The top 100 metal albums of all time countdown continues with selections 80 through 71. An attempt is made to represent each subgenre fairly and the ranking system is based on overall quality of the record as well as influence and lasting power. The placement is based on the thoughts and opinions of a number of knowledgeable metal fans who took this undertaking very seriously. No list is perfect and unfortunately some truly great work missed the cut.
80. Heavy Load - Stronger than Evil (1983)
Had Stronger than Evil gained more notoriety at the time of its release it would be much higher on this list. This classic album by a relatively unknown band from Sweden contains some of the catchiest metal songs to be found anywhere. A must own for anyone who likes the nwobhm sound.
79. Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
Judas Priest is one of the most important bands in metal and their sophomore effort Sad Wings of Destiny is a big reason why. The album contains a number of classic tracks that were left off of their debut release, Rock N Rolla such as “The Ripper” and “Tyrant.” Tyrant exemplifies Priest’s ability to combine the heavy riffing of Black Sabbath with the pace of Led Zeppelin to create a sound that is pure metal.
78. Death - Individual Thought Patterns (1993)
Often hailed as the founder of death metal, the aptly named Death has been a mainstay in the genre since its inception in 1983. The band’s centerpiece Chuck Schuldiner has become one of the legends of extreme metal for fusing technical and progressive elements into his music and combining them with powerful lyrics dealing with societal and spiritual woes.
77. Satan - Court in the Act (1983)
One of the many bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement of the early 1980’s, Satan proved to be one step ahead of the game with the release of Court in the Act. Its intense pace from beginning to end would have a profound impact on the development of thrash metal that would occur in the proceeding years. The song “Trial by Fire” became an underground classic and has been covered by countless bands over the years.
76. Venom - Black Metal (1982)
Though they lacked the technical musicianship of their peers like Motorhead and Iron Maiden, Venom is still one of the most important bands in the history of metal. They coined the phrase ‘black metal’ with the release of this album and would help define the early sound and attitude of the subgenre.
75. Megadeth - Killing is my Business... And Business is Good (1985)
After being booted from Metallica in 1983 guitarist Dave Mustaine set out to prove he was fully capable of achieving success on his own and formed Megadeth that same year. The debut Killing is my Business… And Business is Good lacks the polish of later Megadeth albums but still contains the trademark wailing guitar solos and fierce shredding riffs that made the group famous.
74. Kreator - Extreme Aggression (1989)
Extreme Aggression is the fourth studio album from German thrash masters Kreator. The album maintains the pace and savagery of the previous three releases and proved that the band showed no signs of slowing down. Music videos for “Betrayer” and the title track helped make Extreme Aggression the band’s most commercially successful album to date.
73. Entombed - Left Hand Path (1990)
Swedish legend Entombed left its mark on the emerging death metal scene with the release of Left Hand Path in 1990. The album took the complex song structures established by Death and Obituary and combined them with an element of melodic riffing. Sweden would later become a major player in the evolution of Death metal through bands like At the Gates and In Flames, but Entombed really cut the path to the subgenre first.
72. Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth (1997)
Accident of Birth is Bruce Dickinson’s fourth solo album and it proved to be his most inspired release to date. With help from former Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson refined the sound from his previous albums and produced a much heavier release. Ironically one of the standout tracks on the album is the ballad “Man of Sorrow."
71. Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon (1993)
Under a Funeral Moon marked Darkthrone’s complete transition from death metal to black metal. They stripped down the production, creating an intentionally grainy low-fi sound akin to early Bathory. The result is one of the pillars of the Norwegian Black Metal scene that emerged in the early 1990’s.
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Nathaniel Searle - Nathaniel Searle is a freelance writer from Massachusetts currently residing in Boston. He has spent time in Los Angeles doing script ...
