The Official Heavy Metal Thread

[Vinther1991]

Just gonna list my favorite bands and what I think are their masterpiece albums, which everybody should listen to.

Metallica (Masterpiece albums: Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...And Justice for All) Except for St. Anger and Lulu, I like almost everything they have done. Their 80's output is sick though.

Judas Priest (Masterpiece album: Painkiller) Might be my favorite band, they have made an abundance of great albums, probably more than 10, but Painkiller clearly stands as their magnum opus.

Iron Maiden: I'm not really sure if they have made a true masterpiece, but they have come close multiple times throughout their carreer. With few exceptions (No Prayer for the Dying, Fear of the Dark, Dance of the Death) they have made excellent albums consistently.

Queensrÿche (Masterpiece album: Operation: Mindcrime) They made a string of excellent albums throughout the 80s up until and including 1994's Promised Land. Then they almost became irrelevant for 20 years until a new singer started a second golden age for them.

Black Sabbath: (Masterpiece album: Paranoid) They made so many great albums. The first 6 with Ozzy and the 3 with Dio really stand out. My favorite is still Paranoid though.

Megadeth (Masterpiece album: Peace Sells, but who's Buying) I don't like their recent stuff all that much, but they were definitely big in the 80's and early 90's. Most people will mention Rust in Peace as their most important album, and while it contains arguably their 3 greatest songs, it is a very inconsistent (although still great) album in my eyes. I much prefer the more raw Peace Sells, but who's Buying album.

Savatage: Just a great band with arguably the greatest metal singer ever (at least tied with Halford). They might not have a masterpiece album, but at least for terrific ones: Hall of the Mountain King, Gutter Ballet, Street: A Rock Opera and Edge of Thorns

Blaze Bayley (Masterpiece album: Silicon Messiah) I highly prefer his solo output to that of the more popular Iron Maiden vocalist (Bruce Dickinson), and dare I say, I prefer his voice as well. Silicon Messiah is his masterpiece, but any of his first 5 albums are amazing.

Dream Theater (Masterpiece albums: Images and Words, Metropolis pt II: Scenes from a Memory) They were something truly special in the 90's. They are still good, but they tend to focus too much on technique.

Pantera: Really a raw and unique band, I think Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven are terrific albums, though not quite masterpieces.

Deep Purple: Not always considered metal, but I think they should. In Rock and Machine Head are terrific albums.

Other metal bands I love, though to a lesser extent:
Helloween
Motörhead
Dio
Rainbow
Testament
Children of Bodom

And then artists that occationally have made something I care about or bands I can stomach in smaller doses, though I don't consider myself a fan:
Slayer
Ozzy Osbourne
Tool
System of a Down
Diamond Head
Iced Earth
Bruce Dickinson
Rob Halford
Opeth