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#1. Cynic - FOCUS
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Cynic's one and only
album, FOCUS, has achieved cult status amongst fans of technical/prog
death metal and thrash. Members of the band went on to contribute
their skills to many other bands and projects. Tampa, Florida’s
Cynic was formed in 1987 and after a couple of demos released FOCUS
in 1993. The band presented listeners with an unlikely mix of death
metal, prog, jazz, along with vocals that were primarily death metal
with parts done clean (in a robotic voice no less). Cynic similarly
to Atheist, were ahead of their time. Although this album was
released 13 years ago, it still stands up against today’s cutting
edge artists such as Into Eternity. |
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#2. Queensryche –
OPERATION: MINDCRIME
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OPERATION: MINDCRIME is perhaps the
best concept CD ever created and one of the best metal albums ever
recorded. This is also the only truly GREAT Queensryche album by
which all other Queensryche is measured. Although the band’s
previous material was ok, and EMPIRE had its moments, nothing in the
band’s discography comes anywhere close to the brilliance of this
1988 release. From the music to the storyline, everything about this
album was perfect. The band will be releasing a concept album
follow-up very soon...will it be anywhere near as
groundbreaking? |
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#3. Vio-Lence - ETERNAL
NIGHTMARE
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Vio-lence is the first of 2 bands in
our top 10 that feature Robb Flynn. Vio-Lence's 1988 release ETERNAL
NIGHTMARE is often heralded as the bands defining moment and as one
of the best albums from the Speed/Thrash genre.
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#4. Machine Head - BURN MY EYES
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When BURN MY EYES came out in 1994
there were many bay area thrash metal fans who hoped Machine Head
would represent the return of thrash metal. BURN MY EYES was modern
sounding, yet not “nu”. With their second album, things were already
beginning to unfold. With their third, their disgusting infection
with the mallcore plague was complete. Since then they have slightly
improved but only to show mere glimpses of the brilliance of their
one album wonder. |
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#5. Possessed - SEVEN CHURCHES
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Almost every thrash, death, and black
metal band owes some amount of props to Possessed. Nowhere is this
more evident with their groundbreaking 1985 debut that many go so
far as to call the first death metal album of all time. |
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#6. Motley Crue - SHOUT AT THE
DEVIL
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Some Crue-heads will be pissed to see
this on the list as it is one of the more controversial additions.
Even though they had other albums that were good, and songs on them
that rival some of the material on SatD, as a whole nothing else
they’ve done is as heavy, dark, and earth shaking as this release.
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#7. At The Gates -
SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL
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For a band whose name is so
frequently dropped and instantly equated with cultivating what has
become known as the "Gothenburg melodic death metal sound," the one
album that stands out from the rest of their short four-album career
is the one they left with -1992's SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL. In Flames,
Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy and countless other bands owe the
influence of this album to what would eventually shape their own
unique sound. After the release of SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL, the
various band members splintered off to join such metal luminaries as
The Crown, The Haunted and Cradle of Filth but the indelible mark
left by SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL remains almost fifteen years later as
a landmark in the heavy metal canon. |
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#8. Cinderella - NIGHT SONGS
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This album was definitely an anomaly
from Cinderella. The band changed so much after their debut album
that most have a hard time even remembering that they started as a
metal band. For sure, the image on this album was trendy and typical
for the glam era, however, the music on NIGHT SONGS is a mix of
classic/pre-sell-out Def Leppard, AC/DC, and a bit of Judas Priest.
The less popularized songs from this release like “Push Push”, “Once
Around The Ride” and “Back Home Again” are some of the better
examples of the material - not the songs for which they did videos.
After NIGHT SONGS, Cinderella totally changed gears becoming a blues
rock band and left behind almost all vestiges of their past….for
shame. |
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#9. The Crown - DEATHRACE KING
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It took The Crown 3 full-lengths to
lead into their blockbuster masterpiece. Coming from the original
name (Crown of Thorns) playing solid, but rather ho hum death metal,
to the slightly rockier and more memorable sound of HELL IS HERE the
band never quite hit the mark with merely a handful of songs that
truly stood out. When DEATHRACE KING hit in 2000 many were blown
away by the power, the energy, the aggression, and riffs that just
never quit. Unfortunately, instability and possibly a lack of
direction hurt the next two releases before the band called it
quits. |
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#10. Quiet Riot - METAL HEALTH
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Quiet Riot burst onto
the scene with their 1983 release METAL HEALTH. Though they had
already released 2 albums in Japan, it was their 3rd release that
put them over the top. Many a metalhead was turned onto the genre
because of the metal anthem "Bang Your Head" but Quiet Riot were never
able to match the quality or success of this release. |
