Hey Folks! It’s me… Again!

I’m coming back once more to explore the depths of a genre that arguably did not begin where you all thought it did! Yeah yeah… Alright, maybe Left Hand Path, Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious, Like An Ever Flowing Stream & The Red In The Sky Is Ours aren’t exactly the sound you would expect, but they were certainly a sign of something incredible that was about to happen. The birth of Melodic Death Metal!

Most of you, them, us… Would agree that Melodic Death metal really appeared in the form of Carcass’s 1993 album Heartwork. Even though some shades of what would become staples of the genre were heard before, this one would truly be the first album to be called as such. Mixing OSDM with more classic heavy metal styled riffs & melodies, our beloved genre (along with Thrash) would become for a lot of our teenage selves, a gateway into the more extreme bowels of metal’s subgenres. I would argue that it’s an almost obligatory step in the grand metalhead’s journey. Ah, how amazing it was to first taste the somewhat delicate sound of melodeath before rattling our ears with the obscenities & nonsensical wankery of grindcore, brutal tech-death, dissonant death and post metal… Rrrrright.

As you have become accustomed to by now, I will attempt to honour the genre by listing the absolute best Melodic Death metal albums to be ever released throughout the years. And I will do so starting with a few albums that are arguably not Melodic Death metal… Because I can and I did, hah! F*ck you! Along the way, you might stumble upon some strange & unorthodox choices mixing a plethora of other genres as well and that’s ok. Truly. Take it easy, don’t hyperventilate over it and just go with the flow. The main goal here is to help people who don’t know much about melodeath discover it and where it came from. I also want to push forward some less known jewels amongst highly praised landmarks of the style and sprinkle a bit of my personality along the way because that’s always fun. The albums will be ordered in years of release and there will be no other restriction or specific rules.

I hope you have a blast going through my list and that it brings you joy and a slight tingle on your nostalgia strings. Though, if it pisses you off, if I forgot your absolute favourite album of all goddamn time or if you think I’m an idiot, well… Just remember that I’m right, always and forever, thank you. Regardless It will be a pleasure for me to hear your recommendations or discuss anything related to melodeath below. Cheers & have fun!

-Guib-

Note: Albums with a 🇨🇦 are from my country (Canada) and albums with a ★ are my personal favourites.

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Last Updated: April 27th, 2024

1.Entombed - Left Hand Path

2.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

3.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

4.At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours

5.Carcass - Heartwork

      View entire list ››

Good day folks! T'day, I just wanted to share the best of what Canada has to offer when it comes to Metal, eh. It seems a lot of people don't yet know that Canada's a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the heavy stuff and I'll show you just how much!

The main goal here is to help people discover the history of Canadian Metal through time and amazing releases. To do so, I'll be listing a single album per band and order the list by year of release from oldest to newest then I'll identify the genre for each of them. Note that the albums chosen aren't necessarily the best of each band but my personal favorites and in my humble opinion, good points of entry into a band's discography. I will try to fill each gaps in years over time and add new bands as I discover them. (So this list is permanently under construction).

Also, as always in my lists, releases with a ''★'' are the ones I believe you shouldn't miss because of their impact, uniqueness or just because they are my favourites.

There is a lot of different styles, I did my best to diversify so there should be something interesting for everyone!

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To my fellow Canadians, if you have recommendations or wanna point out obvious albums I might have missed, please feel free to let me know. To everyone else, I hope you'll like this virtual musical trip to the great white north! Enjoy. Oh and you're really all welcome to suggest albums.

- Guib -

Last Update: April 15th, 2024

1.Moxy - Moxy

2.Triumph - Just A Game

3.Rush - Moving Pictures

4.April Wine - The Nature Of The Beast

5.D.O.A. - Hardcore '81

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This is a list of all the death metal albums I have listened to that I thought were at all worth remembering. Like my other genre lists, this is just a record of my own listening experience that I use for personal organization, not a definitive account of the best or all of the death metal out there; there will probably be albums or bands that are not death metal in the strictest sense. You'll find some OSDM, melodeath, tech death, death-doom, maybe a bit of deathcore, I don't know. Maybe some non-death metal albums by death metal bands that I put in here just because.

1.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

2.Death - Symbolic

3.At The Gates - With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness

4.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

5.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

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Top 50 ranking of 2020 from my collection. Only 8 & above

Opinion my own, so bow to it

Album count: 161
Average rating: 7.13

1.Myrkur - Folkesange

2.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

3.Dark Buddha Rising - Mathreyata

4.Ihsahn - Telemark

5.Ulver - Flowers Of Evil

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1.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

2.Orbit Culture - Nija

3.Make Them Die Slowly - The Bodycount Continues

4.Within The Ruins - Black Heart

5.Code Orange - Underneath

      View entire list ››

1.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

2.The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic

3.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

4.Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment

5.Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods

      View entire list ››

All write-in votes from Metal Storm Awards 2020

1.

2.

3.Amaranthe - Manifest

4.Avatar - Hunter Gatherer

5.El Lobo En Tu Puerta - Santana Bendita

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.Aara - En Ergô Einai

2.Aarni - Bathos

3.Aaskereia - Dort, Wo Das Alte Böse Ruht

4.Aastraal - Tuba mirum spargens sonum per sepulcra regionum, coget omnes ante thronum

5.AATHMA - Avesta

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Just about finished the first half of the year without losing too much to the character limit; I have learnt to make these list descriptions increasingly pithy

1.Enslaved - Utgard

2.Wills Dissolve - Echoes

3.Wayfarer - A Romance With Violence

4.Aversio Humanitatis - Behold The Silent Dwellers

5.Lucid Planet - Lucid Planet II

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Seems like there's a limit on how many albums this site accepts on one list. Gonna have to cut out the last ones while adding new albums for the rest of the year.

1.Havukruunu - Uinuos Syömein Sota

2.Orbit Culture - Nija

3.Wolfheart - Wolves Of Karelia

4.Stormruler - Under The Burning Eclipse

5.Frozen Dreams - The Eclipse Of Eternity

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