I've been listening to Metal since 2005 and it has become my biggest passion in life.

Rarely a day goes by where I don't listen to it in one form or another. The bands I listened to in my teens inspired me to pick up the guitar (and later drums) and start making music of my own.

So here are the albums that have stood out and made the largest impact on me. To be as transparent as possible, I've labelled albums as 'nostalgia bias' where my memories of the album give it an advantage over others.

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here. There are a ton of albums that I've rated 9/10 in the 'TBR' tab that may never make it to this list, be sure to check those out.)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 25 EPs (ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

Genre-Specific:
Top 50 Black Metal Albums
Top 50 Melodic Death Metal Albums
Top 45 Thrash Metal Albums
Top 40 Power Metal Albums
Top 30 Doom Metal Albums
Top 30 Heavy Metal Albums

1.Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Opeth - Still Life

      View entire list ››

1.Katatonia - Brave Murder Day

2.Swallow The Sun - The Morning Never Came

3.Insomnium - Above The Weeping World

4.Daylight Dies - Dismantling Devotion

5.Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

      View entire list ››

My top list by far......
last update : 23/01/2019

1.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

2.Gojira - From Mars To Sirius

3.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

4.Amorphis - Silent Waters

5.Death - Symbolic

      View entire list ››

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 8th, 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

      View entire list ››

This is the list for my favorite albums. It will with no doubt change from time to time and some may disappear or move from a spot to another.

1.Agalloch - The Mantle

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell

4.For My Pain - Fallen

5.Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit

      View entire list ››

1.Mastodon - Crack The Skye

2.Baroness - Blue Record

3.Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect

4.The Red Chord - Fed Through The Teeth Machine

5.Insomnium - Across The Dark

      View entire list ››

1.Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

2.Marillion - Brave

3.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

4.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

5.Insomnium - Across The Dark

      View entire list ››

1.Insomnium - Across The Dark

2.The 11th Hour - Burden Of Grief

3.Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

4.Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition

5.The Moon And The Nightspirit - Ősforrás

      View entire list ››

1.Megadeth - Endgame

2.Kreator - Hordes Of Chaos

3.Cain's Offering - Gather The Faithful

4.Viikate - Kuu Kaakon Yllä

5.Warbringer - Waking Into Nightmares

      View entire list ››

1.Death - Symbolic

2.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

3.Desultory - Bitterness

4.Morgoth - Cursed

5.Death - Human

      View entire list ››

I've always been a fan of melodic death metal, having listened to bands such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates in my first few years of getting into metal around 2005-2008. Now, thanks to MS, I've gotten into many more amazing bands such as Wintersun, Insomnium and Scar Symmetry and it has become one of my favourite sub-genres.

So here are my favourites of the genre with my rating, its sub-genre and release year:

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of melodic death metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

1.Wintersun - Time I

2.Wintersun - Wintersun

3.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

4.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

5.The Haunted - The Haunted Made Me Do It

      View entire list ››

My musical journey seems to be radically different to most that I've seen, so here are some defining albums (one per band) for my taste in list form. There are, of course, quite a few here that I don't listen to anymore.

Generally chronological.

1.

2.

3.Muse - Absolution

4.Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (')

5.Maxïmo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures

      View entire list ››

1.Swallow The Sun - New Moon

2.Insomnium - Across The Dark

3.Darkness By Oath - Fear Yourself

4.Finsterforst - ...Zum Tode Hin

5.Ensiferum - From Afar

      View entire list ››

My best of 2009

1.Epica - Design Your Universe

2.Trail Of Tears - Bloodstained Endurance

3.Wine From Tears - Through The Eyes Of A Mad

4.Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

5.Novembers Doom - Into Night's Requiem Infernal

      View entire list ››

1.Kalisia - Cybion

2.Thy Catafalque - Róka Hasa Rádió

3.Karnivool - Sound Awake

4.Finsterforst - ...Zum Tode Hin

5.While Heaven Wept - Vast Oceans Lachrymose

      View entire list ››