A list too many damn years in the making, here’s my top 100 metal album list. The seeds of this project probably began sometime a decade ago when my brother made his own list. After our exhaustive top 500 album lists the idea of ranking any music seemed very off putting. However I did think “what would my list look like”. Fast forward a few years and a couple months into a global pandemic where I got myself a job at a metal bar. Suddenly I needed to find more stuff to listen to, at work mostly, but hitting the gym 5 days a week, metal unsurprisingly makes good pumping iron music.
So this project started to take shape. I made a list of things to listen to, a list of albums to consider and proceeded to listen to predominantly metal music for approximately 4 years. At a certain point though you just have to stop and say enough research. I watched multiple “best metal album of the year” lists get made while researching this, and considering there is no shortage of new music dropping, eventually you just got to put up or shut up.
Well there were a few obstacles I first had to navigate. The first was a complicated answer to a simple question, what is a metal album? Defining the genre is no easy task, and researching this it is obvious no two people seem to agree on what exactly counts as metal. Hell even my brother and I disagree on what we’ve counted vs. excluded, although his definition might change after a decade. I will elaborate on my definition in a minute, but let us discuss other obstacles. The next large one is obviously narrowing this down to 100. Even if I included only one album per artist I would still be upsetting fans of various bands by excluding genre mainstays. At first I made a rough list of 80+ titles and after 4 years of research that ballooned to a shitload more. As such I made a few tough choices. Many albums on the list are representative of a band/subgenre. In other words one album stands in for several and I was more susceptible to cutting a second, third, or fourth album from one artist so that more groups could be represented. A few heavyweights are represented several times with three bands each tying with 4 albums a piece, read on below to find out who.
The last obstacle is simply how to rank these. Sure influence and historical significance are factors, but this is my list so it is my favorites. How does one rank death metal vs. black metal vs. power metal vs. thrash metal? Sometimes it was enough of a challenge to rank one band’s albums. Unlike my film list though I didn’t “cheat” and group multiple albums together. Sure there are plenty of thematically similar albums that occupy the same space in my heart, but rules are rules. So ultimately this isn’t my version of a greatest list, just the albums I like the most. Goes without saying if your favorite album/artist isn’t represented I clearly hate them and you personally for liking them.
With all that out of the way, let’s talk about my definition of metal. A few tangentially related subgenres are absent. Proto-metal, aka bands that were called heavy metal in their era but clearly were hard rock/classic rock are left out. It was tempting to cut some Ozzy era Sabbath to make room, but it just feels wrong leaving them out, so consider them an exception. However Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Uriah Heep, Rainbow, Van Halen, AC/DC, and many others that some folks might count, I don’t.
The gray area I get into is defining who is a metal band. To put it simply any band that was established as a metal band counts even if they have non-metal albums in their discography. There are some contemporary acts on this list who may take wild turns stylistically in the future that I can’t control. Deafheaven almost entirely abandoned metal on recent releases but that doesn’t mean Sunbather and New Bermuda aren’t absolutely metal albums. However bands/artists that started as rock bands but eventually released a metal album I didn’t count. Creatures of the Night from Kiss is heavy as fuck, but Kiss isn’t a metal band. Same can be said for Whitesnake and Alice Cooper who have metal albums but aren’t metal bands. I know it sounds “because I said so” when I define a metal band as a metal band but you know it when you hear it.
To be fair, I actually excluded hair metal as a whole. Sure there are some bangers from Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Ratt, Dokken, and others but this was largely just hard rock of the day. This too is a gray area, but if you want to just say “hair metal sucks” that would explain the exclusion. Def Leppard for example was lumped in with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest (who very much are on this list), but their best albums are borderline pop rock, aka not metal. Also no amount of blasphemy and grease paint will convince me Ghost is a metal band.
Now there are plenty of bands incorporating progressive elements in their music but I “mostly” disqualified prog-metal acts. It feels hypocritical to leave off Operation: Mindcrime when by my own admission Queensryche started as a metal band. That album however owes more to Pink Floyd than Black Sabbath, and as great as Empire is, it is more hard rock than metal. Dream Theater can make a case as a metal band. Hell James LaBrie rocked a Napalm Death shirt in the “Pull Me Under” video, a song that certainly sounds heavy. The problem is if I counted Dream Theater than Images and Words would be the greatest metal album of all time, and that sounds wrong. After all I’m not counting Yes and Rush, so why would DT count? It gets muddier because the (marginally) heavier Symphony X does count, but not Fates Warning, and well my brain hurts.
At the end of the day the answer to “what is metal” might be a bit narrow for some. It seems counter-intuitive to make strict qualifications in order to “include more” but my list, my rules. With all that hypocrisy out of the way, I can assume a few bands/albums on this list might make you wonder if they should count. This isn’t an exact science, so there are some judgment calls that needed to be made. So consult your local “metal gatekeeper guild” if you want to lodge a formal complaint.
To make matters worse there are many bands and artists that are absolutely eligible but not present. I couldn’t listen to everything and there are many great bands that have no entries here. Perhaps with another 4 years of research that would change, but again 100 spots fill up fast. No doubt that you angry reader will see some albums you would easily cut/disqualify and complain that ______ didn’t have an album on here. I tried to make this as comprehensive as I could but ultimately it is a reflection of my tastes and opinions. Perhaps I will offer a supplemental list of “great metal-ish albums that don’t count”, but for now this is the list. Enough yapping, let’s fucking mosh.
100. Kvelertak - Meir
If you don’t want Baroness comparisons, don’t have their artist draw your album cover. Anway, Kvelertak is the type of multi-genre mashup metal band that is naturally far more popular in their home land. Norway just has a little more taste than we do I suppose. It is hard for any metal band out of there to avoid being lumped in with their most famous musical export, but Kvelertak is very much its own thing. Sure there is screaming and blast beats, but this is very far removed from black metal. In fact they often seem to be closer to punk rock than Mayhem, but make no mistake they are very much a metal act. Their second album Meir (which translates to “more) and it very much takes the breakneck pace of their debut and amplifies it while of course expanding their sonic palate. I would point out a few song highlights, but I honestly can’t spell any of them, give it a spin.
99. Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
When initially getting into metal I was always under the impression black metal started with those crazy Norwegian kids in the early 90s. Turns out there was a first wave, led by bands like Bathory and Celtic Frost. Celtic Frost’s first album, Morbid Tales is what many people cite as the birth of death metal (Along with Venom’s gloriously underproduced early albums). Purists be damned, their follow up, To Mega Therion is truly the album where it all came together. “The Usurper” and “Circle of the Tyrants” are easily two of the best extreme metal songs of the decade. Despite hailing from Switzerland, Celtic Frost seemed more at home making viking music.
98. Rhapsody - Dawn of Victory
Power fucking metal my dudes. For reasons almost exclusively related to annoying my coworkers at Kuma’s I started going down the power metal rabbit hole a few years ago. This album popped up on a number of best of lists, and they weren’t lying. Imagine if Yngwie Malmsteen continued to write great songs and also had a competent vocalist. Take that up and bump it up to 11 and you start to get a picture of these Italian neoclassical shredders. Sometimes you need fast paced shredding to songs about fighting dragons and shit.
97. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
When you claim to be the heaviest band in the universe, you better be able to back that up. Dopethrone is so over the top with its heaviness you’d swear the drums are distorted too. Everything proceeds at a snail pace (as is the style) as riff after Sabbath worshiping riff unfolds. This is metal to hit your bong too. With respect to Sleep, Electric Wizard were always the best and most important band in the doom/stoner school.
96. Enslaved - Below the Lights
When the first notes of your album are played on a mellotron, you know you’re in for a good time. I’ve given many spins over the years to different Enslaved albums, they are nothing if not prolific, and sometimes they don’t always stand out. However, they always seem to leave something behind which makes the next listen all the better. By 2003, Enslaved had long abandoned the limitations of black metal and found a sound uniquely their own. The album is full of prog-rock inspired passages, but nothing so freakishly technical as some of their contemporaries. It does feel like a band realizing their potential and remains a highpoint in their careers.
95. Pig Destroyer - Terrifyer
I swear when putting this list together I wasn’t looking to represent every subgenre of metal, hell there probably are more than 100 subgenres to represent. Well I’d be damned if I wasn’t having a grindcore album from those loveable rapscallions Pig Destroyer. Prowler in the Yard might have established the blueprint but Terrifyer refined the chaos. 21 songs and 32 minutes long it is an exercise in how to cram as many kick ass riffs in as possible. Despite the speed and ferocity, you can actually tell what is happening on these tracks, a remarkable feat when it could just as easily turn into noise.
94. Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper
There are metal albums and bands that seem to take the genre into strange and interesting new places. Then there are bands that seemed hardwired to make exactly the kind of bullshit I want to listen to. Children of Bodom are part of the second group. Dropping a string of unrelenting, technically impressive shredding metal at the turn of the century. I’d be lying if I said their albums aren’t a bit repetitive and the “heard one, heard ‘em all” dig can certainly apply, but the shit still rips. With all due respect to Fintroll and their unique brand of leprechaun metal, CoB were Finland’s greatest musical export. The trilogy of Hatebreeder, Reaper, and Hate Crew Deathtoll came out over the course of 4 years and are best distinguished by which color their album cover is. Alex Laiho is one of metal’s greatest shredders and he absolutely destroys on this album.
93. Mercyful Fate - Don’t Break the Oath
Mercyful Fate came out, dropped two nearly perfect albums and fucked off for a decade. Don’t Break the Oath is more of the same after Melissa. The Shermann/Denner combo continues their two guitar attack, albeit slightly more restrained than on Melissa. “The Oath”, “Gypsy”, and “Come to the Sabbath” are all time classics, but to be fair so is everything on the first two albums. Mercyful Fate’s legacy was largely founded on this, and like At the Gates decided there’s no shame going out on top, for a while at least.
92. Cryptopsy - None so Vile
By the mid-90s it seemed like every death metal band was in Florida or Sweden. Well Canada’s Cryptopsy had something to say about that. It would be their last album with original vocalist Lord Worm and some people can actually make out anything he says. Flo Mounier plays like the train is going off the track, but that’s kind of the point. His drumming dominates the album, and put all his American counterparts on alert. “Phobophile” remains my favorite Cryptopsy song and its intro is the closest thing to a moment’s peace this album has.
91. Suffocation - Pierced From Within
The title track from this album still gives me nightmares. Over the course of weeks we learned the song section by section, and I have probably never heard any single death metal song more than “Pierced from Within”. Doug Cerrito and Terrance Hobbs provided some of the most intricate and complex guitar riffs ever. Death metal has always been somewhat technical, but Suffocation were in a different league. Helps the rest of the stellar album more than lives up to the title track.
90. Morbid Angel - Covenant
The debate for which Morbid Angel album is the best will probably not be settled any time soon. You can make a case for their first four albums, and hell on any given day Gateways to Annihilation could be their best. After many re-visits Covenant gets the nod for me. After all this is Florida death metal at its best. Making massive jumps in songwriting and musicianship from Altars and Blessed, Covenant had Trey Azagthoth at his most inspired. Pete Sandoval was also one of the fastest and best death metal drummers to ever live. “God of Emptiness” brings it all home with one of the most satisfying conclusions of any death metal album.
89. Liturgy -Aesthetica
Black metal is alive and well in the 21st century. Sure upside down cross clutching purists would probably disagree, but it checks all the right boxes. Nearly 70 minutes long, every song gets a chance to breathe. A wall of sound produced by Krallice’s Colin Marston it is truly an experience. Killer blast beats and high pitched guitars aside, it is still very much Haela Hendrix’s band. I can’t speak for the direction they took after this album, but this is heavy as fuck.
88. Akercocke - Words that Go Unspoken Deeds That Go Undone
Sometimes a band comes around in the metal scene that’s so different you either invent a new subgenre or give up. For Akercocke’s 4th album things got unique. Sure it is still metal, but each individual song seems to go all over the place stylistically before wrapping up. Perhaps this is the influence of new guitarist Matt Wilcock or maybe they were just trying some new shit. Although the album is a revelation on first listen, it may take a few spins before things start to make some sense. It ventured far more into prog rock territory which made metal purists as confused as proper hygiene, but time has been kind to what they were doing. In fact by the time their follow up (the also excellent Antichrist) came out, everyone seemed to be on board with what the lads from London were doing.
87. Nile - Black Seeds of Vengeance
There are multiple entries on this list where one album stands in for several. Nile was pretty flawless on their first 4 albums, and I could probably make a case for the albums that followed. The production/mix on this was a sticking point for a few, Karl Sanders included, but what it lacks in the mix it makes up for in Derek Roddy drumming. The title track makes me want to run through a brick wall, and who doesn’t love “Masturbating the War God”? For these reasons and more it gets my vote.
86. Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness
Old school black metal fans might still acknowledge Pure Holocaust as their finest hour, but there is no contest between that and Sons of Northern Darkness. This was their first release for Nuclear Blast, a move that was designed to help their distribution in America. Well it was the first album of theirs I heard so I guess it paid off. “One by One” is certainly among the best openers of the decade, and it only goes from there. Following a few albums where Abbath did everything, he has a legit backing band here. Just as the band was breaking through they would hang it up temporarily, leaving this to stand as their first and final word for many fans.
85. White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume 1
Metal and horror have always gone together, from the first bells tolling on “Black Sabbath”. White Zombie took that motif and added Russ Meyer, muscle cars, and a whole lot of camp culture to the mix on their major label debut. Cool samples and fun subject matter however don’t make a great album, just ask Gorphanage. The J Yuenger and Sean Yseult riff machine was never better with some of the tastiest riffs in town. I always preferred Ivan de Prume to eventual replacement John Tempesta. For that reason and others I’ve always slightly preferred the more straightforward metal approach of Sexorcisto to Astro Creep.
84. Gorguts - Obscura
Finally death metal for the fart sniffing chin strokers of the world. Obscura is an album unlike any other and pushes the limits of just what the hell kinda music a metal band could make. It can be hard to describe their music to people who have never heard it because there are no peers. Imagine Sonic Youth were actually good musicians and they made complicated death metal and you’d start to get halfway there. An hour of atonal, brutal, complex, dissonant metal might sound like a chore to you but it does truly get better on each listen. What first sounds like pure chaos starts to emerge after repeat listens as a brilliant new direction. This one is for the adventurous, but it is definitely worth the effort.
83. Decrepit Birth - Polarity
A few years ago when I started putting this list together I cast something of a wide net. Looking up many best death metal album lists I also was looking to check out music that came out largely after I stopped paying attention to the scene. Well the best metal album of 2010 was named Polarity by Loudwire, and I decided to give it a spin. Turns out they were on to something. A great companion piece to Obscura’s Cosmogenesis, this ups the neo-classical influence while still delivering an album of tight technical death metal. It is a nice mixture that seems absent from most of its kind.
82. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
When I was first getting into metal music Atheist was a cult band. Their music was long out of print and their reputation largely preceded them. For many of us we listened to Cynic imagining what Atheist sounded like. After tracking down terrible quality mp3 bootlegs, we were eventually blessed with remastered cds of their three studio albums. Despite being a thrash band when they formed, by 1991 they sounded like no one else. At long last death-jazz was a thing, and the album was conceived as a tribute to bassist Roger Patterson who died in a van crash while on tour for their first album. An album without much in the way of hooks, it established a challenging fusion that would open the door for groups as varied as Cynic and Gorguts.
81. The Sword - Age of Winters
Complex musicianship and innovative new sounds are great. Sometimes however you just want to hear sick, heavy riffs. The Sword rightfully believed metal music peaked decades earlier and didn’t seem too concerned with rewriting the rulebook. They aren’t far removed from stoner metal, again owing their largest musical debt to Black Sabbath. However their lyrical content seemed more in line with medieval imagery than multiple odes to getting high. Immediately accessible, this delivered on the idea “why don’t they make ‘em like that anymore”.
80. Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding
When you’ve spent over 30 years as the most consistent band in death metal it can be a tough task selecting their best album. Although overall I prefer the Corpsegrinder era to the Chris Barnes one, it isn’t hard to make a case for The Bleeding. To date I believe this is the only death metal album to ever appear on Billboard. The boys even got a cameo in Ace Ventura from superfan Jim Carrey. Lyrically it is just as ridiculous and gore obsessed as any of their albums but “Fucked With a Knife”, “Stripped, Raped, and Strangled”, and “Force Fed Broken Glass” would become signature tunes.
79. Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Sometimes an album so perfectly sums up a musical movement you can’t help but tip your cap. Transylvanian Hunger might have refined the sound and featured some (slightly) stronger songs, but it is hard to equal the impact of Blaze. After releasing a forgettable death metal album the band were regulars at Euronymous’s Helvete record store which served as the official headquarters of the burgeoning black metal scene. Under that influence they embraced the lo-fi microphone-hanging-from-the-ceiling approach and delivered the most accomplished record in what would be the second wave of black metal. Despite being leaders in the scene, the members largely avoided the criminal charges other bands dealt with, but instead let their music speak volumes. Brutal black metal about paganism and how fucking cold Norway is, doesn’t get more textbook than this.
78. Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
After four albums of disappointing degrees and a failed attempt at crossing over, Savatage would pen their signature tune and accompanying album. The title track is by far their most famous, but the rest of the album is as strong as they ever got. Some even gave ‘em credit for founding power metal, and the album cover certainly would fit right at home next to Iced Earth or Blind Guardian. Jon Oliva could screech like the best of them and his brother Criss had a seemingly endless assortment of kick ass riffs.
77. Anthrax - Among the Living
Between shitty hair metal all over LA and thrash metal all over the bay area, it was looking like metal music in the 80s was a decidedly California affair. Well enter New York’s Anthrax. A band with much more of a sense of humor than their west coast contemporaries, they hit their peak with Among the Living. It picked up where Spreading the Disease left off but featured top to bottom their strongest songs. All time classics like the title track, “Caught in a Mosh”, and “Indians” still get the pit going like nothing else.
76. Carcass - Heartwork
Metal folk sure are a picky lot. While many would consider Heartwork the pinnacle of Carcass’s recording career, others will forever whine and cry that their earlier death metal albums were superior. This set up a lot of what Arch Enemy would become, and naturally features some of the best lead playing you’re likely to hear on any album. The riffs are killer, songs are actually catchy (the sellouts), and the production is top notch. A couple good reunion albums notwithstanding this remains my favorite.
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