[For Beginners] Metal Masterpieces: A Curated List of Must-Listen, History-Making Albums

Caught In A MoshANTHRAX

Caught In A Mosh

Anthrax, one of the Big Four at the pinnacle of thrash metal, released their third album in 1987.

Many fans consider this work the band’s masterpiece.

From the opening title track that starts with a chugging, medium-tempo heaviness and then bursts into a thrashy sprint, the album is packed with the kind of heavy metal that makes you say, “This is Anthrax.” It’s full of relentlessly energetic and aggressive numbers, yet thanks to the band’s masterful ensemble playing—shifting seamlessly between intensity and restraint—the sound is far from single-mindedly thrash.

It also carries melodic, catchy elements, offering plenty of highlights to enjoy.

Roots Bloody RootsSepultura

Sepultura – Roots Bloody Roots [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

The moment the opening track, Roots Bloody Roots, kicks in, you can’t help but throw your fist in the air—many of you probably feel the same.

For Sepultura, the world-renowned heavy metal band from Brazil, this is their sixth studio album.

It’s also well known as the last album with frontman Max Cavalera before his departure.

By incorporating elements of Brazilian music—their very roots—into their distinctive thrash and groove metal sound, the band may well have reached one of their creative peaks with this record.

And don’t overlook their forward-thinking sensibilities, like featuring the maverick Mike Patton and Korn’s then-up-and-coming frontman, Jonathan Davis, as guests.

DavidianMachine Head

Machine Head – Davidian [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

The landmark debut album by Machine Head, formed around Robb Flynn, who had played in the San Francisco thrash metal band Vio-lence, and a group that, alongside Pantera, laid the foundations of 1990s groove metal.

Its crossover sound—an exquisite fusion of technical, thrashy riff exchanges with the groove sensibilities of ‘90s modern heavy rock—never feels dated and always sounds badass.

Nearly half the tracks run over five minutes, yet thanks to excellent song structures and tight band ensemble work, it never drags.

A masterpiece I can recommend equally to fans of heavy metal and loud rock alike.

The EruptionEmperor

The Eruption

A masterpiece born from the black metal genre, and a superb work that every metal fan should hear at least once—even if they’re not into black metal.

As the Japanese title “The End of Darkness” suggests, this release from 2001 became the band’s final album.

Coming from the black metal scene, three of the four members were involved in incidents or troubles, but the central figure, Ihsahn, showed no interest in such matters and chose instead to relentlessly refine his musicality, ultimately creating a work of true artistry.

The genre’s characteristic aggression is brilliantly fused with grand orchestration, yielding a sound you might call a malevolent opera—truly one of a kind.

Set aside your preconceptions and give it a listen.

Future Breed MachineMeshuggah

Future Breed Machine

Hailing from Sweden, Meshuggah has remained a solitary presence with a unique musical identity that moves between genres like progressive metal and death metal over a career spanning more than 30 years.

This release, their second overall, came out in 1995 and is a crucial record that set the course for the band’s subsequent direction.

Centered on a complex, bewildering band ensemble that makes full use of polyrhythms, it features guitars that spin demented yet beautiful melodies, death growls that seem fused with the instruments, and experimental noise and dissonance—music that is quintessentially Meshuggah.

Their influence on the highly technical metalcore bands of the 2000s and on groups that play what is commonly called “djent” is immeasurably large.

Devoured by VerminCannibal Corpse

Cannibal Corpse – Devoured by Vermin (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

An album by a flagship death metal band from Florida—their fifth overall—whose impact is as ferocious as its cover art, which embodies the genre’s underground aura and dangerous vibe in a form you should absolutely never show to anyone without the stomach for it.

The Japanese title at the time, something like “Disfavor,” is a bit amusing in hindsight, but of course the sound itself would, if played to the uninitiated, all but guarantee exactly that: disfavor.

It’s also their first album with the second vocalist, and compared to earlier works, while still brutal, the songs feel more dramatic overall and the relatively mild death growls make it somewhat easier to listen to—but that’s only in a relative sense.

HeartworkCarcass

Heartwork

Carcass, known in Japan by the moniker “Liverpool’s King of Atrocity” and once dominant in the scene with their so-called goregrind sound, delivered a masterpiece album that shifted toward a style fusing the savagery of death metal with classic, hard rock–style melodicism.

Released in 1994, it was the band’s fourth album overall and their first on a major label.

The melodic sensibilities of guitarist Michael Amott—who had joined on the previous album, Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious, and is also known for his work with Arch Enemy and Spiritual Beggars—are infused throughout, exerting a huge influence on what would later be called melodic death metal.

While the change in direction disappointed some early fans, this is undoubtedly a pivotal album that should be regarded as essential in metal history.