Rancid: …And Out Come the Wolves
Released in 1995 on Epitaph, …And Out Come the Wolves is Rancid’s third album and the peak of the Berkeley band’s path.…
9/10 September 19, 2026
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Section
Reviews
Crowbar: Crowbar
Crowbar’s second album, this self titled record from 1993, cements the place of Kirk Windstein’s band in the New Orleans sludge landscape.…
8/10 September 19, 2026
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Testament: The Legacy
Testament’s first album, The Legacy (1987), is one of the great debuts of the San Francisco Bay Area thrash scene. Arriving after…
8/10 September 19, 2026
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Marduk: Panzer Division Marduk
Released in 1999, Panzer Division Marduk is arguably the most extreme and most concentrated record by Sweden’s Marduk. In barely thirty minutes,…
8/10 September 19, 2026
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Obituary: Cause of Death
Obituary’s second album, Cause of Death, confirmed in 1990 the Florida band’s standing among the great names of death metal. More accomplished…
8.5/10 September 19, 2026
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Trouble: Psalm 9
The debut album by America’s Trouble, Psalm 9 (1984), is one of the founding acts of doom metal in the United States.…
8/10 September 20, 2026
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Discharge: Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
Released in 1982, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing is Discharge’s first studio album and one of the most influential records ever…
9/10 September 20, 2026
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Accept: Balls to the Wall
In 1983 Accept cut the record that would carry German heavy metal far beyond its borders. The fifth album from the Solingen…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Tool: Lateralus
Released in 2001, Lateralus is Tool’s third studio album and arguably the one where the California quartet fully embraces its progressive ambition.…
9.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Angra: Holy Land
The second album by the Brazilian band Angra, Holy Land, released in 1996, is an ambitious work that blends power metal, classical…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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NOFX: Punk in Drublic
Released in 1994 on Epitaph, Punk in Drublic is NOFX’s fifth album and one of the most emblematic records of California melodic…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Down: NOLA
Down’s first album, NOLA, released in 1995, gathers several major figures of the Southern scene within a project that became a cult…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Exodus: Bonded by Blood
Exodus’s first album, Bonded by Blood, stands among the founding documents of San Francisco Bay Area thrash. Recorded in 1984 but released…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Gorgoroth: Antichrist
The second album by Norway’s Gorgoroth, Antichrist appeared in 1996 and stands as a model of raw, no-frills black metal. Short, sharp…
8/10 September 20, 2026
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Entombed: Left Hand Path
When this debut landed on Earache in 1990, Sweden had no globally recognized extreme scene to speak of. Entombed, risen from the…
9/10 September 20, 2026
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Cathedral: Forest of Equilibrium
When Lee Dorrian walked away from Napalm Death, a name synonymous with the most extreme grindcore, few expected him to deliver one…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Dio: Holy Diver
After leaving Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio launched his own band in 1983 and landed a masterstroke on the first try. Holy…
9.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Stratovarius: Visions
Released in 1997, Visions is one of the most emblematic albums by the Finnish band Stratovarius. It embodies the peak of the…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Bad Religion: Suffer
Released in 1988, Suffer is the record that put Bad Religion back on the map and quietly rewrote the rules of Californian…
9/10 September 20, 2026
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Melvins: Houdini
With Houdini, released in 1993, the Melvins delivered their first album on a major label, Atlantic Records, at the height of the…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Overkill: The Years of Decay
The fourth album by New York’s Overkill, The Years of Decay (1989), is often held to be the peak of their early…
8/10 September 20, 2026
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1349: Hellfire
Released in 2005, Hellfire sees Norway’s 1349 drive their chaotic, incandescent black metal to a peak of intensity. The band, which counts…
8/10 September 20, 2026
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Dismember: Like an Ever Flowing Stream
Released in 1991, Dismember’s debut arrived in the immediate wake of Entombed and confirmed that Stockholm was truly the epicenter of a…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Anathema: Judgement
With Judgement, released in 1999 on Music for Nations, Anathema completes a transformation begun on Alternative 4. The Liverpool band, once a…
8.5/10 September 20, 2026
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Manowar: Kings of Metal
In 1988 Manowar pushed its vision of epic, warlike, unabashed metal to the very edge. Kings of Metal may be the most…
8/10 September 20, 2026
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Sonata Arctica: Ecliptica
The debut album by the Finnish band Sonata Arctica, Ecliptica, released in 1999, quickly established itself as a classic of melodic power…
8.5/10 September 21, 2026
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Pennywise: About Time
Released on Epitaph in 1995, About Time is Pennywise’s third album and probably the one where the Hermosa Beach quartet hits top…
8/10 September 21, 2026
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Kylesa: Static Tensions
Kylesa’s fourth album, Static Tensions, released on Season of Mist in 2009, marks a high point in the career of the band…
8/10 September 21, 2026
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Death Angel: The Ultra-Violence
Death Angel’s first album, The Ultra-Violence (1987), is one of the most astonishing debuts of San Francisco Bay Area thrash, all the…
8/10 September 21, 2026
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Watain: Lawless Darkness
Released in 2010, Lawless Darkness is the fourth album by Sweden’s Watain and one of the peaks of their discography. Led by…
8.5/10 September 21, 2026
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Bolt Thrower: The IVth Crusade
By 1992 Bolt Thrower were already a pillar of the British scene, but The IVth Crusade marked a clear turn toward greater…
8.5/10 September 21, 2026
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Savatage: Hall of the Mountain King
Released in 1987, Hall of the Mountain King marks a turning point for Savatage. The Florida band, led by the Oliva brothers,…
8/10 September 21, 2026
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Gamma Ray: Land of the Free
Gamma Ray’s third album, Land of the Free, marks a decisive turning point for the band founded by Kai Hansen after he…
8.5/10 September 21, 2026
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Social Distortion: Social Distortion
In 1990, Social Distortion released its self titled album, the band’s first record for a major label after more than a decade…
8.5/10 September 21, 2026
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Annihilator: Alice in Hell
The first album by Canada’s Annihilator, Alice in Hell (1989), is one of the most technical debuts of late-1980s thrash. Built around…
8.5/10 September 21, 2026
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Dark Funeral: Secrets of the Black Arts
Dark Funeral’s debut full-length, Secrets of the Black Arts, arrived in 1996 as a burst of undiluted velocity inside a Swedish scene…
8/10 September 21, 2026
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