20 Essential Metal / Hard Rock Albums You Should Hear: Part One

I know I do a lot of these lists, but here is another anyway. We all have those albums which have been with us for years like faithful companions. The albums which don't seem to age. As a long time reader of Metal Hammer, I have always read with great interest when they ask which album or albums would you recommend to a newcomer to metal or which album defines metal? Well, I am taking it further. These are the 20 (Yes, 20!) albums that I would recommend to anyone, be they a grizzled metal veteran or a relative metal virgin. If you haven't heard the albums on this list, well you should. Simple. Go on Spotify, download them if you must, but just give them a try. They are all bona fide classics in my, as always, humble opinion. I have tried to avoid anything from the last few years. This isn't due to falling standards of quality (quite the opposite is true in many ways), rather due to the fact that tastes change. "Favourite" albums come and go. An album I love and play to the point of wearing it away today, may be gathering dust in a year. No, these are albums that have had a long time to mature, albums that I have listened to more times than I've changed my pants and those which I could put on right now and listen to all the way to the end.

As usual, I have split this down as not to overload your delicate brains too much in one go, and to allow you time to digest and appreciate the music on offer fully (if you decide to do so).

So, here are the first 5 which came to mind.

Raging Speedhorn - Raging Speedhorn (2000)

First up are the hard bastards from Corby with their self-titled debut. And what a debut it is! This album is a Sludge/Hardcore monster. Simple but effective riffs, throat tearing (twin) vocals and all the groove you could ever want. It's a shame that they never came close to these heights again and sadly disbanded in 2008. But they left this brutal classic behind.


Listen to: Thumper

 


W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children (1989)

After the controversy the band attracted/courted in the early days and the wonderful, but often tongue-in-cheek anthems such as "I Wanna Be Somebody" and "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast), in 1989 we were introduced to a more serious, darker W.A.S.P. through the medium of that most dreaded of beasts, the concept album. From the Maiden-esque guitars to Blackie's mournful wail, this is a truly classic clutch of songs. The title track still gives me chills to this day. This album should be in the collection of any self-respecting metal fan...even those who don't like W.A.S.P. It's that good.

Listen to: The Headless Children

Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990)

 
This is almost so obvious that I shouldn't need to include it, but I will and definitely should. This album IS metal. It defines metal. It saw the band up their game in the face of the more brutal competition (Pantera and the like). The band needed to something to save their reputation and career after the woeful duo of "Turbo" and "Ram It Down". Well, they did that and so much more. They breathed new life into not only their own career, but into the ailing metal scene itself. Pounding drums, THAT twin guitar sound and Rob's inimitable vocal delivery all cement the place of Painkiller in any classic metal albums list. It is over 2 decades old now, but it hasn't and probably never will be considered "old". It was all downhill for Priest after this (although I liked a lot of the Ripper-era material), but how many bands could follow up an album like this? No wonder Rob quit the band.

Listen to: Painkiller

Hatebreed - The Rise Of Brutality (2003)

Hatebreed are one of those bands. Always consistent, never releasing a weak album...but it is "Rise..:" that is the jewel in their crown. Jamey's voice is brutal on this album. He roars his way through the uplifting and empowering lyrics...espousing inner strength and self-belief, never letting up for a moment. Not giving the listener time to breathe or recover from the aural pounding. This is as hardcore as Hardcore gets. I'd go as far as to say genre defining.

Listen to: Live For This

Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power (1992)

Pantera had already managed to leave behind their humbe (and generally rubbish) beginnings as a Sleaze/Glam band when they released the brilliant and groove-laden "Cowboys From Hell" in 1990, but it was VDOP which really made the metal world sit up and take notice...influencing and attracting the attention of a  new generation of fans (me included) at the same time. This was revolutionary and was one of the albums responsible for keeping Metal alive in the face of the Grunge onslaught. It was as brutal an album to break the mainstream as it could have been at the time, with the unforgetable and instantly recognisable cover setting the tone. Phil stomped, spat and bellowed his way throughout, taking no prisoners and the band were tighter than an emo's jeans. This is an album which had such an impact on the scene that it can never be over-rated or under-stated.

Listen to: Walk