The Top 10 Heavy Metal Albums of 2026...so far

Metal here is an overarching banner to cover anything that is not one of the other sub-genres of metal. So everything from thrash, to power metal, to nu-metal.  I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they are really going to need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. No matter the genre,  darkness trumps speed when it comes to heavy, so these bands reflect that sentiment. These albums provide a fitting soundtrack to the demise of the US.  I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the Top 10 Metal albums of 2026 so far. 

10-Kreator - "Krushers of the World"

Before checking back in on the band for 2017's  "Gods and Monsters,"  the last album I liked by these guys was "Coma of Souls." In its day, this was a change for the band after "Extreme Aggression" had hooked me in. This time around, they are locked into a more rapid, furious form of modern thrash that works better than what they did on their last album. It sztill takes some getting used to when it comes to how Mille Petrozza approaches his vocal delivery that borders more on singing than his once scathing snarl. He also uses more anthem accents on the choruses

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/kreator-krushers-of-world.html

 

>9-Savage Master / Mystic Storm-"The Power / Wandering Time"

The split mini-album from these two bands is set firmly in the days of yesteryear. Savage Master is no stranger to us here, as I really enjoyed the last album, "Dark & Dangerous," that found them moving in a darker direction, but it was my first time checking out Mystic Storm. Who impressed me even more. They made me want to search out their other music and dive deeper into who they are.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/heavy-maytal-savage-master-mystic-storm.html

8-Evergray- "Architects Of A New Weave"

Swedish progressive power metallers Evergray have been at this for some time now. Their 2004 album "Inner Circle" was the last I gave a listen to, and it was a little too bogged down in the conventions of the genre to keep my interest, but things have changed. The guitar tone has grown denser to compete with the sound of modern metal. The singer and keyboardist are the only two members left over from those days as they now have the drummer from Shining, and Bassist from Therion in the fold, as well as the guitarist from Scar Symmetry. There is a heavier double bass attack bridging things, and the vocals might still be dramatic, but keep things in a more melodic and brooding direction.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/evergray-architects-of-new-weave.html

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7-Moonspell- "Far From God"

 The Portuguese band's newest album finds themalmost dropping the metal altogether with a more organic rock sound, and the sung baritone vocals being the dominant. That said, it's also a great song, so I am not complaining about it. There is a more Sisters of Mercy-like bass line to the title track. Though the vocals try to capture more of a Peter Steele-like resonance.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/moonspell-far-from-god.html

 

6-Lex Legion- "s/t"

When the King is away, the kids will play. This vocal is comprised of the top tier of King Diamond's band members. Pete Blakk and Andy LaRocque on guitars is worth the price of admission alone. But wait, there is more. Mikkey Dee took a break from the Scorpions to play on this album. Hal Pinto is covering the bass duties as well. Pagan's Mind vocalist Nils K LaRue joins the Swedes, bringing some Norse vocal power to things. His power metal style of vocals works well over things; there is clearly a King Diamond influence on what he is doing as he leaps up into falsetto. He is not King Diamond, but this will at least hold over even die-hard fans like myself. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/06/lex-legion-st.html

5-Metal Church- "Dead to Rights" 

The 14th album from the legendary thrash project helmed by Kurt Vanderhoof, who is the sole original member, now features an all-new line-up, including former Flotsam & Jetsam drummer Ken Mary, who also played on Alice Cooper's "Raise Your Fist and Yell" album, along with Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson. For what they are doing, you can't ask for a better backbone to drive these songs. The opening track is pretty impressive and delivers what you want from them. This is the 6th album that guitarist Rick Van Zandt has played alongside Kurt, so he knows the deal. Wayne and Howe are dead, so this sounds as muh like Metal Church as we are going to get, so they excelled at keeping it going

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/heavy-maytal-metal-church-dead-to-rights.html

4-Dimmu Borgir- "Grand Serpent Rising"

One of Norway's biggest bands, and one of my faves, they have picked up where they left off with the last album. This is better than the last album and delivers what they know fans want. Even if it feels a little formulaic in this regard,This one grew on me with each listen. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/heavy-maytal-dimmu-borgir-grand-serpent.html

3-Megadeth- "s/t"

Here we are at the last Megadeth album. Better to hang it up than besmirch their legacy.  I used to love these guys, but "Youthanasia" was the last album I got into. The opening track feels like they are pretty focused on the kind of thrash that works best for them. I think they are the epitome of a band who struggle to find themselves when the creative head of the band got sober. Let's face it, these guys are pretty much just the Dave Mustaine show. He knocks it out of the park almost 100 percent of the time here.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/megadeth-st.html

2- Venom - "Into Oblivion"

The 16th album in the career of this project, which now counts Cronos as the sole original member. Things have not changed a great deal thanks to Cronos's voice that finds him belting it out with the same throaty zeal that drove their earlier. In fact, this album is more metal and less punk than what people would call Venom's most classic work.  https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/05/heavy-maytal-venom-into-oblivion.html

 

1-Rob Zombie - "The Great Satan"

It has taken me a decade to resign myself to the fact their is little difference between where Rob left off with White Zombie and his solo work, which is almost as good. It seems he is eager to recapture his more classic sound, as this album opens with a heavier edge. his album is fucking fantastic, and shows that just because you came out in the 90s it does not mean you have to forsake your sound when you can just perfect it.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/02/rob-zombie-great-satan.html

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Heavy Maytal - Metal Church : "Dead to Rights"

The 14th album from the legendary thrash project helmed by Kurt Vanderhoof, who is the sole original member, now features an all-new line-up, including former Flotsam & Jetsam drummer Ken Mary, who also played on Alice Cooper's "Raise Your Fist and Yell" album, along with Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson. For what they are doing, you can't ask for a better backbone to drive these songs. The opening track is pretty impressive and delivers what you want from them. This is the 6th album that guitarist Rick Van Zandt has played alongside Kurt, so he knows the deal. 

This leaves vocalist Brian Allen from Vicious Rumors having to step into the path previously tread by some great singers like David Wayne and Mike Howe. He kind of splits the difference between the two, which on the second song causes them to sound more like Exodus, though he does give an impressive, well-rounded dynamic performance on the title track. So far, it does not feel as dark as the early years; it does feel like they move in a Megadeth direction at times, perhaps due to Ellefson's involvement. The first time this comes to mind is on "Deep Cover Shakedown".While Allen goes into his higher register on this one and it is driven by a headbanging chug, it does not feel as catchy as the previous song, and the lyrics are not the best. 

"Feet to the Fire" is a workable balance between heavy drive and melody. The vocals juggle a raspy snarl with soaring croon. The best lyrics so far are on the thrashing "The Show". It's a fitting commentary on the world today. "Heaven Knows" is on the more Megadeth side of the thrash gallops with an Accept-tinged power metal flying over it. 'No Memory' goes over onto the more power metal side of things, which is not as effective as when they lock into a more Megadeth-like groove on 'Wasted Years".  They are touching on things like Big Pharma that more bands need to be doing. "My Wrath" feels less like Metal Church and more like Exodus jamming with Megadeth, so a hybrid thrash. Wayne and Howe are dead, so this sounds as muh like Metal Church as we are going to get, so they excelled at keeping it going. I will give this album a 9.5. 

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January 's Top 10 Albums

 

The year is off to a decent start with more quality and quantity, so in the interest of keeping abreast of new releases, this might help you, casual readers, with what you might have missed.  I am not doing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. This helps me organize my lists for the end of the year by listing the genre of music the album falls under. This does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most. I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til June, so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month, there is a wide variety from pagan folk pop to grind-core to black metal, so perhaps you will find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for January of 2026.

10-N0/ MAS - "No Peace." 

Grind-core

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/nomas-no-peace.html

9-Eihwar-"Hugrheim" 

Pagan- Folk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/eihwar-hugrheim.html

8-ghostbells- "Catacoture" 

Goth

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/ghostbells-catacoture.html

7-Xiu Xiu-"Xiu Mutha Fuckin' Xiu: Vol.1"

Experimental 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/xiu-xiu-xiu-mutha-fuckin-xiu-vol1.html

6-Crippled Black Phoenix -"Sceaduhelm"

Post-punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/crippled-black-phoenix-sceaduhelm.html

5-Ellende -"Zerfall" 

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/ellende-zerfall.html

4-Ponte del Diavolo- "De Venom Natura" 

Blackened Post Punk

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/ponte-del-diavolo-de-venom-natura.html

3-Softcult- "When a Flower Doesn't Grow." 

Dream pop/post-grunge

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/softcult-when-flower-doesnt-grow.html

2-Megadeath-"s/t "

Thrash 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/megadeth-st.html

1-Blackwater Holylight- "Not Here Not Gone." 

Stoner Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2026/01/blackwater-holylight-not-here-not-gone.html

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Megadeth : "s/t"

 Here we are at the last Megadeth album. Better to hang it up than besmirch their legacy.  I used to love these guys, but "Youthanasia" was the last album I got into. The opening track feels like they are pretty focused on the kind of thrash that works best for them. I think they are the epitome of a band who struggle to find themselves when the creative head of the band got sober. Let's face it, these guys are pretty much just the Dave Mustaine show.  "I Don't Care" goes back to the more hook-focused accessible writing that defined "Countdown to Extinction." It works well enough here. Then things begin to take a turn.

"Hey, God' works as a song, but lyrically it's kind of dumb, but it seems brilliant compared to "Let There Be Shred," which is a display of stupidity so profound that it is the sort of thing that makes metal hard to be taken seriously when presented in this context. Even if you just like jerking off to shredding, it is done more tastefully at other points on this album.  None of the songs on this album comes across as being dark, which is part of the problem, but at least "Puppet Parade" can be taken more seriously. His voice sounds better than some of the previous albums from the past 10 years here. There is still plenty of the 80s flowing through the veins of these songs, so much so that "Another Bad Day" could almsot be a Dokken song. But it works well enough for what the band does, and it feels like they are touching upon previous corners of their legacy. 

The drummer gets to shine on "Made to Kill," which feels like it could have come from "So Far, So Good, So What' which is my favorite album by the band. This shows that everything can still click into place for the band when they stop fucking around. "Obey the Call" finds them continuing to fire off another banger at optimum function. I am ok with the 80s dripping from the riff that leads into "I am War" as the rest of the song is killer and what you want from this band. "The Last Note' also works well at upholding their legacy. Things come full circle with their take on "Ride the Lightning." I was expecting 'Fight Fire With Fire." The difference being Mustaine should have tracked these vocals in 1988, and it might have held up better against what James did, but I would not have been opposed to him releasing an album of all the Metallica songs he helped write jsut to hear the differences. "Let There Be Shred' is really the only sour moment on the album, and it is balanced out by the moments where they really knock it out of the park so I will round it up to a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. 

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The Top 10 Albums of 1985

If you aren't aware that Reza Mills from Clean Sheets and Sleeping Shaman has been breaking down the decades with me to uncover our top 5 songs in pivotal anniversaries for these years, then you uare missing out. You should check out our insights here...

 

Here I am taking my top 5 choices and expanding them into the top 10 albums of 1985, and also ranking them in order of their impact and staying power, so here are my top 10 albums of 1985. Be sure to check out the episode above for a more in-depth look at the top 5 here. 

10-Megadeth- "Killing is my Business and Business is Good."

The debut of Mustaine's post-Metallica project feels like he picked up where "Kill'em All " left off.

 

9-Anthrax -' Spreading the Disease" 

They were beginning to hit their stride when it came to blending thrash with hooky classic metal songwriting

   

8-Ratt- "Invasion of Your Privacy."

One of the most endearing albums from the hair metal era, which stands the test of time. 

7-Sting -" Dream of the Blue Turtles." 

His solo debut is wonderfully bleak in its lyrical outlet and jazz overlay. 

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6-Slayer - "Hell Awaits"

Their most underrated album, considering that it opened the doors for a darker, heavier style of music to be born. 

 

5-Dio-"Sacred Heart."

He peaked in the 80s with this magical album, setting himself apart from metal trends.

4-the Cure "Head On the Door." 

Not their darkest album, but Smith's songwriting continued t o explore new colors of sound. 

3-Tom Waits - "Rain Dogs." 

Not sure he even knew the 80s were even going on a this album sounds like it came from a dive bar at the edge of time. 

2-Kate Bush-"Hounds of Love"

She did new wave on her terms and retained all the ethereal magic that she was known for.  

 

1-The Smiths -"Meat is Murder."

Lyrically brilliant and perfectly written, this iconic album still stands alone. 

Thanks for reading. Please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Check out our Podcast here ... https://www.youtube.com/@abysmalhymns666

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Live Review : The Misfits & Megadeth @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

 I am not huge on reunion tours, as it seems too many bands are staining their legacy with cash grabs, there are few exceptions to this rule, however I was not able  to pas up the chance to catch a few of my favorite bands from High School. Committing to venturing to an outdoors concert after May in Florida is an even greater test of your fandom. Really just me venturing out of the house and forcing my misanthropic ass to be around people is a testament to how much I like a band. Thanks to misinformation in regards to the actual start time, and traffic going into the venue we missed Fear, who could be heard playing from the highway as we reached the venue. The half mile walk from parking to entrance and display of  general stupidity from the concert goers who were corralled at the entrance like cattle all helped  the delay so once we set foot inside the Amphitheatre, Fear had finished their set. 

Megadeth took the stage at 7:45 with a rather stripped down stage set up, Dave has been bitching about the cost of touring these days so this was not a surprise. They were surprisingly better than expected. I saw them back in the day a few times with their Clash of the Titans performance being the stand out. They might have lacked key members from that era, but were impressive. Sticking to the hits, they played two songs from their latest album and cranked out all the "Peace Sells" and "Sweating Bullets" you might   and was never that impressed. They stuck to their "hits" opening with "Hangar 18". They only played two new songs, aside from those it was all the songs you might expect from "Peace Sells" to "Sweating Bullets" . They closed their set out with "Holy Wars".  Dirk from Soilwork was behind the drums and pulled every thing off as needed. It was odd thinking how the White Lion b assist was able to take care of business, but that is what happened. They brought out Lee Ving for a cover of "Nothing is Something" which did not go over as well since no one knew it. But I was glad I got to see him sing one song having missed Fear. 

Punk in a massive  20,000 capacity Amphitheatre is an odd oxymoron for outsiders.  If any one was going to do it the Misfits would be the band. In line waiting to enter the venmnue a disgruntled  "punk" was complaining about Megadeth opening , and asked why was it not Minor Threat. The very nature of this question says he had no clue what Ian MacKaye was about, and only a punk in the sense of wasting his life by being wasted. A shame he missed Fear as well. The Misfits are larger than life so that is why this show worked. Their stage was flanked by two giant pumpkins and the back drops of Vegas like video screens, They were not about ideals but teenage aliens and pulp monsters. They opened with "Death Comes Ripping" , which was the most suitable song to start things with. 

Danzig sounded fine which was my main concern as he sounded like he had lost all ability to belt it out on his terrible Elvis covers album. There was an amusing casual attitude to his onstage banter, he at least acted like he was taking requests from the audience, which I find it hard to believe there were not people within earshot screaming for "Angel Fuck" which did not make an appearance. But as Danzig said they do know a lot of songs, I did not expect all of them to be played, though the fact most are under three minutes gave them time to cram a bunch into their set. They have great songs, some of the highlights for me were "Vampira" , "Where Eagles Dare" , "Hybrid Moments" , "Some Kind of Hate" and "Skulls". This was billed as the "Original" Misfits but the line-up was bolstered by the addition of Dave Lombardo on drums, and Dope / Joan Jett guitarist Acey Slade, who stood behind Jerry Only on stage. Dave did his job, obviously this was less demanding than playing Slayer or Mr. Bungle. Doyle has more of a metallic guitar tone, and due to the benefit of the big production this was a much better sound than they had originally.

Megadeth : "the Sick, the Dying, .. And the Dead ! "

 Dave Mustaine is the sole original member of the band after allowing Dave Ellefson to be cancelled.  Ellefson's bass tracks were re-recorded by Testament bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Also, on the band's 16th album Angra Guitarist Pedro and Dirk from Soilwork.  It is still in the thrashing style of the band, though things are so cleanly produced that it takes a great deal of the edge out of their sound. "Night Stalkers" finds the guitars getting more aggressive, but the same cannot be said by Mustaine's vocal, which so far for the first three songs have been largely spoken, the first really stab at singing is on the "Night Stalkers" chorus. Ice-T's cameo is sparse, as it should be. 

The first song that feels like they are not just peddling watered down attempts at re-booting "Rust in Peace" is one "Dogs of Chernobyl". It is a more honest and melodic effort. It does build into the palm muted tension of thrash. I cannot believe the producer let the vocal take on "Sacrifice" find its way in this state to the final album. The vocals are awkward, in their phrasing and the terrible lyrics contribute to this. "Junkie" sounds like a cross between a "Countdown to Extinction"   b-side and Def Leppard. An improvement considering the previous song.  "Killing Time" could have been better if the vocals were not given such a dry production. This continues to be a problem with the album as the guitars sound great and the vocals largely ignored in the final mixing. 

"Soldier On" just kinda chugged by without leaving much of an impression.  He takes a shot at today's social media influences with "Celebutante", which ends up being a pretty decent song. The guitar harmonies on this album are pretty dialed in. Things get a little darker on the more brooding " Mission to Mars' which is the direction this album needed to head to begin with. This album has been six years in the making, so packed with thirteen there is a larger margin for error when it comes to filler. It seems like the best songs are packed into the second half. The more technical speed metal feel that carries a tighter sound than thrash can be heard on "We'll Be Back" which works pretty well. The band's legacy haunts them in the best way on this song. None of the guitar solos on this album touch Marty Friedman's work, but the solos are plentiful. They also shift through a barrage of really cool riffs on this song. 

"Police Truck" has some interesting guitar sounds that break away from what you might expect, though the lyrics are pretty dumb".   "This Planet's on Fire" has Mustaine trying harder to sing since Sammy Hagar is also on this track.  It reminds me early 90s AC/DC.  I will give this album an 8.5 , it has some strong moments, but this band's first four album's really raised the bar high and some of the cheese could have been trimmed the solos more purposeful and the vocals given more love, other than that if you are a Megadeth fan you can round this up to a 9, if Dave can do no wrong, but that might not be the most objective listen,     

The Top 10 Metal Albums of 1992

I recently looked back albums turning 30 this year to see how they held up over time. These came out while I was in high school so most hold sentimental weight that I shed the best I could to give an another more objective as possible. These are ranked in terms of the impact they had, how well they held up over time and how good they are in terms of songwriting. This reality checked some albums because, they might have captured a sound that was groundbreaking but song wise there were better written albums. So here are the best metal albums that came out in 92, yeah if there are albums that seemed to be missing that is because this is not the top 10 industrial albums or grunge albums., but the top 10 metal albums. Not a lot to talk about otherwise so here we go.... 

10-Gwar- "America Must Be Destroyed " 

Following up "Scumdogs" is tough, rather than get heavier or more aggressive the lyrics are more over the top, breaking the bounds of what metal bands dared snarl about. Oderus continues to prove he can sing and pushed himself more to make almost hair metal like power ballads at times. 

Abysmal Hymns: The Class of 92 Gwar : "America Must Be Destroyed"

9-Incantation- "Onward to Golgotha" 

They are full blast ahead with the unearthly low growls soaked in reverb to further their sub demonic nature.  They stay pretty dense throughout this album. There are moments of breathing in the stench of the grave they are digging. Ahead of its time, they band might have gone on to make even better at at this juncture in time, they were ahead of the game. 

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June - Looking Back in Anger at Incantation : " Onward to Galgotha"

        

8-White Zombie-" La Sexorcisto-Devil Music vol 1" 

 I was already into the first two albums from these guys as it has a dirty sludgy Stooges feel but was dark like Alice Cooper. My first thought when this came out was "they sound like Metallica now" this change took a couple listens to grow on me. The grooving grind of their chugs has a more drugged out feel that thrash bands. Of you think this should place higher, all the songs sound the same so no. But the groove is good enough to earn its place here.

Abysmal Hymns: The Class of 92 - White Zombie : "La Sexorcisto (Devil Music vol1) "

 

7-Psychotic Waltz - "Into the Everflow" 

Not far removed from say Fates Warning, they were darker and dropping more acid when you take in the atmosphere layered in their vision of progressive metal. The vocals which are at a higher croon have more soul and substance than many of the operatic yodelers that populate progressive metal at this time. Another album that was ahead of its time, 

Abysmal Hymns: the Class of 1992 - Psychotic Waltz:" Into the Everflow"

6-Obituary " the End Complete"  

This Tampa death metal band stood out with ugly Celtic frost inspired grooves. They continued to perfect what they did and proved death metal bands can be just as capable songwriters as any genre of music. 

Abysmal Hymns: Death is June - "the End Complete" vs "World Demise"

 

5 -Deicide-"Legion"  

This album has aged well because now I can listen to it without having to compare to the first album. The fact the vocals are not as demonic sounding as the first album nagged at me back when this came over it, but in the past 30 years I have let that go and can listen to it for what it si which is one of the most ripping death metal albums of all time.  

Abysmal Hymns: the Class of 92 - Deicide: "Legion"

4-Megadeth - "Countdown to Extinction" 

Megadeth had outgrown thrash, they turned to a slight rock n roll swagger to their sound, shedding the technical fireworks of the previous album. Streamlined production to compete with the more radio friendly production of the "Black Album " as Mustaine released a masterpiece in "Rust in Peace" but he would not be content considering his former band mates just released the biggest selling album of their careers. This album might not be a sellout, but the heaviness was compromised to make it. At the end of the day the growth here made for better songs.  

Abysmal Hymns: the Class of 92 - Megadeth :" Countdown to Extinction"

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3- Danzig - "Danzig III -How the Gods Kill" 

When this album came out, I appreciated it was darker and more metal than "Lucifuge", Glenn's vocal continued to improve, from his croons to when he belts it out. Musically a pervading doomy feeling is haunting things, this sometimes simmers into a full-on metal chug. This is what I want him to sound like. .

Abysmal Hymns: The Class of 92- Danzig: " Danzig III -How the Gods Kill"

 

2- Neurosis - "Souls at Zero" 

This album was more groundbreaking and ahead of its time than the previous eight album on this list. I wrestled in my head over could this equate to earning it the number one spot. This is the conclusion I came to, pretty neck and neck as to how much I have listened to this one over the years verse the band that took number one. 

Abysmal Hymns: The Class of 92 -- Neurosis: "Souls at Zero"

 

1-Pantera - "Vulgar Display of Power" 

This band might have fallen out of fashion with some, but of the metal albums from 1992 this is the only album able to edge out Neurosis in terms of heaviness and how groundbreaking it was. Where "Souls at Zero" is full of cool trippiness, these are full on anthems that stood the test of time. "Cowboys From Hell" hinted that these guys were onto something but was still rooted in a more Judas Priest like traditional metal. Here they blend hard core with that and stripped away the old school metal moments. This album is in your ace with a sharp guitar sound that grabs you by the throat. 

Abysmal Hymns: Class of 1992 : Pantera's "Vulgar Display of Power "

the Class of 92 - Megadeth :" Countdown to Extinction"

 Looking back at albums turning 30 this year and seeing how they held up over time. These came out while I was in high school so most hold sentimental weight that I am going to shed the best I can listen to as objectively as possible. At this point they had outgrown thrash, Megadeth has always had a slight rock n roll swagger to their sound, must shed the technical fireworks of the previous album and the production streamlines the sound to compete with the more radio friendly production of the "Black Album " as Mustaine might have just released a masterpiece in "Rust in Peace" but he would not be content considering his former band mates just released the biggest selling album of their careers. This album might not be a sellout, but the heaviness was compromised to make it. The opening track is less aggressive and more rock in roll. His vocal is more of a throwback to their earlier work. 

 The first single might also be the album's strongest song. If his goal was to write a radio accessible metal, this hit a bullseye, as the guitars are crunchy enough to convince most, and the melodies are hooky enough to make you want more. I have always liked the groove of "Architecture of Aggression".  The vocals flow well over the riffs. Mustaine has clearly been working on his singing as evident in "Foreclosure of Dream" but the verses sound like they could have come from a Skid Row album.  Sure, the guitar playing is great, but a much more mainstream approach than the previous album. While I appreciate the Alice Cooper influence, lyrically this song is silly and that effects the tone of the overall song. There are some cool riffs even with the zaniness and even as cheesy as it might be it was till better than most of what was coming out at this time. 

They are back to pretty much close peak Megadeth on "This Was My Life".  The guitars have a great deal of drive to their chug and the sneering vocals of Mustaine exploring his inner mess. Going back to listen to this one you can hear how they dialed back the guitar solos on this one. The title track at times recalls "In My Darkest Hour" riff wise, but the overall tone of the album is not as dark as "So Far So Good So What". "High Speed Dirt" might have the album's best guitar solo but feels like filler aside from that.   I might be an odd choice but my favorite song on this album is "Pyschotron" . There is a theatrical feel to the story telling of "Captive Honor" that recalls much of "Rust In Peace".  "Ashes in your Mouth", it pretty much what you want from Megadeth, almost to a fault, but the heavily harmonized guitars make the most of it. This album is more metallic than it is heavy. It steered the course of their career which I feel has been circling this sound for the past thirty years, rather than the wilder and freer thrash that came before "Rust in Peace".  I will give this album a 10 as the strongest moments compensate for Mustaines adapting to where the 90s were heading. . 

The Top 50 Thrash Albums of All Time 10 - 1

These are the top ten albums of what is the most influential sub-genre of&nbsp; metal . It opened the door for bands to play louder, harder and faster thus spawning Death metal, black metal, grind core etc.. yeah doom stayed on it's own path. The bands that came out of it are now considered the biggest bands in metal...I mean Metallica and Slayer, come one end of debate. Normally I try to limit it to one album per artist. There are some artists that had much more of an impact so they might get another entry or two. There is thrash ranging from proto-death metal to hard core to power metal bands that evolved with the times. I grew up during the rise of thrash and listened to it through out highschool so some of this is determined by which albums did I listen to the most as they came out and which have endured the test of time. Lets face it none of your Toxic Holocausts or Revocations can touch these bands. They are pretty much tribute bands in comparison<

10- Death Angel -"Frolic Through the Park " 1988

I am sure there are people screaming for the Ultraviolence. Truth is the songs on this album are better. Yes it is impressive they were kids when they made, hell they were still kids when they made this album and broke down more barriers musically.







9- Testament - "Practice What You Preach"

This album edges out their others. The band obviously hit their peak here as evident from what happened aftter "Souls of Black"





8- Slayer -" South of Heaven" - 1988

Another tough call between this and their other album that beat this one out. They slowed down and got melodic here and it was perfectly where they needed to go sonically at the time.






7- Metallica -"Ride the lightning"-1984"

Punk rock kids are who is going to tell you "Kill'em All" is a better album. They just like that one because it sounds more like Motorhead. This is the album where they came into their own musically.






6-Pantera -"Cowboys From Hell -1990


This album is the reason grunge did not kill metal.


 


5-Megadeth - "So Far So Good So What" 1988 

 Yeah I am sure you wan "Peace Sells" or " Rust In Peace" here, this is the best balance of what those two albums had. The in your face attitude of "Peace Sells" but with more polished songs and better production, though less wanking than "Rust In Peace" and the production was not so slick that it lost it's edge.





4-Anthrax - 'Among the Living"1987 


Here is where it becomes a tough call as any of the top 4 albums could arguably be number one. The most under rated band of the big four.


3-Voivod- "Dimenson Hatross"1988 


 The dark horse in the top 4, this album was mind blowing when it came out I had heard nothing like it. It went on to influence Tool , Meshuggah, Fear Factory and any metal band into sci fi. A concept album where the concept was not so dense it felt like a musical.


 

2-Metallica- Master of Puppets- 1986 


 What a year 1986 was ! I bough this tape when it came out and This album still sounds great all these years later. It needs little defense as to why it belongs here.







1- Slayer- Reign in Blood- 1986 


 Why did this beat "Master of Puppets", well I got both albums when they came out. I listen to this one more. Some of the songs on "Puppets" can be long winded . I love "Disposable Heroes" but it is not written as in your face and compactly with not a minute waster as any song on this album. It is also darker and has a more sinister feel to it.


 

Songs For the Apocalypse

So the world is supposed to end tomorrow. There are many videos about it online that you can find on your own, end of the world tomorrow's date on Youtube brings up a great deal of them, the reason I won't post them here is because, most of based in some kind of Bible bull shit and I don't cover Christian music on here so I sure as hell am not going to give them any air time. Granted the fact Christians are behind this is what casts the biggest shadow of doubt in my mind, so I am trying not to get my hopes up, as it will surely prove to be another disappointment. But here are my top 10 apocalypse anthems or songs for the end of your world. I'll let the music do the talking from here. If we get an apocalyptic wasteland to frolic  that will be worth looking forward to as well, but here's for hoping for the best worst case scenario.




Killing Joke - "Glitch"

 

;Dissection - "Starless Aeon"

 

Goatwhore- "Apocalyptic Havoc"



 Morbid Angel - "World of Shit"

 

Darkthrone - 'Earth's Last Picture"

 

KMFDM- "Son of a Gun"

 

 Neurosis - "Locust Star"

 

 Ministry - "Perfect Storm"



 Megadeth- "Set the World Afire"

 

Thanks For Nothing : the Top 10 Break Up Songs

Before you are surrounded by depressing X-mas music every time you go out into public for the month to come we are going to wallow in this list of the top 10 break up songs. Many of these touch upon feelings that are as varied as those in the five stages of grief... denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.This roller coaster touches on varied genres ranging from pop to metal.

10-Planes Mistaken For Stars - "Clean Up Mean" 

The newest song on the list off of the band's latest album "Prey". It's taking the number 10 spot since it has stood the test of time like some of the other songs.

 

 9-Marvin Gaye- "Is That Enough"

From the cocaine fueled concept album "Here My Dear", Gaye used powder and pain to propel this opus. He stepped away from the Motown hit formula to pour his soul in these somewhat progressive songs in this concept album that tells the story of his divorce.


 

8-the Twilight Sad - " I Could Give You All That You Don't Want"

These guys opened for the Cure, who are not on this list, because most of their music is happy or sensuous to me. These guys however have the melancholy and longing down. This one moves towards acceptance.

 

7- Alice In Chains - "Sea of Sorrow"
There is more acceptance with a tinge of anger, much like real life the stages of grief bleed into one another.

 

6-Morrissey "I Am Hated For Loving"

 For this I think  for the sake of  this list his solo career beats out the Smiths when it comes this brand of heart ache.

 

5- Taylor Swift - "I Almost Do"

I have alluded to my love for Tay Tay, bu think it is the first time her music has graced this blog. The lyrics and melodies are pretty moving and relate-able. For pop music these days it's the best it gets.



4- Chevelle- " I Get It "

While the lyrical metaphor is thick here, the sentiment fits, with sarcastic anger to serve as a proper middle finger to vent the anger stage of grief.

 

3- Type O Negative- "In Praise of Bacchus" 

These guys have a few, but Peter Steele's lonely drinking song takes the despair out on the streets of Brooklyn in ponderous reflection. It examines the complexities of  heart break in the lonely city.


 2-Chelsea Wolfe- "Mistake in Parting"

 The title track from her first album that has a more grunge tinged conventional rock sound. No ghostly vocals here, lyrically the honesty in this one might be here best work despite not being hidden in the shadows of metaphor she is now known for.

 

1-Megadeth- "In My Darkest Hour"

 This is a classic that has stuck with me even when I began hating Dave Mustaine for becoming a christian and sucking at pretty much life, with making shitty music his worst offense. Here it's dramatic, even putting suicide on the table, but isn't that where metal should go?  His darkest moments here seem believable.

Megadeth : "Dystopia"

I normally do not support christian music in any form but Mustaine has toned it down enough for me to give this one a shot. The last time I gave a fuck about Megadeth was when "Youthanasia" came out ,  though there were some songs I heard on "Cryptic Writings " that I liked, we officially parted ways when I saw them in 1998 at Ozzfest and Mustaine had gone full christian mode, would not play there best songs from "Peace Sells"  and people where giving out fliers promoting Jesus and using his name to do so. Well how do you know he o.k'ed this? ... the defensive Megadeth fan asks.  I stopped one and asked them.   This is the first album since 2004  not feature drummer Shawn Drover who was replaced by Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and the first since 2007 without guitarist Chris Broderik who was replaced by the guitarist from Angra. The first song is thrash with Mustaine's vocal much lower than the sneer you typically associate with their more classic sound, but this returns on the title track that follows. It is a catchier and more mainstream metal take on what they do. "Fatal Illusion" carries more heft when it slows things down into a more deliberate pound, before Dave Ellefson speeds things up into something that sounds like a b-side from "Countdown to Extinction" if that album had been produced in 2015. Not sure why the guitar feels the need to solo over what is supposed to be the chorus, the song has some cool sounds , but is haphazard in it's construction.

"Death From Within" takes two listens for me to get a grip on it , because the first listen didn't really grab me. It has what is a typical chug for the band, but sticks to a very middle of the road formula for them. The chorus is alright, but it's just alright it doesn't have much of a punch. Really at this point if it wasn't for the guitar tone, Megadeth would sound more like hard radio rock if you were to compare then to what is metal in 2016. The guitar solos run rampant here and are just what you would expect lots of speed and accuracy , but very sterile in the feeling department. Clean guitar tones open up "Bullet to the Brain". I like how the melody falls under the guitar one this one and the groove that the song might launch into makes sense despite the sing song chorus attached to it. The solo to this song has more rhyme and reason if you are in minority  into this band that needs for their solos to actually make sense in the context of the song. "Post American World" is more straight forward , but is also a more tightly written song. The drumming on this song is also more characteristic of Adler's playing.

There and more melodious qualities to "Poisonous Shadows" make it click more for me. This also the song credited with having an orchestral arrangement, which sounds more like synths to me. The chorus reminds me of post-"Trash" era Alice Cooper. The instrumental "Conqueror of Die" doesn't really have much merit except to serve as a backdrop for a shred fest, but no body is comparing these guys to King Crimson anytime soon. "Lying In State" takes a more aggressive approach, while it doesn't come close to the killer "So Far So Good So What" era is comes the closest to capturing that feel.Lyrically Dave is focused on political unrest and this is his state of the nation. Its no "Behold a Pale Horse" but not half bad in the that department."the Emperor" is typical of Megadeth's more accessible sound. The vocal lines fall tighter over the riff, but the annoying factor to this song is single note wailing over the singing. The guitar solo here is more tasteful and more rock n roll. They close the album out with a cover of Fear's "Foreign Policy" , well hey one punk cover already worked pretty well for them so why not try another. Though Megadeth is the antithesis of punk now as every thing is larger than life all the time. They don't have the same kind of anger to vent into the song that they had back on "So Far So Good". This cover doesn't really do a lot for me, they notes are all in the right place , but I think it sounds a little dialed in. This album does have some stronger moments than I expected and finds the band heading backwards in the right direction so I'll round it up to an 8.