BAD TASTE! LOUD RIFFS! TOO MUCH CUM!
Arsis
Technically dazzling melodic death metal that impresses immediately, though its relentless density eventually becomes exhausting.
Emperor
A landmark of symphonic black metal: vast, hostile and atmospheric, with grandeur outweighing its occasional murk.
Beast In Black
From Hell with Love turns shameless synth-metal excess into a near-perfect sequence of hooks, riffs and heroic nonsense.
Gamma Ray
Gamma Ray’s cosmic power metal marathon delivers speed and strong choruses, but its bloated running order weakens the impact.
Wintersun
Wintersun’s debut fuses melodic death metal speed, folk-inflected melody and grand ambition into a technically dazzling, emotionally uneven whole.
Edge Of Sanity
On Unorthodox, Edge of Sanity break beyond Swedish death metal’s standard frame without losing its weight or hostility.
Amorphis
Queen of Time carries Amorphis through rich melodic terrain, though its long journey sometimes mistakes ornament for forward motion.
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian’s Tolkien concept album contains towering songs and rich vocal architecture, though its constant interludes disrupt momentum.
In Flames
The Jester Race has influential guitar work and several excellent songs, but its thin production and uneven pacing blunt the impact.
Moonsorrow
Two monumental compositions turn repetition, atmosphere and blackened folk metal into a bleak journey of unusual scale and patience.
Kamelot
A polished, technically assured Kamelot record whose careful construction too often settles into predictable mid-tempo symmetry.
Beast In Black
Berserker delivers sharp choruses and vocal fire, but its synthetic sheen often overwhelms the metal underneath.