Most Important Albums Suggestions

Murder1000Deaths wrote: Progressive metal: you definitely need to add in Opeth. I'd definitely say Still Life and Blackwater Park. You could also possibly add Orcihd or My Arms, Your Hearse in the death metal section. Otherwise, spectacular list!

There's about 6 Opeth albums on it lol

Some more suggestions:

Doom metal
I would suggest Count Raven's "Storm Warning" - it may not be as revered as anything by Candlemass or as Count Raven's own subsequent releases, but it's their most original sounding album because it features Christian Linderson on vocals; it is also very dense and compact, breaking from the Swedish-epic-doom-metal stereotype. I also think that Solitude Aeturnus' "Beyond the Crimson Horizon" should be on the list because it is really the epitome of epic doom metal. Warning's "Watching from a Distance" should probably also be on the list - it's more of a cult release, but it is a very fine example of traditional doom metal being really depressive and expressive... it's also one of my favorite doom metal albums of all time. I totally agree with your inclusion of the two My Dying Bride albums, but I would probably also include their debut "As the Flower Withers" for its groundbreaking originality. St. Vitus' "Born Too Late" should probably also be on the list because, well, it's "Born Too Late" ;-)

Death metal:
Bolt Thrower's "The IVth Crusade" should probably also be on the list as it is their most 'anthemic' release. Obscura's "Cosmogenesis" should probably also be on the list as an example of tech death, while  Necrophagia's "Deathtrip 69" could be a good example of contemporary old school death metal.

Alternative/rap/etc.:
I would definitely include Clawfinger's "Deaf Dumb Blind" and "Use Your Brain" - like the first RATM release, these came out before Nu Metal and presented a much more aggressive and minimalistic approach to blending rap and metal. This also goes for Senser's "Stacked Up" and H-Blockx's "Time to Move". While very obcure, I also think that Geronimo's "Peace to the Chief" should be on the list as an example of a rap-metal combination which does not fall into the Nu Metal stereotype (these guys essentially took midpaced thrash and put rap vocals on top). For a Japanese take on alternative metal, perhaps you could include Maximum the Hormone's 2007 album and the "Tsume Tsume Tsume" maxi from 2008 and the "Greatest the Hits" maxi from 2001 (which is not a greatest hits album).

Thrash metal:
I would also add Invocator's "Excursion demise" (death thrash), "Weave the Apocalypse" (tech/prog thrash), and "Dying to Live" (tech/prog groove/thrash). I also think you should add both Realm albums for their originality and progressiveness/technicality.

Progressive metal:
Both Watchtower albums should definitely be included - they're legendary and groundbreaking. For a Japanese entry, you could add Vigilante's "Edge of Time".

As for sludge and post-metal, I can't really help you that much... but perhaps Early Cross' latest album would be suitable for post-metal?

Time Signature wrote: Some more suggestions for the hardcore/crossover section: I would probably add Nuclear Assault's "Handle With Care", since many people consider it one of the best thrash metal albums ever. I'd probably also add some Pro-Pain, but not sure which album it would be. I'd also suggest Wehrmacht's "Shark Attack" because it's somewhat of a cult release. another suggestion is The Kandidate's "Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death" as an example of a more recent crossover release which combines crust/hardcore, death and thrash. For another (probably more important) crust band, check out Hellbastard... they should probably also be on the list. Oh, and Extreme Noise Terror's "Holocaust in your Head" should defintiely be on the list - it's an important link between crust punk and grindcore. Some black metal suggestions I think that Celtic Frost's "Morbid Tales" should be on the list too, being an important link between crust, thrash and black metal. Although many black metal purists hate it, I think that Dimmu Borgir's "Abrahadabra" is an important contribution to symphonic black metal as is Carach Angren's "Where Corpses Sink Forever". The Secret (a former metalcore band) released an album last year called "Agnus Dei" which is a good example of modern crust/black metal, and Nadiwrath's "Nihilistic Stench" is perhaps obscure, but another good example of the more punky side of black metal. Oh, and perhaps you should include some releases from Havohej and Profanatica too. And some traditional heavy metal: Brats' "1980" is quite important I think: Brats was a punk band that would eventually evolve into Mercyful Fate, and "1980" captures them in the middle of that transition. Stormwitch's "Beauty and the Beast" should also be included because it features the awesome track 'Tigers of the Sea' ;-) I'm also thinking that perhaps you should include some gothic rock / deathrock like Joy Division or Sisters of Mercy or Christian Death. They're obviously not metal, but it seems that the major death-doom acts of the 90s were very influenced by goth rock / deathrock.

Wow. I'm a giant Nuclear Assault fan, and I've heard of music by Dimmu and Celctic Frost, but other than that I haven't heard of any of that.

(Well I read the name "Extreme Noise Terror" in Napalm Death linear notes, but that hardly counts lol)

I'll check it out, see if it fits. Cheers.

Some more suggestions for the hardcore/crossover section:
I would probably add Nuclear Assault's "Handle With Care", since many people consider it one of the best thrash metal albums ever. I'd probably also add some Pro-Pain, but not sure which album it would be. I'd also suggest Wehrmacht's "Shark Attack" because it's somewhat of a cult release. another suggestion is The Kandidate's "Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death" as an example of a more recent crossover release which combines crust/hardcore, death and thrash. For another (probably more important) crust band, check out Hellbastard... they should probably also be on the list. Oh, and Extreme Noise Terror's "Holocaust in your Head" should defintiely be on the list - it's an important link between crust punk and grindcore.

Some black metal suggestions
I think that Celtic Frost's "Morbid Tales" should be on the list too, being an important link between crust, thrash and black metal. Although many black metal purists hate it, I think that Dimmu Borgir's "Abrahadabra" is an important contribution to symphonic black metal as is Carach Angren's "Where Corpses Sink Forever". The Secret (a former metalcore band) released an album last year called "Agnus Dei" which is a good example of modern crust/black metal, and Nadiwrath's "Nihilistic Stench" is perhaps obscure, but another good example of the more punky side of black metal. Oh, and perhaps you should include some releases from Havohej and Profanatica too.

And some traditional heavy metal:
Brats' "1980" is quite important I think: Brats was a punk band that would eventually evolve into Mercyful Fate, and "1980" captures them in the middle of that transition. Stormwitch's "Beauty and the Beast" should also be included because it features the awesome track 'Tigers of the Sea' ;-)

I'm also thinking that perhaps you should include some gothic rock / deathrock like Joy Division or Sisters of Mercy or Christian Death. They're obviously not metal, but it seems that the major death-doom acts of the 90s were very influenced by goth rock / deathrock.

Vic wrote: I was scrolling through your list and bumped into the Slayer albums. You are missing two very important pieces there, their first two albums, which have influenced and marked the whole of every extreme music (esp. Hell Awaits is ridiculously important). If Testament has two albums listed, I would argue it would have to be The Legacy and The Gathering. The latter also marks the old school thrash metal revival, the aweakening of the beast sort to speak, that is the first monumental thrash metal album in the new era. Also provided a blueprint. I was very surprised to see Walls of Jericho missing, monumental and highly influential. It essentially sums up the entire German scene of the mid-80s, balancing between speed, power and thrash.  Likewise, I was surprised to see Under Jolly Roger, which although it contains the s/t hymn and is largely considered the start of the piracy years, it's not their best album, not by a longshot. I would sincerely suggest you include Port Royal, if you have to have only one album but I would also say that a proper list should at the very least include Death or Glory. Helloween/Running Wild and Rage are the exact equivalent of Kreator/Sodom/Destruction for speed/power metal. You are missing Metal Church's debut, which is extremely iconic and also a masterpiece.  Ah, and looking at your power metal list, I have extreme reservations. Two Savatage albums only? You can't ignore Sirens or Gutter Ballet and include some Finnish symphonic band that influenced nobody. Same thing for Vicious Rumors, at least get Digital Dictator somewhere in there. My favorite Blind Guardian IS Somewhere Far Beyond but if you include just one album, it has to be Imaginations. But I would also include Nightfall... Stratovarius should be covered by Dreamspace and one of the following (Fourth Dimension, Episode, Visions). It's wrong to ignore the first three Gamma Ray albums, especially Heading for Tomorrow and Insanity and Genius. No World Order is certainly nice but nothing special in the history of metal. At all. You are missing Holy Land by Angra. You have Kings of Metal there. Fine album but it's inexcusable to take precedence over Into Glory Ride or Sign of the Hammer, which are by far their most important and influential albums along with Hail to England. Twilight in Olympus is definitely not the album I would choose to represent Symphony X, I'd start with Divine Wings, then Paradise Lost or V. Similarly, having A Dramatic Turn of Events in the list and NOT Awake is just WRONG man! :) You need Snot - Get Some in the groove metal stuff. One of the best and most well-known albums in the genre. Ah, I think I am not helping much, I keep looking at the list and I have extreme objections that could take all day. I think this list more or less represents your taste and not the most important albums (Hear in the New Frontier? Really? And no Empire or Promised Land or the EP? - Just no man!). Anyway,  I'll stop here because I don't have the time and I think you don't need some random dude telling you off about your choices! :P Oh, but you should remove Chinese Democracy from the last list there. That album got negative feedback for everything else except for the music (which happens to be awesome): Because it bore the name Guns n Roses on the cover (no slash, no Guns, the people have spoken), because it took forever to be released and even dark Side of the moon could not live up to the expectations and because everyone hates Axl.  You could add Pink bubbles go Ape or even better Chameleon. Endorama by Kreator. Diabolus in Musica by Slayer.

Ooooh. Brilliant feedback. Cheers.

I'm trying to make that list of most-important-albums-to-metal I keep banging on about up to a full 1000 now.

I've currently got  765
Meaning there's room for 235 more albums, to make it a full 1000.



So far it is:
The Rock Music That Got Us To Metal - 18%
The Punk Music That Got Us To Metal -11%
The Alternative Music That Changed Metal - 2%
The Different Types Of Metal - 69%

Hopefully by the time that its 1000, the actually-Metal percentage would be higher, like 75% ideally.



Anybody got suggestions for MUST HEAR sorts of Metal albums that aren't on it?



Especially Sludge, Power Metal and True-Black Metal albums. Also especially early sort of True-Metal albums. Unarguable Heavy Metal records from around the NWOBHM and Thrash time.


The list is a bit unbalanced at the minute, you see.

Here is a breakdown of what I got so far (1ST Number is how many of each of that genre there are, 2nd Number is the running-total):



20 = Pre-Metal                                        20
15 = Psychadelic                                     35
39 = Prog                                                76
23 = Rock                                                99
8 = Southern                                          107
28  = Hard Rock/Earliest Metal              135
37  = Glam-Hair                                    172
42  = NWOBHM etc.                             214
43 = Thrash                                            257
9 = Groove                                              266
48 = Death Metal                                    314
21 = Grind                                              331
38 = Black Metal Spectrum                   369
16 = Folk Metal                                     385
9 = Symphonic Metal                            394
18 = Power Metal                                 416
55 = Prog Metal Spectrum                   471
10 = Funk Metal                                   481
18 = Industrial Metal                            499
43 = Nu Metal Spectrum                      542
6 = Southern Metal                              548
12 = Grunge                                        560
7 = Other Alternative                          567
80 = Punk/Hardcore/Crossover         647
46 = Stoner/Doom/Drone/Sludge      693
36 = Modern Metalcore/Deathcore    724
31 = Mathcore/Djent                          755
10 = Critical Failures                          765


Any help would be much appreciated.
Also I'm totally up for adding a thanks-list with weblinks to your personal blog if you want it.



Oh yeah, and here's the list again:
http://kingcrimsonprog.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/list-of-albums-that-you-need-to-have-heard-to-have-a-full-and-comprehensive-understanding-of-metal-music/