Search Results for: top 100 metal albums

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #25: Twisted Tower Dire – Crest of the Martyrs (Remedy Records, 2003)

For the longest time, I thought I hated power metal. Then in 2006, I discovered Twisted Tower Dire’s Crest of the Martyrs. At the time I was living in Simi Valley, CA and on a day off from interning for Metal Blade Records, I stumbled across a used CD/DVD shop who’s name escapes me. Their … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #25: Twisted Tower Dire – Crest of the Martyrs (Remedy Records, 2003)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #24: Black Sabbath – Paranoid (Vertigo Records, 1970)

On February 13th, 1970, Black Sabbath released their self-titled debut album, inventing heavy metal in the process. But in September of that same year, they unleashed the genre’s bible. While Black Sabbath saw the quartet still working to fully define their musical path, Paranoid was the sound of a band that had tapped into the … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #24: Black Sabbath – Paranoid (Vertigo Records, 1970)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #23: Dodheimsgard – A Umbra Omega (Peaceville Records, 2015)

Beginning life as a traditional-sounding Norwegian black metal outfit that featured Darkthrone’s Fenriz on bass , Oslo’s Dodheimsgard have evolved drastically with every release, to the point that if you were to play each of their five full-length recordings to someone who was completely unfamiliar, they’d likely assume they were listening to five different bands. … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #23: Dodheimsgard – A Umbra Omega (Peaceville Records, 2015)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #22: Lifelover – Pulver (GoatowaRex, 2006)

For a brief period from 2004 to 2006, it seemed like I was discovering some weird new black metal band every other day. Indeed, bands like Nuit Noire, Circle of Ouroborus, Urfaust and Woods of Infinity were blowing my mind with their uniquely bizarre takes on the genre, but none of them prepared me for … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #22: Lifelover – Pulver (GoatowaRex, 2006)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #21: Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears (Epic Records, 1991)

Goddamn, do I love Ozzy Osbourne. I love Black Sabbath Ozzy, I love solo Ozzy, hell, I even love reality television Ozzy. It seems like throughout my life Ozzy’s always been there, from hearing “Crazy Train” constantly on classic rock radio as a kid, to sending shivers down my spine when I listened to “Black … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #21: Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears (Epic Records, 1991)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #20: Slayer – South of Heaven (Def Jam Recordings, 1988)

I’ll never forget the first time I heard Slayer. I was watching Headbanger’s Ball and the video for either the catchy yet sinister and atmospheric “Seasons in the Abyss” or the bulldozing face-fucker that is “War Ensemble” came on. Whichever track it was, my young mind was blown; it only took one song for me … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #20: Slayer – South of Heaven (Def Jam Recordings, 1988)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #19: Gorgoroth – Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam (Regain Records, 2006)

I’ll probably catch a ton of flack for this, but I have to admit, Gaahl / King ov Hell era Gorgoroth is my favorite Gorgoroth.  Don’t get me wrong, early albums such as Pentagram and Under the Sign of Hell are classics in their own right, but the band became meaner and more brutal when … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #19: Gorgoroth – Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam (Regain Records, 2006)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #18: Demoncy – Joined in Darkness (Baphomet Records, 1999)

More so than just about any other metal album I’ve ever heard, Demoncy’s Joined in Darkness is about creating and sustaining an atmosphere.  The music is a trance-inducing hellish miasma of tremolo-picked riffage that seems to move at a snail’s pace; even the fast parts feel like they’re being played at half speed, making it … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #18: Demoncy – Joined in Darkness (Baphomet Records, 1999)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #17: Rollins Band – Weight (Imago Records, 1994)

In 1994 I was a freshman in high school.  A good boy who followed the rules, got decent grades and showed up to work on time… on the outside.  On the inside I was a fucking maniac, an animal caged inside a pressure-cooker that wanted to kill, fuck or destroy everything in sight.  A ball … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #17: Rollins Band – Weight (Imago Records, 1994)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #16: Danzig – Thrall-Demonsweatlive (Def American Recordings, 1993)

First thing’s first; yes, realize that Thrall-Demonsweatlive is an EP not an album.  But it deserves a place in the top one hundred because it marks the beginning of my life-long obsession with all things Danzig.  Like many Danzig fans in my age bracket, I was mesmerized by the video for “Mother ’93,” a clip … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #16: Danzig – Thrall-Demonsweatlive (Def American Recordings, 1993)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #15: Cannibal Corpse – Tomb of the Mutilated (Metal Blade, 1992)

When you’re young and just starting to get into a specific style of music, you tend to start with the biggest, most well-known band in that style and work your way deeper and deeper underground from there.  When I was first getting into death metal, one of the gateway bands of the genre was Cannibal … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #15: Cannibal Corpse – Tomb of the Mutilated (Metal Blade, 1992)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #14: Velvet Cacoon – Genevieve (Full Moon Productions, 2004)

I remember the first time I went to Amoeba Music’s Hollywood location like it was yesterday.  It was actually 2006; I was interning for Metal Blade Records and living in Simi Valley, CA.  I had the day off and I was itching for adventure after being stuck in an office all week, so I decided … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #14: Velvet Cacoon – Genevieve (Full Moon Productions, 2004)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #13 – Black Witchery – Desecration of the Holy Kingdom (Full Moon Productions, 2001)

I can trace my love of all things brutal, blackened and bestial to one album, and that album is Black Witchery’s Desecration of the Holy Kingdom.  Sure, I’d already heard Blasphemy when I got my grubby little mitts on it back in 2001, but as nasty as Fallen Angel of Doom was, it didn’t quite … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #13 – Black Witchery – Desecration of the Holy Kingdom (Full Moon Productions, 2001)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #12: Corrosion of Conformity – Wiseblood (Columbia, 1996)

I often find that the seasons dictate my listening habits.  For instance, fall is all about the Misfits, Samhain and Type O Negative, while winter is a feast of frigid black metal (yes, even in California, ridiculous as that may seem).  Summer brings with it an obsession with Pepper Keenan-era Corrosion of Conformity and more … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #12: Corrosion of Conformity – Wiseblood (Columbia, 1996)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #11: Danzig – Danzig II: Lucifuge (Def American, 1990)

How in the blue hell did I manage to get even this far into the THKD Top 100 without covering a Danzig album?!  Granted, the list is in no particular order, but given my Danzig super-fan status, you’d think I would’ve touched on one of the man’s records within the first few posts.  The bands/artists … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #11: Danzig – Danzig II: Lucifuge (Def American, 1990)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #9 & #10: Ministry – Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (Sire, 1992) and Ministry – Filth Pig (Sire, 1996)

Ministry was the first band that scared the shit out of me.  Al Jourgensen and his henchmen released Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (aka ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ) in 1992, a full year before I would hear death metal for the first time, but even when I finally did experience the likes of Morbid … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #9 & #10: Ministry – Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs (Sire, 1992) and Ministry – Filth Pig (Sire, 1996)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #8: In Flames – Reroute to Remain (Nuclear Blast, 2002)

This post was supposed to be about a different In Flames album.  I recently dusted off the band’s 2000 masterpiece Clayman for the express purpose of a top 100 write-up; it is after all the perfect melodic death metal album.  But then something happened; I also grabbed Reroute to Remain off the ol’ CD shelf just … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #8: In Flames – Reroute to Remain (Nuclear Blast, 2002)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #7 God Dethroned – The Toxic Touch (Metal Blade, 2006)

I can already imagine the eyebrows raising as I type this.  I know, I know, God Dethroned’s seventh album probably seems like an odd choice for the top 100.  But, not only is it an underrated metal album, it also takes me back to a very specific time and place in my life.  In July … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #7 God Dethroned – The Toxic Touch (Metal Blade, 2006)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #6: Metallica – Ride the Lightning (Elektra, 1984)

Ride the Lightning is hands down my favorite Metallica album. I also believe that it’s front-to-back Metallica’s best album. While many metalheads point to Master of Puppets as the Bay Area quartet’s finest hour, Ride the Lightning was the first album to showcase all of Metallica’s strengths, the sonic trademarks that would ultimately propel them … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #6: Metallica – Ride the Lightning (Elektra, 1984)”

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #5: Helmet – Meantime (Interscope, 1992)

Helmet’s Meantime was an odd bird when it was released in 1992.  Straddling the line between heavy metal and the alternative rock explosion that Nirvana had ushered in a year earlier, Helmet was probably the only band capable of getting airtime on both Headbanger’s Ball and 120 Minutes.  That’s how I discovered Helmet; I was … Continue reading “THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #5: Helmet – Meantime (Interscope, 1992)”