Hey Folks! It’s me… Again!

I’m coming back once more to explore the depths of a genre that arguably did not begin where you all thought it did! Yeah yeah… Alright, maybe Left Hand Path, Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious, Like An Ever Flowing Stream & The Red In The Sky Is Ours aren’t exactly the sound you would expect, but they were certainly a sign of something incredible that was about to happen. The birth of Melodic Death Metal!

Most of you, them, us… Would agree that Melodic Death metal really appeared in the form of Carcass’s 1993 album Heartwork. Even though some shades of what would become staples of the genre were heard before, this one would truly be the first album to be called as such. Mixing OSDM with more classic heavy metal styled riffs & melodies, our beloved genre (along with Thrash) would become for a lot of our teenage selves, a gateway into the more extreme bowels of metal’s subgenres. I would argue that it’s an almost obligatory step in the grand metalhead’s journey. Ah, how amazing it was to first taste the somewhat delicate sound of melodeath before rattling our ears with the obscenities & nonsensical wankery of grindcore, brutal tech-death, dissonant death and post metal… Rrrrright.

As you have become accustomed to by now, I will attempt to honour the genre by listing the absolute best Melodic Death metal albums to be ever released throughout the years. And I will do so starting with a few albums that are arguably not Melodic Death metal… Because I can and I did, hah! F*ck you! Along the way, you might stumble upon some strange & unorthodox choices mixing a plethora of other genres as well and that’s ok. Truly. Take it easy, don’t hyperventilate over it and just go with the flow. The main goal here is to help people who don’t know much about melodeath discover it and where it came from. I also want to push forward some less known jewels amongst highly praised landmarks of the style and sprinkle a bit of my personality along the way because that’s always fun. The albums will be ordered in years of release and there will be no other restriction or specific rules.

I hope you have a blast going through my list and that it brings you joy and a slight tingle on your nostalgia strings. Though, if it pisses you off, if I forgot your absolute favourite album of all goddamn time or if you think I’m an idiot, well… Just remember that I’m right, always and forever, thank you. Regardless It will be a pleasure for me to hear your recommendations or discuss anything related to melodeath below. Cheers & have fun!

-Guib-

Note: Albums with a 🇨🇦 are from my country (Canada) and albums with a ★ are my personal favourites.

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Last Updated: April 19th, 2024

1.Entombed - Left Hand Path

2.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

3.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

4.At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours

5.Carcass - Heartwork

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1.Palaye Royale - The Bastards

2.Palaye Royale - Fever Dream

3.Green Lung - This Heathen Land

4.Orm - Intet • Altet

5.Spiritbox - The Fear Of Fear

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1 album per band per subgenre
work in progress, updating as I go through the song-by-song ratings on RateYourMusic.com
I will typically update my black metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6924
and my death metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6298
prior to updating this one

1.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

2.King Diamond - Abigail

3.Voivod - Dimension Hatröss

4.Mastodon - Crack The Skye

5.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

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Welcome to what I consider the "1001 Metal Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" or in other words, a list of records of various genres in the arrays of Metal and Hard Rock that I deem essential or at least very recommended to listeners of hard and heavy music. This may be a very overwhelming list but I essentially try to collect all albums in the History of Metal that strike me as worthwhile. May this be a guideline for people that seek for an entrance to a particular genre or certain bands. In no means I am saying, that this list is indisputable by any means. I consider these my personal picks for albums that should be listened to by die-hard metal fans at least once. Hopefully you can discover some new music or relate with my picks. If I missed something that you would include in such a list, please tell me in the form of a comment. Enjoy! \,,/

1.High Tide - Sea Shanties

2.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

4.Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come

5.Josefus - Dead Man

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jesus this is out of date, gotta take some time and update this

1.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

2.Immolation - Close To A World Below

3.Cryptopsy - None So Vile

4.Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred For Mankind

5.Nile - Annihilation Of The Wicked

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Still in development

1.Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery

2.Sonata Arctica - Silence

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

5.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

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1.Enslaved - Isa

2.Orphaned Land - Mabool

3.Wintersun - Wintersun

4.Ayreon - The Human Equation

5.Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion

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Ordered from Best to worst. let me know of some albums worth listening to from 2004.

1.Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake

2.Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion

3.Gwar - War Party

4.All That Remains - This Darkened Heart

5.Amon Amarth - Fate Of Norns

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My favorite and most enjoyed album's of the decade 2000-2009. Roughly in order, but not exactly.

You can kinda tell from this list that I joined Metalstorm in 2009. I started discovering far more music thanks to this site, hence the number of '09 releases featured. I'm slowly starting to pick back through the top lists of previous years, so I expect more pre-'09 releases will be added to this list.

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Vektor - Black Future

3.Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect

4.SikTh - Death Of A Dead Day

5.Protest The Hero - Fortress

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I just finished making this list and I hate it already. Trying to put your favorite albums in order is very hard. I went at thinking which 20 would I take with me to a deserted island so I went for some variety. However, I don't think I got it right so expect the list to change frequently but for now this is roughly accurate. **Last Update 09/03/11**

1.Septicflesh - Communion

2.Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite

3.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

4.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

5.Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs

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*Now remixed with some of my favorite non-metal tracks! In order by preference, although it's tough with songs... and who knows what I'm forgetting? I'm not claiming these are the downright best, just my personal favorites based on my own enjoyment of them. Song titles in parentheses. Will probably change a lot, except for the top ten, which is harder to break into.

1.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

2.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

3.Artillery - By Inheritance

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Theatre Of Tragedy - Aégis

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This is a list of my favorite albums with less than 150 votes. The ordering is done by approximate preference. Bands may only have one entry on the list and no entries will come from the current calendar year. All of these albums are terrific and deserve to be listened to so do yourself a favor and check out these albums if the description intrigues you. **Last Update 08/16/11**

1.Ghost Brigade - Guided By Fire

2.Slumber - Fallout

3.Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome

4.Persefone - Core

5.Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion

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1.Hellfueled - Volume One

2.Mastodon - Leviathan

3.Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache

4.Megadeth - The System Has Failed

5.Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion

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UPDATED Apr. 2012! Like the title says (covers '00 - '09). In numbered order by personal preference. May change as I find new releases.

1.Anubis Gate - The Detached

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Kamelot - The Black Halo

4.Warning - Watching From A Distance

5.Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh

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Overhauled as of May 10th, 2012! Top 5 favorite non-metal albums featured at the bottom.

This is a much improved (and more recently accurate) reworking of my previous favorite albums list, with a few albums added and a couple dropped entirely. They are in order of preference, though changes and the possibility of total equals are still in play. I've axed my undescriptive commentary but kept my genre and favorite song catgories.

1.Crimson Glory - Transcendence

2.Anubis Gate - The Detached

3.Artillery - By Inheritance

4.Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory

5.Metal Church - Hanging In The Balance

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