I know DiSanto is not the best dude in the world but look everyone, Terminal Redux is a goddamn masterpiece of Extreme Thrash.

Tons of genre classics aren't well known to anybody other than metalheads deep into said genre. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of metalheads who only listen to the more mainstream bands have no idea who diSEMBOWELMENT or Morbid Saint are, but would you really dispute Transcendence Into the Peripheral or Spectrum of Death's status as classics of their respective scene?

Also, you should relisten to both Immolation and Gorguts because the other poster is correct in that they, not Ulcerate, kicked off "dissonant death metal". Ulcerate certainly took that approach and put their own singular take on it, but to imply that they have nothing in common with Immolation is not accurate.

Accept - Blood Of The Nations
Overkill - Ironbound
Autopsy - Macabre Eternal
Voivod - Target Earth
Satan - Life Sentence
Vektor - Terminal Redux
Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder
Power Trip - Nightmare Logic
Cirith Ungol - Forever Black
Helloween - Helloween

Thinking it over, Overkill and Power Trip are solid candidates for classic thrash status. Vektor was a tougher choice, but I thought Terminal was more ambitious than Outer Isolation. The other thrash album I pondered giving a spot to was Heathen “Evolution Of Chaos.”

Accept, Autopsy, Cirith Ungol, and Voivod…those might fall into the “incredible comeback” category, but not necessarily as individual genre classics. I struggle to grasp what genre Cirith Ungol & Voivod actually are in the first place.

Arctic Thunder isn’t a comeback, but it does represent Darkthrone getting serious again and is a blueprint for the three albums that have followed. Definitely the start of a new era, but how significant or classic the album would be in the black metal genre remains up for debate.

Finally, the self titled Helloween album. I can confidently call that one a modern classic of Euro Power Metal. The novelty of having all three singers in the mix and the high quality of the songs goes a long way towards making that one an instant classic.

I never said you have to achieve mainstream popularity for it to become a classic. However it can be one criteria as to why something becomes a classic. As with Behemoth I think it absolutely is a matter of popularity. With Hellhammer not so much. There isn't one static definition of what makes a classic album.



Ok, my initial post shouldn't have said that it "shaped the sound of a new subgenre". Perhaps that was angled the wrong way. However, I stand by that I think they really were at the front and that their influence really kicked off a massive wave of atmospheric inclined dissonant death metal (relative to what a subgenre och a subgenre of extreme metal can be).

But all this is up in the air. Perhaps we can begin to see which albums are classics from the 2010's but we're still a little bit to close in time. Regardless of if we agree on the topic of Ulcerate in relation to other bands that came before them would you agree that The Destroyers of All should be a candidate for a classic album?

Yeah I mean that really is all I was doing. Lol. I feel like that's all these threads are since it's impossible to really nail down what a classic is. The Satanist or Vektor probably are about the closest answers we can get since they get named in such a widespread way a lot, and that's why I personally always find these threads to be a bit baffling really. In the end the thread does just ask what "we consider" so eh whatever, sorry for being an asshole about it - listing favorites and whatnot is a pastime of any forum at the end of the day...

Yeah, these are my concerns as well. For me "classic" doesn't even imply it's a good album. Filosofem is a classic. It's pretty awful if you ask me but I would never say it's not a classic.

I was being a dick with that first post, but also just that I do tend to like a lot of the old classics. So what if in 20 years those albums I don't like are classics and then I'd just be even more of a contrarian? I think about that sometimes.

Voivod The Wake
Mgla WHTN
Behemoth The Satanist
Sarkrista Summoners of the Serpent Wrath
Evilfeast Wintermoon Enchantment
Disma Towards the Megalith
Cruciamentum Charnel Passages
Helloween Helloween
Overkill Scorched

Overproduced, and vocals mixed too high.

Those Overkill albums were fine for what they were but I have zero interest in going back and listening now really. Too clean-cut, and they just color inside the lines too much for me.

Ironbound is good, but not classic. There's a third of forgettable filler on there. The last 4 songs, I've apparently listened to over 10 times on iTunes but I couldn't tell you how a lick of any of them go. Ironbound was successful solely because of Bring Me The Night, and even that's just because it was a recycled Diamond Head riff that Metallica covered. It worked though.

...Is that supposed to mean anything?

For me, it's pretty clear that these are marvels of modern prog:

Steven Wilson - "Raven That Refused to Sing"
Anathema - "We're Here"
Anathema - "Weather Systems"
Anathema - "Distant Satellites"

Ulcerate always reminded me of stuff like Deadguy and Rorschach (probably moderated by listening to Converge's "Jane Doe" a lot).
I have never really got into Ulcerate, despite trying a few times. I'll probably give them another chance at some point - maybe I will like them, maybe not.

Back on topic, StarGazer's "A Merging to the Boundless" would be my nomination..

It's all good man. None of us are immune to being a doink every now and then. We're cool!

It’s kind of funny how something has to be “original” to be considered classic as if people aren’t constantly tripping themselves to pull out some pre-Sabbath obscurity and try passing it off as the “true origin” of metal. Sometimes a classic really is just defined by whoever codified something or just happened to say it the loudest.

Personal picks that were not listed yet (I think, cause I might have missed some):

Ad Nauseam - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse
It might be a bold pick, but I stand by this one. This whole album feels like a masterclass on how to make dissonant death metal that feels fresh and unique even within a subscene that's packed with amazing bands and albums. A killer, claustrophobic trip inside the human psyche, with some of the most amazing riffs I've heard in the genre ever.

Hammers of Misfortune - The Overtaker
That's another one that might be a little soon to call a classic, but I feel that this one will keep a very good reputation and fanbase over the years. What could have been a relatively weak/safe album for HoM, an album that could have just sounded like another Vhol album, actually manages to see the sound of Hammers of Misfortune evolve while keeping it's core identity, mixed with elements of what makes Vhol interesting these days.

Carcass - Surgical Steel
Although people still like to show up and bitch about Carcass changing their sound back in 1997 and whining that they aren't pure grindcore and/or death metal, this album still has an impressive following and is often deemed to be one of the best comeback albums in metal. I agree with this. It's a solid album with a ton of bangers, and it truly propelled Carcass back into the game. When I saw them live earlier this year, people were having a blast listening to their 80's and 90's stuff, but also to their 2010's onward material.

Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race
Starspawn was mentionned earlier, but I think HHotHR is also absolutely amazing, was well-received, standouts, and sees the band further cementing their legacy, proving that Starspawn wasn't a fluke.

Panopticon - Autumn Eternal
Although I personnally love everything Panopticon did between 2012 and 2015 as well as their 2021 release, Autumn Eternal is the one that feels the most "classic" to me. It's tight, shows a lot of personnality, and is beloved by the fans of this kind of black metal.

And here are my thoughts on some other people's picks:



Seconding this one. I feel it's the best Vektor album by a solid margin, and their entire discography is great!



I most definitely agree with this one. A real gamerchanger in modern black metal. One of the most influential album of the last few decades as well.



Agreed with the inclusion of Ulcerate, but I would pick Stare into Death and Be Still over all their other records. It's a solid album through and through, and it made more on an impact on the scene. For instance, there are twice as many ratings for SiTaBS on Rate Your Music over TDoA.



Yes! A thousand times yes for this one! Epic doom metal needed a banger like this one. Such an epic album!



Paysage d'hiver definitely fits somewhere in this thread, although I don't know what album/demo to pick. Still, it's one of the most revered black metal project out there, with a cult following. The whole project has a "classic" aura, IMHO.



Agreed with the inclusion of Blood Incantation and their album Starspawn, but I think that Hidden History of the Human Race is just as classic. I would include both.



Holy shit yes! Monster of an album, and a massive boost for thrash revival and crossover thrash.



I love Marrow of the Spirit, but classic era Agalloch for me is the 2000's. The Mantle and Ashes Against the Grain are classics for sure. MotS, I'm not certain. I'm not saying I strongly disagree with you here though. Just not sure.



Definitely! A gamechanger for this kind of modern doom metal.

This basically describes every Overkill album released after "Horrorscope". (I need to listen to their latest a bit more...I seem to recall enjoying most of it.)

Perhaps we should think about the albums we believe might become classics but that we don't really like ourselves? That is a pretty good indication of when an albums reputations is so strong that we have a feeling it is regarded as something special even if we don't like it. You mention Vektor. I keep seeing that band name but never really listened to the band so I don't know the albums. But they get mentioned a lot (not just here) so there is probably something to it. The same goes for Bell Witchs Mirror Reaper. I've tried a few times but it's probably not for me. But I keep seeing this album mentioned so I'm guessing it is held in especially high esteem, perhaps a classic in due time.

The lack of Triptykon and Arch/Matheos in this threat disturbs me.

Great calls, particularly Arch/Matheos. Those two albums are remarkable.

A lot of great stuff already mentioned that I agree with but I will try to mention new stuff.

Helstar - Vampiro

Fates Warning - Theories of Flight

Dream Theater - A View From the Top of the World

Megaton Sword - Blood Hails Steel - Steel Hails Fire

Alcatrazz - Born Innocent

Stryper - The Final Battle

Angra - Omni

Narnia - From Darkness to Light

Sons of Apollo - MMXX

Eclipse - Bleed & Scream

Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation

Their magnum opus by a wide margin, IMO.

It's my favorite after the 1st four, but the whole discography is strong.

What are some of your picks? Why are you holding out on us?

Without a doubt my answer on this topic has to be "Death" by Teitanblood.

Yes! Monstruous album!

I still have a hard time conveying just how truly amazing this album is. It's savage, takes all the raw energy, intensity and roughness of the rawest forms of black metal, mixes that with the most massive, bone crushing, hard hitting and brutal death metal there is, yet somehow it's not just a primitive and brutal record. It manages to be sophisticated in a weird raw, brutal and primal way, without being just another war metal album among dozens of others. Good pick!

Means it sounds shit.

Definitely a classic and and the best Teitianblood work. I love the Sad Ex bits in it.

Amazing band. Not enough people talk about them, but for me Boundless is their weakest album. Although that still means it's great.

All of these which i'm gonna mention qualify as modern classics to me, objectively, however:

I like:
DsO - Paracletus
Batushka - Litourgiya
Imperial triumphant - Vile luxury
Skaphe - Skaphe2
Spectral lore - III
Ad nauseam - Nihil quam vacuitas ordinatum est
Oranssi pazuzu - Varahtelija
Portal - Vexovoid
Behemoth - The satanist

I don't like:
Mgla - Exercises in futility
Gorguts - Colored sands
Vektor - Terminal redux (ok i kinda like it tho)
Power trip - Nightmare logic
Deafheaven - Sunbather (im getting warmed up to it)
BTBAM - Colors
Blood incantation - THHOHR (i think it's alright but overrated)
Svartidauđi - Flesh cathedral

Albums that should be classics GODDAMNIT:
Amestigon - Thier
Gigan - Undulating waves of rainbiotic iridescence
First fragment - Gloire eternelle
Schattenvald - Der winterkonig
Tetragrammacide - Typhonian wormholes...
Serpent noir - Erotomysticism
Ulcerate - Stare into death and be still
7.H Target - 0.00 Apocalypse
Autokrator - s/t
..and a million more

Cue predictable and overused comment but... No doubt the same thing was said in 50 BC, 1700 and 1970.

Though, not that it isn't something I haven't thought myself from time to time.

Thumbs up for Amestigon

I can definitely see this being regardes as a tech death classic in the future, an absolutely insane album

I think Death is the best extreme metal album ever recorded but Seven Chalices had a bigger impact on the scene.

Yeah, I get what you mean. It's hard to really define what makes a classic album, but to me it definitely has to include impact on the scene, how well the album aged (or how well we think it will age), the unicity of the album, the quality of the music, etc. So yeah, someone could definitely make a case for Seven Chalices over Death, but Death is just that good in my opinion, that it will most likely be considered a classic in years to come.

If it hasn't already been said, then definitely Scar Sighted, by Leviathan.
Amazing album, one of the best in his discography, and he has a pretty stacked discography.

I believe the same can be said about both Dead Congregation albums as well.

An amazing album and an amazing band but I think they are underrated as opposed to being in the "classics" department of extreme metal. I'd recommend anyone to check them out though.

I still am trying to wrap my mind around the notion of classic, and what makes an album such; pioneering? most influential? most copied? the inception of a new style? withstanding the test of time (in hindsight)? What?