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The rules of this thread are simple. Post either an album title containing a word from the previous post (common words like the, of, and, etc cannot be used as the base for your post) OR another album by the same artist. Example: I post "Hell Awaits" by Slayer, the next person posts "Reign In Blood" by Slayer, the person after that posts "Blood Fire Death" by Bathory. So to start with "You'll Never See..." by Grave

What's up? I'm from Texas and I enjoy Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth, and the almighty DEATH! I'd really like to branch out from just all the mainstream thrash and death metal.

I'm in the same boat, navigating the waters without a moral compass. I can't stay faithful to one book. Too many temptations. I hear the call of Cthulhu sounding from below or else above from somewhere on my bookshelf... I think you should consider both sides of the argument before you jump aboard a diet fueled by a somewhat radical ideology. You need to understand that a vegan's priorities are in this order: the health and well-being of other animals, followed by the health and well-being of you. It isn't uncommon for vegans to end up in the hospital or waste away due to well-known nutrient deficiencies, protein insufficiency, and numerous problems from eating a diet high in greens, grains, legumes and soy etc. I don't think I need to going into any real detail because it's well documented. Unless you really value feeling better psychologically by consuming an inferior diet which can only be offset by incredibly meticulous meal and nutrition planning, you may find it to be a difficult struggle in the long term. Plus, unless you are growing all of your food in your own garden, I don't think you can really verify that animals aren't being harmed or that their habitats aren't being destroyed by mass agricultural/farming operations and methods. Don't let vegans fool you into thinking that all protein is created equally. Powdered protein isn't as good as the real thing, nor is the amino acid profile of protein the same amongst all foods. Avoiding eggs (the highest quality protein) is just silly idealism, and beef gelatin is incredibly healthy due to its high content of glycine, proline, and alanine, which can actually compliment the comparatively less favourable amino acid profile of, say, a steak (if you only ever eat the same cuts of meat).

All of this makes me want to just read Lovecraft, which is a problem because I’m trying to read other things right now. Less good things.

We have so many threads dedicated to albums, I'm actually a fan of dedicating one specifically to bands. So with that said here's RelentlessOblivion's Top 20 Metal Bands 20. Nile Nile tend to be a divisive band. You either like them or you don't. I love the Egyptian vibe present in both their music and lyrics. Their earlier albums are their best but that's ok plenty of great bands peaked early. Essential album: Annihilation Of The Wicked. 19. Anathema I loved Anathema's death/doom work but the atmospheric rock road they've gone down since doesn't work for me which is why they sit so low. Essential Album: The Silent Enigma. 18. Pentagram There's a lot to like about Pentagram, heavy groovy riffs, competent vocals, good songwriting. The only thing not to like is how sporadic their albums are. Essential album: Day of Reckoning. 17. Iron Maiden Call it fan-boying if you want but with nearly 40 years in the business Maiden must be doing something right. So far as I'm concerned six of their first seven albums are near untouchable for heavy metal but they've not done much of note since so that hurts the rating a bit. Essential album: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. 16. Dissection The kings of melodic black metal, and that one melodic death metal album, deserve to be recognised for their achievements. Spin these guys in the middle of winter for the optimal listening experience. Essential album: The Somberlain 15. Cathedral When Cathedral are good they craft a stunningly heavy, often psychadelic sound that simply can't be topped. When they're not good though it's often a boring experience. Essential album: Forest of Equilibrium. 14. Candlemass Another band with extraordinary longevity Candlemass have brought their brand of epic doom to the world for thirty some years at this point and show no signs of slowing down. The Door to Doom may not be their best ever album but you still get the feeling these ageing rockers have plenty to give and their early albums are some of the heaviest traditional doom albums you could ever hear. Essential album: Nightfall. 13. Blind Guardian The Tolkien-inspired imagery and lyrics paired with folkish melodies make Blind Guardian a memorable band. All of their efforts go into creating a sound which does the grandeur of Tolkien's Middle Earth justice. If you ever wondered what sort of music elves would make with electric guitars this is the band for you. Essential album: Nightfall In Middle Earth. 12. Carcass The grindcore-turned-melodic death metal nutters have written some of the most furious songs in metal, and some of the most interesting melodic lines in death metal. They can be somewhat divisive but I love them. Essential album: Necroticism. 11. Sadistik Exekution Intense, that's the best way of summing up Sad-Ex. There is absolutely no let up, no end to the pummeling. From start to finish it's an assault on the ears courtesy of a punk/death/black metal fusion. Essential Album: We Are Death, Fukk You. 10. Ahab Have you ever wondered what would happen if the ocean could write music? So did Ahab and so they set about writing music which captures that odd musing. Their sound alternates between tranquil, almost soothing, sections and crushing heaviness which hits like a tidal wave. Throw in some Moby Dick inspired lyrics and imagery for an epic win. Essential album: The Divinity of Oceans. 9. Type O Negative Like Requiem I don't absolutely love everything TON put out but even their weaker material (Life Is Killing Me imo) is still at least half enjoyable. Pete's vocals got better with time and the band never lost their sense of humour. 'Til the end they were just four dicks from Brooklyn out to have a good time. Essential album: Bloody Kisses. 8. Judas Priest Another classic heavy metal icon. Priest deserve the Metal Gods label for their longevity, consistency, and the fact that they are still releasing quality albums. They're past their prime but Priest can still rock it with the best of them. Essential album: Stained Class. 7. Black Sabbath Without Sabbath there would be no metal it really is that simple. It has been said that every great riff in metal is just putting a spin on something Tony Iommi has already written and whilst I wouldn't go that far he has written a crazy number of iconic riffs. When even non-metal fans recognise your riffs you are an icon. Essential album: Master of Reality (but don't make me choose). 6. Bolt Thrower Bolt Thrower are a pillar of the UK death metal scene. Their consistency is incredible and once you've heard one album you'll instantly recognise the band. Listening to Bolt Thrower is like being slowly crushed by a tank, but in a good way. Essential album: Warmaster. 5. Trouble Trouble's first four albums are the heaviest traditional doom has to offer. It's music which seems at odds with the overtly Christian lyrics and imagery the band frequently use. Then again some of the most violent art ever made was inspired by Christianity so maybe it's not so strange. Anyway if you like your doom to be super heavy (and isn't that the point) this is for you. Essential album: Psalm 9. 4. dISEMBOWELMENT I know, I know, the number four spot and they only released one full-length album and a compilation. It speaks to the quality of that release doesn't it? dISEMBOWELMENT crafted a crushing, bleak, cavernous sound. The vocals are about as low as growls can go and the tempo fluctuates between crawling atmospheric sections and frenzied onslaughts. These Australians mastered funeral doom/death before it was really even a thing and for that they deserve to be heard. Essential album: dISEMBOWELMENT compilation (it's the best way to hear everything they ever did on one record). 3. Mournful Congregation Mournful Congregation are, without a doubt, the best band to ever come out of South Australia. They craft an intricate melodic kind of funeral doom that loses none of the heaviness you'd expect from the style. The atmosphere is melancholic and the melodies are beautiful, funeral doom doesn't get much better. Essential album: The Monad of Creation. 2. Bathory Bathory started as a thrashy first-wave black metal band and played the style magnificently. They then, along with Enslaved, pretty much invented Viking metal and mastered that style as well. With 8 classic albums that you simply must hear Bathory are as close to flawless as you can get (unless you're the number 1 band on my list). Just ignore the retro thrash rubbish they briefly flirted with and you'll be fine. Essential album: Hammerheart for viking metal, Blood Fire Death for black metal. 1. Death Chuck Schuldiner's Death are quite simply flawless. Despite numerous personnel changes and three distinct sounds Death never released a bad, or even an average album. Their debut is a thrashy, raw, extreme metal album. They followed that up with two records which epitomise the Floridian death metal sound before evolving into a technical/melodic death metal juggernaut. They finished off with a progressive, technical, masterpiece which sounds like nothing else in death metal before or since. Quite simply Death are as good as it gets in Death metal. Listen to them, now! Essential album (as if I could pick just one): The Sound of Perseverance. Honourable mentions: Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Angel Witch, Thergothon, Dark Angel.

You're making me feel old, because I used to listen to this at university... It's awesome to see another Katatonia fan around here. Always welcome! 'Tonight's Music' is such a great song from their best album. Man, it's so magical.

Katatonia - Tonight's Music I used to listen to this all the time when i was in middle school, such a nostalgic song for me

So it's a Mad March for Count Requiem then? Start work on Tuesday. I'm genuinely excited. It's been a few years since I last felt excited about getting up in the morning.

Got my first show with the new band tonight, at my favorite venue in town. I'm a little nervous but mostly excited. We've been putting a lot of work in and I hope it comes together well. I also have a new illustration moving along pretty well, which is heartening -- it's one of those nice instances where a band likes my idea, and gives me enough creative freedom that I'm actually happy with the piece as a painting on its own merits. Not to say that I don't do my best on any of the jobs I get, but this is one of the few that I wouldn't mind hanging in a show of personal work when it's done. I think. Fingers crossed.