[Kataklystik]

I listen mainly to thrash/death/black metal and early stuff (black sabbath etc. )so my list might not be "balanced".
Here are just some of the IMO best albums that would give you a good intro to the genre.
They might have been mentioned before:

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath/Master Of Reality
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
Exodus - Bonded By Blood/Fabulous Disaster
Anthrax - Among The Living
Slayer - Show No Mercy/Reign In Blood
Megadeth - Killing Is My Business.../Countdown To Extinction
Sepultura - Arise
Dying Fetus - Stop At Nothing
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb Of The Mutilated
Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten
Kataklysm - Shadows & Dust
Deicide - The Stench Of Redemption
At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul
In Flames - Lunar Strain/Clayman/Come Clarity
Arch Enemy - Stigmata/Doomsday Machine
Dark Tranquility - Haven/Fiction
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas/Ordo Ad Chao
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger/Under A Funeral Moon
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
Immortal - Battles In The North/At The Heart Of Winter
Emperor - In The Nightshade Eclipse
Naglfar - Sheol
Satyricon - Nemesis Divina/Volcano
Finntroll - Nattfodd
I - Between Two Worlds
Lamb Of God - As The Palaces Burn

Some of them were influential albums, some are just great albums

 

[Nacher]

This thread is just as useless as I knew it would end up being. Everyone writing like 50-album lists, usually just around one or two genres. I think the threadstarter would benefit most from a package, which has both essentials and great modern albums from each main genre. Like, some classic metal, some black, some death, some power, some symphonic, some doom, some thrash etc. And not only old established classics and pioneers, that would be just plain boring.

Building a versatile metal starter-kit would help him a lot to find out, which kind of metal he likes best. Listing 50-100 technical math-metal albums, which no one has ever heard of, will not.

ps. and what's been said about Cradle of Filth... I still consider Dusk and Her Embrace one of the best dark metal records ever. Their later work is of course total crap, but just listen to Dusk and try to claim that it wasn't ahead of it's time, and just produced, composed and performed extraordinaly well. 99% of CoF bashers bash them just to gain credibility or because they are barinwashed with the "truth" that CoF just has to suck because they are not "real" black metal and have sold well.

 

[MrFaust]

when it comes out on Sept. 25th...

DETHKLOK - DETHALBUM <- MOST BRUTAL METAL ALBUM EVER!

...seriously, it is that good!

As for Cradle Of Filth - anything from Principle Of Evil Made Flesh to Midian. But they are an aquired taste. Not everyone can get into Danni's vocals. Midian is actually one of my favorite cds of all time. But I will be honest with you, I would love to have a purely instrumental version of this album.

Opeth - Ghost Reveries is an amazing album both musically and from a production standpoint. I personally can't even listen to Damnation which gets promoted by most Opeth fans as their pinnacle because of the terrible production. Listen to the first song and if the pick clicks don't get on your nerves fast, I would be amazed.

Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side - I found this album because MTV2's Headbangers Ball was playing a video from it. I was sitting there with my jaw on the floor. I'll admit I went straight out and downloaded the cd. I listened to it all night long and when Best Buy opened the next morning I was there with cash in hand. As noted earlier in this thread, the production on this cd is great as well.

When it comes to a metal album, it helps to think in the manner of classical music as far as production and mastering. There are so many cds out there in both categories that are from one extreme to the other. Funny thing is these two categories of music are so closely related and never noted it's not even funny. Can you think of any other form of music that has such rapid changes in direction, movement, emotion as well as accompaniment? Hence the Symphonic side to metal. And several bands have very operatic singers. Nightwish being one.

I can guarantee, if Mozart was alive today, his orchestra would make Slipknot's stage presence look like the Backstreet Boys.

 

[Thelonious Monk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrFaust /img/forum/go_quote.gif when it comes out on Sept. 25th... DETHKLOK - DETHALBUM <- MOST BRUTAL METAL ALBUM EVER! ...seriously, it is that good! As for Cradle Of Filth - anything from Principle Of Evil Made Flesh to Midian. But they are an aquired taste. Not everyone can get into Danni's vocals. Midian is actually one of my favorite cds of all time. But I will be honest with you, I would love to have a purely instrumental version of this album. Opeth - Ghost Reveries is an amazing album both musically and from a production standpoint. I personally can't even listen to Damnation which gets promoted by most Opeth fans as their pinnacle because of the terrible production. Listen to the first song and if the pick clicks don't get on your nerves fast, I would be amazed. Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side - I found this album because MTV2's Headbangers Ball was playing a video from it. I was sitting there with my jaw on the floor. I'll admit I went straight out and downloaded the cd. I listened to it all night long and when Best Buy opened the next morning I was there with cash in hand. As noted earlier in this thread, the production on this cd is great as well. When it comes to a metal album, it helps to think in the manner of classical music as far as production and mastering. There are so many cds out there in both categories that are from one extreme to the other. Funny thing is these two categories of music are so closely related and never noted it's not even funny. Can you think of any other form of music that has such rapid changes in direction, movement, emotion as well as accompaniment? Hence the Symphonic side to metal. And several bands have very operatic singers. Nightwish being one. I can guarantee, if Mozart was alive today, his orchestra would make Slipknot's stage presence look like the Backstreet Boys.

you have much to learn!

 

[Quaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrFaust /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would love to have a purely instrumental version of this album.

just turn karaoke mode on in rockbox

 

[fierce_freak]

I'm going to include some hardcore because I don't see it as much of a leap from metal. These are just some favorites of mine

Between the Buried and Me - Between the Buried and Me
Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
Despised Icon - The Healing Process
Into the Moat - The Design
Strapping Young Lad - City
Mastodon - Leviathan
Remembering Never - Women and Children Die First
Animosity - Empires
Dog Fashion Disco - Anarchists of Good Taste
Norma Jean - Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child
Meshuggah - Chaosphere
Burst - Origo
Burnt by the Sun - Soundtrack to the Personal Revolution
All Shall Perish - Hate Malice Revenge
The Red Chord - Fused Together in Revolving Doors
Life in Pictures - By the Sign of the Spyglass
Walls of Jericho - With Devils Amongst Us All
My Bitter End - The Renovation
Necrophagist - The Onset of Putrefaction
A Life Once Lost - A Great Artist
Converge - No Heroes
Glass Casket - ...We Are Gathered Here Today
Ion Dissonance - Solace
The Haunted - rEVOLVEr
xBishopx - Suicide Party

There's other great stuff mentioned in this thread that I didn't list (though I'm sure I probably doubled a thing or two).

 

[MrFaust]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thelonious Monk /img/forum/go_quote.gif you have much to learn!

teach me

 

[balanceofpower]

Traditional:

Dio - Holy Diver/The Last in Line
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind/Powerslave
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance/Painkiller

Power:

Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle Earth/A Night at the Opera
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys 1 & 2
Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings/Night of the Stormrider


Prog:

Ark - Burn the Sun
Dream Theater - Images&Words/Scenes from a Memory
Shadow Gallery - Tyranny

Black:

Bathory - Blood Fire Death
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Immortal - At the Heart of Winter

Death:

Cryptopsy - None So Vile
Death - Leprosy/Human
Edge of Sanity - Crimson 1 & 2

Doom:

My Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans

Thrash:

Exodus - Bonded by Blood/Fabulous Disaster
Slayer - Show No Mercy/Hell Awaits/Reign in Blood
Testament - The Legacy/The New Order

Over 25 but a few off the top of my head anyway. Good luck digging.. there's a lot of good stuff out there!