Albums that defined a genre to you

I want to see those albums that you think are the top notch of their genre. Not necessarily classics., but amazing musicianship that really shows off what the genre can do.

This album never ceases to suck me in with pure brutality, yet maintains a great melody and even a great degree of catchiness.
in my opinion, THE death metal album

Good album, but nowhere near THE death metal album. Not by a long shot.

Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick is the definitive death metal album for me.
Napalm Death - Scum for grindcore
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger for black metal
and of course, Slayer - Reign in Blood for thrash.

mc666 wrote:

Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick is the definitive death metal album for me.

.... and of course, Slayer - Reign in Blood for thrash.

I can agree to these two. Though I don't listen to grindcore, so I wouldn't know about the Napalm Death.

Black Metal - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem.
Traditional Heavy Metal -- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Maiden
USPM -- Ample Destruction by Jag Panzer / tied with Hall of the Mountain King by Savatage
Prog Metal -- Parallels by Fates Warning
Prog Rock -- Red by King Crimson
Doom Metal -- Epicus Doomicus Metallicus by Candlemass
Stoner Metal -- Holy Mountain by Sleep

I have a 25 year rule for stuff like this. An album comes out and seems like an instant classic or possibly the beginning of a new movement....wait 25 years and see how memorable it really was. If people are still discussing it and musicians reference it as an influence then it has proven it's worth.

Still, I have a hard time picking a "single album" from any genre that defines it. It takes multiple groups and multiple albums to create a genre in the first place, so in my mind it would be "several albums that defined a genre".

Thrash: Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Doom: Trouble - Psalm 9
Groove: Pantera - Cowboys from Hell
Death: Malevolent Creation - Retribution
70's: Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
Classic: Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
AOR: Whitesnake - 1987
Stoner: The Obsessed - The Church Within
Grunge: Alice in Chains - Facelift
Crossover: The Crucified - s/t

Progressive Metal:
Fates Warning - No Exit or Dream Theater - Images and Words
Progressive Rock:
Yes - The Yes Album
Power Metal:
Metal Church - s/t
Thrash Metal:
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Traditional Heavy Metal:
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance or Iron Maiden - Killers
NWOBHM:
Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations
Doom:
Saint Vitus - Born Too Late
Stoner:
Fireball Ministry - The Second Great Awakening
70's metal:
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Southern Rock:
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd or Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster
Death Metal:
Mortification - Scrolls of the Megiloth
Grindcore:
Napalm Death - Scum
New Wave of Thrash Metal:
Havok - Burn
Crossover:
D.R.I. - Crossover (though The Crucified's s/t is a goog choice too!)

More lists
Heavy - Balls to the Wall/Defenders of the Faith
Power - Welcome to the Ball - Vicious Rumors/Keepers I/Death or Glory - Running Wild
Speed - Hypertrace/Terminal Earth - Scanner
Prog-metal - Perfect Symmetry (even though Parallels is "the best album ever made")
Prog-power - Titan Force - St/Lethal - Programmed
USPM - Apollo Ra - Ra Paraiah
Thrash - RtL

You're making my brain hurt.

The most influential album period that I credit with really opening the door to metal for me was
Stryper - Soldiers Under Command

Classic Metal that led to thrash:
Bride - Live to Die
and probably Barren Cross - Atomic Arena


Thrash that much later led me to death:
Vengeance Rising - Human Sacrifice

Metalcore/hardcore:
August Burns Red - Thrill Seeker
or....currently Sleeping Giant - Kingdom Days in an Evil Age

THE death metal album for me...oooh that's hard. There's too many I like.
Sacrificium - Escaping the Stupor
Tortured Conscience - Every Knee Shall Bow
Arcane Path would have to be up there for me as well.

deathcore/grind:
Impending Doom - Nailed. Dead. Risen.

THE black album:
Crimson Moonlight - Veil of Remembrance is one of my favorite albums, period.

T-Roy wrote:

The most influential album period that I credit with really opening the door to metal for me was
Stryper - Soldiers Under Command

Classic Metal that led to thrash:
Bride - Live to Die
and probably Barren Cross - Atomic Arena


Thrash that much later led me to death:
Vengeance Rising - Human Sacrifice

Metalcore/hardcore:
August Burns Red - Thrill Seeker
or....currently Sleeping Giant - Kingdom Days in an Evil Age

THE death metal album for me...oooh that's hard. There's too many I like.
Sacrificium - Escaping the Stupor
Tortured Conscience - Every Knee Shall Bow
Arcane Path would have to be up there for me as well.

deathcore/grind:
Impending Doom - Nailed. Dead. Risen.

THE black album:
Crimson Moonlight - Veil of Remembrance is one of my favorite albums, period.

i was gonna ask who defines christian metal...for me it's ultimatum, but they are one of the few Christian bands I really like.

Bands the influenced me to check further into the Genre:

Prog Metal: Dream Theater - Images and Words

Thrash: Tourniquet - Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance

Hair Metal: Stryper - To Hell With the Devil

American Metal: Aerosmith, Impellitteri

Traditional/Power Metal: Armored Saint - Symbol of Salvation, Helloween - Keepers I, II

NWOBHM: Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance, Saxon - Denim & Leather

Power Metal: Primal Fear - Nuclear Fire, HammerFall - Chapter V, Theocracy - Mirror of Souls

jettafiend wrote:

NWOBHM: Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance, Saxon - Denim & Leather

I almost went with Saxon - Denim & Leather as well. Good choice. Raven's Rock Until You Drop would rank up there as well for a defining album. Priest, on the other hand, weren't a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band, but a band from the first wave of British heavy metal.

biddle wrote:

i was gonna ask who defines christian metal...for me it's ultimatum, but they are one of the few Christian bands I really like.

Thanks. Stryper would probably define "Christian heavy metal" for me.

biddle wrote:

T-Roy wrote:

The most influential album period that I credit with really opening the door to metal for me was
Stryper - Soldiers Under Command

Classic Metal that led to thrash:
Bride - Live to Die
and probably Barren Cross - Atomic Arena


Thrash that much later led me to death:
Vengeance Rising - Human Sacrifice

Metalcore/hardcore:
August Burns Red - Thrill Seeker
or....currently Sleeping Giant - Kingdom Days in an Evil Age

THE death metal album for me...oooh that's hard. There's too many I like.
Sacrificium - Escaping the Stupor
Tortured Conscience - Every Knee Shall Bow
Arcane Path would have to be up there for me as well.

deathcore/grind:
Impending Doom - Nailed. Dead. Risen.

THE black album:
Crimson Moonlight - Veil of Remembrance is one of my favorite albums, period.

i was gonna ask who defines christian metal...for me it's ultimatum, but they are one of the few Christian bands I really like.

Well, this is partly what defines it for ME ONLY.

Progressive Metal: Dream Theater - Images and Words

Power Metal: Helstar - Nosferatu

Thrash Metal: Slayer - Reign In Blood

Traditional Heavy Metal: Judas Priest - Stained Class

NWOBHM: Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations

Doom: Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metalicus

Stoner: Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain

70's metal: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

Death Metal: Entombed - Left Hand Path

Grindcore: Assuck - Anticapitol

Black Metal: Mayhem - De Mysteriis dom Sathanas

New Wave of Thrash Metal: King's-Evil - Deletion of Humanoise

Folk Metal - Finntroll - Jaktens Tid

Lurideath wrote:

Power Metal: Helstar - Nosferatu

Excellent choice!

Had to change my list a few times... It's hard to decide.

Troublezone wrote:

AOR: Whitesnake - 1987

Wow...Whitesnake is AOR now?
Eh...1987 would be a candidate for Glam Metal...but so far that category doesn't exist (and it certainly wouldn't be a defining album)

Progressive Metal: Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
Power Metal: Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1
Thrash Metal: Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Traditional Heavy Metal: Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
NWOBHM: Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (may be cheating but i had to put Sabbath somewhere in here)
Doom: Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metalicus
Stoner: Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley
70's metal: Deep Purple - In Rock
Death Metal: Nile - In their Darkened Shrines
Black Metal: Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Progressive Rock: Rush - 2112
Southern Rock: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors

ShadowAngel wrote:

Wow...Whitesnake is AOR now?
Eh...1987 would be a candidate for Glam Metal...but so far that category doesn't exist (and it certainly wouldn't be a defining album)

The more common term in the 80s was "Pop Metal" (at least in the area I lived). I didn't hear the term glam metal until later...and the term "hair metal" much later in the 90s - usually as a negative term to describe 80s pop metal bands.

Industrial Metal: Ministry - Psalm 69
AOR/Melodic Rock: Boston - S/T
Modern Sleaze Metal : The Last Vegas - Whatever Gets You Off
Melodic Punk: Ramones - Rocket To Russia
Symphonic Metal: Therion - Sirius B
Goth Metal: The 69 Eyes - Back In Blood

And I agree with ShadowAngel:

Quote :

Progressive Rock: Rush - 2112
Southern Rock: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors

S.D. wrote:

The more common term in the 80s was "Pop Metal" (at least in the area I lived). I didn't hear the term glam metal until later...and the term "hair metal" much later in the 90s - usually as a negative term to describe 80s pop metal bands.

I'm not as old, i live in a place where most people don't even know what metal is (or think its music that only 40 year old long haired guys listen to, despite Wacken and all, we're seen as a bunch of filthy freaks) and "Pop Metal" was a term i didn't even knew until 8-9 years ago when i ventured out on the internet to english speaking message boards.
And i guess there are another 50 metal/hard rock sub-categories waiting to be named.
I was just surprised about 1987 being named AOR because AOR for me is 80's Toto, Journey, Foreigner. Whitesnake was never like them being at first a blues influenced Hard Rock band and later that Pop Metal, Glam Metal...whatever radio friendly stuff (still i think 1987 is awesome)

As far as i'm concerned, Whitesnake 1987 is Album Oriented Rock. Is This Love and Here I Go Again aren't that far removed from bands like Journey or Foreigner (except the heavier guitar sound). There's nothing glam about the music.

For "hair metal" I'd go with Warrant's Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. Just gave this a spin not long ago and for me it still really holds up.

jstate wrote:

For "hair metal" I'd go with Warrant's Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. Just gave this a spin not long ago and for me it still really holds up.

I think a lot of the "hair metal" albums hold up. I still spin Poison's "Flesh & Blood" quite a bit and still dig it; catchy songs are catchy songs no matter when they were written.

tohostudios wrote:

jstate wrote:

For "hair metal" I'd go with Warrant's Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. Just gave this a spin not long ago and for me it still really holds up.

I think a lot of the "hair metal" albums hold up. I still spin Poison's "Flesh & Blood" quite a bit and still dig it; catchy songs are catchy songs no matter when they were written.

yep. I really agree about good albums being good for the long run.