100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time: Part 3

Sorry for the loooong!! delay...have been a bit preoccupied lately. Anyway, here they are..number 60-41.

60. The New Order--Testament(1988)
Testament's sophomore offering is definitely one of their best, one of the best in all of thrash actually. Though this one is a bit more rock n' rolly than their masterful debut, it still thrashes hard. Disciples of the Watch and Into the Pit are tunes that any self respecting metalhead need not miss!!


59. Keeper of the Seven Keys I--Helloween(1987)
This is undoubtedly the most influential album in all of power metal, period! That being said, it still contains some filler material. Killer tracks include I'm Alive, Future World and the epic Halloween.



58. Hell Awaits--Slayer(1985)
Well, what can I say..this is Slayer!....and Slayer rules. 7 tracks of satanic imagery and demonic riffage. It's killer from start to finish...although Necrophiliac and Praise of Death do stand out from the rest just a bit.



57. Don't Break the Oath--Mercyful Fate(1984)
One of the most reverred albums in all of black metal. This was King Diamond before there was King Diamond. With the scope of their influence including Metallica and Slayer, you should know how legendary this band is. A Dangerous Meeting, The Oath and Come to the Sabbath are eternal metal classics. Melissa is widely regarded as their best album(maybe for the sheer magnitude of it's influence) but I prefer this one.

56. Restless and Wild--Accept(1982)
Fast as a Shark anyone? If you don't know this tune and call yourself a metalhead...I fart in your general direction. Add to this other cult classics like Princess of Dawn and Restless and Wild and you got yourself one of the most deftly crafted heavy metal albums of all time.


55. Piece of Time--Atheist(1989)
One of the most important albums in the history of progresive metal. Think of it as Death meets Miles Davis. It's an experience every metalhead must subject himself to. Nothing more to add here :)

54. Kill 'Em All--Metallica(1983)
Ok, Metallica have finally cracked the list with what is perhaps the first real thrash album ever. It's raw, it's menacing, and blisteringly heavy. The production does a leave a lot to be desired but it still is one hell of a thrashtastic ride. Killer tracks include The Four Horsemen, Seek and Destroy and Whiplash.

53. Among The Living--Anthrax(1987)
This is it, this is Anthrax's masterpiece in their overhyped(IMO) career. With classics like Caught in a Mosh, NFL and Indians, you just can't go wrong with this one.

52. Extreme Aggression--Kreator(1989)
Kreator are back on the list with their best album to date. Truly justifying the title; this is how thrash needs to be(sometimes atleast :))...no boring breakdowns, no synths, no stupid interludes...bang your ******* head. Killer tracks include Betrayer, Title Track and Some Pain Will Last.

51. Metropolis Pt.2:Scenes from a Memory--Dream Theater(1999)
This is probably DT's most complex album to date. To enjoy the beauty of this album you have to surrender to it...yes..that's the only way. Tracks like Through Her Eyes, Home and The Dance of Eternity are still good enough to catch your attention out of the blue though.

50. Hall of the Mountain King--Savatage(1987)
If Streets:A Rock Opera is their magnum opus, then Hall of The Moutain King is their masterpiece. Yes, this is agressive power metal at its best. No one with half a brain could call tracks like 24 hours Ago, Beyond the Doors of Dark and Hall of the Mountain King anything but immortal classics.

49. Hysteria--Def Leppard(1987)
One of the most complete hard rock/heavy metal albums ever made. Ballads, rock n' roll, heavy tunes, party tunes..it had everything. Women, Rocket, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Love Bites, Hysteria, Gods of War, Love and Affection....ohhh..it just never runs out of hits does it. A must own for anyone who loves music(not just rock/metal).

48. Empire--Queensryche(1990)
Ahh, one of my favourite bands cracks the list. It's not that progressive/concept metal albums weren't there before Queensryche, but, no one did it like these guys did. Geoff Tate has got to be one of the best vocalists, if not the best in all of rock/metal....the range!!! Oh My God!! You don't agree?? Ehh..just suck it up anyway :). Silent Lucidity(who doesn't know this), Jet City Woman, Della Brown & Best I Can are the killer tracks here.

47. Colony--In Flames(1999)
This is perhaps In Flames' last great album, and boy does it rock!! In the world of Melodic Death Metal, it doesn't get better than In Flames; Dark Tranquiliity comes close, but not quite there. I don't care if their last 4 albums sucked(which they did, except for Come Clarity which was highly enjoyable). Embody the Invisible, Colony, Ordinary Story, Insipid 2000...this album rocks hard!! from start to finish.

46. South of Heaven--Slayer(1988)
This is undoubtedly Slayer's most progressive output to date. Don't let that fool you though...it's not a Tool or Dream Theater level thing. With bands like Slayer, even progression has limits:)..lol. They know how to Thrash!!, and they do it pretty darn well almost every time. With classics like the title track, Mandatory Suicide, Live Undead, Behind the Crooked Cross & Spill the Blood, it's a must in every thrash lover's collection.

45. Far Beyond Driven--Pantera(1994)
Pantera finally crack the list. As surprising as it may sound, this album could have been MUCH higher on this list if they had not decided to fill it up with some junk here and there...coz the first four tracks on this album are some of the best they've ever written.Killer tracks include Strength Beyond Strength, Becoming, 5 Minutes Alone, I'm Broken & Throes of Rejection.

44. Holy Diver--Dio(1983)
Ahh. Ronnie...James..Dio. What a man, what an artist. After salvaging the flagging career of Black Sabbath, he made his solo debut with this album. With classic tunes like Rainbow in the Dark, Holy Diver, Stand up and Shout and Straight Through the Heart, it is a gem in all of hard rock/metal.

43. Horrorscope--Overkill(1991)
Yeah! baby, Overkill cracks the list. It's criminal how underrated this band is. You think Thrash stops with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth? Well, listen to some Overkill and think again. This is one of the finest Thrash albums of the nineties. Listen to Thanx Fur Nuthin, Bare Bones & Coma to understand what I mean.

42. Altars of Madness--Morbid Angel(1989)
If Possessed and Death laid the seeds for Death Metal, then Morbid Angel certainly took it to the next level with their debut. This is, without doubt, THE most important and influential album for all of modern Death Metal or extreme music in general. While the following album, Blessed Are the Sick, may be better in a technical sense...the sheer agressiveness of this album dwarfs anything they have ever done. It's surprising how it holds up so well against many new death metal offerings even 20 years after its release. All tracks here are top notch old school death metal..though Immortal Rites and Chapel of Ghouls do stand out from the pack.

41. Follow the Reaper--Children of Bodom(2000)
This is CoB's best album to date. It is much more varied than their other offerings and the guitar work found here is just exemplary. ..not to mention the oustanding keyboard work. Not a single filler to be found here...all of them are sure to knock you off your feet. Hate Me, Everytime I Die, Follow The Reaper, Children of Decadence are instant classics....and the solo from the best song here, Kissing the Shadows, has got to be one of the best...EVER!!

100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time: Part 2

So here they are..#80 to #61.

80. Speak English or Die--S.O.D.(1985)

This is one of those love it or hate it kind of albums, but one cannot question the influence it has had on the metal genre. With the longest song clocking in at a mere 2:30 minutes, this album is audacious..outrageous! some might say. I, of course, belong to the group of many idiots who love it:). As a side project of Anthrax's Scott Ian and Charlie Benante it was recorded in just a week's time. Nevertheless, it contains some of the most brazen, raw and fast thrash metal you'll ever hear.

Killer Tracks: Sargent D & the S.O.D., Milano Mosh & Freddy Krueger

79. Horrified--Repulsion(1986-Demo 1989-Album Issue)

One of the most important and legendary albums in all of death/grind. The riffing, for its time, is just savage!This is extreme metal before extreme metal, this is grindcore before there was grindcore, this is gore before there was gore. This is THE first ever grindcore album, don't be fooled by any any Napalm Death scum(pun intended). To know that this was originally recorded in 1986 when the likes of Slayer, Kreator, Bathory were considered extreme is a shock in itself. Never in your life will you listen to such a raw, horrific and hard hitting album. No killer tracks here...it's simply an experience, not for everyone though.

78. Chaos A.D.--Sepultura(1993)

Aah, one of my all time favourite bands has finally cracked the list. This is the album where Sepultura chose to branch away from their death/thrash sound, and it worked in getting them a wider audience. With legendary cuts like Refuse Resist, Teritory, Slave New World and Biotech is Godzilla you can't go wrong with this one. This album was also hugely influential is defining the groove metal genre later perfected by the likes of Pantera and Machine Head. That being said, this is still far! from Sepultura's best:).

77. Hate Crew Deathroll--Children of Bodom(2003)

This is COB's heaviest album to date and contains much more groove oriented material than their first three albums. This album can still rock! the socks off many a listener though. Huge, chunky, wall of sound riffs that will definitely get you a crick in your neck.

Killer Tracks: Bodom Beach Terror, Chokehold & Needled 24/7

76. Burn My Eyes--Machine Head(1994)

Two minutes into the album; you hear Rob Flynn shouting "let freedom ring with a shotgun blast" in Davidian..and you know that this is something special. This is one of the best modern metal songs you'll ever hear. Machine Head have never come even close to what they did here untill last year's The Blackening. The atmosphere, the doomsy riffage, the eerie drum rolls and then the faster chunkier songs with Flynn's piercing screams...it's a modern metal classic not to be missed by anybody who considers himself a fan of heavy music.

Killer Tracks: Davidian, Old & I'm Your God Now

75. Agent Orange--Sodom(1989)

The definitive Sodom album--vintage German thrash with some Ny thrash influences here and there. Sodom played more mature music here, with the regular super charged hi-speed thrash as well as some mid tempo madness.

Killer Tracks: Agent Orange, Remember the Fallen & Ausgebombt

74. Left Hand Path--Entombed(1990)

This is another seminal release in all of death metal. The absurdly low tuned guitars, the obscure synths, the bewitching growls--Entombed had provided the groundwork for what would happen to the Swedish death metal scene in the years to come. It's a must own!, if you're even remotely interested in extreme music that is.

Killer Tracks: Left Hand Path, Drowned & Supposed to Rot.

73. Forbidden Evil--Forbidden(1988)

This is another of those underrated and forgotten classics of the Bay area thrash scene. Here you'll find some of the most intricate and well crafted thrash riffs for it's time..not to mention the blazing solos. An absolute riff fest which is a must for any thrash fan.

Killer Tracks: Chalice of Blood, Through Eyes of Glass & Feel No Pain

72. Pleasure to Kill--Kreator(1986)

Kreator make the list one more time, and why not--Pleasure to Kill is hailed by many as one of the founding pillars of the death/death-thrash movement. The music here is simply raw and unforgiving speed-thrash though. This is arguably the most important and influential thrash release outside the shores of United States.

Killer Tracks: Riot of Violence, Ripping Corpse & Under the Guillotine

71. Odyssey--Symphony X(2002)

Here they are, a poor man's Dream Theater some might say. I disagree. What can I say..well..if you're a lover of progressive metal, excuisite harmonies, epic compositions and razor sharp riffs and you don't own this?...you deserve to DIE!! With that said, this is not Symphony X's best album...wow!!

Killer Tracks: Wicked, Accolade II & the 24 minute epic The Odyssey

70. Schizophrenia: Sepultura(1987)

This is when Sepultura answered their musical call. A pure riff fest from the lords of Brazil. The production, as expected, is not upto the mark considering hardly anybody would know how to record a death-thrash album in Brazil at that time. Even with all these drawbacks, the album is a classic of the genre and contains some of Sepultura's best known tunes in Inquisition Symphony, To the Wall and Troops of Doom.

69. Character--Dark Tranquillity(2005)

This is it, the quintessential Dark Tranquillity album. The perfect hour of modern melodic death metal. It takes the best of The Gallery, Damage Done and The Mind's I and infuses several modern elements to produce what is inarguably the best melo-death album of this millennium. Enough said...Killer Tracks: All of Them

68. Something Wicked This Way Comes--Iced Earth(1998)

Iced Earth have made the list again with their best album to date. This is an album which transcends all boundaries; the sheer magnificence of this album will find praise in a Cannibal Corpse fan and a Britney Spears fan alike. It's heavy, it's punchy, it's melodious..it has everything that goes into the making of a great metal album. A masterpiece!

Killer Tracks: Burning Times, Disciples of the Lie & The Something Wicked Triology

67. Awake--Dream Theater(1994)

Ok, another one of my all time favourite bands cracks the list. You know, there was a time when all Dream Theater albums came with an unwritten/unspoken guarantee of satisfaction. That of course, has taken a bit of a hit after the mediocre Octavarium and Systematic Chaos. This album however, is one of those many well crafted works of art that have reserved front row seats for Dream Theater in the annals of metal history. I don't see any need to describe the music here..if you don't know Dream Theater then what the hell are you reading this list for?

Killer Tracks: 6:00, Silent Man & Lie

66. Slaughter of the Soul--At the Gates(1995)

A milestone in the world of melodic death metal..let's just leave it at that. Along with the early works of another band(yet to crack the list), this album is what started the whole Gothenburg movement, which to date makes its impact on the world in the name of Metalcore and Thrashcore.

Killer Tracks: Blinded by Fear, Nausea & Need

65. Bonded by Blood--Exodus(1985)

Exodus make the list one more time with their debut and best album to date. The album has a tremendous cult following, and it's not surprising to see why. Snarling vocals with hyperspeed shredding from start to finish. This album just never lets up. With thrash anthems like A Lesson in Violence, Piranha and Deliver Us to Evil, it's a must in every thrash fan's collection.

64. Metal Church--Metal Church(1985)

Combining elements of power and thrash Metal Church created a classic and their best album in 1985. For a time when Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Kreator and the ilk were making ferocious music, this may sound a tad mellow..but that doesn't take away anything from the brilliance of this album.

Killer Tracks: Beyond the Black, Metal Church & My Favourite Nightmare

63. Individual Thought Patterns--Death(1993)

Death are back. As I said before, you can't really pick between Death albums; what gives this the edge over Human is the fact that it contains my favourite Death song....The Philosopher.

Killer Tracks: The Philosopher, Jealousy & Destiny

62. British Steel--Judas Priest(1980)

Judas Priest, the definitive Heavy Metal band, the grand daddies of Heavy Metal-- Black Sabbath are widely regarded as the founders of Heavy Metal, but Halford and the guys were the ones who gave it a definite meaning, a purpose and some good ol' classic gut thumping albums. This is a classic Priest album, a classic in all of metal actually, and it's still not their best.

Killer Tracks: Breaking the Law, Living After Midnight & Metal Gods

61. Skid Row--Skid Row(1989)

Glam metal, hair metal, pop-metal...I don't care, this album still rocks! With heart warmers like I Remember You, anthems like 18 n Life and Youth Gone Wild, it still holds up well as one of the best metal debuts of all time.

Part 1

The 10 Best Heavy Metal Albums of 2008

Yes...it's almost time for the yearly list. Before I begin, yes, Watershed bored me(as all Opeth albums do except Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries to an extent)...so don't go ballistic over it. Apologies for the delay in completing the 100 greatest metal albums list too, i'll get to it pretty soon. Anyway, here they are, the 10 best metal albums of 2008...IMO of course:)

10. Shogun--Trivium (Thrash/Metalcore)
A very matured offering from Heafy and the guys. Lots of great thrash riffs with equal amounts of clean melodies. The screaming vocals are back, and it's all good, for me atleast.

Killer Tracks: Kirisute Gomen, Insurrection & Like Callisto to a Star in Heaven.

9. Antithesis--Origin (Technical Death Metal)

This was my introduction to Origin, and damn!! was I blown away. The perfect mix of brutality and technique(sweep arpeggios as riff elements anynone??? whoa!!); hyperspeed shredding with even faster blast beats all the way through. Definitely one of the better extreme metal albums this year.

Killer Tracks: The Aftermath, Finite & Wrath of Vishnu

8. Agony of Death--Holy Moses (Thrash Metal)

These German thrashers' claim to fame(if they ever had any) is Finished with The Dogs(1987), a rare gem of extreme thrash metal from the late eighties. Anyway, with Agony of Death these Germans have achieved quite a remarkable blend of old school madness and modern aggression here. Clocking in above the 1 hour mark, it tends to get a bit repetive at times.

Killer Tracks: Imagination, Alienation & Angels at War

7. Oblivion Beckons--Byzantine (Neo-Thrash)

Imagine a Nevermore on adrenaline and that's precisely what this album sounds like. Pulverizing riffs and grooves reminiscent of Pantera and Machine head with plenty of melodic interludes; this is definitely one of the most complex and punchy albums out this year. A must own!

Killer Tracks: Absolute Horizon, Oblivion Beckons & Pattern Recognition

6. Ultra Beatdown--DragonForce (Speed Power Metal)

Oh yes, the fastest band on the planet is back. Not as refreshing and awe inspiring as their last 2 albums, it still has everything for a great Dragonforce album. Synths are just a tad more prominent this time around, and the prolonged seering solos and video-gamesque licks still form the main backbone.

Killer Tracks: The Fire Still Burns, The Last Journey Home & The Warrior Inside

5. War Waithout End--Warbringer(Speed/Thrash Metal)

Aaaah!! I have no words, read my detailed review for more information.

Killer Tracks: Uh..all of 'em!

4. Killing Season--Death Angel (Thrash Metal)

A monster thrasher from they bay area moshers. The full review can be found here

Killer Tracks: Lord of Hate, Dethroned & Resurrection Machine

3. Formation of Damnation--Testament (Thrash Metal)

I've always questioned the term "Big 4 of Thrash". One, because it only involves US bands and two, because even then it is Testament that deserves the fourth place, not Anthrax. Anyway, these guys have proved again that the old school still knows how to thrash in the modern world. A brilliant album from Skolnick Inc. once again.

Killer Tracks: More Than Meets the Eye, Title Track & The Persecuted Won't Forget

2. Southern Storm--Krisiun (Brutal Death Metal)

This could very well be the most DEVASTATING album I've heard in a loooooong time, yes, even more pulverizing than Nile's 2005 mammoth-Annihilation of The Wicked. Clean, clear, gut wrenching riffs, with blazing solos and vocals that are actually understandable(quite a feat in my book). Max's drumming creates an atmosphere which manages to overtake the Niles and Absus. A modern Death Metal classic in the making for sure.

Killer Tracks: All of 'em...but do check out the splendid rendition of Sepultura's Refuse Resist if nothing else.

....and the best metal album of 2008 is....

1. Death Magnetic--Metallica (Thrash Metal)

As if you didn't know :), well, I don't know...maybe my judgement was a little fogged because of the sheer happiness to hear Metallica in such a form. Nevertheless, it is still my most 'listened to' album of 2008 and it IS really good, and possibly contains THE best metal tune of 2008 in All Nightmare Long.

Killer Tracks: All Nightmare Long, Suicide and Redemption & My Apocalypse