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1001 Metal Albums You Should Hear Before You Die [Metal Forum Edition] Updated 29th March 20


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12. Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops (1994)

Acid_Bath_When_The_Kite_String_Pops.jpg

Kind of hard to describe this bitch. I guess it's kind of like the Ride the Lightning of stoner metal: certainly part of its genre, but with such an eclectic collection of songs that just calling it stoner metal doesn't quite do it justice. You've got stoner doom in "The Blue", the pure Sabbath-meets-hardcore-punk stoner of "Tranquilized", flirtations with death metal and death/doom on "Jezebel" and "Dr. Seuss Is Dead", and one of the most nihilistically beautiful ballads in existence with "Scream of the Butterfly". Their singer is also an integral part of their sound. His tortured screams are present and correct, but he has a clean singing voice somehow even more horrific, mocking in its morbid delight at the disturbing tales it reveals. This record is a towering monument of stoner metal that completely eclipses all but the very finest of its competitors; a masterpiece with unique songs that are catchy as sin, creepy as fuck, and that will make your head bang right off its neck with or without your consent. If you have any love for stoner or just metal in general then you owe it to yourself to listen to this albums five times in a row ... now ... right now. Go away and blast this shit already, asshole! Unfortunately, there are like no Youtube videos of either any single songs or the entire album on Youtube, so here's a Grooveshark link. Enjoy. Grooveshark: Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops

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12. Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops (1994)

Acid_Bath_When_The_Kite_String_Pops.jpg

Kind of hard to describe this bitch. I guess it's kind of like the Ride the Lightning of stoner metal: certainly part of its genre, but with such an eclectic collection of songs that just calling it stoner metal doesn't quite do it justice. You've got stoner doom in "The Blue", the pure Sabbath-meets-hardcore-punk stoner of "Tranquilized", flirtations with death metal and death/doom on "Jezebel" and "Dr. Seuss Is Dead", and one of the most nihilistically beautiful ballads in existence with "Scream of the Butterfly". Their singer is also an integral part of their sound. His tortured screams are present and correct, but he has a clean singing voice somehow even more horrific, mocking in its morbid delight at the disturbing tales it reveals. This record is a towering monument of stoner metal that completely eclipses all but the very finest of its competitors; a masterpiece with unique songs that are catchy as sin, creepy as fuck, and that will make your head bang right off its neck with or without your consent. If you have any love for stoner or just metal in general then you owe it to yourself to listen to this albums five times in a row ... now ... right now. Go away and blast this shit already, asshole! Unfortunately, there are like no Youtube videos of either any single songs or the entire album on Youtube, so here's a Grooveshark link. Enjoy. Grooveshark: Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops

Interesting, I hadn't thought of this album yet. It's a pretty unique addition to this thread. That being said, I'm hesitant to call this stoner metal. I can't deny their follow-up is though. Anyway...

Edited by MacabreEternal
Broken YouTube link removed
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13. Fuck...I'm Dead? - Another Gory Mess (2012) If grindcore is your thing these Australians with the amusing name certainly won't disappoint. Combining the best aspects of pioneers like Napalm Death and Carcass with an obvious death metal influence Fuck...I'm Dead? have a style all their own. Riffs come flying at you and hit hard, harder then the sudden realisation that you were breathing ten seconds ago, and the tempo is high throughout. Despite this high speed, high energy, approach it's obvious what the band is doing. The controlled chaos of this album make it a standout in a sea of grind bands just copying each other. I cannot recommend this record enough. This one's gonna make a mess...

 

 

 

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14. Depravity - Silence of the Centuries 349884k.jpg From Finland comes Depravity, a band which released a few demos and one EP before releasing their most known work: Silence of the Centuries. With this record, Depravity has displayed influences from the Finnish death metal heritage as well as the ambition to expand that very legacy. When listening to Silence of the Centuries, you might be surprised to find a quite unique take on death metal which focuses heavily on atmosphere. The vocals are low and accompany the icy, blood-freezing riffs (of which there are plenty) on this record. Because of this approach, brutality as it is known nowadays is restricted, but don't worry, the eerie melodic atmospheres will be more than glad to take you away themselves.

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Interesting, I hadn't thought of this album yet. It's a pretty unique addition to this thread. That being said, I'm hesitant to call this stoner metal. I can't deny their follow-up is though. Anyway... 0gq5Fm9kbNo
Yeah, they're sludge, not stoner. But hey, since there are a few bands that crossover, that's probably not a real genre, right?
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Burns aside, that Acid Bath album definitely deserves a place here. Good call. 15: Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime (1988) Queensrÿche developed pretty quickly from fairly generic heavy metal roots in early 80s Seattle, building a unique sound combining soaring harmonized vocal and guitar melodies with unusual but seamless chord choices and a dynamic, accessible approach to song structure. By their second album, they were finding their own "voice". This, their third album, showcases them for the first time as fully mature songwriters, making full use of their technical proficiency, and highlighting Geoff Tate's wide range and expressive (if melodramatic) voice. If that was all there was to this, it wouldn't be more than a period piece, but this album transcends the genre and stands apart from everything else in their catalog. It's a "concept" album presenting a classic (though somewhat juvenile) tale of love and betrayal against the backdrop of a gritty, drug-laced crime underworld, seen through the eyes of the anti-hero protagonist as he reflects on his misdeeds. For this one album, in this context, Geoff Tate's lyrics, full of philosophical pontifications and saccharine, lovelorn maunderings, make sense. The narrative is held together by several interludes featuring environmental noises and voice actors; they conjure up a rainy, gothic, cinematic feeling that persists through the entire album. Michael Kamen's rich and tasteful orchestration adds even more sonic depth, as well as providing connective tissue that further unifies the album. There are several single-worthy tracks here, but the narrative structure frees each song from having to stand on its own merit, allowing the band to explore soft atmospheres and jagged textures outside of the rock-song formula. It's a level of consistency and dynamic freedom that few bands achieve; Queensrÿche would go on to greater commercial success, but never with the album-length clarity of purpose they had here. Nearly thirty years on, this is the pinnacle of their career, and a classic that has wide appeal and influence even among people who aren't into the genre as a whole.

 

 

 

 

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Burns aside, that Acid Bath album definitely deserves a place here. Good call. 15: Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime (1988) Queensrÿche developed pretty quickly from fairly generic heavy metal roots in early 80s Seattle, building a unique sound combining soaring harmonized vocal and guitar melodies with unusual but seamless chord choices and a dynamic, accessible approach to song structure. By their second album, they were finding their own "voice". This, their third album, showcases them for the first time as fully mature songwriters, making full use of their technical proficiency, and highlighting Geoff Tate's wide range and expressive (if melodramatic) voice. If that was all there was to this, it wouldn't be more than a period piece, but this album transcends the genre and stands apart from everything else in their catalog. It's a "concept" album presenting a classic (though somewhat juvenile) tale of love and betrayal against the backdrop of a gritty, drug-laced crime underworld, seen through the eyes of the anti-hero protagonist as he reflects on his misdeeds. For this one album, in this context, Geoff Tate's lyrics, full of philosophical pontifications and saccharine, lovelorn maunderings, make sense. The narrative is held together by several interludes featuring environmental noises and voice actors; they conjure up a rainy, gothic, cinematic feeling that persists through the entire album. Michael Kamen's rich and tasteful orchestration adds even more sonic depth, as well as providing connective tissue that further unifies the album. There are several single-worthy tracks here, but the narrative structure frees each song from having to stand on its own merit, allowing the band to explore soft atmospheres and jagged textures outside of the rock-song formula. It's a level of consistency and dynamic freedom that few bands achieve; Queensrÿche would go on to greater commercial success, but never with the album-length clarity of purpose they had here. Nearly thirty years on, this is the pinnacle of their career, and a classic that has wide appeal and influence even among people who aren't into the genre as a whole. FTqv59JXMUk
I often hear about how Queensryche are a lot more interesting and have a lot more going on than most trad metal, and I'm sure that's true, but the vocal style is honestly like nails on chalkboard for me. The vocals are my main source of distaste for many metal bands from that era, actually. I realise that's a personal thing, though, and maybe taking the plunge and listening to the record in its entirety would be a more rewarding experience.
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I often hear about how Queensryche are a lot more interesting and have a lot more going on than most trad metal' date=' and I'm sure that's true, but the vocal style is honestly like nails on chalkboard for me. The vocals are my main source of distaste for many metal bands from that era, actually.[/quote'] I wouldn't expect any album here to appeal to everyone. Several here I don't enjoy, already. Obviously our tastes are going to inform our choices. I think there's space here for genre-defining classics, watershed moments in important careers, obscure gems, whatever might be more important than your average metal album. I wouldn't call Queensrÿche "trad", either - they incorporated a wide range of influences from pop to progressive rock, even (unfortunately) a bit of nu-metal on later releases. They exhibited a regrettable tendency to ride current trends, especially after DeGarmo left, but they certainly didn't confine themselves to one genre.
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I generally use the terms interchangeably since there's so much cross pollination. Not necessarily accurate' date=' but meh.[/quote'] Many bands walk the line, but the differences between the sides are massive, with stoner drawing a great deal of influence from 70's rock and psychedelic music, and sludge being a doom metal/hardcore punk fusion.
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Catching up on a couple of these that I was unfamiliar with. I had heard some Vehemence tracks before, but they most have been from their other albums, because what I had heard previously sucked something fierce and these tracks were great. That's exactly how I like my melodic death metal, with plenty of aggression, just because it's melodic doesn't mean it needs to sound wimpy. Awesome post, I'll have to check out that album, even though I'll continue to avoid their others. Hammerfall is a band that I still don't like though, despite those songs sounding better than many of their others that I've heard. It just sounds tepid and stale, and not because I don't like that style of metal, but it just sounds lifeless and indifferent. I guess that's why Amon Amarth refers to them as a cover band, it sounds like they're covering material from better bands without any of their own gusto to propel the songs, they're just checking the boxes instead of trying to make some fucking ass kicking metal.

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16. Trouble - Psalm 9 trouble-psalm-9.jpg Trouble, now there was a band. Not only were they one of the earliest bands to resurrect that all but forgotten Sabbath sound and take doom metal to its realization in the 80's, they were also one of the very best at it. Legend has it that this band was so heavy, when James Hetfield saw them in the early 80's, he rushed the stage to see how their amps were configured because he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Messiah Marcolin of the mighty Candlemass claimed in an interview that he believed only their Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and Nightfall albums could even compare to Trouble's early work. This is the band that taught future doom metal bands how to integrate melody with their sorrow, and did so in such a profound way that even their Christian lyrics could not dull their impact on the metal scene. Their debut album Psalm 9 has never lost its impact, not in the 30+ years since it was released, still looming (along with their other albums) as a beacon in the past to remind doom metal bands how it's done. Hearing these songs live nearly made my head explode, their power translates well in the live format, but they do sound perfect here on the album as well. Again, their following 3 albums are also massive achievements and should also be held in high regard among the greatest metal albums ever made, but there's just something about the sound here that makes me grab the debut more frequently. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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17. Devin Townsend - Ziltoid The Omniscient (2007)

Ziltoid The Omniscient is what happens when Devin Townsend has to wait in line at Starbucks. It highlights most of his career whilst still sounding completely unique. ZTO is the story of Ziltoid The Omniscient. A fourth dimensional being on a quest for the ultimate cup of coffee. Yes it's a concept album and no it is, at no point, anywhere near taking itself seriously. From jokes about guitar hero to a speech about how much Herman the Planet Smasher hates musicals this album will leave you in fits of laughter and kick your ass with phenomenal musicianship at the same time. In my opinion this is among the finest albums ever made and my first choice for the finest concept album ever released. It's just a shame the sequel to this masterpiece was such a let down. So slackers if you don't own this record what are you waiting for? And if you do own it grab that cup of coffee, black, and prepare for the subjugation.

 

 

 

 

 

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That was one of the most retardedly awesome things I've ever heard. How have I never listened to that before? Devin Townsend is a complete whackadoo.
Everything he does is zany in different ways. Ziltoid is kind of like a middle ground of his sound, as his usual Devin Townsend material is spacey prog metal, and his other band Strapping Young Lad was more like modern thrashy industrialized death metal.
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