Guaporense top 100 albums

[Guaporense]

Since I did several top 100 lists I decided to do a top 100 list of my favorite music albums. Brimming with great diversity of genres and 35 different artists (hence 2.9 albums per artist). From classical to film music to popular music (in several genres :D):

Edit: added videos for a song sample from each album.

100. Power Plant (1999) (Gamma Ray)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txsQuKe2LIk

One of the definitive speed/power metal albums by Kai Hansen, the genius . It synthesises the German power metal scene of the 1990's but with a more speed metal sound than typical for Gamma Ray, resulting into one of the best and their heaviest album.

99. Seasons in the Abyss (1990) (Slayer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CamqXtfBD2c
(sorry for the video, apparently Slayer couldn't resist removing all videos with the studio recording of the song from youtube)

Slayer's last great album is a great and accessible work in the genre of thrash metal, being perhaps their second most accessible album (among their good ones of course, their bad ones are complete garbage though).

98. Endless Pain (1985) (Kreator)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUDfWP6Otqk

Kreator's debut album, this thrash metal classic should be in the collection of every lover of music just for it's historical importance. Also represented an important influence on black metal and hence is classified as such by some people.

The specific track, Total Death, represents one of my favorites from the band's whole discography. Simply beautiful and dynamic music. Kreator is the heaviest band I ever listened to IMO because they don't appear to compromise anything besides trying to find the sound that express pure unmitigated aggression.

97. ... and Justice for All (1988) (Metallica)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZE4LNc9k34

A mix of doom metal with thrash metal, Metallica's 4th album is also among their best (which is not hard considering they made 4 good ones). Featuring a sound without any audible bass after their bassist died, it was also a very creative album in that regard as the guitar sounds more precise and "cutting".

[jiraffejustin]

This should be interesting. Bring it on :up:

[TylerDurden99]

...And Justice For All is my favourite Metallica album :up:

[Guaporense]

96. Branded and Exiled (1985) (Running Wild)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT_uU9Ntn7I

Running Wild is one of Germany's leading Pirate Metal Bands, and this is second album, their last before they developed the Pirate Metal genre of Heavy Metal is also was one of their albums where they achieved their greatest proximity with pure heavy metal before they made these drastic innovations. The title track sound almost like a parody of this music medium and that's the reason I love it!

95. Eternal Nightmare (1988) (Vio-Lence)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uIYabyjdfQ

Vio-Lence's best album, Eternal Nightmare, is one of the few thrash metal albums that achieve a near pure thrash sound. Like perfectly pure steel before the development of scientific siderurgy, it's very hard to approximate. Vio-Lence does in their first and best album. The track here, Serial Killer, exemplifies the rest of the album: 35 minutes of the purest furious headbanging fun. One minus is the punk style of the vocals.

94. My Neighbor Totoro OST (1988) (Hisaishi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQx4cEwKD5E

Hisaishi is the best film composer of all time and My Neighbor Totoro is one of his finest compositions. Not exactly alike the previous entries on this list (:sick:). More emotion per note than this is impossible.

93. Possessed by Fire (1986) (Exumer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDN8VPZh1e8

Exumer's debut album, like Vio-Lence is is also their best album. Exumer was a German Thrash metal band who is not very well known but whose style reflects an almost 100% pure thrash metal, but instead of Vio-Lence, their vocals are not punk but traditional thrash vocals and hence better.

[Guaporense]

92. Angel of Retribution (2005) (Judas Priest)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtUHUOOwWjE

Just because of Hellrider, one of the greatest songs ever made, as it represents Judas Priest, the greatest music group of all time, gathering all of their glorious metal history from the 1970's through 2005 and summing it up into a single song which numerous references from their previous work and with a style simultaneously reminiscent of many of their previous works though with a modern production.

91. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part 2 (1995) (Virgin Steele)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96KQhA5Gxns

Glorious the whole album is on youtube, this masterpiece of American progressive power metal. Virgin Steele is IMO the best North American music group of all time. In fact, I would dare to say that Virgin Steele is the best thing that ever came out of the continent.

90. The X-Factor (1995) (Iron Maiden)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcw-oG4aPkU

Two classic progressive heavy metal albums, two bands, same year: 1995. Steve Harris was on fire composing this album featuring longer and more complex compositions (specially Sign of the Cross) for the lower register voice of Blaze, compared to Dickinson's.

89. 7th Symphony (1800's and something) (Beethoven)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MqrBauptrE

Beethoven is the greatest of all classical composers and hence the only one to make this highly selective top 100 albums. :sick: I actually had to exclude more stuff that I love from here than from my top 100 live action films list (or any other top list I made on this site), considering that I actually know more music that I love than film or TV.

[Guaporense]

88. Restless and Wild (1982) (Accept)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTeXBTStek0

Featuring some prototypical speed metal and some of the best AC/DC style vocals ever, Restless and WIld is one of the best albums of the German heavy metal legends Accept.

87. Gambling with the Devil (2009) (Helloween)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as7AUIev-RY

Helloween's brand of "Happy, Happy, Happy Helloween" German power metal, is the type of music that I listen to the most being simultaneously relaxing and energizing. Cute and brutal. Light and heavy. Nothing nicer to relax after a day of heavy work, specially their 2009 album, and here I posted one of the most representative tracks, Kill It. Notice the similarities of Gamma Ray, whose primary composer, Kai Hansen, was previously one of the two composers of Helloween. Though this album features only Weikath's compositions and his characteristic style being obviously quite different from Hansen's style.

86. Kill 'Em All (1983) (Metallica)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4nCy5CITc8

Metallica's first album, one of their best and perhaps their most succesfull in trasmiting energy and force: basically this is 4 kids playing heavy metal. nothing less and nothing more. Every later effort feels rather artificial if compared to this (specially anything after the 80's when the band died from an artistic point of view).

85. Hellbound (2008) (Torture Squad)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAz5O4MQ0TY

One of the finest Brazilian thrash/death metal bands, Torture Squad unique style of "abstract" music is excellent and Hellbound was their album which I found the most memorable. All around excellent and heavy, here Torture Squad focus more on sounding thrash metal rather than death metal (which is a musical genre that I prefer).

[Mr Minio]

Needs to be more eclectic.

Waitin' for a rap album as number one.

[Guaporense]

More eclectic than this? Impossible, of the 16 albums I included already covers classical music, film composition and popular music and inside popular music about a half dozen genres, such as thrash metal, power metal, speed metal, heavy metal, black metal and death/thrash metal. :D

84. Night of the Stormrider (1991) (Iced Earth)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZjIWQwN13w

Brilliant thrash metal album from the American band Iced Earth (too bad they become cr*p a few years later). Yes, it's trash metal but with significant superficial influence from power metal, however, the music is thrash at the core. It's not a mix of thrash and power as some say. In fact, the guitar play appears to be the among the most generic sounding thrash guitar play (which sounds incredible, thick and powerful).

83. Battering Ram (2004) (Iron Savior)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeuVrA9FsdA

Now, that's an example of proper power metal sounding. Like Helloween, Iron Savior is one of the German bands that I listen the most because they are light and accessible, good for relaxing after a day of heavy work. The album artwork is cr*p however, but I love the "videogame" sounding metal. Also the band's lyrical themes are usually science fiction as the band's lead creative force, Piet Sielck, is a fan of science fiction literature. The whole band is named after a self sentient starship Iron Savior and most of the songs relate to the journey undertook by the ship.

82. Land of the Free (1995) (Gamma Ray)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IZGgSz_EUM

Super epic power song at the beginning of this power metal album by Gamma Ray, Rebellion in Dreamland, still the best composition that Kai Hansen made after leaving Helloween. One of the best songs in the genre of power metal.

81. Crusader (1984) (Saxon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhhDbaah9DQ

Now end with the flowery metal BS above: Saxon's (a British Heavy Metal band) best album IMO perhaps because of this single super awesome song, Crusader, one of the best compositions ever.

80. Nausicaa OST (1984) (Hisaishi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZUppxT38Zk

To vary a little bit nothing is better than some Hisaishi's film score. Now we have the combination of classical and romantic compositions with Hisaishi's signature minimalistic music (which apparently seeks to maximize the amount of emotion per note).

[jiraffejustin]

MOAR BEETHOVEN as Minio would say.

[Guaporense]

79. Heaven and Hell (1980) (Black Sabbath)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4fEQrffQ4Y

Black Sabbath began as a prototypical heavy metal band. However their early compositions were still a bit limited and primitive compared to the metal that was developed a few years later. After a decade in the field, however, thanks to feedback from the rest of the artistic community Black Sabbath managed to increase the purity of their metal to acceptable levels to classify for my top 100 albums. Also, the fact that Tony Iommi's band got a decent vocalist, Dio (R.I.P.) helped a great deal to improve the band's sound to achieve timeless greatness.

78. Pile of Skulls (1992) (Running Wild)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkvt33jFIUI

A extremely dynamic album, Pile of Skulls remains one of Running Wild's best albums. Specially the last song, Treasure Island, my favorite song of the Pirate Metal Genre. Simply epic. Though I found the guitar tone used in this album a bit dry, arid, less organic and rich sounding than in earlier Running Wild albums. Still this small flaw does not

77. The Dark Ride (2000) (Helloween)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iVYlbPkW1I

Helloween made a sightly darker sounding album this time. Still a great album and one of the least relaxing of their discography but still nothing really inaccessible like black metal.

[Guaporense]

76. Killers (1981) (Iron Maiden)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlGIFNS3Idc

One of Maiden's first albums, Killer's remains an immortal classic of heavy metal though with heavy punk influence. Iron Maiden can be understood as essentially a mixture of punk with classical heavy metal in the view of Judas Priest 1976-78, such as other NWBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) bands like Saxon and Diamond Head as well.

75. VIctims of Deception (1991) (Heathen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anuGPwbflY8

After Metallica ended in 1989 when the band's bus was hit by lighting killing all the band members :D (though the record companies managed to make the band officially continue by hiring doubles and using the song written by professionals from the music industry :D)., the sound of Metallica continued to exist for a few more years thanks to other American thrash metal acts such as Heathen. Heathen's songwriting is specially strong and their style is classic thrash metal, not very heavy and aggressive like Kreator but also not radio friendly hard rock like Megadeth.

74. Angel's Cry (1993) (Angra)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH8tarypEM4

The full album of the Brazilian power metal virtuoso group. Indeed the two guitarrists of the band have a strong classical training in music and their tecniquice is unmatched among musicians in Brazil (with the possible exception of Eduardo Ardanuy). Angel's Cry was the band's first album and also their best, boasting brilliant performances from all members.

Kiko Loureiro's doing some guitar neck masturbation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeNDD0syjT0

73. The Crimson Idol (1992) (W.A.S.P.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opPDfyuWzw8

W.A.S.P. is one of the best North American classical heavy metal bands, too bad they are not well known. This album is among their best, including a heavy dose of pure emotion that is hard to find in heavy metal and even art in general. All around brilliant with perhaps the lack of technicality of the band as a negative of small significance (if they don't try to play anything too complex it is not a problem).

72. 5th Symphony (1800's) (Beethoven)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOk8Tm815lE

Brilliant work, extremely famous as well which can hurt the experience but if one listens to it ignoring all the overexposure it's brilliant. The 1st movement is one of Beeth's heaviest songs, featuring some monster riffs that would even scare Iommi away.

[Guaporense]

71. Blazon Stone (1992) (Running Wild)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZwlUv2jaAM

Another absolute classic, Blazon Stone by the German Pirate Metal act Running Wild is perhaps one of the most defining albums of the band's career being their best selling album of all time and also one of their most accessible and melodic albums.

70. Spirited Away OST (2001) (Hisaishi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaWD_YR0aCo

Now we are talking, a strong candidate for the best film score of all time. Sometimes I think that I watch Miyazaki films just to hear the music. They are indeed a strong element of his films, that play a much more active role than in conventional films.

69. Somewhere far Beyond (1992) (Blind Guardian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh7G8m8cPtE

A masterpiece of the genre of power metal, combining the aggression and brutality of thrash metal with the musicality of traditional heavy metal and there are significant classical influences incorporated as well. A great album all around, good to listen when I am tired as well (like other albums from the genre).

68. Condition Red (2003) (Iron Savior)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpovE6oBU5U

And talking about power metal, Iron Savior's Condition Red is perhaps one of the most generic sounding metal albums in it's mix of traditional heavy power metal with a stadium rock sound in a certain way. And for me the most generic sounding the better! Loved the guitar tone of Iron Savior as well, truly pleasant and representative of early 21st century heavy metal. Notice how epic they try to sound as it is the genre's main aesthetic objective.

67. Screaming for Vengeance (1982) (Judas Priest)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eacocd2UDlg

Judas Priest great commercial breakthrough album is also a great one. One of the best metal albums which sold millions of copies it helped to actually define the standard 1980's heavy metal sound which influenced these second rate glam metal bands. The guitar tone is thinner and riffs are simpler than in previous Judas Priest albums, contributing to it's commercial accessibility.

[TylerDurden99]

Rep for Judas Priest, W.A.S.P and Iron Maiden. Three of my favourites.

[Iroquois]

More eclectic than this? Impossible, of the 16 albums I included already covers classical music, film composition and popular music and inside popular music about a half dozen genres, such as thrash metal, power metal, speed metal, heavy metal, black metal and death/thrash metal. :D

"Oh, we got both kinds of music! We got country and Western!"

[Harry Lime]

This thread killed my browser.

[Miss Vicky]

Oh look, it's a thread full of metal, metal, more metal, even more metal, some classical, more metal, and a few anime soundtrack songs. Why does this not surprise me at all?

[Iroquois]

This thread killed my browser.

It'd be boring if it was just album covers, though.

[Tyler1]

More eclectic than this? Impossible, of the 16 albums I included already covers classical music, film composition and popular music and inside popular music about a half dozen genres, such as thrash metal, power metal, speed metal, heavy metal, black metal and death/thrash metal. :D

Well, there's only Beethoven for classical. And 80% heavy metal. It seems a little far-fetched to call this list diverse. Hopefully there will be more "eclectic" stuff coming up.

[weeman]

Over 9000 genres!

I know what the top five is already though:

5. Generic Metal - Guys With Long Hair
4. Anime OST - Some Japanese Guy
3. Pretty Obscure Metal - Blokes with Tattoos
2. Light Years - Kylie Minogue
1. Metal That Actually Kills Listeners - Men With Knives

[Guaporense]

If you are not interested in heavy metal you shouldn't even look at this thread (it's not like people here don't know where genres interest me), for the next 66 albums: 63 are heavy metal. And inside heavy metal there is indeed an enormous amount of diversity, people who do not listen to it of course wouldn't know it (to an experienced ears each album here sounds completely different, for inexperienced ears they certainly sound the same). Usually heavy metal fans do not listen to anything outside of the genre, why? Well, I personally never loved conventional music (i.e. all popular music that shows up on the radio) and I began to take music seriously after I listened to Iron Maiden. Conventional music is weak and lacking in power, seriousness and complexity. Still haven't found much that I love besides the genre (liked some classical/orchestral music though only a select few to make my top 100 albums list, and Hisaishi's compositions are not "anime music", as if such thing existed, they are orchestral/electronic film music, Nausicaa's OST actually "steals" from several classical composers in it). As Helloween's Are you Metal, "happy metal" song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he4782Kmau0

I regard this as my best 100 top list by far, I rate everything here 5, perhaps because albums are shorter than movies so I listened to a lot more music than film and music is a far larger field than cinema which allows for the existence of artistic niches that better satisfy people's tastes. Never found any genre in film that I love comparably to heavy metal, though most metal bands are mediocre even a mediocre heavy metal album still sounds better than music produced outside of the genre.

66. Agent Orange (1989) (Sodom)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR_Fq9MYaXI

Like Possessed by Fire, Agent Orange by the German thrash metal band Sodom exemplifies pure thrash metal. The guitar tone attained in this album is excellent and the riffage is diverse and impressive. This is my favorite Sodom album and is perhaps their most accessible as well, selling over 50,000 copies in Germany in 1989!

65. The Black Halo (2005) (Kamelot)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6x2I1RoRk

Presenting a mature mix of progressive power and symphonic metal, Kamelot has been the best north american band of the 21st century so far. Primarily influenced by European artists, their brand of . Differently from the pure thrash metal above, here compositions get a little more sophisticated and much more emphasis is put on melody.

64. Gates to Purgatory (1984) (Running Wild)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6MwRDwStRk

Running Wild's first album also perhaps their most enthusiastic and aggressive effort. Bands begin playing loud with all aggression and later on become less aggressive and begin to incorporate more progressive influences resulting in less heavy but more complex compositions. One classical example is Running Wild, their first album is their heaviest and one of the purest heavy metal albums on this list brimming with pure focused steel cutting aggression (as in the cover).

63 . De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994) (Mayhen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcS0CVJ1KPg

A more atmospheric album from previous entries. While traditional heavy metal and power metal focus on using distorted guitars to create melodies and Thrash Metal focuses on pure aggression, Black Metal, here exemplified by one of it's purest incarnations, is a genre that seeks to create a dense atmosphere by using very fast riffing (tremelo picking) that evolved from thrash metal, it's a more atmospheric and abstract form of music (one could say it's the musical extension of abstract painting):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJm_RfQ_J-0

62. Iron Maiden (1980) (Iron Maiden)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YKblxKglTY

Accessible, sophisticated, rich, heavy and all around great. Iron Maiden is a band that featuring the enormous talents of Steve Harris (perhaps the greatest and most brilliant composer in popular music), Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and co. and in their first album their exceptional artistic significance was already very apparent. Many fans regard as Iron Maiden as simply the best band of all time and it's easy to see why. While lighter than average heavy metal and incorporating punk rock influences, their artistic richness more than compensates for it. They are still my number 2 band and can be number 1 depending on my mood. Their sound also started to exclude the punk metal influence over the next few years, by 1983 the punk influence was almost completely gone.

Still in their first album we have one of their finest compositions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8IuFl3sMhk

61. Symbolic (1995) (Death)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHqbFibeCzo

The American band Death is one of the founding bands of the Death Metal genre and Schuldiner was one of the finest guitar players of all time and Death's lead songwriter. Here is one of their finest albums because they incorporate progressive influences in being of one their later albums so it's more melodic and lighter on the aggression, being more accessible and artistically sophisticated music. Note the use of growls in the vocals, Schuldiner was one of the first to use it and too bad as a couple of years after this album he got throat cancer and died in 2001. His mother said she liked his music as well.

60. Alice in Hell (1989) (Annihilator)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6WJ9Lok9NA

The first album of the Canadian thrash metal band, Annihilator. Really incredible combination of brutality and melody, reminds me of Judas Priest's Painkiller in that regard (though an album in a completely different genre). Too bad the band's quality declined continuously after this first success.

[Guaporense]

Well, there's only Beethoven for classical. And 80% heavy metal. It seems a little far-fetched to call this list diverse. Hopefully there will be more "eclectic" stuff coming up.

Beethoven is the only erudite composer on this list, Hisaishi and other film composers may be considered classical in the sense that his compositions are heavily influenced by Romantic composers such as Beethoven and that they are orchestral music as well.

Besides Beethoven I know the music of composers such as Dvorak, Mozart, Handel, Haydn, Mahler, Chopin, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Bach and Vivaldi, I had some of these under consideration but my love for metal is just too strong, classical music has a hard time competing with the raw power and intensity of metal. Also, classical music demands patience from the listener and several listens before it can fully enjoyed (though the same applies to metal: I did not like Slayer the first time I listened to it but after I trained my ear with enough Judas Priest the melody of Slayer became accessible), since I have been listening to Beethoven's symphonies for a decade now I fully grasped them, I have not yeat grasped the music from other composers and their lack of raw intensity reduces their attractiveness to me.

[Guaporense]

59. Melissa (1983) (Mercyful Fate)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fK7ktZPnww

Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate; classic band, and this is an absolute classic being their first album also featuring the mixture of highly melodic guitar play with the awesome vocals of King Diamond.

58. Defying the Rules (2004) (Hybria)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWONTckuN7w

I believe this to be my favorite Brazilian heavy metal album. It's a very refined speed metal album with obvious influences from classics from the genre such as Painkiller, Walls of Jericho and Follow the Blind. The band displays great technical skills and surprisingly most of their album sales were in Japan (the vocalist even showed up in a list of top 10 vocalists by a Japanese heavy metal magazine, the high pitched vocals demand great ), I guess their sound appears to have some similarity with J-pop underneath the layers of guitar work :D. Like Melissa, this was the first album of this band, too bad their later albums were significantly weaker. I guess the first album of a band usually is their best album because since it's their first they put all their soul and personality into it (and their best songs among those written in the formative years of a band) given it's their first shoot (and possibly final) at recording a full length album.

57. Princess Mononoke OST (1997) (Hisaishi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaUuLXQgUQ8

Hisaishi's best work and the best film soundtrack of all time. Also here played by the Czech symphonic orchestra it is perhaps the best version of this film score.

56. Under Jolly Roger (1987) (Running Wild)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIx5aXxHmtY

The fouding album of the pirate metal genre and Running Wild's career defining album, notice also that this is their 4th album to show up on this countdown, a great feat by the German heavy metal band.

55. Imaginations on the Other Side (1995) (Blind Guardian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB_zVyuAEDk

Voted on a poll in a heavy metal forum as the greatest power metal album of all time, Imaginations on the Other Side is truly the work of the very talented musicians of this German power metal band. Their technicality shown here in full blown and influences ranging from Bay Area thrash metal to classical music and progressive heavy metal.

54. Metal Heart (1984) (Accept)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Sf8KHly6U

One of Accept's most accomplished albums, Metal Heart is an absolute classic in every sense of the word.

53. Sound of Perseverance (1998) (Death)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRyl_p1z9Nw

Death's last album before Schuldiner's death from throat cancer, this classic of progressive death metal is even melodic than Symbolic distancing itself from the pure death metal aesthetic principles which were actually defined on their first albums. Before Death, death metal did not exist as a clearly defined genre (though Possessed's Seven Churches is generally claimed to be the first death metal album it is basically an extreme thrash metal album like the stuff Kreator and Sodom were doing at the same time).

[Guaporense]

Number of albums by country of origin:

Germany: 40
US: 25
UK: 21
Japan: 4
Brazil: 3
Denmark: 3
Austria: 1
Norway: 1
Sweden: 1
Canada: 1

Germany's musical traditional is unbeatable even though the US and UK also developed a strong musical tradition in non-Erudite music the erudite background of the New Hansa countries (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway) allows them to produce music with greater melodic complexity than the rest of the world. In other words, from Bach to Mozart to Beethoven to Kai Hansen and Quorthon!

[Mr Minio]

No albums from Poland? What is this?! No Tuvan Throat Singing? WTF?!

[Guaporense]

@Mr. Minio, I have listened to some Polish metal bands like Behemoth. But I haven't liked anything that much to put into my top albums list.

To compare the size of Polish metal to German:

Poohkali who rated nearly 20,000 albums there listed 23 Polish bands.
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Poohkali/the_very_best_polish_metal_bands/

For Germany, the same guy had 183 bands listed:
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Poohkali/the_very_best_german_metal_bands/

And the guy also has an impressive list of top 500 best albums ever:
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Poohkali/top_500_best_albums_ever/

[Guaporense]

52. Nightfall on Middle Earth (1998) (Blind Guardian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcBOvOuhoY

Perhaps the best album of the genre: pseudo opera style power metal. While considered hyped (like Master of Puppets) I personally loved it and I consider it among the best albums of all time.

51. The Spectre Within (1984) (Fates Warning)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mzoVJRUJ5I

One of the finest bands of American heavy metal this relatively unknown band is sure a underrated gem of progressive heavy metal.

50. Epica (2003) (Kamelot)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wRreoNRGwk

From the golden age of Kamelot, perhaps the greatest power metal band outside of Europe and among the best power metal bands ever. Less heavy on it's symphonic and progressive influences than Black Halo it features a more pure power metal sound but still very different from the teutonic variety.

[Guaporense]

Ok! Let's continue this:

49. Headless Children (1989) (W.A.S.P.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr0DB29tEKM

Probably W.A.S.P. best album by combining their early "glam" heavy metal style with greater artistic substance leading to a classic in traditional heavy metal.

48. The Eternal Idol (1987) (Black Sabbath)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2NIvc9HNVQ

While Black Sabbath earliest albums are the most popular IMO they only got better with time up to the 1990's. In fact, their best vocalist was perhaps Tony Martin and their best artistic streak was from 1986 to 1990 with masterpieces such as The Eternal Idol.

47. Somewhere in Time (1986) (Iron Maiden)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI0icFKbjiI

Iron Maiden during the 1980's was in a phenomenal streak, perhaps the greatest short run of masterpieces by any artist that I know: 7 masterpieces one after another in a 8 year period. Somewhere in Time is another of their masterpieces, now featuring a very spacey sound utilizing synthesizers.

46. Reign in Blood (1986) (Slayer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPGKlb8hklQ

To keep things varied after 3 classical heavy albums I am adding a thrash album in 46th place, a classic among classics, Slayer's Reign in Blood.

[jiraffejustin]

Y u no Bach? Needs MOAR Bach. Mass in B Minor pls.

[Guaporense]

Don't like Bach.

[mark f]

I thought Bach invented heavy metal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY

[Guaporense]

I like Dvorak, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Debussy among classical composers. I listened to some Bach but I didn't like it that much though I remain ignorant of most of his work.

[Guaporense]

45. Better than Raw (1998) (Helloween)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA1Hh7HxHcs

One of the most pleasing albums I ever listened to. In fact, I could listen to it several hundred times and not get tired of it. As I said before, I like to listen to Helloween to relax and not focus hard on the music and so they are the band themselves which I listen the most often I have listened to each album of theirs about 100 times or more in some cases.

44. Balls to the Wall (1983) (Accept)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_3TlrZLpQ0

A masterpiece of the German heavy metal band Accept. Accept is always among my favorite bands because of their extremely "generic" metal sound, what some people might say it's bad I say it's good because I love the "essence" of metal and I find deviations from the essence to be worse than metal of higher purity.

And it's interesting how their art radically evolved by assimilating many innovations from the music world (sarcasm):

Accept's 2012 song Stalingrad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx8tzas09gU

Keeping ol'school metal strong!

43. Coma of Souls (1990) (Kreator)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uub0ZEL92M0

And another masterpiece of the German thrash metal band Kreator. Some say this album represents a gold standard in classical thrash riffing exhibiting great richness and diversity of guitar riffing. To bad the band went to sh*t afterwards as they started doing some lighter less aggressive stuff incorporating metalcore/groove/techno influences and the band never recovered.

42. The House of Atreus part 2 (2000) (Virgin Steele)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0AmUCrotWQ

Virgin Steele's most ambitious album and among the most ambitious musical projects in popular music history, a heavy metal opera which lasts 3 hours and was released in two albums in 1999 and 2000. They even got a German (naturally) theater to play it in 2003 and 2004.

[Mr Minio]

Shostakovich eats all these power & thrash metal bands alive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maOgxgyFljE

And look, Guap, there's an anime girl on that image! WTF!

[Guaporense]

Cool stuff, Russian erudite music is some hardcore sh*t. :)

There are similarities between Classical music and Heavy Metal in that both types of music are characterized by a strong sense of theatricality and take themselves very seriously (compared to rappers and pop rock groups). Another similarity is the strong instrumental presence: in both metal and classical are mainly instrumental music: true heavy metal can be defined as riff driven music, if you remove the vocals from a heavy metal song you still can have a good idea of how it sounds. There are very important differences: Heavy Metal is more visceral, aggressive and intense while Classical is more mature, calm and complex (usually, though there are some progressive metal albums that approach the complexity of classical), though there are some brutal classical like that symphony Mr. Minio posted above. I guess in 10 years my favorite albums list will have more classical and maybe some Jazz (a field I remain mostly ignorant about even though some say it's the American equivalent to European classical music).

41. The Fourth Legacy (1999) (Kamelot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvqxEAtBbFs

A masterpiece of flower metal, perhaps THE masterpiece of the genre. Notice the melodic richness while not sacrificing the intensity and aggression of metal.

40. By Inheritance (1990) (Artillery)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdnXvuexooI

And to end with the flowery sh*t a nice thrash classic, the Austrian thrash metal band Artillery finest: By Inheritance.

39. Abigail (1986) (King Diamond)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogl7toQEgjA

King Diamond's best album is still their first, a masterpiece of classic heavy metal. I love King Diamond's vocals, they are brilliant and on the higher end of the male vocal range.

38. Dark Assault (2001) (Iron Savior)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omsZ09bpmbU

A masterpiece of speed power metal. While Kamelot can be regarded as an element in the lighter side of power metal, Iron Savior is closer to speed thrash but still preserving the melodic focus.

37. Show no Mercy (1983) (Slayer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4n9PUj6YFA

A strong candidate for the earliest thrash metal album of all time (though Metallica's first came a bit earlier, Show no Mercy is closer to pure thrash while Kill'En All is closer to speed metal).

[Guaporense]

36. Darkness Descents (1986) (Dark Angel)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1rD8bSVfoY

Turn it loud, very loud (mostly because of the cr*p production)! This album can kill children and small animals! Pure unalduteraded thrash metal aggression, where the riffs mix into each other as if in a multi layered soup of riffs instead of being clearly defined as in Kreator's Coma of Souls. Some claim to be the heaviest album of all time though I am not sure it is certainly among first tier in that category.

[Guaporense]

Dark Angel rock live as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnEmfpWFsnk

[Guaporense]

Finishing up the best favorites list of all time!

35. Piece of Mind (1983) - Iron Maiden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJArAAd0dc8

34. Defenders of Faith (1982) - Judas Priest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=206m_H8Gzm

33. 7 Sinners (2011) - Helloween

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AVgFBE1C84

32. Blood Fire Death (1988) - Bathory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC6DvbEVHcI

31. Don't Break the Oath (1983) - Mercyful Fate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbMkXarAX_M

30. 9th Symphony (1800's) - Beethoven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3217H8JppI

[Guaporense]

29. Ride the Lightning (Metallica)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yRpysQxRxE

28. Sin after Sin (Judas Priest)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_mpt8xyZVI
Heaviest song from the 1970's.

27. Iron Savior (Iron Savior)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7qT2hES88k
Masterpiece of videogame sounding HM.

26. Hell Awaits (Slayer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvHsX2lSW64

25. Tyr (Black Sabbath)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw1fByNVx2I

[Mr Minio]

Didn't know 9th Symphony is an album. xD If it is then state who the performers are. :)

[Mr Minio]

Do you have a RYM account?

[Guaporense]

I don't I have the far more relevant Metal Archives account but I never use it. I use Metal Archives to get information regarding music to listen to.

[Guaporense]

Best albums I listened to recently:

Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdj4FgcjrDI

I known this album for over 7 years now but it had been some time since I last listened to it so it felt new listening to it again. A classic of Black Metal, perhaps the defining work of the genre, exemplifying the sound of pure evil better than anything I can think of right now. Swedish black metal at it's finest.

Sarcofago - INRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_27DRSCB6M

Sarcofago's INRI is perhaps the single most influential Brazilian metal album in the genre among bands outside of Brazil: it's importance in influencing the Scandinavian black metal scene is enormous although I wouldn't consider it a Black Metal album but more of a super high powered thrash/speed metal album. Some claim to be the heaviest stuff available by the time of it's release, 1987.

Unisonic - Light of the Dawn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBoAQq8Quao

Released in 2014, it's the newest album cited on this thread and for good reason as it is one of the best classical heavy metal/power metal albums I ever listened to from the German musical genius of Kiske and Hansen.

Powerwolf - Bible of the Beast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-r5FaAXLv0

One of the finest recent power metal albums, great stuff all around from the German band.

Burzum - Filosofem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ZVkESecXk

Nice atmospheric and relaxing mix of black metal and ambient music from the Norwegian neo-nazi murderer and musical genius.

[Guaporense]

Just for the sake of completeness (even though this probably breaks the forum record for a top 100 with least comments on it), even though it is probably the best top 100 list ever made (in any artform!):

1. Walls of Jericho (the absolute peak of music, powerful, heavy, incorporating bay area thrash influences combined with the melodies of traditional heavy metal makes for the masterpiece of speed metal, the greatest genre of music ever conceived).
2. Sad Wings of Destiny
3. Painkiller
4. Stained Class
5. Terrible Certainty
6. Powerslave
7. Keppers 2nd
8. Seventh son of a Seventh Son
9. The House of Atreus part 1
10. Keppers 1st
11. Unleashed in the East
12. Live after Death
13. Death of Glory
14. Unification
15. Russian Roulette
16. Invictus
17. Hauting the Chapel
18. Battalions of Fear
19, Pleasure to Kill
20. Somewhere out in Space
21. Follow the Blind
22. Extreme Aggression
23. Karma
24. The Number of the Beast

[Guaporense]

This is the masterpiece, glorious German speed metal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrDTe4HGSU8

[Guaporense]

Genres included in this top 100 list:

1. Heavy Metal
2. Speed Metal
3. Thrash Metal
4. Speed Metal
5. Power Metal
6. Progressive Metal
7. Progressive Power Metal
8. Progressive Neoclassical Power Metal
9. Progressive Death Metal
10. Progressive Thrash Metal
11. Black Metal
12. Viking/Black Metal
13. Brutal Thrash Metal
14. Romantic (Beethoven)
15. Minimalist (early Hisaishi)
16. Romantic Minimalist (late Hisaishi)

So about 16 genres.

Some important genres of metal not included in this list: Symphonic Metal, Death Metal, Brutal Death Metal, Folk Metal, Doom Metal. I think I first need to listen to more Death Metal and Classical composers like Schubert (I am loving his compositions more and more).

[Sedai]

Yeah - Sweden is notably absent from your (totally bad ass) list. Not sure where you would want to start with their stuff, but I get the idea you dislike stuff with proggy elements and prefer more straight up riffing etc.,, and that you tend to avoid today's brick-walled, wall-of-sound production. Maybe Check out Dark Tranquility's The Gallery, which is their first record, and isn't brick walled like their later stuff. You posted Death already, so I won't recommend Chuck to you...

Do you like any of Devin Townsend's music (many genres)?

Meanwhile: This list totally kicks ass so far. It makes me sad when people drop into to rag on an entire genre of music they clearly do not understand, even inferring it is unintelligent, when in actuality, metal musicians are usually quite intelligent, with their music being more complex, more difficult to play, and more connected to genres like classical than more conventional/mainstream music.

[Guaporense]

There is one Swedish album in this top 100, Blood Fire Death, in the top 50 in fact. I plan to listen to more Bathory and Amon Amarth as well. I am also listening to more black metal these days as I am getting tired of the "flowery" sound of power metal bands like Kamelot.

Metal is basically classical music for young people: a more aggressive form of classical music with testosterone. Bruce Dickinson said metal was the opera of the working class.

I like prog metal, I included several prog metal albums in this top 100 such as Virgin Steele and several of Kamelot's albums are considered prog as well. I dislike Dream Theater, which is probably the most famous prog band, however because I find their music lacking in visceral power even though it's intelligent "pretentious" music. Also, bands like Blind Guardian and Iron Maiden can get quite "proggy" at times.

I like modern production, in fact, I searched for modern covers of 1970's Judas Priest songs with modern wall of sound production, because they sound so awesome with modern production. However, fact is that the old school stuff sound superior to my ears and my favorites among a band's discography always concentrate in the beginning of the band's career with a few exceptions. Early Kreator > Late Kreator, Early Helloween > Late Hellowen, Early Slayer > Late Slayer, etc.

[Guaporense]

Do you like any of Devin Townsend's music (many genres)?

I actually don't know him.

Meanwhile: This list totally kicks ass so far.

Thanks. I has been some time since somebody complimented me here. :D

It makes me sad when people drop into to rag on an entire genre of music they clearly do not understand, even inferring it is unintelligent, when in actuality, metal musicians are usually quite intelligent, with their music being more complex, more difficult to play, and more connected to genres like classical than more conventional/mainstream music.

Indeed, in the US people have a very negative perception of metal (in Brazil metal is more mainstream so it's more socially accepted, for instance, most of my friends from my PHD place back in Brazil know many metal bands, including bands like Mayhem and Marduk, here in the US most people never heard of mainstream bands like Helloween). It's similar to anime in that regard that mainstream society appears to be completely ignorant of these extremely rich artistic niches/subcultures besides having some ignorant stereotypical image. I think I am particularly attracted to stuff that's underground/underdog as well as stuff that's abrasive and aggressive.

[Mr Minio]

If there was a contest to identificate a MoFo after a couple of sentences he wrote, Guap's recognition would be something about 99%.

[Guaporense]

That's because I am not native English speaker and I have a very particular personality.

I find your comments to be a little abrasive as well. Last time you complimented anything from me was 19 months ago I think.

I think this is my best top 100 list because I have greater knowledge of metal than film and animation and also because there is greater diversity and quantity in music than film and animation.

[Guaporense]

Honorable mentions: bands that I didn't include into this top 100 but are really great.

Tierra Santa
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/TierraDirecto.jpg

Spanish traditional heavy metal band. Has the closest sound to Iron Maiden among any other heavy metal bands and also shares the same high level of quality (just not that high in terms of originality though).

Týr
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Metalmania_2007_TYR_Terji_Skibenas_001.jpg/375px-Metalmania_2007_TYR_Terji_Skibenas_001.jpg

This folk metal band hailing from the faroe islands. Really great atmospheric viking metal.

Franz Schubert
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Franz_Schubert_by_Wilhelm_August_Rieder_1875.jpg

I have been hearing a lot of the stuff made by this composer lately. Really great stuff, dramatic and powerful symphonies specially.

Heavenly
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Heavenly_french_band_3.jpg/450px-Heavenly_french_band_3.jpg

French neoclassical power progressive metal band with heavy Helloween influence. Like Tierra Santa has heavy Iron Maiden influence, Heavenly is the closest sounding band to Helloween I know but incorporating many neoclassical and progressive elements.

[Guaporense]

Its been nearly 5 years since I updated this thread. So how has my music taste evolved? Well, now I have discovered a lot of different stuff but my own taste is the same, its just that I found other kinds of stuff that also satisfy it.

My top 10 now looks like this:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvQo95Lk2Uc
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE2Y3c6gAC4&list=PLaS-qPd4s8CeILzsyfQA6KFuTM1ktfWsl
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu0z1csRnKQ
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySQk6JTIrOU
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACNSANDfGXc
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtM6IgMWv90
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuw9Ihhc8fk
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXj3EepUMs8&list=PLfEV3BKqEaX4aok3E94i1n864Ul7FGH8E
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1MEvSJyO_U
10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn7syqDiLXI

What used to be first place is now second. It is most flawed and simplistic album in my top 10 but the emotional identification I have with it is second to none: it represents my teenager sensibilities to the max.

I noticed that while I appreciate the classics of thrash, death, and black metal my favorites tend to incorporate these influences but they are not "pure" thrash, black or death metal albums, instead they are often classified as combinations such as Ensiferum's classification as melodic death metal with folk and power metal influences, or Wintersun's classification as symphonic neoclassical melodic power death black metal. ;) Overall, I like music with some complexity so while I find the more plain metal often great (such as Mercyful Fate's first two albums) the best of the best is reserved for stuff that tends to be a bit more ambitious (which is why there is no Black Sabbath or Bathory is my top 10, as they are great but lack the kind of "timeless uber masterpiece" album in their discography (while Iron Maiden and Judas Priest have their Seventh Son and Sad Wings albums).

Interestingly, all albums hail from Europe:
Three albums are from Finland, one is from Sweden, three from Germany and three from England.

Europe is indeed where the best music is produced: Given the rich musical tradition of the Germanic countries combined with the developments of popular music in the British Islands they are simply playing music at a whole another level.

[Sedai]

Wintersun!

Amazing album. I had the please sure of seeing Wintersun live in 2018, and they were excellent.

Overall, your top ten is fantastic. The first Ensiferum album is in the running for the best folk inspired metal album ever. I would have to include Moonsorrow's Verisakeet in that battle as well, though.

Great list, Guap!

[Guaporense]

2014 top 10:

1. Walls of Jericho
2. Sad Wings of Destiny
3. Painkiller
4. Stained Class
5. Terrible Certainty
6. Powerslave
7. Keppers 2nd
8. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
9. The House of Atreus part 1
10. Keppers 1st

2019 top 10:

1. Wintersun
2. Walls of Jericho
3. Sad Wings of Destiny
4. Iron
5. Storm of the Light's Bane
6. Keepers 2nd
7. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
8. Ensiferum
9. Painkiller
10. Imaginations of the Other Side

So half of the earlier top 10 remains in the new top 10. Over the years I gained an additional appreciation for the more sophisticated ones like Seventh Son of a Seventh Son while the less sophisticated ones like Terrible Certainty fell a bit on my list (still I regard it as a top 50 or so favorite album). I gained a lot of appreciation for Blind Guardian's albums from the 1990s over this period, they were indeed the peak of "melodic" metal, especially given the high technical level of their play and the excellent quality of the songwriting. Although when I watched then live a few years ago they were rather unimpressive in the studio they are kings.

These large changes also shows how I shouldn't claim one album is the absolute peak of music because I might discover something even better in the future. Although I am almost sure to always have metal album in my top 10. I do listen to other genres of music but the emotional intensity of metal makes it rise above the other genres when I decide to make a list of all time favorites.

By the way I was encouraged to make this list today because I actually listened to Storm of the Light's Bane for the first time very recently and it instantly shoot up all the way in my favorites list. The reason is that is manages to combine Black Metal with well executed melodies. While black metal is perhaps the most extreme form of music it often sacrifices melody and harmony and becomes an atonal storm. Dissection managed to turn the traditional atonal storm of bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone into a beautiful symphony with that album.

[Sedai]

Just going back over the entire list here. i would be interested in reading your views on why you put W.A.S.P.'s The Headless Children over The Crimson Idol. I tend to think of The Crimson Idol to at least be in the running for best of the classic US metal of that era.

[Guaporense]

I liked the Headless Children more because it is more riff focused. It's been a long time since I heard both albums though. If I would nominate a favorite US classic heavy metal album w would be among Virgin Steele's Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Crimson Glory' sTranscendence. Although both albums are categorized as power and progressive respectively I find then very close to "classic heavy metal", like Iron Maiden's more sophisticated albums.

Wintersun!

Amazing album. I had the please sure of seeing Wintersun live in 2018, and they were excellent.

Overall, your top ten is fantastic. The first Ensiferum album is in the running for the best folk inspired metal album ever. I would have to include Moonsorrow's Verisakeet in that battle as well, though.

Great list, Guap!

I will listen to Moonsorrow a bit more. I haven't had the chance to listen to that album yet. Thanks for the recommendation.

[pahaK]

Your list has even more metal than mine would have (though I guess I'd have more extreme albums on my list). Anyways, couple of recommendations for you (I only list one album per band but that doesn't mean only they are worth checking out):

Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King (metal, maybe little progressive)
Opera Magna - El Último Caballero (power metal)
Arkona - Vozrozhdeniye (the best folk metal album; check the original from 2004, not the later re-recording)
Abigor - Fractal Possession (technical black metal)

[Sedai]

I liked the Headless Children more because it is more riff focused. It's been a long time since I heard both albums though. If I would nominate a favorite US classic heavy metal album w would be among Virgin Steele's Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Crimson Glory' sTranscendence. Although both albums are categorized as power and progressive respectively I find then very close to "classic heavy metal", like Iron Maiden's more sophisticated albums.



I will listen to Moonsorrow a bit more. I haven't had the chance to listen to that album yet. Thanks for the recommendation.

If you check out The Crimson Idol again, perhaps grab the newer Reidolized version. I normally frown on bands re-recording records, but Blackie did a bang up job here, and the production is much better this time around. It's the version I reach for these days when listening to the album. If you check it out, please let me know what you think!

[Guaporense]

Your list has even more metal than mine would have (though I guess I'd have more extreme albums on my list). Anyways, couple of recommendations for you (I only list one album per band but that doesn't mean only they are worth checking out):

Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King (metal, maybe little progressive)
Opera Magna - El Último Caballero (power metal)
Arkona - Vozrozhdeniye (the best folk metal album; check the original from 2004, not the later re-recording)
Abigor - Fractal Possession (technical black metal)

This list is from 2014, now it would look a bit different. If you define as "extreme metal" stuff with death and black elements in it. I have listened to more extreme metal since though. Though I prefer stuff with some degree of melody in it, with some exceptions (Darkness Descends).