The Top 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time : 10 - 1

Here we are the top ten heaviest albums of all time. If we are counting hard core as metal  then all but one of these albums are metal. But no matter what you want to call them what they have in common is that all of these albums defy description. Blurring lines of genres to create monsters of their own. Unless you are a regular reader or have the tastes of our regular readers ...meaning are not afraid to dig outside of the mainstream into the more underground sectors, there might be some bands where you are like who the fuck is this? Of course some of these albums would have to come from the more underground corners of the scene because they are too heavy for your run of the mill metal head to digest.  If you think Slipknot is heavy, you might not be able to handle this.


10- Author & Punisher - "Ursus Americanus"

The heaviest industrial album of all time. A man and his machines beating the fuck out of your head. 

9-Nails- " You Will Never Be One of Us" 

This album is mean as hell, bullying you into submission. Is it hard core or grind core? It's both fist fucking one another. 








8- Code Orange - "Forever"

These kids used to more closely conform to the hard core genre, other influences like industrial crept in over the years. They became heavier in introducing these elements. I think what really secured their place here, is they do this is a way that makes you believe each note they are playing. 

7-Leviathan - "True Traitor True Whore" 



As with the previous band if you can make me believe you mean every note of anger or torment and are honestly throwing the dark places in your life in your songs, if will feel heavier than if you are just going through the motions of metal. Whitehead had some fucked up shit going on in his life when he made this one. Black metal often postures here it oozes will malice and ill intent. 

6- Zohamah- "Spread My Ashes"

This is where I might lose some of you as we are going to start diverting from mainstream metal. This blackened Doom band is vicious. They play ugly chords and make you feel their anguish. 

5-Altar of Plagues - "Teethed Glory and Injury" 


This Irish band's take on sludgey black metal is dark and dissonant. Yes there are blast beats , but done in a manner that crushes and not just drones. Noise laden atmosphere adds a depressing touch.  Sadly this was their swan song. 


 

4-Anaal Nathrakh- "Vanitas"



Another black metal band proving it works best when you bring other elements to the table. In this case it's grind core and industrial. If Emperor had gone completely insane from smoking meth they might have created something similar.


 

3- Dragged into Sunlight- "Hatred For Mankind" 


It's rare when the fury of the vocals makes an album heavier than it is. That is the case with this nasty blackened sludge fest. If you asked me what album lives us to it's title, I would point to this one.

2-Lord Mantis - "Pervertor"

Less black metal influence that Dragged into the Sunlight. The density of their brand of hammering sludge, is still very musical, but it hits like a rabid wall of sound.

 1- Hexis - "Abalam" 

I got this album six years ago and have not heard anything that comes close to touching it's grinding blackness since then. That is impressive if you take into consideration how much metal I am sent on a weekly basis



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Leviathan : "Scar Sighted"

This is much more death metal than I thought Wrest was going to give me going into this. This is a much different album than "True Traitor True Whore" , but the samples and ambiance wandering into the latter moments of the song begin to win me over. Granted on "True Traitor True Whore" he was going through a dark time that reflected in his art after being charged of raping his then girl friend with a tattoo gun. Since that died down he has married and put out another album with Twilight, which I was less than impressed with.

"Dawn Vibration" is certainly getting their it's more black metal, but it feels like the last Blut Aus Nord to me in terms of being dialed in when we know he can do more. There is a bleak industrial ambiance to the stormy lashing that "Gardens of Corprolite". There's a little more bleakness, melody and depth on "Wicked Fields of Calm" which is the first song on the album that really connects with me. The middle break section of the song is pretty amazing, with a great bass tone. The clean vocals on "Within Thrall" work well, the first riff while it rips is a little Symphony X for me. The more dissonant descent it takes it a much better turn of events. The verse riff sounds a little like Nachtmystium, in the hateful way it pounds. Judd must have rubbed off on him a little.

The more death metal feel returns on "A Veil is Lifted", but is twisted around with a disco-beat and some murky ambiance. It works , not the most compelling song on the album, but it gets the job done. Of course I am going to love the funereal doom creep to the title track. The blasts it builds into are understandable and well earned. "All Tongues Toward" summons more atmosphere as the drums start with a militant pound. The song then rips into blasting black metal with gruggling death metal vocals alternating with the black metal screams. The closing song is a mixed of crazed howls, slow pounds and buzzing black metal guitars.

This is better than the bulk of black metal coming out in terms of sounds and dynamics, do I think Wrest has done better? Yes. For what this is it works I'll give it a 8.5, some moments really wowed me others didn't if you are a huge fan of his round it up to a 9 if you are easier to please than me.