The Best Metal Albums

The first heavy metal album I heard was Black Sabbath's Master Of Reality. I was about nine years old, and while I had already been exposed to some punk and hard rock, Black Sabbath sounded far more scary. The low, rumbling minor chords were different from anything I'd heard, though by 1978, there was plenty of metal available, but not so easily to a little kid. It wasn't until 1982 that I really started listening to metal. MTV was starting to play a few metal videos, including Iron Maiden's "Run To The Hills." Then I discovered a college radio station called WSUP 90.5, from University of Wisconsin, Platteville, that played everything from Sabbath to Deep Purple, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Motörhead, Dio, and New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Saxon, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch and others. While my initial reaction to metal was that it sounded too hard and fast, I quickly got over that aesthetic issue, and it became addictive. At the same time, however, I began exploring pre-punk, punk and post-punk on another college station, KUNI. So I never became completely immersed in metal culture. I listened to my friend's Iron Maiden albums for a couple years before I got some of my own. I was a fairweather metal fan, my interest ebbing and flowing in relation to whether any landmark albums were released that year. In the mid-eighties, my interest outside of Iron Maiden was minimal, until I heard Metallica's Ride the Lightning, Master Of Puppets and Megadeth's Peace Sells.... I was aware of Slayer's Reign In Blood, which actually freaked me out enough that I didn't really get into them until college a couple years later.

In college I focused my radio show on post-punk and indie rock. But I had a roommate who listened to Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani. After being disappointed by Metallica's ...And Justice For All, I needed to scratch my metal itch, and began hanging out with the metalheads when they did their radio shows. The studio hazy with weed smoke, these really smart guys, most of them accomplished musicians themselves, would listen to this dense, super fast, ultra complex music and deconstruct their structure, and try to figure out what effects pedals and drum equipment were being used. Slayer, Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Bolt Thrower and Sepultura became my new favorite metal bands. I realized that metal wasn't necessarily something I needed to outgrow with age. Metal was evolving and maturing with the rest of us.

Despite my renewed allegiance to metal, it was easy to get out of the loop at times. And I continue to be guilty of overlooking great metal albums at the time they come out, and underrating albums that deserve more serious attention. At the end of the year I tend to hurriedly try to catch up on metal releases from the whole year, and inevitably miss some good ones. My rock lists and all-time top 500 list has not sufficiently reflected the best metal albums, and I've spent the last couple months correcting that. Inspired by the need to review the new Rough Guide To Heavy Metal, great new albums by Mastodon and Opeth and a mind-melting live Mastodon show at a small club, I've listened exclusively to metal for the past eight weeks. I've made repeated visits to Metal Haven, possibly the only metal specialty shop in the Midwest, located conveniently a block from my place. My listening habits depend on varying moods, but I found that in sticking to metal, there's enough variety that a true full-time metalhead can pretty much get the whole emotional and musical range they could ever want, whether it be super aggressive death metal, hypnotic doom metal, complex progressive metal, or even cheesy love ballads.

As I listened to albums for the first time and relistened to others for the 20th time, I slowly compiled my own all-time metal list. It's in no way definitive or comprehensive. It's simply my favorites that I've heard. In order to simplify things, I've left out a few bands and subgenres that I don't think are really metal. The most contentious choice is Led Zeppelin, which I explained in the main article featured this month. Robert Plant agrees that the first Led Zeppelin album is more ethereal than metal. While Led Zeppelin II comes close in that half the songs nearly fit the criteria of metal, Black Sabbath is the first truly metal album from start to finish. However, one could also argue that the first modern heavy metal albums were In Trance by Scorpions in 1975, and Sad Wings Of Destiny by Judas Priest. So the first five Black Sabbath albums are included in the a separate list for heavy rock and proto-metal. Out of respect for Lemmy, Motörhead is restricted to the heavy rock list, as he has always vehemently denied that his band has anything to do with metal. "It's just rock 'n' roll" he says. There you'll also find bands like AC/DC, The Cult, Blue Cheer, Blue Oyster Cult, Hawkwind, Rush, Queen, UFO, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, Melvins, Monster Magnet, Boris, Earth, Godflesh, Scorn, Tool, Katatonia, Anathema, Mars Volta, Isis and Jehu. With the exception of Motley Crue and Ratt, there is not much glam/hair metal simply because it just didn't make my top 400. No Nu Metal made the list because I hate it. Korn, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot's dumb, self-pitying lyrics are not stupid in a entertaining way. They're just annoying. That's my own bias, but judging from the several metal polls I've seen, most people share it.

Like any subjective list, its main value is not derived from bickering about specific ranking orders (though I'm always up for debating), but getting turned on to albums you may not be familiar with. I'm always open to recommendations, as none of my lists are static. Rock on \m/

-- A.S. Van Dorston

Slayer - Reign In Blood (American) 86
Metallica - Master of Puppets (Elektra) 86
Slayer - South Of Heaven (American) 88
Metallica - Ride The Lightning (Elektra) 84
Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind (EMI) 83
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss (American) 90
Black Sabbath - Sabotage (WB) 75
Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny (Columbia) 76
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast (Capitol) 82
Iron Maiden (Capitol) 80
Iron Maiden - Killers (Capitol) 81
Mastodon - Crack The Skye (Reprise/WEA) 09
Mastodon - Leviathan (Relapse) 04
Mastodon - Blood Mountain (Reprise) 06
Scorpions - Lovedrive (Mercury) 79
Riot - Fire Down Under (Fire Sign/Metal Bldade) 81
Judas Priest - Stained Class (Columbia) 78
Judas Priest - Sin After Sin (Columbia) 77
Opeth - Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner) 05
Scorpions - Virgin Killer (RCA) 76
Judas Priest - Unleashed In The East (Columbia) 79
Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla (RCA/Koch) 74
Opeth - Blackwater Park (Koch) 01
Napalm Death - From Enslavement To Obliteration (Combat) 88
Opeth - Watershed (Roadrunner) 08
Scorpions - In Trance (RCA) 75
Kreator - Terrible Certainty (Noise/Sanctuary) 88
Scorpions - Tokyo Tapes (RCA) 78
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath (Roadrunner) 84
Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh (Prosthetic/Red) 08
Isis - Oceanic (Ipecac) 02
The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Twilight Of The Idols (Dragonheart) 99
Orphaned Land - Mabool - The Story of the Three Sons of Seven (Century Media) 04
Entombed - Uprising (Threeman) 00
High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine (Relapse) 10
Mastodon - Remission (Relapse) 02
The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Traveller (Dragonheart) 03
Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry (Polydor) 81
Megadeth - Rust In Peace (Capitol) 90
Def Leppard - Pyromania (Polydor) 83
Megadeth - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying? (Capitol) 86
Raven - All For One (Neat) 83
Manilla Road - The Deluge (Black Dragon) 86
Shrinebuilder (Neurot) 09
Gojira - From Mars To Sirius (Listenable/Prosthetic) 05
High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings (Relapse) 05
Saint Vitus - Born Too Late (SST) 86
Raven - Rock Till You Drop (Roadrunner) 81
Kreator - Pleasure To Kill (Noise/Sanctuary) 86
Celtic Frost - Into The Pandemonium (Noise) 87
Possessed - Seven Churches (Relativity) 85
Cynic - Focus (Roadrunner) 93
Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve (Nuclear Blast) 95
Entombed - Wolverine Blues (Sony) 94
More - Blood & Thunder (Atlantic) 82
Iron Maiden - Brave New World (Portrait/Columbia) 00
The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Down Among The Deadmen (Dragonheart) 00
Sigh - Imaginary Soundscape (Century Media) 01
Metallica - Kill 'Em All (Megaforce) 83
Venom - Black Metal (Neat/Combat) 82
Sepultura - Chaos A.D. (Roadrunner) 93
Loudness - Law Of Devil's Land (Columbia Japan) 83
Judas Priest - Killing Machine/Hell Bent For Leather (Columbia) 79
Dio - Holy Diver (Reprise) 83
Raven - Wiped Out (Roadrunner) 82
Bathory - Blood Fire Death (Maze/Kraze) 88
Overdrive - Swords and Axes (Metal for Muthas) 84
Angel Witch (Castle) 80
Raise The Red Lantern (At A Loss) 09
Hacride - Lazarus (Listenable) 09
Zu - Carboniferous (Ipecac) 09
High On Fire - Death Is This Communion (Relapse) 07
Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell (WB) 80
High On Fire - The Art of Self Defense (Man's Ruin) 00
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone (Rise Above) 01
Valkyrie - Man Of Two Visions (Noble Origin) 08
Hammers Of Misfortune - Fields/Church Of Broken Glass (Profound Lore) 08
Enslaved - Ruun (Candlelight) 06
Hammers Of Misfortune - The Bastard (Tumult) 01
Dio - The Last In Line (WB) 84
Voivod - Nothingface (Mechanic) 89
The Haunted - Made Me Do It (Earache) 00
Prong - Cleansing (Epic) 91
Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion (Noise) 85
Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark (New Renaissance/Black Mark) 86
Enslaved - Isa (Candlelight) 05
Opeth - Deliverance (Koch) 02
Manilla Road - Open The Gates (Black Dragon/Dragonheart) 85
High On Fire - Surrounded By Thieves (Relapse) 02
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz (Jet) 80
Slough Feg - Ape Uprising (Cruz del Sur) 09
YOB � The Great Cessation (Profound Lore) 09
The Darkness - Permission To Land (Must Destroy) 03
Gojira - The Link (Listenable) 03
Enslaved - Below The Lights (End) 03
Enslaved - Monumension (Osmose) 01
Tiamat - Wildhoney (Century Media) 94
Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse (Century Black) 94
Tygers Of Pan Tang - Spellbound (MCA) 81
Entombed - To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth (Music for Nations) 97
Kreator - Extreme Agression (Epic) 89
Opeth - Still Life (Peaceville/Snapper) 99
Orphaned Land - El Nora Alila (Holy Records) 96
Manowar - Hail To England (Music for Nations) 84
Trouble - Psalm 9 (Metal Blade) 84
Manowar - Battle Hymns (Liberty) 82
Nachtmystium - Assassins - Black Meddle Part I (Century Media) 08
Enslaved - Vertebrae (Nuclear Blast) 08
Slough Feg - Hardworlder (Cruz Del Sur) 07
Neurosis - Through Silver In Blood (Relapse) 96
Finntroll - Ur Jordens Djup (Century Media) 07
Slayer - Hell Awaits (Metal Blade) 85
Neurosis - Times Of Grace (Relapse) 99
Sigh - Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien (The End) 07
Enslaved - Mardraum (Necropolis) 00
Anvil - Metal On Metal (Attic) 82
Whitesnake - Saints & Sinners (EMI) 82
Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse (Century Media) 98
At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul (Earache) 95
Girlschool - Demolition (Bronze/Sanctuary) 80
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman (Jet) 81
3 Inches Of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom (Century Media) 09
The Gates Of Slumber - Hymns Of Blood And Thunder (Rise Above) 09
Accept - Restless And Wild (Portrait/Steamhammer) 83
Tombs - Winter Hours (Relapse) 09
Death - Sound Of Perseverence (Nuclear Blast) 98
Girlschool - Hit & Run (Stiff/Sanctuary) 81
Anvil - Forged In Fire (Attic) 83
Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk (Century Media) 97
Entombed - Clandestine (Earache) 91
Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone (Relapse) 09
Cobalt - Gin (ProfoundLore) 09
Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards (Mercury) 72
Napalm Death - Scum (Earache) 87
Today Is The Day - In The Eyes Of God (Relapse) 99
Sepultura - Beneath The Remains (Roadrunner) 89
Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (Metal Blade) 91
Uriah Heep - Very 'Eavy, Very 'Umble (Mercury) 70
Sepultura - Arise (Roadrunner) 91
Destruction - Release From Agony (Profile/Steamhammer) 88
Anthrax - Among The Living (Megaforce) 87
Morbid Angel - Blessed Are The Sick (Combat) 91
Death Angel - Act III (Geffen Goldline) 90
Madder Mortem - Eight Ways (Peaceville) 09
Metal Church (Elektra) 85
Whitesnake - Slide It In (EMI) 84
Hammers Of Misfortune - The August Engine (Cruz del Sur) 03
Madder Mortem - Deadlands (The End) 03
Sodom - Persecution Mania (Roadrunner/Steamhammer) 87
In Flames - Jester Race (Nuclear Blast) 95
Manilla Road - Crystal Logic (Massacre) 83
Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love (Beyond/Elektra) 81
Madder Mortem - Desiderata (Peaceville) 06
Slayer - Christ Illusion (American) 06
Negura Bunget � Om (Code 666) 06
Dark Tranquility - The Gallery (Osmose) 95
Slayer - Show No Mercy (Metal Blade) 83
The Meads Of Asphodel - Exhuming The Grave Of Yeshua (Supernal) 03
Loudness - Disillusion (Music For Nations) 84
Armored Saint - March Of The Saint (Chrysalis) 84
The Gates Of Slumber - Conqueror (Profound Lore) 08
Korpiklaani - Korven Kuningas (Nuclear Blast) 08
Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness (Earache) 89
Mercyful Fate - Melissa (Megaforce) 83
Alcatrazz - No Parole From Rock 'n' Roll (Grand Slamm) 83
Converge - Axe To Fall (Epitaph) 09
Slough Feg - Atavaism (Cruz Del Sur) 05
Meshuggah - Nothing (Nuclear Blast) 02
Savatage - Sirens (Metal Blade) 83
Voivod - Angel Rat (Mechanic) 91
Anthrax - Spreading The Disease (Megaforce) 85
Testament - The Legacy (Atlantic) 87
Rock Goddess (A&M) 83
Opeth - Morningrise (Century Media) 96
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power (Atco) 92
Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death (Columbia) 03
Slayer - God Hates Us All (American/Columbia) 01
Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down (Peaceville/Snapper) 01
Gojira - Terra Ingognita (Mon Slip) 01
Emperor - Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise (Candlelight) 01
Manowar - Into Glory Ride (Music for Nations) 83
Voivod - Dimension Hatross (FAD) 88
Morbid Angel - Formulas Fatal to the Flesh (Earache) 98
Sodom - Agent Orange (Roadracer/Steamhammer) 89
Exodus - Fabulous Disaster (Combat) 89
Coroner - Mental Vortex (Noise) 91
Lamb Of God - As The Palaces Burn (Prosthetic) 03
Opeth - Orchid (Century Media) 95
Nile - Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka (Relapse) 98
Iron Maiden - Powerslave (Capitol) 84
Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death (Sanctuary) 06
Burst - Origo (Relapse) 06
Poison The Well - You Come Before You (Trustkill) 03
Immortal - Battles In The North (Osmose) 95
Exodus - Bonded By Blood (Combat) 85
Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side (EMI) 95
Nachtmystium - Instinct: Decay (Southern Lord) 06
Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth (Nuclear Blast) 06
Prong - Prove You Wrong (Epic) 91
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 1 (RCA) 87
King Diamond - Abigail (Roadrunner) 87
Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (Polydor) 78
Riot - Narita (Capitol) 79
Blind Guardian - Tales From the Twilight World (EMI) 90
Accept - Balls To The Wall (Portrait) 84
King Diamond - Them (Roadrunner) 88
Testament - The New Order (Megaforce) 88
Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force (Polydor) 84
Morbid Angel - Covenant (Giant) 93
Tank - Filth Hounds Of Hades (Action Music) 82
Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane (NBA) 96
Deathspell Omega � Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) 04
Death - Human (Combat) 91
Death - Individual Thought Patterns (Combat) 93
Atheist - Piece Of Time (Metal Blade) 89
Anvil - Forged In Fire (Attic) 83
Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding (Metal Blade) 94
Bolt Thrower - Warmaster (Combat) 91
Behemoth - Demigod (Regain) 04
Witchfinder General - Death Penalty (Heavy Metal) 82
Lamb Of God - Ashes of the Wake (Epic) 04
Bathory - The Return... (Black Mark) 85
Entombed - Morning Star (Music for the Nations) 01
Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough (Profound Lore) 09
Anvil - This Is Thirteen (VH1) 09
Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know (Rhino) 09
Bolt Thrower - Realm Of Chaos (Combat) 89
Megadeth - Endgame (Roadrunner) 09
Korpiklaani - Tervaskanto (Napalm) 07
Pig Destoyer - Terrifyer (Relapse) 04
Entombed - Serpent Saint: The Ten Amendments (Candlelight) 07
3 Inches of Blood - Fire Up The Blades (Roadrunner) 07
The Haunted (Earache) 98
Meshuggah - Chaosphere (Nuclear Blast) 98
Soilent Green - A Deleted Symphony For the Beaten Down (Relapse) 01
Entombed - Left Hand Path (Earache) 90
Judas Priest - Painkiller (Columbia) 90
Prong - Beg To Differ (Epic) 90
Meshuggah - Catch Thirty-Three (Nuclear Blast) 05
Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (Century Media) 97
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime (EMI) 88
Burst - Lazarus Bird (Relapse) 08
Wolf � Black Things (No Fashion) 02
Genghis Tron - Board Up the House (Relapse) 08
Cynic - Traced In Air (Sem) 08
Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works (Wea/Relapse) 07
Neurosis - Given to the Rising (Neurot) 07
In Flames - Reroute To Remain (Nuclear Blast) 02
Kreator - Violent Revolution (Steamhammer/SPV) 01
Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon (Nuclear Blast) 03
Exhumed - Anatomy Is Destiny (Relapse) 03
Children Of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll (Century Media) 03
Naglfar - Sheol (Century Media) 03
Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction (Capitol) 92
Scorpions - Animal Magnetism (Mercury) 80
Metallica (Elektra) 91
Judas Priest - British Steel (Columbia) 80
Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids (Noise) 84
Heavy Load - Metal Conquest (Thunderload) 81
Heavy Load - Death Or Glory (Thunderload) 82
Grim Reaper - See You In Hell (Spittfire) 84
Samson - Shock Tactics (Grand Slamm) 81
Stygian Shore - The Shore Will Arise (Shadow Kingdom) 89
Prong - Rude Awakening (Epic) 96
Saxon - Strong Arm of the Law (Carrere) 80
Saxon - Wheels of Steel (Carrere) 80
Coroner - No More Color (Noise) 89
Opeth - Damnation (Koch) 03
Neurosis - Enemy Of The Sun (Alternative Tentacles) 94
Earthless - Rhythms From a Cosmic Sky (Tee Pee) 07
Middian - Age Eternal (Metal Blade) 07
Turisas - The Varangian Way (EMI) 07
Yakuza - Transmutations (Prosthetic/Red) 07
The Meads Of Asphodel - The Excommunication Of Christ (Supernal) 01
The Sword - Age Of Winters (Kemado) 06
Napalm Death - Fear Emptiness Despair (Sony) 94
Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil (Motley/Beyond) 83
Tank - This Means War (Music For Nations) 83
Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations (Metal Blade) 79
Metal Church - Human Factor (Epic) 91
Metal Church - Blessing In Disguise (Elektra) 89
Loudness - Thunder In The East (Atlantic/Wounded Bird) 85
Twisted Sister - Under The Blade (Secret) 82
Scorpions - Blackout (Mercury) 82
Accept - Metal Heart (Portrait) 85
Cult Of Luna - Salvation (Earache) 04
Bolt Thrower - For Victory (Earache) 95
Gwynbleidd - Nostalgia (MRI) 09
Liturgy - Renihilation (20 Buck Spin) 09
Obscura - Cosmogenesis (Relapse) 09
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules (WB) 81
Motörhead - 1916 (Sony) 91
Dethklok - The Dethalbum (Williams Street) 07
Tank - Power Of The Hunter (This Record/Repertoire) 82
Early Man - Closing In (Matador) 05
Queensryche - Empire (EMI) 90
Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines (Relapse) 02
Dimension Zero - Silent Night Fever (Century Media) 02
Bloodbath - Resurrection Through Carnage (Century Media) 02
Carcass - Symphonies Of Sickness (Earache) 89
Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters (Southern Lord) 07
Wolfpack Unleashed - Anthems of Resistance (Napalm) 07
Pharoah Overlord - The Battle of the Axehammer (Riot Season) 07
Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb (Relapse) 07
Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics (The Music Cartel) 99
Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine (Relapse) 04
Testament - The Formation Of Damnation (Nuclear Blast) 08
Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale (Season of Mist) 08
Converge - You Fail Me (Epitaph) 04
Nile - Black Seeds Of Vengeance (Relapse) 00
Angel City - Dark Room (Epic) 80
Cursed - Two (Goodfellow) 05
Krallice (Profound Lore) 08
Meshuggah - Obzen (Nuclear Blast) 08
The Sword - Gods Of The Earth (Kemado) 08
Coalesce - Ox (Relapse) 09
Skeletonwitch - Breathing The Fire (Prosthetic) 09
Bloody Panda - Summon (Profound Lore) 09
Slayer - World Painted Blood (Sony) 09
Ca�na - Mourner (Profound Lore) 07
Watain - Sworn to the Dark (Season of the Mist) 07
Keelhaul - Keelhaul's Triumphant Return To Obscurity (Hydra Head) 09
Dismember - Like An Everflowing Stream (Nuclear Blast) 91
Immolation - Harnessing Ruin (Olympic) 05
Lazarus - The Onslaught (CD Baby) 07
Ahab - The Divinity Of Oceans (Napalm) 09
The Hellacopters - Payin' The Dues (Sub Pop) 99
Lair Of The Minotaur - War Metal Battle Master (Southern Lord) 08
Rotten Sound - Cycles (Spinefarm) 08
Disfear - Live The Storm (Relapse)08
Trouble - The Skull (Metal Blade) 85
Quartz - Deleted (Jet) 77
Nile - Those Whom The Gods Detest (Nuclear Blast) 09
Serpent Throne - The Battle Of Old Crow (Season Of Mist) 09
Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God (Metal Blade) 08
Fist - Fleet Street (A&M) 81
Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity (Relapse) 99
Kreator - Hordes Of Chaos (Steamhammer) 09
Nuclear Assault - Handle With Care (Combat) 89
Candlemass - Death Magic Doom (Nuclear Blast) 09
Goblin Cock - Come With Me If You Want to Live (Robocore) 09
Goatwhore - Carving Out The Eyes Of God (Metal Blade)
Orthodox - Sentencia (Alone/TSC)
S.O.D. - Speak English Or Die (Megaforce) 85
Hammers Of Misfortune - The Locust Years (Cruz del Sur) 06
Bible Of The Devil - Diabolic Procession (Raw Deth) 06
Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance (Columbia) 82
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (Century Media) 94
Yngwie Malmsteen - Trilogy (Polydor) 86
Enslaved - Blodhemn (Osmose) 99
The Haunted - Versus (Century Media) 08
Metallica - Death Magnetic (WB) 08
Black Sabbath - Born Again (WB) 83
Bloody Panda - Pheromone (Level Plane) 06
Fear Factory - Demanufacture (Roadrunner) 95
Twisted Sister - You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll (Atlantic) 83
Wolves In The Throne Room - Black Cascade (Southern Lord) 09
Nevermore - The Politics Of Ecstasy (Century Media) 96
Hanoi Rocks - Self-Destruction Blues (Lick) 83
Accept - Breaker (Universal/Brain) 81
Chateaux - Chained And Desperate (Ebony) 83
Bloodbath - Nightmares Made Flesh (Century Media) 05
Anaal Nathrakh - Domine Non Es Dignus (Season Mist America) 04
Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales (Metal Blade) 84
Terrorizer - World Downfall (Combat) 89
Soilent Green - Sewn Mouth Secrets (Relapse) 98
Old Man's Child - In Defiance Of Existence (Century Media) 03
Grimfist - Ghouls Of Grandeur (Candlelight) 03
Arch Enemy - Anthems Of Rebellion (Century Media) 03
Entombed - Inferno (Koch) 03
Converge - No Heroes (Epitaph) 06
The Gates Of Slumber - The Awakening (Final Chapter) 06
Mot�rhead - Kiss Of Death (Sanctuary) 06
Battle Of Mice - A Day Of Nights (Neurot) 06
Cult Of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway (Earache) 06
Wold - Stratification (Profound Lore) 08
Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery (Peaceville) 08
Occult - Rage To Revenge (Painkiller) 02
Y&T - Earthshaker (A&M) 81
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Capitol) 88
W.A.S.P. - The Last Command (Capitol) 85
Converge - No Heroes (Epitaph) 06
Portal - Swarth (Profound Lore) 09
Venom - Welcome To Hell (Neat/Combat) 81
Highway Chile - Storybook Heroes (21) 83
Saxon - Denim And Leather (Carrere) 81
Celtic Frost - Monotheist (Century Media) 06
Vanden Plas - Christ O (Inside Out) 06
In Flames - Clayman (Nuclear Blast) 00
Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor (Century Media) 05
Yngwie Malmsteen - Marching Out (Polydor) 85
Venom - At War With Satan (Neat/Combat) 83
Cannibal Corpse - Vile (Metal Blade) 96
Esoteric - Subconscious Dissolution into the Continuum (Season of Mist) 04
Diamond Head - Death and Progress (Metal Blade) 83
Quartz - Stand Up And Fight (MCA) 80
Angel City - Face To Face (Epic) 80
Savatage - The Dungeons Are Calling (Metal Blade) 85
In Flames - Colony (Nuclear Blast) 99
Bathory (Black Mark) 84
Ozzy Osbourne - Speak Of The Devil (Jet) 82
Pentagram - Day Of Reckoning (Peaceville/Snapper) 87
In Flames - Whoracle (Nuclear Blast) 97
Ascend - Ample Fire Within (Southern Lord) 08
Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown (Roadrunner) 08
Gama Bomb - Citizen Brain (Earache) 08
Electric Wizard - Let Us Prey (Rise Above/The Music Cartel) 02
Diamond Head - Borrowed Time (MCA) 82
Napalm Death - Harmony Corruption (Earache) 90
Big Business - Head For The Shallow (Hydra Head) 05
Arch Enemy - Burning Bridges (Century Media) 99
Venom - Possessed (Neat/Combat) 85
Bal-Sagath - The Cthonic Chronicles (Candlelight) 06
Lamb Of God - Sacrament (Epic) 06
Krokus - Headhunter (Arista) 83
Shadows Fall - Threads Of Life (Roadrunner) 07
W.A.S.P. (Capitol) 84
Cannibal Corpse - Butchered At Birth (Metal Blade) 91
Tygers Of Pan Tang - Wild Cat (MCA) 80
Napalm Death - The Code Is Red...Long Live The Code (Century Media) 05
Primordial - The Gathering Wilderness (Metal Blade) 05
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell (Metal Magic) 90
Death - Symbolic (Roadrunner) 95
Dio - Dream Evil (Reprise) 87
Trouble - Run To The Light (Metal Blade) 87
Ulver - Shadows of the Sun (The End) 07
Manilla Road - Mystification (Black Dragon) 87
Death - Leprosy (Combat) 88
Death - Screaming Bloody Gore (Combat) 87
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga (Century Media) 96
Ratt - Out Of The Cellar (Atlantic) 84
Hail Of Bullets - Of Frost And War (Metal Blade) 08
Origin - Antithesis (Relapse) 08
Neuraxis - The Thin Line Between (Prosthetic/Red) 08
Exciter - Violence and Force (Music For Nations) 84
Carcass - Reek Of Putrefaction (Earache) 88
Megadeth - Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good (Combat) 85
Anthrax - Fistful of Metal (Megaforce) 84
Voivod - Killing Technology (Noise) 87
Exciter - Long Live The Loud (Music For Nations) 85
Warlock - Burning the Witches (Mercury) 84
Pentagram - Relentless (Peacevill/Snapper) 85
Orphaned Land - Sahara (Holy Land) 94
Metallica - ...And Justice For All (Elektra) 88
Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac (Enigma) 83
Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction (Metal Blade) 84
Def Leppard - On Through The Night (Polydor) 80
Thrust - Fist Held High (Metal Blade) 84
Venom - Possessed (Neat/Combat) 85
Scorpions - Taken By Force (Universal/Hip-O) 78
Torch - Fireraiser (Metal Blade) 82
Judas Priest - Point Of Entry (Columbia) 81
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry (Atlantic) 84
Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith (Columbia) 84
Waysted (Music For Nations) 84
Warlord - Deliver Us (Restless) 83
Megadeth - So Far, So Good...So What! (Capitol) 88
Dokken - Under Lock And Key (Elektra) 85
Whitesnake (Geffen)
Krokus - One Vice At A Time (Arista) 82
Kiss - Creatures Of The Night (Casablanca) 82
Kiss - Lick It Up (Mercury) 83
Torch (Tandem) 82
Torch - Electrikiss (Sword) 84
Tygers Of Pan Tang - Crazy Nights (MCA) 81
Waysted - Vices (Chrysalis) 83