Depraved

Remembered I still haven't updated this, so I'm doing it now, because it's 6 AM and I can't sleep haha. There are many bands I believe I could exchange in the bottom ten on this list, but I'm sticking with what I have here. Some of these depend on whether I've been listening to them recently or not, but most, especially top ten, are solid. I could, however, substitute any number of bands - Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Dark Funeral, Candlemass, Dream Theater, and so on and so forth. So these 20 are not quite written in stone as favorites, except the top 6-8. Anyway. 20. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil I like the Crue, although I must admit I have to listen to glam with a grain of salt. I believe this is their best album, it's by far their heaviest, and pretty much every song on here feels iconic of the LA scene in the early 80s. It's also got my favorite guitar work from Mick Mars, who in my opinion is one of the most underrated guitarists ever. 19. Scorpions - Love at First Sting Sort of the same deal here as with Motley Crue. This is the kind of stuff I listen to in the background at work. Heavy enough to keep my interest, but for the most part, completely non-threatening and free of any introspective feelings or ideas like most of the music I listen to is more or less completely immersed in. It's just fun to listen to and the band sounds great. 18. Immortal - At the Heart of Winter I could say this or Pure Holocaust is my favorite, depending on my mood. The riffs on this album are massive, but Pure Holocaust is their best work overall, in my opinion. Immortal is not my preferred black metal, although I do find myself listening to this album sometimes, when I still want to listen to black metal but want a small break from the completely grim and serious. 17. Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime Or, as I like to call it, Operation Mindfuck. One of the most underrated bands of the 80s, and I think it's unfortunate they have been saddled at times (inaccurately) with the "glam" or "hair band" labels. Right out the gate with their self-titled EP, these guys are a sonic punch right in the face. Geoff Tate's vocals are so unique and powerful, and I love how they build intensity in their songs. Honestly, I probably could have picked any album as a favorite up to and including Empire, but Operation Mindcrime, lives up to its positive reviews in just about every way. 16. Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind Similarly, I could probably pick just about any Maiden album up until Fear of the Dark as a favorite. For a bands that's been around since what was essentially the birth of metal, they're pretty damn consistent from album to album, although I can't say I enjoy their later albums with the same zeal. There are just so many classics in their discography, and Piece of Mind is probably the album I've listened to the most cover to cover. 15. Suicidal Tendencies - Lights...Camera...Revolution! I love how these guys meshed thrash metal with hardcore punk without becoming some bullshit metalcore band. Love the guitar work on this album, lyrics are ultra relatable. Some of my favorite music to listen to when I'm pissed off. Mike doesn't mince words about stupid people and fucked up society, a great way to put things back into perspective when I'm made to feel like I'm the crazy one. Just great, ass-kicking music. 14. Death - Symbolic Ah, Death. I'm much more on the black metal side of things, but I have a soft spot for Death. Not only were they such an innovative band, and with this album specifically, but the misanthropic themes on Symbolic really speak to me, and there are few bands I can say can express this theme with the same level of fury and honesty. "Empty Words" and "Crystal Mountain" are timeless classics and personal favorites of mine. 13. Gorgoroth - Antichrist I prefer Gaahl-era Gorgoroth (Incipit Satan is pretty damn hard to beat), but Antichrist just has a certain atmosphere about it which I find especially enjoyable. I'm not sure if it's the production, or perhaps because they almost approach doom metal at times (especially the closing track), but this is exactly the kind of thing I love to listen to on a cold, rainy night. And, I mean, it's Frost behind the kit, can't go wrong there. 12. Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta Black metal with a heavy dose of folk influence? Yes, please! I typically have to be in a certain mood to listen to this sort of thing, but this album is so good, every song on here is equal parts beautiful and aggressive. They're also not as annoying as a lot of other similar bands can sometimes be. Rarely, if ever, do I feel compelled to quit listening to them halfway through an album. 11. Korpiklaani - Tales Along This Road I don't listen to this band as much as I used to, and in retrospect, a lot of what they do is just the same regurgitated tropes (though still good fun in the right setting). I do, however, still really like this album, especially "Tuli Kokko", which may well be my favorite "folk metal" song ever. 10. Turisas - Battle Metal Again, not a band I listen to as much anymore, though their much smaller discography makes it easier to revisit them over the course of an afternoon. Battle Metal and The Varangian Way still hold up and I still like them, Battle Metal being, in my opinion, groundbreaking in its own way. Sadly, I think this band has fizzled out after a rather short career. 9. Finntroll - Jaktens Tid I won't lie, I love Finntroll. I love every single album they've ever done. Not a 100% serious band, nor do I believe they ever were, but I like what they do. Really difficult for me to pick a favorite, and all of their albums get equal rotation from me, but there's an intangible about Jaktens Tid which bumps it just a bit higher than the others. 8. 1349 - Hellfire I'm not entirely sure if this band would rank as high on my list if they had a different drummer, but I still love their sound and aesthetic regardless of Frost's genius. I appreciate that they continue to maintain an authenticity to black metal when so many others have for the most part abandoned the genre. Again, tough to pick a favorite album, but I tend to listen to Hellfire the most. 7. October Tide - Rain Without End October Tide itself, is not what I would say have been a terribly influential or groundbreaking band by any means throughout its existence, given the fact that this genre was already sort of established at the time, but goddamnit do I love this album. It's like the extra early Katatonia album (more on that later) with such a perfect atmosphere, memorable riffs, beautiful lyrics, great vocal performance. An obscure jewel of an album. 6. Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky Okay, here's where we're getting into what I would call something like "The Most Untouchable Metal Bands in Depraved's Humble Opinion". To say this album was hugely influential and still such a classic is an understatement. They really mastered and perfected the sound, and to think it was one of the first Norwegian black metal albums ever recorded, really speaks to its importance despite the direction the band began to move in after Transylvanian Hunger. Simply put, it's one of the most perfect Norwegian black metal albums ever written. 5. Paradise Lost - Draconian Times Where do I begin with them? I believe they're the quintessential gothic metal band, whose influence was quite far-reaching, more so than was probably originally thought. What they became after this album I believe was a travesty, despite their efforts to redeem themselves in recent years, but their earlier material - and this album especially - are untouchable. Some reviews I've seen say it's a little cheesy or compare Nick Holmes's vocals to James Hetfield (???) which I don't agree with at all (actually never drew any connection with Hetfield until I read that and I guess I can kind of see why some people would hear a similarity, but still sounds nothing like a "gothic Metallica" or some other stupid things I've read). Paradise Lost did everything right with this album, the songwriting, the lyrics, the clean tones, the artwork, even the samples. There is something inexplicable about this album - which is usually a great sign when it comes to music - which can't be expressed in words, but this album creates such a specific mood. This album takes me alone to a graveyard in autumn in the rain, that sort of quiet, internal sorrow and existential introspection. It's that feeling, in musical form. 4. Opeth - Orchid I know I'm an outlier for choosing Orchid here, but early Opeth, up until Still Life are some of my favorite albums ever written. Opeth was actually the first metal band I really listened to, and so maintain a certain special place in my heart, and at one time I would have told you they're my favorite band. That's not exactly the case anymore, but I still thoroughly enjoy their early material whenever I revisit it, and Orchid is probably the only album of theirs toward which my feelings still haven't changed. Like Draconian Times, it's difficult for me to put my finger on what it is specifically about this album that I love so much. The riffs, that goes without saying, but it's something more than that. The structure of the songs, while unconventional and sometimes meandering even by Opeth standards or those of progressive metal as a genre, is very unique, in a way that makes each piece feel like a journey. The acoustic parts are beautiful, too. Some people might say it's a bit of an amateur effort, but I don't really see it that way. For whatever little they lack in technicality, they make up for in scores with passion and innovation. 3. Satyricon - Nemesis Divina Somewhat underrated compared to their contemporaries, but Satyricon's first three LPs really capture the atmosphere and meaning of the genre. I absolutely love Dark Medieval Times and The Shadowthrone as well, but Nemesis Divina is their magnum opus in my opinion and a culmination of their earlier creative efforts. Listening to these albums is like a mesmerizing, dark, grim fantasy, which no other band has seemed to be able to recreate in quite the same way. I believe this is due, in part, to the use of piano and acoustic bits here and there where they're least expected. Something about that, combined with the rawness of the riffs and Satyr's demonic vocals, makes this album such a great listen and is one of the best black metal has to offer. I've already mentioned Frost a couple of times in this post, so I don't really need to talk about him again (wait - what am I saying?) If this album was already perfect for its riffs and melodies, Frost's drumming puts it over the top. His style is so aggressive, urgent, and complex and really fits with the mood of the album. He's one of my all-time favorite drummers - if not my favorite - and some of his best work is showcased here. 2. Katatonia - Dance of December Souls They're almost number one on my list and they may well be tied for that spot. Such an original sound, heavy and melancholic without sacrificing melody. I could fanboy for hours about their early material and it almost makes listening to their later output sort of bittersweet, simply because it's always felt overshadowed by their first two LPs. My first introduction to them was Brave Murder Day, and I didn't think metal could get much better than that, but then I listened to Dance of December Souls and I was completely blown away. I'm not sure what it is, and it feels foolish to attempt to express how I really feel about this music in words, but I think these guys demonstrate better than anyone else the very definition of artistic expression through music, all while (in the early-mid 90s, at least) pushing the boundaries of creative license. I don't think I'll ever be able to quit talking about Dance of December Souls. It's so haunting and beautiful and gut-wrenching all at the same time. Kingpins of doom/death for sure. 1. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas I'm not sure what I could possibly say about them that hasn't already been said. De Mysteriis... is, in my opinion, black metal's finest hour. Dead's lyrics, Euro's riffs, the aggression and atmosphere this album creates...the only thing which could have made it better is if they had been able to record it when Dead was still alive. I'm not a huge fan of Attila's vocals, but it's not like they ruin the album or anything. Perhaps the reason these guys are at the top of my list is mainly because of their legacy and influence, but the early material still blows me away. I don't think anyone who came after has been able to touch them, as many good black metal bands as there have been. Mayhem's classic lineup just had something intangible about them; the perfect storm gone horribly awry, but it's the lyrical themes and hair-raising guitar tone that keep me going back to their debut full-length.

Yeah, exactly. I would almost go as far as to say the somewhat amateurish aspects of it only makes it better. The imperfection of it makes it sound raw and real. Same with the production. Definitely in my top 5 favorite metal albums ever written. It never gets old and it's one of the few albums I can sit through in its entirety only to turn around and listen to the whole thing all over again immediately. It's got some of the most beautiful, most memorable riffs I've ever heard as well.

Katatonia - Dance of December Souls Fuck I love this album so much. I know so many people write it off because it was early but no other album sounds like this. I love how all the reverb (intentional or not) creates such a haunting and dreamlike atmosphere. And those heavy riffs and twinkly keys. Nothing like it. Blackened roses in the cradle of sleep, whisper "our death is eternal". AUURRGH!!!

I completely agree with @FatherAlabaster and @Requiem here. I, too, have sensed a decline in their music since Blackwater Park, at least in comparison with their Candlelight stuff and Still Life, which are some of my most favorite metal albums ever written. To me, there are just too many progressive rock influences which they've been adding in ever larger proportions with each subsequent album since then, that by Ghost Reveries, they really sound like a band which isn't entirely sure what they are anymore. It's not that their later albums are unlistenable - well, I called it quits after Watershed - but there isn't a whole lot that they've done recently which sticks in my mind. I believe there's a time in every band's career when they've exhausted their creative genius, or perhaps their priorities in songwriting just aren't what they used to be for any number of reasons, but when I heard the new single, it was pretty much what I was expecting - bland and forgettable. I find that many bands that talk about "progressing" or "maturing" or "evolving" are really just diluting their original unique sound. There's nothing at all wrong with melody and clean vocals (Opeth was probably the best I've ever heard at juxtaposing acoustic parts and clean singing with their overarching harshness and aggression), but in this case, as well as many other bands I listen to, it begins to come across like a sort of lack of new ideas. Which isn't surprising, when it's a band that's been around for three decades, but no matter how much I like them and their earlier material, I'm not going to call something ingenious or groundbreaking when it sounds like they've just been mentally fumbling around and struggling to come up with anything new for the last 10 years.

Rainbow - Rising

Slayer - Show No Mercy

I'm not familiar with the bands/genres you've mentioned, but maybe you'll like these(?): Dream Theater - Images and Words Annihilator - Set the World on Fire I also second Queensryche Operation Mindcrime and you might want to check out Empire, too. Candlemass, Blind Guardian, Mercyful Fate, Helloween are all great suggestions. Sorry I can't be of much help, most of what I was going to recommend has already been mentioned.

Finntroll - Jaktens Tid Earlier: Finntroll - Midnattens Widunder I'm in the middle of a Finntroll binge, as you might be able to tell. ? ?

For sure, one of my favorites from them.

@Requiem wtf man, you are killing it. Anyway... Finntroll - Ur Jordens Djup This band always puts me in a better mood even when I feel like shit. It doesn't hurt that they don't have a single bad album, either.

Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me

Impaled Nazarene - Suomi Finland Perkele

Type O Negative - October Rust

Anathema - Serenades

This is so accurate. A lot of it is garbage but when it's good, it's phenomenal.

Probably feeling, for me. I tend to like music that's equally slow and intense. Tight musicianship is, of course, always appreciated, but I listen to music mainly for the feeling it gives me and the mood and atmosphere it can convey. Many of my favorite albums were early releases from my favorite bands, and while they're not nearly as polished as their later works, I enjoy the rawness and imperfection of it, because it sounds natural and somehow more passionate to my ears, even though some people might call it boring or amateurish or immature. I love when songs have lots of different riffs and are doing something different or interesting technically, but if it sounds wrapped in plastic and vacuum-sealed, I'm probably not going to like it.

Ahahaha not necessarily a bad thing but hardly indicative of metal as a whole. Which, of course, my then 13 year old self was oblivious to.

Yes, of course. There's quite a lot of metal I don't like. But the metal I do like I absolutely love and those bands have made some of my most favorite albums ever recorded. Keep in mind that metal is pretty diverse. Before I really began listening to metal years and years ago I always assumed metal was just loud guitars with little melody and big bearded muscle dudes growling incomprehensibly into a microphone. That's certainly not the case. I was genuinely surprised to learn that there's metal that's slow, metal with clean vocals, metal with acoustic parts, and so on and so forth... I don't like new music very much either. You really can't go wrong with most stuff from the 80s-90s.

Paradise Lost - Draconian Times I still adore this album. One of my all time favorites. I love the guitar tone so much. I have such an odd sensory connection with this album. I felt inspired to listen to it cover to cover this morning for the first time in nearly a year. Love it. "Yearn for Change", "I See Your Face" and "Hallowed Land" are some of my absolute favorite PL songs. Kickass b-sides from this album, too. Love their Sisters of Mercy cover.

(I'm just going to necro this thread, nevermind me....) So, I've just discovered these guys a couple of days ago, and I've listened to all four of their full-lengths. Overall, I'm impressed with this band, at least at a time when anything that claims to be called "hard rock" or just about any similar genre is a sterilized, digitized, over-compressed joke. At least I can hear real instruments, and I can hear them all individually. Their first album is pretty forgettable, in my opinion. I listened to it once, and really just skipped most of the songs halfway through because I was so bored with them (although "Genesis" is kind of cool, it can't save the album). I listened to Infestissumam next, and I found this quite a bit better. It's got more of an original sound, the arrangements are interesting, and some of the songs are catchy. I think this album begins brilliantly, the intro and its seamless transition into the second song and then the third and fourth songs are good too. But it kind of suffers from being front-loaded, in my opinion. About halfway through the album, everything just began to sound the same for the most part, and some of the songs were way too long and dragged out. So then I tried Meliora because I was convinced this band had to get better - given the fact that "Rats" from Prequelle was the first song I heard from them and it was light years better than anything on the first two albums. Anyway, I feel like Meliora is where they kind of made the transition into more of a metal band, though I'm still not really sure if I would call them that. There are some really good songs on this album, but also some not very good ones, in the same way the former two albums bored me at times. There are some really brilliant ideas expressed here; "From the Pinnacle to the Pit", "Cirice", "He Is", and "Majesty" are just really cool songs. Different, but that's more often a good thing, I believe. And then I heard Prequelle, and I was...not quite blown away, but I still think this is a great album. "Rats", "Faith", "See the Light"; these songs are so good one right after the other. I love "Miasma", it's definitely one of the best instrumental pieces I've heard in a few years. Really creative, really clever stuff. This album almost kind of sounds like a weird power metal-esque version of The Sound of Perseverance in a way. I'm not sure why. I find it really enjoyable, though. I love the guitar tone especially. By far their best album to date. Overall, this is honestly the best new(er) band I've heard. They're not really rehashing anything, but there's a lot of influences there I can see - Mercyful Fate to an extent, Dream Theater, Alice Cooper, Rainbow or Dio maybe, and some shit like Blind Guardian or something. I love the Luciferian themes and the seriousness with which they're often expressed; that alone and their aesthetic are the main reasons I believe for the parallel between them and Mercyful Fate, but I also find them to be very different (Ghost is definitely not a Mercyful Fate tribute band in any way, nor do they remotely sound like black metal haha). I think they're a cool band, definitely fun. I've read from several people who think the masks and theatrics and shit during their live shows is lame, but I think it's an interesting concept. The obscurity, yes, but also in a time when rock music is nearly dead, people want attention drawn solely to themselves and want recognition for the smallest, most insignificant things, and the visual seems like people's #1 priority in this day and age so they can upload all their dumb photos to Instacrap or whatever, hiding one's true identity on stage is kind of a ballsy move, if for no other reason than the music is given free reign to speak for itself.

@Requiem Their first album kind of bored me but I'm listening to Infestissumam right now and I'm liking it a lot better. The two or three songs I've heard from Prequelle are incredible. So jealous you got to see them. They were here like three months ago but I had no idea who they were then so I didn't go. They seem like they put on a great live show.

Holy shit, guys. I just heard Ghost for the first time ever today and - WHAT A KICK ASS BAND. I've been so disappointed in bands over the last 10-15 years or so but this band - THIS BAND? What. The. Fuck. Like motherfucking Mercyful Fate + Dream Theater or some shit. And they sound great! Currently watching a live recording of "Rats" (for like the 20th time today). What a tight band. Incredible.

Ah damn, I should have read through this thread before I posted. Will edit later when I have time.

This is really hard. I've tried doing something like this before but I can never really choose a favorite over the other especially among my top 8-10. And I'm assuming we're only allowed to choose one album per band, which is even more difficult. Then I have to take into account different subgenres, which to me is like comparing apples to oranges. But...here goes. 20. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil 19. Scorpions - Love at First Sting 18. Immortal - At the Heart of Winter 17. Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime 16. Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind 15. Suicidal Tendencies - Lights...Camera...Revolution! 14. Death - Symbolic 13. Gorgoroth - Antichrist 12. Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta 11. Korpiklaani - Tales Along This Road 10. Turisas - Battle Metal 9. Finntroll - Jaktens Tid 8. 1349 - Hellfire 7. October Tide - Rain Without End 6. Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky 5. Paradise Lost - Draconian Times 4. Opeth - Orchid 3. Satyricon - Nemesis Divina 2. Katatonia - Dance of December Souls 1. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas And then there are all the albums I like from a lot of other bands who I wouldn't say are among my most favorite bands, but who have made some killer music (like Enslaved, Dream Theater, Annihilator, Skyforger, WASP, Skid Row, Eluveitie, and so on...and so on...)

I can't stop listening to Queensryche "Eyes of a Stranger". Heard it on Hair Nation this morning on the way to work and now I've been listening to it all day. I dig early Queensryche but I've only heard The Warning and Rage for Order and their brilliant self-titled EP. This shit kicks ass. They really had a gift for building intensity in their songs. Totally going to listen to Operation Mindcrime start to finish when I have time.