60. The Howling of the Jinn - Nile
According to a quick wikipedia check, jinn are mythological beings that come in various forms of fire and tentacles and pretty much sound like the perfect thing to write a metal song about. Karl Sanders knows what's what. This is the best song out of many off Amogst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka, which is actually titled off a Lovecraft reference. The female scream sample that comes halfway through may be my favorite non-funny sample any band has ever used as it intensifies the already existing brutality of the song tenfold. Elsewhere, "Jinn" is just two and a half minutes of linear riffs that kick all the ass, proving that even when not hammering down the ten minute epics, Nile was just as powerful.
59. Not Unlike the Waves - Agalloch
Portland Oregon's finest black-folk-post-Ulver worshiping metal band Agalloch had two outstanding albums behind them already when they dropped Ashes Against the Grain in 2006. Though it's certainly strong, it had a hell of a time following up The Mantle which is simply brilliant. That album and Pale Folklore even before it both streamed together as one long song more or less. So picking out a stand alone favorite for this list was tricky. Also both albums had way more folk elements than Grain, which is a heavier beast overall. Regardless, my favorite of this band's individual songs is "Not Unlike the Waves", which is nine gloriously epic minutes of everything these chaps do oh so well. Heaviness, wretched screaming, chanted singing, and melodic beauty all bashing it out.
58. War Ensemble - Slayer
More Jeff Hanneman representation. He and Tom Araya both slammed out the lyrics to Seasons In the Abyss' opener "War Ensemble" which is my earliest memory of hearing Slayer. I bought this and South of Heaven because those are two albums everyone needs when I had only heard the name Slayer any and everywhere. So when this came on and that opening riff and Dave Lombardo's ferociousness hit me square in the wang, I knew I hadn't made a foolish purchase. Slayer was in the blood apparently. A blitzkrieg anthem that's both textbook Slayer and simply thrash metal done goddamn right. There's a reason these guys negate any gay activity.
57. Du Riechst So Gut - Rammsteim
Fitting that Rammstein's first appearance on this list is also their first single and music video off their first album. This band is one of my favorite things that ever happened to ever and all of their albums are good if not ballsmazing. I bought Herzeleid after having already acquired Sehnsucht, as most U.S. Rammstein fans did once "Du Hast" came out and put them on us people's with taste's radar. "Du Riechst So Gut", (which is "You smell so good" to us I-Merican speakin' folk), is as simple, dancy, hooky, and heavy as this band gets. The main and awesome riff is just two frets right next to each other bounced back and forth. Hooray for cheating!
56. Future Breed Machine - Meshuggah
And now for the complete opposite technically from Rammstein, it's Swedish math-metal definers Meshuggah's "Future Breed Machine". I'm only a borderline fan of this band as most of their stuff gets old quick. Monotone robot screaming and open guitar chunk, (no matter how my-brain-hurts-wobbly the multiple time signatures are), is usually cool for a bit if the mood sits me right though. That said, Destroy Erase Improve is the one Meshuggah album that I'd call a certified masterpiece and this be the song it opens with. Tomas Haake's drumming is unreal and Fredrik Thordendal's calculator solos are head-scratchingly awesome.
55. The Dead Stare - Enslaved
My first delectable taste of Norway's Viking/black/prog metal giants Enslaved was "The Dead Stare" which I somehow heard before buying Below the Lights which it stems from, though I don't remember where exactly. I do know that I played the shit out of this song when it was the only Enslaved I had on me and if your ears work, you should be able to see why. The rock riff they, well, rock the shit out of at the 'round three-minute mark till the end is whoop-ass as all get out. It's also just as get out weird, with the swirling prog synths, organ, and gargled whispers going on over it. Needless to say, my relationship with this band was off to a fantastic start with this one.
54. Te Quiero Puta! - Rammstein
The half, left-over-from-Reise, Reise album Rosenrot is easily Rammstein's weakest, but it's also still considerably better than most albums most bands routinely put out. And it's certainly worth owning for "Te Quiero Puta!" alone, arguably the greatest Rammstein song of all time. If not that, it's easily the funniest. The first time I heard this and the horns kicked in at the beginning I said to myself "Oh hell no, did they do a mariachi song?". Then the horns stayed past the intro and by the time they joined the dumb/heavy as hell main riff, I almost crashed my car. One of the many reasons this band should all be president is because they clearly take themselves not at all seriously. Any look at virtually any of their brilliant music videos will tell you this. As will bumping this song. Loudly. Through a Hispanic neighborhood.
53. Kaimadalthas Nedstigning - Burzum
Speaking of comedic geniuses, on to Varg! For sure the most notorious black metal musician that will probably, (and hopefully), ever emerge, Varg Vikernes besides all the murder, church burning, racism, and tips for dating women has actually produced a number of excellent albums before and after serving in prison. His first two, Burzum and Det Som Engang Var, are essential early Norwegian black metal and are as good as said sub-genre gets. Then once he gained his freedom back after a nearly fifteen years stint in prison for murdering Mayhem founder Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, he surprised many by not only returning to black metal after publicly declaring it derivative of "nigger music", but also by releasing what I think is his best album yet, Belus. "Kaimadalthas Nedstigning" is both oddly beautiful and creepy, as well as primitive as ever.
52. Like This with the Devil - Entombed
As far as pretentious album titles go, Entombed's DCLXVI: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth certainly qualifies. Sadly it's also the death 'n' roll pioneers' last good album. A step down obviously from the proceeding Wolverine Blues of course, but a chosen few metal albums of any kind can stand up to that if at all. My favorite of all of these Swedish chaps songs stems not from Blues, but from Shoot Straight and it be "Like This with the Devil". And this is because this riff could reinvent the cosmos. The rest of this song could be the sound of Donald Trump barfing and I would still rank it this high.
51. Trapped In A Corner - Death
What just may be the best Death album appropriately features their best song "Trapped In A Corner". I sadly had more Death written down for this list that ultimately found the way of the cutting room floor. I certainly thought they'd have more than one entry. But alas, tis what happened. "Trapped" had no prayer of NOT being on here though. For one it has the best riff I believe Chuck Schuldiner ever wrote which of course shows up in the breakdown. For his last four Death albums, (or five counting Control Denied's debut), Chuck was offering up some of the best metal the world will ever see, with a slew of bandmembers that have continued to deserve their exalted reputations.
50. Moonchild - Iron Maiden
Can't rank no metal without Maiden showing up. Arguably the greatest metal act of the '80s, the Iron Maiden has become an institution now that still fills soccer stadiums and arenas. And will until they're dead in the cold, cold ground I reckon. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son opens with the Aleister Crowley ode "Moonchild" and at various times through various years, I have considered it my favorite Maiden jam. The "Seven deadly sins" folk intro, main keyboard riff, and straight-up heaviness once the drums slam into groove form suite me most fine. It helps that Son is Maiden's peak in album form and I always feel like hearing it/this song. It's the band at their progiest and most collaborative and ergo best.
49. Fuel for Hatred - Satyricon
Fuckin-hell right the opening riff to this song is goddamn awesome. This right there guarantees that "Fuel for Hatred" has gotten bumped on a regular basis by me since I acquired it. It also features probably THEE dumbest riff of all time, if sliding up the fretboard in a slow, rhythmic fashion and nothing else counts as a "riff". Me and my previous death metal band Wretched Disciple certainly had a hoot while playing it live many moons ago. Pretty sure it made my Paul Stanley wig fall off. Long story. But anyway, I haven't been much into the last three Satyyricon albums since Volcano, the album "Fuel" is the highlight on. No matter since they have plenty of good before and even if they only recorded this song and broke up, it'd still be here.
48. Asche Zu Asche - Rammstein
Another single off Rammstein's debut Herzeleid, "Asche Zu Asche" features my all time favorite Rammstein riff. And this is saying something as these Krouts don't slouch on the killer riff writing. Hey Marge that rhymes and you know it rhymes, admit it! It's basically not possible to put this song on and not start headbanging. Yet actually, (just to be the goofy cut-ups they are I assume), I've seen footage of Richard and Paul at least standing like motionless robots when this song shows up in the set list live. Which is odd yet comedically satisfying. Nothing about this song isn't great and it's the best early-Rammstein moment when they were more dance driven and tight.
47. Super Charger Heaven - White Zombie
It's always fun to pick out the samples in White Zombie songs, since they're almost always from classic horror movies that I at least almost always have seen. "Super Charger Heaven" begins with a line from The Haunting and yes, that is Christopher Lee doing the Latin prayer during the jungle breakdown. Both major label White Zombie albums are ones that I've adored since high school and this was my favorite of their songs for the longest of times. Astro Creep is primarily driven by rhythmic non-riffage, (which is still awesome mind you), but the main riff in "SCH" is more traditionally wicked. Plus most Rob Zombie lyrics I A) can't understand or B) could care less about, but the line "Suck the juice from a fallen angel" is brilliant, this I will give him.
46. By the Light - Obituary
The last Obituary album to be released when death metal was seemingly on it's way out and the band members would all go get real jobs for awhile before regrouping after six years had gone by, Back from the Dead was also their best since Cause of Death. Florida's very best Celtic Frost worshipers had perfected their mid-paced meat and potatoes death metal by this point and groove monster "By the Light" soyently proves this. The one-two punch of this and the proceeding "Threatening Skies" pretty much make this an album I can listen to anytime. They're both likewise usually the only two they still play live, right next to each other as always. This one bobs the neck nicely it does.
45. Perpetual War - Monstrosity
I like how Karl Sanders put it that if you do really good in Monstrosity, you get to go on to join other bands. At least two current Cannibal Corpse members were in or at least almost in Monstrosity at one point before Jim Carey's favorite death metal band made them a way better offer. But thankfully, none of this deterred the Floridian Monstrosity from making a masterpiece in the world of extreme metal with In Dark Purity . It was one of the first albums with cookie monster vocals and double bass that I ever bought and since the beginning, "Perpetual War" has been THEE motherfucker of a song on it. Awesome chunk and a Mortal Kombat inspired riff? You can't lose!
44. Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden
Abbath's favorite Maiden to sing whilst drunk, (and shit, probably many others favorite as well), "Hallowed Be Thy Name" is contestable as being the ultimate Iron Maiden song. Even though it and The Number of the Beast features not the mighty skin slamming powers of Nicko McBrain, you'd have to be listening to another song instead of this one ever to not agree that it's sweet, glorious excellence. Maiden has anthem upon anthem in their catalog with no shortage of songs they are required by law to perform live each and every show, but "Hallowed" gets the nod as the most all encompassingly epic. It's just seven minutes of what heavy metal is supposed to sound like.
43. Kill All the White People - Type O Negative
Pete Steele and Co are certainly one of my favorite bands that have ever been a band. That said, most of their very finest songs are not necessarily ones that I would play when headbanging is a thing I want to happen to my person. I listen to them when I wanna hear gorgeousness in song form with outstanding vocals. And massive, cheap sounding distortion and creepy organs. But there's metal and punk roots a float in Type O's music as well and occasionally they've produced some unquestionable heavy jams. "Kill All the White People" is the riff fest on Bloody Kisses, one of the world's finest album. It's also probably their funniest song, barely any lyrics to it or no.
42. Ursvamp - Finntroll
The first time I heard this song, milk shot out my nose. And I don't drink milk. That's how goddamn funny it was. I haven't kept up with Finntroll since my introduction to them with Nattfödd, so I've no idea if they still play up the comedy aspect naturally inherent in their music, but this don't matter to the Jesus. Said album is both heavy and hilarious as balls. Folk metal usually means acoustic passages and melodies mixed with distorted guitars and aggressive singing, but Finntroll's version basically means all the heaviness plus the extra addition of accordion sounds via keyboards. Which then turns them into polka metal. No other way to describe the brilliance on display here.
41. Ripe for the Breaking - Napalm Death
I have always fancied Napalm Death's more groove oriented middle period. One which sadly they mostly have been neglecting live for quite some time. Boo-urns to that. Fear, Emptiness, Despair I picked up on high recommendation and I reckon I'll always consider it their strongest album. Only slightly less strong though even more groove oriented, the full-legth follow-up Diatribes features "Ripe for the Breaking" which has one of my all time favorite riffs appearing in it. So good be it that I forced my brother to rip it off in my own band Gorphanage and also so good that this ultimately has ended up being my highest and only Napalm inclusion for this list.
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