Dreamdead’s 50 essential heavy metal songs

[dreamdead]

I’ve sat on this thread idea for awhile. However, given the general apathy that most members here have toward heavy metal (located principally in the vocal style—death growl, black metal shriek, hardcore indecipherable shout, etc. ), I wanted to offer suggested listening for those who want to experience some of the best that heavy metal offers.

I hope you find music here that intrigues you, and that makes you seek out these artists for fuller coverage. And certainly feel free to talk about what you like, dislike, or outright hate about any of the material posted.

Let’s get started, shall we…

[dreamdead]

Song list breakdown:

50. Cynic's "Veil of Maya (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=437311&postcount=4)"
49. Ahab's "The Hunt (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=437317&postcount=6)"
48. Therion's "The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=437323&postcount=8)"
47. Caïna’s "Permaneo Carmen (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=438012&postcount=11)"
46. Blood Stain Child's "Neo-gothic Romance (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=438019&postcount=12)"
45. Cult of Luna's "Leave Me Here (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=438207&postcount=13)"
44. Unexpect's "Desert Urbania (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=438215&postcount=14)"
43. Burzum's "Det Som Engang Var (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=438228&postcount=15)"
42. 40 Watt Sun's "Carry Me Home (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=438762&postcount=22)"
41. Les Discrets's "Song for Mountains (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=438764&postcount=24)"
40. Soilwork's "Grand Failure Anthem (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=439374&postcount=30)"
39. Neurosis's "Through Silver in Blood (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=439378&postcount=31)"
38. The Gathering's "Same Moon, Different Day (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=439836&postcount=32)"
37. In Flames's "Moonshield (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=439837&postcount=33)"
36. Blut Aus Nord's "Our Blessed Frozen Cells (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=439889&postcount=34)"
35. Meshuggah's "Future Breed Machine (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=440618&postcount=36)"
34. Dopamine's "Melting (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=440619&postcount=37)"
33. Agalloch's "You Were But a Ghost in My Arms (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=440621&postcount=38)"
32. Mouth of the Architect's "Baobab (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=441499&postcount=39)"
31. The Pax Cecilia's "The Tragedy (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=441502&postcount=40)"
30. Mastodon's "Hearts Alive (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=441512&postcount=41)"
29. Cave In's "Paranormal (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=441665&postcount=43)"
28. Type O Negative's "Love You to Death (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=441668&postcount=44)"
27. Fen's "Bereft (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=441670&postcount=45)"
26. Strapping Young Lad's "Skeksis (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=442785&postcount=46)"
25. Envy's "Chain Wandering Deeply (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=443102&postcount=53)"
24. Wolves in the Throne Room's "I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=444362&postcount=54)"
23. Nechochwen's "Azimuths To The Otherworld (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=444366&postcount=55)"
22. Isis's "Backlit (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=444816&postcount=56)"
21. Boris's "Farewell (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=444819&postcount=57)"
20. My Dying Bride's "The Cry of Mankind (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=444820&postcount=58)"
19. Nile's "Unas Slayer of the Gods (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=444822&postcount=59)"
18. Opeth's "The Drapery Falls (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=445287&postcount=62)"
17. Enslaved's "As Fires Swept Clean the Earth (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=447054&postcount=63)"
16. Bathory's "A Fine Day to Die (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=447055&postcount=64)"
15. Ulver's "I Troldskog Faren Vild (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=448729&postcount=65)"
14. Arcturus's "Star Crossed (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=448735&postcount=67)"
13. Pelican's "Autumn into Summer (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=449020&postcount=70)"
12. Jesu's "Tired of Me (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=449025&postcount=71)"
11. Fear Factory's "Zero Signal (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=449026&postcount=72)"
10. Isis's "Ghost Key (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=450547&postcount=73)"
9. Enslaved's "Neogenesis (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=450549&postcount=74)"
8. Isis's "From Sinking (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=453249&postcount=75)"
7. Ihsahn's "On the Shores (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=453251&postcount=76)"
6. Emperor's "I am the Black Wizards (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=453252&postcount=77)"
5. Tenhi’s "Rannalta Heattu (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=453253&postcount=78)"
4. Opeth's "Demon of the Fall (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=453982&postcount=82)"
3. Disillusion's "The Sleep of Restless Hours (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=453984&postcount=83)"
2. Anathema's "Dreaming Light (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=454261&postcount=84)"
1. Death's "The Flesh and the Power It Holds (http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=454661&postcount=87)"

[D_Davis]

cool.

[dreamdead]

50. Cynic's "Veil of Maya"

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Most of contemporary metal’s experimentation draws heavily from Cynic’s 1993 classic Focus. Here the use of free jazz style instrumentation, female vocals, Middle-eastern guitar and keyboard, and that incredible fretless bass all build layers atop more typical metal time signatures and melodies. The robotic vocals have always been a contentious issue for fans, but here it works perfectly. It’s a track that tries to break down categories, and offers “thinking man’s” metal to all.

To hear how incredible Cynic are without any vocals, try Textures (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEo8IrU5MQk) as well.

[D_Davis]

Cynic rules. I love their new direction. Hopefully it doesn't take them 10 more years to put about another 20 minutes of music.

[dreamdead]

49. Ahab's "The Hunt"

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Ahab is, unsurprisingly, a doom metal outfit that, in their first album, tries to capture the narrative flow of Melville’s Moby Dick (a surprising amount of metal artists have tried their hand at this novel). Here the repetitive guitar melody suggests the ocean waves but also anticipates the crescendo about four minutes in. At that point the song builds using synthesizers and guttural vocals—I hope you find the closing, though, especially thrilling, rather than unduly monotonous. This kind of music naturally drones, but at its best it continues to evoke moods and unique energy.

Also of interest would be Ahab's "Old Thunder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAc_uHmlvlg)," which uses clean guitars beautifully before transitioning to a magisterial double-bass stomp.

[D_Davis]

What's with metal/prog rock and ocean-themed epics?

[dreamdead]

48. Therion's “ The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah”

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What started out as a conventional doom metal band became more and more interested in juxtaposing classical influences against the traditional metal instruments. With their album Vovin, the Swedes in Therion perfected that contrast of symphonic metal, as the album opens with this track, continually building and adding classical elements into the fray, until the drum roll signals the entrance of the main melody. However, the violins remain as central as ever, and the full choir that then enters continues to highlight the vision that Therion had. Sadly, the band became more generic in their coupling of these influences since, but this song, and the album, reveal the depth and interplay that could come from such original thought processes.

“Wine of Aluqah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX6ljncmukk)” is another excellent song to try of Therion’s, off the same album.

[dreamdead]

Cynic rules. I love their new direction. Hopefully it doesn't take them 10 more years to put about another 20 minutes of music.

I still haven't checked out their later work, unfortunately. Their albums since have interested me, but never enough to buy them and sit down and go through them piecemeal.


What's with metal/prog rock and ocean-themed epics?

I think artists find a challenge in conveying the rhythm of the waves musically. Certainly music is not alone in attempting this, as plenty of literature works to echo that physical sensation of being among, if not on, the waves, but the best of metal/prog rock (Isis, Ahab, Mastodon) all gain so much critical traction when they can pull it off. There's something primal in that effect, I think.

[D_Davis]

I think artists find a challenge in conveying the rhythm of the waves musically. Certainly music is not alone in attempting this, as plenty of literature works to echo that physical sensation of being among, if not on, the waves, but the best of metal/prog rock (Isis, Ahab, Mastodon) all gain so much critical traction when they can pull it off. There's something primal in that effect, I think.

One of the best I've heard recently is Motorpsycho's latest, The Death Defying Unicorn. Absolutely epic.

[dreamdead]

47. Caïna’s “Permaneo Carmen”

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One of the most introspective metal subgenres, when done well, is the depressive (sometimes also called suicidal) black metal, which often accounts for the single-person bands. Caïna is one of these bands, where mood and atmosphere matter over all else. Here, the reverberating guitars and acoustic guitarwork at the end add depth and counterbalance to the simple refrain of the main melody, if one can call it that. Caïna utilizes cosmic and post-rock elements better than most of the genre’s ilk, and the layering here is unusual and surprisingly evocative, communicating a real despair that echoes long after one is finished with the song.

If one was further interested, "Wormwood over Albion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6L3Sm8kQqc)" is an excellent blend of shoegaze and depressive black metal, but a better indication of the overall Mourner album is "Constantine the Blind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yakF5vGQzqY)".

[dreamdead]

46. Blood Stain Child’s "Neo-gothic Romance"

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There has never been a Japanese band that sounded more thoroughly Swedish in their assimilation of the late-nineties Swedish melodic metal sound. The main mark of originality lies in BSC’s use of keyboards and electronica elements—this element has become more pronounced in the band's evolution, allowing them to maintain they're not just a Japanese version of what's already out there. Here in this song, the blend of clean vocals, the Gothenburg scream so prevalent in other bands like early Soilwork or In Flames, and that keyboard harmony are just impressive. There isn’t anything here to revolutionize metal music; it is, however, damn catchy.

Their track Freedom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld7zfVrnMPU&feature=related)is more of the same. Solid and enjoyable fluff.

[dreamdead]

45. Cult of Luna’s “Leave Me Here”

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Texture. The best musicians in metal know how to configure unique textural elements so that songs shimmer even without the stand-by typically offered by clean vocals. Here, Swedish mates Cult of Luna generate one of the most simultaneously despondent yet hope-inducing guitar harmonies, which shifts tones based solely on the various musical configurations that play within the clean guitar break. Coming in :26 into the track, it serves as counterbalance through the remainder of the song. Whether it’s letting the clean guitar offset the distorted guitar and bass melody, cutting out all elements save for the clean guitar, or letting it ricochet off all of the textures, this is the peak for one of metal’s most post-rock embracing acts.

“Echoes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn3Y7lhhWKY&feature=related),” the opening track off of Salvation, knows how to start things off. But ultimately “Leave Me Here” is their singular achievement.

[dreamdead]

44. Unexpect’s "Desert Urbania"

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Astounding. That what I believe whenever I listen to the musicianship on display by these Canadian explorers of the burlesque possibilities of metal. It’s a rare day when the guitarwork is the least impressive instrument on an album, but Unexpect have so many other aspects working on each track, balancing precariously on the edge of musical structure and cacophony, but their ideas remain impressive throughout. Eight string basswork, constant keyboard interplay with guitars, violins offering their own balance, three vocalists all working together—and that final 2 minutes. Across their debut album that’s likely the most sustained the band ever is on one melody. They do more with that melody, though, than most bands ever hope to with a whole album. Original and graceful.

“Chromatic Chimera (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbEi1JRa7w&feature=related)” the opening track off of In a Flesh Aquarium, echoes these same elements, but is even zanier.

[dreamdead]

43. Burzum’s “Det Som Engang Var”

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Most people know some aspect of Varg Vikernes’s travails with Nordic law. Those aspects make me loathe the man like few other musicians. That said, I cannot deny the wonder of this track, which helped single-handedly birth the depressive black metal genre. The calm of the keyboard, the fury of the drums, and the power of the guitarwork all generate a sense of story, of legend, that continues to evolve throughout the song. And that guitar solo at 8 minutes in is triumphant in a way that echoes the primal energy that so much of black metal seeks to tap into.

The ambient track off of Hvis lyset tar oss, "Tomhet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaFS0ZMHeco)," is also impressive in a low-fi way as well, echoing Vangelis's work on the Blade Runner soundtrack.

[D_Davis]

Great write ups.

As much as I love metal, I just can't get into the screaming/cookie monster stuff.

I like it when it's used to punctuate a verse or chorus, but as the main focus of the vocals I just can't get into it. It also bums me out because a lot of these guys can sing really well, but they choose to scream.

I think that's why I always end up liking progressive metal bands after the big change - and most go through the big change, the point where they stop screaming and start singing.

Anyhow, still really enjoying the thread. :)

BTW - listen to the new Baroness album yet? Another band to go through a big change, and they've now produced a masterpiece.

[Melville]

43. Burzum’s “Det Som Engang Var”
Great song. I love Burzum. The atmosphere is so massive. And I even like the shrieking in that song, probably because it sounds less affected than in most metal. Nice writeups too, though most of the songs thus far aren't my kind of thing.

[dreamdead]

Great song. I love Burzum. The atmosphere is so massive. And I even like the shrieking in that song, probably because it sounds less affected than in most metal. Nice writeups too, though most of the songs thus far aren't my kind of thing.

Hm. You're not even a fan of the Caïna? I figured that one might be up your alley... embracing of nihilism but not too focused on the primality of shrieks; more communicative of its interests through mournful melody.

[Melville]

Hm. You're not even a fan of the Caïna? I figured that one might be up your alley... embracing of nihilism but not too focused on the primality of shrieks; more communicative of its interests through mournful melody.
I like that one to some degree, but there are so many other, non-metal songs with mournful melodies that I prefer. I like the Cynic and Ahab songs a bit more: they strike me as more interesting, distinctive sounds.

[D_Davis]

Cynic is amazing. Absolutely stunning.

Their last EP was in my top 30 of last year. Some of the best 18 minutes of music I've ever heard.

[D_Davis]

Hope some Leprous appears on the list.

[dreamdead]

42. 40 Watt Sun's "Carry Me Home"

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How does one measure sincerity in a song? 40 Watt Sun comes near the essence of isolation in this Jesu drone-heavy, clean-vocal classic, which graced many metal sites’ top release of last year. Overt musicianship is sublimated for the sake of emotional integrity throughout the album The Inside Room, which offers cyclical sludgy riffs and crashing drums amidst the introspection. There’s no death vocals or fabricated sense of evil, just a permeating and honest sense of loss and regret. Yet, perhaps because of the vocal tone chosen by Patrick Walker, there’s something vaguely hopeful that comes through in the song. That sense is helped by the ache of the guitar some eight minutes in, which opts for a hopeful tone.

“Open My Eyes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjGXmkXJfc&feature=related)” is also nice, but “Carry Me Home” epitomizes this sound.

[dreamdead]

As much as I love metal, I just can't get into the screaming/cookie monster stuff.

I like it when it's used to punctuate a verse or chorus, but as the main focus of the vocals I just can't get into it. It also bums me out because a lot of these guys can sing really well, but they choose to scream.

I think that's why I always end up liking progressive metal bands after the big change - and most go through the big change, the point where they stop screaming and start singing.

Anyhow, still really enjoying the thread. :)

BTW - listen to the new Baroness album yet? Another band to go through a big change, and they've now produced a masterpiece.

I've listened to metal off and on since I was 15, so I don't really even hear the screams as asynchronous anymore. That said, there's a bucketload of the genre that's so derivative and posture-laden that it diminishes the artistic accomplishments of others. There can be quality lyrics or musical talent buried within the relentlessness--quality bands harness that energy.

Alas, I haven't yet listened to the Baroness album, despite the excellent reviews. Been in a mild mood these past few months. I'll try to rectify that soon.


Hope some Leprous appears on the list.

I hadn't heard of them until now. Listening to "Bilateral" now. It's really solid.

[dreamdead]

41. Les Discrets’s “Song for Mountains”

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The French have their pulse on the unique subgenres within metal better than any other region right now. Les Discrets blends elements from shoegaze with black metal, but nearly all of the bitterness and vehemence have been eliminated. In its place, these Frenchmen (and woman) raise up a plethora of guitars awash in fuzz and harmonics, and I love how the guitars at 3:54 repeat the melody from 1:08 in a different key, suggesting the unity but variation. And the build in the last minute is fantastic, with guitars peeling off the melody and cymbals crashing, only to be left with that clean guitar that has been underneath almost all of the song.

I also love, love, love their short track “Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuxiFdQEnh8),” but there’s nothing remotely metal here to let me place it on the list. Nonetheless, that throbbing bassline, together with the guitar, is magnificent, as are the vocal melodies.

[D_Davis]

42. 40 Watt Sun's "Carry Me Home"

HgJcsDbj-qI


How does one measure sincerity in a song? 40 Watt Sun comes near the essence of isolation in this Jesu drone-heavy, clean-vocal classic, which graced many metal sites’ top release of last year. Overt musicianship is sublimated for the sake of emotional integrity throughout the album The Inside Room, which offers cyclical sludgy riffs and crashing drums amidst the introspection. There’s no death vocals or fabricated sense of evil, just a permeating and honest sense of loss and regret. Yet, perhaps because of the vocal tone chosen by Patrick Walker, there’s something vaguely hopeful that comes through in the song. That sense is helped by the ache of the guitar some eight minutes in, which opts for a hopeful tone.

“Open My Eyes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjGXmkXJfc&feature=related)” is also nice, but “Carry Me Home” epitomizes this sound.

Wow - I like this a lot. Never heard of these guys before,

[D_Davis]

I hadn't heard of them until now. Listening to "Bilateral" now. It's really solid.

Yep. On my top 30 last year. So freaking good.

[D_Davis]

The vocalist for 40 Watt Sun reminds me a bit of Dominique Appleton from Breathless/This Mortal Coil.

[Thirdmango]

41. Les Discrets’s “Song for Mountains”

Wow, I loved this song. Looks like this is one of the next albums I'll pick up.

Just happened along this thread. I'd say when it comes to metal I'm somewhere between mild and medium. I actually don't mind the scream to much in certain songs. When it comes to most current American metal I tend to stick to the radio hits of each band. But on the prog side I have some bands I attract to and when I do I splurge and get everything by them. Stratovarius for example I own every album by.

I'm thinking as this list goes on I will start to like the stuff even more so keep it up!

The Unexpect song had some really cool things going on, it was a tad too chaotic but I am going to look up some more songs by them, any recs on what I should go to?

[dreamdead]

Wow, I loved this song. Looks like this is one of the next albums I'll pick up.

Just happened along this thread. I'd say when it comes to metal I'm somewhere between mild and medium. I actually don't mind the scream to much in certain songs. When it comes to most current American metal I tend to stick to the radio hits of each band. But on the prog side I have some bands I attract to and when I do I splurge and get everything by them. Stratovarius for example I own every album by.

I'm thinking as this list goes on I will start to like the stuff even more so keep it up!

The Unexpect song had some really cool things going on, it was a tad too chaotic but I am going to look up some more songs by them, any recs on what I should go to?

Unfortunately, I can't do Stratovarius or other power metal because it comes off a little too cheesy. I remember being depressed when I bought Infinite since the musicianship is so stellar, but I just can't do it. I've always liked the "Infinity" track, which has the grandiosity down.

Regarding Unexpect, that track is actually their least chaotic track by my estimations. This one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rci0cqsPylE&feature=related) off their new album might be more palatable, but I haven't worked my way through it too much.

[dreamdead]

40. Soilwork’s "Grand Failure Anthem"

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Within the Swedish melodic metal sound that flooded metal in the late ‘90s, few bands were as skilful at effortlessly integrating singalong choruses with pounding rhythms. Here, Soilwork opens on a headbanging riff immediately, but the reason the song’s included here is the staccato guitar work at 3:23 on through the end of the solo. It’s a crushing moment, balancing small moments of keyboard work with the power of clean guitars gliding across scales. This is music for working out. There’s little of the texture that will be prevalent later in the list, but for exercise it’s pretty much unrivalled.

The band aimed for another triumphant chorus with Shadowchild (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_8s1-k1wI0), and it might have cooler solo work (fast forward to the 2-minute mark), but their later work lost the balance of metal and melody, neutering their talents.

[dreamdead]

39. Neurosis’s “Through Silver in Blood”

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There’s something about tribal drum rhythms that evoke a real sense of Lovecraftian dread. Few bands have used that sensation to better effect than Neurosis, who manage to craft what I expect the apocalypse to sound like even as they maintain a real sense of songcraft. Most of their singular effect comes from Jason Roeder’s layered drumwork, but there’s a sense of gargantuan riffs throughout this whole track, where feedback, delay, and scratching all culminate in an unsettling listening experience. And those last forty seconds… so cool. One of the few metal bands who have remained relevant through two decades and still put out challenging material; The Eye of Every Storm's "Bridges" suggests how they remain relevant even as they mature.

Their track "Purifÿ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_f3Ffk_wI&feature=related)" captures many of the same atmospheric tricks, but adds bagpipes 9 minutes in. Well worth your time.

[dreamdead]

38. The Gathering's "Same Moon, Different Day"

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Go to 22:47 for the track in question (only live videos of the song are available, oddly, and I think the studio version is unparalleled)

This Dutch band began as one of hundreds of doom metal bands, but when vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen came into the fold, the dynamics of the band shifted, with more of a focus on atmosphere punctuated by bursts of riffing or furious drums. Nowhere is that better represented than in "Same Moon, Different Day," which settles on a meandering riff structure only to blast out a pounding double-bass drum beat at the end as the song concludes. That the band held onto this dynamic for four minutes speaks to their growing maturity as songwriters, and to how much Anneke centered their compositions.

Opening track "On Most Surfaces" is also solid stuff. The band might be rightly termed alternative now, but the chord tuning on the guitars here retain a sense of metal extremes, even if it's utilized more in moderation.

[dreamdead]

37. In Flames's "Moonshield"

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A two for one here, as the video includes the excellent instrumental "The Jester's Dance" as well. This once-great late-'90s Swedish band delivered three albums of superlative melodic metal (Jester Race through Colony), where acoustic guitarwork blended seamlessly with thick waves of harmonic melodies. Here, the acoustic opening is returned to mid-track and reveals itself to be a surprisingly optimistic for the genre. Moreover, the band has a real ear for uplifting and hummable melodies when there's no vocals, so that the band stands on its own. Not especially furious with regard to drums or bass, just well thought out musicianship and song structure.

[dreamdead]

36. Blut Aus Nord's "Öur Blessed Frozen Cells"

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The Frenchmen who make up Blut Aus Nord have an eclectic sense of what they want their albums to be. They run the gamut from ethereal space metal to more industrial tuning, from trenchant black metal fury to funeral dirges. Their willingness to experiment with guitar tone and technique, so that a song is altered merely by bending chords successively, reveals how haunting their music can be. Their 2003 album The Work Which Transforms God embodies the mindset of horror and dread, and are often the soundscape for what could be the most freaked-out horror film, but the final three minutes of "Our Blessed Frozen Cells" has a energy that pulsates rather than simply scares, a structure that comes off classical rather than one of blind fury, so that its melody reverberates across the album.

To hear more of the "This should totally be on a horror film soundtrack," check out the bending chord marathon that is "The Choir of the Dead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRZyUmk7vsQ)," and if it comes off as too chaotic, bump it up to 3:40 to hear the beauty within the madness.

[Glass Co.]

I'm definitely a newcomer to metal, but the Burzum and Neurosis choices are ace.

[dreamdead]

I'm definitely a newcomer to metal, but the Burzum and Neurosis choices are ace.

Glad you like those two. We're gonna start getting into more experimental ground soon.

35. Meshuggah's "Future Breed Machine"

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Building upon the man vs. machine sound that Fear Factory perfected in the mid-'90s, Sweden's Meshuggah removed almost any decipherable sense of melody for the first two minutes. It's just one metallic riff upon another. The band secures a spot here, though, for that instrumental break, where a sense of humanity and quiet jazz weaves throughout the musical interlude. After that, the staccato-heavy and syncopated riffs return, but even more powerful. And the drum tone that's achieved here is a marvel, weighty but wholly metallic. I think Chaosphere is likely the more mature and distinct album of theirs, held together by nothing less than pure musical precision, but there's no denying the intensity of this debut.

Had I opted for Chaosphere, I'd have chosen "The Mouth Licking What You've Bled (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXTue8zRtlk)," which barrels down on me like a train. But the interlude in the above track transcends the chaos on this track.

[dreamdead]

Still waiting on Derek to hook me up with this next album... :|

34. Dopamine's "Melting"

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A mix of post-rock, shoegaze, and black metal, China's Dopamine put out two brief EPs before disappearing back into the ether. What they left behind demonstrates whole sequences of remarkable beauty and restraint, punctured by flurries of humming black metal guitars and piercing shrieks. Largely, though, it's a quiet and melodic affair, suggesting how evocative the band was at conveying loss, regret, desire, and hope. Largely instrumental, this track offers more depth than most death metal bands could have ever hoped to convey.

[dreamdead]

33. Agalloch's "You Were But a Ghost in My Arms"

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Echoing the template that Ulver established with their Bergtratt album, this Portland, OR, group embraced the blend of clean guitar, spoken rather than shrieked vocals, and a natural sense of melody. While there's still some of the black metal shriek, it's mostly sublimated. Instead, the central element here are the cyclical guitar chords, which have an open quality and offer contemplation rather than fury. And when the bells come in 7 minutes in, it's just a beautiful moment. One of the more essential winter albums that metal offers.

They also have an excellent jazzy instrumental track, "The Hawthorne Passage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2uQeYUmEic&feature=related)" which gets one of the best post-rock crescendos starting at 6:45.

[dreamdead]

32. Mouth of the Architect's "Baobab"

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Another sludge-laden post-rock metal band, this group from Ohio orchestrates those tried-and-true counterpoints from loud to soft and back again, but they do so with a confidence which emphasizes how well-structured these tracks are. Though they compose long tracks, there’s a real sense of progression and detail inherent to their work. Here, the galloping guitar hook introduced 3 minutes in finds itself doubled with the thicker guitar tone, when the band lays it on a minute later. Equally impressive is how proggy they allow themselves to be, coming off like a meatier version of Mastodon at the 4:15 mark. Yet that’s to say nothing of their development when the track is at the 5:30 mark. This slow-down reveals how attuned they are to layering melodies, letting the track wander like the best of post-rock. The rhythm 7 minutes in is awesome, as is their absolute crushing of that melody when they go loud again.

Their closing track off of The Ties that Bind album, “Wake Me When It’s Over (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXCeznqTezs)” mirrors this song in its excellence, even if it opens itself to the classic critique of post-rock with its title.

[dreamdead]

31. The Pax Cecilia’s “The Tragedy”

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Think of a heavier version of Slint and you’ll understand where The Pax Cecilia is coming from with their album Blessed are the Bonds. Heavily atmospheric, willing to experiment with strings as well as forgo any real metal element for some 5 minutes. Yet the main riff, introduced at that point, is absolutely breathtaking in its simplicity. The cymbals, piano, and strings all highlight the same chord progression but it’s so densely layered that it continues to astound some 6 years later. And the sincerity of the vocal performance is likewise impressive, as the clean vocals turn to a haunting shout, again like Slint, that lingers in its power long after it’s finished.

This whole album should be available as a free download at the band’s website here (http://www.paxcecilia.com/). Their track “The Progress (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wkPwyb3KNM&feature=relmfu)” is much louder, but no less interesting.

[dreamdead]

30. Mastodon's "Hearts Alive"

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Hey, another take on Melville's Moby Dick. Here's the essence of prog-metal, using the closing track of their Leviathan album to hammer down their talents with rhythmic and thematic exploration. Opening on a clean, shimmering riff, the band soon embraces the depth of its range (what drumwork!) with the transition to its metal roots. But there's nonetheless a real emphasis on maintaining a listenability here which is so unusual in the genre. The guitars hold each rhythm to its natural end, but they also branch out and explore what's around those rhythms. Yet what makes this song so exceptional is its outro, which is one of the best closings in metal as it retains a sense of pacing that allows it to refuse becoming just a masturbatory riff-fest. Everything from 7:15 is just gold. Enjoy it.

I haven't listened to much of their later work, but this album, to me, emphasizes all of the talent available in metal.

[Sven]

... this album, to me, emphasizes all of the talent available in metal.

Oooo, and 29 submissions still to come. Can't wait. Been digging this.

[dreamdead]

29. Cave In's "Paranormal"

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Here's a Massachusetts band that knows how to captivate despite the hardcore-ish vocals interspersed throughout. The rolling drumwork, which just totally rocks my world, in conjunction with the wall-of-sound guitars, work together to build a psychedelic journey, so that the instrumental break celebrates all that has built up to this moment. The falsettos and the strumming tempers the fury, and it's held just long enough before the drums return, again suggesting a skittering patter of beats that break loose. Clean vocalist Steven Brodsky knows his talents, and they shine in the crescendo. Just awesome. (We're getting to the tracks that will leave my thoughts geeked out. Please pardon...)

In terms of another track, I'm fond of "Ataraxia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUVbVHXJsGk&feature=relmfu)" off of their Perfect Pitch Black album.

[dreamdead]

28. Type O Negative's "Love You to Death"

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Likely the only song on this list that can be construed as both a tender ode to yearning as well as a master-submissive relationship, this one's all about rhythm. The band has competent guitarwork, but where they excel is the atmosphere found in the keyboard lines. The keyboards evoke a neoclassical sensibility, and Peter Steele's voice transforms ostensibly ludicrous subject matter (in that I'm 98% positive that this is totally a BSDM track). That said, just like their earlier magisterial "Christian Woman," which similarly plays with irony, there's a real sense of the track's naked sincerity. That last minute and a half, where Steele questions "Am I good enough for you?" against the keyboard riff, is absolutely impressive. When Steele passed away in 2010, metal lost one of its most distinctive voices.

For a second musical cue of theirs, I'll tip my hat to their "The Dream is Dead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIdKB_qI0RE)" track off of penultimate album Life is Killing Me. Beyond serving as the basis for my name on forums (I was much younger back then... sue me for mediocre taste), the track has a killer guitar/keyboard line at the end.

[dreamdead]

27. Fen's "Bereft"

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A return to black metal, seen through English eyes. Fen takes on a diverse range of black metal influences, from folk, to atmospheric, to viking metal, but the band shape these tendencies into a track that somehow holds all of them, letting each element shine. Although the riff at the 3-minute mark doesn't appear all that impressive at first, the band keeps coming back to it, slowly adjusting the structure beneath it. Where the song truly excels, though, is from the 8-minute mark to the end, which utilizes all of the subgenres magically. There's guitar delays that lead into that primal scream that was first introduced at the 3 minute mark. Further, this is one black metal band that's willing to let the bass play a role, as their bassist plays all around that final rhythm, creating a funkiness that's seldom heard in metal. Yet, most powerfully, the band use the keyboards to serve as a counterpoint to the desolation of the lyrics, as there's a real sense of hope and yearning in the keyboard work that closes the song. It's a journey that's rewarding to me, principally due to how Fen structures the outro.

The band, as my tastes likely suggest, also engage in some post-rock angles in their work. If you're more interested in those aspects, "The Warren (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE65faxZw6w&feature=related)" is nice stuff.

[dreamdead]

26. Strapping Young Lad's "Skeksis"

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Devin Townsend can be thought of one of metal's chameleon artists. In his solo career, he has put out wonderful rock melodies, and his album Ghost is tied with Oean Machine as his best solo work. His work on Strapping Young Lad often features far less of the melodic side, but between the song structure and his production work, every element of the music comes through. Here, it's all almost generating a metallic riff texture, where Gene Hoglan's drumwork meshes perfectly against it. The riffs along the 4:00 mark are phenomenal, and the madness that comes after it, as Townsend and the other guitarist bend their notes, is equally impressive.

Ultimately, his album City first perfected this wall-of-sound production template, but I find myself returning to Alien more often. This track is one reason why, with its galloping outro, where the double-bass offers a quick release every beat. The other reason for choosing Alien is that it has the tender "Two Weeks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbrTKuXIvwQ)" on it, which melds his solo work into the STL sound long enough to allow respite from the unrelenting earlier tracks

[D_Davis]

Major props for Agalloch, Fen, Cave In and Strapping Young Lad.

Cave In's Jupiter is one of my favorite rock albums.

[D_Davis]

Opinion on Townsend's Terria?

[dreamdead]

Opinion on Townsend's Terria?

For several years it was my favorite solo Devin recording (with gorgeous artwork by Travis Smith throughout available here (http://www.seempieces.com/GalleryFrameset.html), if you don't already have it--I love that cover so much). Then more listens of Ocean Machine raised it above Terria. I don't think too much of the first three tracks, but the run from "Deep Peace" through "Tiny Tears" is pretty marvelous (not the biggest fan of "The Fluke," but it's bookended on either side with excellence).

My favorite heavy Devy list would look like this right now:

1. Ghost (Texada ftw)
2. Ocean Machine (for "Hide Nowhere," "Sister," "Things Beyond Things," and "Funeral")
3. Terria
4. Accelerated Evolution ("Storm" and "Away" are incredible)
5. Addicted! (all the Anneke tracks)
6. Alien
7. City
8. most of his other albums all have something pretty solid about them, but they don't resonate as heavily for me. Four tracks on Ki are nearly wonderful enough to qualify that album, but that one is a bit too scattershot to me.

I still haven't listened to Epicloud enough to comfortably place it on this list right now.

[D_Davis]

Cool. I just bought Terria yesterday, and I'm liking it a lot. It's very heavy, but still very pretty, and melodic. He has such a diverse voice, and I love his wall of sound production.

I think I need to give Ocean Machine more listens. I bought it awhile ago, but it didn't immediately hit with my like the other stuff I've heard, which, BTW, is not a lot.

Do you like any of the stuff he did with Steve Vai?

[D_Davis]

"Tiny Tears" is one hell of a track. Talk about a wall of guitar. Geez. Almost puts My Bloody Valentine to shame.

[dreamdead]

"Tiny Tears" is one hell of a track. Talk about a wall of guitar. Geez. Almost puts My Bloody Valentine to shame.

Yeah, that track is probably my favorite Devin song. The tone he draws from the guitar is phenomenal, and from the solo on through the closing he evokes such a powerful sense of hope.

I've never bothered with any of the Steve Vai albums he contributed since that style of music (classical guitar wanking with cheesy lyrics) doesn't interest me. This track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7W03YhD7cg)doesn't excite me, either. If you choose to explore that, though, let me know.

[dreamdead]

25. Envy's "Chain Wandering Deeply"

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Japan’s Envy made one of the more seamless transitions from hardcore to post-rock. This track opens their 2003 album A Dead Sinking Story and moves between classic hardcore vocals and relentless scaling guitar melodies to tranquil guitar notes, capturing in miniature the evocative soundscape that the band would thereafter plumb. The main melody at 4:35 on solidifies how powerful a build-up can be, as snyths, divergent drum patterns, and noodling guitars all operate in blissful counterpoint. And when the full band comes crashing in with dissonant rhythms, the crescendo feels fully earned and exists in contradistinction to more formulaic post-rock crescendos. The live version that can be found on youtube extends the excellence even further.

Also, their tracks “Go Mad and Mark (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbROnpGjtLM)” and “A Will Remains in the Ashes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq4EBbzNiKo&feature=relmfu)” offer more melodies, with clean singing in the former, and an interesting variation on soft/loud dynamics via the hardcore vocals in the clean instrumental sections. The band remains solid today, if a bit too reliant on post-rock tropes now, but this album made me take notice of their emotional angle into metal.

[dreamdead]

24. Wolves in the Throne Room's "I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots"

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Opening with a sheen of droning keyboards, a distant wind, and clean guitars, Washingtonians Wolves in the Throne announce the epicness of their closing track off of 2007 Two Hunters. The track shifts effortlessly to a typical black metal beat, with incessant drumwork and a buzzing set of guitars, but the strength of this track resides in how thoroughly the band is willing to allow a droning rhythm. Whether it's the melancholy guitar line at 2:51, which suggests an almost triumphant quality, to the jangling cymbal work from the drummer, the band draws each element out to the fullest potential. Yet the true texture of this song comes at the 6:50 mark, which moves from a feedback-laden drone to a tribal rhythm on the drums at 7:39. That whole movement progresses from simple fury to an atypical drum pattern. Yet it sustains its power, so that the droning guitars find a counterbalance in the sheer humanity of the drumming, which isn't triggered or otherwise mechanical, suggesting the clear juxtaposition at work. And while the band's hippie ideology is noteworthy, a track this diverse yet foundational would make any metalhead's list. Come for the drone, stay for the climactic ending.

Opening track, "Dia Artio (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmJs9K8FnwM)" is also gorgeous, a vocal-less epic in orchestration, building itself with layered keyboard work, nature sounds, and fuzzed-out guitars. The whole album is pretty magnificent, with plenty of inspired musician choices and movements.

[dreamdead]

23. Nechochwen's "Azimuths To The Otherworld"

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Given that metal music pillages wildly from long-forgotten tribal customs, such as viking folklore or Egyptian papyrus, it makes perfect sense that the West Virginia band Nechochwen would note the power and symbolism inherent to Native American culture. On the title track, the two-man group appropriates these textures and generates a true collage of music, drawing seamlessly from Scandinavian metal and Native American folklore and instruments. Elsewhere the band draws on instrumentation as diverse as flute, and the album is largely an acoustic affair, exploring the melancholy air of Native American life. This track, though, has a galloping drumbeat to connect with the melodious opening of guitars. The movement from acoustic to electric guitars is equally crushing at 2:10. One of the best finds you'll discover in metal, and their talents deserve more listeners.

The track "Four Effigies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ19Am1kw54&feature=related)" is one of the best instrumental tracks, and it's thoroughly hypnotic, moving between four distinct movements (the shift at 3:56 is killer). This is, simply put, an album that transcends overly obvious metal tropes, and should be required listening for anyone who wants to hear adventurous music.

[dreamdead]

22. Isis's "Backlit"

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Bostonites Isis open the second track off of their third album, Panopticon, with a clean guitar melody that drags and echoes, which places it in wonderful counterpoint to the shimmering keyboards and deft bass-playing. The melody moves back and forth before hitting its first peak at 1:35, as the whole band lays down a wall of sound, complemented by Aaron Turner's clean howls. Then, it all drops back out, leaving us with that clean guitar once more. And it's one of the simplest but most breathtaking moments I've heard in metal, where the band operates in such unison that the propulsion when they come back in is superlative. Everything hits at such a high level during these first four minutes. Much of the immediate depth is layered in that sequence, even though the song isn't over. The band explores some prog territory immediately afterwards, drawing out rolling basslines, jazzy drumwork, and meandering guitars that pull the main riff back in and out. While their album Oceanic is more consistent, I'll always remember this track for making me step back and take full notice of their talents.

The next track on this album, "In Fiction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sopiG1Qhlh8)," uses a more conventional post-rock structure, but the depth that they draw from that bass is again immense. And it's impeccably arranged, with build-up layered atop build-up.

[dreamdead]

21. Boris's "Farewell"

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Many of the same elements in the Isis track reappear here. The song opens with a brief bit of guitar harmonics, as the drums slowly pick up pace. Quickly, though, the slow build-up opens out onto a beautifully sludgy and dirge-laden wash of guitars, with Wata pulling notes so that they scale ever-so-gently and take on a hopeful air. That sense of expectation is contrasted with Takeshi's weary vocals, and the band works to draw out the most drone- and feedback-heavy tone from their instruments. After four minutes of blissful drone, Wata's guitar solo is just piercing in its immediacy and tone. It mourns, it yearns, and it drops out, taking us on the song's journey with naked elegance. With one more cycle through the chorus, Boris slowly draws toward the inevitable end, with a few more bursts of harmonics cresting over the droning waves of guitars.

Their closing track "Just Abandoned My-Self (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CjsaFBQA1Q&feature=related)" plays with the drony quality, perhaps to a fault, but those first 8 minutes are pedal-to-the-floor heavy and punky at the same time.

[dreamdead]

20. My Dying Bride's "The Cry of Mankind"


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One of the most hypnotic riffs to come from the annals of metal guitar-playing, the main melody here doesn't ever really shift or mutate. Nonetheless, it has a haunting quality primarily because the English band knows how to alter so many other elements to the song. Opening on the guitar rhythm unto itself, the band soon brings in a drumbeat that grows in steady intensity, a keyboard riff that itself serves as another "riff," and the intentionally monotonous vocals of Aaron Stainthorpe. One of the progenitors of doom metal, this song perfectly encapsulates how a sustained melody can become forbearing and eerie.

[dreamdead]

19. Nile's "Unas Slayer of the Gods"

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Egyptian metal by way of South Carolina. It's a little on the blunt side, but the level of commitment to recreating an Egyptian soundscape (trying to write in ninths rather than eight-beat scales) and transcribing papyrus from the first century into metal lyrics nonetheless provokes great respect. And while death metal is seldom my favorite metal genre, largely because it often paints with too narrow of a canvas, the band members here do an excellent job at getting texture and depth from their chosen sound. There's a constant layer of keyboards, undergirding the project with foreboding and resisting an overly cheesy quality. Moreover, the solo that explodes out at 6:25 is just absolutely impressive, evoking a classical metal guitar solo even as it draws out those Egyptian tinges. And the drumwork is incredibly busy, but still serving the song. At 8:18, though, comes the peak, drawing out acoustic Middle-eastern tones from their guitar, and going for epic praise to an ancient god.

The opening track off of their album In Their Darkened Shrines, "The Blessed Dead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2jxoaF_JJg)," will also help you determine if you care for such a sound. It's their last album that felt like the Eastern elements were naturally linked into their sound...

[D_Davis]

I haven't listened to Envy in a long time. They still sound great.

Nice picks with Isis and Boris - great tracks.

[dreamdead]

I haven't listened to Envy in a long time. They still sound great.

Nice picks with Isis and Boris - great tracks.

Yeah, that might be the best bit of soundscape/heaviness/melody that Boris has ever done. I think their desire to constantly release new explorations has really diluted any enthusiasm that I can have for them remaining consistent.

Any thoughts on the Nechochwen instrumental? I thought you'd like that one.

And Isis isn't done yet. They actually top the list with most tracks that made the top 50.

[dreamdead]

18. Opeth's "The Drapery Falls"

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Whether it's the gorgeously rendered sliding effect from the guitar that producer Steven Wilson records from the band, or the tranquil proggy repetition of the band themselves, the Swedes of Opeth have rarely sounded better. Here is the pinnacle of Opeth's later releases, where they depended on acoustic guitars, not keyboards, to augment the melodies. Frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt would never sound stronger in his intimacy, and that relentless guitarwork in the verses is so strangely compelling. It's not really technical, but it retains a theatricality that blesses the song with a power that echoes throughout the first solo, around 4:31. And while the band became more technically profecient as members dropped in and out, the clarity of each contribution has seldom been matched. The dread drawn from the melody at 5:40 is immense. And the acoustic break that signals the climax at 7:48, with guitars, clean vocals, and quick bursts of fury all operating in perfect sync--it's one of the best demonstrations of pace and structure before the outro circles back to the sliding guitar.

[dreamdead]

17. Enslaved's "Äs Fires Swept Clean the Earth"

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Opening as a funeral dirge with keyboards only, this Nordic band, which has been around since the early-1990s and never issued a release that wasn't quality, orchestrate a powerful elegy, getting a key apocalyptic quality from the crashing drums and atonal guitarwork. But at 2:12 it all comes together, as guitarist Ivar Bjørnson shifts to a haunting clean lead. It's a moment of beauty in contrast to the almost mechanical structure at work in the rest of the track. At 4:22, as the drumwork adopts a double-time beat, that mournful lead comes back, and is woven through the track until 5:22, when it truly soars as a counterpoint, going in higher and higher registers and assuming the climactic tone. It's a busy song, but that yearning in the guitar expresses a level of humanity that most metal forgets about. And as the keyboards return, they return the listener to the beginning.

The band has moved more toward clean vocals over the years, but they've accomplished the transition smoother than most. Their track "Lightening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8iCxMTzRGI)," from 2010's Axioma Ethica Odini is equally epic.

[dreamdead]

16. Bathory's "A Fine Day to Die"

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One of the true metal classics, this 1988 track has reservoirs of grandiosity. Band mastermind Quorthon opens with a sustained intro composed around airy vocals and clean guitarwork before transitioning to an early black metal galloping gait. Key to the structure, though, is how heavily he relies on the droning of the guitar chord. It's a lost art among most black metal today, save for France's Blut Aus Nord, and it is part of the song's many charms. The otherworldly layering that Quorthon achieves at 4:51 is equally strong. He's one of the few artists in the black/viking metal world who knew where to place guitar leads and how to maximize the classical loud and soft dynamics inherent to a lead. If nothing else, the main solo, at 6:48, is magnificent and should be required listening on how to start and finish a solo.

The band's "For All Those Who Died (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AMoLkhuGgM)" doesn't achieve the same epic levels, but it's solid enough, and that sustained drone of the chord is present.

[dreamdead]

15. Ulver's "I Troldskog Faren Vild"

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One of the calmest recordings of metal I've ever heard, the majority of Ulver's classic Bergtatt recording conveys a sense of peace and ease. Largely it's a result of masterful production work. These Norwegians don't overwhelm you with relentless riffs; rather, they maintain a steadiness, trusting in the quality of the melodies to secure the musicianship. That guitar solo at 2:50 is a marvel, and Garm's effortless clean vocals suggest a timelessness. Similarly, the rolling drumwork moves the song forward until the acoustic break at 5:41, which in turn transitions to a triumphant ending, complete with hummable guitar leads.

It's the type of album that Agalloch owes their entire career to. Ulver's "Fen Stemmer Locker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNmhF89kgL0)" is an artsy, atmospheric, and excellent listen as well.

[D_Davis]

Yes. Ulver is awesome.

Have you mentioned Voivod yet?

[dreamdead]

14. Arcturus's "Star Crossed"

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Opening with a graceful piano solo, the avant-garde black metal supergroup Arcturus announces their intentions to contribute something celestial to metal. Complementing the rolling keyboard virtuosity, Garm's clean vocals aspire to capture some element of the cosmos, and that guitar solo at 3:10 is equally majestic. This is metal for those unafraid to see the medium explore new ground, aiming for the metaphysical rather than overly obvious posturing or preening. The whole 2002 Sham Mirrors album is a spectacle, experimenting with trip-hop, space rock, neoclassical, and black metal motifs. It's unprecedented in metal to this day.

[dreamdead]

Have you mentioned Voivod yet?

Voivod are one of my blind spots--should I start with Nothingface , Dimension Hatröss, or another?

[D_Davis]

Voivod are one of my blind spots--should I start with Nothingface , Dimension Hatröss, or another?

Ha! I was hoping you'd tell me. :D

I like what I've heard, really like some of it, but I don't think I've ever listened to a full album.

[dreamdead]

13. Pelican's "Autumn into Summer"

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Speaking of a sense of peace, the build-up embedded in this Pelican track is stupendous. This instrumentalist band has always had weaknesses, namely in form of mediocre drumwork, but they achieve something graceful and ambient in the first four minutes here. It's understated and pleasantly repetitive, charting the (backwards) progression of the seasons in a way that mirrors nature. The breakthrough of the lead guitar at 2:43 illustrates calm in a way that few other metal tracks have. The rise into the song's first crescendo echoes this shift, as the bandmates layer winding melodies atop one another until they burst forth with the lead at 4:22. While the band is pretty much all post-rock today, that burst has the vitality that the best of metal offers, ricocheting riffs off of one another. And the crescendo at the 7-minute mark registers with the power of a band that knows their limitations and have crafted the one song that never veers into any of them.

[dreamdead]

12. Jesu's "Tired of Me"

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I missed out on Justin Broadrick's band Godflesh, which combined industrial and extreme metal. His 2004 full-length debut of Jesu, however, with its repetitive, drowned-in-reverb chords progressions and melancholy monotoned lyrics, was right up my alley. There's not much to this song, really. It has two major melodies, with little variation--at most, Broadrick drops out the guitars a time or two. What it does have is emotional and musical integrity, all sustained from the power of Jesu's collective imagination. The richness of the crashing cymbals shifts into a military drumbeat at the end and adds a layer of humanity onto an ostensibly barren musical core. And the keyboards here are one of Broadrick's best, eliciting strong sensations and serving as the body of the piece. It's a simultaneously draining and enlightening piece of music, and still Jesu's strongest achievement.

[dreamdead]

11. Fear Factory's "Zero Signal"

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The band that got me into extreme metal back in 1995; I lucked out in purchasing a classic. Opening with cries of children, the band then explores acute texture of space and movement, all while drawing on the (sub)liminal chord progression of Brad Fiedel's iconic Terminator soundtrack before shifting into a galloping drumbeat, layered again with Rhys Fulber (he of Front Line Assembly and producer of the Demanufacture album) on keyboards. In 1995 extreme metal still didn't do clean vocals so the exploration here by Burton Bell was groundbreaking, as was the metallic guitar and drum tone. The clean vocals are manipulated here to serve as the only real semblance of humanity, and it's a strength in concept and execution. And that finale, with the galloping drums that shifts into a triumphant mesh of classical fills and droned guitars, into finally a graceful piano outro: sublime. The band has been through countless permutations, but the constant remains Demanufacture's excellence. I can put this album on at any time and be amazed at how forward-thinking this album, and band, was.

Seriously, listen to "Self Bias Resistor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=bCTies9khqo)" and check out the texture drawn from the mechanized drums. The song also has a glorious climax.

[dreamdead]

10. Isis's "Ghost Key"

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Rolling bass-lines echo with the texture of the best of the Cure. Evocative keyboards hum and add a spacey, prog rock mentality to the proceedings. Guitar melodies match up with the keyboards, establishing a clean sense of harmonics. And Aaron Turner's howls erupt with as much force as they ever have, but are constrained and frequently enveloped by the overall beauty woven throughout. This second selection by Isis places so high because it is, to me, the pinnacle of the band's late-era, where the band becomes far more interested in tone and texture and less with the generic templates of of post-rock. There's few moments in metal as powerfully transcendent as the moments after 2:34, when the band members drop out and leave the strumming guitar-line hanging as the foundation from which they'll build upon. The keyboards scale up, the bass shimmers and deepens, and the drums all coalesce to make the climax at 3:19 so impressionistic. And Turner's clean vocals here have a power that only his howls used to. It's a track that suggests where metal can go once it's disinterested in generic tropes.

[dreamdead]

9. Enslaved's "Neogenesis"

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Enslaved's second appearance on this list offers one of the most transcendent outros that metal will ever concoct, full of discipline and fire, force and freedom. The band plays with a folk texture for the first two minutes before transitioning into a more typical black metal-tinged beat, but the driving melody at 4:02 offers intimation of where the band ultimately sees the song going. Relentless riffing segues to a 1970's proggy guitar solo, letting each chord echo and hang before moving to this next progression. This sequence will be returned to, as this is the actual core of the song, with the riffing coming at half-time and allowing the melodies to be dwelled upon. The band returns to the quick riffing another time or two, but the 70s prog elements remain a focal point. It all comes to a head at 8:40, when everything but the guitars drop out. The guitars build a melancholy texture that lead guitarist Ice Dale solos effortlessly over, achieving the closest approximation of a metal Pink Floyd that I will ever know. The band clearly savors this sound, because they sustain it for so long while each component of Dale's guitarwork adds to the experience. It's amazing, and suggests how one era influences another seamlessly.

[dreamdead]

8. Isis's "From Sinking"

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Triumph. The difficulty of communicating that feeling is effortlessly excised in the first few seconds of Isis's track "From Sinking," from their excellent Oceanic album. This track follows the tranquil droning of the album's centerpiece, "Weight," and the textures that Aaron Turner and company elicit are powerful. Amidst the bellowing vocals and propulsive riffs, the band channels a true sense of calm, finding melodies that mirror the ebb and flow of the ocean. The transition from 4:30 to the end, which has all the instruments save for a droning guitar drop out, has a logical and emotional progression that has never been matched by the band. They demonstrate as a band how phenomenal they are at generating feelings even without lyrics. And when the harshness of Turner's voice bellows back out, it's all the more powerful for how much tension resides in the song's form. It's the best from one of metal's best.

[dreamdead]

7. Ihsahn’s "On the Shores"

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When Ihsahn, principle songwriter for the pioneering black metal band Emperor, began his solo career, it seemed as though it would be the coda to a great career. His first two albums, The Adversary and AngL, contained good enough musicianship, but the seamless blending of melody and cacaphony was nowhere to be seen. Consequently, when After was released, it seemed like an explosion of inspiration and daring had returned to Ihsahn. The closing track to the album, "On the Shores," epitomizes these sentiments. Bursting out of the gate with a mournful saxophone, which augments the main guitar riff, Ihsahn's piercing howl begins. But at 1:32, the musical creativity re-emerges, with clean guitar melodies and vocals existing as a counterpoint to the semi-freejazz sax playing. That elegaic tone is omnipresent until it transitions to a thick metal guitar buttressed by expert double-bass drum playing. The exciting thing about this portion is that Ihsahn orchestrates a clear sense of rising action before the climax, with keyboards building upon the riffs. As the song clears its peak, it has a gloriously slow conclusion, returning to the opening motif and tying together its ideas. It's the most adventurous Ihsahn ever was, and deserves celebration.

[dreamdead]

6. Emperor’s "I am the Black Wizards"

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Whereas Ihsahn's solo work listed above is the most adventurous, this early track from Emperor is the band at their most furious. Laden with the now-classic tremolo picking and gothic keyboards, its nonetheless progressive in how elemental they sound. Guitarists Ihsahn and Samoth transition between neo-classical modes of metal just as effectively as they do the blast-beat heavy portions of the song, and the keyboard-horns and -choir accompany the overall epic feel to the song. These moments, however, feel fundamental to the texture and not like mere ornamentation. Further, the breakdown at 4:05 is one of the darkest melodies concocted, offering a transparent sense of darkness that is echoed by the subsequent guitar melody. The vocal patterns, from howls, to shrieks, to monotone speaking, all offer a glimpse into the variety that the black metal genre would build upon, but each element was seldom done better individually, and certainly never in a single song.

[dreamdead]

5. Tenhi’s "Rannalta Heattu"

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Building upon the cornerstones of metal minimalism, this Finnish folk band knows how to compose music. At first glimpse they seem to have little to do with metal, and some might assert that there is little metal influence. Atmospheric, melancholic, celebratory--they can do it all, with nary a scream nor a piercing guitar solo. Instead, they deconstruct the identity of metal within a folk lens, with whispered vocals that, at 1:16, become beautifully textured with acoustic guitars and keyboards. It's simply transcendent, moving from despondency to hope, from pain to celebration. Moreover, it does not feel forced, but rather part of an almost ambient progression, layering sounds and styles upon one another and arriving at the most original sound to have infiltrated the typically static genres of metal in some time. This is recommended for all listeners, as it explodes genre gentrification. It's metal but doesn't sound like it, yet contains the integrity that metal strives to represent. Brilliance.

[Sven]

Sorry I really don't have a ton to say. This thread is tremendous, though. One of the best.

[Glass Co.]

I'm with Sven. Being a newbie to metal I find it hard to really talk about most of these songs in comparison to any traditional forms or genres. That said, I have at least appreciated everything I've listened to so far, and the ones I had heard already (Ulver, fucking Emperor!) are fantastic.

I have been getting into black metal overall in the last few months partially because I enjoy the non-technical side of most of it, but this thread has shown me that there is a lot more metal that fits that description than I first thought.

[dreamdead]

Sorry I really don't have a ton to say. This thread is tremendous, though. One of the best.


I'm with Sven. Being a newbie to metal I find it hard to really talk about most of these songs in comparison to any traditional forms or genres. That said, I have at least appreciated everything I've listened to so far, and the ones I had heard already (Ulver, fucking Emperor!) are fantastic.

I have been getting into black metal overall in the last few months partially because I enjoy the non-technical side of most of it, but this thread has shown me that there is a lot more metal that fits that description than I first thought.

Glad you guys have stuck around as I've tried to find time to continue the thread. 17 years of listening to this genre have given me the opportunity to hear new sounds and styles, and I'm happy that you're enjoying the countdown.

I found black metal the hardest sub-genre to appreciate when I first started listening to extreme metal. Emperor's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk sat around for two months as I played the instrumental closing track time and again trying to pierce the noise element and find the musicality within the chaos. With bands like Blut Aus Nord continuously challenging paradigms of black metal today, the sub-genre I least enjoy today is the whole math-core movement of Dillinger Escape Plan and Between the Buried and Me, among others. That stuff is amazingly technical, but I haven't been able to connect with it in years...

[dreamdead]

4. Opeth's "Demon of the Fall"

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When I first heard Opeth back in 2001, it was a revelation. The blending of acoustic and electric guitars, clean and guttural vocals; it had a perfect understanding of folk and extreme musical templates. Although the band is likely more technical and refined today, they are unlikely to surpass the emotional integrity woven throughout their 1998 album My Arms, Your Hearse. The band had already revealed a sense of emotional honesty with their earlier release Morningrise, composing elegies to principle songwriter's Mikael's grandfather, but gained stronger production values here, and developed a lyrical braiding from song to song.

And no song better encapsulates the diversity of Opeth's song than their magisterial "Demon of the Fall," which harnesses every element of the band's arsenal. Opening with a rare downtuned riff, the song gallops straight out, aided by the awesome power of Mikael's understandable but nonetheless death metal vocals (which benefited from a cold to get even deeper). The cymbal work and fills throughout this opening section are a treat, and Martin Lopez's drumming throughout has a understated technicalism even amid the fury. But as the song hits the end of its first movement, acoustic guitars flash in and reveal a jarringly hummable melody--dynamism at work, before leveling the air with ferocious blast-beats and a sustained howl. As the song continues, it moves from extreme harshness to contemplative artistry with the acoustic guitars, and finally, with Mikael's "Run away" lyrical refrain, moves into clean vocals and guitar leads that are restrained yet powerful. The way that they weave between one another and echo the main lead at the end is just quality, and the repetition of that melody with the acoustic guitars closes out the track marvelously.

[dreamdead]

3. Disillusion's "The Sleep of Restless Hours"

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As Opeth's archetypal sound and dynamics became a known commodity in the metal community, many mediocre bands rose up to offer their spin on it, with most managing to approximate it but never able to transform it. Germany's Disillusion, however, achieved the perfect one-off in 2004, as their Back to Times of Splendor album, revealing virtuosity blended with a rare romanticism that is all too often missing from metal. Their only other album failed to win over the metal community as it insisted on experimenting with electronics rather than folk, and submarined all the goodwill this album earned them. Nonetheless, "The Sleep of Restless Hours" packs in so many disparate elements that its variety deserves no apology. Bands would be happy to have secured just one song that achieves the heights that this song sustains throughout its 17-minute journey.

Opening with a folk-induced acoustic guitarwork and cymbal flourishes, the song builds to its first of several climaxes. This isn't in the vein of post-rock excess, though, where it belabors its first peak. The drum fills and overall riffs build atop one another and then careen to the second shift around 2:46, adopting a brief Egyptian-inspired melody before settling into its tale of woe. With lyrics inspired by fantasy texts, but delivered without the octave-masturbation of power metal, the song retains a forcefulness. Vocalist Vurtox at 5:03 finds a beautiful sense of yearning, and the guitar lead that follows it, which is augmented with beautifully calibrated but restrained drumming and keyboards, is just tremendous. And each time it comes back it gains in its epic scope. The song transitions to more valleys at 7:36, bringing in piano work and jazz-inspired drumming. This interlude adds to the overall proggy feel, but Vurtox and the rest of the band gain a rarefied sense of romance as it moves from guitar solo back into the central musical refrain, with lyrics that celebrate togetherness and growth. It's emotional yearning that does not lose its energy. After the song seemingly ends, the band moves to a sustained outro, one which illustrates the band's progressive origins. The harshest riffs are located here, and are linked with a final solo that is airy and restrained, distilled to the essence of the main melody. It captures the full operatic potential that metal can achieve, and goes for broke, with a last bit of yearning and hope drawn from the guitar.

It's a song I can listen to at any time and I'll always find a new harmonic note or transition, which makes for an exciting musical experience.

[dreamdead]

2. Anathema's "Dreaming Light"

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Evolution in metal is a dangerous thing. Stay in the same musical register too long and you're accused of stagnating. Evolve too much and you're charged with selling out. Anathema, a Liverpool outfit, started out in the early 1990s as a doom metal project, composing dirgy, despondent records early in their career. However, with 2003 A Natural Disaster album, they began to experiment with sonic textures. The acclaim that they received for that album led to 2010's We're Here Because We're Here. What once was a trademark lyrical sensibility centered around desolation moved into more hope-filled terrain; however, the core of the musical progressions harness a thoroughly metal pallete. The compositions remain governed by a strong sense of doom metal, just with the doom element removed to a lesser or greater extent from track to track. It's a strange transition, but one that makes sense given the band's overall interest in Pink Floyd and Nick Drake.

"Dreaming Light" opens simply enough, with a delicate piano melody and Vincent Cavanagh's expressive vocals. The power that he channels from the lyrics is mesmerizing, and it's little wonder that he's able to convince the listener that this moment, this person, is more meaningful than any other. The strings and drums neither distract but nor are they negligible contributions; the sense of progression and the rising action of the song is tremendous. Soon enough, at 2:51, the guitarwork of Daniel Cavanagh becomes the centerpiece, harmonic yet gentle, the drums crashing yet soothing. And the blended harmony of the guitar, lightly delayed, together with the strings, is awesome. And yet it's the final set of lyrics that Vincent sings that allows the song to truly and properly climax. The range that they deliver, full of hope, commitment, and trust, is the stuff that metal should more often allow to be a part of its canon.

Sarah and I got married in 2009. Had this song been around then it would have been our song. There are no higher rewards that I can offer to any metal song.

[D_Davis]

Mad props for the last three selections.

Great selections.

[Sven]

#1 better be Queensryche.

j/k

[dreamdead]

1. Death's ""The Flesh and the Power it Holds"

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In 1999, Death's The Sound of Perseverance was just another album. It was not yet the lasting legacy of one of metal's most creative minds. Principle songwriter Chuck Schuldiner hadn't let lost a short-lived battle to brain cancer, and the vitality and virtuosity on display throughout this album portended a rich future with evermore expansive soundscapes and tonal variation. Listened to today, however, it serves as the band's technical masterpiece; rich, focused, and oddly personal. Moreover, it offers a guitar tone as piercing and powerful as any, and the songs are so deeply textured that they still reveal new dynamics today.

This song opens with oddly timed harmonic guitar interplay before shifting to a more conventional lead, with near-constant drum fills. The actual main riff at 1:26 builds structurally and works with Schuldiner's higher vocal screech (he was one of the pioneers for death metal vocals in the late-80s), and the gallop at 2:40 bleeds seamlessly into one of the best riff and drum melodies at 3:02. It's a powerhouse of furious playing, but does not yet climax. Instead, the shift into a drawling build-up, and leads into a guitar solo at 4:19 that comes out emotionally rich despite the technical virtuosity. The solo is absolutely a wunderkind of shredding and scales, but the bass and drums are equally vital to the structure. And the return to that scaling riff and drum dynamic at 7:45... it's heavy, full of double-bass and power.

For an equally powerful display of Schuldiner's virtuosity, check out the instrumental "Voice of the Soul (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd4q0Xx-u1Y)" off the same album. Schuldiner remains the key figure in underground metal, and his belief in the range of metal helped transform the genre into the ever-growing genre that it is today. His Symbolic and The Sound of Perseverance albums especially stand out as transformative works, emblematic of the musical diversity that all metal bands should strive to achieve.

Thanks for reading, Match-Cut. This was fun for me to write, and I hope you discover one or two bands out that you'll seek out. Tenhi and Nechochwen deserve more love...

[megladon8]

I'm really sorry that I missed this whole thread (I don't venture into the music sub-forum too often) but I just read through the whole thing and I love your list.

Seeing "Love Me to Death" made me grin with approval. That's one of Jen and I's favorite songs of all time.