A lot of bands have great debut albums. Obviously this list is just a fraction of all the great debut albums out there, but it's a start. I'll keep expanding this list continuously, so all suggestions are welcome (granted they are featured on MS). All the albums here are ranked according to genre and then alphabetically. If a certain album belongs to the (in your opinion) wrong genre, then definitely let me know.

1.

2.Aarni - Bathos

3.Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia

4.Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom

5.Sadness - Ames De Marbre

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My top 100 metal albums of all time (featured on MS).

- one album per band.
- in alphabetical order.

1.!T.O.O.H.! - Order And Punishment (Řád A Trest)

2.Ævangelist - De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agruss - Morok

5.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

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Sometimes, samples can improve the atmosphere of a song just as much as the instruments (or even more). This is a compilationn of some of my favorite samples in metal. I'm trying to keep it one album per band but exceptions are just fine. Oh yeah, I forgot something: I'm not gonna be too specific about where these samples are. It's way more interesting to discover them on your own!

Recommendations are welcome! Just don't get upset if I don't like them. D:
Please write band AND album.

Rec's awaiting evaluation:
N.K.V.D. - Vlast
Will Haven - Voir Dire
The Monolith Deathcult - Trivmvirate
Necrophagia - Deathtrip 69
Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre
Ævangelist - De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis
Fantômas - Delirium Cordia
Metallica - Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets, ...And Justice For All
Deicide - Legion
Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre
Tool - Lateralus, Ænima
Impaled - Mondo Medicale
Queens Of The Stone Age - Queens Of The Stone Age
Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness
Heathen - Victims Of Deception
Fear Factory - Demanufacture
White Zombie
Strapping Young Lad - City
Static-X - Wisconsin Death Trip
Nailbomb - Point Blank
Impetigo - Horror Of The Zombies
Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake
Buzz*Oven - ...At A Loss
Toxik - Think This
Hell - Human Remains
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Bolt Thrower - Mercenary
The Ruins Of Beverast - Unlock The Shrine, Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite
Agalloch - Faustian Echoes
Alrakis - Alpha Eri
Blacklodge - Solarkult

1.Aborted - Goremageddon: The Saw And The Carnage Done

2.Abruptum - Potestates Apocalypsis

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

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These are the albums which I like the most. Since I have not listened to a lot of albums( let's say, max 400 for me), it would be pretentious to make a list of my 100 favorite albums, so I keep this list short.

1.Tool - Lateralus

2.Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale

3.Lurker Of Chalice - Lurker Of Chalice

4.Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven

5.Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God

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Metal albums of all things techy, futuristic, distorted, synthetic and artificial of the industrial nature.
Includes some single tracks and full albums from YouTube.
Recommendations/suggestions are welcome and one album per band.

1.2 Times Terror - Equals One Sudden Death

2....And Oceans - Allotropic/Metamorphic Genesis Of Dismorphism (A.M.G.O.D.)

3.Aborym - With No Human Intervention

4.Atrophia Red Sun - Twisted Logic

5.Black Comedy - Instigator

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Yep, one of those lists. Everyone has one, so I thought I'd make a list of metal albums I really recommend.

This is not an absolute "best-of" list, for a few reasons:
1) I stick to one album per band, unless there's been a drastic style shift (like Katatonia's).
2) I try to cover all major subgenres fairly, so I have something for everyone. It counterbalances the tendency to list all the cool bands in a style I'm into right now (like drone or epic doom).

1.Warning - Watching From A Distance

2.Candlemass - Nightfall

3.Reverend Bizarre - In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend

4.Pagan Altar - The Lords Of Hypocrisy

5.Katatonia - Dance Of December Souls

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weeeee. all my past staff picks now compiled into one swell list.

1.High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine

2.Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough

3.Greymachine - Disconnected

4.Kylesa - Static Tensions

5.Profetus - Coronation Of The Black Sun

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Right... Let's get this out of the way from the get-go. Alternative metal is hard to define. I guess that comes from it always wanting to experiment, explore and fuse heavy metal with non-metal music genres. It also makes it an ever changing and growing genre.

Also, before you guys flood me, yes my list contains a lot of Industrial & Nu Metal bands, as well as other genre.. As far as I'm concerned, my picks all fit quite well in the scope of an alternative metal list. Don't you agree? Wait... You disagree? Well, let's agree to disagree and move on.

As for the list itself, I'm going to try and list through time what I (me, myself & moi) consider as essential alternative albums. I will also limit myself to a maximum of 4 releases each year to prevent a messy list, which often makes it a difficult decision, especially in the early 2000's. So yes, it is possible your personal favourite won't be featured. You can tell me all about it in the comments below and we can discuss it, even argue it.

Now, have fun, enjoy my list and let me know what you think or would personally put in your favourite alt-metal list!

-Guib-

EDIT: I will now add my pick for best album of each year using the (best of xxxx) in the chosen album's description.

- - - - -

Guib's Best Alternative Metal Album Picks

Best Of 2022
Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die

Best Of 2023
Mutoid Man - Mutants

Best of 2024 So Far
...tbd

- - - - - - - - - -

Last Updated: March 27th, 2024

1.Living Colour - Vivid

2.Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking

3.Faith No More - The Real Thing

4.Godflesh - Streetcleaner

5.L7 - Smell The Magic

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Still not finished, as I need to rearrange, check the links and also go through the genres again. I might have forgotten many good records. In addition, my knowledge of early industrial movement is very limited, so the list is lacking on that front. Many albums on the list might also not be considered drone in a traditional sense of the word, but they need the same sort of aesthetic appreciation I guess, so I included them. The most important criteria is that the albums should rely extensively on texturing, buildup, and musical landscapes rather that being riff based.

1.

2.Boris - Amplifier Worship

3.Earth - Earth 2: Special Low Frequency version

4.Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull

5.

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Here's to the pioneers, the catalysts.

1.Death - Human

2.Napalm Death - Harmony Corruption

3.Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten

4.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

5.Deicide - Deicide

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Welcome to what I consider the "1980s Metal Bible" 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. In this second part we conquer the mighty decade that many deem as the classic decade of Metal. This and the other parts of this journey through the decades may be a very overwhelming list. 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.Tygers Of Pan Tang - Wild Cat

2.Krokus - Metal Rendez-Vous

3.Witchfynde - Give 'Em Hell

4.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

5.Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz

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1.Strapping Young Lad - City

2.Godflesh - Streetcleaner

3.PERPETUA - Irrational

4.DEAD WORLD - Collusion

5.Swans - Cop

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To add fuel to the fire of the "they'll never top their first album" rhetoric, here are all my favorite full length debuts in alphabetical order. Full lengths, not EPs.

1.Acid Witch - Witchtanic Hellucinations

2.Aeternus - Beyond The Wandering Moon

3.Agruss - Morok

4.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

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1.Shylmagoghnar - Emergence

2.Galneryus - Angel Of Salvation

3.Blindead - Affliction XXIX II MXMVI

4.Batushka - Litourgiya

5.Leprous - Bilateral

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Plus my top three favourite tracks from each release. \m/

Honourable mentions:
Sarcófago - Rotting (Proto-Black/Thrash)
Candlemass - Tales Of Creation (Doom)
Terrorizer - World Downfall (Grindcore)
Annihilator - Alice In Hell (Thrash)
W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children (Heavy)

Non-Metal mentions:
Ice T - The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! (Rap)

1.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

2.Obituary - Slowly We Rot

3.Black Sabbath - Headless Cross

4.Sepultura - Beneath The Remains

5.Sodom - Agent Orange

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