that compels you to sing along. This was the end of an era and the highwater mark for one of the all time great bands.
8. Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
The other album I have listened to more than any other since starting this project. In fact, Rivers of Nihil completely dominated my top songs played on Spotify last year thanks to how many times I played this album. First listen was like “hey this kinda sounds like BTBAM with an occasional saxophone”, but any good concept album gets better and better. At this point I’m fully convinced it is an all time masterpiece and it’s own very unique thing. A little like Agalloch and BTBAM they are just as comfortable dabbling outside of metal as within it. I wouldn’t point to “highlights” of the album because everything should be taken as one supremely perfect composition.
7. Opeth - Blackwater Park
Despite the fact that Blackwater Park was Opeth’s 5th album, it was the first one I ever heard. By 2001, they were being called the most intelligent band in death metal, and this album is proof positive that praise was accurate. Mikael Akerfeldt was really coming into his own after their previous three albums, and this saw him getting just a little more ambitious. The title was taken from a very obscure early 70s progressive rock band and it seems like Akerfeldt is channeling the ghosts of those old obscure bands. This is pretty much everything the band did well, featuring 8 songs that are all epics in their own right (with the exception of the short “Patterns in the Ivy”). Every song seems to have its mosh pit worthy heaviness as well as slowed down acoustic passages , odd timings, bizarre eastern melodies, both clean singing and guttural growls. Opeth is a band that tries to give you everything you could ever want in every song at once, and somehow it works. They take their sweet time with their songs, letting grooves repeat and sink in, and they always seem to give their riffs the proper amount of attention. Blackwater Park might very well be their masterpiece, but really they could do no wrong for many, many years.
6. Metallica - Master of Puppets
For many this is not just the definitive Metallica album but quite possibly the greatest metal album period. I can’t fault anyone for that opinion but I wouldn’t go quite that far. This was the final album with Cliff Burton who has multiple times to shine throughout. “Orion” remains the best of the Metallica instrumentals. The title track is still one of the band’s most iconic. Depending on who you ask Dave Mustaine might have even helped write “Leper Messiah”. Top to bottom this is as close to perfect as a metal album can get. “Damage Inc.” showed that although they were still thrash at heart, they weren’t like their contemporaries. Hetfield’s vocals also took a major leap forward, and Lars was almost a decent drummer.
5. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power
I’ve had many a long debate about the second best Pantera album, but the argument for their masterpiece is an open and shut case. Vulgar Display of Power was the band at their peak. Phil Anselmo ditched his Rob Halford impression so present on Power Metal and Cowboys from Hell, adopting one of the leanest and meanest voices in metal. Dime hadn’t yet become obsessed with his Digitech whammy pedal, and keeps his guitar largely out of the sludgy drop tunings he would favor on future albums. Rex and Vinnie were just as tight as ever and remained the best rhythm section in metal. All of that wouldn’t mean shit if this album didn’t feature killer songs. “Mouth For War”, “Regular People (Conceit)”, “This Love” “A New Level”, “Hollow” I’ll just stop there before naming the entire album. Not a wasted moment on this album and undoubtedly one of the best of its kind.
4. Metallica - ...And Justice for All
There’s a handful of albums on this list that I listened to enough in high school to last a lifetime. Despite completely burying their new bassist in the mix, Metallica made their greatest album with Justice. It was the farthest they would go into prog metal territory, but would also supply the commercial breakthrough that helped thrash metal go mainstream. Despite not hearing his playing, Newstead did contribute “Blackened” to the group which is possibly my second favorite Metallica song. Second only to “One” of course, the first video the band would make courtesy of Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Get Your Gun. This was the culmination of the greatest run any metal band would ever have.
3. Between the Buried and Me - Colors
I first heard BTBAM after The Great Misdirect came out and was instantly a fan. After all they had the type of chops Dream Theater had but somehow with more complicated arrangements. I was told by a few people Colors was even better, and boy was it. I must have listened to this album on repeat 50 times in a year and I became more and more convinced this is as good as metal could get. This is what’s in my head when writing music, I just don’t have anywhere near the skills these guys do in pulling it off. They take the concept album one step further by making the entire album flow like one continuous song. Every song goes into the next, including changing tracks in mid-drum fill. Their shifting dynamics are incredible, the riffs are insanely complex, and they even find time for a good old fashioned hoe-down midway through the album. Colors is simply an astonishing album and one of the most perfectly realized start to finish albums ever made. There are no words to describe just how great the end of “White Walls” is, so I just suggest you listen to it and get back to me.
2. At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
The greatest death metal album of all time is simply Slaughter of the Soul. At the Gates spent several years developing their sound, but it wasn’t until the EP Terminal Spirit Disease that they arrived at their peak. Slaughter of the Soul was the continuation of that, and it is the most consistent death metal album ever recorded. Nearly every riff is memorable and the Bjorler brothers were never better as songwriters. Tomas Lindberg screams every line of this album like he’s habitually shredding his vocal chords. There are two instrumental interludes that help break up the album, but otherwise this is just relentless metal at its best. ATG was instrumental in bringing a more melodic sense to death metal, but they don’t indulge in the type of guitar harmonies fellow countrymen In Flames used. Instead it’s just catchy riff after catchy riff, giving something to appreciate to the most hardcore metal snob to a noob just discovering the genre.
1. Megadeth - Rust in Peace
The greatest metal album ever recorded is a title I long ago bestowed upon Megadeth’s Rust in Peace and one I don’t anticipate changing. It was recorded during a brief period of sobriety for Mustaine and was the first to feature new members Nick Menza and Marty Friedman. They helped establish what would become the best known and remembered lineup and their presence is felt immediately on “Holy Wars . . . The Punishment Due” which could very well be the best metal song ever recorded. Rather than just a collection of head banging classics, this album was designed to show off Friedman’s talents and it is a shredding album through and through. “Hangar 18” has him and Mustaine trading off face-melting solos, but the highlight has to be “Tornado of Souls”. This album is just crammed with memorable riff after memorable riff. Mustaine also makes a case for himself as one of metal’s best lyricists, and this is where his later obsessions with government conspiracies, anti-militarism, and totalitarian states start to take shape.
