Joachim discovers "classic" and "important" hardrock and metal albums

[joachimt]

I decided to create a topic for this and post about what I listen to.

Reposting some stuff from the Music Lounge:

I'm trying to fill some gaps in my knowledge of essential early hardrock and metal albums. I started listening to hardrock and metal in the mid 90's and hardly ever dug into the earlier years. I know and own some usual suspects like all the albums by Metallica, Reign in Blood, Holy Diver, Number of the Beast, Abigail, Operation: Mindcrime and some from the early 90's, but my knowledge of 80's metal and 70's hardrock is pretty limited.

If you would recommend me the essentials, which would you choose?

Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Napalm Death, Godflesh, Bolt Thrower, Pestilence, Grotesque, Winter, Primus, Blasphemy, Morbid Saint, Atheist, Death, Melvins, Burzum, Incantation, Darkthrone, Eyehategod, and Demilich.

Got these already:
Black Sabbath
Pestilence
Primus
Death

Know the name but hardly listened to it:
Celtic Frost
Bathory
Napalm Death
Godflesh
Bolt Thrower
Atheist
Burzum
Incantation
Darkthrone

Never heard of (I think...):
Grotesque
Winter
Blasphemy
Morbid Saint
Melvins
Eyehategod
Demilich

I'll put the second and third on my list. Thanks.

Know the name but hardly listened to it:
Celtic Frost
Bathory
Napalm Death
Godflesh
Bolt Thrower
Atheist
Burzum
Incantation
Darkthrone

Of this list, which are their essential albums? Mostly looking for "instant classic", "genre-defining", etc...

Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Napalm Death - Scum
Godflesh - Streetcleaner
Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
Burzum - Filosofem
Incantation - Onward to Golgotha
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky

Most of these have at least 5000 ratings on RYM, which is HUGE for older metal albums

Also just went through this page (EDIT: this should have been a link, but forgot to add it) and put some more in my list like Mercyful Fate, Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Mayhem, Accept and some more by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.

Maybe these are too obvious even for "instant classics" but I would also rec the first two Motley Crue albums, Thin Lizzy, Stooges and Rainbow for Hard Rock essentials.

As for hard rock I'd recommend Led Zep, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Blue Öyster Cult, Bad Company and Montrose.

Thanks. Of course I already have lots of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Also have some Thin Lizzy. Whitesnake is a big gap indeed, surely need to listen to that. I'll put the others on my list as well.

Started with Black Sabbath the past week. I already had Paranoid on vinyl and a best of on cd, so I new the most famous songs, but I listened to "Black Sabbath", "Heaven and Hell", "Master of Reality", "Sabotage" and "Vol. 4". Pretty cool stuff, especially the slower songs.

I also went through lots of "essential metal" or "best metal" lists and made a lot of notes on albums I should be listening to. Got a list of roughly 150 titles so ar.

[joachimt]

Accept - Balls to the Wall

I can't say I'm enjoying this one. It's all so simplistic. The opening song, titletrack, immediately sets the bar with a very simplistic chorus, which is written with the only purpose to get crowd participation. But I guess I can say this about most of the songs. Most songs sound like they are popsongs but with a rough edge and a bit faster. Listen to Head Over Heels for example. With a slightly different production and better arrangement, this could have been a Bon Jovi song.

I made it halfway. Five tracks was enough of this.

[Armoreska]

Balls to the Wall is in my top 500 songs
I'd prolly prefer Head Over Heels by Accept to a Bon Jovi cover

[joachimt]

Balls to the Wall is in my top 500 songs
I'd prolly prefer Head Over Heels by Accept to a Bon Jovi cover

I wonder, did you listen to more than 500 songs in your life?

[beavis]

metal is such a varied area that I am sure you won't like anything that is influential or classic:
in pre- and early metal there is the juggernaut of Black Sabbath, also check Motorhead, MC5, Discharge
After that I think Iron Maiden is pretty much unavoidable
But also look into Venom, Judas Priest, Celtic Frost
With that you have all the progressive and punk elements to start a "journey" that will get you eventually towards death, doom and black metal

I started my metal journey with Iron Maiden, Manowar and Slayer
Then Bathory became a huge favorite (when they were creating Viking metal, although I then got into earlier stuff too, legendary band!)
At these early 90's the british grindcore and floridian death metal were pretty huge
from this period Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel, Entombed and Autopsy might be my biggest favorites
although Death seems unavoidable, and there are many more names
in the Netherlands we had Gorefest as a standout for me
Napalm Death is legendary, but I can understand why you don't like much of their work. Check out "mass appeal madness" though or "suffer the children", just to be sure you have heard everything they can do. And Carcass is above any category (but don't start with the earliest records )
This classic style of death metal has made a huge comeback in recent years btw (check out the 20 buck spin label for some great new bands)
I never much got into black metal at the time, but I have come to like that style too
in stead I went deeper into doom metal
Winter is indeed a classic early extreme doom discovery for me... but it is not something I regularly listen to still... I moved more towards sludge and funeral doom (biggest names Eyehategod and Evoken). There is also black metal with doom atmosphere like Drudkh that I really like. And in here somewhere I might as well drop the viking metal of Tyrfing

loads and loads to namedrop or talk about, but this should be a nice general start and a peek into where I come from when talking metal
specifically about the 80's: Manowar and Venom are the bands that hadn't been mentioned before.
Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness should be given a chance
but other than that I can't think of what would qualify from the top of my head... there is loads of good stuff of course, also some obscure gems, but not much I regularly have listened to my entire life like the bands I did mention...

EDIT:
I'm also thinking back to watching MTV's Headbangers Ball religiously back in the day, and what video's have made a lasting impression on me
you already mentioned Queensryche. There is also Annihilator with Alison Hell... not a band I checked out at the time, but that song/video is burned into memory
Dogs D'amour - how come it never rains is another one like that (more Blues rock than metal, but still a great look and sound)
on the cheesy side (and good metal always comes with a bit of cheese) there was Zodiac Mindwarp!!
Doro with All we Are

... just things popping into my metal brain from the 80's/very early 90's good times!!

[Lammetje]

Also, if you like Motörhead, you should definitely check out Saxon!

[mightysparks]

Not that I'm a fan of metal at all, but out of the ~260 albums tagged as some kind of 'metal' on RYM that I've listened to, these are the ones that I've liked:

Accept - Staying a Life (1990)
Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet (2001)
Ayreon - The Human Equation (2004)
Backxwash - God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It (2020)
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (1971)
Black Sabbath - Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007)
Black Sabbath - Past Lives (2002)
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
Deep Purple - Deep Purple in Rock (1970)
Deep Purple - Machine Head (1972)
Deep Purple - Made in Japan (1972)
Def Leppard - Pyromania (1983)
Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)
Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Iron Maiden - Rock in Rio (2002)
Iron Maiden - Maiden England (1994)
Metallica - Metallica (1991)
Motörhead - Everything Louder Than Everyone Else (1999)
Mr. Bungle - California (1999)
Ocean Machine - Biomech (1997)
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
Rainbow - Rising (1976)
Rainbow - Live in Munich 1977 (2006)
Rainbow - Live in Germany 1976 (1990)
Rammstein - Mutter (2001)
Riot - ThunderSteel (1988)
Testament - Live in London (2005)

Not sure if any of these are things you'd like or haven't heard but you never know.

[joachimt]

Thanks for the write-up, beavis. Most of those bands were already in my list to listen to or already in my collection (like Carcass, Morbid Angel, Death). I'll certainly check them out.

Thanks for the list, Lauren. Doesn't happen often that someone recommends Ayreon and Devin Townsend (Ocean Machine) to me instead of the other way around.
Interesting to see you often prefer live albums.

[mightysparks]

Thanks for the write-up, beavis. Most of those bands were already in my list to listen to or already in my collection (like Carcass, Morbid Angel, Death). I'll certainly check them out.

Thanks for the list, Lauren. Doesn't happen often that someone recommends Ayreon and Devin Townsend (Ocean Machine) to me instead of the other way around.
Interesting to see you often prefer live albums.

Well, I knew you liked Ayreon already but figured I'd just post the whole list to get an overall sense of the things I like And yea I've listened to a few of the live albums recently and was surprised by how much I liked them. Idk if it's just me getting used to metal or if there's something more special about the live versions.

[St. Gloede]

I'm not a fan of metal, but I do like hard rock and the relatively short-lived predecessor to heavy metal - Heavy Pysch.

A few recommendations (1 per band):

Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971)



+ Made in Japan + Make Up

Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride (1971)



+ Climbing


Pink Fairies - Never Never Land (1971)




Groundhogs - Split (1971)


+ Thank Christ for the Bomb

Speed Glue & Shinki - Self-Titles (1972) (Playlist)



+ Eve

[Torgo]

Napalm Death is legendary, but I can understand why you don't like much of their work. Check out "mass appeal madness" though or "suffer the children", just to be sure you have heard everything they can do. And Carcass is above any category (but don't start with the earliest records )
This classic style of death metal has made a huge comeback in recent years btw (check out the 20 buck spin label for some great new bands)
I never much got into black metal at the time, but I have come to like that style too
in stead I went deeper into doom metal
Winter is indeed a classic early extreme doom discovery for me... but it is not something I regularly listen to still... I moved more towards sludge and funeral doom (biggest names Eyehategod and Evoken). There is also black metal with doom atmosphere like Drudkh that I really like. And in here somewhere I might as well drop the viking metal of Tyrfing

Hi there, fellow (extreme) metalhead

Thanks to the internet, I started with bands like Cannibal Corpse, Brutal Truth, Marduk and even right down the realms of Khanate and Sunn O))). Metal usually never was interesting for me "below" that degree, if you understand.
(Though I could start to enjoy some djent and proggy stuff during the last 5 years and Joachim and me are now sharing a favorite, which is Leprous )

I don't plan on using the ICM Boards for the purpose of music discussion, but maybe I will take a look at this thread again if the OP decides to stick to black metal. My whole adult life was shaped by digging up intense music, not films, in fact. That's why I don't know jack about films. Maybe my research in doom metal WILL pay off one day!

[joachimt]

Thanks, St. Gloede. Never heard of those, but I'll put them on the list.

Joachim and me are now sharing a favorite, which is Leprous )

I don't plan on using the ICM Boards for the purpose of music discussion, but maybe I will take a look at this thread again if the OP decides to stick to black metal.

Hell Yeah! Leprous!
I won't stick to one subgenre. I'll go back and forth to different things. We'll see.

[St. Gloede]

In terms of hard rock, this is one of my favourite albums:



(The move later changed their style + name. They were then known as: Electric Light Orchestra)

-

Oh, and do look into Uriah Heep.

[joachimt]

Just started listening to Never, Neverland by Annihilator. First two tracks are nice. I always enjoy fast riffs. Is Alice in Hell mandatory as well?
I used to have a copy of Set The World On Fire many years ago, but I sold it. Didn't really like that album back then.

[Lakigigar]

I like Black Sabbath's two first real metal albums too (Master of Reality and Paranoid are amazing).

[beavis]

Just started listening to Never, Neverland by Annihilator. First two tracks are nice. I always enjoy fast riffs. Is Alice in Hell mandatory as well?
I used to have a copy of Set The World On Fire many years ago, but I sold it. Didn't really like that album back then.

I don't know, I just really liked the video of Alison Hell
probably not essential actually... otherwise I had sought it out more myself, but it might be more to your taste than mine with regards to the guitar work...?

[Kublai Khan]

Nobody mentioned AC/DC? Feels like AC/DC should have been mentioned.

[joachimt]

Nobody mentioned AC/DC? Feels like AC/DC should have been mentioned.

I know a few obvious songs, but no albums. I did put the live album If You Want Blood on my list a few days ago though. Any recommendations on most respected studio albums?

[weirdboy]

I feel like I am missing something with a title that mentions "influential hard rock and metal" and skips over e.g Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax.

[joachimt]

I feel like I am missing something with a title that mentions "influential hard rock and metal" and skips over e.g Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax.

I mentioned in the OP I already have some obvious ones like all the albums by Metallica, Reign in Blood, ....
I didn't mention Megadeth and Anthrax, but indeed I already know those as well. Never really got into Megadeth, but I like and got Rust In Peace. I like Anthrax better. I've got Among the Living, Persistence of Time and also the later album We've Come For You All.

Got several other Slayer albums as well, btw, up to Repentless.

[joachimt]

Finished Never, Neverland and also listened to Alice in Hell by Annihilator. Funny how well I already knew the song Alison Hell. I think I had it on a compilation album years ago. It's the song that stands out the most. It's the least straightforward thrashmetal song, almost proggy, as if Genesis tried to imitate Slayer. The rest is mostly strong riffs and fast solo's. Loving it. Doesn't sound like 30 years old at all.

[Kublai Khan]

Nobody mentioned AC/DC? Feels like AC/DC should have been mentioned.

I know a few obvious songs, but no albums. I did put the live album If You Want Blood on my list a few days ago though. Any recommendations on most respected studio albums?

Well, Back and Black and Highway to Hell are arguably their most popular and influential, but I think Powerage gets the nod as the "best".

[St. Gloede]

Really looking forward to hearing about Joachimt's first encounter with Heavy Psych btw.

[joachimt]

Listening to some AC/DC right now. Not finished yet. So far I've listened to Powerage and the first half of Highway to Hell, but dropping some notes. I think my lack of attention for AC/DC comes from the fact that the well known songs are actually less interesting, at least to me. So far the song Highway to Hell is one of the weaker songs. Songs like Kicked In The Teeth and Beating Around The Bush are much more fun and feature better riffs. Pretty naïve from me to put AC/DC aside for all these years based on songs like Highway to Hell, because of course I know it's often the easier songs with a simple chorus that work well for bigger audiences. So in my head AC/DC was always just some simple rock 'n' roll band with nothing interesting to bring for me. Which is weird, because I actually listened to quite a few 70's-retro rockbands from the past 15 years and several of those are clearly influenced by AC/DC.

[Armoreska]

I think they're all pretty simple but there's nothing wrong with that. It's still one my fav bands, tho only 1 song makes the ranked list, Ballbreaker.

here's my rock playlist since I started splitting into major genres (basically since I bought a new music player). some of it may not be rock tho, just categorized here by me.

past and (down in the bottom) current

Aerosmith - Discog inc Toys In The Attic, Rocks, Pump, Permanent Vacation
U2 - Discog inc The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, War, The Unforgettable Fire, All That You Can't Leave Behind, Boy, Rattle And Hum, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, Zooropa, Under A Blood Red Sky, October, No Line On The Horizon
Queen & Freddie Mercury 1 album - Discog (rock) inc A Night At The Opera, Sheer Heart Attack, Queen II, Greatest Hits, Mr. Bad Guy
Foreigner - Discog (rock) inc 4
Elton John - Discog (soft rock) inc Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Honky Chateau, Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy, Tumbleweed Connection, Elton John, Greatest Hits, Madman Across The Water
Keith Richards discog
Mick Jagger discog
Pretty Things discog
Buffalo Springfield discog
Bangles - Discog inc All Over The Place, A Different Light
Kinks - Discog (rock) inc The Kinks Are Village Green Preservation Society, Something Else By The Kinks, Face To Face, Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire), Muswell Hillbillies, Lola Vs The Powerman & The Money-Go-Round Part One, The Kink Kontroversy, The Kink Kronikles
Joan Jett & Blackhearts - 4 Bad Reputation, I Love Rock'n'roll, Album, Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth
Joe Walsh
Living Colour - 2 Vivid, Time's Up
Jeff Beck - Discog (rock) inc Truth, Blow By Blow, Beck-Ola
Robert Plant
Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum, (Outsideinside), New! Improved!, Blue Cheer
Iron Butterfly - 2 In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Metamorphosis
Jimmy Page - Coverdale/Page, Live At The Greek
The Move - Discog inc Shazam!
Slade - 2 Slade Alive!, Slayed
Jack Bruce - 2 Songs For A Tailor, More Jack Than God
Generation X - 1 Generation X
Billy Idol - Billy Idol
Golden Earring - 3 Moontan, Eight Miles High, Bloody Buccaneers
Alexander Spence - 1 Oar
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Discog (rock) inc Cosmo's Factory, Green River, Willy And The Poorboys, Bayou Country, Pendulum
+ John Fogerty - Centerfield, John Fogerty, Premonition, Revival
Grand Funk Railroad - On Time, Thirty Years Of Funk, We're An American Band
Edgar Broughton Band - Wasa Wasa, Sing Brother Sing, Edgar Broughton Band
High Tide - Sea Shanties
Humble Pie - Discog til 1973 inc As Safe As Yesterday Is, Town And Country, Humble Pie, Rock On, Rockin' The Fillmore, Smokin'
Peter Frampton through 1977
Mott The Hoople & Ian Hunter - Discog (rock) inc Mott, All The Young Dudes, The Hoople
Leslie West - Mountain
Mountain - Climbing!, Nantucket Sleighride
Cornelius discog
Neil Young - Discog (rock) inc After The Gold Rush, Harvest, Rust Never Sleeps (feat. Crazy Horse), Tonight's The Night, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (feat. Crazy Horse), Ragged Glory (feat. Crazy Horse), On The Beach, Freedom, Zuma, Sleeps With Angels (feat. Crazy Horse), Weld (feat. Crazy Horse), Live Rust (feat. Crazy Horse), Harvest Moon, Comes A Time, Mirror Ball, Unplugged, Time Fades Away, Sugar Mountain Live At Canterbury House 1968, Le Noise, Psychedelic Pill
Spin Doctors - 1 Pocket Full Of Kryptonite
Animals - Discog (rock) inc Animalisms & Animalization, The Animals, Animalism
Association - Birthday, And Then...Along Comes The Association
Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse, Crazy Moon
Jefferson Airplane - Discog (rock) inc Surrealistic Pillow, Volunteers, After Bathing At Baxter's, Crown Of Creation
Jefferson Starship - Blows Against The Empire, Red Octopus
Hot Tuna - 2 Hot Tuna, Burgers
Ginger Baker's Air Force
Graham Bond Organisation
Baker Gurvitz Army discog inc The Baker Gurvitz Army, Elysian Encounter
Ginger Baker - Horses & Trees, Palanquin's Pole, Middle Passage, Going Back Home, Coward of the County, Stratavarious
Masters Of Reality - Masters Of Reality, Sunrise On The Sufferbus, Deep In The Hole
Nightwish - Once
Quicksilver Messenger Service - 2 Happy Trails, Quicksilver Messenger Service
Grateful Dead - Discog (rock) inc American Beauty, Live Dead, Workingman's Dead, Aoxomoxoa, Anthem Of The Sun
UDO - 1 Animal House
Ozomatli - 3 Ozomatli, Embrace The Chaos, Street Signs
Canned Heat - Discog before 1972, Reheated
Foghat - Fool For The City
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Quicksilver
Hour Glass - Power Of Love
Allman Brothers Band - Discog (rock) inc At Fillmore East, Eat A Peach, Brothers And Sisters, Idlewild South
Cactus - Cactus, One Way Or Another, Restrictions
Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come
Status Quo discog
UFO discog inc Lights Out
Big Star - Discog (rock) inc The Third Album & Sister Lovers, Radio City, #1 Record
10CC & Hotlegs - Discog (rock) inc The Original Soundtrack, Sheet Music
Uriah Heep - 4 Demons And Wizards, Look At Yourself, Abominog, Salisbury
Wishbone Ash discog thru 1977, Blue Horizon
Warpig - Warpig
Budgie - Discog (rock) inc Bandolier, Never Turn Your Back on a Friend
Dust - Dust, Hard Attack
Blue Oyster Cult - Discog (rock) inc Agents Of Fortune, Secret Treaties, Tyranny & Mutation, Blue Oyster Cult, Fire Of Unknown Origin, Cultosaurus Erectus
Buffalo - Dead Forever, Volcanic Rock, Only Want You For Your Body
Scorpions - Discog (rock) inc Blackout, Love At First Sting, Lovedrive
Montrose - Montrose, Warner Brothers Presents Montrose, Paper Money
Sammy Hagar - Sammy Hagar, Standing Hampton, Three Lock Box, VOA
Nazareth - Razamanaz, Loud 'N' Proud, Hair Of The Dog, Malice In Wonderland, Snaz
Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost
Pentagram - Day Of Reckoning
Twisted Sister - Under The Blade, You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll, Stay Hungry, Come Out And Play
Dio - The Last In Line
Fuzz - Fuzz
Danny Wilson - Meet Danny Wilson
John Kongos - Kongos
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Discog (rock) inc (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd), Second Helping, Street Survivors
Antony And The Johnsons - Discog inc I Am A Bird Now, The Crying Light
Bad Company - Bad Co, Straight Shooter
Judas Priest - Discog (rock) inc British Steel, Screaming For Vengeance, Painkiller, Sad Wings Of Destiny, Unleashed In The East, Stained Class, Defenders Of The Faith
KISS - Discog (rock) inc Alive!, Destroyer, Love Gun, Revenge
Thin Lizzy - Discog (rock) inc Live And Dangerous, Jailbreak, Black Rose A Rock Legend, Bad Reputation
Phil Lynott - Solo In Soho, The Philip Lynott Album
April Wine - Stand Back, Harder Faster, Nature Of The Beast
Blackfoot - Strikes, Tomcattin', Marauder, Highway Song Live
Ted Nugent - 4 Cat Scratch Fever, Ted Nugent, Double Live Gonzo!, Spirit Of The Wild
Amboy Dukes - The Amboy Dukes
Damn Yankees - Damn Yankees
Heart - Dreamboat Annie, Little Queen, Heart
Y&T - Earthshaker
Motorhead - Discog (rock) inc No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith, Ace Of Spades, Overkill
Quiet Riot - Metal Health
Riot - Fire Down Under, Rock City, Thundersteel
Magnum - Kingdom Of Madness
Van Halen & Chickenfoot - Discog (rock) inc Van Halen, 1984, 5150, II, Fair Warning
Fleetwood Mac - Discog (soft rock) inc Rumours, Fleetwood Mac, Then Play On, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Tusk, The Original, English Rose
Peter Green - The End Of The Game, In The Skies
David Lee Roth - 1 Eat 'Em & Smile
Pat Travers Band - Live! Go For What You Know
Saxon - Strong Arm Of The Law, Wheels Of Steel, Denim And Leather
Triumph discog til '82
Diamond Head - 1 Lightning To The Nations
Gillan - Mr Universe, Future Shock
Girlschool - Demolition
Michael Schenker Group - The Michael Schenker Group
Samson - Head On, Shock Tactics
Styx - 4 The Grand Illusion, Pieces Of Eight, Cornerstone, Paradise Theater
Tygers Of Pan Tang - Wild Cat, Spellbound
Whitesnake - Slide It In, Saints & Sinners
Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
Lindsey Buckingham discog
Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna, The Wild Heart
Blues Saraceno - Hairpick
Motley Crue - Discog (rock) inc Shout At The Devil, Too Fast For Love, Girls Girls Girls, Dr Feelgood
Krokus - Headhunter
Pat Benatar - In The Heat Of The Night, Crimes Of Passion, Get Nervous
Praying Mantis - Time Tells No Lies
Raven - Rock Until You Drop, Wiped Out, All For One
Rose Tattoo - Rose Tattoo
Cheap Trick - Discog (rock) inc At Budokan, In Color, Heaven Tonight, Cheap Trick
Kingdom Come - Kingdom Come
Girl - Wasted Youth
Iron Maiden - Discog (rock) inc The Number Of The Beast, Iron Maiden, Killers, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, Piece Of Mind, Powerslave, Live After Death, Brave New World, A Matter Of Life And Death
Bruce Dickinson - 2 Accident Of Birth, The Chemical Wedding
Rods - Wild Dogs
Tank - Filth Hounds Of Hades
Steeler - Steeler
Alcatrazz - No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll
Anvil - Metal On Metal, Forged In Fire
Manilla Road - Crystal Logic, Open The Gates, The Deluge
Manowar discog inc Kings Of Metal
Mercyful Fate discog inc Don't Break The Oath, Melissa, In The Shadows
Orphaned Land - Mabool
Samael - Passage
King Diamond - 2 Abigail, 'Them', Fatal Portrait, The Spider's Lullabye
Venom - 2 Black Metal, Welcome To Hell
Pantera - Discog (rock) inc Vulgar Display Of Power, Far Beyond Driven, Cowboys From Hell
Queensryche - Discog (prog, metal) inc Operation Mindcrime, Empire, The Warning, Rage For Order
Ratt - Invasion Of Your Privacy
Savatage discog inc Gutter Ballet, Hall Of The Mountain King
Slayer - Discog (rock) inc Reign In Blood, South Of Heaven, Seasons In The Abyss, God Hates Us All, Christ Illusion, Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits
Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies, Lights Camera Revolution, The Art Of Rebellion, How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today
Anthrax - Discog (rock, metal) inc Among The Living, Spreading The Disease, State Of Euphoria, Sound Of White Noise
Bathory - 2 (metal) Under The Sign Of The Black Mark, Blood Fire Death, Hammerheart, Blood On Ice
Dokken - 1 Tooth And Nail, Under Lock And Key, Beast From The East
Metallica - Discog (rock) inc Master Of Puppets, Metallica (The Black Album), Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightning, And Justice For All, S&M, Death Magnetic
Running Wild discog til 1996
Steve Vai - 1 Passion And Warfare, Flex-Able, Fire Garden, The Ultra Zone
Voivod - discog (metal) inc Nothingface, Dimension Hatross, Angel Rat, Killing Technology
Celtic Frost - Discog (metal) inc Into The Pandemonium, To Mega Therion, Morbid Tales, Monotheist
Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac, Long Live the Loud
Coroner - Grin, Mental Vortex, Punishment for Decadence
Nuclear Assault - Handle With Care
Destruction - 1 Infernal Overkill
Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deceiver
Cult - Discog (rock) inc Electric, Sonic Temple, Love
Exodus - 1 Bonded By Blood, Fabulous Disaster
Kreator - Discog inc Extreme Aggression, Pleasure To Kill
Megadeth - Discog (rock) in Peace Sells But Who's Buying, Rust In Peace, Countdown To Extinction
Metal Church - Discog inc The Human Factor, Metal Church
Overkill - Discog inc The Years Of Decay
Possessed - 1 (metal) Seven Churches
Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly, Control And Resistance
Candlemass - 2 (metal) Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Nightfall, Death Magic Doom
Cinderella - 1 Long Cold Winter, Heartbreak Station
Dark Angel - 1 (metal) Darkness Descends, Time Does Not Heal
Fastway - Fastway
Fates Warning - Pleasant Shade Of Gray, Awaken The Guardian, No Exit, Perfect Symmetry, Parallels
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force, Marching Out, Trilogy
Poison - 2 Look What The Cat Dragged In, Open Up And Say Ahh!
Sodom - 1 (metal) Agent Orange, Persecution Mania
Tankard - Chemical Invasion
Tesla discog inc Five Man Acoustical Jam
Warlock - Burning the Witches, Triumph & Agony
Waysted - Waysted
Armored Saint - 1 Revelation, March of the Saint, Symbol of Salvation
Gamma - 2
Hanoi Rocks - Bangkok Shocks Saigon Shakes Hanoi Rocks
Vandenberg - Vandenberg
Witchfinder General - Death Penalty
King's X discog til 1995
Loverboy - Loverboy, Get Lucky
Satan - Court in the Act
Tokyo Blade - Tokyo Blade, Night of the Blade
Blitzkrieg - A Time Of Changes
Icon - Icon
Vicious Rumors - Digital Dictator
White Lion - Pride, Big Game
Queens Of The Stone Age & Eagles Of Death Metal - Discog (rock) inc Songs For The Deaf, Rated R, Queens Of The Stone Age, Lullabies To Paralyze, Like Clockwork
Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn
Winger - Winger
Bolt Thrower - Warmaster, For Victory
Guns 'N' Roses - Discog (rock) inc Appetite For Destruction, Use Your Illusion II, Use Your Illusion I
Prong - Beg to Differ, Cleansing
Danzig - 2 (metal) Danzig, Danzig II Lucifuge, Danzig III How the Gods Kill
GWAR - Scumdogs of the Universe, America Must Be Destroyed
Richie Kotzen - Fever Dream
Izzy Stradlin - Izzy Stradlin & The Ju Ju Hounds
Dream Theater - Discog (prog, metal) inc Images And Words, Metropolis Part 2 (Scenes From A Memory), Awake, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, Train Of Thought, Systematic Chaos, When Dream And Day Unite
Eagles - Discog (rock) inc Hotel California, Desperado, One Of These Nights, The Eagles, Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), Long Road Out Of Eden
+ Don Henley - 2 Building The Perfect Beast, The End Of The Innocence
Sepultura - Discog (alt rock, punk) inc Roots, Chaos AD, Arise, Beneath The Remains
Кино - Группа крови, Звезда по имени Солнце, Кино (Чёрный альбом)
Crosby Stills Nash And Young - Discog (folk rock) inc Deja Vu, Crosby Stills And Nash, Four-Way Street, Graham Nash/David Crosby, Wind on the Water
David Crosby - 1 If I Could Only Remember My Name
Stephen Stills - 2 Stephen Stills, Manassas
Graham Nash - Songs For Beginners
Nails - Mood Swing
Death - Discog (metal) inc Symbolic, Human, The Sound Of Perserverence, Individual Thought Patterns, Leprosy, Scream Bloody Gore
Hollies - In the Hollies Style
Death Angel - The Ultra-Violence
Mayhem - 2 (metal) Deathcrush, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Melvins - 1 (metal) Houdini, Bullhead, Melvins
Stratovarius - 2 (metal) Infinite, Visions
Testament - Discog (metal) inc Souls Of Black, The Gathering, The Legacy, The New Order, Practice What You Preach, The Formation Of Damnation
Annihilator - 1 Alice In Hell, Never Neverland
Cannibal Corpse - 15 Year Killing Spree
Entombed - 3 (metal) Clandestine, Wolverine Blues, Left Hand Path, Morning Star
Extreme - 1 II Pornograffitti
Paradise Lost - 2 (metal) Draconian Times, Icon
Slaughter - 1 Stick It to Ya
At The Gates - 1 Slaughter Of The Soul
Darkthrone - 2 (metal) Transilvanian Hunger, A Blaze In The Northern Sky, Under a Funeral Moon
Iced Earth - 1 Something Wicked This Way Comes, Burnt Offerings, The Dark Saga, Horror Show
Infectious Grooves - The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move
Monster Magnet - Discog (rock) inc Powertrip, Spine Of God, God Says No, Dopes To Infinity
LA Guns - LA Guns, Cocked and Loaded
Mr Bungle - Discog (avantgarde) inc Disco Volante, California, Mr Bungle
Type O Negative - 2 (metal) Bloody Kisses, October Rust
Fear Factory - 2 (metal) Demanufacture, Obsolete
Tool - Discog (alt rock) inc Aenima, Lateralus, 10000 Days, Undertow
A Perfect Circle - 2 13th Step, Mer De Noms
Ugly Kid Joe - America's Least Wanted, Menace to Sobriety
Carcass - Discog inc Reek Of Putrefaction, Heartwork, Necroticism Descanting The Insalubrious
Cynic - 1 (metal) Focus
Sleep - Discog inc Jerusalem, Sleep's Holy Mountain, Dopesmoker
Down - Discog inc II: A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, NOLA
Fu Manchu discog inc In Search Of
Virulence - If This Isn't a Dream
Acid Bath discog
Earthless - Sonic Prayer, Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky, From the Ages, In a Dutch Haze, Live at Roadburn, Black Heaven
Rammstein - Rammstein
Gregg Allman discog inc Southern Blood
Black Sabbath - The End
Boris discog inc Akuma no Uta
Isis - Discog (prog) inc The Absence Of Truth, Panopticon, Oceanic
Iron Monkey - Our Problem
Lvmen - Heron
High On Fire - discog inc Blessed Black Wings, Death Is This Communion, The Art Of Self Defense
Om discog
Electric Wizard - 1 (metal) Dopethrone, Come My Fanatics, Electric Wizard
UFOmammut - Eve, Snailking
Belzebong - Greenferno, Sonic Scapes & Weedy Grooves, Light The Dankness
Uncle Acid
YOB
Saint Vitus - Born Too Late
Blues Saraceno - The Best Of (on youtube)
Heathen - Victims of Deception
Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Quiet Company - We Are All Where We Belong
David Bazan - Curse Your Branches
Onslaught - Killing Peace, Power from Hell, Sounds of Violence, The Force
Ocean Collective discog inc Heliocentric, Anthropocentric
Loudness - The Law of Devil's Land
Widespread Panic - Widespread Panic, Space Wrangler
Tool - Fear Inoculum
Ghost - Meliora
7Horse – Let The 7horse Run
Saracen - Heroes Saints & Fools
Clutch
Sword
Bongripper
Weedeater - God Luck and Good Speed
Bongzilla
Cannabis Corpse
Orange Goblin - Thieving From The House Of God
Desert Sessions
Mondo Generator
Dead Zeppelin A Metal Tribute to Led Zeppelin
Black Debbath - Tung Tung Politisk Rock, Welcome To Norway
Encomium A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
Vanilla Fudge - Out Through the In Door
The Music Remains the Same A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
Chris Butler - The Devil Glitch
KMFDM 2014-2020 discog
Harvey Milk discog inc Courtesy And Good Will Toward Men, A Small Turn of Human Kindness
Josh Ritter
WASP discog inc The Crimson Idol, WASP, The Headless Children
Crowbar discog inc Odd Fellows Rest, Crowbar
Five Finger Death Punch

upcoming part

Leprous discog
Flower Travellin' Band - Made in Japan, Make Up
Pink Fairies - Never Never Land
Groundhogs - Split, Thank Christ for the Bomb
Speed Glue & Shinki - Self-Titles, Eve
Firesign Theatre - Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him, How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, Don't Crush That Dwarf Hand Me the Pliers, I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus, Dear Friends, Everything You Know Is Wrong, In the Next World You're on Your Own
Woods of Ypres discog
Jimmy Barnes - Freight Train Heart, Barnestorming, Soul Searchin', 30 30 Hindsight
Cold Chisel discog inc Circus Animals, East
Nevermore discog inc Dead Heart In A Dead World, Dreaming Neon Black, The Politics of Ecstasy
Ten Years After - Ssssh, Cricklewood Green, A Space in Time
Tyr - Eric the Red
Cathedral - Forest of Equilibrium
Solitude Aeturnus discog
Windhand - Soma
Colourfield - Virgins and Philistines, Deception
Vegas - Vegas [1992]
War on Drugs
SixFtHick
Badlands
Lepers And Crooks
Tumbleweed
Brant Bjork and the Bros - Saved By Magic
Nebula - Apollo
Fuzz Heady
Red Fang
Colour Haze
Green Druid
Marijannah
Edguy - Vain Glory Opera, Theater of Salvation, The Savage Poetry, Mandrake, Hellfire Club
Lez Zeppelin
Great White - Hooked, Psycho City, Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great Zeppelin A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
Meshuggah discog inc Catch Thirtythree, Destroy Erase Improve, Nothing
Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising
Bevis Frond
Andrew WK - 1 I Get Wet
Backxwash - God Has Nothing to Do With This Leave Him Out of It

[Knaldskalle]

I find one of the best AC/DC songs ever made to be Nervous Shakedown off the much maligned "Flick of the Switch" album. I love how they kept the song slow and just let the groove do its thing instead of speeding it up.

[Knaldskalle]

Speaking of hard rock, do you know Monster Magnet? Druggy hard rock that's reminiscent of early Black Sabbath. "Dopes to Infinity" and "Powertrip" are the best intro to the band.

[joachimt]

Speaking of hard rock, do you know Monster Magnet? Druggy hard rock that's reminiscent of early Black Sabbath. "Dopes to Infinity" and "Powertrip" are the best intro to the band.

Two amazing albums!! I was surprised nobody mentioned them yet.
Monster Magnet was one of the first bands I discovered outside of the hardrock/metal you heard on mainstream radio in the 90's. I already had Dopes to Infinity on CD when I only owned 20-30 albums. So me and my brother listened to that one very often. I also bought Powertrip when it came out and two years later God Says No (I love the cover of that album). Didn't really follow them after that one. I think I listened to Last Patrol once but wasn't impressed. Oh, just remembered I had Superjudge on a copied tape back then, but I threw it away when tapes completely died back then.

Any recs from you besides Dopes and Powertrip?

Since we're talking about "surprised nobody mentioned this", I'm surprised nobody mentioned Type O Negative. Maybe not "classic", because they started in the 90's, but I thought they should be on a list of influential bands as well. No need to recommend it though. Got six of their albums, every regular album except for World Coming Down.

[joachimt]

[Knaldskalle]

Any recs from you besides Dopes and Powertrip?

My intro to Monster Magnet was the song Negasonic Teenage War Head back in... '95? When "Powertrip" came out I instantly bought it and picked up "Dopes to Infinity" a little while later. Saw them live in '99 and bought the T-shirt.

Spoiler

Front:

Back:

Erhm, let's see. I thought "God Says No" was a little lacking, too many quiet songs not enough hard rock (too much synthesizer). Great cover, though. The next one, "Monolithic Baby," isn't bad, but it's still not as good the Powertrip or Dopes (although one might argue that nothing is). After that I lost track of them and only recently got hold of some of their later work (Mastermind, Last Patrol, Mindfucker), but I haven't really had a chance to dive into them yet. I know they have an album in the works to be released this year, but that's all i have.

[Lammetje]

I find one of the best AC/DC songs ever made to be Nervous Shakedown off the much maligned "Flick of the Switch" album. I love how they kept the song slow and just let the groove do its thing instead of speeding it up.

That is a good song, thanks for posting. I never listened to that album, probably because of its low-ish rating on RYM.

If I had to recommend a lesser-known AC/DC song, I'd go with "Let Me Put My Love Into You". Or "Live Wire". Or "Overdose". Yeah, they're pretty great.

[Knaldskalle]

I find one of the best AC/DC songs ever made to be Nervous Shakedown off the much maligned "Flick of the Switch" album. I love how they kept the song slow and just let the groove do its thing instead of speeding it up.

That is a good song, thanks for posting. I never listened to that album, probably because of its low-ish rating on RYM.

If I had to recommend a lesser-known AC/DC song, I'd go with "Let Me Put My Love Into You". Or "Live Wire". Or "Overdose". Yeah, they're pretty great.

Nobody ever listens to it because it's so universally derided, but it's not that bad an album - and Nervous Shakedown is great.

Ah, Overdose. I've always loved that one "plunk" of the bass in the beginning that's just completely out of place. And the lyrics are funny when you know about Bon Scott and his hard partying ("I never smoked no cigarettes, I never drank much booze, but I'm only a man, don't you understand, and a man can sometimes lose")

[joachimt]

Next one:

Angel Witch - Angel Witch (1980)

I listened to the first five songs. If an album hasn't grabbed me halfway, it's gone for me. I found the songs to be rather dull and the lead singer kinda annoying. The guitarwork was nice here and there, but the choruses were simply terrible. Not going to listen to this again.

[Armoreska]

thanks for the rec, I haven't listened to this one yet and should have

track 8 Free Man sounds interesting
track 1 is a classic

I nearly always finish any album I've started unless it's some Cannibal Corpse ear rape where I have yet to really even start anything

[joachimt]

Angra - Angels Cry
Angra - Holy Land

Maybe not "classics" or "essentials", but I put these on the list, because they popped up on some best of list and I like Angra a bit but never listened to these two. I own Temple of Shadows and Aurora Consurgens (in my memory these are rather recent albums, but they are already 17 and 15 years old, damn I'm getting old). Anyway, you need to enjoy bombastic metal and high male voices, so this is probably not suitable for most of you.

What strikes me most with these two is how much slower the average speed is compared to the two albums I already knew. Surely there are some uptempo songs with fast guitar solo's and high, higher, highest lyrics, but there's a lot more variation going on. In my mind Angra was always something I put alongside Rhapsody and the likes, but it seems there's more to them.

[joachimt]

I nearly always finish any album I've started unless it's some Cannibal Corpse ear rape where I have yet to really even start anything

For movies it works like that for me as well, but it has never been like that for me. That's probably because I've always been into albums as a whole and not really into individual songs. I haven't got individual songs at all in my digital collection. 99.5% of my digital collection consists of rips of the albums (cd and vinyl) I physically own.
If there are only two interesting songs on an album, I simply toss it aside. That's why I don't listen to the rest if an album hasn't interested me halfway.

[joachimt]

Autopsy - Severed Survival

Beavis mentioned Autopsy and this album came from a list of essentials. I must say I have mixed feelings about it. The bass sound is pretty awful. But hey, it's the 80's so I shouldn't complain about low production quality. The songs in the beginning of the album are a bit dull, up to Gasping for Air, which has a song structure like a children's song.



So I was about to turn it off, but continued anyway. Luckily, after that there are some more interesting songs like Pagan Saviour and Critical Madness and I find myself being less annoyed by the bass sound.





Still, old school death metal is not really my cup of tea. It's fun for a few minutes, but I get tired of if after a couple of songs. So maybe I should just keep this one. If one of the songs pops up on shuffle I can enjoy three minutes of it and be done with it.

[joachimt]

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

Now that's more like it!! You all know I love progmetal, so you know I prefer songs were lots of different things happen. I certainly enjoy some technical death metal like this. Still sounds very fresh, not like it's 30 years old.

I can't pick individual songs yet, it was too overwhelming for that after one listen.



They didn't make a lot of albums, btw. I think I'll listen to the rest later as well.

[joachimt]

Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

Again, not "classic" or "essential", but something that was mentioned in a best of list. This is one of those bands that I never listened to because reading about them made me think I wouldn't like this anyway. Well, I was right. It's popmetal. There are some nice ideas here and there, but most of it is very predictable and the choruses are childish. I got bored after a few songs and again five songs was enough for me to turn it off.

[joachimt]

I'll continue with B. Which albums by Bad Company and Blue Öyster Cult are recommended?