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


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I mean, it's alright but as I stated, many of their contemporaries both in the States and across the globe are head and shoulder above them 
Sure, that's fair. I don't get the many rave reviews for it on metal-archives.com, for example, but it's solid and worthy of a spot in my collection. It will never get as much play as Act of God, or a few dozen albums that I like better, but I enjoy listening to it.

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5 minutes ago, BlutAusNerd said:

Sure, that's fair. I don't get the many rave reviews for it on metal-archives.com, for example, but it's solid and worthy of a spot in my collection. It will never get as much play as Act of God, or a few dozen albums that I like better, but I enjoy listening to it.

Yeah, that's fair. By the way, I'll go ahead and make more additions to this soon as this thread deserves more attention. 

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42. Labÿrinth - Return to Heaven Denied 

Hailing from Massa, Tuscany; Labÿrinth is a progressive power metal band in the same vein as bands like Elegy or Conception. After releasing a good debut titled No Limits in 1996, a title that may as well have been prophetic, they released Return to Heaven Denied. An album that was shown to be among the best in the band's respective genres. 

It happened to be a surprisingly focused effort despite the band's unusually large six-person lineup, featuring amazingly layered composition throughout with nary as single element being out of place. The guitarwork by guitarists Carlo Magnani and Andrea Cantarelli is not only impressive but incredibly expressive and builds a treasure trove of lush harmonies and textured riffing that never grows dull or monotonous with the rhythm section, made up of bassist Cristiano Bertocchi and drummer Franco Rubulotta, being composed of energetic drumming with impressive patterns on the more complex tracks and some exemplary bass playing throughout the whole thing. Of course, the dreamlike atmosphere would not be complete without keyboardist Andrea de Paoli's superb orchestration and playing who perfectly fits the album like a glove. The vocals are also fantastic and perfectly complement the sorrowful and powerful atmosphere that is brought forth by the rest of the band. Roberto Tiranti is shown to be the ideal singer for the album. 

From exhilirating scorchers like Thunder, Feel and Die for Freedom, spanning progressive tracks like Heaven Denied and Moonlight to the slower and more contemplative tracks like The Night of Dreams and Lady Lost in Time, it never misses a beat. Simply essential.

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

43. Watchtower - Control and Resistance

Easily one of the most underappreciated bands in the metal canon, Texas' prog/thrash metal pioneers debut on the scene with the Meltdown demo in 1984 was a technical genesis on thrash along with the likes of Megadeth's early material and was a part of a movement that would lay the seeds of progressive metal from '85 onward. 

Their sophomore LP, Control and Resistance, had both solidified their importance to this and showed how far they were willing to go even in the face of budding new members that were cropping up in the nascent prog metal and tech thrash scenes at that time. With the inclusion of guitar virtuoso, Ron Jarzombek, and new vocalist, Alan Tecchio, these guys embarked on writing a work that remains a mind-bending, ambitious and brilliantly deranged pillar of the genre it helped spawn. Whether it is on the epics like the title track and The Fall of Reason or the absolute barn-burning shredders like The Eldritch and Dangerous Toy, the composition and performance would still seem relentlessly modern today. 

 

 

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43. At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul (1995)

An album so influential that it got a documentary of it's making 11 years after it's initial release. At The Gates managed to gain major success with this album, just to decide that the pressure of constant touring is too much for them and disband, while creating a then unique sound in the process.

Slaughter_of_the_Soul.jpg

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44. Monstrosity - Imperial Doom

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I just happened to be listening to this album while reading through the thread and see no reason why I shouldn't go ahead and give it praise now.

Most Metal audiences know about Corpsegrinder and his many years fronting Cannibal Corpse, but before that, dwelling in the infamous Florida Death Metal Hell, he was raging in Monstrosity and their debut album, 'Imperial Doom' is one of the best to come from that legendary early 90s era.

I first heard the tune 'Ceremonial Void' via the life-changing (for me) Nuclear Blast compilation, 'Death is Just the Beginning 2', and shortly after I tracked down the VHS comp of the same name, sans the 2 (not an easy task in those days, folks), and that had a short interview with Corpsegrinder and Mark Van Erp before launching into the video for 'Final Cremation'. The rest, as they say, is history. Such fine stuff. As time has flowed, this has grown into one of those important Metal albums I simply couldn't imagine not having.

The songs are all total ragers and each member's performance is pure aggression! You can't fake the real thing. John Rubin's guitar work is the best Thrash and the best Death blending together. Just listen to those riffs, the attack. The solos sound like moments out of Horror or Sci-Fi cinema. Van Erp's bass guitar sounds like it's being punched repeatedly and asking for more. The insane drumming from Lee Harrison that is both loose and tight, and has better blast-beats than most Black Metal records. And of course, Mr. Fisher's vocals are that which actually sound like a psychotic demon - something lacking from oh so many "Metal" vocal performances.

Of course, a great album benefits from a great cover and Dan Seagrave's offering here is #3 of my top three Seagrave covers. (I shall save what numbers one and two are for when I comment on those albums. Whether I post about them or someone else does, both will certainly be on this list.)

As far as I have seen over time, this album remains sadly underrated. I cannot recommend it enough! Mandatory Death Metal!

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46. Judas Priest - Sad Wigs of Destiny (1976)

Arguably the best sophomore album ever made, Sad Wings of Destiny was a bolt from the blue.  After the average Rocka Rolla some two years earlier, Rob Halford and co came out in 1976 with one of the finest records to ever grace their discography.  They had undergone a slight line up change since the debut with Alan Moore now residing in the drummer's seat having replaced John Hinch.  Like Hinch, Moore was only to last one album in the role before the band went with a session drummer for the follow up Sin After Sin.

Almost from the off though it is clear that the stars of the show here were the guitars and vocals.  This album really explored the range of both the guitarists and the vocal chords of Rob Halford.  Both worked the stage well together, giving each other space to expand their prowess yet also complimenting each other brilliantly.  The opening track Victim of Changes is a real paired back affair in terms of pace and has a real storytelling feel to it.  Clocking in at nearly eight minutes, it is a bold and epic foray into showcasing some real songwriting prowess (with Al Atkins credited with having contributed it).  The album takes more of an aggressive tone with the menacing The Ripper with Halford adding that threatening undertone to his vocals to emphasise the terror of the famed murderer.

Dream Deceiver again goes for a more slower tempo to build the track, focusing on the story as opposed to going for the short, sharp shock.  It is arranged brilliantly to contrast the shorter track that precedes it.  It builds to a slick and sultry blues-tinged solo to play the song out, the kind of solo where you can hear the whole fret board being used to tell the story just as well as any lyric could.  The track bleeds effortlessly to the more upbeat Deceiver to complete another juxtaposed transition from the epic to the more immediate.  Again, the band use the build of the track superbly, progressing up to a real gallop pace before ending with a flurry of acoustic strummings.

Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny

 

Side B opens with an instrumental as Prelude prepares us for what I have to confess to be the weaker of the two sides overall but you'd have no indication of this as it fills your ears with the promise of more tales to be told and more musical entertainment to accompany these stories.  Tyrant is the first track proper of the second side of the vinyl and it is a bit of a lazy effort in my book.  Whether trying to sound fearsome or not the delivery of the chorus sounds tired as opposed to threatening and the whole track feels a bit washy as a result.  Halford's vocals are layered for part of this track and it does work reasonably well but overall this the only really underwhelming track on the album.

The more structured Genocide puts things back on track with a more appealing beat and a memorable vocal that sticks in your head for the right reason.  The guitars fire licks across the lyrical passages perfectly and keep things interesting throughout.  Even Halford's spoken word section comes off as relevant when on any other record it would seem a bit cringey I am sure.  Penultimate track Epitaph is an almost cabaret sounding ballad that should stick out like a sore thumb but instead it comes across as a classy folky affair that probably should end the album in all honesty as it feels like a natural end to the album.  The album finishes with Island of Domination which is another track that bleeds into form out of the previous one.  Cleverly picking up the pace to end on a positive and more uptempo track, giving the listener a final taste of those guitars and sublime vocal range to savour for long after the record is finished.

4.5/5

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  • MacabreEternal changed the title to 1001 Metal Albums You Should Hear Before You Die [Metal Forum Edition] Updated 29th March 20
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47. Emperor "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk"

This is easily one of the best black metal albums ever recorded way back in 1997. I listed it over "In the Nightside Eclipse" because while "In the Nightside Eclipse" is a classic, the production is cleaner on "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" so you can hear the arrangements of the "sophisticated black metal art" that Emperor plays "exclusively". Every track on this album is truly an anthem in it's own right, from the opener "Alsvartr (The Oath)" to the final instrumental "The Wanderer". The first proper black metal song on the album "Ye Entrancemperium" features an opening riff taken from an unnamed Mayhem song and thus, Euronymous is credited as having contributed to the track even though he was murdered three years before the album was written and recorded.

This album is a faster, more guitar-driven performance with less use of atmospheric keyboards than it's predecessor. The lyrics have also moved away from the standard black metal fare of Satan and nature toward more mystical subjects. There is a lot more blast-beat style drum work and more clean singing from Ihsahn. While I am primarily discussing the original album's 8 tracks here, if you can, try to get your hands on the reissue CD because it features three bonus tracks: In Longing Spirit, Opus a Satan (and orchestral revision of the classic Emperor track Inno A Satana), and a live recording of The Loss and Curse of Reverence, a track which is seen by many as the high water mark of the album.

This album is on my top ten list of black metal albums and is one that I listened to frequently when I was younger, so it holds a special spot in my heart. It is a must have for any metal collection.

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