Greatest Metal Album Ever?

[mad rhetorik]

I wish I could put more nominees on here, but space is obviously limited. Polls open indefinitely.

[Dusty Chalk]

Of the choices, have to go with Paranoid, but would have written in We Sold Our Soul....

[Slosh]

#1 Sepultura - Chaos AD
#2 Metallica - ...And Justice For All
#3 Mastodon - Remission
#4 Deftones - Adrenaline
#5 Faith No More - Angel Dust

Now you know :p

[DarrenH]

Jethro Tull - Crest of a Knave :p

I like Metallica's Ride The Lightning better so I voted "Other".

Darren

[ForeverAutumn]

Some tough choices there. I love Sabbath, but like Dusty, I'm not sure that Paranoid would have been my choice. There was a time when I wore out my vinyl copy of Number of the Beast though. I loved that album. It was my first really heavy metal album back in junior high. Many others followed, but Number has always held a special place in my heart.

Hey Mad...I was CD shopping yesterday and picked up two Kyuss CDs for $7.99 each. ...And The Circus Leave Town and Welcome to Sky Valley are the two. I haven't listened to them yet, but figured for that price I had little to lose. Thanks for the rec. I'll let you know what I think of them.

[nobody]

Outta that list, I'd probably have to put Black Sabbath at the top, but I voted for Motorhead, just 'cause somebody had to show some love to Lemmy and the boys.

[-Jar-]

Some tough choices there. I love Sabbath, but like Dusty, I'm not sure that Paranoid would have been my choice. There was a time when I wore out my vinyl copy of Number of the Beast though. I loved that album. It was my first really heavy metal album back in junior high. Many others followed, but Number has always held a special place in my heart.

Hey Mad...I was CD shopping yesterday and picked up two Kyuss CDs for $7.99 each. ...And The Circus Leave Town and Welcome to Sky Valley are the two. I haven't listened to them yet, but figured for that price I had little to lose. Thanks for the rec. I'll let you know what I think of them.

CIRCUS has some nice tunes (the bassline of "One Inch Man" reminds me The Buzzcock's "Why Can't I Touch It"), but SKY VALLEY on the other hand is their masterpiece. I really hope you enjoy these. SKY VALLEY is kind of tracked weird, so don't let that freak you out. :) (3 songs to a "track" number). "Gardenia" and "Demon Cleaner" are probably my favorites.

-JAR

[unleasHell]

I would go with Scorpions: Love at first Sting, but not being a metal expert, perhaps it is not in that catagory... hmmm...

[Jim Clark]

I have not heard a single one of those albums! I've always cut Motorhead a little slack since Lemmy and the Ramones had some kind of bond but I can't say I've ever heard a single Motorhead song.

jc

Metal free and determined to stay that way.

[unleasHell]

Prior to Motorhead, Lemmy actually was in Hawkwind and I saw him in conert with them back in 1974 during the Space Ritual Tour, speaking of which I want to change my vote:

Best Metal Album ever: Hawkwind: Space Ritual

[Dave_G]

I can only take a little metal anymore, and for me, JUDAS PRIEST is the only metal band that matters.

"British Steel" or "Stanied Class" are definitive metal albums that any headknocker should own!

Dave

[mad rhetorik]

Of the choices, have to go with Paranoid, but would have written in We Sold Our Soul....


Some tough choices there. I love Sabbath, but like Dusty, I'm not sure that Paranoid would have been my choice.

Yeah, definitely a tough job limiting Black Sabbath (or Metallica for that matter) to a single entry seeing as they had so many good albums. I could've just as easily put <b>Master Of Reality</b> or <b>Ride The Lightning</b> in either spot. I figured, though, that <b>Paranoid</b> would be the easiest to go with concerning 'Sabbath since it contains the quintessential 'Sabbath tracks on it ("War Pigs," "Iron Man," and the title track). If this was a best metal <i>band</i> poll, the choices might have been a little easier, though maybe not. Iron Maiden v. Black Sabbath v. Metallica would be <i>really</i> tough to call.



I can only take a little metal anymore, and for me, JUDAS PRIEST is the only metal band that matters.

"British Steel" or "Stanied Class" are definitive metal albums that any headknocker should own!

Hmm. I should have put a 'Priest entry in, even though I don't like 'em (then again I don't like Slayer either). <b>British Steel</b> and <b>Stained Class</b> are definitive metal albums just like <b>Reign In Blood</b> is considered definitive thrash by a lot of people.

I think you should reevaluate your opinion of metal. IMO, there are a <b>LOT</b> of bands that way outgun Judas Priest. : P



I have not heard a single one of those albums! I've always cut Motorhead a little slack since Lemmy and the Ramones had some kind of bond but I can't say I've ever heard a single Motorhead song.

I don't know if the Ramones and Lemmy were friends or anything, but I do know that Motorhead played at a lot of punk shows, and was one of the few bands that punkers and metalheads could usually agree on. As such, if you're a fan of the Ramones, Misfits, Black Flag, Sex Pistols, etc. I could see you getting into <b>Ace Of Spades</b> pretty easily. Think of them as a more metal version of AC/DC.



I would go with Scorpions: Love at first Sting

Heh. You're kidding, right? : p They're about as metal as Jethro Tull is. I <i>still</i> can't figger out for the life of me why <b>Crest Of A Knave</b> won a Grammy in the "hard rock/metal" category. Especially since they were up against Megadeth's "Hanger 18" that year (I think).

Just goes to show that TV awards shows are for the shortbus.





#1 Sepultura - Chaos AD
#2 Metallica - ...And Justice For All
#3 Mastodon - Remission
#4 Deftones - Adrenaline
#5 Faith No More - Angel Dust


All brilliant choices Slosh, on the same level as the ones I put in (except the Deftones IMO). Polls like this tend to leave a lot out thanks to limited space. I could've thought of a bunch of other albums and bands (Tool? Melvins? Testament? Kyuss? Meshuggah? Maybe even Rage Against The Machine?) that are deserving nominees.



Hey Mad...I was CD shopping yesterday and picked up two Kyuss CDs for $7.99 each. ...And The Circus Leave Town and Welcome to Sky Valley are the two. I haven't listened to them yet, but figured for that price I had little to lose. Thanks for the rec. I'll let you know what I think of them.

Cool. <b>Welcome To Sky Valley</b>, IMO, is only matched by <b>Blues For The Red Sun</b> in its awesomeness. I haven't heard all of <b>..And The Circus Leaves Town</b> yet, though I was impressed by what I heard on a burned CD that contained "One Inch Man" and "Catamaran." Tell me how you like it, and I may just pick up a copy myself. : )

Apparently nobody has heard either Opeth's <b>Morningrise</b> or Death's <b>The Sound Of Perseverence</b> and that's a damn shame ; ) . I chose <b>Morningrise</b> because for me it is an absolute prog/metal benchmark, blending together melodic death metal and death growls with acoustic folk-informed sections. The album just wows me with its ambition, beauty, precision, and progressiveness (there are only 5 songs, each 10 minutes or longer, and every song feels a helluva lot shorter than that). I think it's even better than their later albums, including <b>Still Life</b>, which also rules.

As for Death...well, it's perhaps the best straight-up thrash album released in the last 10 years. It's got all the instrumental talent of your average Dream Theater album, except better-composed and less self-indulgent, and the intensity and speed of Metallica or Megadeth. It's also the last Death album made before lead guitarist/vocalist Chuck Schuldiner's tragic death from cancer. Anybody who wants a quality metal release and doesn't mind some harsh vocal stylings should check this album, and band, out.

I'm also surprised by the lack of love for Megadeth's <b>Rust In Peace</b>! I figured since Jar would be voting I could count on at least <i>one</i> Megadeth vote. I will atone for that by putting on "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due" in repeat mode and banging my head into oblivion.......

; P

[Slosh]

Polls like this tend to leave a lot out thanks to limited space. I could've thought of a bunch of other albums and bands (Tool? Melvins? Testament? Kyuss? Meshuggah? Maybe even Rage Against The Machine?) that are deserving nominees.



As for Death...well, it's perhaps the best straight-up thrash album released in the last 10 years. It's got all the instrumental talent of your average Dream Theater album, except better-composed and less self-indulgent, and the intensity and speed of Metallica or Megadeth. It's also the last Death album made before lead guitarist/vocalist Chuck Schuldiner's tragic death from cancer. Anybody who wants a quality metal release and doesn't mind some harsh vocal stylings should check this album, and band, out.



#6 Slayer - South Of Heaven
#7 Tool - Aenima
#8 Melvins - Houdini
#9 Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire
#10 Alice In Chains - Dirt

The one Death album I have is Individual Thought Patterns but it gets way too proggy for me, hence it's my only album from them (it has its moments, though)

Old school metal is a toss up between Iron Maiden - Killers and Queensyrche - Rage For Order (yeah, I know they're both kinda proggy) :rolleyes:

BTW Dusty, We Sold Our Souls For Rock And Roll shouldn't count since it's a best of comp. You'll have to pick Sabotage or Volume IV or Master Of Reality or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath instead ;)

[dmac]

Judas Priest: Screaming For Vengence. (band member personalities aside) Is the best metal album ever.

[mad rhetorik]

The one Death album I have is Individual Thought Patterns but it gets way too proggy for me, hence it's my only album from them (it has its moments, though)

If <b>Individual Thought Patterns</b> was too proggy for you, try its predescessor <b>Human</b>. It's more straight-up metal, and less progressive. Not a track on <b>Human</b> goes over 4 and a half minutes, and it's one of the more brutal and fast metal albums I've heard, right up there with <b>Reign In Blood</b> or Sepultura's earlier thrash albums like <b>Beneath The Remains</b>. Give it a try.



Old school metal is a toss up between Iron Maiden - Killers and Queensyrche - Rage For Order (yeah, I know they're both kinda proggy) :rolleyes:

The Paul DiAnno 'Maiden albums were not that proggy. If anything, they were closer to Motorhead or early Judas Priest. Straight-up British metal, motorcycles, leather jackets, pubs, the whole deal. Iron Maiden did get somewhat proggy later, with <b>Somewhere In Time</b> and <b>Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son</b> (neither album is the band's finest moment, IMO, but they did make worse).

If you like <b>Rage For Order</b> and think <b>Individual Thought Patterns</b> is too proggy...well, I don't know what to tell ya. Weirdo. : P

[Dusty Chalk]

Scorpions are way more metal than Jethro Tull (not that there's anything wrong with that [either one -- being metal, or not being metal]). They're almost up there with Judas Priest.

And yes, I've heard Morningrise, it's just not the best. Don't get me wrong, it's good, very good, excellent. It's just not the best.
BTW Dusty, We Sold Our Souls For Rock And Roll shouldn't count since it's a best of comp. You'll have to pick Sabotage or Volume IV or Master Of Reality or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath instead ;)He didn't state that it couldn't be a best of comp. It's still an "album", so ... there you go.

PS Or Technical Ecstasy, what would be my personal choice.

[-Jar-]

I can only take a little metal anymore, and for me, JUDAS PRIEST is the only metal band that matters.

"British Steel" or "Stanied Class" are definitive metal albums that any headknocker should own!

Dave

Speaking of Judas Priest..

<i>Former JUDAS PRIEST drummer David Holland was jailed for eight years Friday (Feb. 13) for the attempted rape of a special needs teenager, according to the Times Online.

Holland was convicted of one charge of attempted rape and five counts of indecent assault on the 17-year-old boy at the star's rural Northamptonshire.
</i>

http://www.roadrun.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=19196

[codebutcher]

It's nice that one can find people that listen to metal here. I am curious what are the metal listener's preferences in audio equipment... Anything fancy there?

[mad rhetorik]

It's nice that one can find people that listen to metal here. I am curious what are the metal listener's preferences in audio equipment... Anything fancy there?

Pretty basic, actually. Pro-480 PC audio setup with two small sattelite speakers (I'd say they're about 5" tall) and a subwoofer, with a 3D sound option (that's always turned on) and a SiS 7018 Wave mixer. I don't know much beyond that--I'm not really into hi-fi sound systems (poor college student speaking). My knowledge is limited to bands and the actual music, not what I'm playing it on, though I do acknowledge the difference a good audio system makes.

My setup's got a pretty nice mix of bass, depth, and definition. I like the way it sounds, though a discerning audiophile may think it sucks. I don't know. I just know that <b>I</b> like it.

BTW, from one newbie to another: Welcome! ; )

[Slosh]

If <b>Individual Thought Patterns</b> was too proggy for you, try its predescessor <b>Human</b>. It's more straight-up metal, and less progressive. Not a track on <b>Human</b> goes over 4 and a half minutes, and it's one of the more brutal and fast metal albums I've heard, right up there with <b>Reign In Blood</b> or Sepultura's earlier thrash albums like <b>Beneath The Remains</b>. Give it a try.


No thanks. I only like good music, remember? :p

Metal's been really stale for me for such a long time now. The only truly great metal album I've heard in recent years is Mastodon's Remission (and it's good enough to be one of my all-time faves). I think I have to go all the way back to Sepultura's Roots to find the next-most-recent blow-me-away caliber metal record. The thing about Roots in particular is that I was a fan of Sepultura for quite a long while (since '88 or so) and even so I was still in awe of it (although I still like Chaos AD a little more). The latest albums from bands I already liked like Tool and APC and Melvins left me kinda flat and have me thinking their best days have already passed them by. And sure, there's been some good albums from bands like Frodus, Fugazi, Oxes, Girls Against Boys, and such but I don't consider those as metal (others might, however).

All I can hope for is someone else will come along and put out an amazing album. It's bound to happen sooner or later. I'm just tired of waiting, is all :(

[Umrswimr]

#6 Slayer - South Of Heaven
#7 Tool - Aenima
#8 Melvins - Houdini
#9 Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire
#10 Alice In Chains - Dirt

The one Death album I have is Individual Thought Patterns but it gets way too proggy for me, hence it's my only album from them (it has its moments, though)

Old school metal is a toss up between Iron Maiden - Killers and Queensyrche - Rage For Order (yeah, I know they're both kinda proggy) :rolleyes:

BTW Dusty, We Sold Our Souls For Rock And Roll shouldn't count since it's a best of comp. You'll have to pick Sabotage or Volume IV or Master Of Reality or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath instead ;)
ANd with that, Slosh's list becomes my list... Excellent choices.

[pelly3s]

If I went with the list I would have to go with Death. But I wanted to go with other so I have so say that Pantera - Cowboys from Hell is the best metal album of all time, with Vulgar Display of Power in a close second.

[pelly3s]

I do have to also add that anything George Lynch or Chris Caffery ever did is also very very high on my list. Both great guitar players and really cool guys. Oh and any Biohazard from the Bobby Hambel days. He's a cool guy I got to hang out with him a few times.

[Woochifer]

I voted for Metallica's Master of Puppets because it's probably their most accomplished album and a clear landmark album. Ride the Lightning probably broke more ground and showed the way, but Master of Puppets was Metallica's statement album.

Other reason I voted for Master of Puppets is because of how influential that album was at shaping the direction that the music would ultimately take. Gotta remember that at that point in time, metal was going mainstream and the established bands of the time were coming out with power ballads and MTV-friendly videos. In a landscape dominated by hair bands, Metallica was really going against the prevailing current with their new interpretation of speed metal and stripped to the basics image; and they succeeded with very limited airplay and zero exposure on MTV.

[codebutcher]

No thanks. I only like good music, remember? :p


I wouldn't compare Human to Beneath the Remains. Everything that Death has put out is unique, in my opinion. And I can still think of this kind of music as "good", although since I first listed to it I've been broadening my musical horisons. I don't think that one should replace musical tastes, but extend them. I mean I can listen to much more complex and melodic music, and still enjoy a record as "Human".

[3-LockBox]

I'm surpresed that Ozzy didn't make the list as a solo artist and standard bearer in the '80s...oh well.

Paranoid is the blue print for all heavy metal that came afterward (not an opinion).

And how 'bout a shout out to a thinking man's metal band, Blue Oyster Cult. My fave is <i>Fire Of Unkown Origin</i>.

[Dusty Chalk]

It's nice that one can find people that listen to metal here. I am curious what are the metal listener's preferences in audio equipment... Anything fancy there?My source is thus:

Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player, and as CD transport into MSB Link DAC III

Speaker system:

Musical Fidelity A3^CR Pre/power combo -> Spendor S3/5's w/Sunfire True Sub Jr.

Headphone system:

Singlepower amp driving AT W2002's, mostly.

Nothing fancy in the car, unfortunately.