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Thumbs up: +8
The Deadliest Of Harmonies (A Journey Into Melodic Death Metal)

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.

- - - - - - - - - -

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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Created by Guib on 08.04.2024



AJ's Ranking Of 2017

My glorious ranking of the year of our Lord 2017

Top 50 rated 8 and above

Album count: 132
Average rating: 7.1


1.Enslaved - E
2.Mors Principium Est - Embers Of A Dying World
3.Pallbearer - Heartless
4.Myrkur - Mareridt
5.Ulver - The Assassination Of Julius Caesar

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Created by AJ The Great on 27.03.2023



Thumbs up: +4
Death Is Only The Beginning (Of This List)

This is a list of all the death metal albums I have listened to that I thought were at all worth remembering. Like my other genre lists, this is just a record of my own listening experience that I use for personal organization, not a definitive account of the best or all of the death metal out there; there will probably be albums or bands that are not death metal in the strictest sense. You'll find some OSDM, melodeath, tech death, death-doom, maybe a bit of deathcore, I don't know. Maybe some non-death metal albums by death metal bands that I put in here just because.

1.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance
2.Death - Symbolic
3.At The Gates - With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness
4.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul
5.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

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Created by ScreamingSteelUS on 15.04.2022



Thumbs up: +20
You Know It's Technically 2011-2020, Right?

To explain the title, there is no year 0, regardless of what Ghost may tell you. Thus, the first decade was years 1-10, instead of 0-9. So then it would be 11-20, and so on. But I know that would imply that Paranoid is a 60s album, which we cannot have.

So now that all the cool kids are doing it, here is my top 100 albums of the "decade", most of it might be a bit too mainsteam, most of it you'll find on others' lists, and so on. Restricted to one album per artist/band (including collabs), ordered alphabetically.

1.Abyssal - Antikatastaseis
2.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere
3.Akhlys - The Dreaming I
4.Alcest - Écailles De Lune
5.Altar Of Plagues - Teethed Glory & Injury

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Created by RaduP on 31.12.2019



Thumbs up: +18
Neachy's Select: Top 100 Albums Of The 10s

100 full length albums that I favor in approximate order of preference plus 10 non-LP releases at the end. Limited to metal albums and albums featured on the site.

1.Indesinence - Vessels Of Light And Decay
2.Mitochondrion - Parasignosis
3.Murmuüre - Murmuüre
4.Deathspell Omega - Paracletus
5.Ustalost - The Spoor Of Vipers

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Created by Neachy on 29.12.2019



Thumbs up: +4
Club: Technical/progressive Music That Ain't Over The Top Wankery

this list is related to this forum thread, please check
this list is a collaborative one and will surely grow ; it is a proof of concept for a club feature, see here.

Hi people. I'd like to create a list of albums with the purpose of being as complete as possible. I'm looking for music that is technical or progressive, although I really don't like when things get out of hand, with crazy vocals in 4 different registers building tension and brutally stoping to yield it to a shredding solo in mixolydian helped by drums in 11/12 which try to imitate the synth syncopation in counterpoint, for ten seconds before jumping into something else.

1.Angra - Angels Cry
2.Angra - Holy Land
3.Angra - Fireworks
4.Angra - Rebirth
5.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

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Created by Ansercanagicus on 14.03.2019



Thumbs up: +1
Best Of 2017 Death Metal

Listed alphabetically by band name, with subgenres for easier browsing.
Updated semi-regularly

1.Aeternam - Ruins Of Empires
2.Æther Realm - Tarot
3.Archspire - Relentless Mutation
4.Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon
5.Benighted - Necrobreed

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Created by Jaro on 08.09.2017



Nunzie's Salivating Over The Best Of '17

1.Elder - Reflections Of A Floating World
2.The Ruins Of Beverast - Exuvia
3.Pallbearer - Heartless
4.Enslaved - E
5.Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand

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Created by Nunzie 69 on 31.08.2017



Thumbs up: +1
My Top Albums Of 2017 (No Particular Order)

1.Memoriam - For The Fallen
2.Necrot - Blood Offerings
3.Power Trip - Nightmare Logic
4.Attic - Sanctimonious
5.Havok - Conformicide

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Created by Daddy Pig on 29.08.2017



Thumbs up: +1
2017, Part 2: But I Haven't Finished The First Half Yet!

Still got plenty of stuff to catch up from Q1 and Q2 from this year, but will probably end up checking out some stuff from second half of 2017 before I'm done with all of that, so here's this list.

1.Mastodon - Cold Dark Place
2.The Contortionist - Clairvoyant
3.Passages - Lucid
4.Enslaved - E
5.Dvne - Asheran

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Created by musclassia on 05.07.2017



Thumbs up: +13
2017

2017 was a weird year for me. While I did construct, update and maintain this list in 2017, I was very limited in what I was exploring and listening to. I have viewed 2017 as probably the weakest year of the 10s but I'm currently trekking back through the year's releases and finding some things I had overlooked. 2021 redux.

1.Pallbearer - Heartless
2.Almyrkvi - Umbra
3.Tyrannosorceress - Shattering Light's Creation
4.Dodecahedron - Kwintessens
5.Amenra - Mass VI

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Created by Neachy on 10.03.2017



Thumbs up: +12
Tea[m]ster's 2017 7 Mile Fair

Slow start to 2017. Keep an eye on this list you bargain-basement shoppers...

1.Au-Dessus - End Of Chapter
2.Viscera - 3/Release Yourself Through Desperate Rituals
3.Slowdive - Slowdive
4.Echoes(UK) - Cornerstone
5.Fen - Winter

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Created by tea[m]ster on 12.02.2017



Thumbs up: +3
2017 - My Best To Worst

Welcome to my 2017 list. If you have any recommendations for albums, feel free to leave a message in the comments section. And of course, if you see anything on the list you like or you found something from the list you want to check out, give the list a thumbs up!

Each album on this list has been:

1.Incursed - Amalur
2.Cellador - Off The Grid
3.Trivium - The Sin And The Sentence
4.Ensiferum - Two Paths
5.Orden Ogan - Gunmen

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Created by Sword_Chant on 10.01.2017



Thumbs up: +15
2017 Journey And Anticipated Records

My HIGH ENERGY 2017 list.
Lots of prog.

No rating=haven't heard yet/not enough spins

★★★★★ - Masterpiece!
★★★★½ - Excellent!
★★★★☆ - Great!
★★★½☆ - Very Good!
★★★☆☆ - Enjoyable!
★★½☆☆ - OK, Nothing Special
★★☆☆☆ - Mediocre
★½☆☆☆ - Poor
★☆☆☆☆ - Don't Touch
½☆☆☆☆ - I Want My Money Back

1.This Social Coil - Pictures
2.Gone Is Gone - Echolocation
3.Hibernal - The Dark Of The City
4.Gotthard - Silver
5.Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day

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Created by robpal on 07.11.2016



Top 25 Albums of 2017

1.Nokturnal Mortum - Verity
2.Converge - The Dusk In Us
3.Wolves In The Throne Room - Thrice Woven
4.Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun
5.Primitive Man - Caustic

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Created by AbyssalArchivist on 18.02.2016