These 20 albums are 10s!

     You've seen this trend, I've seen this trend.  Here's me pinching my loaf into the punchbowl.  I tried to split it up evenly between decades, I don't want there to be too much of an 70s/80s bias.  Also if you don't see an album here, it's cos I couldn't jog the writing noggin.  I want to make this a recurring thing anyway, so there will be a second edition.  

Black Sabbath- Paranoid
         Yeah, I know, we've all tried to play/write this one off cos we're sick of seeing it at the top.  But the fact is it keeps naturally rising for a reason.  We loved it at the time, but it feels like we don't fully understand how good it is until 30-40 years later. Transcendent heavy/doom metal that ain't afraid to bring that show-biz swing.  This is THE heavy metal album every normie and casual should know.

Giant chocolate chips: Hand Of Doom, Electric Funeral, War Pigs

Rainbow- Rising

        Ritchie Blackmore proves a) he can survive and in fact, be equal to his previous band, b) make other people stars in the process. The beginning of what we now call "power metal." It'd be nice if all these "renaissance-fair metal" bands took more cues from this rather than Inhuman Rampage.  I'll admit Blackmore's guitar tone is showing it's age, but the album is still a 10, rather than a 10.5.

Giant chocolate chips: A Light In The Black, Tarot Woman, Stargazer

Van Halen- Van Halen

        If this isn't heavy metal (fuck you yes it is) than its the album that can lay claim to "non-metal album that changed metal the most" achievements.  Seriously, if you are going to make that claim (which you shouldn't) Van Halen had the most impact on the genre out of everything afterwards, bar none.  Every sub-genre, EVERY sub-genre stole from Eddie Van Halen.  

Giant chocolate chips: I'm The One, Ain't Talkin Bout Love, Atomic Punk

Angel Witch- Angel Witch

        The greatest second wave heavy metal (referred to as NWOBHM by people who aren't into the whole brevity thing) album of all time.  Stands tall and has underground acclaim without ever needing to have been covered by famous bands.  Is just as amazing as being quiet and melodic as it is being loud and heavy.  Is somehow an influence on black metal despite having a voice poppier than Joe Elliot.

Giant chocolate chips: Sorcerers, Angel Witch, Atlantis

 

Judas Priest- Screaming For Vengeance

    In my old-millenial age, I'm finding this is the Judas Priest effort that will stand the test of time the most.  The perfect balance between heavy and commercial.  The 70s albums cannot be overstated in how they pushed metal forward beyond the first wave, but their production shows their age.  Painkiller is musically S-tier, but God are those lyrics stupid.  Granted they aren't as smart as they are in the 70s here, but Rob Halford at least predicts phone cameras ruling the world.  That's got to count for something, right?  RIGHT?

Giant chocolate chips: Screaming For Vengeance, The Hellion/Electric Eye, You've Got Another Thing Comin

Ozzy Osbourne- Bark At The Moon

    All of the Blizzard of Ozz songs (yes, all of them) are on Tribute and for the most part, are the definite versions, and Diary of A Madman is only 2/3 good.  Jake E. Lee's first outing is where Ozz (and Bob Daisley) carve themselves a winner.  And Jake needs to be given credit for saving Ozzy a second time goddammit!  People complain about keyboards then they'll turn around and listen to symphonic black metal without any self-awareness.  Frankly the keyboards on Bark At The Moon are as ice-cold as they are on any Norwegian black metal album.

Giant chocolate chips: Bark At The Moon, Waiting For Darkness, You're No Different

Bathory- Under The Sign of the Black Mark

     The greatest and bestest gateway black metal album ever.  Rocketing out of the shadow Venom had cast, Quorthon and pals perfected a pinnacle of 80s darkness that runs the gamut of tempos, feels and emotions.  Plus, like every elite artist, he doesn't only include the solos, he creates his own style.  Imagine if Eric Clapton was born in the 60s and grew up on GBH, Kiss and Motorhead, rather than the blues.  

Giant chocolate chips: Enter The Eternal Fire, Woman of Dark Desires, 13 Candles

 

Megadeth- Rust In Peace

        The greatest heavy metal album of all time, full stop.  And you know it's true because even those jiving jokesters at The Onion recognize it's unstoppability.  We all know about Nick Menza and Marty Friedman coming into the fold and pushing Dave Mustaine and Ellefson Jr's abilities to their maximum, but there's two things that aren't talked about as much: a) Dave Mustaine's lyrics also reach a surgical sharp social commentary peak, much moreso than the world-weary Rob Halford (the real reason this consistently beats the otherwise amazing Painkiller). b) Any semblance of traditional song structure previously seen in the likes of "Peace Sells" and "Hook In mouth" gets thrown out the window (albeit such unconventionality was always there in the likes of "The Conjuring"), yet every song here is still AC/DC level catchy/memorable.

Giant chocolate chips: Tornado of Souls, Rust In Peace...Polaris, Holy Wars...The Punishment Due

Deicide- Deicide

        Imagine if The Smiths went full-retard extremist satanism musically and lyrically but kept their catchy and terse song sensibility.  Queen deserves a nod here as well because of the absolute genius of layering high screeches with guttural lows in the choruses.  If someone asks me what death metal is, Deicide is one of three albums I might hand to them. 

Giant chocolate chips: Sacrificial Suicide, Dead By Dawn, Deicide

Running Wild- Blazon Stone

        Ever wonder how awesome the Blaze Bayley years of Iron Maiden could have been if Bayley had an awesome high range and Steve Harris didn't go insane thinking he was in Genesis?  Blazon Stone is your saviour.  Hell, the proof is in the album title name!  Blaz-on Stone!  I'll see myself out.

Giant chocolate chips: Blazon Stone, Little Big Horn, Rolling Wheels

Iron Maiden- Brave New World

        Every studio album Iron Maiden released in the 80s is a 10, but I chose to highlight this one because it was the biggest middle-finger to nu-metal/alt-metal culture and the scumbag press fuckheads that had written traditional metal, and Iron Maiden especially for dead.  It was also a brief respite from Steve Harris' divorced broken-brained faux-prog insanity before slipping back into such.

Giant chocolate chips: The Thin Line Between Love and Hate, The Wicker Man, The Nomad*

Tool- Lateralus

        Am I the world's biggest Tool fan?  No.  But great albums are great albums, and Lateralus is their finest moment.  Danny Carey's Peart level drumming, Maynard's deranged vocals and stupidly good lyrics, Jones and Chancellor's stringwork glueing the two together, and most importantly, the goofy interlude are brought down to a reasonable two.  The best post Rush prog-metal record.  This is what Steve Harris should be trying to make if he fancies modern Iron Maiden a prog band, not trying to make X-Factor over and over.

Giant chocolate chips: Lateralus, Reflection, Schism

Immortal- Sons Of Northern Darkness

        I feel like this album has been forgotten about in recent years.  It's either Pure Holocaust this or At The Heart Of Winter that.  But Sons Of Northern Darkness is my favorite Immortal album and a top 5'er black metal album for me.  It takes the crystal clear production of the latter and adds the classic, anthemic songwriting of the former and creates an album that frankly, blow away Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir in terms of songwriting.  Immortal should be just as big if not bigger than those two but they always seemed to break up at the worst possible moments.  Oh well.

Giant chocolate chips: Beyond The North Waves, One By One, Tyrants 

Mastodon- Leviathan

        Leviathan feels like it will be the last "modern" album that came the closest to being loved by old school fans and core fans alike.  Not too many guitar solos here, but unlike a lot of people, the songwriting is strong enough where Mastodon get away with it.  They've made other classics before and after this, but Leviathan is the signature statement for the reasons I stated in the first sentences.

Giant chocolate chips: Iron Tusk, Megalodon, Hearts Alive

  

High On Fire- Snakes For The Divine

        High On Fire can confidently be placed in the "never made a bad record" category, but what I love (and what a lot of people hate) about Snakes For The Divine is Matt Pike and company decide to embrace high-fidelity, crystal clear production.  This, along with Mastodon's Leviathan, and Blue Record represent the peak of the 21st century sludge movement.  Every time High On Fire put out a new album my immediate reaction is "They just put out their best album yet!"  Then after the first couple months my brain just goes "Naaaah, it's good, but Snakes is still the king."

Giant chocolate chips: Snakes For The Divine, Fire Flood & Plague, Bastard Samurai

 

Satan- Life Sentence

        This album (and band) wins the grand prize for the "flying in out of left field" award.  A hidden gem Second Wave (regular reminder to stop calling it NWOBHM) heavy metal act puts out an 80 hidden gem (the brilliant Court In The Act), fades away like most bands do, then come back 30 something years later with an album that CRUSHES it?  As far as I'm concerned this is the standard for which all comeback/new album by an old band should be measured (yes that includes Firepower and Helloween).  This isn't just what modern-day Iron Maiden should be making, this is what modern-day Metallica should be making (they have songs as fast as "Whiplash" and "Trapped Under Ice," and Brian Ross' vocals ain't that far removed from current James Hetfield).

Giant chocolate chips: Incantations, Time To Die, Another Universe

Power Trip- Nightmare Logic

        The closest thing the metal community had to a 10s Leviathan where just about everyone seemed to agree that it ruled.  Thrash metal done without any trace of modern extremism to it, yet sounds completely fresh.  So much so that Power Trip has a "no double-bass" rule.  A thrash album that kicks ass with no double-bass is an accomplishment.  A memory I will cherish forever is getting to see Power Trip live while Riley Gale was still with us. Quite a sad thing that Gale passed, listening to this you get the sense that would came next was going to usher a new age in mainstream success for thrash.

Giant chocolate chips: If Not Us (Then Who), Firing Squad, Executioner's Tax  

  

Sumerlands- Dreamkiller

        You've heard the phrase a 1000 times, "If this came out in 198X (or god forbid early 199X) this would have been a smash hit!"  Well, that damn sure applies to Dreamkiller.  Another phrase you hear is "this album never left my car!"  Well I haven't had a car with a CD player in forever but rest assured if I did, this might damn well still be in it.  The textbook example when I rail about "old metal made by young people."  An absolute masterclass in classic metal songwriting. There's not a trace of power metal to be found here whatsoever, if that's a hangup for you.  And Jason Tarpey's vocals: Dio help me they fucking SEND, as the kids say these days.

Giant chocolate chips: Edge Of The Knife, Twilight Points The Way, Night Ride

Frozen Crown- Call of the North

        And so brave king Mondelli finally realized that death growls in power metal are fake, gay and retarded, henceforthwith finally cast them out of Frozen Crown's sound once and for all.  And there was much rejoicing (yaaaaaay). He also decides to tinker with djent and core rhythms whilst still following the key principles of trad/power metal.  And there was much rejoicing (yaaaaaay).

Giant chocolate chips: Now Or Never, Black Heart, One For All

Crypt Sermon- The Stygian Rose

        Young people doing old music, that's how this thing properly moves forward.  When the new generation figures out how to stay inside the boundaries while still giving a fresh take and an original identity, that's where the elite craftsmanship comes in.  This wineyard level blending of arena-rock and doom-metal with just a pinch of goth-vinegar atmosphere.  Not to mention this will probably be the only time where Decibel Magazine and I will agree what the album of the year for 2024 is.

Giant chocolate chips: Scrying Orb, The Stygian Rose, Thunder

*Yes I know Steve Harris stole that one middle section from that one prog band nobody cares about.  It still rules.  Plus, Metallica have stolen how many riffs now?