# Heavy Metal Fans Must Have Top 10 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230 "2011-03-02T16:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/21 "2011-03-03T13:46:24Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > LOL I find the use of the word “pedantic” shallow and pedantic. > It’s a list of top 10 classic metal albums must-haves not your personal favorite bands. I think he was joking. (At least I hope he was joking.) ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/22 "2011-03-03T14:55:30Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > I think he was joking. > > (At least I hope he was joking.) I got that. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/23 "2011-03-04T16:20:23Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > I think he was joking. > > (At least I hope he was joking.) Only partially, when one of the top10 bands starts playing on pandora I almost always skip it cause I’ve listened to them so many times, so as of right now a Manowar song pretty much always beats an Iron Maiden or Judas Priest song. So my personal current top 10 would not look anything like the list you guys came up with. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/24 "2011-03-04T16:47:14Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I’d probably sub… > _Master Of Puppets_ for _Kill 'Em All_… No way. This is a _Heavy_ Metal list. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/25 "2011-03-04T16:49:35Z")
> [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](#): > > Only partially, when one of the top10 bands starts playing on pandora I almost always skip it cause I’ve listened to them so many times, so as of right now a Manowar song pretty much always beats an Iron Maiden or Judas Priest song. So my personal current top 10 would not look anything like the list you guys came up with. It’s not your personal current top 10 though. It’s the albums you think every metal fan should own. Whether or not you’re sick of them right now is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/26 "2011-03-04T16:54:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s not your personal current top 10 though. It’s the albums you think every metal fan should own. Whether or not you’re sick of them right now is irrelevant. Exactly, or of a list of classic metal albums for beginners. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/27 "2011-03-04T17:03:27Z")
re: Motorhead - Lemmy himself says he doesn’t consider the band to be metal. He says they’re punk, but the fact he has long hair makes people think he’s “metal”. [Cite](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA3uR1fB5KI) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/28 "2011-03-04T17:26:02Z")
Dioesn’t matter. They’re as metal as it gets (though not as much today as with the Fast Eddie lineups). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/29 "2011-03-04T17:53:57Z")
My list, which makes an attempt to give some semblence of representation of range (and in no particular order): Black Sabbath _We Sold Our Souls for Rock and Roll_ (I hope a greatest hits compilation is kosher, if not, make it _Paranoid_. Sabbath was the original, the blueprint, the standard. They gave metal the look, the sound, the vocabulary, the chord chart, the riffs and they gave us Ozzy Osbourne) AC/DC _Back in Black_ (Don’t tell me “Hell’s Bells” isn’t metal) Metallica _Master of Puppets_ (my personal submission for best metal album of all time) Slayer _Reign in Blood_ (probably the best pure speed metal album ever) Guns 'N Roses _Appetite for Destruction_ (arguably not metal, but I don’t care. They had enough metal elements, and they sure as hell had the attitude). Ozzy Osbourne _Blizzard of Oz_ (fucking Randy Rhoads, man) Motorhead _No Remorse_ (another greatest hits, if that’s not ok, _Ace of Spades_) Judas Priest _Unleashed in the East_ (I loved this album as a kid. It scared the shit out of me. I know it seems tame now, but in 1979 it semed like the most badass music in the world). Iron Maiden _Piece of Mind_ (though the spandex looks a little cheesy now) Megadeth _Rust in Peace_ (I give Megadeth a lot of credit for some of the most accomplished, technical thrash, and Dave Mustaine is a very interesting and entertaining composer. Too bad he seems to be a huge asshole as a person). ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/30 "2011-03-04T18:02:51Z")
I’m glad the OP specified _classic_ metal in making this list, because heavy metal is not by any means a single, homogeneous style or genre. The differences between types of metal music can be striking and vast, probably more so than most types of popular music. Consider the [metal family tree](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Metal_Genealogy.jpg) that cultural anthropologist (and metalhead) Sam Dunn created for his 2005 documentary film _[Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey](http://www.metalhistory.com/)_ (which I highly recommend, by the way). Which leads me to a little nitpicking: Most of the bands in the OP’s list aren’t even what one would call “early” or “classic” metal; they’re all over the board. Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth are thrash metal; Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are power metal/NWOBHM, Queensryche is progressive metal, etc. But I get the point of the OP. These are the overall genre-defining albums, no matter which subgenre they actually fall into. And I largely agree. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/31 "2011-03-04T18:03:23Z")
I don’t see why the greatest hits albums would be non-kosher. In fact, I wish I’d thought of that myself. Assuming they’re allowed, my list is hereby updated as follows: 1. Queensryche - _Greatest Hits_ 2. Faith No More - _We Care A Lot_ 3. Iron Maiden - _Edward the Great_ 4. Black Sabbath - _We Sold Our Souls for Rock & Roll_ 5. Motorhead - _No Remorse_ 6. Deep Purple - _Machine Head_ 7. Pantera - _Vulgar Display of Power_ 8. Metallica - _Metallica/The Black Album_ 9. Judas Priest - _British Steel_ 10. Guns and Roses - _Use Your Illusion II_ ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/32 "2011-03-04T18:11:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t see why the greatest hits albums would be non-kosher. Because they mix meat and milk? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/33 "2011-03-04T20:24:18Z")
Responding before reading so as to not skew my first impression… 1. Metallica- Master of Puppets 2. Iron Maiden - Powerslave 3. Megadeth - Rust in Peace 4. Slayer - South of Heaven 5. Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East 6. Anthrax - Spreading the Disease 7. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power 8. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil 9. Mercyful Fate - Don’t Break the Oath 10. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/34 "2011-03-04T20:38:28Z")
> [@Cyningablod](#): > > Because they mix meat and milk? > > 😃 You know, that’s a great analogy! But honestly, they separate the songs from the context of their specific album. Secondly, we’re not talking about individual songs we’re talking about actual albums in their entirety and in their intended state, those that you can listen to from beginning to end, as opposed to a record company choosing to release a compilation of what they might consider “greatest” hits. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmundex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sigmundex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmundex)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/35 "2011-03-05T00:11:27Z")
This list is defective… seriously. It should go… TO… 11! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/36 "2011-03-05T04:12:46Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > You know, that’s a great analogy! > > But honestly, they separate the songs from the context of their specific album. > Secondly, we’re not talking about individual songs we’re talking about actual albums in their entirety and in their intended state, those that you can listen to from beginning to end, as opposed to a record company choosing to release a compilation of what they might consider “greatest” hits. Well, maybe, but I only really do that the first time I buy a record (and I’ll probably never buy an actual physical record or CD ever again). ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/37 "2011-03-05T05:27:05Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Responding before reading so as to not skew my first impression… > > 1. Metallica- Master of Puppets > 2. Iron Maiden - Powerslave > 3. Megadeth - Rust in Peace > 4. Slayer - South of Heaven > 5. Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East > 6. Anthrax - Spreading the Disease > 7. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power > 8. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil > 9. Mercyful Fate - Don’t Break the Oath > 10. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality This is the closest list in the thread so far. The only two that are easily replaceable are Shot at the Devil and Mercyful Fate IMHO. I would probably put GnR AFD in place of Shout at the Devil, though neither of them really fit into a metal list. Particularly one with Slayer and Pantera. I don’t seee any reason why 2 albums from the same band can’t be on here so I think Ride the Lightning would fit in place of Mercyful Fate. I would put Sepultura Arise or Chaos AD on there somewhere myself. And probably Fear Factory Demanufacture. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/38 "2011-03-05T07:07:21Z")
Metallica may have been the biggest and baddest, but they didn’t invent multiple genres out of whole cloth the way that Bathory did. _Blood Fire Death_ deserves at least a mention, if not a place on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/39 "2011-03-05T13:50:22Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > I don’t seee any reason why 2 albums from the same band can’t be on here so I think Ride the Lightning would fit in place of Mercyful Fate. I think the point of the original OP was to make a list for the _absolute_ metal beginner, so doubles wouldn’t be so helpful. > [@ultrafilter](#): > > Metallica may have been the biggest and baddest, but they didn’t invent multiple genres out of whole cloth the way that Bathory did. _Blood Fire Death_ deserves at least a mention, if not a place on the list. Hurray for a Bathory mention, but that might be a little to serious for inclusion on a beginner’s list. If we start getting too hardcore the discussion degenerates into “if Bathory, why not Carcass? If Carcass why not Darkthrone… etc etc etc…” > [@Şïğműʼndèx](#): > > This list is defective… seriously. > > It should go… TO… 11! Err.. well, you see, we were… and uh… umm… _sheepishly hands back Heavy Metal Music Fan members card_ ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230/40 "2011-03-05T16:32:41Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > No way. This is a _Heavy_ Metal list. Since when is _Master Of Puppets_ not “heavy”? You have listened to songs on there like “Damage Inc” and “Battery”…right? :dubious: > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Black Sabbath _We Sold Our Souls for Rock and Roll_ (I hope a greatest hits compilation is kosher, if not, make it _Paranoid_. Sabbath was the original, the blueprint, the standard. They gave metal the look, the sound, the vocabulary, the chord chart, the riffs and they gave us Ozzy Osbourne) Absolutely. They were, and are, awesome. Set the standard. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > 1. Metallica - _Metallica/The Black Album_ I’ve seen you mention this album twice now, and I’m curious…why this one over any of their other first four (5?) full releases? I like this album too, but there’s not really any denying that this one marked the transition point between them being a truly good, awesome heavy metal band and becoming the corporate machine they are now, and the slick production of this album reflects that. I’m just puzzled by this choice when at least to me, any of their earlier releases would qualify as a “more heavy” sound and feel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heavy-metal-fans-must-have-top-10/573230.md?page=3)