We are all getting old, and so is metal! But what is metal? That’s a great question we’re not gonna answer. While we included plenty of “Metalcore” in this list we did try to avoid more blatantly or classically hardcore albums. For instance, Bane’s “It All Comes Down to This” turns 25 this year, which is nuts. And while it’s a great album, it ain’t metal. So get ready to get mad at us for missing stuff, because we definitely did! Looking at you Opeth!
Cannibal Corpse “Bloodthirst”
If you’re doing a list of best metal albums for a year, and Cannibal Corpse put out an album that year, it’s on the list. We don’t make the rules. But it helps that this album is also genuinely killer, and one of the best CC albums with the adorable metal dad himself Corpsegrinder at the helm.
Botch “We Are the Romans”
It’s Botch. It’s their best album. There’s a reason dudes in their 30s and 40s lost their shit when Botch announced a reunion show and tour. There are bands that have never even heard of Botch, and Botch is still their main influence. This album is immensely listenable and yet not really catchy at all, which is genuinely an impressive feat.
Sigh “Scenario IV: Dread Dreams”
What an absolutely wonderful clown show. And as someone who has taken clown classes, we say that as a compliment. One thing that can be unequivocally said about Sigh is that while you might not like an album, you will not be bored. Great riffs, out of nowhere changes, and then just the weirdest instrumentation. And then there’s the production. Oh, the production! Genuinely some of the most bonkers choices on levels of any metal band ever. Shouldn’t the guitars be louder than the circus organ? Not if you’re Sigh. Maybe the most UNboring band in metal?
Scissorfight “New Hampshire”
Scissorfight has been described as “if Rob Zombie’s ‘Dragula’ was about a snow plow, and the motif was hunting and camping instead of kitschy horror movie stuff.” And… yeah, that’s kind of it. There are Sabbath-inspired riffs, punk, southern rock, and even butt rock. But it’s Scissorfight. However stupid you think it is, they think it’s stupider, which makes it cool. There’s a song on here about a pit-fighting monkey. The opening line to the album is “Weed, guns and axes. We don’t pay our taxes.” Why are you even asking questions?
Immortal “At the Heart of Winter”
Either you can roll with Abbath’s “evil Popeye” vocals or you can’t. And we can. We love this band, and this album. “At the Heart of Winter” starts a pretty killer 3-album run for Immortal that took them from mostly being a niche band in a niche genre to a respected metal band. The group seemed to both take themselves very seriously and also not seriously at all. Which makes sense if you’re gonna slap on corpse paint and write albums about a fictional Winter Kingdom. This album is also notable for being their first album to not feature the band on the cover in their cute little coordinated outfits.
Zao “Liberate Te Ex Inferis”
However scary black metal bands try to make hell seem, nobody makes it seem scarier than Christian metal bands. Probably helps if you actually believe in it. And we know Zao isn’t really a Christian band anymore, but they were when they put out “Liberate Te Ex Inferis” / “Save Yourself from Hell.” So just let us make our point, jerk. Because for a Metalcore album, this thing feels scary. While maybe not as beloved as their previous effort, “Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest” we think this one goes way harder. Also, this album is arguably where Daniel Weyandt’s vocals went from “Carcass-worship” to “Zao-vocals.” The Carcass-worship is still there, but he’s clearly in his own lane on this album.
In Flames “Colony”
This is prime In Flames. Well, it’s prime OLD In Flames. It’s almost bizarre to talk to folks who’ve never heard In Flames now. Not only has their sound changed so much, but they’ve put out so many albums since this era that they really seem like a different band. We know “Clayman” is considered the high point for a lot of fans, but when we think of In Flames, the opening lead of this album’s opening track “Embody the Invisible” is the first thing that pops into our head.
Poison the Well “Opposite of December”
For the following decade, its safe to say this album was one of the most influential Metalcore albums, for better or worse. Similar to Botch, this band’s sound spawned a LOT of shittier ripoff bands, many of whom became much more successful. Not to mention this album is responsible for a lot of really sad entries in diaries and journals. While we’d argue a lot of Metalcore from this time is pretty hard to listen to, this album is actually still very listenable.
Sonata Arctica “Ecliptica”
Sometimes power metal is just anthemic pop punk with a double bass pedal. And that’s not a bad thing. This album is catchy as fuck and understandably burst this Finnish band onto the scene. The opener “Blank File” alone is worth the ride. The high notes are so high that they band re-recorded the album a few years back and moved the song down a few keys most likely so vocalist Tony Kakko could still hit the notes.
Converge & Agoraphobic Nosebleed “The Poacher Diaries”
Splits can be weird, and this one is weird. At the time as a Converge fan, who had no idea who Agoraphobic Nosebleed was, the opening AG track, “Mantis,” was immediately jarring in the best possible way. As far as the Converge half, it has “Locust Reign” on it. So you know. Because, C’mon. That breakdown. Jun. Jun. Jun. JUNJUNJUN.
Luca Turilli “King of the Nordic Twilight”
Guitarist (at the time) for symphonic fantasy metal legends Rhapsody, Luca Turilli released this “solo” album in ’99 and it honestly whittled down all the great stuff of his main band, and left out most of the skippable stuff. It’s a straight-forward, catchy fantasy-themed symphonic power-metal album, that has good production and is under an hour. And after a listen, we dare you not to be singing the chorus for “Black Dragon” for the next week.
Immolation “Failures for Gods”
In the current resurgence and appreciation for death metal, it seems that maybe Immolation is finally getting some of the recognition they deserve. The production on this album is… not good. And yet this album still crushes. It sort of sounds like the death metal counterpart to all the horrible production of Black Metal in the ‘90s. This album is often overshadowed by the group’s next two albums, “Close to a World Below” and “Unholy Cult,” often considered to be two of their best, but I have a real soft spot for this one.
Limp Bizkit “Significant Other”
This is where we get in trouble. “Nu-metal” is technically metal, it’s in the name of the genre so back off. But despite hating this album and everyone who listened to it when it came out… we’ve come around. It’s fun. Stupid for sure. But fun. And honestly, Wes Borland really does some interesting stuff here. We can’t even think about Fred Durst and keep a straight face and yet it all kinda comes together in this weird, hilarious, and surprisingly listenable package. And we haven’t even gotten into the influence that this album had on music. And we’re not gonna.
Dimmu Borgir “Spiritual Black Dimensions”
Before Ozzfest and almost breaking into the mainstream and thereby ruining all credibility, Dimmu Borgir was killer symphonic black metal band. The first album by DB to feature bassist and (more importantly) clean vocalist ICS Vortex, who really brought an atmospheric depth to the band, separating them from other bands in the genre. This is prime Dimmu Borgir. We understand the argument of those who like the earlier stuff better but this album and the following one, “Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia,” really hit the sweet spot. PEM just slightly beats this one out due to Nicholas Barker joining the band, but this is still in their top 5 albums for sure.
Slipknot “Self-Titled”
When this album came out we hated it. But that doesn’t change how important it is in metal. And on a re-listen we can see why plenty of bands have come and gone but Slipknot is still out there doing… whatever the fuck they do. We don’t have to love something to respect its impact. That’s our entire relationship to the film “Interstellar. And the state of Rhode Island.
Mortician “Chainsaw Dismemberment”
This is arguably the Mortician album. As the ‘90s are having a moment, this band seems to also be having a resurgence, and for good reason. It’s unrelenting and it exactly what your parents were afraid you were listening to. The production borders on hilarious with the drum machine almost rivaling The Berserker at times. Yeah some of the movie clips are too long, but honestly its a nice rest from this otherwise fun but relentless classic album.
Coalesce “A Revolution In Just Listening”
We previously mentioned how killer this album is in our ranking of all Coalesce releases. The groove on this album is legit. Sometimes we’re sorta surprised Coalesce wasn’t somehow bigger. But honestly every time a song on this album starts to feel accessible on this album, they get all “Coalesce” with it. Which is great. It’s what makes them the band they are. Which is Coalesce. The name of their band.
Rage Against the Machine “The Battle of Los Angeles”
Following up “Evil Empire” was always gonna be hard. But this is an album that actually has aged incredibly well. Outside of the depressing fact that most of the issues De La Rocha talks about on the album still exist, the music on this album sounds maybe the most ageless of all the RATM albums. And we feel like there is more emotion in De La Rocha’s voice than in the past. And yes we already know a large portion of you reading this will say “Rage isn’t even metal.” Neither is the internet, suck it up.
Emperor “IX Equilibrium”
Their production choices on this album sorta make sense for the genre, but considering the higher quality of production on some of their peers’ albums this year, we sometimes wish they’d been open to not recording this inside what we can only guess was an aluminum hallway. At the same time, it’s Emperor and it all just adds to the atmosphere.
Dillinger Escape Plan “Calculating Infinity”
Arguably a genre-creating album. We know Atheist were a huge influence on DEP, but this album is really its own thing. The gold standard for the mathy-widdley judd judd music that took over the scene. The jazzy parts of this album are underrated as well. So many bands tried to borrow this sound and genuinely nobody could do it remotely as well. Also, it really says something about a band that is this technically talented, and pretty much all anyone talks about is how insane the live show is.
Testament “The Gathering”
Easily in the top 5 Testament albums. Not to mention the only Testament with Dave Lombardo on drums. That alone is worth the price of admission. Like several other albums on this list, if you don’t know this band, this is a great intro. Also at a time when Metallica was stuck doing whatever the hell they were doing in the late ‘90s, Testament put out an album that basically sounds like what everyone was wishing Metallica sounded like. “True Believer” honestly sounds like it could’ve been on a follow-up to the Black Album. And the fact that the vocals go back and forth between thrash singing and all-out screaming makes the album a more interesting listen.
Type O Negative “World Coming Down”
Has anyone ever noticed there is something inherently sexy about Type O Negative’s music? Back in our youth we found it very off-putting. But now we might put on some Type O, and take a shower with the curtain open just checking myself out in the mirror. What’s up hot stuff? Yeah, there’s a lot of hair where we don’t want it, and minimal hair where it should be. But who cares? Looking good. What were we talking about? Oh right. This is a pretty good album.
Will Haven “WHVN”
This is definitely an album we didn’t know about at the time but clearly was influential for a lot of folks. And it’s obvious why. This album kinda has everything. There are big riffs, doomy parts, chaotic parts, and vocals that feel very 1999 in a good way. We remember feeling uncool because we didn’t hear about this band until they put out “Carpe Diem.” And re-listening to this album made us realize how cool we could’ve been if we’d found WHVN when it came out.
Today is the Day “In the Eyes of God”
It’s hard to overemphasize Today is the Day’s influence on heavy music. They kinda did/do everything. This album is considered a classic in their impressive catalog, and should be checked out just on the basis of it boasting two members of Mastodon. Bran Dailer and Bill Keliher play drums and bass, respectively on In the Eyes of God. This album sounds like what we thought doing hard drugs would feel like when we were a good little D.A.R.E graduate.
Tom Waits “Mule Variations”
What’s that? He put Tom Waits on the metal list, and left out Opeth, Children of Bodom, Dream Theater, and Metallica?!?! Damn right. Cry about it. Tom Waits is metal and if you disagree, YOU’RE WRONG. Very few people can pull off cookie-monster vocals in music that isn’t classically metal. It’s pretty much Waits and the guy from Future Islands, and he clearly takes cues from Waits. This album is an absolute front-to-back classic. We can listen to Cannibal Corpse for hours and feel nothing. If we listen to “Georgia Lee” once, We are depressed for a week. That is metal.