Essential Metal Albums: 1986-96

SonOfNun

Bill Ward's Red Pants
Oct 21, 2003
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The Southland
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As some of you may know, I'm working on going back and filling the gaps in my collection from the earlier years. Give me your top 10 or 15 albums from each of these categories from that decade. Death, black, thrash and other. Let's put together a pretty good list, don't worry about whether or not I might have it.
 
I'm just going alphabetical order. Some of the less obvious choices:

Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops
Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics
Aeternus - Dark Sorcery
Asphyx - The Rack
Brutal Truth - Need to Control
Carcass - Necroticism
Cruachan - Tuatha Na Gael
Fleurety - Min Tid Skal Komme
Godflesh - Streetcleaner
Graveland - Thousand Swords
Hypocrisy - The Fourth Dimension
Immortal - Pure Holocaust
In the Woods... - HEart of the Ages
Neurosis - Souls at Zero
Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
Skepticism - Stormcrowfleet
Summoning - Minas Morgul
 
Metallica's three from that period (Master, Justice, Black).
Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son", "Somewhere in Time" and "Fear of the Dark".
Slayer's "Reign in Blood", "South of Heaven" and "Seasons in the Abyss".
Kreator's "Pleasure to Kill", "Terrible Certainty", "Extreme Aggression" and "Coma of Souls".
Guns 'n Roses' (I consider them metal) "Appetite for Destruction", "Use Your Illusion I" and "II".
Bathory's "Hammerheart" and "Blood on Ice" are pretty essential, at least in my book. As is his four black metal albums. More so, actually, than his viking releases.
Death released some classics: "Human", "Spiritual Healing", and "Symbolic".

There are also a lot of norwegian black metal albums from that period that I consider extremely essential:
Burzum - "Aske", "Burzum", "Det Som Engang Var", "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" and "Filosofem".
Darkthrone - "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" (partly death metal, I know), "Under a Funeral Moon", "Transilvanian Hunger" and "Panzerfaust".
Emperor - "In the Nightside Eclipse".
Gorgoroth - "Pentagram" and "Antichrist".
Immortal - "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism", "Pure Holocaust" and "Battles in the North".

Other than that:
Blind Guardian - "Imaginations From the Other Side"
Fullmoon - "United Aryan Evil" (It'll be re-released soon)
Graveland - "Thousand Swords"
Katatonia - "Brave Murder Day"
Nokturnal Mortum - "Goat Horns"
Summoning - "Dol Guldur"

The Gothenberg scene:
At the Gates - "The Red in the Sky is Ours", "With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness" and "Terminal Spirit Disease".
Dark Tranquillity - "Of Chaos and Eternal Night" and "The Gallery".
In Flames - "Lunar Strain" and "Subterrenean".

I only chose well known releases, as those are the ones easiest to obtain. Maybe I'll add some "cult" releases later.
 
Crimson Velvet - nice list.

There's probably a bunch I could think of but for right now, go with four thrash speed metal masterpieces:

MEGADETH - Peace Sells, and of course Rust in Peace
ANNIHILATOR - Alice in Hell and Never, Neverland

Oh yeah, it'll be good for you to get JUDAS PRIEST's Painkiller too.
 
Megadeth - Peace Sells and RUST IN PEACE THE GREATEST METHULL ALBUM EVAR.
Bathory - Hammerheart
Edge of Sanity - Crimson and Purgatory Afterglow
Hypocrisy - Abducted
Slayer - Seasons, Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, and Divine Intervention
Sacred Reich - American Way
Carcass - Necroticism and Heartwork
Faith No More - Angel Dust (ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE)
Down - NOLA
Kyuss - Sky Valley and ...and the Circus Leaves Town

Concentrate on the year 1994, the finest year for metal EVAR.
 
One Inch Man said:
Concentrate on the year 1994, the finest year for metal EVAR.

What on earth? A 90's year better than an 80's year? Your brain is eroding - have you got asbestos in your pillow or something? :loco:

Anyway, some more:

QUEENSRYCHE - Operation Mindcrime (widely considered to be the greatest metal album ever)
TESTAMENT - The Legacy, The New Order, Practice what you Preach
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES - Lights, Camera, Revolution

Anyway, you really should open this up to 1985 so you can include Live After Death and Bonded By Blood.
 
I'll take a few that haven't been mentioned yet (or a few that I missed reading) then, and I'll stick to one album/band:

Dark Angel - Darkness Descends
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Sabbat - History of a Time to Come
Destruction - Eternal Devastation
Sodom - Agent Orange
Cloven Hoof - The Dominator
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Ulver - Nattens Madrigal
Enslaved - Vikinglogr Veldi
Sigh - Scorn Defeat
Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death
Death - Scream Bloody Gore
Overkill - The Years Of Decay
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Onslaught - The Force

OK enough for now
 
1994 NIKKUH!?!?!? Besides, Opeth17 doesn't like clean vocals, so that year is especially good for him. :D

Morbid Angel - anything and everything
Ulver - Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal
many others, maybe somebody will bump this tonight around 2am PST so I can type up a bunch more when I'm all fucked up and not tired.
 
BLIND ILLUSION - The Sane Asylum
WHIPLASH - Power and Pain
WARGASM - Why Play Around?
CORONER ... first 2 discs
AUTOPSY ... first 2 discs
 
Whats wrong with 1985, or 1997 ? ..
20 non mentioned E-S-S-E-N-T-I-A-L-S
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Psychotic Waltz - A Social Grace
Agent Steel - Unstoppable Force
Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian
Sanctuary - Into THe Mirror Black
Helstar - Nosferatu
Toxik - Think This
Watchtower - Energetic Dissasembly
Pestilence - Testimony Of The Ancients
Trouble - s/t
Candlemass - Nightfall
Gamma Ray - Land Of The Free
Solitude Aeturnus - Into The Depths Of Sorrow
Voivod - Dimension Hatross
King Diamond - Abigail
Mekong Delta - The Music Of Erich Zann
Anacrusis - Screams And Whispers
Nevermore - The Politics Of Ecstacy
Forbidden - Twisted Into Form
Atheist - Piece Of Time
 
IOfTheStorm said:
Finally C.H. are mentioned here- kick ass album, although "Sultan's Ransom" is like.. 10 times better
Well, The Dominator is the only album I've heard, I got it as a pure chance-purchase just the other day and it kicked my ass three ways to hell and back, so if you say Sultan's Ransom is even better I will most definately track it down.
 
From memory:

Anthrax - Among The Living
Bathory - Blood Fire Death, Hammerheart
Black Sabbath - Headless Cross
Phil Collins - ...But Seriously
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
Judas Priest - Turbo, Painkiller
ManOwaR - Fighting The World
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Poison - Look What The Cat Dragged In
Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol

Maybe more will come to me...
 
Looks like the subject is pretty well covered. But I'd add:

Voivod: Nothingface, Angel Rat, and The Outer Limits
Sepultura: Arise
Samael: Ceremony of Opposites
Godflesh: Streetcleaner
Neurosis: Enemy of the Sun, SOuls at Zero
My Dying BRide: 34% and Turn Loose the Swans
Crowbar: Broken Glass
Fear Factory: Demanufacture and SOul of a New Machine
Ministry: Psalm 69, The Mind is Terrible thing to Taste
 
Since nobody else has mentioned them yet:

Faster Pussycat

Come on, when they're playing "Bathroom Wall" in the Decline of Western Civilization part 2....that rocks!!
 
Queensryche - "Promised Land"
Conception - "In Your Multitude"
Psychotic Waltz - "Mosquito"
Fates Warning - "Perfect Symmetry"
Crimson Glory - "Transcendence"
Thought Industry - "Mods Carve The Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh"
Sieges Even - "Sophisticated"
Anacrusis - "Manic Impressions"
VAUXDVIHL - "To Dimension Logic"