A little list of albums that have been kicking my ass as of late. Some albums on this list may appear to be "odd" choices, but "crushing" in this context does not necessarily mean heavy. It could be referring to the emotional intensity of the release or the literal heavy pounding sound. Hope you enjoy.

Note (1): More to be added as I see fit.
Note (2): These albums are in no specific order, I have just been adding them as I see fit.

1.Esoteric - The Pernicious Enigma

2.Ahab - The Divinity Of Oceans

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Warning - Watching From A Distance

5.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

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More doom on the way: as of 14th June I'm slowly adding a few albums, hopefully to reach the 50 mark.

1.Candlemass - Nightfall

2.DoomSword - Let Battle Commence

3.Mourning Beloveth - The Sullen Sulcus

4.Skepticism - Lead And Aether

5.Shape Of Despair - Angels Of Distress

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This list includes many records from many doom sub genres, some of these albums could fall under black or death metal, but the complete emotion expressed within these records, in my opinion, place them within the doom genre.

1.Evoken - Antithesis Of Light

2.The Ruins Of Beverast - Blood Vaults (The Blazing Gospel Of Heinrich Kramer)

3.Ataraxie - L'Être Et La Nausée

4.Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale

5.Urna - Sepulcrum

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The wide spectrum of sounds expressed through the sub-genre of Doom Metal often gets overshadowed by the somehow inaccessible slowness that is in its nature and so DM doesn't get the recognition it deserves for being, in my opinion, one of the most flexible subgenres of Metal ... Because of that, Doom Metal has remained among my favorite genres of music since the time I was introduced to it through My Dying Bride's "Turn Loose the Swans".

1.Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale

2.Saturnus - Martyre

3.Lacrimas Profundere - Memorandum

4.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

5.Process Of Guilt - Erosion

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1.Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell

2.My Dying Bride - Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light

3.Evoken - A Caress Of The Void

4.Draconian - Where Lovers Mourn

5.Swallow The Sun - New Moon

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Pretty simple, my favourite metal releases from Australia that I have heard to date.

1.Alchemist - Austral Alien

2.Screams Of Chaos - Genetic War

3.The Amenta - Occasus

4.Alchemist - Organasm

5.Mournful Congregation - The Monad Of Creation

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Instrumental tracks on albums of vocal groups are often seen as filler material or as a possibility to show musical skills.
In contrast, the title track is often considered to be the central and defining part of an album, suggesting that the corresponding lyrics may contain important key information to the understanding of the album. Therefore, it may seem surprising that several albums of vocal groups exhibit an instrumental as title track.

This alphabetical list presents albums by vocal groups where the title track is an instrumental. This concerns purely instrumental songs but may also include songs where melody lines without lyrics are vocalised.

Please feel free to suggest more examples of unusual title tracks by regular vocal groups that are purely instrumental or where the lead singer does not sing lyrics.

1.Absu - Tara

2.Afflicted - Prodigal Sun

3.Afterbirth - Four Dimensional Flesh

4.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

5.Angel Dust - Into The Dark Past

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1.Mindrot - Dawning

2.October Tide - Rain Without End

3.Morgion - Solinari

4.Cathedral - Forest Of Equilibrium

5.Mournful Congregation - The June Frost

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.Macabre - Murder Metal

2.Macabre Omen - Gods Of War - At War

3.Macbeth - Romantic Tragedy's Crescendo

4.Machinae Supremacy - Overworld

5.Machine Head - The Blackening

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Just a few recomendations to start your funeral / gothic doom collections

1.Funeral - Tragedies

2.Draconian - Where Lovers Mourn

3.Katatonia - Brave Murder Day

4.Katatonia - For Funerals To Come

5.Lacrimosa - Inferno

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Here is my very straight forward top list of albums released in 2009.

1.Bloody Panda - Summon

2.Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind

3.Giant Squid - The Ichthyologist

4.Ahab - The Divinity Of Oceans

5.Isole - Silent Ruins

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Top 50 of albums I rated 8 and above.

Album count: 222
Average rating: 6.96

1.Ahab - The Divinity Of Oceans

2.Insomnium - Across The Dark

3.Fen - The Malediction Fields

4.Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs

5.Isis - Wavering Radiant

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