The adult entertainment business has always been a place of controversy, debates of morality, and stereotypes. Especially when it comes to the latter, the stereotypes is that it is people getting into the business that are dumb, have no other way to make money, and it's always women made of plastic from head to toe. The modern day business is breaking those boundaries down everyday and showing that it can be as inclusive as music can be (with obvious legal exceptions). Rae Lil Black is a shining example. With her love of Metal, drumming, and doing some very...creative work, she is a fast rising star in the business with nowhere to go but higher and higher. I recently had the chance to be able to ask her a few questions about her work in the business, metal, drumming and more. Enjoy!

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview!
No worries, thanks for offering the interview! 

For those that may not be familiar, tell us who you are.
I’m Rae Lil Black, people call me Rae. I’m one of the naughtiest girls on the Internet world. You probably don’t know me, but you dad does... Search me on Google! haha 

You have been able to travel the world and most recently to the United States, what was that like coming over here to the U.S. for the first time?
Visiting the US is not my first time actually, it’s actually my 3rd time. It was a nice experience indeed. Meeting new people and having fun is always great. And I feel super thankful that my fans are making it possible.

What was it like being a presenter at the 2019 Pornhub Awards?
It was so honored! When they asked me to do one of the presenters, I was like “what, this can’t be real...” but it was real! It took time, but I could feel that I’m slowly getting recognized and I’m so happy about it. Although it was my first time attending Awards thing, and I got super nervous. I was about to pass out on the stage haha.

While you were over here in the states, you were also able to do some filming. What was it like shooting over here as compared to Japan or Europe?
It’s always the same. I always try to have as much fun as possible, no matter where and who I am with! 

One of the coolest aspects of who you are is your appreciation of metal. How did you discover metal?
My dad gave me some CDs (about 10?) when I was 11 or so. That changed my life. They were mostly classic rock or hard rock from 79/80s (Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Bryan Adams, Kiss, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, GnR etc I remember), but I started from there and I’m still a big fan of that genre.

What was the album(s) that you checked out and made you realize that you were into metal?
I actually don’t remember! I was super into 80s music, so I checked every single “classic” bands that music magazine recommend and I loved it.

What has been your favorite show/festival you have been to so far? What made it the best for you?
Hmm. This is a real hard question. But I’d say Mötley Crüe final tour when I was 18. Crüe has been my No.1 all time favorite band since 12 yo and the first show I’ve ever seen was Crüe. So it was a really emotional tour for me. I still cannot believe that they’re not playing as a band anymore. Also I got to see them at the airport and luckily I got autographs and could take pictures with them. That makes it special too.

To flip the coin, was there any shows or bands that disappointed you in a live setting?
Hmm I’m not gonna name the bands, but I’ve seen some at the festivals and I just left.

When filming, you have occasionally had metal on in the background, such as Dissection. Was that a conscious decision to do that, or did that just happen to be in the background at the time?
Yeah it was with Estella I believe. We were just having a good time before production shoot, chilling with nice music and it happened. With that in mind, I know you have a huge love and appreciation for Black Metal. What drove you to appreciate black metal as much as you do?
I was (I still am) a pretty depressed kid. I had so much depressions, sadness, anger and everything inside. (Yes I’m a super emotional hoe) One day my friend recommended to go see Marduk, I wasn’t into BM at that time, and their show got me into BM. I felt like I am free from everything at the show, I remember.
After that I started listening to BM and I get to know what’s behind the lyrics. For me, it’s like finding friends. When I felt lonely, I went to the record shop, find new stuff to get and they became my friends. I appreciate that they express their emotions with beautiful music and share with us. They’re making some people’s life better. 

When creating your aesthetics, was it a natural decision to use more of a metal presentation for your visual presentation?
I didn’t want to be just a normal boring one of porn performers. I am RaeLilBlack and I wanted to put my personality into my work. That’s why I offered Mfaxii to create the logo and some drawing for my merch. I think it’s nice to have Black Metal looking logo, even though not many people understand my taste. I don’t think I look like metal head haha. I have my personal account (@rlblack666) on Instagram, but I made that account to communicate with music fans. And post some personal collections and stuff. My fans don’t really need to check that account haha.

It is also awesome seeing your love love of music so much that you are actually going to start up taking drum lessons. What is it about drums that grabbed your attention enough to try them out?
Because my forever crush is Tommy Lee and I just like the way they look and people looks like a beast when they’re playing drums.

Who are your favorite drummers and why?
Tommy Lee. I got nothing to say about him anymore I guess. He’s just my hero. And I’m doing porn thanks to him haha. James Stewart. I still clearly remember the first time I saw him playing. I'm pretty sure I creeped him out by watching him whole set. I don’t know much about technical stuff, but he just plays super complicated shit very well as if it’s not difficult. I loved it. Fredrik Widigs. Mind blowing drummer and also super talented artist. I love his artwork so much and I got one of his paintings. They are dark, subtle and delicate like his drumming.

What’s the first song you want to be able to play on the drums?
I don’t expect much. Probably I’ll start with some AC/DC truck. Then hopefully I’ll blast like Hellhammer.

Any albums or shows that you are looking forward to in 2020?
Dark Easter Metal Meeting! Or Inferno Metal Fest. I haven’t decided which one to go yet but i got tickets for both and I’ll come to one of them.

For anyone checking you out here for the first time from this interview; what do you want to say to them?
I’m not a trve kvlt. You can leave now if you don’t like me. (Jk) Thank you so much for reading! 

Where should people go to check out your work and keep up with you on social media?
You can follow me on Instagram @raelilblack or @rlblack666. if you’re dirty nasty human being, check my Twitter or PornHub page, haha

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

350 albums, just the links to each part, each album counted down from 350-1 and the Spotify playlist covering all of the albums that are on Spotify (238/250 ain't bad) ENJOY!

350-326
350.) My Chemical Romance- Welcome To The Black Parade (2006)
349.) Metallica- Ride The Lightning (1984)
348.) Rishloo- Eidolon (2007)
347.) Mew- No More Stories... (2009)
346.) Sons of Aeon- Sons of Aeon (2013)
345.) Vital Remains- Dechristianize (2003)
344.) Peeping Tom- Peeping Tom (2006)
343.) Burning Inside- Apparation (2001)
342.) Wilton and Akerstache- Storm Corrosion
341.) Dave Brockie Experience- Diarrhea of a Madman
340.) Widowmaker- Blood And Bullets (1992)
339.) Karnivool- Sound Awake (2009)
338.) Vertigo Steps- Surface/Light (2012)
337.) 1349- Demonoir (2010)
336.) Shai Hulud- Misanthropy Pure (2008)
335.) Burst- Lazarus Bird (2008)
334.) Pelican- City of Echoes (2007)
333.) Twelve Foot Ninja- Silent Machine (2012)
332.) Acid Bath- When The Kite String Pops (1994)
331.) Thrice- The Artist In The Ambulance (2003)
330.) Mr. Bungle- Mr. Bungle (1991)
329.) Levi/Werstler- Avalanche of Worms (2010)
328.) Kaddisfly- Set Sail to Prairie (2006)
327.) Portal- Vexovoid
326.) Goo Goo Dolls- Dizzy Up The Girl

325-301
325.) Exhorder- Slaughter in The Vatican (1990)
324.) Solstafir- Köld (2009)
323.) Egypt Central- Egypt Central (2008)
322.) The Exies- A Modern Way Of Living The Truth (2007)
321.) Cephalic Carnage- Anomalies (2005)
320.) Fear My Thoughts- The Great Collapse (2004)
319.) Izah- Sistre (2015)
318.) Judgement Day- Peacocks/Pink Monsters
317.) The 11th Hour- Burden of Grief (2009)
316.) The Kris Norris Projekt- Icons of the Illogical (2009)
315.) Primal Rock Rebellion- Awoken Broken
314.) Wolves In The Throne Room- Celestial Lineage (2011)
313.) OSI- Free (2006)
312.) Gridlink- Longhena (2014)
311.) Goes Cube- Another Day Has Passed (2009)
310.) Hella- Hold Your Horse Is (2002)
309.) Red Fang- Whales and Leeches (2013)
308.) Miss May I- At Heart (2012)
307.) Spiral Architect- A Sceptic's Universe (2000)
306.) Hate Eternal- Upon Desolate Sands (2018)
305.) Earshot- Two (2004)
304.) From Autumn To Ashes- Abandon Your Friends (2005)
303.) Mercenary- The Hours That Remain (2006)
302.) D.R.I.- Danger Zone (1989)
301.) Mercyful Fate- Melissa (1983)

300-276
300.) The Man Eating Tree- In The Absence of Light (2015)
299.) Badlands- Badlands (1989)
298.) Slayer- God Hates Us All (2001)
297.) Queens of the Stone Age- Songs For The Deaf (2002)
296.) The Human Abstract- Nocturne (2006)
295.) Ghost Bath- Starmourner (2017)
294.) Cryptopsy- Once Was Not (2005)
293.) Gorefest- Rise To Ruin (2007)
292.) A.F.I.- Sing The Sorrow (2003)
291.) TesseracT- One (2011)
290.) Winterfylleth- The Dark Hereafter (2016)
289.) Mnemic- The Audio Injected Soul (2004)
288.) King Parrot- Bite Your Head Off (2012)
287.) Dekadent- Veritas (2015)
286.) Type O Negative- Life Is Killing Me
285.) Subterranean Masquerade- The Great Bazaar (2015)
284.) Mutemath- Mutemath (2006)
283.) Megadeth- Rust In Peace (1990)
282.) Spock's Beard- Snow (2002)
281.) Warbringer- Woe To The Vanquished (2017)
280.) Star One- Victims Of The Modern Age (2010)
279.) Rosk- Miasma (2017)
278.) The Mars Volta- Deloused In The Comatorium (2003)
277.) Dynazty- Titanic Mass (2016)
276.) Vallenfyre- Splinters

275-251
275.) Soulfly- Prophecy (2004)
274.) Against The Wall- The Truth (2009)
273.) Horrendous- The Chills (2012)
272.) Arctic Sleep- Arbors (2012)
271.) Pig Destroyer- Phantom Limb (2007)
270.) Vaura- Selenelion (2012)
269.) Nailed To Obscurity- Black Frost (2019)
268.) Alter Bridge- AB III (2010)
267.) Saor- Roots (2015)
266.) Bison- Dark Ages (2010)
265.) Minus The Bear- OMNI (2010)
264.) Suicidal Tendencies- Lights...Camera...Revolution (1990)
263.) Oceansize- Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up (2010)
262.) From A Second Story Window- Conversations (2008)
261.) Probot- Probot (2004)
260.) Kyuss- Blues For The Red Sun (1992)
259.) Grave Digger- Healed By Metal (2017)
258.) Sonata Arctica- Reckoning Night (2004)
257.) Falloch- Where Distant Spirits Remain (2011)
256.) 96 Bitter Beings- Camp Pain (2018)
255.) Bad Religion- New Maps Of Hell (2007)
254.) Meshuggah- Destroy, Erase, Improve (1995)
253.) The Haunted- rEVOLVEr (2004)
252.) GWAR- Lust In Space (2009)
251.) Harakiri For The Sky- III: Trauma (2016)

250-226
250.) Insect Warfare- At War With Grindcore (2005)
249.) Polkadot Cadaver- Purgatory Dance Party (2007)
248.) Sabaton- Primo Victoria (2005)
247.) We Sell The Dead- Heaven Doesn't Want You And Hell Is Full (2018)
246.) The Dear Hunter- The Color Spectrum (2011)
245.) Wearing Scars- A Thousand Words (2015)
244.) The Sword- Warp Riders (2010)
243.) Wintersun- Wintersun (2004)
242.) Trivium- Ascendancy (2005)
241.) Overkill- Ironbound (2010)
240.) Hurt- Vol. 1 (2006)
239.) Zimmer's Hole- While You Were Shouting At The Devil... (2008)
238.) Machine Head- Burn My Eyes (1994)
237.) Cold- Year Of The Spider (2003)
236.) Abigail Williams- Becoming (2012)
235.) Destrage- Are You Kidding Me? No. (2014)
234.) Power Trip- Nightmare Logic (2017)
233.) Corrosion of Conformity- No Cross, No Crown (2018)
232.) Tribulation-  Down Below (2018)
231.) Johnny B. Morbid- Fall of The Cicada (2015)
230.) Hail of Bullets- III: The Rommel Chronicles (2013)
229.) Kayo Dot- Hubardo
228.) Celtic Frost- Monotheist (2006)
227.) Exhumed- Gore Metal (1998)
226.) Queensryche- Operation: Mindcrime

225-201
225.) Obsidian Kingdom- A Year With No Summer (2016)
224.) My Dying Bride- Feel The Misery (2015)
223.) Horse The Band- A Natural Death (2007)
222.) Threat Signal- Under Reprisal (2005)
221.) Shadows Fall- The Art Of Balance (2002)
220.) Akercocke- Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone (2006)
219.) Weezer- The Blue Album (1994)
218.) Lamb Of God- As The Palaces Burn (2003)
217.) Terror Syndrome- Terror Syndrome (2008)
216.) Mono- Hymn To The Immortal WInd (2009)
215.) Sevendust- Seasons (2003)
214.) Iron Thrones- The Wretched Sun (2010)
213.) World Under Blood- Tactical (2011)
212.) The Ocean- Pelagial (2013)
211.) Muse- Absolution (2003)
210.) Sentenced- The Funeral Album (2005)
209.) Napalm Death- Utilitarian (2012)
208.) Obituary- Obituary (2017)
207.) Bolt Thrower- For Victory (1994)
206.) Sonic Syndicate- Confessions (2016)
205.) Selpultura- Chaos A.D. (1993)
204.) Yob- Our Raw Heart (2018)
203.) Armored Saint- Symbol Of Salvation (1991)
202.) Intronaut- The Direction of Last Things (2015)
201.) Falconer- Black Moon Rising

200-176
200.) 30 Seconds to Mars- A Beautiful Lie (2005)
199.) Moron Police- Defenders of The Small Yard (2014)
198.) Pyramaze- Immortal (2008)
197.) Suspiria- Attitude (2009)
196.) Pantera- The Great Southern Trendkill (1996)
195.) Kalmah- Seventh Swamphany (2013)
194.) Dying Fetus- Wrong One To Fuck With (2017)
193.) Ramallah- Kill A Celebrity (2005)
192.) Iron Maiden- Dance Of Death (2003)
191.) Hypocrisy- The Arrival (2004)
190.) Eluveitie- Spirit (2006)
189.) Junius- The Martyrdom Of A Catastophist (2009)
188.) Protest The Hero- Kezia (2005)
187.) Cattle Decapitation- The Anthropocene Extinction (2015)
186.) ICS Vortex- Storm Seeker (2011)
185.) Candiria- While They Were Sleeping (2016)
184.) maudlin of the Well- Leaving Your Body Map
183.) Converge- Jane Doe (2001)
182.) Exodus- Tempo Of The Damned (2004)
181.) Judas Priest- Angel of Retribution (2005)
180.) Last Chance To Reason- Level 2 (2011)
179.) Destroyer 666- Wildfire (2016)
178.) The Black Dahlia Murder- Everblack (2013)
177.) In Vain- Ænigma (2013)
176.) Bend Sinister- Animals (2014)

175-151
175.) This Will Not End Well- GOFUCKYOURSELF (2009)
174.) Hope Drone- Cloak Of Ash (2015)
173.) Goatwhore- Constricting Age Of The Merciless (2014)
172.) So Hideous- Laurestine (2015)
171.) Aborted- Terrorvision (2018)
170.) Cage- Hell Destroyer (2007)
169.) Behemoth- The Satanist (2014)
168.) Leprous- Bilateral (2011)
167.) Fallujah- The Flesh Prevails (2014)
166.) Kataklysm- Serenity In Fire (2004)
165.) Municipal Waste- The Art Of Partying (2007)
164.) Into Eternity- The Scattering Of Ashes (2006)
163.) Tokyo Motor Fist- Tokyo Motor Fist (2017)
162.) The Mantle- The Mantle (2017)
161.) Unearth- The Oncoming Storm (2004)
160.) Insomnium- Across The Dark (2009)
159.) Pagan's Mind- Heavenly Ecstasy (2011)
158.) Circus Maximus- Nine (2012)
157.) Frank Zappa- Sheik Yerbouti (1979)
156.) The Mute Gods- Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth (2017)
155.) S.O.D.- Speak English Or Die (1985)
154.) Inter Arma- The Cavern (2014)
153.) Alice In Chains- Dirt (1992)
152.) Helmet- Meantime (1992)
151.) Gojira- Magma (2016)

150-126
150.) Evans Blue- This Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal Of Life Ends (2007)
149.) Wolfheart- Constellation Of The Black Light (2018)
148.) In Mourning- The Weight Of Oceans (2012)
147.) Cauldron- In Ruin (2016)
146.) Periphery- PII: This Time It's Personal (2012)
145.) Prong- Ruining Lives (2014)
144.) Arcturus- Arcturian (2015)
143.) Sybreed- Slave Design (2004)
142.) At The Gates- Slaughter Of The Soul (1995)
141.) God Forbid- Gone Forever (2004)
140.) Bloody Hammers- The Summoning (2019)
139.) Freak Kitchen- Organic (2005)
138.) Anaal Nathrakh- The Whole Of The Law (2016)
137.) 3- The End Is Begun (2007)
136.) Orange Sky- Dat Iz Voodoo (2008)
135.) Kamelot- Karma (2001)
134.) Journal- Chrysalis Ordalias (2018)
133.) Obscura- Akroasis (2016)
132.) Anthrax- We've Come For You All (2003)
131.) King Crimson- In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
130.) Oceans Of Slumber- The Banished Heart (2018)
129.) Fear Factory- Archetype (2004)
128.) Carcass- Heartwork (1994)
127.) Pain- Coming Home (2016)
126.) Distorted Harmony- Chain Reaction (2014)

125-101
125.) Lantlôs- Melting Sun (2014)
124.) Primordial- Redemption At The Puritan's Hands (2011)
123.) Deafheaven- Roads To Judah (2011)
122.) Shining- Blackjazz (2010)
121.) CKY- Infiltrate.Destroy.Rebuild (2002)
120.) The Faceless- Autotheism (2012)
119.) Revocation- The Outer Ones (2018)
118.) Sum 41- Chuck (2004)
117.) Atheist- Unquestionable Presence (1991)
116.) Scar Symmetry- Pitch Black Progress (2006)
115.) Kyng- Trampled Sun (2011)
114.) Stolen Babies- Naught (2012)
113.) Amorphis- Skyforger (2009)
112.) Demians- Building An Empire (2008)
111.) While Heaven Wept- Fear Of Infinity (2011)
110.) Alcest- Les Voyages De L'Âme (2012)
109.) Textures- Drawing Circles (2006)
108.) Cannibal Corpse- Kill (2006)
107.) Dog Fashion Disco- Adultery (2006)
106.) Dark Tranquillity- Character (2006)
105.) Head With Wings- From Worry To Shame (2018)
104.) Darkest Hour- Undoing Ruin (2005)
103.) Scale The Summit- The Collective (2011)
102.) Emperor- Prometheus-The Discipline Of Fire and Demise (2001)
101.) Necromancing The Stone- Jewel Of The Vile (2016)

100-76
100.) Galactic Cowboys- Machine Fish (1996)
99.) Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Raise Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)
98.) Dark Funeral- Where Shadows Forever Reign (2016)
97.) James LaBrie- Static Impulse (2010)
96.) Story Of The Year- Page Avenue (2003)
95.) Daylight Dies- Dismantling Devotion (2006)
94.) Candlemass- Candlemass (2005)
93.) Lords of Black- II (2016)
92.) Toothgrinder- Phantom Amour (2017)
91.) Riverside- Love, Fear, And The Time Machine (2015)
90.) Testament- The Gathering (1999)
89.) For The Imperium- For The Imperium- (2012)
88.) Being- Anthropocene (2012)
87.) Mutiny Within- Mutiny Within (2010)
86.) 6:33- Deadly Scenes (2015)
85.) Magic Dance- New Eyes (2018)
84.) Ancient VVisdom- A Godlike Inferno (2011)
83.) Novembers Doom- Aphotic (2011)
82.) King Diamond- Abigail (1987)
81.) Sanctuary- Refuge Denied (1987)
80.) Fates Warning- Theories Of Flight (2016)
79.) In Flames- Clayman (2000)
78.) Paradise Lost- Tragic Idol (2012)
77.) Boris- Pink (2005)
76.) Redemption- This Mortal Coil (2011)

75-51
75.) Skull Fist- Chasing The Dream (2014)
74.) With The Dead- Love From With The Dead (2017)
73.) Native Construct- Quiet World (2015)
72.) Thulcandra- Ascension Lost (2015)
71.) Clutch-  Earth Rocker (2013)
70.) Symphony X- Paradise Lost (2007)
69.) Cloudkicker- Beacons (2010)
68.) Raunchy- Death Pop Romance (2006)
67.) Black Crown Initiate- The Wreckage of Stars (2014)
66.) Ayreon- The Source (2017)
65.) Ghost- Opus Eponymous (2010)
64.) Blind Guardian- Imaginations From The Other Side (1995)
63.) Torche- Meanderthal (2008)
62.) Bloodbath- Nightmares Made Flesh (2004)
61.) Panopticon- Roads To The North (2014)
60.) Faith No More- Angel Dust (1992)
59.) Body Count-  Bloodlust (2017)
58.) Amon Amarth- With Oden On Our Side (2006)
57.) HIM-  Razorblade Romance (2000)
56.) Fleshgod Apocalypse- Veleno (2019)
55.) Rivers of Nihil- Where Owls Know My Name (2018)
54.) Loch Vostok- From These Waters (2015)
53.) Demons And Wizards- Touched By The Crimson King (2005)
52.) Iced Earth- Burnt Offerings (1995)
51.) Vattnet Viskar- Settler (2015)

50-26
50.) Dillinger Escape Plan- Ire Works (2007)
49.) Gruesome- Savage Land (2015)
48.) Haken- Affinity (2015)
47.) mc chris- mc chris is dead (2008)
46.) Within Temptation- Hydra (2014)
45.) Borknagar- Winter Thrice (2016)
44.) Rush- 2112 (1976)
43.) Ne Obliviscaris- Citadel (2014)
42.) Shaded Enmity- Forsaken and Forgotten (2013)
41.) Cynic- Traced In Air (2008)
40.) Pallbearer- Heartless (2017)
39.) Omnium Gatherum- The Burning Cold (2018)
38.) Swallow The Sun- Songs From The North (2015)
37.) Baroness- Purple (2015)
36.) Zeal and Ardor- Stranger Fruit (2018)
35.) Fair To Midland- Fables From A Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True
34.) Ihsahn- After (2010)
33.) The Contortionist- Language (2014)
32.) Katatonia- Last Fair Deal Gone Down (2001)
31.) Enslaved- RIITIIR (2012)
30.) Agalloch- The Mantle (2002)
29.) Toehider- Good (2017)
28.) Killswitch Engage- The End Of Heartache (2003)
27.) Mastodon- Emperor Of Sand (2017)
26.) Nevermore- Dead Heart In The Dead World (2000)

25-1
25.) Witherfall- A Prelude To Sorrow (2018)
24.) Steven Wilson- To The Bone (2017)
23.) "Strapping Young Lad"- Alien (2005)
22.) Soilwork- Stabbing The Drama (2005)
21.)  SikTh- Death Of A Dead Day (2006)
20.)  Evergrey- Recreation Day (2004)
19.) Opeth- Blackwater Park (2001)
18.) Astronoid- Air (2016)
17.) Between The Buried And Me- Colors (2007)
16.) Porcupine Tree- In Absentia (2002)
15.) Death (Official)- Leprosy (1988)
14.) Avantasia- Ghostlights (2016)
13.) Witherscape- The Northern Sanctuary (2016)
12.) Triptykon (Official)- Melana Chasmata (2014)
11.) Long Distance Calling- Avoid The Light (2009)
10.) King's X- Gretchen Goes To Nebraska (1989)
9.) Edge of Sanity- Crimson (1996)
8.) Anathema- We're Here Because We're Here (2010)
7.) Pain of Salvation- In The Passing Light Of Day (2017)
6.) dredg- Catch Without Arms (2005)
5.) Dream Theater- Images And Words (1992)
4.) Nightingale ( Approved by Swanö )- Retribution (2014)
3.) Woods Of Ypres- Woods V; Grey Skies and Electric Light (2012)
2.) Green Carnation- Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness (2001)
1.) Devin Townsend- Biomech: Ocean Machine (1997)

We have finally done it, we've reached the promise land, the top 25 albums of all time...according to some guy! Wait, I am that guy, I am....THAT DRUMMER GUY! But seriously, this is been an endeavor that has really taken a lot out of me, messed with my sleep schedule pretty bad and my mental psyche is a bit out of whack as of late; but it's all for the greater good of music and I finally got the wind at my back doing these last 25 albums proper justice and showing you the top of the top, the best of the best, the ones that I listen to, cherish, enjoy and love more than anything else in the world. What are those albums? WEll well well, let's get into it in this final stretch of this 350 albums list!
 

Here we are, folks. The penultimate part before the grand finale tomorrow. After having to write up yesterday's list twice over, it took a lot of my joy away, but after seeing the reactions to it, it was all worth the hassle. This part of the list are ones that easily could have made the grand finale and some albums were originally on that list, but moved for what ever reason. I know this is where a lot of people will start to care about this list (despite everything I attempt to do to make that not happen), I gotta make these last two parts the strongest they possibly can be in the order that I really feel represents me the most. So like X, I'm gonna give it to ya!



Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!



25.) Witherfall- A Prelude To Sorrow (2018)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Dark Metal

THis album is only going to go higher and higher as the years go by. I mean this album is less than a year old at this point. But the subject matter means more to me than anything else a band has put on record. Rather than do a big long essay about it, I'll try to condense it the best I can. One of the best people I will ever know, Adam Sagan was the drummer of the band Witherfall, started the band, asked me for help along the way as far as labels and PR and marketing when they first started off and things just took of from there, both good and bad. At that point, the band got signed to Century Media Records and the band was starting to get the recognition of a band full of promise to show off that debut album. Sadly, Adam did not live to see the debut album come out, passing away from Lymphoma nearly three years ago now. This tore me apart, it tore the local music scene apart, it tore Witherfall apart, but it did not break them. THey were able to finalize a lineup after his passing and the band has sailed forward ever since becoming a stronger entity. If there is anything beyond this life and Adam could see the success Witherfall has had, I bet he is so happy right now. BUT that's just the first album we are talking about, let's get to A Prelude to Sorrow. This album is not only dedicated to the memory of Adam Sagan, it is literally a concept album about losing him. If you don't know him personally, you can also take it as losing anyone important to you and the idea of moving on. It's a heart shattering album for me and I miss Adam every single day. There is a reason why I end both my show as That Drummer Guy and my mental health show, Something Gives, with his voice, he has more of an impact on my in what I do as a drummer, what I do as That Drummer Guy, and as a human being than almost anyone else in my life. But to continue on with the album, it is a dark, heavy album with some of the most melancholic and melodic moments you will hear in a modern metal album. As hard of an album it is for me to listen to personally, it is one that fills me with hope as Adam knew my struggles with mental health and only wanted to see me conquer them and that what I'm trying to do every single day. The very least I could do is praise the album that is literally about is legacy and memory. If somehow you can't relate to anything I've said here, Joseph Michael is now in Sanctuary and Jake Dreyer is playing guitar in Iced Earth; if that tickles your fancy anymore. Seriously, this album is dark gold. Go pick it up!

24.) Steven Wilson- To The Bone (2017)
FFO- Pop Rock, Art Rock, Progressive Rock

I'll just give you a bit of a heads up now. My Top 25 is filled with some of the darkest albums made with some albums of positive clarity, but we'll get to those as they show up. To The Bone is the poppiest album that Steven Wilson has made since the Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun era of Porcupine Tree. but that doesn't mean that this is any less dark. Its filled with loss, tragedy and mental struggles in life, just more on a relateable platform for the more top 40 crowd. I'm so glad to see this album is the biggest selling Steven Wilson album to date as it absolutely deserves to be. The man is a gift of music and it's a dark gift that should be shared. No matter how heavy, poppy, proggy or abstract his music gets, it always finds a way to hit home. To The Bone does that in the most commercial way so far, but it can absolutely make you tear up at the same time. WHile we are not getting a PT reunion any time soon (if ever), take solace in the fact that everyone is off doing things they love and Mr. Wilson himself is putting ut some of his best material he has ever written to this day.

23.) Strapping Young Lad- Alien (2005)
FFO- Extreme Metal

When you talk about life changing albums for me, boy howdee, this one hell of a doozie of an impactful album on my musical tastes back 14 years ago. For a long time, I always heard about Devin Townsend, I was dumb and thought he was related to The Who's Peter Townshend at the time, haha. But through various message boards and forums, I always heard people say that SYL was one of the craziest bands in existence and I just didn't know any better at the time and ignored it. Until one day when watching Headbanger's Ball, I saw the video for the song Love? and my jaw dropped to the floor. I never heard ANYTHING like that before in my life, the use of triplets, the insane screams, the most beautiful chorus I ever heard in extreme metal, I couldn't believe it. That Tuesday I went and picked up Alien and you can only imagine how my brain exploded when I finally heard the album. Imperium alone took me out of the realm of this world and put me into a chaotic minefield that I never knew existed. The whole album is extreme on both paralells, the brutality and the clean/pretty moments, you never heard anything like that in extreme metal before right? at least I didn't back then. I became obsessed with it and ever since that day, Devin Townsend became a musical hero of mine and one for mental health as well. Little did I know at the time that Devin Townsend also did solo material. I thought this was his only band and man, I tell you when I first heard Devin's solo work I.....you know what, I'll save that for another discussion. Alien is the most insane SYL album and one of the most insane albums that is not labeled as avant garde or noise. If you can prepare yourself for this intensity, you can prepare yourself for anything. Give this album the proper love it deserves (though I will say, you don't need to listen to the last song, Info Dump, unless you are into 11 minutes of guitar feedback, random synth noises, distortion and nothing else.

22.) Soilwork- Stabbing The Drama (2005)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Modern Metal

Soilwork...ok, this was another choice that I had to spend DAYS on deciding what album I should choose here. I love the early day era so much, I love the mid era of the band, and I LOOOOOOVE what the band is now. But I finally settled on Stabbing The Drama for the fact that it affected me in the way a lot of bands at this time period of 2003-2006 did. Showing me the power of mixing screams/growls over great riffs and writing some of the greatest clean choruses around. Bascially, showing me a band can mix heavy and melodic vocals in the same band and it honestly makes some bands so much better for it. Stabbing The Drama was that album for me that showed off how close you can get to a mainstream rock sound, but keep that heaviness in check and write some amazing metal riffs. WHile everyone was going ape poopy over Meshuggah's Bleed in 2008...where the hell were they when the song Nerve came out on this album? That, by far, showed off the power of mixing bass, guitar and double bass into a single chugging entity better than any band up to that point and honestly...better than any band since. This album was the last of an era showing off the sides they once were, the more mainstream sound that was to come, and the sheer insanity and melodic prog meldeath that was to come with the rejuvenation to come. I'll say it again, I love the latest era of Soilwork the most, but Stabbing The Drama was a musical defining moment for me and that can never be taken away and for that reason it will always be my favorite Soilwork album.

21.) SikTh- Death Of A Dead Day (2006)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Mathcore, Art Metal

SikTh is an entity into itself. There are bands that have been influenced by them, but not a single one of them could ever replicate the sounds, genres bending, and style that the band has made their own. While still an underground album in the grand scheme of things (hell how many of these 350 albums are ones that are NOT underground in the entire sense of music?), Death Of A Dead Day is one of the most brilliant albums of the 21st century so far. It's unique blend of avant garde stylings, spoken word poetry in the right moments,  and progressive, metal, pop, electronic, and controlled chaos makes this album a pure highlight in heavy music in general. The song, Part Of The Friction could easily go down as not only the best song the band has ever done, but one of the greatest metal songs that will ever be written. The only real justice to give this album and band is picking up the music, dropping all your notions and go into it with a completely clear and unopinionated mind and give it a fair shot. I think you'll be happy with the results.

20.) Evergrey- Recreation Day (2004)
FFO- Progressive Power Metal, Dark Metal

I will always remember this story of me discovering Evergrey. The band had an appearance on Headbanger's Ball promoting this album the Tuesday before it came out. IN it they talked about the album speaking of how heavy and dark the album was. I was still on my high horse at this point about screams and growls and I only wanted to stick to music that had ZERO of those and just used clean vocals, so I got really scared when they started talking about the album more and I thought, "oh no, another screaming band. I bet I'll like the music and the vocals will be terrible" but then the video for Blinded started and I had my fingers crossed "don't be another screaming band. Don;'t be another screaming band" that intro riff made me think it could be pure screaming. BUT THEN, Tom Englund's soulful, mournful and powerful voice took over and every single preconceived notion I had about heavy music was gone. Zero screams or growls to be had, just pure dark clean vocals that brought out so much power and emotion that I didn't realize was possible in THIS kind of music. I was floored! Then the 2nd video of the band came later, for the song I'm Sorry, and that's when I knew I discovered one of my favorite bands ever. That Tuesday, I bought the album at Target and never olooked back. THis album is the progressive power metal and dark metal that I never knew existed at the time and it's band that has meant so much to me over the years, so many tears, dark thoughts, bad memories came from em during this time and Evergrey helped me with so much of that pain. It truly was a life changing moment for me as a music fan and even though it's been 15 years since it's release, why don't you give this album a shot and see if it does the same thing for you?

19.) Opeth- Blackwater Park (2001)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

I'll be honest, I'm honestly surprised to see this album so low in my top 20, but that goes to show how many band's I've discovered thank to bands like Opeth. Much like Evergrey at the time I heard Opeth, I hated growls and screams and wanted nothing to do with it, then I heard a song off Damnation that grabbed my attention on Headbanger's Ball and thought, wow I should actually check these guys out. That Tuesday I picked it up along with another album that may or may not be talked about later in some capacity and realized I actually bought Deliverance instead, you know, the heaviest Opeth album ever? Anyways I heard it, did my best to like it, but then I completely ignore them and the band for a good half a year if not longer. Then one day while I was gaming, I thought, screw it, I'll give them another shot. And it actually clicked Opeth actually opened my eyes to bands that I missed out on for so long because I never gave screams/growls a chance. I missed out on so much and there was a lot to learn. But the next Opeth album I bought was Blackwater Park, usually regarded as the best Opeth album (along with Ghost Reveries), BWP is the album for me, the perfect blend of progressive death metal, acoustic and haunting tones that just pulls me in and never lets go. Do I miss this side of Opeth? Honestly, no. I never want a band to make a sound just to make me happy. they should make what will make them happy, otherwise it becomes unauthentic. but even with that there will always be Blackwater Park and honestly, that's all I will ever need from the death metal side of Opeth ever again. *mic drop*

18.) Astronoid- Air (2016)
FFO- Post Black Metal, Dream Pop, Positivity

Ok, not every review is going to be an essay from here on out, just had to get those two out of the way. Astronoid is one of the only positive albums on my top 25 and it's a life changing album for me both musically and conceptually. The idea of making  band that could be part Deafheaven, part Devin Townsend and part Mew seems implausible, so impossible, it makes no sense does it? Only till you actually hear it! And you will hear some of the most gorgeous, beautiful and mesmerizing metal you will ever hear in your life. The use of blast beats and tremolo picking over soothing and soaring clean vocals (no screams or growls in this band what so ever). With that, the lyrics are filled with such uplifting thoughts and ideals that I honestly need to put on when I'm at my lowest to fill me with the sense that life can and will be ok. This is a band that will continue to rise bigger and better and 2018's self titled album is one that is another jaw dropping masterpiece; but Air wins for me for the initial impact it had on me and if you never checked out the band. It may do the same for you.

17.) Between The Buried And Me- Colors (2007)
FFO- Adult Contemporary Progressive Death Metal

BTBAM broke all the barriers with this album. showing they were more than the sum of their parts as initially shown, the band ventured to make a concept album that is really one song broken into 8 parts. and it is one of the finest progressive death metal albums ever made. there is a good reason why they toured with it again for it's 10th anniversary back in 2017. I actually saw this album played in it's entirety back in 2007 and I never stopped being a fan since. It was a life changing show for me and day in general for various reasons. But seeing this album live was something that changed me forever and for that reason it will always be my favorite BTBAM album for it's amazing genre blending, grandiose songwriting, ambitious concept, and one of the most important exptreme metal albums of the 21st century.

16.) Porcupine Tree- In Absentia (2002)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal

I actually didn't get into Porcupine Terr till the album following this one, Deadwing came out (what an underrated album that is!). It was actually a good amount of time before I bought In Absentia but in hindsight, I'm glad I waited. I was able to explore more sides of the band before I found their clear cut masterpiece, that was I could appreciate their other albums that much more. In Absentia was a turning point in the band, who was slowly becoming a progressive pop band, but then Steven Wilson gained a new found low of metal, and death metal to be specific. while you will never hear that style in the band, you will hear influences in the songwriting, riffs, and the lyrical content. Every song on this album is so dark in depressing, be it about the downfall of the music industry, serial killers, child death and so many other dark things. It's so hauntingly beautiful and you need a dark, nearly depressing mind to fully grasp what's going on in Porcupine Tree, to fully get it. I sadly can relate to the music all too well and PT, amongst many other bands in this top 25 speaks to me in the darkest ways. But seriously PT was one incredible band, go check them out if you have missed them for whatever reason.

15.) Death- Leprosy (1988)
FFO- Death Metal

Simply put, Death is the single greatest death metal band ever, and has the single greatest 7 album streak in music. Fight me, jerks! But seriously, this was the last choice I had to make as to what Death album to pick because...how could I? Every single album has had a gigantic impact on me from my drumming, to musical tastes to lyrical concepts. Upon listening to Death Discography (the best way to spend an afternoon), I ended up picking the band's sophomore album, Leprosy. Why? Because it took everything that was fantastic about Scream Bloody Gore, but gave it better production, longer song lengths and one of the greatest guitar tones of the 80s. To me, it's the band's Ride The Lightning and Ride The Lightning is my favorite Metallica album (see, see how I brought things back around from part 1???) But seriously, you can do zero wrong with picking any Death album. Pick up all 7 albums and enjoy! But hey if you need to pick one, go Leprosy, It's death metal with the beginning signs of the progressive death metal side that was to come.

14.) Avantasia- Ghostlights (2016)
FFO- All Star Power Metal

Much like how Ayreon is the all star progressive metal project; Avantasia is the all star power metal band. Ghostlights is the easiest choice I could make for this top 25. It's the darkest album in the band's discography, has my favorite vocal lineup and has some of the absolute most beautiful songs in power metal history. The title track alone has Tobias Sammet, Michael Kiske and Jorn Lande alone! What else could you possibly need? Well the rest of the album is guaranteed to fill out the rest for you. This is, and I mean this whole heartedly, the best power metal album ever made!

13.) Witherscape- The Northern Sanctuary (2016)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

I finally get to talk about Dan Swano again. Some call him my doppelganger, depending on the pictures used from either man, you are right. But seriously, Swano's return to screaming and progressive death metal since Edge of Sanity came back with Witherscape debut album, The Inheritance in 2013. When that album came out and I got the promo for it, I listened to it all day every day. back when I was doing a "real job", in the car, when I went to bed, when i woke up, it consumed me. When I fell deathly ill in 2013, it actually stayed in my car for 7 months and was the first album I heard in my car again when I was able to start driving again. Witherscape was a life changing band for me in the world of progressive death metal and there's not many people outside of Swano who can do it better. 3 years later, my life changed dramatically, and The Northern Sanctuary came out and took everything I loved about the debut album and expanded upon it 100fold. I will say it till my dying day The Examiner is not only one of the greatest ballads ever made, but one of the best songs ever made, in general, yes, in all of music. Listen and you'll understand. But back on point, Dan Swano is a life changing individual for me in my musical life and Witherscape is a fine, fine example of that. PIck up both Witherscape LPs and their EP and enjoy!

12.) Triptykon- Melana Chasmata (2014)
FFO- Doom Metal, Death Metal, Gothic Metal

Both Triptykon albums are two pieces of the darkest music ever recorded. Recorded from the mind of Tom G Warrior, who suffers with his own demons in mental health (a hell I know all too well), both of these albums reaches into the darkest parts of the abyss and drags you along for the ride. For the sophomore album, the depression, hopelessness, and let's face it, suicidal sides come out in full force and it's an album that can destroy any well adjusted person. IF you are in the state of mind that Tom was in at the time, or myself in general, this album is actually a palette cleanser. The idea that it takes hearing, knowing, talking to someone who is suffering or suffered as much as you have  is sometimes the only way you can move forward and that's what Triptykon does for me. Amongst it's stellar production, killer songwriting and amazing musicianship is that sense of all loss, but that's what truly gives you hope. As absurd as that sounds, it's actually really true. Sometimes you just need relatability to stay in the game of life. I'm glad I'm still here and I'm glad Tom is here as well.

11.) Long Distance Calling- Avoid The Light (2009)
FFO- Progressive Post Metal

One of the greatest sophomore albums put on record. LDC came in like a firestorm in my life and they have never left. Their utterly dark album, Avoid The Light is the perfection of the genre progressive post metal. Every song is dark in it's own way, but only one song has vocals, and that is one of my favorite songs of all time, The Nearing Grave, which actually has the vocals sung by Jonas Renske of Katatonia. With that, the ending of the song brings me to tears every single time. Besides stellar production and out of this world production, this is what I needed in my life at the time and it is one one of my favorite albums ever for that reason. There is the argument to be made that the 2016 album Trips is actually the best album to date, which is considerable, but Avoid The Light had that impact on me that very little albums ever could and that's why it will always be one of my favorite albums.

10.) King's X- Gretchen Goes To Nebraska (1989)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Heavy Metal

The most underrated band of all time is King's X. No argument can or will be made, it's King's X! Case friggin closed! With that, their breakthrough album was Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, and deservingly so. Some of their best songs ever are on this album, and a perfect way to end the 1980s. Even 30 years later, this album holds up as an absolute classic and it's one that deserves your love and affection, it's tremendous in every sense of the word.

9.) Edge Of Sanity- Crimson (1996)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

40 minutes even of one of the greatest progressive death metal songs ever conceived. Between the songwriting, Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth guesting on the album with vocals and lead guitar work, and one of the first examples of not only true progressive death metal, but one of the very first progressive death metal concept album. Crimson is perfection, utter perfection. Even in 2003 with Crimson II that is pure perfection as well, but this came out first so Crimson wins! Seriously, Once again, Dan Swano can do no wrong! *should note that some releases has this as one full 40 minute track, others have it split into 8 parts*
 
8.) Anathema- We're Here Because We're Here (2010)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Ambient Rock

The fact that this band came back after so many hardships, returned with a brand new sound and became the best the band could ever be 9 years ago is breathtaking. Combining prog, atmospheric sounds and some of the most beautiful sounding songs ever possible in a band like Anathema and you have this resurgence of an album. The band has only gotten tighter and stronger from this point onward, but there is just something about this reformation of a return that has a particular magic you will not hear on any other Anathema album and for me, that's what makes it win as best Anathema album to date.

7.) Pain of Salvation- In The Passing Light Of Day (2017)
FFO- Progressive Metal

While the band never left or stopped making good music; POS returned to the more classic Pain of Salvation progressive metal style that fans knew and loved. Besides being the most personal album to date, the most heartfelt, the best production the best musicianship, etc. It's an album that I relate to on a level that no one should. This album is about being rushed to the hospital and finding out that you may die and readjusting your life, if there is any life left, so you can move forward in all ways and make the best of yourself. That actually happened to me in 2013 before Daniel Gildenlow has a similar fate in 2014. If there is anything to take away from this album it's this. Live your life while you are still here, be the best possible you that you can be. you only get one chance to do so, don't life a life of regret if you still have a chance to make a difference in your life. *I'm actually in tears writing this out, my apologies*

6.) dredg- Catch Without Arms (2005)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Pop Rock

I'll keep this one shorter, but sweet. For the longest time, the band's previous album, El Cielo, was my favorite of all time, and my favorite non metal album. That slowly evolved into Catch Without Arms. It is a masterpiece of what mainstream music could have been. Every single song could have been a top 40 hit if FM radio has an open mind (we all know it doesn't). The band knew that and gave us an album that those in the know could appreciate and those that could search and hear it could see what could have been in a different world. The band is back and hopefully releasing an album this year or in 2020. I simply can't wait. It's been 8 years strong, it's been much too long.

5.) Dream Theater- Images And Words (1992)
FFO- Progressive Metal

Dream Theater for the longest time, was my all time favorite band. It wasn't until the last couple years that they were toppled, but this album sstill remains one of, if not the greatest progressive metal albums ever made. Train of Thought (along with Opeth's Deliverance mentioned earlier in passing) were the two albums that steered me away from the Metallica binge I was on for almost 4 years and showed me a world of music I never knew existed and for that I can't thank DT enough. This album is THE progressive metal. I can't sell it any better than that.

4.) Nightingale- Retribution (2014)
FFO- Melodic Progressive Rock, Hard Rock, Gothic Rock

My favorite Dan Swano band, bar none. I love everything he has done from Unicorn to Bloodbath to Witherscape to Edge Of Sanity to countless other projects. Nightingale is the band for me above all others in his work. The perfect blend of prog, goth, and hard rock. It doesn't get too heavy, it doesn't get too poppy, it's just dark prog with that sense of other genres when needed and a fantastic story that is intermittent between so many of the albums. Retribution is thel atest album from the band (6 years ago already???) and it's just a crowning achievement of what a band can do. If you want a good place to start with Dan Swano's work, I can't recommend Retribution by Nightingale enough!

3.) Woods Of Ypres- Woods V; Grey Skies and Electric Light (2012)
FFO- Doom Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Gothic Metal

It's utterly tragic seeing the end of David Gold's life happen just a week and a half before I got this promo and it's the album I put on the most when I am depressed. When I am at my wit's end and nearly on the edge of making things be done, I put this album on and it saves me every time I do. While not a concept album, so many of the songs are about death, foreseeing your death, and to live your life while you are still alive. It's utterly haunting listening to the lyrics when you know he died before the release of this album. THis album always brings me to tears just thinking about it and having dealt with death, suicide, attempted suicides, and and the darkest of depression, I can't relate to this album enough and for that it is one of my favorite albums of all time. R.I.P. David Gold.

2.) Green Carnation- Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness (2001)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Gothic Metal, Doom Metal

Possibly my last cop out of the list. This is technically one song. 60 minutes 7 seconds long. But it is known as their sophomore album. It is also my favorite song of all time, especially after seeing the song live in it's entirety. Since it is such a grey area, I'm leaving an actual album as my favorite album of all time, but before we get there. This mammoth of a song is about death and life; both bringing the absolute worst and best emotions one can possibly feel respectively. Every single range of emotion is shown here and the music matches those moods getting into death metal territories at times but keeping that prog, doom, gothic metal sound in check. TO make, if you appreciate many different styles of music, especially the darkest genres, this album will make you feel every possible emotion and for that, it is my favorite song of all time.

1.) Devin Townsend- Biomech: Ocean Machine (1997)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Pop, Electronic

For anyone who knows me, I am a Hevy Devy fan for life and there's no way I could go without making a non-SYL Devin Townsend album not one of my top choices for favorite album of all time. So why not, in this case, the best album of all time? For those that knew me for a long time, Terria was my number one pick for the longest time. It hit me in every way I needed it to at the time, but over time, Ocean Machine kept creeping up on me with it's pop sensibilities, progressive metal goodness and just being Devin Townsend. I realize now how perfect this album is from beginning to end. From the overly happy sounding song Life to the heavy Regulator to my second favorite song of all time, Bastard, to the 10 minute epic The Death Of Music. This is perfection all around, front to back, top to bottom and sealed with a wet Hevy Devy kiss. If I ever make a solo album, I want it to be even a tenth of the power that this album holds. It's that important to me.



And there we have it folks, it's over it's done. 350 albums signed, written, and accounted for. I can't believe this epic journey has come to an end and I thank you so much for sticking around (unless you skipped parts 1-13 then SHAME ON YOU!). Thanks for sticking around, Go enjoy some new (or new to you) music and until next time this is That Drummer Guy saying, SEE YA!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Here we are, folks. The penultimate part before the grand finale tomorrow. After having to write up yesterday's list twice over, it took a lot of my joy away, but after seeing the reactions to it, it was all worth the hassle. This part of the list are ones that easily could have made the grand finale and some albums were originally on that list, but moved for what ever reason. I know this is where a lot of people will start to care about this list (despite everything I attempt to do to make that not happen), I gotta make these last two parts the strongest they possibly can be in the order that I really feel represents me the most. So like X, I'm gonna give it to ya!



Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

50.) Dillinger Escape Plan- Ire Works (2007)
FFO- Mathcore, Experimental, Pop

While taking on some of it's biggest risks, this is the most commercially accessible DEP album ever and that is such an odd thing to say. Mixing a great deal of pop into the band's already diverse sound was a big risk but it was one that totally paid off for songs such as Black Bubblegum and Milk Lizard, while still maintaining the classic style DEP songs that you know and love. This also mark's Gil Sharone's only drumming appearance on a DEP record and he absolutely shines no matter the style that is thrown at him. Overall, It's so diverse and exactly what a Dillinger album should sound like. It's the perfect gateway album to the band and one that should be appreciated as such. It's sad we had to say farewell (Mona Lisa), but at least we still have their entire discography to go back to and enjoy!

49.) Gruesome- Savage Land (2015)
FFO- Death, Death Metal

Gruesome is 100% a Death tribute band that plays original music. Every release is dedicated to a different period in Death's discography. WHile the band still has several albums to go to fill out the entire discography of original music, it all started with their debut Savage Land; which is of course in the vein of Death's Scream Bloody Gore album. The production is raw, the songs are maniacal, and vibe brings you back to 1987 perfectly. As you'll see later in the list, Deathis a band that truly means a lot to me in my musical endeavors and I absolutely appreciate that this band is dedicating themselves to replicating Death';s sound on every album they make, covering every single era and album. Start here and go forward. There is many more albums to enjoy and I can't wait.

48.) Haken- Affinity (2015)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock

Haken is slowly but surely becoming the 2010's version of Dream Theater. Every album is a bombastic take on prog that they add their own spin to and they are not afraid to go into any territory, no matter how heavy, light, progressive or poppy it gets. With Affinity, it absolutely feels like an album that was made in 1985 (funny enough, that's also a track on the album, 1985). WHile they keep their Haken core sound, they mix it with enough 80s aesthetics and flair that totally bring up the electronic years of prog 34 years ago. This is also the most commercial sounding...or should I say least complicated Haken album to date. Either way, it's the band at their most simplified and that is still off the wall crazy in technical ability, time signatures, and pure wackiness at times. But if you don't mind the prog noodling (though I am a huge noodling of the prog kinda guy). This is a good starter album for those that want to see what all the hype is about the band. It could very well be your gateway into prog and if it works, I have so many wondrous prog things to show you!

47.) mc chris- mc chris is dead (2008)
FFO- Hip Hop, Pop Punk, Nerd Culture

I'll say it straight up, this is the only non rock/metal album on this list but it still has plenty of great rocking moments in it. I love mc chris, he represents so many facets of what I love about music, nerd culture, comics, life in general. If you are like me and not that big into rap and hip hop, mc could be the guy that brings you into it as it shows off relateable and funny lyrics, amazing music composed and arranged my mc and some of the best skits you'll hear on a music album. Every album is more of a less a concept album or at least a theme album that brings everything together. The skits help the pacing out of the albums and the music is able to take stage as needed. mc chris is dead is the album that helped bring him into the forefront and show that he was more than just a voice that was on Adult Swim, he could really rap, he could really make you laugh and he could really make you think. That is all represented here and then some. Seriously, just give the album a shot, it may break down some self composed barriers you have on music.

46.) Within Temptation- Hydra (2014)
FFO- Symphonic Metal, Modern Metal

It blows my mind that this album is already 5 years old. It feels like I just saw Within Temptation supporting this album last year. Hydra is a bit of a farewell to the WT sound we grew up with and loved, which was represented in it's new form with 2019's Resist with it's focus almost entirely on the modern metal sound. Hydra keeps the symphonic elements still in check, but in hindsight, this change in sound is not a jaw dropping surprise, you can hear it on this album. It's very catchy, poppy and heavy and the keys and symphonics are ever so slightly pushed back. This has some of my favorite WT songs of all time and features such amazing appearances from the likes of Howard Jones, Tarja, and yes...X to the Z Xzibit (hey, that song is arguably the best overall song on the album, shut your mouth!). Just in case you are only familiar with WT from the Papa Roach collaboration on Resist, seriously, go back and discover what brought Within Temptation to this spot. Hydra is one of the most beautifully put together albums of the 2010s and it doesn't take long to understand why. (p.s. I actually dig Resist a lot and it will be in my top of 2019 list).

45.) Borknagar- Winter Thrice (2016)
FFO- Progressive Black Metal, Folk Metal, Viking Metal

I'll be honest here, my view on this album, while still very positive, is a bit different now. ONLY because as I'm writing this up, I just received the new album from Borknagar, True North, TODAY, coming out in September and it is so very...VERY hard not to put that album in this spot and just talk about where the band is at now, but I'll do my best. Winter Thrice is now to be looked at as a watershed album for the band as a mass exodus of the band happened before, during and after this albums release that shifted the band in many ways. A way to look at Winter Thrice is an album of desolation, isolation, and hopelessness. Looking back at what was going on with the band, this completely makes sense. WHile I will say up till today, this was my favorite Borknagar album, it is one that you really should check out as it is a beautiful album amongst it's inner chaos. Just know that the band is even stronger now on the other side and it's glorious.

44.) Rush- 2112 (1976)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Hard Rock

The greatest prog album from the greatest prog band of all time? There is a very strong argument to be made for that! Some may say it's Hemispheres or Moving Pictures instead of 2112. I will for one say that I think both of those albums are actually better than 2112, but 2112 is the prog album that set the standard for what prog rock could be. It was one of the first progressive albums to be heavy, have sci-fi stories and have a song that takes up the entire side of an LP. I guess my love for 2112 went down the more that I think about the Ayn Rand/Libertarian influence the title track had and I totally understand why the band really didn't play the whole song anymore while together and just focused on the first two segments; BUT, that's a different discussion for a different day! Besides the mega epic 2112, the rest of the album has such killer rockin tracks that really makes this release a full album rather than just on epic to be known for. This is Rush entering it's pure prog phase and from there on out, it made some of the best recorded music ever in the process. I'll always go to bat for this album even if I feel differently about it now. The music is just so undeniably amazing.

43.) Ne Obliviscaris- Citadel (2014)
FFO- Extreme Progressive Metal

NeO is a band of tragedy and eventual triumph. Hitting almost every conceivable roadblock along the way, the band eventually released their debut album nearly a decade after formation, Portal Of I, in 2012. 2 years later, we got the sophomore album from the band Citadel and it will go down as one of the absolute strongest progressive metal albums of the 2010s if not the 21st century as a whole. You could feel the band finally being able to focus their attention on the next chapter of the band and show off all their tricks. Progressive, black, death, post rock, classical; the band can pull off any genre, make it just extreme enough and add an element of unparalleled beauty to it all that could make anyone with emotions tear up. There is a reason why I have a Citadel wall hanger hanging up on my wall that I look at every single day in my living room. This band is such an incredible thrill ride of emotions and Citadel is the culmination of years of struggle that lead the band to FINALLY be able to turn the page, explore the world and become they wanted to be all along. Seriously, go check this out immediately!

42.) Shaded Enmity- Forsaken and Forgotten (2013)
FFO- Extreme Melodic Death Metal

One of the saddest things about discovering music on your own comes from finding an incredible band that makes your jaw drop, it makes you stop anything you are doing and just try to comprehend everything you are hearing, being so excited to know that you found the band's latest album and showing it to the world....only to find out that will eventually be the band's last album. Especially in my line of work, when I discover music directly on my own (which I still try to do every single day amongst all the promos sent my way), I discover a band like Shaded Enmity and their musicality is some of the most awe-inspiring music I have ever heard. Their use of genre changes, melodic overtones and sheer brutality that made me so infatuated with the band I tried playing them on the early version of my radio show as much as I possibly could. Then in 2015 the band split up and I was devastated. We all have those bands that wreck us when you hear the band will be no more. It crushes you. But it's moments like Shaded Enmity that remind me that the music will always be there to enjoy and that's what you should do with this band as well. This also sadly marks one of the final guest appearances of Warrel Dane, the song in question is now even harder to listen to now all things considered, but still absolutely breathtaking.

41.) Cynic- Traced In Air (2008)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

For the longest time, it was believed that Cynic would always be one of those bands that could have been when they released their stand alone album, Focus, before the band split up in the 90s. THANKFULLY the band reemerged and started playing live shows again that lead to new music in the form of Traced In Air. One of the greatest pieces of prog music that we had no idea we would ever get to see. Expanding upon the sounds of Focus but updating it just enough with new influences, new styles and simply killer production; Cynic became a new inspiring band to many of prog nerds like myself. While the beauty did not last and as of just a couple years ago, the band has fallen apart again and is now just in Paul Masvidal's hands. We get to appreciate the work they did in that time because we had no idea we would ever get to see anything new from Cynic and what could of been, eventually came to be. Traced In Air is a full blown masterpiece of an album.

40.) Pallbearer- Heartless (2017)
FFO- Doom Metal, Progressive Rock

THis album tugs at my heartstrings in a way that it simply should not, but every time I listen to it, it pulls me in and does not let go. WHile the band's previous material were master classes in doom metal; Heartless turn everything you thought you knew about the band and changed it for the better. The tempos varied more, the styles switched up, and the core Pallbearer sound became more versatile. With that, when the band does a full blown doom epic like one of my now favorite songs of all time, A Plea For Understanding; it is so much more heartwrenching to listen to because it hits you so much harder on a musical and emotional level. When a band can put out music that can literally toy with your emotions, they are doing things right. That's what Heartless came to be and is easily what I feel will be one of the greatest doom albums of all time.

39.) Omnium Gatherum- The Burning Cold (2018)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

On the opposite end of the metal spectrum comes the Finnish melodeath Omnium Gatherum, who put out their most positive album ever last year. WHile having a much more poppy, electronic and 80s vibe overall; the lyrics are a great look at looking at yourself, trying to rebuild yourself and be the best you possibly can be in this dark world of ours. Plus when you have the magnificent Dan Swano mixing and mastering your album; you know it will end up sounding the best it possibly can be. This is by far the best OG album to date and it only takes one listen to understand why. Go, be happy, and check this out!

38.) Swallow The Sun- Songs From The North (2015)
FFO- Melodic Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Post Rock

It's almost unfair to put this album on this list as it is 3 albums combined over 3 discs with all 3 having a very different sound. I is the Swallow The Sun sound you know and love. II is the band exploring their post rock/ambient side. III is exploring their funeral doom metal side. Essentially, this is everything you love about the band spread over the course of 3 discs of original music. And as it was all released under one package...it counts as a single entity of one album to me so suck it! But seriously. If you love melodic death/doom, post rock/ambient, or funeral doom metal; you are doing your self a gigantic disservice by ignoring this band for any longer. Go pick up this triple album and let your ears feast on some of the darkest and most depressing music to every come from Finland.

37.) Baroness- Purple (2015)
FFO- Alternative Metal Progressive Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal

It took 5 albums into a 6 album cycle dedicated to the color spectrum, but Baroness finally broke into the mainstream and into our hearts in 2015 with Purple. Easily some of their best material ever. Baroness is a band that will never put out the same album twice and every color album made so far has it's own flavoring. Purple has the most commercial sounding of everything done in the band to this day and it absolutely works for the band throughout every track. Getting to see this album live (though not played all the way straight through) was absolutely amazing to see and made me appreciate it even more. While I may even have to give it up to Gold and Grey as my favorite Baroness album now, it's honestly a little too early to say. For one it just came out and two it's competing against Purple, it's an absolutely tough call for me, so let's just stick with this modern musical masterpiece for the time being. Go pick up Purple and see how varied music really can be with heavy tones.

36.) Zeal & Ardor- Stranger Fruit (2018)
FFO- Avant Garde Black Metal

Starting off as a one man project combining African-American spirituals and Black Metal (sounds completely absurd doesn't it?; Zeal & Ardor has become a fully fleshed out band and has been able to add more influences into the band. Combining more jazz, post rock, blues and electronic movements into it's twisted tales of the concept of "What would happen if the African American slaves sang about Satan instead of God?". Stranger Fruit also ups everything about the band, not just musically, but the production on this album is beyond stellar and what I was hoping the band would be allowed to have at some point. I can't stress this enough, if you love innovative and I truly mean INNOVATIVE takes on music, you simply must check out Zeal & Ardor. Also, somebody get Jordan Peele on the phone and tell him to help write a story about the lyrical concepts of Zeal & Ardor and turn it into a horror movie. make that happen right damn now!!!

35.) Fair To Midland- Tales From A Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True
FFO- Alternative Metal, Progressive Metal

Is this band truly broken up? I...have no idea. I just know they have been inactive for entirely too long and I wish they would come back. It took 3 albums, but FTM finally broke through the mainstream with Dance Of The Manatee which took mainstream radio by storm. To the uninterested listener, this was the only song the band ever had. But not only did they miss out on two LPs and EP beforehand. They missed out on one of the most original pieces of music to come out in the 21st century rock/metal scene. Combining elements of Native American, alternative, progressive and pop music; the band released this masterpiece of an album and every song is just jaw droppingly fantastic. Only reading about this album is an injustice, go listen to it. And check out the equally good Anchors and Arrows album which may end up being the final album from the band. I know they are probably never reforming, but I really, REALLY wish they would.

34.) Ihsahn- After (2010)
FFO- Progressive Black Metal, Avant Garde

Much like discussed a while back about the final Emperor album. Ihsahn grew weary of just making standard black metal music and wanted to make his own visions of music. while having other projects along side, his solo work is some of the most courageous music ever put under the extreme metal moniker. YOu simply will not hear the same Ihsahn album twice, he will not allow it! 3 albums into his solo career came After. A brilliant masterwork of black metal, progressive metal, jazz, post rock and avant garde music. It sounds absolutely strange on paper, but the execution is nothing short of perfection. WHile also may go down as the most subdued Ihsahn album to date (depending on how you look at it) Other albums are far more black metal, or more avant garde or even in recent times nearly mainstream radio friendly. After takes what I mentioned earlier and puts into an album that never goes too fast or too slow, it just goes at the tempos that feel the most natural and it pays off for that reason. This album was also my introduction to Saxophonist and frontman of Shining (NOR) Jorgen Munkeby. As mentioned before there is no two similar Ihsahn albums so it's really hard to say which direction to go in. But if you want Ihsahn at his proggiest (not avant garde, prog) After is the album for you.

33.) The Contortionist- Language (2014)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Post Rock, Ambient

A Watershed moment for fans of the progressive deathcore fans of The Contortionist as the band needed a change to stay a band, but they didn't necessarily know where to go. With Last Chance To Reason Frontman Michael Lessard filling in for the band on a tour, they realized he was the guy they needed to change the band into what they have become. A very fair representation of that is a modern day Cynic. While still having metal elements, the band bands has become much moe focused on ambient, post, progressive and alternative music and that change really came with Language. An album that really says goodbye to The Contortionist you used to know and hello to The Contortionist the band is now. Like Cynic's Traced in Air mentioned earlier, this is a seminal masterclass in songwriting and one of the most standout prog albums ever made in the 21st century. Listen and you will understand that change is good...and needed.

32.) Katatonia- Last Fair Deal Gone Down (2001)
FFO Progressive Metal, Dark Rock, Alternative Rock

Man, oh man, did I contemplate about this choice for such a long time. All year I have been really going through a more dark/gothic era of my life t match all of the horrible things that my life has brought me in 2019. With that made me play the Katatonia discography on repeat many....many times. upon repeated listens I learned there are so many sides to the band, there is the dark progressive metal side that the band became, there is death/doom side that the early day fans know, and there was the alternative era that is the mid point of their career so far. Upon all those listens, the album that hit me harder than anything else was 2001's Last Fair Deal Gone Down. While one of the band's least heavy albums, musically, it is one of the darkest and most emotional albums of the band's career. Songs like Teargas and Sweet Nurse nearly make me choke up every time I listen to them and it's such a great feeling. While this obviously wouldn't be a lot of people's choice for top album and a lot of people will be shocked to see this album as my choice. It truly has become my favorite over time and if you want your Katatonia more on the rock side instead of the metal side, this is the album for you!

31.) Enslaved- RIITIIR (2012)
FFO- Progressive Black Metal, Viking Metal

I've really come to terms with the fact that there is almost little to no fans that love all of Enslaved's albums. You either love their early day raw black metal sound or you love their newer proggy black metal side. WHile I actually do love both sides of the band, without question my favorite era is the current latter era. Every single album gets better and better with every release and yeah, I will say the band's latest album, E, is actually their finest work to date. So why didn't I choose it for this? Because RIITIIR is the album that made a casual Enslaved fan into a diehard Enslaved fan forever. Roots Of The Mountain is my overall favorite Enslaved song and it just warped my mind on what is possible in progressive and black metal music. This juggernaut of an album is actually when a lot of the older fans eventually gave up on the band. Of course I went against the grain and loved them even more for it and for that reason this will always be my favorite Enslaved album. Simply majestic music!

30.) Agalloch- The Mantle (2002)
FFO- Atmospheric Black Metal, Progressive Black Metal, Folk Metal

Despite words and phrases that came from a member of the band in recent times, and the fact the band simply imploded after their last tour (including their only time visiting Minnesota, so glad I went), Agalloch is still a band that matters so much to me and yeah, it's one of those instances where you have to separate the art from the artist. The Mantle is the godfather album of what atmospheric black metal, blackgaze, post black metal, and folk metal would eventually evolve into. Every song is just as superb as the next no matter if it's a post rock instrumental, a heavy black metal song or the somber Desolation Song (which I didn't realize has a chord progression that sounds just like Dream Theater's Disappear, which came out the same year). Simply put, The Mantle is a life changing, genre defining, and masterclass of an album. There is a reason it is so beloved and you should go listen to it and see why for yourself.

29.) Toehider- Good (2017)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Pop

Toehider rules. There's no other way to describe it. This band has written a song in almost every single genre of rock and metal music and it sounds completely natural and...do I say it?....GOOD! So good in fact, it was about time that the band actually released an album called Good just a couple years back. It more than lives up to the album name as it showcases some of the most off the wall time changes, style changes, and emotionally driven songs the band has done so far. How Do Ghosts Work? has become one of my favorite songs of recent times for good reason. Seriously if you want some of the best musicianship, songwriting, vocal performances and overall album experiences you can ever have pick up good. You may even say it's good yourself!

28.) Killswitch Engage- The End Of Heartache (2003)
FFO- Metalcore, New Wave Of American Heavy Metal

WHile I will always credit a band that will show up in the top 25 of this list as the band that opened my doors to screaming/growling in music and actually appreciating it; It was Killswitch Engage that made me realize that it could be done in a way that wasn't just reserved for bands that no one knew in my inner circle of a town of 10,51 people of Clear Lake, WI; It could be a band that would be heard by the masses in the mainstream and man, did KSE ever kick off for the big times with The End Oe Heartache. This is just a perfect album from start to finish and the perfect example of what modern metalcore is, could be and should be. WHile I do love both eras of KSE (Howard and Jesse), Howard has my heart and Jesse has my mind (because we both suffer heavily from mental  health issues, damn I hope I can interview him some day,). I truly discovered Killswitch with The End Of Heartache, but even more so, on the Freddie Vs Jason soundtrack (amazing soundtrack, terrible movie) which both has the song When Darkness Falls and my enjoyment of knowing that metal could be just as catchy as the radio and commercial music could be just as pummeling as any metal band that you'll never hear on the radio can be. Absolutely no shame. I will love KSE until my dying day, go check out The End Of Heartache, then the rest of their stuff, then pick up the new album in August, it rules!

27.) Mastodon- Emperor Of Sand (2017)
FFO- Progressive Metal

Mastodon is one of the great, most consistently great, and genre mastering bands to come to this civilization we know as human life. It is so rare to see a band last 7 albums so far and not have a single lineup change. You could easily make the argument that any Mastodon album is their best and you would not be wrong, every Mastodon album rules for various reasons. And for the longest time Crack The Skye was my all time favorite for it's pure prog atmosphere. That changed in 2017 when a seemingly new Mastodon album would come out, chloroform Crack The Skye off my favorite Mastodon album ranking and take it's place. This literally has EVERYTHING you love about the band in all new original music. No matter how heavy, catchy, somber or proggy you love the band for; its represented here and it's an album sheer wonder and I couldn't dare to skip a single track ever. This is simply how you write modern progressive metal, making the music YOU want to make. Mastodon will go down as one of the best progressive metal bands of all time, there's just no denying it.

26.) Nevermore- Dead Heart In The Dead World (2000)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal

Little did anyone know 19 years ago that when Jeff Loomis switched from his standard 6 string guitar to a 7 string guitar, he would be not just redefine the band, but redefine metal. WHile he was not the first to use a 7 string drop tuned guitar in metal; he revolutionized it and Nevermore became the underground heroes of metal. Of course everything that came before this album is amazing to listen to an enjoy, you just can't deny that the band became what they were meant to be with Dead Heart In A Dead World. Absolute proves that you don't need to scream and growl your music to make some of the heaviest music on the planet. Plus the musicianship from everyone in the band set the standard for what band's should be able to accomplish going forward. While the band will be forever lost with it's fallen hero Warrel Dane's passing (taking away any chance of a reunion) we are left with some of the greatest albums in prog, thrash and metal history. You may as well start with the cream of the Nevermore crop with Dead Heart In A Dead World.



And That's it folks 13 parts down, 325 albums covered and only 25 more albums left for the final part of this mammoth colossus of an epic album list concluding tomorrow with That Drummer Guy's Top 350 Albums Of All Time Part XIV: The Top 25. See you then!


- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

*In all honesty, I will be scooting by this one relatively quickly as I already wrote up this entire part of the list my host site decided to get rid of of my draft as I was editing the final touches and I now have to redo this, plus write up part 13 Today, so my apologies if this is not my best part of the list. My apologies for having this list be less in depth, but I'll try to make it count*

Part 12 of this Colossal List is here and we only got two more part of this list before we are all done. We are really getting into the nitty gritty of albums that I put on as often as possible and ones that have affected me the most. Maybe You'll have a similar feeling? Lets forge ahead with part 12!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!



75.) Skull Fist- Chasing The Dream (2014)
FFO- Speed Metal, Heavy Metal

Canada's Skull Fist creates a great sense of speed, thrash, and heavy metal that really makes the band stand out amongst it's peers. 2014's Chasing The Dream is my favorite example of their work and gives that great 80s sound, but updated just enough to make it completely fresh. Well worth a listen.

74.) With The Dead- Love From With The Dead (2017)
FFO- Doom Metal, Stoner Metal

Lee Dorrian and doom are a perfect match. When you think of Cathedral, you wonder how much heavier doom can get, then Dorrian aligned himself with past members of Electric Wizard and made (so far) two of the heaviest, sonically brutal doom metal albums to date. The latest album from With The Dead could not possibly be heavier on all fronts and the music is top notch. Seriously, one of the best doom albums ever made.

73.) Native Construct- Quiet World (2015)
FFO- Progressive Metal

Sadly what will be a one album band. Native Construct made an amazing concept debut album with an incredible story and extremely well crafted prog songs that hit you on every level. Similar to bands like Spiral Architect, you are going to wish for a sophomore album that will never be, but that should not take away from the power and glory that is Quiet World.

72.) Thulcandra- Ascension Lost (2015)
FFO- Melodic Black Metal, Progressive Black Metal

If you like Dissection but want to not feel guilty about liking the music for...you know...reasons...check out Thulcandra. The band is a loving tribute to the melodic black metal and progressive black metal of bands like Dissection and Emperor but with all original music created by Obscura's Steffen Kummerer. Everything you love about mid to late 90s black metal (and no guilt) is covered here and it sounds amazing. The band's latest album is one that shows the band at prime originality and songwriting. Go check it out.

71.) Clutch-  Earth Rocker (2013)
FFO- Hard Rock, Blues Rock

Clutch is one of the hardest working and longest running bands that has continued to have their original lineup since the beginning. in 2013, a change was needed in the band and they decided to strip away most of the keyboard influenced blues rock that had been taking over the last few clutch albums and got back to the 4 piece rock sound that people came to the party for. Earth Rocker is the heaviest Clutch album of the 21st century and with the exception of one slower song right in the middle to give you a breather (Gone Cold), this album is filled to the brim with fast, heavy, rockin' songs that makes you wanna rock hard. It's easily my favorite album from the band for that reason alone.

70.) Symphony X- Paradise Lost (2007)
FFO- Symphonic Progressive Power Metal

Paradise Lost is a pure watershed for the band. Everything that came before it had the more classic progressive power metal sound and epic tracks. Everything that came after is more consistent and heavier songs. Paradise Lost was that bridge of an album that combined the best of both and they were able to create the best SX album to date for that reason. You'll be hard pressed to find a SX fan who doesn't consider Paradise Lost one of their favorite album, if not their favorite album from the band.

69.) Cloudkicker- Beacons (2010)
FFO- Instrumental Progressive Metal, Ambient

There is a reason I use Cloudkicker tracks as themes for all of my shows, podcasts, interviews, etc (well besides the fact that they are available to use for fair use). Cloudkicker's sophomore album is one that is one of the most consistent pieces of the band's puzzle. A turning point in the band that had one of the last examples of full on metal and more emphasis on the post rock/ambient/softer side of the band that has been shown off more in the past decade. Simply put, this shows off both sides of the band perfectly in one concise LP.

68.) Raunchy- Death Pop Romance (2006)
FFO- Death Metal, Industrial Metal, Pop

Every single band since 2006 that has used the modern metal sound has Raunchy to thank for making that style popular and forging it into what it is now. Creating that viable mix of death metal, metalcore, industrial, and pop music into a special blend that can make pop fans a fan of heavy music and metalheads a fan of poppy music. While every Raunchy album rules, Death Pop Romance is their masterpiece (so far) and I can't wait to see where the band continues to go next.

67.) Black Crown Initiate- The Wreckage of Stars (2014)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Atmospheric Metal

Easily one of my favorite bands that has really taken off since I started off as That Drummer Guy; BCI takes extreme music, progressive death metal, black metal and ambient music to create such a unique blend of sounds that is overcomes you. Between both LPs and their debut EP, there is no wrong choice to star, but you may wanna go with the debut LP to see what the band started off as in a full length album. WHile the band has had many ups and downs, I have my complete faith in the band they will come back as the reckoning force that they deserve to be. THey are about to embark on a new tour, go see them! 

66.) Ayreon- The Source (2017)
FFO- All Star Metal

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is an absolute genius of music. No matter the project that he writes for, he makes that album cycle the best that it can possibly be. With the latest Ayreon album, it is a prequel to the Ayreon story and features some of the best voices in prog, power and symphonic music. It's a masterpiece of symphonic, power and progressive music. Listen and find out why.

65.) Ghost- Opus Eponymous (2010)
FFO- Occult Rock, Heavy Metal

Before the band became the mainstream superstars that they are now (for better or worse), they were the underground satanic occult rock, heavy metal band that shook up the metal world in the early 2010s. The debut album is a perfect mix of Mercyful Fate and Blue Oyster Cult that combines the best of heavy and catchy music that band forged and refined the band into what they are today. Check out this debut album and see if your preconceived notions of the band change.

64.) Blind Guardian- Imaginations From The Other Side (1995)
FFO- Epic Power Metal

Blind Guardian is THE power metal band. They set the bar with every album they release as to what every power metal band around should be capable of at the time. In 1995, they put out one of, if not their best work with Imaginations From The Other Side. The perfect showcase of the epic, folk, and power metal the band is known for and influenced every single power metal band that came after. Blind Guardian is one of the best for a reason, find out why.

63.) Torche- Meanderthal (2008)
FFO- Alternative Metal, Stoner Metal, Doom Metal

Putting a genre label on Torche is meaningless as every album changes the band and every song on every album will sound completely different. 2008's Meanderthal is a prime example of an album that can have some of the poppiest rock songs match with some of the heaviest doom metal songs you've ever heard. WHile the band has gotten lighter with every subsequent album from here on out, they never lost what made them the established band they are with Meanderthal. Go pick up this underground classic.

62.) Bloodbath- Nightmares Made Flesh (2004)
FFO- Death Metal

Along with Paradise Lost, this was the hardest decision as to what Bloodbath album I was going to put on this list and I finally settled on Nightmares Made Flesh. I mean besides being the lone album featuring Peter Tagtgren, they band is rounded out with members from Katatonia, Edge of Sanity and Opeth playing the most brutal old school death metal. You simply couldn't ask for anything more. This is what death metal should strive to be.

61.) Panopticon- Roads To The North (2014)
FFO- North American Folk Metal

A genre that you may not have heard of, but perfect fits the style of the band. Taking the black metal and blackgaze sound mixed with North American folk instrumentation and songwriting and you get one of the most unique bands around. This album is a metaphor for the band moving from Kentucky to Minnesota and all that comes with it and it is some of the most beautiful black metal music you will ever hear. Just one listen and you'll completely understand.

60.) Faith No More- Angel Dust (1992)
FFO- Alternative Metal

The heaviest FNM album by far is also their greatest. While it is still diverse is in it's musical stylings, it covers ground from everything from alternative rock to country to cheerleader chants to death metal. Faith No More has never settled on one style for the band and they are so much stronger for that reason. ANgel Dust is the pinnacle of the band's career for good reason.

59.) Body Count-  Bloodlust (2017)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Rap Metal

It's not a novelty. Ice T's metal band has put out some of the best metal albums in the past 30 years. The band's latest album is a great look into social issues, personal struggles, and a few horror metal songs thrown in for good measure. Catchy and brutal, this is what I've loved Body Count for for so long and it's about time that you do the same as well. Start here and go backwards.

58.) Amon Amarth- With Oden On Our Side (2006)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Viking Metal

This is the band's Back In Black, the band discovered the perfect formula for the band on this album and they have kept that songwriting formula ever since. While the band has put out some of their best songs after this album; this is BY FAR the best overall AA album to date.

57.) HIM-  Razorblade Romance (2000)
FFO- Gothic Rock, Love Metal

My love of gothic music started from here and there is no shame in saying that. H.I.M. is a band that knew how to write catchy and heavy songs that you could relate to, be it the dark love songs or the more dark looks into yourself that came with later album (including what I feel is their best album Venus Doom). Razorblade Romance will always be my favorite album from the band for it's unique sense of songwriting that influenced me personally for almost 20 years now, and that is absolutely insane to think about now that it's been that long.

56.) Fleshgod Apocalypse- Veleno (2019)
FFO- Extreme Symphonic Death Metal

Simply put, sometimes the roughest patches in a band's career can lead to the band's biggest triumphs and that is exactly what happened here. WHile it's only been out a couple months now, Veleno is BY FAR the greatest achievement in the band's history, but quite possible extreme symphonic death metal as a whole. This is how you can make a complete diverse album that can make you tear things apart and make you cry at the same time. This is perfection!

55.) Rivers of Nihil- Where Owls Know My Name (2018)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

In speaking of perfection, Rivers of Nihil has put out their magnum opus so far with 2018's epic. Taking their established sound and fusing more prog, classic rock and jazz elements was such a risky move; but it was a move that has pushed them to the upper tier of metal bands going today. the 3rd album of the bands 4 album cycle focusing on the Earth's seasons is their darkest and most depressing so far, but it is an album that may not be able to be beaten by any of their peers and it will take their greatest work to beat it in the future. This album is what I wish more bands would try to accomplish.

54.) Loch Vostok- From These Waters (2015)
FFO- Extreme Progressive Metal

One of my favorite underground bands is one that needs to be in your ears immediately. Teddy Moller has one of the most unique voices in metal, you match that with a great sense of extreme, death black, and prog metal. It feels like a mix of Fates Warning and Ihsahn. From These Waters is one fo most commercial sounding albums in the band's catalog, but nowhere near a top 40 rock band. It's an excellent starting album that should get you to see the brilliance that is LOch Vostok.

53.) Demons And Wizards- Touched By The Crimson King (2005)
FFO- Power Metal

Jon Schaffer and Hansi Kursch's immortal power metal band may have only two albums to it's name (at least so far), both albums are exactly what you would want from the masterminds behind Iced Earth and Blind Guardian. The Sophomore album, to me, refines the sound into exactly what they want the band to be and it's done to perfection. If you want the epic of epic power metal bands, it doesn't get better than Demons And Wizards.

52.) Iced Earth- Burnt Offerings (1995)
FFO- Power Metal, Thrash Metal, Black Metal

The closest thing to a black metal album Iced Earth will ever write and Matt Barlow's debut album with the band. It just doesn't get any better than that.The darkest album in the band's career my go down as one of the least talk about albums in the band's catalog, but it deserves to be one of the most talked about for everything it accomplished from story writing, to production to the 17 minute epic Dante's Inferno. Burnt Offerings is an underground classic pwoer metal album and it's about time you heard it for yourself.

51.) Vattnet Viskar- Settler (2015)
FFO- Post Black Metal, Atmospheric Metal

Writing a concept album about the 1986 Challenger explosion may be one of the darkest ideas for a metal album and VV did it to perfection. While the band went from straight up black metal to a post hardcore band; Settler was the album that was the perfect album that showcased both the post side and black metal side to the band in one of the strongest showings of blackgaze and post black metal in the 2010s. While the band is gone, the legacy will always be there, go check out all three albums, but start off with Settler, it's well worth it.



And that does it folks, there is part 12 of this mammoth list. with only the top 50 left to talk about, this adventure is coming close to an end. Thank you so much for sticking around and hopefully enjoying what you've seen so far *again I apologize for the shortness of reviews in this section, all the bands should be talked about more, but I gotta keep on schedule* Tune in tomorrow for Part XIII: 50-26!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

We are finally in the Top 100. For some people this alone is too much to comprehend and can't even begin to think of 100 albums they enjoy. For me? I feel like I am hitting the albums that mean the absolute most to me and shaped me the most in my music listening, enjoyment, and life in general. The previous 250 albums did that as well, of course they did, but for a lot of people reading, this is where you are going to start paying the most attention so I had to make sure to get these as close to the perfect order as possible. So let's crack on and explore the beginning of my top 100 albums of all time.

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!



100.) Galactic Cowboys- Machine Fish (1996)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Groove Metal, Pop/Rock

Galactic Cowboys are the perfect culmination of heavy metal with pop sensibilities. Imagine King's X, Pantera, and The Beatles formed a band. That's right, you take the song structure of King's X, the aggression of Pantera, but you make the vocals either as heavy as Anselmo or as catchy as the Beatles and you get one of the most underrated bands to ever exist. Machine Fish was a great example of all three bands described. It gets as heavy as it does poppy, it gets as emotional as it does aggressive; all within amazingly well crafted songs and killer production. This is a band that thankfully came back into our lives and give them the attention that they deserved all this time!

99.) Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Raise Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)
FFO- Post Rock

When a generation that never grew up on the genre, or at least the term post rock, they are usually left with the question...what the hell is post rock? Well the prime example of what post rock is all about is in the band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Most specifically this seminal album. 4 tracks, double album. Many uses of voice, movie, speech, and sound clips. Every song taking emotion in music without vocals and gradually building every song from simple and ambient to some of the most bombastic chaotic sensations you ever felt in your life. Don't believe me? Listen to the track, Static, when the voice clips are done and the strings start to take affect; close your eyes and let the music take hold of you. If you make it through the segment called World Police and not feel a sense of dread and terror hitting you, you have never been affected emotionally by music before and I feel very, very sad for you. This is a perfect double album and one that can be life changing. Go listen and find out why.

98.) Dark Funeral- Where Shadows Forever Reign (2016)
FFO- Black Metal

I love Dark Funeral, but in the band's catalog if I had to pick something I don't like about the band's material is the fact that the albums can be so raw, production wise. You wanna hear everything going on and especially on the early albums, that's nearly impossible. Fast forward to 2016 and all of that has been changed with the band's latest album. It is a pure sonic delight. The production is everything I wanted out of Dark Funeral for the first time. And of course, the songs are absolutely killer. This is the Dark Funeral album for the ages and it doesn't take long to sit down with the album and understand why. Seriously, go do it!

97.) James LaBrie- Static Impulse (2010)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal

Yes, you read that description right. If you have yet to hear the latest two JLB solo albums, you are in for a bit of a rude awakening from what you've heard in Dream Theater., Before you ask, no, James is not doing the screams, that is Peter Wiloder (who tried out for Dream Theater on drums; and does the drums on this album). Simply put, this album is what it sounds like if Dream Theater and Soilwork ever formed a band and it's a thing of pure beauty. I really hope we can get more solo albums from JLB in the future, especially like this. It's been way too long.

96.) Story Of The Year- Page Avenue (2003)
FFO- Alternative Metal, Pop Rock, Emo

I'm not sure if it's been shown yet in this list yet, but I am a complete sucker for great hooks and riffs. That's what brought SOTY brought nearly 20 years ago with Page Avenue (damn, I feel old). WHile I've never related too much to the sappy love songs or breakup songs that are apart of almost every genre of music (just never had that kind of life), I do love vocal melodies, catchy hooks and if it can be a great example of making things poppy; I'm sold. WHile in all honesty, I do love the band's next album, In The Wake Of Determination, much more as it is a metal album; Page Avenue was another example of a band and album that proved to me that pop is not a bad thing and be just as good as any metal album out there. Just drop your preconceived notions and give it a chance.

95.) Daylight Dies- Dismantling Devotion (2006)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Doom Metal

Daylight Dies is a band that never got the recognition they deserved. They took so many great elements of death, doom, and progressive metal and really made it their own. This amazing sophomore album is what sorrow, dread and hopelessness really feels like. Every track brings sorrow in a new way, like an american Opeth/Candlemass mixed with Novembers Doom and Woods of Ypres. The final track on the album, the instrumental title track brings me to tears every single time I hear it and it was the very first instrumental track I ever heard to do so. I can't recommend this enough. Go check it out!

94.) Candlemass- Candlemass (2005)
FFO- Candlemass

In speaking of Candlemass, this is THE doom metal band. While everyone has their favorite era of the band, I say it loud and proud; the Messiah era of Candlemass is superior to all. That voice is unparalleled and no one else can pull off his voice. Plus the music matched with it in his time in the band is undeniably some of their best riffs ever. The Title track stands out to me as that perfect combination of everything I love about the band all in one album and while I newver hear enough people talk about this album...they should! Go pick up this phenomenal album asap!

93.) Lords of Black- II (2016)
FFO- Power Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal

This is just a sheer masterpiece of an album by a perfect lineup of musicians. The Sophomore album picked up the best parts of the debut album, added even more to it's absolute power and made this one of the most important albums of 2016, let alone the 21st century so far. The real standout of the album is the vocal performance from Ronnie Romero, who sadly is no longer in the band. I'm interested to see where the band will go now with their 4th album, but till then, the band's 2nd album is a perfect album from beginning to end, everything just feels so natural and the way it should be and it just can't be topped...or can it? We'll find out!

92.) Toothgrinder- Phantom Amour (2017)
FFO- Atmospheric Rock, Progressive Metal, Post Hardcore

Talk about an absolute change in sound! Seriously, go check out the band's debut album, Nocturnal Masquerade (which was recorded a year earlier), then come back to this. Completely night and day difference. But here's the kicker! Those are both sides of the band. As chaotic as the band gets on the debut album, they get just as atmospheric, ambient, and beautiful at the same time. I love a band that is able to show off both sides of their personality like that, especially with both albums being released so close together.  Phantom Amour can go from Devin Townsend to Deftones to Thrice to The Cure all in one round. It's quite impressive. I can't wait to see what tricks are up the band's sleeve for their 3rd album, but until then, check out both albums and kick back and relax to Phantom Amour. You'll be glad you did!

91.) Riverside- Love, Fear, And The Time Machine (2015)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal

Sadly the final album from Riverside's guitarist, Piotr Grudziński, before his death. This album, in hindsight, is actually a sad but perfect album to showcase that fear of death, life and everything that happens between those two. While most of Riverside's material has that very somber, Porcupine Tree depression filled sadness, this album is actually a departure from that, to focus more on yourself and to make the most of your life while you are still here. I love that message and listening back, it's a tear jerker of an album even before you know that Pitor died a year after it's release. It's a grand reminder that we never know when your time is done on this planet. Make the most of it and live life.

90.) Testament- The Gathering (1999)
FFO- Thrash Metal, Death Metal

Had the world really ended with Y2K, this would have been the perfect soundtrack to the apocalypse. By far, The Gathering, and the previous album, Demonic, are the two most brutal Testament albums ever made. WHile other albums touch on what's done between both albums, nothing even compares. WHile Demonic is more focused on the death metal side of the band, The Gathering brings back the thrash attack amongst the death metal aspects and it makes for a perfect formula of evil music that feels like what you see when all hell reigns down on earth. If we live to see the end of the world, put this album on and see if I was right. Also, the album just slays (not a pun about the fact that Dave Lombardo plays on this album, I swear)!

89.) For The Imperium- For The Imperium- (2012)
FFO- Experimental Metal, Pop, Trance, Progressive Metal

For The Imperium has something for everyone, literally! And it might all be played at the same time. This is a band that has never recorded the same song twice let alone same album twice and the controlled chaos all came from this self titled debut album. WHile there were two EPs before it, the self titled release is what got the underground world hooked on the band and they were catching steam ever since. Though it's been a few years since their last release, I really hope something new is in the pipeline at some point as we need this mix of rock, metal, electro, death and insanity once again.

88.) Being- Anthropocene (2012)
FFO- Modern Metal, Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal

A short way to describe this band is blend of dredg and Periphery. It takes some of the modern metal/down tuned styling of Periphery, but written with an alternative metal tinge that you would hear on a dredg album and it's a beautiful combination. This lone album is something that a nearly lost treasure, but it is such a great album that is worthy of your time. No screams here, just amazing clean vocals over some of the most beautifully controlled heavy metal. *As of June 2019, there is talks of a sophomore album, let's hope everything comes to fruition*

87.) Mutiny Within- Mutiny Within (2010)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Metalcore

Another great blending of bands. Imagine Dream Theater mixed with Killswitch Engage and you got the first album from Mutiny Within. For a good long time, this was the sole album from the band, but they have released two albums since, which is fantastic to see. There is just something about the beauty of the first album that still holds up nearly a decade later with it's soaring vocals, beautiful guitar and bass work, proficient drumming, and killer keys. This was such a perfect debut album and it's sad to see the band did not reach the masses it deserved to reach. The fact they wills till write music together though proveds that the passion is still there. Seriously, go pick up this album!

86.) 6:33- Deadly Scenes (2015)
FFO- Extreme Progressive Metal, Avant Garde Metal

Ever what a band would sound like consisting of Mike Patton and Devin Townsend backed up by the guys in Dog Fashion Disco? This is the closest thing you'll get to that. 6:33 is a jaw dropping band that can go from some of the most emotionally hard hitting riffs, to parts that will make you laugh your ass off and everything in between. This is not an album or band for the faint of heart. This goes all across the board musically in ways you would never think about. Deadly Scenes is jsut an album you have to experience for yourself and get back to me. It's worth the deadly trip.

85.) Magic Dance- New Eyes (2018)
FFO- 80s AOR

Magic Dance has become one of my favorite bands ever since I interviewed the band last year. They are EVERYTHING I love about 80s music. They can go from AOR to Genesis to Kenny Loggins and cover so much ground all while still maintaining an edge that makes them still sound original. Really it sounds like a band that got sent in a time machine from 1984 to present day and continued on as band. If you want a fantastic but contemporary throwback to the 80s, go check out Magic Dance. If you want more of just the heavier side, pick up the album Vanishings. If you want the full 80s experience like me, go New Eyes. You won't be disappointed.

84.) Ancient VVisdom- A Godlike Inferno (2011)
FFO- True Occult Rock

Seeing Ancient VVisdom open for Ghost and Blood Ceremony at the long lost but never forgotten Station 4 in St. Paul, MN was one of the best shows I ever seen in my life. All 3 bands just blew me away, but to focus on that first band, Ancient VVisdom played this Satanic occult rock that made my jaw drop. Imagine Alice In Chain's Jar Of Flies album being 100% Satanic. The band is true to their word and it's not a shtick to the band, it's the real deal. With every AVV album, it has a different sound. Some are purely electric, some are the acoustic/electric mix, some are mainly focused on acoustic. Point being, you will not hear the same album twice. While the band has only gotten better with age, A Godlike Inferno will forever be my favorite for making my jaw drop during their set with their intensity and immediately having to buy their album after their set. While I am not really man of any religious beliefs, if you can pull me in like AVV has done, you have my upmost attention. Go check these guys out!

83.) Novembers Doom- Aphotic (2011)
FFO- Death Metal, Doom metal, Progressive Metal

This album came out in a very important time in my life, while I had a fan of the band for years at the time, my life was going to hell in a bad way (a sadly normal situation in my life) and I got the promo for this album very quickly into my career. The absolute pain, heartache and sorrow that hurts you emotionally on this album was a pain that I needed to hear to feel less alone. WHile some songs are just straight up horror songs like Buried (which has one of my favorite guitar solos ever on it), there's a song like What Could Have Been that makes me tear up every single time I hear it. Novembers Doom may be the best death/doom band in the business who seriously gets better with every album (I know the new album coming soon will be their best work yet) but Aphotic holds onto me as my favorite for being that album I needed at the time to relate to my woes. You just may feel the same way.

82.) King Diamond- Abigail (1987)
FFO- Horror Metal, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal

There will be some that disagree, but I love King Diamond more than Mercyful Fate. I am a sucker for concept albums and every KD album is a horror story. There is a reason why I have a King Diamond Abigail Alternate Artwork wall hanger hanging over my tv at home. This album is just killer from start to finish. As much as I love the album, it took me seeing the album live to fully appreciate the story being told and if you got the chance to see Abigail live, you understand. You just can't top the king for horror metal, no one ever has and no one ever will. If you haven't yet, go check out this album and understand why.

81.) Sanctuary- Refuge Denied (1987)
FFO- Power Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal

In speaking of undeniably phenomenal falsetto vocals....WARREL DANE! This man changed my life in so many ways, it could have been his solo albums, Nevermore, or Sanctuary, his vocal delivery is something to behold and I feel we took it for granted why he was still here. It really pains me that I was at his last show in Minnesota with Sanctuary and I got to do my only interview with him. Had I known what was come just a couple years later I would have asked so many more questions, more in depth thinking of what was on Dane's mind because he was such a smart, intellectual guy, and I only got 15 minutes with him. But with that, This album is what dreams are made of in 80s metal. This is a landmark album that paved the way for so many bands that would be influenced by it in time. You can't tell me that Battle Angels isn't one of the greatest metal songs ever made...you can't! WHile the band is active again with one of the greatest voices around Joseph Michael of Witherfall; you can still enjoy the Sanctuary legacy in a smaller way. Warrel Dane was one of a kind, Check out the debut album from Sanctuary to understand why.

80.) Fates Warning- Theories Of Flight (2016)
FFO- Progressive Metal

Fates Warning is an example of a band that no matter who is in the band at the time, they will do their best to put out the best material possible. in 2016, a fire got lit under the entire band and they seriously released their best album ever. I don't say that lightly as albums like Awaken The Guardian and Parallels are absolutely some of my favorite albums. There was some kind of awakening in the band that made them write their best work, give their best recorded performances and just give uis their greatest album ever 12 albums into their career. This is a modern progressive metal masterpiece, go listen and understand how this came to be.

79.) In Flames- Clayman (2000)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal

In Flames is an ever evovling band. Be it in the way you want them to or the way you don't want them to evolve. in 2000, hot off the presses of the album, Colony, they wrote another album in a similar, but more refined style with Clayman. AN album that I feel is the strongest work they have ever done. A great blend of melodeath, thrash metal and great pop sensibilities that would be explored on every subsequent album from this point forward. It was almost written as if it was a farewell to the band's original sound before they realized they needed to reroute their sound to remain in the metal game (see what I did there?). Some of the biggest IF songs are on this album and the album tracks are some of the most stellar songs of the band's career. Start to finish, this is melodeath at it's finest and I wouldn't want it any other way.

78.) Paradise Lost- Tragic Idol (2012)
FFO- Doom Metal, Gothic Metal

Paradise Lost is a band that has become more and more important to me as time rolled on and this was easily the HARDEST choice for an album I had to make on this list. There is a strong argument for every single PL album and I could easily change my mind once again before finishing this up, but I won't, I'm staying with Tragic Idol. Tragic Idol was another farewell album of sorts. For the longest time, the band stayed away from it's death metal, deathdoom sound vocally and stayed with either clean vocals or heavy clean vocals. Tragic Idol is the last album to do that before the band let the growls come back stronger than ever. WHile again, I can make the argument for the early day, mid era goth electro, modern doom metal or the resurgence of the band of the last two albums combining it all. Tragic Idol has some of the heaviest songs in the band's career growled or not. and has one of the very best album feels in the band's discography,. This is an album that you can listen to front to back and instantly start it over without a second thought. Its a gothic masterpiece and Paradise Lost is a band that needs to be cherished. I think with just one listen of Tragic Idol will make you understand.

77.) Boris- Pink (2005)
FFO- Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Noise, J-Pop, Hard Rock

Boris is band that can and will play any style at any time, you never know what you are going to get with any Boris album until you get it and hit play. With Pink, it feels like a grand culmination (at the time) or all of their best work in all new original music. the monster 18+ minute epic, Just Abandoned Myself is essentially a best of song that starts off hard, wild, and fast, but slowly but surely goes slower and slower into the stoner metal roots, then the doom metal territory, then the drone atmosphere and finally the noise ending that is expected from the band (being friends with Merzbow after all), it's almost a metaphor for life in an 18 minute epic just from the music alone, it starts off fast, then you just get slower and slower until you become nothing. But anyways! This is Boris at my absolute favorite and I can't recommend it enough. Pink is the perfect starter album.

76.) Redemption- This Mortal Coil (2011)
FFO- Progressive Metal

I'll try to keep this one brief as it's a hard story to tell on my end. I got this album not too long after a suicide attempt and it was the album I needed at the time (along with Novembers Doom's Aphotic talked about earlier in this section of the list). This album is about coming to the realization of your mortality and somehow, someway, being able to defeat death (in this case, a real bout with cancer) and live life the way it was meant to be. WHile I've noticed it's not one of the fans favorites due it's more raw production; I found it to be the album I needed to keep me going in a time of need. I still struggle every single day from mental health issues; be it depression, anxiety, PTSD, or trauma. But sometimes it takes hearing someone relating their struggles with life and their possible mortality to make you feel less alone and want to get the best out of life while you still can. It may not be considered the best, and it may not be what I even consider their best work, but it will always be my favorite album from Redemption.



And there you go, folks, another 25 albums down. 275 albums down in total and 75 more to go. I am fully aware that I am a madman for covering 350 albums in such a short amount of time, but it's been so incredibly worth it. Thank you for sticking around and tune in tomorrow for Part XII: 75-51!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Welcome to the last week of showing off my favorite albums of all time. We've finally hit part ten and only 4 parts to go after this. I hope if you've been reading so far, or checking out the Spotify playlist, that you found some great new (to you) music to enjoy. Let's get right into it with albums 125-101!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

125.) Lantlôs- Melting Sun (2014)
FFO- Post Rock, Post Metal, Shoegaze

Lantlôs is a band that completely reinvented themselves in 2014. From being a completely raw, atmospheric black metal band to embracing the new resurgence of shoegaze, post rock, and the tiniest bits of metal left in their sound. The band's latest effort is a concept album separated into 6 parts is a mesmerizing piece of music that fills you with a sense of colored wonder, every song, bringing in a different color. WHile it's been 5 years since this album, let's hope the band comes back in 2020 and shows the world that they are stronger than ever.

124.) Primordial- Redemption At The Puritan's Hands (2011)
FFO- Celtic Metal, Black Metal

I've always found a good description of this band (especially in the 2nd half of their career so far) is to think if Blind Guardian made black metal. There is no finer example of that description than this album. Combing the best elements of their black metal roots, continuing on with the Celtic influence, and really making clean vocals/screams as majestic/ferocious as possible. If you love your folk/Celtic music more evil or if you want your black metal with more originality, Primordial is the band for you!

123.) Deafheaven- Roads To Judah (2011)
FFO- Blackgaze

Arguably the most recognized band to use blackgaze is Deafheaven. A Band that mixed black metal and shoegaze to utter perfection on 2011's Roads To Judah. With that, starting a revolution of sound to what is possible in more indie music and metal music. While some say they have gone too far in the indie side of things with every subsequent album, Roads To Judah is the band at their darkest. The black metal shown off here is superb and it adds the right amount of the shoegaze flavor to separate it from it's peers (at the time). While many people actually believe the band started with the album, Sunbather; they are missing out on their most metal album to date, and it's an excellent showcase of songwriting and how to create something original in music.

122.) Shining- Blackjazz (2010)
FFO- Blackjazz

Just like the FFO proclaims, this is blackjazz, black metal and jazz fused together in a bombastic, insane display or genre bending. Only a band that started off in jazz and wanted to move into a new direction could have pulled this off in such an incredible way. This album is a perfect midway album into the band, everything before this was jazz, everything that came after gets more and more commercial rock/industrial sounding. If you can withstand the power and insanity that this album brings, you can take on the world, because this album goes completely bonkers in the best ways possible. Though if it's not for you, their are the other sides of the band to check out, so don't be scared off completely. Shining is an ever evolving band and they absolutely deserve to be.

121.) CKY- Infiltrate.Destroy.Rebuild (2002)
FFO- Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Punk

I can't believe this album is 17 years old this year. 2003 brought out a lot of things for me musically, and when I finally discovered CKY, I was behind by nearly a year on this album. Between it's slick production, catchy as all get go riffs, and phenomenal songwriting; this is what I wish mainstream radio would have strived for instead of what happened in the 2000s, but that's all in the past now. With CKY they put on some of their finest work in the early stages and it still lives up to this day. Go check this out and find out why.

120.) The Faceless- Autotheism (2012)
FFO- Technical Death Metal, Progressive Metal

It's quite hard to talk about this band in whole, so I'll just leave it up to you to look up if you want to explore what Michael Keane has done with the band, so I'm just going to talk purely music here. Autotheism is an album that mix of tech death and prog that really showed that there is a difference between the two genres. Before this album, the prog was hinted at, but here it's on full display amongst the chaos being played. Many diehard fans hated this album, for ones like me, it brought me to enjoy the band more. While other things made me less interested in the band as years have gone by, I can't deny the power and glory that is Autotheism. You just may enjoy it as well.

119.) Revocation- The Outer Ones (2018)
FFO- Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal

Modern day saviors of death metal, Revocation out out their most brutal and death metal album last year with The Outer Ones, a loving tribute to the work of H.P. Lovecraft and the horror he brought to fiction and literature as a whole. The album is the perfect soundtrack to his work and fills you with a sense of dread and despair, but it's done in one of the best ways. While previous albums from the band explored so many different territories from prog to fuck to thrash to death metal, The Outer Ones sticks closest to just one style and in this case, it made the album as strong as it could possibly be. Not that I am against experimenting on subsequent album, but here, it was the perfect album at the perfect time. Go check out Revocation!

118.) Sum 41- Chuck (2004)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Punk Rock, Pop Punk

At the time, this was the heaviest album Sum 41 ever put out and it held that moniker till their latest album came out just a week or two ago. But with that, they didn't lose the pop punk, punk rock elements that made the band known. They just started embracing the heavy side that people always wanted to see in the band.  While this was a polarizing album for the band with many fans not liking metal in the slightest, it made me a bigger fan of the band and this is an album I constantly spin all the time. Even if you think Sum 41 isn't your thing, Just try giving Chuck a chance, it may change your mind.

117.) Atheist- Unquestionable Presence (1991)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, Jazz Metal

Atheist is one of the lesser known bands in the US tech death scene of the early 90s. Most people think of Death, or Cynic. Others travel over to the Netherlands to think of a band like Pestilence. But Atheist released of the most seminal album in metal in the late 80s/early 90s and this sophomore album is a thing of beauty. WHile embracing the sides that was brought from the beginning of the band, but going even further with their jazz influences. This is a musician's band. There is so much to appreciate from everyone in this band and on each album and Unquestionable Presence may be the greatest showcase of talent the band ever put out to date.

116.) Scar Symmetry- Pitch Black Progress (2006)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Scary Symmetry is one of the most underrated bands in melodeath and I will never understand why. This seminal piece of melodeath has beent eh benchmark for what melodeath can be in the 21st century. The most brutal growls you will ever hear in the genre mixed with the most beautiful vocals you'll hear in melodeath (both provided by Christian Alvestam) and of course the amazing music. This is one of the best metal albums around for a reason, it's about time you hear it and understand why.

115.) Kyng- Trampled Sun (2011)
FFO- Stoner Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Kyng is another example of a band that's flying way too far under the radar. With 3 fantastic albums to the band's name so far. The band's debut will always have the most sentimental meaning to me. For my own thoughts, Trampled Sun is what I feel commercial rock radio could be if given the chance. It's not afraid to be fast and heavy, it's not afraid to be fun and catchy, it's not afraid to slow things down and bring some cool vibes. Kyng plays what they want to play and are unafraid of how they will sound. They make the music they want to play and I love them for it. Go check out this and the other two albums to see exactly what I mean.

114.) Stolen Babies- Naught (2012)
FFO- Experimental, Avant Garde, Metal

Stolen Babies is a true treasure to behold. Combining such great theatrics with insane musicianship, soaring vocals, hellacious screams, and genre bending on the turn of a dime. Stolen Babies does it all and so much more. WHile there is very little in the band's discography so far, I'm hoping that will change in the future, if nothing else, a good excuse to play live again as they put on an amazing show! If you like your music quirky, twisted, and insane, check out either album from the band, but possibly start with Naught, it's a bit more accessible and easier to find.

113.) Amorphis- Skyforger (2009)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Folk Metal

Amorphis went from being a straight up death metal band to one of the most majestic Finnish melodeath bands in the world. Skyforger was my introduction to the band and I was immediately hooked from it's majestic vocals, killer songwriting and the right amounts of melodeath, folk and rock elements to make this band completely stand out. There is no bad era of Amorphis, but a great starting point for someone like me is Skyforger, so I can't recommend it enough.

112.) Demians- Building An Empire (2008)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Alternative Rock, Pop Rock

Quite possibly one of the greatest debut albums ever made. Demians is a one man project where the one man literally does it all (except live). The beginning of this underground empire began in 2008 with Building An Empire. It's a unique blend of prog, pop, and alternative rock. It's like a mix of King's X and Goo Goo Dolls. SOunds odd on paper, but it truly works. All 4 albums are fantastic, but this album is complete and utter brilliance. Listen and let the music take over you.

111.) While Heaven Wept- Fear Of Infinity (2011)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Epic Metal, Doom Metal

The penultimate from this band was nothing short of a masterpiece. Showcasing the power, prog, doom, and simply epic moments of this band in one album is almost too much to take in one listen, but the more you give it a chance, the more you start to understand everything going on and you really feel the power of what this band was about. WHile ever release from the band is something that is worthy of your time. There is something about Fear Of Infinity that sticks out as their best work to my ears and it very well could be for you as well. With that, it is a my sheer disappointment I will never get to see this band live.

110.) Alcest- Les Voyages De L'Âme (2012)
FFO- Blackgaze, Post Black Metal

For many of Alcest fans, this is either 2nd or 3rd place in the overall grand scheme of their discography. For me, it's been number one since I picked it up day one. The reason is simple. Every Alcest album has a palette of heavy, clean, heavy, clean, etc. Except this one. This is the one album that feels like a best of Alcest with all original music. Whether you like the all clean sun shoegaze era, the fierce raw black metal era, or the band expanding into strange territories like japanese culture in the latest Kodama, Les Voyages De L'Âme has it there and more. Plus this album has the finest use of blast beats ever used in the song, Faiseurs De Mondes. THAT is how you use blasts for a purpose! Anyways, go check out Alcest and all of the emotional power they hold!

109.) Textures- Drawing Circles (2006)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal,  Metalcore, Ambient

The band's sophomore album is one that got my attention and it's something I still love to this day. It's such a unique blend of prog, metalcore, and ambient music. While that letter genre is more focused on the debut album, Polars, on Drawing Circles, it's used in the perfect doses to offset the more metal vibe that really takes hold. Not many bands ever got to match metal and ambience as well as Textures did and it's a shame we not longer get to hear new material from the band, but on the upside, this fantastic album is still around for the world to enjoy!

108.) Cannibal Corpse- Kill (2006)
FFO- Death Metal

It's not too often that you get to say that a band put out their most memorable album 16 years and 10 albums into their career, but that's exactly what happened with Kill.  While the rivalry continues on between who was better Barnes or Corpsegrinder, I gotta give the edge to Corpsegrinder for his pure power on every CC album he has ever been on. The production is just clear and raw enough on this album, and the absolute greatest part of this album is the songs. Every single song is a sheer brutal attack be it fast or slow or mid paced. It's everything you want from Cannibal Corpse, sans the artwork (being the only CC album that just shows the band name and logo and nothing else). Seriously it's a death metal masterpiece!

107.) Dog Fashion Disco- Adultery (2006)
FFO- Avant Garde Metal, Alternative Metal, Progressive Metal

For a good long time, this was to be the final album from DFD, and they really left things with a bang. The heaviest album in the band's career (at the time), thier sheer quirkiness, sinister lyrics, and genre shifting is jaw dropping to say the least. If you enjoyed me talking about Polkadot Cadaver before and liked what you heard, you will LOVE what you hear from Dog Fashion Disco. Thankfully, the band is back and put out a few album since coming back, including completely replayed albums from the band's discography (I hope they go all the way through, I love the idea).

106.) Dark Tranquillity- Character (2006)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Dark Tranquillity is the unsung heroes of Swedish melodeath. Well, not completely unsung as they are still around today and consistently get better and better, but in the grand scheme of it all, they are not as well known as bands such as In Flames or At The Gates in melodeath. CHaracter is a prime example of why this is a shame. They take the melodeath formula and make it their own with their great sense of keyboard overtones, chaotic riffs and melodic riffs that is just so pleasing to listen to. Dark Tranquillity is still one of the tightest band's I've ever seen live and they show those skills off right in the studio. Go check them out and start with Character.

105.) Head With Wings- From Worry To Shame (2018)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Post Rock, Alternative Rock

An album so good, I had to name my mental health podcast after a song on the album (Somewhere, Something Gives). I'm not really sure how to sell you on this album besides saying it is one of the finest emotional roller coasters of an album you may ever experiences. Taking an overall story arc and being able to relate to so much of it it something that is complete tear jerking. From production to musicianship to songwriting to the soaring vocals, this band is going to only keep getting better and better as time goes on, get on the hype train now before it leaves the station. I'm serious!

104.) Darkest Hour- Undoing Ruin (2005)
Melodic Metalcore, Hardcore

Between Undoing and Deliver Us, this was another coin toss I had to make to pick out the best album from Darkest Hour. Undoing Ruin won and it's indeed worthy. Produced by Devin Townsend, the band's 4th album is such a great departure of metalcore you were hearing in the early to mid 00s, their unique sense of melodies and hardcore over the metalcore sound makes the band stand out even to this day. It's just an overall grand sense of musicianship and songwriting on this album that you need to hear if you are into 00s metalcore. You may have been sleeping on one of the genre's best bands.

103.) Scale The Summit- The Collective (2011)
FFO- Instrumental Progressive Metal

The band's 3rd album is easily their darkest album to date and it came out at the perfect time. The collective that an instrumental band doesn't need to just be bright and shimmering all the time and they can indeed focus their attention on darker scales and tones to create a beautiful yet chaotic world. WHile the band has had many ups and downs since the release of this album; The Collective brings things back to 2011, where things felt like they were going to get better overall in life and if this was the darkest we had to deal with, life would be ok. I still remind myself of that every time I listen, I still think we can be ok. SO can STS, so can the world.

102.) Emperor- Prometheus-The Discipline Of Fire & Demise (2001)
FFO- Symphonic Black Metal

Let's call a spade a spade here. This is essentially Ihsahn's first solo album before the band broke up and he really did go solo. That's not a knock in any way, shape or form (as you'll see later in this list), but this album is a grand departure from Emperor's first 4 albums. It's very symphonic, it hits new territory for the band, a bit avant garde really, and it's easily my favorite Emperor album for the fact that it is almost eh perfect send off to the band. In hindsight, you can see this album as the band truly saying goodbye (to new music) and they will go their different ways to do what they love. Emperor may be one of if not my favorite black metal band. Start here and go backwards in their catalog to see why.

101.) Necromancing The Stone- Jewel Of The Vile (2016)
FFO- Speed Metal, Heavy Metal, Melodic Death Metal (but all clean vocals)

If this is the only full LP we get from the band (and I hope that's not the case), it could go down as one of the greatest albums from a one album only band ever. This seriously has everything I love about metal in one album. The lyrics, the vocals, the production style, proof that you can write some of the sickest heaviest riffs ever and it doesn't need to be screamed over it. This is how you make an original metal album in 2010s and it needs to be appreciated by everyone and anyone that is willing to give it a fair shot. You'll love it!



And there we go folks! 250 albums down and only 100 more to go. THe rest should be a breeze right? I'll just pretend it will get easier from here on out! TUne in tomorrow for Part XI: 100-76!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Oy! After writing 200 album reviews in ten days, You'd think I would be completely worn out...and you would be right. I am nearly out of it, but I got the weekend coming up to recharge my batteries and power through the rest of the list! But til then, I can not forget these 25 albums that I hold dear. Let's start talking about them!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

150.) Evans Blue- This Pursuit Begins When This Portrayal Of Life Ends (2007)
FFO: Hard Rock, Alternative Metal

Another underrated hard rock band that should have been one of the biggest bands in the world. Between the first couple Evans Blue albums they had everything that makes for the perfect formula of a successful band and they did start getting the right recognition, then the ups and downs of being in a band hit and members left and all parties either continued on with the band or ventured elsewhere. This album in particular is a fantastic record from start to finish, no matter how heavy it gets or somber ballady it gets, it hits right at home on so many emotions and something I still put on all the time. Seriously, if you want some of the most solid hard rock of the 21st century, pick up this album and enjoy the pain you hear in this album.

149.) Wolfheart- Constellation Of The Black Light (2018)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Another winning point for Finnish Metal! Wolfheart is such an incredible band that tears apart at you in the most melodic of ways and equally, the most brutal of ways. Don't believe me? Just watch the video for The Saw! The latest album from this Finnish melodeath band takes everything you love about the band and intensifies it. There's much more orchestration, brutality, melodic moments and the cleanest production for the band to date. The band is really starting to garner attention over here in the US, and deservingly so. I can't wait to see where the band goes next.

148.) In Mourning- The Weight Of Oceans (2012)
FFO- Progressive Melodic Death Metal

This is what I love about bands, there's nothing they have to stick to one style and make that their own. You can adapt, you can evolve. That's exactly what In Mourning did and they became such a stronger band for it. You really started to hear that 7 years ago with this album. Instead of focusing on the Gothic metal side, they started incorporating more progressive and melodeath elements and the sound became so much bigger, stronger, and more diverse. I will go on record and say that Celestial Tear is one of my favorite ballads of all time. In Mourning is such a phenomenal band that is worthy of your time. Start with this album and go from there.

147.) Cauldron- In Ruin (2016)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Speed Metal

One of Canada's best kept secrets, Cauldron is a band that is slowly taking the underground speed metal/heavy metal revival and making it their own. Everything from their imagery to their vocal harmonies, to their overall sound is exactly what I love in this style. Match it with their just clean enough but raw production and you feel like you are in the 80s listening to that music that your parents told you would send you to hell. A seriously great band and such a killer album. Go get it!

146.) Periphery- PII: This Time It's Personal (2012)
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal

While a hilarious album title, it's also the perfect title for this album. It is a much more personal album. It proves that the band was much more than the DJent tag that is attached to the band to this day. PII showed off their true progressive metal, melodic metal, and band writing skills. With several great guest guitar solo spots, so many great nods to other genre styles and up till this year's release of PIV, the most authentic Periphery album to date. If you continue to overlook Periphery, go back and check this album and actually give them a proper shot (or the brand new album, that thing is so killer!).

145.) Prong- Ruining Lives (2014)
FFO- Industrial Metal, Groove Metal, Thrash Metal

What? You mean your favorite album isn't the one with the snap your fingers, snap your neck song? It's not. I love Cleansing a lot, but I honestly feel that Prong is a band that only gets better with age and the biggest point to prove that is Ruining Lives. While yes, there have been a couple albums after this one, this one shows off everything the band is capable of. Their industrial/groove roots, their heavy metal aesthetic, hell, there even blast beats on this album! It's just a consistently fantastic album that fits perfectly in what I love about music and fits right at home every time I throw it on. GO pick it up!

144.) Arcturus- Arcturian (2015)
FFO- Avant Garde Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Metal

I never through that my first time seeing ICS Vortex live would be with the almighty Arcturus. Featuring past and present members of Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, Ulver and others; Arcturus writes what really feels like an evil orchestra for a dark viking steampunk carnival. I have no other real way to describe it. They are just this unique blend of atmospheric black metal, progressive black metal, and avant garde that can only be heard (or thankfully in my case, seen) to be believed. Venture down the road of Arcturus, if you dare!

143.) Sybreed- Slave Design (2004)
FFO- Modern Metal, Industrial

To those people that feel that the Meshuggah influence of down tuning, machine orientated grooves and syncopation only started being realized in the late mid 00s, have not heard Sybreed. This band was a complete well oiled machine of a band the matching of guitars, bass and drums is jaw dropping to say the least, and the insane double bass patterns shown throughout was ahead of the start of all the hype kids hearing Meshuggah's Bleed a few years later. SYbreed was a thing of beauty, go back and appreciate them for the band they were, and became.

142.) At The Gates- Slaughter Of The Soul (1995)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

There's nothing I can really add to talk about this album that hasn't been covered by everyone else in the world. It's the album that put melodeath on the map. It's a perfect album from start to finish and one of the most important albums in metal history. And is every bit as good as been hyped up for almost 25 years now. IF you are a metalhead and haven't heard this album, get on that right now before anyone finds out!

141.) God Forbid- Gone Forever (2004)
FFO- New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, Metalcore, Groove Metal

Arguably the most underrated band that broke out during the NWOAHM era. While they were around before the scene picked up, Gone Forever was the band that made the masses (and myself) pay attention to the band and see the absolute talent in this band. The production is perfect, the songwriting blows my mind every time, and the vocals are so perfect between it's screams and cleans. It's an absolute shame that this band never got the same love that came from ones like Lamb of God, because they absolutely deserved it. While all of the band members are off doing various things musically and otherwise, this was a pinnacle album of the early 00s. Go find out why.

140.) Bloody Hammers- The Summoning (2019)
FFO- Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal, Doom Metal

Full disclosure, the only reason this album is not in my top 100, 50, 25, 20, 10, etc albums is because it's not been out even a month yet as of writing this up. BUt if I was to have waited till 2020 to write this album, this would be near the top of my list. This is THE perfect album for someone of my tastes. Between the imagery, the haunting atmosphere and the beyond catchy songwriting, this band has become one of my favorite bands of recent times and The Summoning has taken what I already loved about the band and double downed on EVERYTHING. It's overall heavier, faster, and so much catchier; I wish it was on top 40 radio, it would fit right in, yet would be some of the heaviest stuff you'd heat on it.. It feels like a rejuvenation in the band and it was for the absolute best. I love album to date, but The Summoning is a thing of dark beauty. I can't recommend this enough!

139.) Freak Kitchen- Organic (2005)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Zappa

I honestly feel like Freak Kitchen would have been one of Frank Zappa's favorite bands had he been around to hear them. Their unique blend of catchy commercial rock, layered in over the top progressive riffs and absolutely insane playing from all three members of the band. This band is a band with jaw dropping wonder and continues to prove that with every album released. 2005's Organic is a terrific starting point to check out the band as it has some of their most recognizable songs and with it, some of their utterly insane playing on any album. Funny for an album called Organic, right?

138.) Anaal Nathrakh- The Whole Of The Law (2016)
FFO- Sounds of the Apocalypse

AN makes the perfect soundtrack for the impending apocalypse. Industrial, black metal, grindcore, noise, and the most oddly catchy moments in metal. In the later half of the band's history so far, the band has been embracing the clean vocaled approach and catchy moments more and more, but the rest of the music is just as brutal as ever. The Whole of The Law, I feel, is a perfect blend of both sides done right. Plus their bonus track covering Iron Maiden's Powerslave is a sight to behold! Not for the faint of heart, but if you can make it through, it's completely worth it.

137.) 3- The End Is Begun (2007)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Pop Rock, Acoustic

3 may go down as one of the most underrated and underappreciated bands around. Their awesome blend of prog, metal, pop and acoustic is something that should be cherished. 2007's The End IS Begun is easily their heaviest album to date, but it also features some of their most insane  musicianship (the title track alone...) along with some of their most commercial sounding songs and an overall sense of musicianship that is hard to top. I implore you to check out 3 and embrace the power and the glory of what they have brought us to this point!

136.) Orange Sky- Dat Iz Voodoo (2008)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Reggae

The Trinidad Metal band (A phrase you just don't hear that often) Orange Sky is a band that I saw open for King's X back in 2009 and they put on one of my favorite sets ever. Having a well crafted sensibility of mixing prog, metal and reggae is mind blowing to this day. It can get as heavy as the heaviest Opeth song, it can get as groovin' as any Bob Marley song, it can get as technical and proggy as a Dream Theater song. This band is one that flew way too far under the radar, but let's remedy that by making this as appreciated as it should be.

135.) Kamelot- Karma (2001)
FFO- Symphonic Power Metal

This American/Norwegian/European power metal band has been one that is hard to knock. No matter how the lineup changes, not matter what direction they go in, it's always in a direction that is going to make the overall machine work more efficiently. With the band's 5th album, Karma, while not always the go to or talked about album, is what I consider to be a perfect power metal album. The emotional power behind every song, no matter the tempo, no matter the subject matter, hits you so hard and leaves you wanting more. It can be a legendary live staple like Forever, or the three part trilogy in Elizabeth, it will have something you enjoy about the genre in strides. Seriously, this is a quintessential power metal album, go find out why.

134.) Journal- Chrysalis Ordalias (2018)
FFO- Extreme Progressive Metal, Video Game Inspired Metal

Journal's sophomore album may have been a long time in the making, but it was more than worth it. Making absolutely beautiful chaos is a thing that takes a lot of work and it totally paid off. Chrysalis Ordalias is filled to the brim with chaotic riffs, that oddly to into some of the most epically majestic riffs you have ever heard in your entire life. It's a complete thing of beauty. While it may take you quite a while to wrap your mind around what exactly is going on with the music (maybe even the point of it), but when you sit down with it and just let it be what ist is, it will all makes sense and you will wonder how you ever lieved without it previously. I mean it, check this thing out asap!

133.) Obscura- Akroasis (2016)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal

The band's 3rd album of a 4 album concept is the band at their most courageous. While the band's latest release, Diluvium, is quite possibly their best; it does hearken back to the band's previous 3 albums musically and conceptually to fully comprehend it. So with it, that I would hold off on it till you heard the previous three. But back to Akroasis, it shows the band being their most adventurous, bombastic, and creative to date. It was also the first album to come out after a mass exodus of the band's lineup, so the band did have a lot to prove to make sure that the band will continue to get better and better, and they more than proved that here. It's an album that proves that when you put in the effort, there is no shortage of what you can accomplish. Go check out Akroasis.

132.) Anthrax- We've Come For You All (2003)
FFO- Thrash Metal, Melodic Metal, Hard Rock

Sit down kids and old school metalheads alike. It's time to tell you some facts that you need to hear. *clears throat* The John Bush era is the best era of Anthrax. We've Come For Your All is the best Anthrax album. It doesn't matter if you wanna commercial rock hits, the heaviest of heavy songs, or the classic Anthrax sound, this album has it all and done with some of the best vocals ever on an Anthrax album. You can go start to finish on this album and not get sick of it, which is a triumph in thrash music. I'm dead serious, this is how 21st Century Anthrax should have stayed as it is 100% their best work. what do the kids say these days...fight me...or change my mind? eh, pick your poison...or anthrax if you will.

131.) King Crimson- In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Experimental

King Crimson has been all over the board. Heavy, proggy, electronic, poppy, etc, but it all came from their debut album that was one of the most daring ventures in 60s music. You just didn't hear an album like this before and arguably, you haven't since. It's dark eerie vibe, it's prog sensibility, and it's experimental sense of wonder. You wouldn't have progressive music the way that it is today without King Crimson, go back and check out the album that truly started it all.

130.) Oceans Of Slumber- The Banished Heart (2018)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal

With a covers EP introducing the band, and their self titled debut blowing the roof off the metal hinges, where could this band possibly go next? Well, life decided the fate of the band for them. With the trial an tribulations of band life being hard enough as it is, when personal life starts to hurt you, it can bring up some of the most painful moments of your life. What is what's on display here with The Banished Heart. Love, love loss, heartache. These are all things one can feel and most likely will feel in life at one point or the other, and there's no other way out than through it. That's what this album accomplishes and you so see a good light at the end of the tunnel both in the music and the band itself. The music itself is even heavier, doomier and moodier than before, but it works to it's advantage to really heighten the sadness on display. If you are hurting or ever been hurt in life, this is an album you need to experience and know that you are not alone in your pain.

129.) Fear Factory- Archetype (2004)
FFO- Industrial Metal

This is BY FAR, my favorite Fear Factory album and I know I am alone on this statement. It's how I imagine others feel when they something like Digimortal or Transgression is their favorite FF album. With Archetype, it's the first album without Dino and it is a completely hate filled album from start to finish. It's easily the angriest album to date. The production is more raw like the first album, it's much more cynical and bitter, but you do see how the band can write some of their best music ever when they have a motivation to do so. While it's the most underrated album in the FF discography (I don't think you'll hear a song off this album now that Dino is back in the band), it isn't one that should be passed up. Go check it out!

128.) Carcass- Heartwork (1994)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Death Metal, Grindcore

Talk about a watershed album. This album is either considered one of the great metal albums of the 20th century, or it is absolutely hated by those that love the original sound of the band (the pure grindcore, noise, raw production era) With Heartwork, the band decided to switch directions and go in a more melodeath direction. I for one think it was the right thing to do as they wanted to go in this directions and it made the band more successful and valued as a band. Plus their songwriting skills got so much better with it. It lives up to it's hype, its one of the greatest metal albums ever made.

127.) Pain- Coming Home (2016)
FFO- Industrial Metal, Progressive Metal, Hard Rock

Another shocking statement to made here, hold on to your hats.... I enjoy Pain more than Hypocrisy. I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW, JUST CALM DOWN! It's just more in line with what I love and there is more variation in the music. I love both bands, but when it comes to Peter Tagtgren, Pain is just more my bag...baby. THe songs are more commercially accessible, but they are also so much more tongue in cheek (or hit you over the head with its meanings). THe songs are fun, funny, and so enjoyable. And with Coming Home, it's a perfect Pain album, go find out why.

126.) Distorted Harmony- Chain Reaction (2014)
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal

This was utterly impossible to decide to decide whether I should go with the Chain Reaction or 2018's A Way Out, to me they are both perfect albums in different ways. The reason I went with Chain Reaction is simple...I flipped a coin. But I'm not disappointed, Chain Reaction is where the band fully broke out to the rest of the world and showed off what the band is capable of. Their unique sense of modern metal and prog metal is something to behold and cherish. The riffs, the songwriting, the production; this is what I wish more bands would strive to do in their own bands and really open the doors of what their band's could be. Go check them out and understand what makes them such a  powerful band.



And there we go, folks! 9 parts down and 125 more albums to go! I'm taking the weekend off to recharge my batteries and Monday I'll be back with Part X: 125-101!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

We finished up the front half and now we are on the back half of this gigantic list (I think I used my golf references correct...right?) Anyways, we are officially half way through this top 350 albums of all time list and now we get even closer to that elusive number 1 spot. WHat could it be? hmmm, we'll find out soon enough! But till then let's get there with 174 other amazing albums!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

175.) This Will Not End Well- GOFUCKYOURSELF (2009)
FFO- Death Metal, Grindcore, Mathcore, Progressive Metal

One of my favorite bands to have ever come out of the Twin Cities. This band literally did not care who they offended both musically and lyrically. For that reason, the band stood out amongst the MN metal scene at the time and put a huge staple into my enjoy of music and drumming style. While this is technically an EP, I'm still counting it as an album because these 5 tracks are worth praising on a list like this. And again, some LPs are shorter than this EP so, I don't care, it fits. If you want one of the most unapologetic pieces of recorded music in the 21st century, do what you can to get this EP and enjoy it as much as I do. So many great twists and turns that really make any musician smile and fans' jaws drop. While sadly is no more, all the guys in the bands are doing other great musical ventures worth checking out. But seriously, go check this out or THIS WILL NOT END WELL

174.) Hope Drone- Cloak Of Ash (2015)
FFO- Atmospheric Black Metal, Post Black Metal

Hope Drone is such an amazing band that will only get better and better as time goes on. Their unique blends of black metal mixed with post and atmospheric elements make this band so much enjoyable and authentic. Every song on this release is a lengthy one, but it's well worth the trip. It's the kind of roller coaster that brings you through hell and back on every track but a ride you never want to get off. I can't wait to see where the band goes 5-10-15 years from now. *They have a new album coming out August 30th, I'm chomping at the bit to hear it*

173.) Goatwhore- Constricting Age Of The Merciless (2014)
FFO- Blackened Death Metal, Thrash Metal

Goatwhore may be the tightest live band the world will ever see. The band's musicianship is bar none; especially considering the speed, riffs, and blasts that they play. This 5 year old album may have the most polished sound on any Goatwhore album to date (which depending on who you ask is good or bad). The songs though, you can't deny how fantastic these songs came out and stand out as some of, if not the best songs in the band's catalog to date. Even if you have never checked out this band because of the band name, drop your prejudice and give this album a shot, you just may be very well surprised at the quality of music you've been missing.

172.) So Hideous- Laurestine (2015)
FFO- Post Black Metal, Blackgaze

If we never get another album from these guys (the band hasn't really been active/talkative since it's release outside of a few shows here and there) it still may go down as the greatest Blackgaze concept album ever. The short version of the concept is the brain being active after one dies for 7 minutes and what goes on in the brain for those 7 minutes. It's an incredible hard album to get through with that concept in mind, but it is such a rewarding one at the same time. It's so hauntingly beautiful and it pulls at your heartstrings and gives you chills at every possible moment it can. This is an album that really went under the radar, but it is an album that should not be overlooked anymore. Go check it out and enjoy *NOTE: I can't recommend the "orchestral version" of this album that was released. The concept sounded perfect, but the production value is way too hot and you can still hear the actual band if you got the volume up at normal levles. If it ever gets remixed or remastered, then ABSOLUTELY, get this too*

171.) Aborted- Terrorvision (2018)
FFO- Brutal Death Metal, Goregrind, Progressive Metal

I absolutely love it when an established band like Aborted can forge a new path in their style and remain just as brutal and intense as ever....if not more so. Terrorvision brings upon. All of the Goregirnd, Brutal Death (and slam?) that you love about the band is still in tact, but they made the songs more diverse by adding more relaxing atmospheric moments, added keyboards, and time signature changes to make the brutal parts sound even more aggressive while at the same time, show that the band is capable of so much more than what's been established. I hope other brutal metal bands take note of Terrorvision, this is what makes you stand out from the crowd, not just how low you can tune, how guttural your vocals can get, and how fast you can play. Terrorvision is my kind of horror!

170.) Cage- Hell Destroyer (2007)
FFO- Power Metal, Heavy Metal

Sean Peck has one of the greatest Falsetto screams this side of King Diamond. Cage is such an underrated power metal band that has put out some amazing work since it's infancy. Hell Destroyer is what helped bring Cage to the forefront in the power metal community with it's first full track being one that can rip your soul apart. The rest of the album goes from bombastic heavy metal goodness to the ever raging power metal speed we all know and love. Cage is a band that has put out so much great material and my starting point was Hell Destoyer, I recommend you doing the same, then check out the rest of their work. If you dig power metal I can imagine how you would be disappointed.

169.) Behemoth- The Satanist (2014)
FFO- Blackened Death Metal

Going from Christian Power Metal to Satanic Blackened Death Metal; I guess you can say I have eclectic tastes. But anyways, what do you do when you defeat blood cancer? Well you put out your greatest album to date about the devil himself, of course! The concept album goes through as many evil, death metal, black metal, and other forms of dark metal in a way that is so pleasing to hear from start to finish. While I know Nergal and Co. are going to continue to write some great music. They are not going to top this album from start to finish. I just don't know how it could physically be done.

168.) Leprous- Bilateral (2011)
FFO- Progressive Metal

With a band like Leprous, there is no wrong album to say is your favorite or their best album. You could make an argument for any album the band's ever growing catalog and it will be a convincing one for a band that has shown off so many sides of their songwriting. I'm probably copping out by picking out the album that brought me to the Leprous dance, but Bilateral is such a great progressive metal album. The sophomore album from the band brought the band to a bigger stage and started getting worldwide attention to what has become one of the most celebrated bands in prog. As mentioned, the band crosses so many musical boundaries and it all started being refined with Bilateral. Go check it out and see where the band started getting the well deserved praise.

167.) Fallujah- The Flesh Prevails (2014)
FFO- Atmospheric Death Metal

While the affects may not have shown quite yet, this may be one of the most influential death metal albums of the 21st century going forward. Proving that you can have death metal and tech death elements mixed in with atmospheric, post elements to complete perfection. This is how you redefine an established genre. While I will honestly say I haven't enjoyed the band nearly as much since (or even before) this album; The Flesh Prevails is one of those albums that is put on such a pedestal that I don't know how the same band could possibly top it. It's perfection in every sense of the word.

166.) Kataklysm- Serenity In Fire (2004)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

While the argument that the latest album from Kataklysm, Meditations, is the best album in the band's career (which it really is), I still have to give my favorite nod to Serenity of Fire. This was another life changing album for me that helped me in finding death metal that had a true sense of melody, harmony and groove. Plus you simply can't deny the founding fathers of the hyperblast beat. This album has a raw, but pure sound to it while songwriting that is off the charts. There is a reason why it is so loved to this day. While again, Meditations is the best album in the band's discography; give Serenity in Fire a chance as well. It's sucha  quality album.

165.) Municipal Waste- The Art Of Partying (2007)
FFO- Crossover Thrash

Sometimes you need to take all the seriousness out of music, and the world in general, and just party and have fun. That's what Municipal Waste started out being, and for the most part still maintains (though they have updated their lyrical content a bunch since this album). This album is a purely fun, fast, aggressive, crossover thrash album. That's all the band ever needs to be. But as they have added more to the band's Rolodex, that can only be seen as a bonus. If you need a break from the stresses of life, throw on some Municipal Waste and just party (whoever it is that you party, that is).

164.) Into Eternity- The Scattering Of Ashes (2006)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal

Given the circumstances of recent times, it's really hard to listen to this album. My good friend, Adam Sagan, wrote out the drum parts for this album while still in the band, and every time I hear this album, I can't help but think about him. Coming up on 3 years since his passing coming up in December, this album, and ESPECIALLY the album after it (The Incurable Tragedy) just wrecks me given how he passed. But enough about that (for now) This album is a progressive death metal masterpiece. Taking so many great formulas in songwriting and make it so catchy and heavy amongst it's time signature changes and ferocious vocal changes is a wonder to behold. This is a band that has gone through so many ups and downs that it can make your head spin, but at least of all the tragedies, there is quality music to be enjoyed. This is by far my favorite of them all.

163.) Tokyo Motor Fist- Tokyo Motor Fist (2017)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

Despite my efforts, this album really went under the radar to the masses, so it's my duty to promote it proper again. This album is such a fun throwback to what made 80s hard rock and heavy metal fun. Combining some of the great names of the genre at the time and having them come together for music of this quality in 2017 is something to be cherished. You're not going to get the most genre changing album here, it's not going to be something that makes your jaw drop from its innovation. It's just a completely solid album that brings back those 1980s memories of rock and metal. That's all they never need to be and when the next album comes out in 202, I can't wait to see where they go next.

162.) The Mantle- The Mantle (2017)
FFO- Instrumental Metal

This is not hyperbole; this is my favorite debut album from an instrumental band, ever. The absolute masterclass of songwriting that is shown on this album is awe-inspiring. It's as if you are literally hearing an electrified orchestrated album from just what you hear in a normal band setup. No matter how heavy, proggy, or mellow the songs get, it feels so majestic and forward thinking. If this is what two guys could come up with on their own in a minimal setup, I simply can't wait to see where the band goes now with a full group and how much more exploration is in store for this band. Give The Mantle all the praise you can, they deserve it.

161.) Unearth- The Oncoming Storm (2004)
FFO- New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, Metalcore

It's still baffling to me that Unearth was one of the more underground bands when the NWOAHM/Metalcore scene started getting recognized in the early to mid 00s. They brought a sense of melodic hardcore to the scene that the other bands just did not bring. It was as brutal as it was fascinating to dissect how each member of the band was able to pull off their parts. Between songs like The Great Dividers, Black Hearts Now Reign, and Zombie Autopilot (easily my favorite Unearth song); The oncoming storm was a metalcore masterpiece that still holds up to this day. Listen and find out why.

160.) Insomnium- Across The Dark (2009)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Another point on the Finnish score board for best metal bands per capita, Insomnium is such a killer band who has never released a dud, and I don't think they could if they even tried. Across the Dark was when the world really started to take notice of the band and the world truly saw what the band was capable of. While I will say their 2017 EP/LP/One Song Divided Into 7 Parts or Kept as One Track Depending On The Version You Got), Winter's Gate is by far the best thing they have done; I went with my 2nd favorite release that in undoubtedly an LP and easily some of the most beautiful melodeath you wille ver hear.

159.) Pagan's Mind- Heavenly Ecstasy (2011)
FFO- Progressive Power Metal

What an amazing band Pagan's Mind truly is. They have a way of taking the progressive and power metal genres and making them sound so epic and catchy in ways that should not even be possible. As of right now, the latest studio release from the band serves as a great reminder of why the band should never be forgotten as we wait for new music. Seriously, the melodies, harmonies, heaviness, hooks, etc; everything about this band is what I love about both genres when done right and it's hard to find bands that do it better. Keep Pagan's Mind on your mind and check them out. You'll see what I mean and fall in love.

158.) Circus Maximus- Nine (2012)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock

Through the band's 4 album discography so far, the band has gone from showing their inspirations, to forging their own path, to forging even more different paths. The band's 3rd release, Nine really shows off what the band has learned from their first two albums and improves upon everything hundredfold. No matter how commercial or grandiose the music gets, it feels completely and utterly natural and fresh in a way that only hearing it can be truly appreciated. I can't wait to see where Circus Maximus goes with their next album as since the organic sound of Nine took place 7 years ago, things have only gotten better and I know it will continue to do so.

157.) Frank Zappa- Sheik Yerbouti (1979)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Hard Rock, Avant Garde, Frank Zappa

I can't believe this album is 40 years old now! Possibly considered Zappa's best known, or at least commercially accepted album, Sheik Yerbouti explores so many different sides of 70s Zappa era and little nods as to what to expect from the 80s Zappa album. There's no fair way to really describe a Zappa album with written words, it can only be truly done by listening to the albums. Sheik Yerbouti is no exception, Basically, if you ever heard of Zappa and wanna know where to start, this is the album to start with.

156.) The Mute Gods- Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth (2017)
FFO- Progressive Rock

One of the greatest bands that will just tear you apart with the realism in the band. While the band is one of the commercial sounding and catchiest bands in prog right now...just listen to the lyrics. On this album, in particular, is one that is especially heartbreaking because it really makes the case that we ruined this planet and there is no chance of saving it. I've said it many times elsewhere, but this is one of my favorite albums that completely bums me out. Check it out and see why.

155.) S.O.D.- Speak English Or Die (1985)
FFO- Thrash Metal, Punk Rock, Hardcore

When you talk about unapologetic album, there is nothing that really tops S.O.D.'s debut album. This album is one that just fueled the fires of the world. Even with the album slightly under 29 minutes, not a single second is wasted. Where you laugh, get pissed, or just love the riffs, there is something for you on this album and it's a great throwback to that 1980s metal, punk, core angst that helped keep all of those genres alive.

154.) Inter Arma- The Cavern (2014)
FFO- Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Post Metal

Another release that can be considered an LP, EP, or one long song, depending on who you ask. Regardless, it's 46 minutes long, that's long enough top be considered for this release. Plus, if I left it out, I would be leaving out the band's best work. When I think of bands that do doom/death/sludge metal, I need there to be something that makes it stand out from it's peers to make me go back, and that's exactly what The Cavern does in strides. This 46 minute monstrosity of a track takes you on an epic journey that can be fun, scary, heavy, catchy, and exhilarating. No matter how you classify the band, this is how bands of this style/genre need to be in the future, take your sound make it the best it can possibly be. While the band has released more music since The Cavern, they took a lot of inspiration from this song, and it really show. Start off your Inter Arma journey with their best work!

153.) Alice In Chains- Dirt (1992)
FFO- Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

I refuse...I resist calling Alice in Chains a grunge band as they are so much more than that and I never heard grunge in their sound at all (same goes for Soundgarden). Dirt is widely considered the band's best work and yes, it is. While other albums sounded more commercial, more mellow and even reached doom metal territory on their latest release. Dirt has the darkest lyrics in the band's history and it completely fits the mold of the album. How you could write an album this dark and not have it destroy the band is something to commend, it would destroy weaker souls. While some of the best known AIC songs are on this album, their b-sides are easily some of the band's finest work as well. On a whole, this is an album's album. The type of album you have to listen to start to finish to get the full effect. and once that effect hits...it moves you. If you never have, do it now!

152.) Helmet- Meantime (1992)
FFO- Groove Metal, Alternative Metal

Dirt wasn't the only album in 1992 that changed my life, so did Meantime. This absolute monster of a groove metal album is exactly that, a metal album that truly grooves. While the band's best known song, Unsung is also featured on this album, it is still a song that I have never gotten sick of, which is rare of a band's biggest song to do that for me. The whole album from start to finish just makes you bob your head and appreciate the down tuned tones going on and it makes you instantly want to start the album over after it's done. A perfect sign of a fantastic album. WHile you are waiting for new music from the band, In The Meantime, check out this album!

151.) Gojira- Magma (2016)
FFO- Groove Metal, Progressive Metal

Are the death metal days of Gojira gone? Maybe? But regardless, I absolutely love what Gojira has turned into and yeah, Magma is their finest album front to back. Does it have all my favorite tracks? No, but it is the album I can go back the most and enjoy from start to finish more than anything else in their extensive catalog. If that is the price to pay for a band becoming more commercial and accessible, than I am completely fine  with wherever the band goes next. Maybe tehy'll go make From Mars To Sirius II, or they will continue down this current route, maybe a mixture of both? WHo Knows? Only the band, and I can't wait to see what happens next, till then, go pick up Magma nad hear those chunky grooves, soothing clean vocals,a nd overall aggression take a hold of you.



And there we go folks, 8 parts down in this 14 part list. TO say that I am anything other than exhausted would be a complete lie, but it's all worth it and even after 200 albums; the best is still to come! Tune in tomorrow for Part IX: 150-126!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

We are almost at the promise lan...oh wait there's 7 more parts before the finale, but hey Mr. Bon Jovi said himself that we are half way there (well, when you get to the end of this section)! 7 parts in, and after this 7 to go. Let do this thing!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

200.) 30 Seconds to Mars- A Beautiful Lie (2005)
FFO- Space Rock, Alternative Rock, Progressive Rock

I don't think it's hyperbole to say that the first two 30STM albums are two of the finest rock albums of the early 2000s. Everything that came after though.....but hey, let's focus on the good shall we! Wile my heart actually be more in the self titled album, I can't deny that A Beautiful Lie is the better album overall. It's the perfect blend of what made the band stand out on the self titled album and mixing in just enough mainstream appeal to grab everyone else's attention. Obviously The Kill and the title track became radio staples even to this day, but for the older fans, songs like Attack make you so happy to hear that great blend of rock, metal and prog being on an album that garners so much attention. Overall, a fantastic album that made, but also broke(?) the band. Gues that's all personal opinion. But again, the first two albums are brilliant and worthy of your time.

199.) Moron Police- Defenders of The Small Yard (2014)
FFO- Alternative Metal, Progressive Rock, Comedy

The album has a song called T-Bag Your Grandma, and if you didn't already know what that term is, they describe it in the chorus. If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about the band, I'm not sure what else could. This band does not take themselves seriously in the slightest, but actually, they do enough to make seriously killer songs with great production and a vibe that tells you not to take life so seriously. This is a band that Frank Zappa would love if he was around in the 2010s. Get off your high horse and t-bag...I mean check out this band!

198.) Pyramaze- Immortal (2008)
FFO- Symphonic Progressive Power Metal

Matt Barlow has the power to make any band better that he sings in. It seemed almost impossible at the time that Pyramaze could get any better vocally, than Barlow came into the band with Immortal and put those thoughts to bed. Pyramaze itself is a band of wonder that really fills the void in all symphonic, power, and prog metal bands that mixing the genres could feel foolish. So why not make it all as epic as it can possibly be? You get that with every Pyramaze, but I have to give it to Immortal on this one. Though every album is killer, You just can't beat Matt Barlow singing this style...you just can't...

197.) Suspiria- Attitude (2009)
FFO- Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal Bits of Black Metal

Easily the best Suspiria album. It just combined the attitude (no pun intended), power, and songwriting the band has been trying to achieve up to this point and absolutely nailed it. Rising up from it's black metal roots and slowly evolving into what they became. Hell, even Chuck Billy and Shagrath make guest vocal appearances on this album, if that says anything at all. A true gem of an album that you should check out.

196.) Pantera- The Great Southern Trendkill (1996)
FFO- Groove Metal, Thrash Metal

The Penultimate album from this legendary band is the angriest, darkest, and my personal favorite album the band has ever done. This is true emotion on this album and those emotions are anger and sorrow. The band was in turmoil at this point for various reasons, and musically, you can hear it. But I mean that in a great way as when you have nothing left to lose, you show who you really are. TGST is that in a nutshell. PLUS, Floods is one of the greatest songs ever made (and Dimebag's best solo & and riff ever *you know the riff...the ending riff* are in this song). Even if you are not a big Pantera fan or you overlooked this album because Cowboys nor Walk are on it, go back and give this album the proper credit it deserves.

195.) Kalmah- Seventh Swamphany (2013)
FFO- Symphonic Death Metal, Power Metal

Kalmah is an example of why Finland, per capita, is the best country for metal. So many great, legendary bands are from here that really paved the way for what metal can be. Kalmah is an example of such a band, pushing the boundaries of symphonic death metal and power metal to it's extremes. 2013's Seventh Swamphany (as you may have guessed, their 7th album) continues that trek going even further in their sound and just becoming an even great band in the process. A seriously overlooked band in the grand scheme of things, that deserves all the love you can give. This album is a great starting point!

194.) Dying Fetus- Wrong One To Fuck With (2017)
FFO- Death Metal, Grindcore, Goregrind

The title alone should let you know how intense of an album this band put out in 2017. Featuring the band's best songwriting, production (that production though...) and musical boundary pushing is something that still amazes me two years later. This is what intense bands inspired by Dying Fetus should strive to achive (but, you know, in their own way). This is a death metal/goregrind, grindcore band that is hard top!

193.) Ramallah- Kill A Celebrity (2005)
FFO- Heavy Hardcore

Man, does this album hold up even more 14 years later than it did in 2005. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, or the world in general this album harbors all the hatred in you have in the world and spells it out right in front of you. From celebrity worship to the state of the world and just life in general; Ramallah just nailed those feeling amongst the heavy hardcore that is backing it up. It's short, sweet and killer. Give it a go!

192.) Iron Maiden- Dance Of Death (2003)
FFO- NWOBHM

Oh boy, I'm waiting for the replies and comments abut this one. My justification? A few things. First it was my first true introduction to the band outside the singles. Second, It's Bruce Dickinson and Co. reforming and getting back to what made them great after first getting back together on Brave New World. This feels like one of the most consistent yet boundary pushing Maiden albums ever. While almost all of the slack on this album goes towards the album cover...if you just listen to the music involved, you'll understand where I am coming from in saying this could be the best Maiden album and it is, for sure, my favorite.

191.) Hypocrisy- The Arrival (2004)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Hypocrisy has never put out a bad album and I don't think Peter Tagtgren is capable of putting out anything other than brilliant. With The Arrival, the world really started to take notice of the band and show off their true brilliance of melodeath songwriting. This is melodeath done right. Plus if you're not sold on the album Dan Swano wrote half of the album lyrically! Ok, not enough?....ALIENS! *there, that should seal the deal*

190.) Eluveitie- Spirit (2006)
FFO- Folk Metal

This is how you make folk metal. While other band try to be more fun with it, or take it into different directions; Eluveitie perfected it on their sophomore album and on their most recent album, Ategnatos, they brought it back to the roots of the band and made you remember what made the first two Eluveitie albums so perfect. Spirit takes the debut album and perfects and tweaks anything that was missing. Such a fantastic mix of folk, black metal, death metal, melody, and traditional songwriting. You truly need to listen!

189.) Junius- The Martyrdom Of A Catastophist (2009)
FFO- Post Metal, Art Rock, Experimental

Seeing this band open for Enslaved and Alcest (yeah, that tour ruled!) was a sight to see. Junius is a band that truly looks at music as an art form and wants to present it in all the ways that it can. While mainly focusing on the darkest aspects and horror of life, the band creates such a surreal atmosphere that can't be topped. As heavy as it gets, as dark as it gets, it never feels too metal or too boundary pushing. It perfectly fits for the mood and this album, in particular is a true, crowning achievement of that. The band can do no wrong.

188.) Protest The Hero- Kezia (2005)
FFO- Mathcore, Progressive Metal

While many, Many, MANY will disagree with me on this one (saying the follow up, Fortress is the band's best album) Kezia is the album for me. It's raw, unadulterated, and fantastic concept album. While, sure, the band perfected it's sound on later albums and you can even say the band gets better from here on out, this album is where it truly began for the band and you see them at their most primal and experimental, trying to find what works and what doesn't. In part of another great Canadian band, there is All Killer, No Filler on Kezia, and it will always be my favorite.

187.) Cattle Decapitation- The Anthropocene Extinction (2015)
FFO- Grindcore, Death Metal, Progressive Metal

Pretty much the exact opposite of the review above, Cattle Decapitation just gets more and more up my alley with every release and the fact that they did add progressive metal elements and clean vocals (strapping young lad style cleans/screams) only makes the band more boundary pushing and what I want out of music like this. As brutal as it absolutely gets, the brief moments of clarity on the album make the album stand out so much more and I can only hope that is even more expanded upon with the next album. For my prog nerd fans, this would be a great introduction into the dark side of metal with the prog elements shown off here, you just may get converted.

186.) ICS Vortex- Storm Seeker (2011)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Black Metal (without the black metal vocals)

SO far, this is the only solo album from this mastermind to date. And I hope that another solo album comes together at some point because this album is so brilliant and dangerously underrated. I have, for years, been trying to figure out the best way to describe this album and I think I finally got something. If Frank Zappa discovered Emperor's Prometheus album and Opeth's My Arms, Your Hearse album at the same time, and wanting to combine both albums...but make it with his signature quirk. Yeah the album is as abstract and (WTF did i I just read?) as it sounds, but seriously, give it a shot. Absolutely worth it, plus ICS Vortex has one of the best voices in Metal.

185.) Candiria- While They Were Sleeping (2016)
FFO- Math Metal, Progressive Metal, Jazz Metal

This band has had ups and down the world has never seen and in some aspects, should never have to go through. Thankfully, a few years back, the band came back for a brand new album and it is by far the freshest album of this style (if not in the band's history). The music takes their abstract styles of jazz prog and math metal and makes it into purely a sense of controlled chaos that I'm not sure any other band could pull off. I discover more on this album the more I listen to it, and that is truly the sense of a great album in this style. While the intent of this album as to start off a trilogy of albums about the concept going on in said album; I hope it comes to fruition, I NEED this side of Candiria back as often as possible!

184.) maudlin of the Well- Leaving Your Body Map
FFO- Avant Garde, Progressive Metal

To put it as simple as I can (which is hard in this case). If you like Kayo Dot, but want it more focused on prog and metal (most of the time); motW is the band for you. Leaving Your Mody Map might be the heaviest album overall between both bands and it is a completely bonkers albums (so right in line with every album between both bands). Look, my words here can only do so much. It's a very avant garde album and if that's up your alley and you haven't discovered maudlin of the Well yet, you found your new obsession.

183.) Converge- Jane Doe (2001)
FFO- Metalcore, Post Hardcore, Mathcore

Regarded as one of the best albums of it's genre, Jane Doe is the perfect example (lyrically) of your mind being so overwhelmed that it can destroy you and everyone around you (family, friends, relationships, etc). A great statement of mental health, really. Plus the title track is probably the greatest song ever made in metalcore (I'll go on record saying that). This is the definitive Metalcore (in the original sense before New Wave Of American Heavy Metal took over the metalcore genre) album. Listen and find out why!

182.) Exodus- Tempo Of The Damned (2004)
FFO- Thrash Metal

One of the greatest things about Exodus is that no matter what era of Exodus you enjoy, it does not suck! Every single release has it's own flavor, yet sounds exactly like Exodus. Much like potato chips, even if you enjoy different flavors, you still know what you are getting. With Tempo of The Damned, it's the perfect post 9/11 album, talking about tragedies, adversities, and pure hatred that comes from that pain; be it from your country or anywhere in the world. Plus the music is absolutely phenomenal. There's a reason why they play as many songs as they do from this album live. A pure highlight from the band!

181.) Judas Priest- Angel of Retribution (2005)
FFO: Every Era of Judas Priest

I am a defender of (the faith) this album and I will never understand why this album is talked about so little. I mean it's the return of Halford into Priest for crying out loud!!! Angel of Retribution is the definition of a best of album of brand new material. Every era you love from the band at the time (well...sans the Ripper albums) are represented to perfection here and it sounds like Priest at it's absolute freshest in the 21st century. I will forever feel this will be the Priest album, even if I am the only one on this hill, I will die on it!

180.) Last Chance To Reason- Level 2 (2011)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Video Games, Tech Death

LCTR is such an underrated band who released 3 brilliant albums (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3) so far and I'm still hoping for Level 4 to be made. Combining progressive metal attributes over video game soundscapes and throw in some jaw dropping tech death spurts and you got Last Chance To Reason! Level 2 feels like the album that has the most variety in sound. Level 1 is the heaviest, Level 3 is the most accessible, Level 2 combines both in a great way. While Michael Lessard has joined The Contortionist as lead vocalist, and the rest of the band has continued different music paths; if we don't get Level 4; Enjoy this video game band as if it's a demo disc for an unreleased game. SO much to enjoy, yet it leaves you wanting so much more.

179.) Destroyer 666- Wildfire (2016)
FFO- Black 'N Roll, Thrash Metal

D666 is a band of controversy, though I side with the band on almost all of it. From a strictly musical aspect, the band covers so much ground of what I love about this style. It can death, thrash, black, and rock n roll into one evil ball and make that a ball of envy to it's peers. The songwriting on this album can go from fast and mid pace hell to some of the most grandiose epic tracks you could ever have; and that completely showcases Wildfire. Wildfire is filled to the brim with both and just fits that void of anger of the world around us. It's a pure evil joy to listen to.

178.) The Black Dahlia Murder- Everblack (2013)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

This was the right album to come out at the right time for me. It's a culmination of what made TBDM stand out amongst it's peers and to journalists who labeled the band as a metalcore band when they first appeared. Making the melodies even more melodic, making the metal even more metal and just making the band that it could possibly be. Every fan of the band has their favorite album, and while some of my favorite songs from the band are on different albums; but Everblack is the album fro me that I could go back to and put on constant repeat for days on end and ever wanna skip a track even after 20 spins. It's just a masterpiece of an album.

177.) In Vain- Ænigma (2013)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Progressive Black Metal

In Vain is another dangerously underrated band who has released 4 absolutely solid albums so far in their run. Their 3rd album, Ænigma is a thing of beauty that shows off the bands melodic side to a perfect T, while making the dark side of the band stand out even more in contrast. These are by far some of the best written songs from the band and they have not let up on their songwriting skills since. Every note has a purpose, no matter what direction it goes in, and it's pure bliss to the ears. Give In Vain your love and attention now!

176.) Bend Sinister- Animals (2014)
FFO: Indie Rock, Progressive Rock

Bend Sinister walks that fine line between Indie Rock and Prog Rock that you can't justifiably call them one genre without the other (though if you ask the band, they are not prog in the slightest). Animals is quite possibly the most heavy album in the band's career, both musically and thematically. It was a bit of a risky move for the band putting out their proggiest song (an 8 minute epic) as the opener to the album, followed by more of the band's signature sound, but it absolutely works and makes the band stand out from it's peers. Animals is a thing of beauty no matter how indie, hipster, hardcore or proggy you think you are. Give it a spin and you'll understand why. And remember...When The World, It Brings You Down. Keep Your Head Up High And Your Feet On The Ground!




And there we go folks, 175 albums down! And we are only now halfway through this baffling ordeal list. But no, seriously, writing this up is giving me the joy that I need in life right now and with every person who is checking out the lists and telling me they have made new discoveries thanks to this list, it makes me feel like I have a purpose in continuing to be That Drummer Guy, so thank you so very much for sticking around so far. TUne In Tomorrow for Part Vii- 175-151!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Part 6 of this megalodon of a list is here, which means we are almost half way through the saga. What will be up next? Only time will tell...and that time is now!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

225.) Obsidian Kingdom- A Year With No Summer (2016)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Post Metal, Experimental

Between both LPs from Obsidian Kingdom, you will hear every type of genre of heavy music you could want on an album. With the debut album, 2013's Mantiis, it deeply featured the darkest of the dark sides, with A Year With No Summer, you hear more of the abstract and atmospheric. I would not dare say either album is without the polar opposite in it's sound. In a way, both albums serve in a yin and yang sense with neither the lighter nor heavier sides being completely left out. in the latter's case, the heavier sides a done in the right amount of doses compared to the post feel that transcends the album, and makes the album so much stronger for it. Obsidian Kingdom are a masterclass of how to write what you want to write and not feeling like you have to leave any genre out. If it fits together, do it, and they do it so very, very well. Give either album a shot, but you may want this one first and go backwards.

224.) My Dying Bride- Feel The Misery (2015)
FFO- Death Metal, Doom Metal

There may not be a single band still active today that better showcases off the genre of death/doom better than My Dying Bride. Every single album that has been released has felt like they rip your heart and emotions right out of your chest and shove them back down your throat. The latest album, Feel The Misery is no exception. Quite possibly the saddest album in the band's discography so far; Feel The Misery showcases even more of the clean vocal approach that makes the band stand out amongst the rest, but is not shy to bring the growls in when called for. Plus the lyrics...if you don't choke up during at least one song on this album, you have never teared up in your life. Case in point, My Dying Bride is arguably THE best band in death/doom. There's no better place to start than the latest album, and go backwards in time.

223.) Horse The Band- A Natural Death (2007)
FFO- Nintendocore

Much like the FFO describes it, this is metalcore with 8-bit Nintendo synths. While this is easily the biggest album from the band, it is easily their best as well. Garnering them attention from around the world and getting on some fantastic tours in the process. Of course the band went on to forge their own path around the globe in great ways, A Natural Death helped pave that wave. If you love the 8-bit sound, or you just like your music a bit on the quirky side, Horse The Band is for you, and you really dig this album.

222.) Threat Signal- Under Reprisal (2005)
FFO- Metalcore, Groove Metal

This band's debut album is one of the finest albums in metalcore and that is undeniable once you hear it. The use of melodic vocals and screams are so seamless amongst the melodic grooves, hooks, and riffs showcased. While the band has yet to hit those top tier popularity levels as some of it's peers; Threat Signal is a band that is worthy of all the love it gets and it came from this top tier album. Give this a shot and see for yourself.

221.) Shadows Fall- The Art Of Balance (2002)
FFO- New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, Metalcore, Groove Metal

I still remember hearing songs off this album for the first time on the 2nd incarnation of Headbanger's Ball and being in awe that a band like this could even be played on tv. Even with how melodic and catchy the singles were off the album, it made no sense to me how a band could be showcasing screaming on tv. That was my line of thinking back in 2003 when I first discovering bands outside of Metallica (hey, we all started somewhere). While the band is gone, the legacy lives on between this and their next album The War Within, which are two biggest achievements for the band. With the former, it showcased a level of intensity that really opened my eyes to heavy music and how it could be so melodic and crushing at the same time. Plus their cover of Pink Floyd's Welcome To The Machine is the stuff of wonders. Go back and check out both albums in question and check out the rest if you enjoy what you hear; but definitely make The Art Of Balance a priority, it helped pave the way for new music that came out 10-15 years after it's release.

220.) Akercocke- Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone (2006)
FFO- Blackened Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal

Music just doesn't get that much more evil than Akercocke. With the band's 4th album, they continued to explore even more of the band's proggier side (even hitting the over 10 minute mark with the epic, Shelter From The Sand). The great and unique blend of black death and prog metal really shines through in all faucets on this album and many consider it their best album to date. While there is a great argument to be made about the band's latest album, 2017's Reminiscence In Extremis; I gotta give it to WTGU/DTGU. This helped pave the way for a new generation to incorporate new styles of music into their satanic metal arsenals and what an amazing job it does of that!

219.) Weezer- The Blue Album (1994)
FFO- Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Power Pop

So...to go in the almost exact opposite direction. Let's cover some Weezer! It's almost cliche to say The Blue Album (yes, I'm calling it The Blue Album) is the best Weezer album (almost as cliche as bigger fans of the band, hipsters, and those that keep getting their hearts broken say Pinkerton is the superior album) For me, this is the perfect Power Pop album from start to finish. Every song is a genuine classic and worthy of all the praise it gets (even if some songs have been more than overplayed). Even if you know the classic songs off this album, go and check out the b-sides/album tracks on this album with songs lie The World Has Turned And Left Me Here or My Name is Jonas. Especially if you are not in the know, these songs will be as infectious to you as Undone or Buddy Holly was to the rest of the world in '94.

218.) Lamb Of God- As The Palaces Burn (2003)
FFO- New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Groove Metal

Even though Devin Townsend (who produced this album) refers to the overall sound of this album as "a bag of ass" (due to production struggles and various other reasons), I absolutely love the raw authentic feel of this album from start to finish. Every track has it own unique crushing sound that pulls you in and makes you understand why the NWOAHM became so popular in the mid 00s. While so many others will say the follow up, Ashes Of The Wake is the better album, I disagree. THIS is how I love my Lamb of God! And hye, if you've never checked out this album or band, you just might as well!

217.) Terror Syndrome- Terror Syndrome (2008)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Groove Metal, Death Metal

It's only been in recent times where I've given up hope on ever hoping for a follow up to this album, so with that, I'm able to appreciate this album even more. Starting from the conception of former Devin Townsend Band/Devin Townsend Project drummer, Ryan Van Poederooyen; Terror Syndrome was meant to show off the heavier side of RVP's listening and playing habits. For that, it absolutely delivers. Whether you want full on aggression, progressive thrash goodness, or instrumental wackiness; it's all here and then some! While this album is definitely far under the radar that even some of the biggest Hevy Devy fan may not even be aware of this album's existence (especially funny given that everyone that is on this album, sans Denton Bramley, was IN the Devin Townsend band around the time) This is an underrated gem that deserves to be heard and loved in every way, shape and form. A stellar metal album.

216.) Mono- Hymn To The Immortal WInd (2009)
FFO- Post Rock

Quite possibly one of the top 3 greatest post rock albums ever recorded, Hymn To The Immortal Wind is a sheer masterpiece of songwriting and how the post rock genre works in the grand scheme of music. The art of taking songs and slowly but surely building them into some of the most bombastic sounds on record is what makes the genre so powerful and it's rare to find a band or an album who does that better than Mono's Hymn To The Immortal Wind. Reading this description doesn't give it justice. Just listen...and experience....

215.) Sevendust- Seasons (2003)
FFO- Alternative Metal, Groove Metal

Between Seasons and Animosity, this showcases Sevendust's range of diversity in their unique, heavy sound. It is rare to find that can throw in THIS much groove into heavy songs and make them so undeniably catchy. Seasons for me is the best thing they have put onto record with it's haunting ballads, mainstream accessibility and overall crushing prowess. Like I said, there's not many who can conceive how to pull this off, let alone doing it. Sevendust is a pure gem of popular heavy music.

214.) Iron Thrones- The Wretched Sun (2010)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Post Metal

This might be cheating again as it is technically an EP, but it's over 41 minutes long. There's 2 full LPs from bands that you could fit in this time frame. But I digress. Iron Thrones released a killer LP and EP in the mid 00s that have gone so SEVERELY under the radar that I'm glad to give them even the slightest bit of recognition. The Wretched Sun is the last release of this amazing band and it's a progressive post metal masterpiece. No matter the track length, each song feels so natural and fresh in it's sound, it's haunting production fills the unsettling void and the sheer songwriting ability that this band had is something that bands of any style need to find and help forge their own path in music. Thankfully, the sound of the band is somewhat in check with bands like Wolvhammer and in the latest album from Skeletonwitch (funny enough, Adam Clemans of Iron Thrones now fronts both bands), but Iron Thrones will always be in a class of their own in my eyes and one that lives on in two releases.

213.) World Under Blood- Tactical (2011)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Brutal death metal meets CKY? This is what genre bending was meant for! Deron Miller shows up on this list once again for this dangerously underrated band World Under Blood. When I listen to death metal, especially the more brutal it gets with constant blasts and just growls, I miss the melodic sides that you hear in melodeath (hell, that's why the genre got invented in the first place!) but I never before (or since heard a band take Miller's signature guitar style (and vocal approach) and put it to death metal. It's a sheer sight to behold and every track is simply mindblowing. If only all melodeath bands could pull this off. I would give anything for a sophomore album from WUB, maybe it'll happen in time, but in the meantime, we got Tactical. If that's all we get, they may go down as the best death metal band with only one release to their name.

212.) The Ocean- Pelagial (2013)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Post Metal, Doom Metal

It's amazing that this concept has never been fully explored on an album as in depth as The Ocean pulled off with Pelagial. A literal concept album about the different layers of the ocean (the actual oceans, not the band). Each level of the ocean is played musically starting with some of the happiest sounding material the band has done to this date, and as you progress through, it becomes deeper, darker, heavier to the most brutal tracks the band has done to date. A pure concept album and works so efficiently, it puts so many other concept albums to shame. While I know the band will continue to put out amazing albums over and over again; conceptually, this can never be topped!

211.) Muse- Absolution (2003)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Alternative Rock, Electronic Rock

The last great Muse album, that's right, you heard me! Everything up to and including Absolution were such great prog rock albums that had that electronic tinge to it. If Radiohead was heavy, if Nine Inch Nails wrote prog, so many other examples that could only be pipe dreams. Absolution was the last album that had rock be the focused of the band's sound before the keyboards and synths fully took over and everything progressively went to the wayside. The melodies and harmonies on this album are jaw dropping. How it can go from nearly metal to beautifully melancholic to depressingly uplifting in a ballad from song to song to song (or in the same song!). It's a complete shame that I'll probably never have that love for a Muse album again as I know they have this style of songwriting left in the band, but those days are gone and both of us have moved on.

210.) Sentenced- The Funeral Album (2005)
FFO- Gothic Metal

The final album from this legendary Finnish band is one that is hard one to get through, though in a great way. It's rough because the music is so good, you don't want it to be their last. But even 4 years before the death of Miika Tenkula, the band knew they were done and wanted to make The Funeral Album the perfect send off to the fans and a proper thank you for all the support over the years. As a band in a live setting, you always want to leave the fans wanting more; in this case, Sentenced fans will always wish they had more, but can be happy with the legacy they left. The Funeral Album is one that can tear you apart in the best way possible. Fun Fact: in the booklet for the album, this is the only time in my entire history of buying music that a piece of artwork scared me to death. One of the pieces of artwork in the liner notes has a river that flows into the shape of a coffin, that image still haunts me to this day for some reason.

209.) Napalm Death- Utilitarian (2012)
FFO- Grindcore, Death Metal

NO band has ever blended Grindcore and Death Metal better than Napalm Death. While through most of their career, it's been one of the other. Albums like Utilitarian prove that you can do both on the same album and it is a perfect culmination of sound. Everything you love about the band, and so much more (including jazz saxophone from Jorn Zorn) is on this album and it's almost as if it's a best of album with all new material. A perfect starter Napalm Death album and overall, my favorite ND album to date.

208.) Obituary- Obituary (2017)
FFO- Old School Death Metal

I'll keep this one short and sweet. The band wanted to put out their best album ever as it would be their self titled. They wanted to make it they most signature Obituary album ever. And that's EXACTLY what they achieved. Every single thing you love about the band is on this album with brand new material. It's THE obituary album.

207.) Bolt Thrower- For Victory (1994)
FFO- Death Metal

Bolt Thrower is the signature mid-paced death metal band. While they are still quite fast (and on the earliest work, there is the grindcore era of course) but for the band's signature sound, there is no one who can do death metal that is brutal without having to do blast beats or over the top fret aerobics. Oddly enough, they can be considered one of the most accessible death metal bands for a good portion of their run. 1994's For Victory is a great example of that in strides. Every song pummels you at the right pace of each song. A killer production value and of course...WAR! While the band is gone, Bolt Thrower will always be there for us and why not go with what could be, their best work ever.

206.) Sonic Syndicate- Confessions (2016)
FFO- Modern Metal, Power Pop Metal

It is not often when a band can so DRASTICALLY change their sound from their previous work and have it work out so magnificently. Sonic Syndicate proves that you need to write whats in your heart. While previously being a melodeath band, the band wrote an entirely new album, and before getting it out there, scrapped the album and said they need a change. And change they did, NO double bass rides happening here, no chance of any screaming or growling either. This is one of the closest things I've heard to modern power pop being done on a metal album. Sure, there are other bands who kinda(?) do what's been done here in the likes of latter day BRing Me Tee Horizon or Asking Alexandria, but this is an entirely different take. Rather than go for those crowds intentionally, they wrote Confessions as the band addressing they are making this change for themselves. making the songs fun, catchy, and so uplifting, which is not always done in examples listed earlier. Confessions is nothing you need to confess to liking, this should be something you are proud to enjoy, I sure as hell do!

205.) Selpultura- Chaos A.D. (1993)
FFO- Groove Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal

Talk about a watershed album! While Roots may have been the most drastic change in the band's sound to date, imagine being a Sepultura fan in 1993 and hearing Chaos A.D. for the first time. Hearing this much groove when you were used to hearing just thrash, death and even black metal in the band's sound. But with that change, lead to Sepultura becoming one of the biggest metal bands to ever come out of Brazil. Not just that but helping popularize groove metal as a whole and helping bring in (with bands like Faith No More and Pantera) the styles of Nu Metal that were about to forge by the end of the decade. This has one of my favorite drum sounds on record, especially the bass drum. No clicky sound to be had. just a pure bass drum sound as the metal gods intended! While the early day Sepultura albums will always rule. Chaos A.D. is the game changer of a metal album the world needed and to me, it's easily their best.

204.) Yob- Our Raw Heart (2018)
FFO- Doom Metal

There's nothing quite like possibly being on your deathbed to make you reevaluate priorities in life and what you will do next, if there is a next. That's what happened here with Yob's Mike Scheidt and his health struggles that eventually lead to writing one of the 21st centuries greatest doom metal albums, Our Raw Heart. A heart wrenching album that has you go through all the motions you think of with death and what comes from facing your own mortality. This is how you make music and ESPECIALLY on this list, it's one of the most authentic albums ever made.

203.) Armored Saint- Symbol Of Salvation (1991)
FFO- Heavy Metal

John Bush does no wrong in any band, any side project, any guest appearance he has done. Bush and Co. but out the band's finest work with Armored Saint in 91 with Symbol Of Salvation, a loving trademark of that fine line between the thrash, death, black metal fans on one side, and the glam pop metal bands of the other side in the 80s and 90s. No matter what side of the fence your on in that debate, you will find something to love about Armored Saint and they are such a band to treasure and behold. Go check out their finest work to date here and support them in any way you can.

202.) Intronaut- The Direction of Last Things (2015)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Post Metal

Considering the meanings behind both genres, you wouldn't think on paper that prog and post would meld well together. There are sooooo many examples of it working and Intronaut is one of the finest examples. Taking the ideals of post metal and making it just proggy enough, they have created a signature sound that is unparalleled. The band's latest album is the perfect culmination for the band that combines everything there is to love about the band and just makes it even better (how is that even possible). Some say you can have too much of a good thing, this album proves that is not always the case. Just a completely stellar album top to bottom from a band you should overlook no longer.

201.) Falconer- Black Moon Rising
FFO- Power Metal

Quite possibly the most authentic and exquisite power metal band ever. So much so, Falconer took it upon themselves to know when to hang it up...in the live setting. Knowing the band was not going to always be able to give 100% for every show they play for multitude of reasons, the band released this album and said they were doing one last show at 2015's ProgPower USA, which I was not only in attendance for, but also gave their last, in person (as a whole band) interview. That is not to say the band is hanging it up, far from it, just the live shows are going away and they are becoming strictly a studio band once again. With Black Moon Rising, it almost feels like these songs were intentionally written to be played live for one last set of shows before focusing on just making the best albums possible. All the more reason I was honored to be at that last show. The songs are so efficient and full of soul and one of the best vocal(ly trained) performances in metal on record. There is no better send off to the live era of Falconer than Black Moon Rising.

And that does it folks, the first 150 albums of this mammoth 350 album list. Come back tomorrow where we finish off the first half of 350 albums with That Drummer Guy's Top 350 Albums of All Time Part VII- 200-176.

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

After a couple weeks off, I have returned and here to present 25 more albums for your enjoyment. With 4 parts and 100 albums down, we are just getting to the half way point this week and the list will just keep getting better and better! SO let's get crackin' on shall we!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

250.) Insect Warfare- At War With Grindcore (2005)
FFO: ...Grindcore

Am I cheating with this one coming in at just barely 8 minutes in length? Possibly! But even the band's ONLY full length LP clocks in at 22 and a half minutes, so, you know what? IT COUNTS! These 8 minutes and 11 seconds of bliss goes by so fast and all you want to do is go back and enjoy every second again and again. It's a straight up grindcore release in every sense of the word. Fast, heavy, brutal, raw, and fun. If you've missed out Insect Warfare, you've missed out on one of the best Grindcore bands in the biz, go remedy that now.

249.) Polkadot Cadaver- Purgatory Dance Party (2007)
FFO- Experimental Metal, Experimental Rock, Electronic Rock

Polkadot Cadaver is a hard band to describe, much like most of the member's other band, Dog Fashion Disco. They are just a band you got to go into with an open mind, no expectations and see what you get from it. What I get from this band's debut album is a fun, quirky, exhilarating, and dark album. It goes all over the rock and metal worlds, but it is oddly accessible for as experimental as it gets. You can't tip your toe into this band, you gotta dive in and see how you feel after. I for one love it, you might too.

248.) Sabaton- Primo Victoria (2005)
FFO- Power Metal, War

Sabaton's debut album shocked the world of Power Metal for it's accessibility, fun atmosphere, and war themed lyrics that were based in reality rather than fiction. They also put one hell of a fun show no matter if you are a fan of any kind of metal genre. Primo Victoria is that album that is a perfect introduction into power metal to get your friends into the genre. If they like this, they will dig others. It all began here 14 years ago....wait, 2005 was years ago??? Ugh....

247.) We Sell The Dead- Heaven Doesn't Want You And Hell Is Full (2018)
FFO- Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal

A supergroup featuring past and present members of In Flames, Firewind and HIM? SIGN ME UP! This band is as good as that combination sounds. Taking inspiration from Jack The Ripper and adding so much more to it. This band's debut album is one o the catchiest rock albums of last year and deservingly so. no matter how heavy, light, somber, or evil it gets, it just fits perfectly and gives you a great experience from start to finish. This is an album to be experienced in it's entirety and its worth the ride!

246.) The Dear Hunter- The Color Spectrum (2011)
FFO- Indie Rock, Prog Rock, Alternative Rock

This might be another cheat as this is a collection of EPs that make a full collection, but this is my list, so deal with it. *puts on sunglasses* The Dear Hunter took a break from their Acts story arc to write a collection of EPs to represent each color of the color spectrum, from black to white and everything in between. It goes all over from quite heavy material, to electronic/industrial, to sober piano ballads to classic TDH sounds and anything you could imagine this band accomplishing; it's all here and more. This is a full blown crash course of the band with brand new material and while a bit of a journey, you'll leave satisfied with at least one or two of the EPs, if not like me and enjoy them all.

245.) Wearing Scars- A Thousand Words (2015)
FFO- Modern Rock, Alternative Metal, Progressive Metal

A fantastic UK band that really shines through it's other bands to create a unique take on what should be top 40 radio rock. As heavy as it gets, it gets just as commercial. As nearly metal and proggy as it gets, it hits you with emotional ballads. This is one of the finest pieces of mainstream style rock you will hear in the 2010s, if I dare say the 21st Century in general. This is such a gorgeous album and I really hope a follow up will be coming in the future. I need more.

244.) The Sword- Warp Riders (2010)
FFO- Stoner Rock, Progressive Rock, Classic Rock

HOW DARE I NOT PICK ONE OF THE FIRST TWO SWORD ALBUMS? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??? Well a lot, actually, but this list isn't about that! I personally feel that Warp Riders is the perfect Sword album. It has the stoner feel everyone fell in love with; it adds the right amount of prog and classic rock to make me happy (and truly expand the sound in the right way), and the production is the best on ANY of their albums to date. SOme say they lost it after this album (or those that say they lost it before this album) but I again, genuinely feel that Warp Riders is THE album from The Sword that is recommended hearing and hey, maybe if you check out the album (or check it out again) it might be for you as well.

243.) Wintersun- Wintersun (2004)
FFO- Extreme Metal, Power Metal, Blackened Folk Metal

I love Wintersun. Wintersun is one of the most underrated bands in existence and every release from the band is a pure gem. But there is just something about the debut album...maybe it's because it was the first album of it's style to REALLY take over the world. No one did epic metal like THIS before that caught on as much as it did. Combining so many genres (power, folk, prog, melodeath, black metal, etc) and creating a musical melting pot that you just can't mess with. It just fills the void of what metal can be and should be. Wintersun rules and you may as well go in the order of the discography. Start with this legendary debut album and work up!

242.) Trivium- Ascendancy (2005)
FFO- Metalcore, New Wave Of American Heavy Metal

Trivium's sophomore album is a thing of beauty. While the band has taken every single left turn you can think of since this albums release; this album put the band on the map and they never truly left. So many bands have come since this album's release that had a huge impact on them. The way people look at heavy metal changed in 2005 with this album and it inspired a new legion of metal fans. And of course the music is killer. IF you want a look at how NWOAHM and Metalcore came to the forefront; check out Ascendancy.

241.) Overkill- Ironbound (2010)
FFO- Thrash Metal

One of the best thrash band's in the world had their own resurgence with Ironbound. Basically, it's a perfect thrash album from top to bottom. Everything you love about thrash is here and you this legendary east coast band at their peak form (which has yet to falter ever since) If you need your thrash fix, look no further than IronBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUND!

240.) Hurt- Vol. 1 (2006)
FFO- Alternative Metal

Hurt is a band that was so very, VERY underrated, and it is such a shame to see the band is disbanded. With the band's 3rd album, they finally hit top 40 rock radio and for the dark ones amongst us; they were the perfect band for us. Just heavy enough, just mainstream enough, just enough of a good thing. Sadly, the band started going deeper into the underground with every subsequent album until it was finally laid to rest, but we have so many great albums to check out in their discography to help remember the memory. A lost band, but one that deserves the love they get.

239.) Zimmer's Hole- While You Were Shouting At The Devil... (2008)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Comedy Metal

It saddens me that this is the last album from the band so far. 11 years is TOO LONG! They are the extreme metal version of what Steel Panther has made a full on career of. Every song is hilarious in it's own right, so fun and catchy, and hey, Nathan Explosion shows up for the intro of a song. You can't get more metal than that! If you like metal, but not take things so seriously; Zimmer's Hole is the band for you!

238.) Machine Head- Burn My Eyes (1994)
FFO- Groove Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal

How is this album already 25 years old? I was in kindergarten in 94...ugh... Anyways! Machine started a legacy ups and downs musically and within the band (as if the case with pretty much every band) with 1994's Burn My Eyes, a perfect album fro the time. A good rebellion against the grunge era. It was the right amount of Pantera groove, Vio-Lence thrash, and Sabbath style heavy metal to make an impact that lives to this day. Literally! the original lineup is back and they are about to embark on playing the album live! This is a great definition of 90s metal proving that the genre was far from dead, and it didn't have anywhere to go but up!

237.) Cold- Year Of The Spider (2003)
FFO- Alternative Metal, Hard Rock

Back in 2003, this album was a great definition of how I felt as a kid in middle school. Even with 16 years later, very little has changed. This great mix of emotions of sorrow, hurt, and anger is something I think anyone can relate to. And it is catchy as all get go. Another band that should be at the top of the rock charts to this day, but they will always be that band in my pocket that I pull out when I need those school year days back and get a sense of reality. You may feel the same way.

236.) Abigail Williams- Becoming (2012)
FFO- Atmospheric Black Metal

It can be easy to knock Abigail Williams for how many style changes they have had. For me, that doesn't matter. They write what they want to write and that's how any band should be. This album is pure atmospheric black metal at it's finest and it's unadulterated Abigail Williams. A fantastic album all around and really shows off the band's musicianship and songwriting abilities in one of it's purest forms. This album just slays and even after all this time, it always will.

235.) Destrage- Are You Kidding Me? No. (2014)
FFO- Experimental Progressive Metal

Italy's Destrage is one of those rare breed that has ZERO problem writing the songs they want to write. No matter how wacky the time signatures get or how commercial it gets at the turn of a dime; it feels so purely natural and it's such a sight and sound to behold. Through the band's discography you will see the evolution of the band, but this was my introduction to the band, and for that, I think it may be a great starting point for you as well.

234.) Power Trip- Nightmare Logic (2017)
FFO- Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Crossover

This is how you do modern day thrash. You bring the old school feel but you mix in just enough of modern flavoring and you create Power Trip. One of the finest bands rolling today. They are just a fantastically solid thrash band that knows how to write killer metal songs no matter how fast or slow. IF any band has ever screamed battle vests, PBR, and circle pits in the 2010s, It's Power Trip. And right now, no one does it better!

233.) Corrosion of Conformity- No Cross, No Crown (2018)
FFO- Corrosion Of Conformity

It's hard to put COC in a box. They can go from heavy metal to crossover thrash to hardcore to sotner metal at any time. With the return of Pepper Keenan, the band return's to it's signature heavy, southern, stoner metal style that got them worldwide recognition. And it is the finest album the band has put out to date. IF you loved what the band did in the 90s through the early 2000s, this is the album for you!

232.) Tribulation-  Down Below (2018)
FFO- Black 'n Roll, Gothic Metal

A band that truly wants to show that you don't need to be the heaviest band to show your true power. Tribuilation, no matter how they evolve continues to show their evil prowls and gives you great chills down your spine. Down Below is the latest example of this with it's most commercial (but far from a commercial band) sounding album to date and it's what really suits the band. An absolute powerhouse of an album and one that needs to be experienced to truly understand.

231.) Johnny B. Morbid- Fall of The Cicada (2015)
FFO- Horror Punk, Power Metal, Black Metal

The band's final album is one that leaves such a powerful last message. For the uninitiated, imagine The Misfits, Blind Guardian, and Emperor made a band. AN odd concept right? Can't imagine it working, then you clearly haven't heard the band. This album is such a great example of where to start, then go backwards and see all that you have missed. This band had it all and more, go show them some posthumous love.

230.) Hail of Bullets- III: The Rommel Chronicles (2013)
FFO- Death Metal, War, WWII History

Oh Hail of Bullets, one of the finest death metal supergroups ever assembled. Sadly we only have 3 albums and one EP from the band, but they are all magnificent. While unintentional, the band's final album is such a great closing moment for the band showcasing it's love for WWII History and playing some of the most killer old school death metal you can find. If you missed out on these guys, you are doing an injustice by waiting any longer, get to studying up on your death metal of days gone by, and I mean now before history repeats itself.

229.) Kayo Dot- Hubardo
FFO- Experimental

The FFO is the only way I can describe it. Kayo Dot is guaranteed to never give you the same experience twice. One album could be a blade runner soundtrack, one could be jazz metal of hellacious fury, another can be one of the most calming experiences of your life. This double album showcases almost every style the band has tried out in some way, shape or form, but in a totally new context. Even in one song it can go from blast beats, to jazz to vapor wave to noise. It's an experience that only does justice by listening to it. Do some experimenting of your own and give Kayo Dot a show. There's bound to be at least one track you'll love on this double album.

228.) Celtic Frost- Monotheist (2006)
FFO- Gothic Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal

The heaviest Celtic Frost album ever and it absolutely paved the way for Tom G. Warrior's future band, Triptykon. This final album was a great mission statement for where the band was at the time and a terrific send off for fans. The aggression, the heaviness, the atmosphere. It's classic Celtic Frost, but at it's darkest form. Long gone are the days of Cold Lake, but sadly as is the band. This is a pure testament to how you make a heavy album.

227.) Exhumed- Gore Metal (1998)
FFO- Goregrind, Grindcore, Death Metal

THE Grindcore album. All that came after this album have only been inspired from it. This is how you make goregrind and it's one of the most vile, disgusting, raw, and perfect albums of it's kind. Exhumed rules in all levels and there is no better place to start with the band, than it's beginning. A true metal experience.

226.) Queensryche- Operation: Mindcrime
FFO- Progressive Metal

Some say the greatest prog metal band ever. It's hard not to deny their influence and between the albums, Empire and O:M, who could really disagree? The latter is a perfect concept album that hits you in every way. From it's heavy rockers to emotional ballads, it has it all wrapped up in a great story. There is an absolute reason this album gets as much love as it does and if you have missed it all this time, you should give it a shot now!



And there we go, folks, 5 parts down and 9 more to go. This is an absolute insane idea of mine to do 350 albums, but I love every second of it and I hope you are enjoying it as well. Tomorrow will bring Part VI: 225-201.

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

3 Parts Down, 11 More To Go! It's a pure labor of love, but the response has been fantastic so far, so let's see what happens next!

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

275.) Soulfly- Prophecy (2004)
FFO- Groove Metal, Thrash Metal, Industrial

Max Cavalera's Soulfly, after some soul searching, has only gotten better with age. With every proceeding album, it has only gotten heavier, faster, and more brutal over time. That all started with the resurgence album , Prophecy. Cavalera really knew where he wanted Soulfly to go at this point and it truly shows in the dedicated songwriting.  While the industrial and nu metal influences are still hinted at, It was the heaviest Soulfly album to date at the time and they've only continued pushing those boundaries ever since. This is the great watershed album going between industrial and death metal and it's perfection.

274.) Against The Wall- The Truth (2009)
FFO- Hard Rock, Progressive Rock

This album is criminally underrated. A seamless blend of hard rock, prog, and heavy metal that sounds so catchy and accessible. The production really showcases the whole band perfectly and it just gives you this great sense of joy and wonder, and of course that wonder is how they are not filling stadiums. Seriously an underrated gem that is worthy of your time.

273.) Horrendous- The Chills (2012)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Death

There is zero denying that Horrendous shows off their Death influence on their sleeves (especially the first 3 albums) but that is not the only card they have up their sleeves. Combining a great sense of prog, thrash, and a evil raw production gives The Chills the ability to live up to it's name. It can give you the chills as you listen. WHile many can argue that the subsequent albums are better, and in some cases they are. This is the rawest they have sounded and it only gets better from here, so start here and enjoy!

272.) Arctic Sleep- Arbors (2012)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Post Metal, Alternative Metal

This Wisconsin band is a band that can grab your interest and never let go. Arbors, in particular, bridges the gap between instrumental songs and vocal songs in such a great way. A mix between Devin Townsend, Deftones, and Pelican really makes this band stand out amongst the masses and they have yet to put out anything other than stellar work. Arbors is where I started and you should too!

271.) Pig Destroyer- Phantom Limb (2007)
FFO- Grindcore, Noise

Pig Destroyer is the definition of modern grindcore and of their wave, no one can do it better. The title track's breakdown is the sickest in music and it's nearly meaningless for anyone to try to do one better. At first it may feel like a gargled mess, but give it time, you'll see how smart this album truly is.

270.) Vaura- Selenelion (2012)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Shoegaze, Black Metal, Post Rock

There's so many subgenres I could list under Vaura (especially with every single different album), but Vaura is truly one of the most proficiently effective bands of experimentation. While other albums have gone either way heavier or way mellower, the dbue album shows off both sides, as if it's there to say this is what we have to offer you in the future, so strap in. What an amazing band.

269.) Nailed To Obscurity- Black Frost (2019)
FFO- Doom Metal, Death Metal

One of the greatest death/dooms in the business have put out their latest album back in January of this year and it's a mindblowing experience. It's such a great melding of death, doom, sorrow, and oddly uplifting music that pulls you in with it's passion and makes you stay with it's execution. Easily one of the best albums of the year and easily one of my favorite albums ever (hence why it's in the list).

268.) Alter Bridge- AB III (2010)
FFO- Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Alter Bridge is a modern day savior of modern rock radio music. They instantly prove with every album that no matter how heavy, how commercial, or how mellow they get, they will always write bangers that will bring you back every time for more. AB III is the right culmination of all of those in one album, not too much of anything on the album it's just...right...all the way through and it's just what you want in a band like this. If you haven't yet, go check out Alter Bridge and see what I mean.

267.) Saor- Roots (2015)
FFO- Folk Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal

This band is what is saving both folk metal and atmospheric black metal. Between their long epics, their instrumentation and there never ending sense of wonder that brings your imagination to a new landscape with every song; Saor just does everything perfectly. The debut album from Saor is what brought them to the table and now, they are here to stay.

266.) Bison- Dark Ages (2010)
FFO- Sludge Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal

Currently the middle album for the band, their 3rd LP stands out as the album that really pushed the band's boundaries in all directions. This is by far their heaviest work and I'm not sure if it will be topped, or if it should be. Don't get me wrong, every album is great, and their diversity on other albums is really what seals the deal on this band, but their pure heaviness and the instinct to explore what the band is about at this time is what needed to happen and to be, it stands out as their best work.

265.) Minus The Bear- OMNI (2010)
FFO- Alternative Rock, Progressive Rock, Indie Rock

Who would have thought this was the founding members of the band, Botch, eh? The 4th album from the band that named themselves after the punchline of a dirty joke is one that truly shows what the band is all about. It's pop sensibilities, it's odd time signatures that feel so natural, their distinct sound becoming so natural. OMNI has it all and so much more. it is well worth the listen.

264.) Suicidal Tendencies- Lights...Camera...Revolution (1990)
FFO- Crossover Thrash

This standout album really helped put the Suicidal Army on the map. It showed the beginnings of a new route of the band, showing off more rock sensibilities than ever before and with that, some tinges of funk, that would later be shown off more in the band Infectious Grooves. From top to bottom this is one of, if not the strongest ST album and it definitely warrants that claim. Just a completely solid album.

263.) Oceansize- Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up (2010)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal

The final album from this UK act is without a doubt their strongest. It's almost as if they knew this would be off and wanted to give the band a proper send off and show appreciation to fans old and new. Everything you love about the band is here from it's complex song structures, to it's quirky sense of humor, to emotional hooks are shown in strides and its such a great way to say farewell to the band. Fantastic work!

262.) From A Second Story Window- Conversations (2008)
FFO- Post Hardcore, Progressive Metal, Emo

The 2nd and final album from this band was sadly the last offering from the band, but they left such a big impact. Their sensibilities of emotional lyrics and tones matched with it's heavy structures and style changes at the turn of a dime make this band such a pleasure to listen to. It's a shame the band broke up with this release, but alas, we got this, and their debut to enjoy.

261.) Probot- Probot (2004)
FFO: Metal

Dave Grohl may have quote unquote "killed" metal with Nirvana, but he sure knew how to revive it in 2004. Taking some of the greatest voices in all forms of metal and showcasing them each with a different song all written and performed by Grohl himself. It's a loving tribute to that gene of music we all know and love and no matter what you listen to, it has a song that was mean for you. Such a solid but underground release.

260.) Kyuss- Blues For The Red Sun (1992)
FFO- Stoner Metal, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

Let's just call a spade a spade here. Kyuss was the greatest stoner metal band ever. Their legacy is untainted, all parties are now doing what they love, but when they were together, they gave us some of the great albums in it's genre. Blues For The Red Sun is that album that made me fall in love with the band, along with so many others like myself. It's perfect sense of rock, metal and fuzz is untouchable. While often imitaded, it'll never be duplicated, ever!

259.) Grave Digger- Healed By Metal (2017)
FFO- Heavy Metal

WHile there are so many great bands to come out of Germany, Grave Digger is easily one of the greatest, consistent metal bands from the country. Healed By Metal shows that it doesn't matter how many albums you put out, you can always become bigger and better, no matter how long it takes. This album is perfect from start to finish and it's everything you've wanted out of the band, at least I know it is for me. Seriously, give this a shot.

258.) Sonata Arctica- Reckoning Night (2004)
FFO- Power Metal

When you think power metal, at least one of the first 3-5 bands you think of is Sonata Arctica and their greatest work was graciously given to us in the form of Reckoning Night. The entire album is what power metal stands for in every sense of the genre and it just puts a big grin on your face. Just a fantastic album!

257.) Falloch- Where Distant Spirits Remain (2011)
FFO- Atmospheric Metal, Folk Metal

Another dangerously underrated band whose 2011 album just opened my eyes to what atmosphere can really add to metal, if not, music in general. Every song just drops your jaw in astonishment and leaves you wanting more. No matter how heavy or somber the music gets, it always keeps your attention and you never want to leave. That is how good music should be. (Andy Marshall, formerly of Falloch went on to form Saor).

256.) 96 Bitter Beings- Camp Pain (2018)
FFO- Hard Rock, Alternative Metal, CKY

The split in the CKY camp (pain) was not a pretty one in the slightest, but on the plus side, we did get a new band that keeps the spirit of the old school CKY style alive in 96 Bitter Beings. Deron Miller  keeps his signature style in tact and brings you an undated 2018 approach to what CKY could have been had he stayed in the band, and it's honestly one of the best CKY styled albums ever made. It just works in every single way and it's great that it FINALLY is able to be enjoyed.

255.) Bad Religion- New Maps Of Hell (2007)
FFO- Punk Rock

I don't really know how this album ranks amongst the BR diehards, but this is by far my favorite album from the band and one of my favorite punk albums ever. Every song feels so perfect. NO matter how fast or slow things get, it feels almost like the last truly great Bad Religion album (at least so far). NOt to knock the two albums to come after, but NMOH is just what I look for in the band and no album since (or even prior) has done it this well. A perfect punk album.

254.) Meshuggah- Destroy, Erase, Improve (1995)
FFO- Meshuggah

SO what happens when you destroy, erase, and improve one's sound. For Meshuggah, it means putting our your finest work. While many will disagree (saying Nothing or ObZen is better) DEI is just that perfect Meshuggah album, where the band realized what they wanted to accomplish as a collective and improved it a hundred fold. While other albums have their charm, DEI is the one Meshuggah album (besides Nothing) where I can listen from start to finish and never want to press the skip button or listen to something else. It was the right album at the right time and they did it so very well.

253.) The Haunted- rEVOLVEr (2004)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal

As you may have guessed by this point, 2004 was a big year of discovery for me, musically, and The Haunted was another band that grabbed me and never let go with this particular album. It's just that heavy, aggressive, and oddly poppy side of melodeath that only The Haunted could accurately explore, while the band explored so much territory after this album, rEVOLVEr was the last album of it's era to really shine that melodeath flag high and for that, I salute it!

252.) GWAR- Lust In Space (2009)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal

Again, I have no idea what the verdict of this album is with the GWAR fanbase, but for me, this is the album I always wanted from GWAR that I never thought I'd get. A full on progressive rock/progressive metal concept album, that you just can't take seriously, but works on every single level. That's why I love GWAR, despite the story, characters, and the stage show, they are phenomenal musicians, and this is the album that finally showed that off in all forms. Hail Orderus!

251.) Harakiri For The Sky- III: Trauma (2016)
FFO- Blackgaze, Post Black Metal

While there has yet to be a subpar HFTS album, Trauma is the album that really let the emotional side take place at it's strongest at the time. The personal lyrics can hit home with anyone. The songwriting it phenomenal and it's one of the strongest examples of why the post black metal, blackgaze genres should be ignored no longer. IF you want your black metal to really grab your soul, check out Harakiri for the Sky.


And there we go folks, 100 albums done over 4 parts and only 10 parts left to go. This is proving to be a massive undertaking but worth every second of it all. Thank you so much for enjoying, read the last 3 parts if you haven't already, and get ready for Part V: 250-226 on Monday!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Part III is here. 50 albums down, 300 more to go, let's get right to it...after recapping the rules.

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So...Let's get it on!

300.) The Man Eating Tree- In The Absence of Light (2015)
FFO- Gothic Metal, Atmospheric Metal

What an incredible band that came from the ashes of Sentenced. While one direction went to Poisonblack, another direction wanted to go to the even darker route with The Man Eating Tree. The band's 3rd album is a prime example of making atmospheric gothic metal with tinges of black and death metal. Such a criminally underrated band that should not be looked over anymore. Seriously, if you dig the gothic sound in any capacity, check this band out immediately!

299.) Badlands- Badlands (1989)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Blues Rock

This 1-2-Punch of albums from Badlands was a thing of beauty in the late 80s/early 90s. A great combination of metal, rock, and blues that is still one of the greatest uses of said genres to date. It's a shame the band did not continue after the sophomore album, but it was also a sign of the times in the 90s. Still, we got both albums, including the electrifying self titled debut that is so pleasing to the ears. It's highly recommended.

298.) Slayer- God Hates Us All (2001)
FFO- Thrash Metal

What bad timing for this classic album to come out...September 11th, 2001. If you take that away, you truly hear an album that is filled with the band's angriest lyrics, best production, and...don't shoot the messenger here...their last great album. Every song is just a pure assault of the senses and in the right mood, it's exactly what you need.

297.) Queens of the Stone Age- Songs For The Deaf (2002)
FFO- Hard Rock, Stoner Rock

The early to mid 2000s was an odd time in radio rock, with nu-metal dead and metalcore too heavy for FM radio play, we had a great rise in post grunge bands and bands that would have never usually garnered as much loved had they come out at any other time. That is the case with QOTSA, while a great band in the underground, they never got as much attention before or since this album, but what a great record to really grab a hold of everyone. It goes from simple rock to heavy as hell to ballads and everything in between. Plus it helps having Dave Grohl playing drums on the album for promotion. Overall, a killer (and much like Slayer above) the last album I truly dug from the band.

296.) The Human Abstract- Nocturne (2006)
FFO- Progressive Metalcore

One of the first bands to capture my interest in progressive metalcore, The Human Abstract left a short, but sweet legacy. The first of the three album legacy is arguably their best, Nocturne. A prog metalcore masterpiece that explores all that can be done with the genre at the time. So many wonderful twists and turns you don't see coming and some of the best songwriting of the mid 2000s progressive metalcore. A must here if you are interested.

295.) Ghost Bath- Starmourner (2017)
FFO- Post Black Metal, Blackgaze

What a legacy this band has stamped so far. Be it from their albums, or controversy of who the band are and where the band is from. The band's third LP is the first one to be written by the entire band, and it truly shows with it's diversity and it leaves an deeply emotional impact for it. While not every Ghost Bath albums has lyrics (some are literally just screams that sound like lyrics), this one has true lyrics and they are deeply touching. This is a blackgaze classic in the making and one that should not be overlooked.

294.) Cryptopsy- Once Was Not (2005)
FFO Technical Death Metal

Quite possibly the proggiest Cryptopsy album to date? Once Was Not goes all across the board musically, and lyrically. Last album to feature original vocalist Lord Worm and he left a gigantic final imprint in the band with this album (easily my favorite thing he has done vocals on. And who can forget the legendary Flo Mounier on drums? One of the most insane drummer to ever be recorded. This such a great starter album for the band and not one to be missed.

293.) Gorefest- Rise To Ruin (2007)
FFO- Death Metal

The last album from this powerhouse death metal band is a death metal masterpiece. Whether you want short, sweet brutality or you want a 9 minute epic to rip to shreds slowly; it's all here and more. This is what I'm looking for when it comes to pure death metal and it could not have been a better final album for the band. BRAVO!

292.) A.F.I.- Sing The Sorrow (2003)
FFO- Pop Punk, Emo

The perfect watershed album for AFI, this album was the last to come before the mega powerhouse of an album known as Decemberunderground came out and that is where either everyone joined the hype train or got off at the station; I was in the latter. Everything before (and including) Sing The Sorrow was great punk, hardcore, and emo made to perfection. The hard rock songs are so much fun, the ballads cut you like a knife and it's an album that holds your attention all the way through. A fantastic album for it's time.

291.) TesseracT- One (2011)
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal

I'll go ahead and say it; One is the best album from TesseracT to date and I am sure I am not alone in thinking that. It's the most diverse, it's the heaviest (by far) and it broke so much ground for what modern prog metal could and can be. Every album since has taken elements from this album (and some taking those elements and making them better) but none that could do it all and more as much as One has proven. This is modern prog metal in one of it's finest forms.

290.) Winterfylleth- The Dark Hereafter (2016)
FFO- Atmospheric Black Metal, Folk Metal

Another fantastic UK band (like TesseracT just mentioned), but of course, in a much different style. Winterfylleth takes the umbrella of atmospheric black metal and truly makes it their own interpretation with the right elements of folk, black and atmosphere to create a visionary world that you can only experience when you listen. Such a groundbreaking band and The Dark Hereafter is the best example of the band to date.

289.) Mnemic- The Audio Injected Soul (2004)
FFO- Modern Metal, Progressive Metal, Industrial Metal

This band and this album does not get ANYWHERE near the amount of credit it deserves. This seminal modern metal masterpiece is what so many bands seemed to interpret a few years later but in a different way with Djent. This, however was taken the ideas of the drop tuning of Meshuggah, but making it industrial and futuristic and it's done to absolute perfection. What an incredible and dangerously overlooked album. I couldn't recommend this album more if I tried.

288.) King Parrot- Bite Your Head Off (2012)
FFO- Hardcore, Grindcore, Fun

One of the most fun live acts I've ever seen and one of the most fun acts you'll ever see if you go to one of their shows. This band creates short, but sweet albums that go on as long as they need to go and leaves zero filler. There is no best/worst King Parrot album, but I went with the one that got me to know and love the band. If you like fun, get into this band (and see them live!).

287.) Dekadent- Veritas (2015)
FFO- Atmospheric Black Metal, Progressive Metal

If Devin Townsend made Atmospheric Black Metal. That's all I got for you. If that doesn't grab your attention, nothing will. This band and this album rules!

286.) Type O Negative- Life Is Killing Me
FFO- Gothic Metal

I'll be 100% transparent about this. I'm not really a big Type O fan, and after hearing what Peter Steele was like when he was alive off the stage, it's left an even more bitter taste in my mouth even saying I'm a fan. With all of that said, I Don't Wanna Be Me is one of my favorite songs of all time and I can't knock the rest of the band for the actions of one person. So that's why it's still here (what a killer song!)

285.) Subterranean Masquerade- The Great Bazaar (2015)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

One of the strongest comeback albums ever made. I seriously never thought this band was coming back after creating their first two albums. Thankfully, along with this album, they are in it for the long haul and continuing to record and tour and I'm so happy to see it happen. This album is filled with prog rock, prog metal and shades of death metal goodness that simply can't be missed. If you've missed out on this band before, walk into the bazaar now and pick up what you've missed so far.

284.) Mutemath- Mutemath (2006)
FFO- Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Electronica

Again, in pure transparency, the self titled debut and the EP preceding it (Reset) are the only Mutemath albums I could get into. Everything after it felt like all of the rock elements were fading away and for a band like this, it's the rock elements that makes the band standout. Of course I may stand alone in that thinking. This album though, it's that perfect blend of hard rock, indie rock and electronic to make every song stand out in absolutely incredible ways. It's a sheer jot to listen to every time you hear it. If it's to heavy for you, check out every album after this one, they'll be more up your alley.

283.) Megadeth- Rust In Peace (1990)
FFO- Thrash Metal

Another album where me talking about it will be treading water that's been covered so many times in the world. It's Megadeth's best album, it's some of the finest songwriting that 4 musicians laid on a thrash album and it's simply perfect from start to finish. If you are not familiar with this album, you're not into Megadeth or into thrash metal.

282.) Spock's Beard- Snow (2002)
FFO- Progressive Rock

One of the greatest double disc progressive rock concept albums ever made, simply put. The story, the production, the songwriting, Neal Morse's perfect vocals. It's one of, if not...THE definitive Spock's Beard album and a classic definition of what 21st century progressive rock can and should be.

281.) Warbringer- Woe To The Vanquished (2017)
FFO- Blackened Thrash Metal

A pure renaissance in revival thrash metal happened in Warbringer and this is by far the best Warbringer album to date. Everything about this thrash metal masterpiece is what new thrash bands should aspire to. Forge your own path, don't be afraid of your influences and make what you want to make. When you do, you too can create an album that will stand the time like Woe To The Vanquished.

280.) Star One- Victims Of The Modern Age (2010)
FFO- Progressive Metal

Russell Allen, Dan Swano, Damien Wilson, and Floor Jansen performing songs written by Arjen Anthony Lucassen. If you haven't heard of this, you need to RIGHT NOW. If you haven't heard of anyone I just listed here, I need to sit you down and school you on symphonic, power and progressive metal (PM me for details). Star One is arguably the most underrated of Arjen's projects, but it's arguably one of the best, go check this out immediately! (and the 2002 debut, Space Metal).

279.) Rosk- Miasma (2017)
FFO- Sludge Metal, Post Metal, Doom Metal, Black Metal

Rosk is a band that needs to be checked out by everyone that appreciate the genres in the FFO listed. This band and this album in particular, is some of the most honest, heart wrenching metal you'll hear outside of depressive suicidal black metal. A sheer brilliant album that deserves your attention and love in anyway you can. It's sucha  monster record, list, you'll understand why.

278.) The Mars Volta- Deloused In The Comatorium (2003)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Alternative Rock, Fusion, Experimental

TMV is a band that one of the most loyal fan bases outside of metal and this album brought almost everyone to the party. Featuring Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) on bass; this off the wall concept album reaches almost every sense of your soul in different ways and makes you feel so many different emotions. Granted if you are not into modern jam bands, this probably won't be for you, but if you get it...you'll get this.

277.) Dynazty- Titanic Mass (2016)
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal, Power Metal

This is the best Dynazty album, bar none! The catchiness, the songwriting brilliance, and the musicianship is unparalleled. They are the best progressive power metal band you are not listening to (unless you already are; then I'm proud of you!). Simply put, unless you hate these styles of music, you will LOVE Dynazty, guaranteed!

276.) Vallenfyre- Splinters
FFO- Death Metal, Doom Metal, Grindcore

The sophomore album from this Paradise Lost offshoot is where the band really discovered what it what's to accomplish as a band, be one of the heaviest bands ever, no matter the style, no matter the tempo. The production here is top notch, the songwriting is awe inspiring and the overall sense of dread throughout fits so perfectly in the state of the world today (to be fair, all three albums have done that so far). A great starter album for Vallenfyre that will sink it's hooks into you within seconds. It's worth the pain.




And there we go folks, 75 albums done in 3 days *wipes sweat off forehead* and we only got *looks at the rest of the list, checks calculator) 275 albums to go (WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?!) But seriously, I am loving this so far and I am so happy I get to share this all with you, so go out and check out some new music and discover some new favorite bands, I'll be back tomorrow to brings up for Part IV: 275-251.

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Part II has arrived! With all of the great love Part I has already received, I can't wait to keep going with this. Let's just right on to it shall we?

Here's How The Rules Go Down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.


325.) Exhorder- Slaughter in The Vatican (1990)
FFO- Groove Metal, Thrash Metal

Thankfully, our prayers have been answered and not only has Exhorder reformed, but we are getting a new album from the band! But before that, the two album legacy the band gave us are filled to the brim to what would be taken and transformed into other forms of thrash and groove in metal in the forms of Pantera, Machine Head, and many others. But this is where it all started. The debut album paved the way for the heavy side of heavy metal once again for the 90s and that future, while underground at the time, was shining bright. When you listen to it now, it sounds as fresh as ever and I can't wait to see what nearly 30 years difference makes with the new album.

324.) Solstafir- Köld (2009)
FFO- Post Metal, Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal

This Icelandic band has evolved in many ways like the band, Ulver, where they are unrecognizable from their black metal roots. By this time, they heaviness was still around, but was fading. Everything after this album became much more focused on post rock and atmosphere, In a sense, Köld is the perfect gateway to the band, if you like the heaviness shown off, go towards the albums that came before it. If you like the post atmosphere, go towards the albums after it through today. TO me, the band can do no wrong and they are following their hearts. Köld was a great album that really showed off the bands past, present, and future.

323.) Egypt Central- Egypt Central (2008)
FFO- Hard Rock, Alternative Metal

This band had all the potential in the world when this debut album came out in 2005. The singles, You Make Me Sick and Taking You Down, made the Top 40 charts and the band was getting some real recognition. That continued with their next album, White Rabbit, but sadly the band didn't go on much longer after. Basically, this band is a band that should have taken the world by storm with it's songwriting, catchy hooks and fantastic abilities, but the two albums we got was a great showcase of what they could give us.

*EDIT* Shortly after writing this up, I discovered the band has released new music 5 days ago and it's incredible stuff!

322.) The Exies- A Modern Way Of Living The Truth (2007)
FFO- Hard Rock Alternative Metal

The final album from The Exies is a solid album of radio hits after radio hits, but the good kind of earworms, not the force fed catchy songs you hear several times a day on FM radio. Just songs that deserve your attention and give you a reason to listen. If you want a great showcase of what 00s hard rock radio should have beem, pick this album up.

321.) Cephalic Carnage- Anomalies (2005)
FFO- Technical Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal, Deathgrind

This band is capable of playing anything any this album truly shows it. While most of the album showcases the technical, death metal, grindcore that makes up a majority of ti's sound. I do find their satirical take on metalcore, the song "Dying Will Be The Death of Me", to be the best thing they have done. They are a band that rip you apart and still make you give you a smile with a track or two off each album making fun of a genre of metal. Anomalies, in particular is the perfect album to get your feet wet with the band and show off what they band really can do.

320.) Fear My Thoughts- The Great Collapse (2004)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore

A severely underrated melodeath band, the band really came into it's own with The Great Collapse. A great blend of melodeath and metalcore that makes it some of the most catchy and forward thinking melodeath of it's era. Fear My THoughts is a band that deserves your love, even after they are gone. Start with this album and go from there.

319.) Izah- Sistre (2015)
FFO- Sludge Metal, Post Metal, Doom Metal, Atmospheric

This band's debut (so far, only) LP is a sheer masterpiece. It's such a great combination of sludgy doom metal, atmospheric post metal, and some hardcore thrown in for good measure. While at only 4 tracks, they are 4 phenomenal tracks all over the 10 minute mark (the title track being over 31 minutes). I really hope the band comes back soon with another killer album to decimate all that's in it's way. Till then, pick this monster up!

318.) Judgement Day- Peacocks/Pink Monsters
FFO- Orchestral/String Metal

This three piece was a thing of beauty. A violin, a standup bass, and a drum set; making some of the heaviest music that has ever come out of those three lone instruments. I had the gracious opportunity to see them once opening for dredg and they blew my mind, I bought their whole discography they had at the merch table. Not long after came this album and it was everything I wanted it to be. A fun, heavy, insightful instrumental album that showcased all of the band members perfectly. If you want a band like Apocalyptica, but not doing covers nor doing radio rock, Judgement Day is the band for you. Go check out ALL of their stuff (and the various projects they do now).

317.) The 11th Hour- Burden of Grief (2009)
FFO- Doom Metal, Death Metal

This sorrow filled band coming from musician mastermind Ed Warby, released their debut album 10 years ago. A Concept album about a man's final days/hours living with cancer. It pulls on your heartstrings, brings you down to the depths of hell and yet, you never want to escape it. The music is extraordinary, the theme can hit anyone emotionally, and the overall vibe is something you want to see to the bitter end. We need some more music from The 11th Hour at some point, we really, really do.

316.) The Kris Norris Projekt- Icons of the Illogical (2009)
FFO- Mainly Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, Metalcore

Not long after Norris left the band Darkest Hour, came this fantastic solo album that really features off his writing style and everything is capable of creating. With so many great nods to different styles shown off and of course absurdly great guitar playing, this album is underappreciated and deserves some great love. It is not a full on instrumental album, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God lends his vocals on two tracks to add even more variety to this album. I love it to death, and you may as well.

315.) Primal Rock Rebellion- Awoken Broken
FFO- Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Combining the talents of SikTh and Iron Maiden sounds absurd on paper, but the execution is brilliant. Mikee W. Goodman of SikTh and Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden created this (so far) lone album and it's one for the ages; showing off both musicians in the best ways possible. It's a proggy, heavy, melodic rock and metal album that would fit right at home if I had a top 40 rock station. While both guys are extremely busy, I really hope in the future that wee will get another Primal Rock Rebellion album in the future, the world truly needs it.

314.) Wolves In The Throne Room- Celestial Lineage (2011)
FFO- Atmospheric Black Metal, Post Metal

Wolves In The Throne Room is a true watershed band. Bands that came before it explored or hinted at atmospheric elements at times. Bands that came after really started exploring the post rock, post metal sides of what black metal can do. WITTR is still that fine line between black metal and atmospheric post metal and this is heavily demonstrated with Celestial Lineage. It's a very grandiose album that they even made a 2nd album, Celestite, to be played along with this album to add more synths, style, and atmosphere. It's one of the most dense black metal albums you will ever find and a true gem in the genre. 

313.) OSI- Free (2006)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Industrial Metal

From brainchild, Kevin Moore, this album features guests from all over the prog landscape, though not nearly as many as the debut album. This album features more on song structure and feel rather than exploring everything it did before and after Free. So with that its the most commercial(?) of it's catalog and I have no idea if the project will come back in any form, but I love(d) what they have done and Free is a great discovery album for the band.

312.) Gridlink- Longhena (2014)
FFO- Grindcore, Progressive Metal

Grindcore with song structures? Surely you jest? I jest not! This is one of my favorite grindcore albums ever made and for good reason, this final album from Gridlink shows off the band at it's proggiest, yet never losing the grindcore touch at all. It's an absolutely insane album and it deserves any and all love you can give it.

311.) Goes Cube- Another Day Has Passed (2009)
FFO- Post Hardcore, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Post Rock

When I discovered the band Torche, I was looking to see if I could find any band that did similar, as I love that sound. Goes Cube is the closest I could find (back in 2009) and I was not disappointed. a great mix of all the genres listed above gives the band it's own distinct flair and it's something that is sadly missed with the band being put to rest a few years back. Give this album a shot if you want an album with so many twists and turns that feels like an emotional roller coaster in the best way.

310.) Hella- Hold Your Horse Is (2002)
FFO- Experimental, instrumental

Back before Zach Hill was known for staring the experimental hip hop duo, Death Grips, he was the drummer of one of the most spontaneous, genre defying, and insane technical abilities I've ever heard in a band with, Hella. Hold Your Horse Is is the duo at it's most creative and death defying. I've never heard a drummer who could pull off septuplets on a bass drum with one foot before, but it's here. The music is not for the faint at heart. It's courageous, wacky, and completely insane; yet, musical. Words can't really describe it, you would just have to listen for yourself.

309.) Red Fang- Whales and Leeches (2013)
FFO- Sludge Metal, Hard Rock

The album that brought me to the beer drinking party is still my favorite from the band after all this time. This is such a ridiculously fun album from start to finish. Whether you want fast songs, slow songs, mellow songs, crunchy songs, they are all here and more. The band is just unadulterated fun and this just a great example to start off your adventures with Red Fang.

308.) Miss May I- At Heart (2012)
FFO- Metalcore

This is the generation of American metalcore I missed while I was discovering other bands, so not many of the bands ever really grabbed my attention. Miss May I on the other hand...what a great band that really shows the powerful of writing a good catchy song while keeping metal attached to it all. While they are not everyone's cup of tea (most people refuse to listen for the band name alone), if you go past your preconceived notions, there is so much to enjoy here, and why not start off with this fantastic album (then jump immediately to their latest album Shadows Inside, which is arguably their best, but I went with what brought me to the band).

307.) Spiral Architect- A Sceptic's Universe (2000)
FFO- Progressive Metal

I've talked so much so far about final albums or only albums from bands and projects. This band/album is no exception. If Cynic was inspired by Black Sabbath and Candlemass, you get Spiral Architect. This lost gem is mandatory listening if you are a prog fan. It's an album that stretches your creative imagination to the brink and it's worth every single second.

306.) Hate Eternal- Upon Desolate Sands (2018)
FFO- Death Metal, Technical Death Metal

Anyone can say what they want, but when it comes to American technical death metal, no one does it better than Hate Eternal. Only getting more ferocious with every new album, the band's latest album showcases this in strides. The production is top notch, the musicianship is mindblowing, and the songs the kind of brutality that you just want to keep in your life. Hate Eternal rules and there is no end in sight. I can't wait to see what's next.

305.) Earshot- Two (2004)
FFO- Hard Rock, Alternative Metal

What a great band Earshot was when they came out in the 2000s and by the time of their sophomore LP, Two, they really showed the world what they were capable of. Every release from the band is such a joy to listen to, but I go back to Two the most as it just really captures what the band had in store, but with what they had before this and everything that came after. So catchy, hooky, heavy, and sadly missed on modern airwaves. I hope they come back and make the best album they've ever made.

304.) From Autumn To Ashes- Abandon Your Friends (2005)
FFO- Post Hardcore, Emo

I love every single album these guys have done and it's a shame that the band has had it's ups and downs the way they have. Abandon Your Friends really showed off the band in the perfect musical light. Everything you could possibly want in this band is shown off here and done to perfection. This is about as far as I really go down the post hardcore, emo rabbit hole, but the adventure every time I hear them is absolutely worth it.

303.) Mercenary- The Hours That Remain (2006)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Power Metal

There is no bad Mercenary album and it's so hard to choose my favorite, but again, I chose the one that brought me to the dance. This album showcases that perfect blend of In Flames, Nevermore, and Dream Theater that I wish bands would have done to even greater heights. Such an underrated band and they need a comeback, like yesterday! You can't go wrong with any Mercenary album, like mentioned, but hey, give The Hours That Remain a chance you may fall in love with them the way I did.

302.) D.R.I.- Danger Zone (1989)
FFO- Crossover Thrash, Punk, Heavy Metal

D.R.I. are such a fantastic abnd that is still going strong to this day. But back in the day, they wrote albums for the generation, most particularly 4 of a Kind and Danger Zone. The latter in question is what I love about the band. So many great ragers,  killer riffs, and relateable lyrics. D.R.I. has it all and if you missed out on them so far, it's not too late to get on the bus before you get trapped, down, BENEATH THE WHEEL!!!

301.) Mercyful Fate- Melissa (1983)
FFO- Heavy Metal, Early Black Metal

What can I possibly say about this album that hasn't been covered already? It's one of the most groundbreaking albums in extreme metal. It inspired Metallica in so many ways, a whole genre was helped inspired by this album (and of course the bands Venom and Hellhammer/Celtic Frost) in Black Metal, and of course, KING DIAMOND!!! It's a landmark album in heavy metal history and it should be required listening for any metal fan. There's a reason why you don't hear people talk much crap about Mercyful Fate nor King Diamond; Melissa is such a prime example.



And there we go, folks. 2 parts down, 50 albums covered. 300 more albums to go (what have I done to myself???) I hope you are enjoying this so far and if you haven't found what you've been looking for, my personal favorites are yet to come!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Part 1: 350-326

So here we are in 2019. The past decade since the last time I did a definitive top albums list has been quite a decade of growth for me personally and musically. I joined so many bands that eventually failed, I have had my life torn apart in every conceivable way, I've made what I thought were true friends that turned out to be incredibly terrible people, but there has been one gigantic upside to it all. I started what has become known as That Drummer Guy on August 2nd, 2011. Since then I have done over 600 interviews, endless reviews at the end of every year, so many grand experiences that no one else would get to have and so much more that I know that I am forgetting. With all that, my musical tastes have grown,l I've discovered so much new music and I have been able to put my stamp in the rock and metal world, even if it is still a small stamp. And a decade later, I wanna bring back what has made me known online to begin with, my favorite albums of all times list, but, with a twist!

Here's how it will all go down:

1.) 14 Lists of 25 albums a piece, counting down from 350 to 1.
2.) No more than one album per project, otherwise this list would be in the 1,000s.
3.) This list is as close of order as I could get it and be somewhat happy. If I overthink it, I could easily rewrite this whole list in a new order over and over again. Right now, I'm happy with it enough to write it down for the world to see.
4.) If there is an album/band/artist missing from this list that doesn't fit the criteria above (mainly number 2) it is because I either didn't hear it enough, didn't like it as much, it's too new to me to be fair to add to the list, or it just isn't my bag...baby!
5.) My list isn't your list. Your favorite band might not be on here, it might be too low for you, a band you hate might be too high for you. Just remember, it's just my opinion.
6.) The goal of this gigantic list is to show off my roots, what I love in the past, and now, and most importantly, to show YOU something that you may not be familiar with that you may enjoy. If you can't find something to enjoy within these 350 albums, we are just not going to click musically. Different Strokes...
7.) Yes, I enjoy every single album here. Every album I can enjoy front to back, not wanting to skip a track. Not a single album on here is just thrown in to fill out the list, nor is there a single album that I feel is weak. To me, it's all killer and no filler.

So how about we get started...eh?

350.) My Chemical Romance- Welcome To The Black Parade (2006)
FFO- Pop Rock, Alternative Rock, Emo

How's that for a shocker?!?! Yes, I very much enjoy this album from start to finish. IN all honesty, it's the only one that I ever really got into. I love that it's a dark concept album, which outside of Green Day's '00s albums, you just never saw that in mainstream music at the time. It's very proggy for that and I truly appreciate it for that. Wish they would have kept that in mind for everything after this, but hey, at least I got one album I enjoy out of them, can't complain too much.

349.) Metallica- Ride The Lightning (1984)
FFO- Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal

Yes, Metallica is this low. Why? Frankly, I burned myself out on the band in 2003 and the love never truly came back. It's the only band that ever had that effect on me. Mainly it's because of Metallica it's been my mission to go out and search for new music so I never burn myself out on one band, style, etc. RTL though it their best album. Best album cover, best Metallica logo, best Metallica instrumental, and the best track order from start to finish. While many will disagree and say it's Master of Puppets or even the past version me would say it's ...And Justice For All; but as I've grown up, Ride The Lightning just does it best for me and what a great album for it to happen with.

348.) Rishloo- Eidolon (2007)
FFO- Tool meets Fair To Midland

That's the best way I can describe this sadly underrated band. A great mix of the prog, heavy, quirky, and experimental sides of both of the aforementioned bands, but still a great example of taking influences and creating something new with it. Introduced to me from a friend I sadly don't really talk to anymore, this was a fantastic recommendation from them and I'm so thankful I got to check them out as I would have missed them had I not been shown the band. Eidolon showcases the band's strengths in the best ways and you just can't help but feel a great chill down your spine at some of it's highest moments. Well worth a listen.

347.) Mew- No More Stories... (2009)
FFO- Progressive Rock, Dream Pop, Alternative Rock

Mew are a shining example of how to forge your own sound and making the music you want to make. WIth that, Mew carved out their finest work to date with No More Stories... a perfect blend of dancey, proggy, angelic, and blissful music that makes you feel like you are floating through through the clouds over the most beautiful landscapes. This album/band won't be for everyone reading this list, but if you need something that's not heavy in the slightest and want a break from the world, No More Stories... is the album to make that happen.

346.) Sons of Aeon- Sons of Aeon (2013)
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Unless they somehow reform and put out another album, this is one of my favorite one album bands ever. I've often said this album is what I would imagine if Pain of Salvation would ever put out a melodeath album. The melodies, the harmonies, the overall sense of darkness, it's a flourishing and brilliant album from start to finish and it's an absolute shame that there is no follow up to this debut album. Maybe my prayers will be answered and we'll get album two, but if not, we got this untouchable, meldodeath album of awesomeness.

345.) Vital Remains- Dechristianize (2003)
FFO- Death Metal

Vital Remains is that definition of a raw, heavy, satanic death Metal band. Dechristianize is their pinnacle of brilliance with it's epic title track showcasing everything the band is capable of. It's brutal and oddly, so melodic at the same time. If you've never ventured into true satanic death metal, you may as well start with an album that's title gives you exactly that...Dechristianize!

344.) Peeping Tom- Peeping Tom (2006)
FFO- Trip Hop, Pop, Alternative

It's still strange to know that a lot of people will still only know Mike Patton for his work with Faith No More, when he has done so...SO much more. From scary as hell metal with Fantomas to absurdly quirky and catchy stuff with Mr. Bungle to too many projects, collaborations and one offs to count. This stand alone album is what Patton considers his version of pop music and it really, really works. It can get heavy to trippy to poppy to laid back all at the turn of a dime. There's something for everyone on this album and it's well worth your time checking out.

343.) Burning Inside- Apparation (2001)
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

The work of Richard Christy is nothing short of brilliant. No matter if he's making prank calls on the Howard Stern show, or sharing the stage with Death. The man has done no wrong so far. This dangerously underrated album from 2001 is a worthy album to follow his stint with Death, showcasing his phenomenal drumming along with some brilliant songwriting, ferocious vocals and brutal production; it's a death metal album that is worthy of any and all praise it gets.

342.) Wilton & Akerstache- Storm Corrosion
FFO- 80s Pop, Progressive Rock

Quite possibly the greatest prog parody album ever made. SADLY, I have no idea where to ever find it again. It was available for free through the band's YouTube channel and it disappeared, so if you have it...you know! If it's out there, share that stuff! But anyways, one man took it upon himself to ask himself what he thought a collaboration between Steven Wilson and Mikael Akerstache would sound like. If you ever heard the actual one off project Storm Corrosion, then you know it was a sinister, dark soundscape album. This however is the warped mix of Miami Vice, Genesis, and the best over the top and hysterical vocals you'll ever hear. Seriously, if it's out there, go find it and enjoy, it's worth every single second.

341.) Dave Brockie Experience- Diarrhea of a Madman
FFO- Comedy Punk Rock

If you love the idea of GWAR but not the theatrics, DBX may be what you've been looking for. It's a 3 piece band of Dave Brockie and CO making simple punk rock and some hilarious songs to go with it. Some of my favorite bass riffs ever on this album (I'm serious). I would have loved to have seen these guys live but will sadly never get the chance. Brockie ruled at everything he did and between both DBX albums, there is so much to enjoy before you get back into GWAR.

340.) Widowmaker- Blood And Bullets (1992)
FFO- Heavy Metal

DId you know that Dee Snider had a heavy metal band. No I don't mean Twisted Sister, I mean something much heavier. Ok, no I don't mean his new solo album which is really, REALLY heavy all things considered. I mean back in the late 80s, early 90s; Snider created Widowmaker, a heavy as hell album that showcased his love for heavy metal. It's fast, it's catchy, it's two fantastic albums. WIdowmaker's sophomore album Blood and Bullets, much like Skid Row's Slave To The Grind, showed the band get even heavier and more fun. THis is such a fun album to listen to and I highly recommend you check it out as well.

339.) Karnivool- Sound Awake (2009)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Tool

Karnivool is still the front runners of the Australian Tool-esque prog metal bands that came out of the 21st century and really blew the doors off the house. Sound Awake is when things exploded for the band and they became the worldwide band that prog fans have been asking for. Super catchy, so many great twists and turns, plus a great sense of musical songwriting that really makes the bands stand out. If you're a prog fan and have yet to hear Karnivool, you are in for a real treat.

338.) Vertigo Steps- Surface/Light (2012)
FFO- Melodic Metal, Alternative Rock

A band that I feel like never got the love they truly deserved and I sadly discovered them too late. The band's final album showcased some of the greatest melancholic & melodic rock, alternative, and Metal riffs put to record of it's style and I love every second of it. It's hauntingly beautiful and an album that when you discover it, you may just fall in love as well.

337.) 1349- Demonoir (2010)
FFO- Black Metal

1349 has been around for 22 years now and every album seems to crush on such a great, consistent way. My turning on point of the band was Demonoir and what a great record to start with. The production just raw and polished enough, the songs are so evil and has some of their most memorable songs to date on it. If you wanna heat what the 3rd/4th generation of Scandinavian Black Metal has to offer the world, what's a better place to start than the band who named themselves after the black plague?

336.) Shai Hulud- Misanthropy Pure (2008)
FFO- Hardcore Punk, Mathcore

This band is one that I wish would make a return from hiatus and take over the world again. At least to date, the band's last album, Misanthropy Pure is that perfect blend of hardcore, punk rock, and touches of mathcore that just grabs your attention and makes you pay attention. A short, sweet, brutal, 42 minute display of what can be done with creative minds.

335.) Burst- Lazarus Bird (2008)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal (Mastodon, Baroness, early day Torche)

Man, I have a lot of final albums on this so far don't I? Didn't realize it till now. Anyways, Burst was an unsung inspiring band for me that really showcased what could be done in heavier progressive metal. Sadly, the final album was the last great display this band had to offer and boy, they really gave it their all on this one. I dare say they were there along with bands like Today is the Day that really showcased what bands like Mastodon would carve out and make their own later in time. And by this time, those types of bands were exploding and Burst gave a proper farewell. All of it's great twists and turns, heavy riffs and overalls sense of wonder hits you from beginning to end and it leaves you wanting more. Sadly, that's how it looks to be...leaving us wanting more. Seriously, go check them out if you have not done so.

334.) Pelican- City of Echoes (2007)
FFO- Instrumental, Post Metal, Post Rock

Pelican are one of greatest instrumental post bands to ever exist and they prove it with every single album. City of Echoes, in particular, just does it for me with it's heaviness on top of it's proggy landscapes and dark atmospheres. Any Pelican album is a great place to start, but if you wanna start where I did, go City of Echoes, it's an awesome trip!

333.) Twelve Foot Ninja- Silent Machine (2012)
FFO- Progressive Metal, Alternative Rock (Meshuggah meets Mike Patton)

It's heavy, it's quirky, it's just a fun album from start to finish. This Australian band shows that not every prog band needs to be inspired by Tool to make an impact, and they did it perfectly. Silent Machine is the perfect gateway album into this band that puts on such a great atmosphere that y ou will expect upon your first listen. Meshuggah riffs going into reggae into pop? Oh, that's there and so much more!

332.) Acid Bath- When The Kite String Pops (1994)
FFO- Doom Metal, Sludge Metal

When you hear the name acid bath, you just automatically think it's some brutal grindgore or brutal death metal band right? Acid Bath is far from that. They took new directions of sludge, doom and southern gothic and really created a style that many have tried to duplicate, but could only imitate. Dax Riggs and Co really made an amazing impact in the world and while all parties when on to form create music, from blues in Dax's solo material to Goatwhore; the musicians involved created incredible music and despite it's tragic end, it's great to see their passions live on.

331.) Thrice- The Artist In The Ambulance (2003)
FFO- Post Hardcore, Pop Rock

Thrice is a band that instantly grabbed my attention when I was discovering new bands in 2003. It was a great mix of radio friendly hooks but nearly metal at times, something that I was very interested in at the time. The Artist In The Ambulance still stands out as the band's biggest album and for good reason. While every album after this goes into much deeper territory thematically, conceptually and musically, this album was that shining album for me that reminded me that not everything that is popular is bad. A rule I genuinely live by now (though it took a while), don't judge a band by it's trend; judge it by it's music. And what a great album Thrice released 16 years ago.

330.) Mr. Bungle- Mr. Bungle (1991)
FFO- Experimental

Putting a pure label on Mr. Bungle is meaningless. There isn't two Bungle songs that sound the same, let alone albums. It's Mike Patton's band before Faith No More, but oddly got going after Faith No More broke out (possibly one of only two instances where a musician joins a bigger band and says "Don't worry guys, I'm not forgetting about you. After things get rolling here, I'll come back and bring this band with." the other being Corey Taylor with Stone Sour) I chose the S/T album because it has the most metal moments that come out of nowhere, but it's so funky, quirky, danceable and bat guano insane (though that last part you could LITERALLY say that about any of the albums). Mr. Bungle is not for the faint of heart, but worth your time if you dare.

329.) Levi/Werstler- Avalanche of Worms (2010)
FFO- Instrumental Metal

Eyal Levi, Emil Werstler, and Sean Reinert....seriously what else do I need to say? This is a perfect instrumental album that showcases all of the band's phenomenal skills in production, songwriting and chops. This one off band needs love after nearly a decade away and you should really give it your time if you dig instrumental metal. I can't fathom how you would be disappointed.

328.) Kaddisfly- Set Sail to Prairie (2006)
FFO- Alternative Rock, Experimental Rock

For the longest time, this was the band's final album, but in 2015, they came back with a killer reunion album, Horses Galloping on Sailboats. But this album is a fantastic concept album focusing on a different month in a different spot in the northern hemisphere starting from June and ending in May. It ranges from so many emotions and musical territories that is well worth your time if you're adventurous. 

327.) Portal- Vexovoid
FFO- Blackened Death Metal, Extreme Metal, Avant Garde

Challenge Time! Get this album, stay up till you go to bed, turn off all the lights, light a candle or two. Put this album on and see how long you can last before you start to feel terrified. Vexovoid in particular is one of the scariest albums put out to date and it completely messes with your senses. The sheer brutality, the noise affects, the haunting vocals, everything about this band is horrendously scary, but in the best way possible. Another album and band not for the faint of heart, but if you can survive this album, you can survive any band ever.

326.) Goo Goo Dolls- Dizzy Up The Girl
FFO- Alternative Rock, Pop Rock

Unless you are of those few that remember my original Top Albums list back on the old Dream Theater and Mike Portnoy forums, there's no way you saw this album coming did you? I honestly love this album and I feel Black Balloon is one of the greatest pop rock ballads ever made (FIGHT ME, JERKS!). It's funny how a band that started off on Metal Blade Records became one of the biggest 90s bands with the band's main single, Iris. I still enjoy the song to this day, but the rest of the album showcases some killer songwriting and so many songs that never got the time of day. That tends to happen when one song skyrockets you to stardom. But anyways, the older, heavier, more punkish days of the band disappeared on this album, and everything that came after this album never really did anything for me. This was the case of the right album at the right time and yeah, I really love it.



And there you go folks, the first 25 of my humongous top 350 albums of all time list. 325 albums to go and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. But I have shown off a broad taste of music from the most brutal of blackened death metal to the most radio friendly pop rock the 90s had to offer.

Next time, Part II: 325-301

- Josh Rundquist

Alpha Wolf is becoming one of the strongest names in Australian Metal and for good reason. With two prior EPs and their debut album, Mono; the band returns with a darker but broader sound and new outlook on life with the new EP, Fault, coming out April 19th through Sharptone Records. I had the opportunity to ask frontman, Lochie Keogh, a few questions about everything going on in the world of Alpha Wolf. ENJOY!
 
Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview! For anyone who may not be familiar, describe Alpha Wolf.
Honest and heavy, the one and the only Alpha Wolf. 



The brand new EP, Fault, is coming out next Friday through Sharptone Records. How does it feel to have this EP available for the world to hear so soon?
It's a really exciting feeling, Almost just as equally nerve wracking, especially putting it out there as the new voice in the mix. Either way we're really happy with what we've put together so we just want it out, we write music that we want to hear and it’s always great finally getting to let everyone else hear it. 
 
I thoroughly enjoy Fault and it’s pummeling, nearly 18 minutes of heavy, groovin and absolutely catchy songs and interludes. What went into the writing process for Fault?
Scottie (guitar) normally lays down some quality demo tracks as he is the riff lord and we’ll all pitch in with structure and anything else necessary for the song. Lyrics are always being written behind the scenes and then we’ll pick a lyric set that’ll suit a vibe of a song and consistently tweak it until everyone is happy with everything.
 
I gotta imagine it will be a great feeling to be able to play songs from Fault in a live setting going forward?
It's wild. Every show the new songs seem to be reaching new ears. To see the fans getting into them at the shows is always cool, the new songs definitely seem to be the crowd favorites.

One thing I truly appreciate about Fault is the atmospheric moments of the songs that really capture your interest and makes the brutal parts more brutal and the more mellow moments feel even more mellow. How important is the atmospheric vibe in the band?
I wouldn't say it's something so important that we are driving to create it, the vibe is either there or it isn't and it'll usually come naturally with the creation of the song, we’re always writing for our own ears and the dynamics are something that we really enjoy creating. 

The artwork for Fault is absolutely stunning. How did you decide on this artwork for the EP?
We knew we wanted to paint a really cold picture for the record so we took that and bounced around with some artists til we got a product we felt represented it well. 
It’s one of those things that isn’t right until you see it for the first time and know instantly that it’s right.
 
What would you say was the biggest change(s) going from the debut album, Mono, to Fault?
Majority of the lyrics on Mono were drawn more so from fresh wounds and things happening at the time of the record being written, which resulted in a more depressing vibe. Fault is drawn from all experiences of our lives new and old and expresses a variety of emotion. 
 
I’ve always noticed with the Australian Metal scene that is so varied and well rounded with so many killer bands. What is it like for you guys playing in Australia over the years?
Playing in Australia was definitely harder in the early years, there is a lot of saturation and so much music happening every night that it can be hard to draw a crowd, which makes every band strive so hard to be greater and break free from the mold. This is exactly what we did and now each time we run around the country is significantly better than the last. 
 
So with Fault coming out next Friday, what is going on with Alpha Wolf for the rest of 2019?
A whole lotta touring. 
 
Have you had any favorite albums yet this year or any previously from 2018?
Black Tongue's Nadir is probably my favourite for the year. 
 
What do you like to when you are not focused on Alpha Wolf?
Not a hell of a lot. We like video games and anime so we're staying home maybe a little too much sometimes. 
 
Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview. As a new fan of the band and absolutely loving what I hear, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about everything going on in the world of Alpha Wolf. Before we are done, is there anything else you would like to mention that I hadn’t brought up yet?
Thanks to everyone who made it through this; hope you’re enjoying ‘Fault’



ALPHA WOLF- FAULT AVAILABLE APRIL 19TH THROUGH SHARPTONE RECORDS

Hey Everybody!

For those not in the know, on February 11th, I was hospitalized for a multitude of reasons and was there for 13 days and I am still on the mend for the next several weeks, so that means the radio show and podcast had to be put on hold till I heal up and get back into fighting shape. I will be discussing all of this on my comeback episode of Something Gives in the near future.

But in the meantime, I hope this tides you over. I missed out on a ton of albums and promos since being hospitalized and I have been able to catch up on a lot of them. How many? Well, how's 45 albums to tide you over?

Again, as I'm on the mend, I haven't been able to capture every album promo I've heard and there are ten albums I had set aside for my Best of February List, but that was before I got sidelined and I still may add them to a different list involving February and March albums, we'll see.

But as the title suggests, this is 45 album reviews in one sentence or less to get you interested in some new music. Let's see what you can discover!


Afterhand- Escaping Misfortune
Cool Prog rock in the vein of Coheed & A Perfect Circle.


Arrival of Autumn- Harbinger
A more Metal version of Hatebreed with some melodic vocals.


Attila- Villian
Deathcore, not really my bag, but it seems like it is executed well.


August Burns Red- Phantom Sessions EP
They cover The Legend Of Zelda theme; that automatically makes it good.


Backyard Babies- Silver & Gold
Good ol’ Heavy Rock and Roll.


Bastard Noise- Human Extinction Engine
If you dig harsh noise, I’m sure you’ll dig this. (actually got a headache listening to just one song)


Bellrope- You Must Relax
Heavy Sludgy Doom Metal for fans of Pallbearer/Baroness/Inter Arma


Bergraven- Det framlidna minnet
Dark Experimental Progressive Death Metal, heavily impressed!


Bog- S/T
Austrian Blackened Post Metal; an awesome combination


Candlemass- The Door To Doom
While my favorite era will always be with Messiah, I can’t deny the debut album and it is amazing to hear Lars back in the fold.


Cellar Darling- The Spell
Much darker and less folky than the first album and easily for the better with the sound they are going for.


Children of Bodom- Hexed
Easily continuing the trend of making fantastic music again for their 3rd straight album and it might be their best of this era.


Chrome Waves- A Grief Observed
Blackgaze done right, one of my favorite albums of the year so far.


Contrarian- Their Worm Never Dies
For fans of Pestilence, Atheist, Death and Cynic (fantastic technical, progressive death metal)


Demon Hunter- War/Peace
War covers the band’s early heavy side while Peace covers the more current mainstream sound; something for everyone that’s a fan of the band.


Devil Master- Satan Spits on Children of Light
Raw Blackened Crust Punk, very cool stuff


Dream Theater- Distance Over Time
Possibly the most concise and accessible Dream Theater album ever made; whether that’s good or bad to you depends on what you listen to Dream Theater for.


D'un Autre Temps- Nos Memoires
Heavily inspired by Alcest in all the best ways but with added orchestration; a sheer breakout album


Dun Ringill- Welcome
Very fun, horror inspired, Doom Rock/Metal


Eluveitie- Ategnatos
The sound that made me fall in love with Eluveitie and Folk Metal in general, is back and I couldn’t be happier.


Endorphins Lost- Seclusions
If you wish Blood For Blood had more Powerviolence to their sound; this is the band for you.


Forever Still- Breathe in Colours
A band for those that want their heavy, yet mainstream sounds ala Lacuna Coil, Halestorm and In This Moment without having to feel guilty about enjoying it.


Gypsy Chief Goliath- Masters of Space and Time
Stoner Progressive Metal for fans of The Sword, Mastodon, Clutch, and even newer Opeth


Hath- Of Rot and Ruin
Extremely aggressive, thrashy Death Metal


Hiss From The Moat- The Harrier
Brutal Blackened Death Metal; great technical ability shown throughout


In Flames- I The Mask
Simply put, the band’s best album since Come Clarity


Indestructible Noise Command- Terrible Things
Incredibly fun Thrash Metal with a Punk attitude


Inferi- The End of an Era: Rebirth
Technical Death Metal that has that melodic sense, ala Arsis, that I love so much.


La Dispute- Panorama
Not in my normal wheelhouse of music I listen to but really enjoyable, laid back Post Hardcore; I could come back to this.


The Machinist- Confidimus in Morte
Quite brutal Deathcore, Nu Metal and Alternative Metal rolled into one with a really good, positive message in today’s society; something to get behind.


Maestus- Deliquesce
Absolutely gorgeous and forelorn Blackened Doom Metal; Anathema meets My Dying Bride meets Ahab


Mark Morton- Anesthetic
A really cool album seeing Morton explore his non Lamb of God sound, while still being heavy, plus it’s great to hear the late Chester Bennington on the opening track.


Misery Index- Rituals of Power
This could end up being the best Deathgrind album of 2019, but it’s still March, so we will see.


Murmur- The Boundless Black
A dark and beautiful alternative & folk album from two guys not known for this style.


The Mute Gods- Atheists and Believers
The 3rd album from this prog supergroup is at their catchiest and most cynical, I wouldn’t want it any other way.


Omicida- Defrauded Reign
Fast, heavy, catchy Thrash Metal, a fun listen all around.


Queensryche- The Verdict
The verdict is in: this album is simply fantastic and what I was hoping for from the band at this stage.


The Royal- Deathwatch
Super catchy Metalcore, a great throwback to the early to mid 00s


RPWL- Tales From Outer Space
The Pink Floyd inspired prog rock band returns with their 8th album with short science fiction stories and the most perfect cinematic soundtrack to back it up.


SeeYouSpaceCowboy- Songs For The Firing Squad
If Dillinger Escape Plan played sassy hardcore aimed for the myspace generation and opened for the Taste of Chaos tours; still comprehending what I’m hearing.


Sermon- Birth of the Marvellous
A band beautifully mixing Porcupine Tree, Katatonia, and Anathema with such a metal tinge; this is going to be one of the biggest break though Prog albums in 2019.


Sylvaine- Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone
Another band with an influence of the blackgaze created by Alcest, but done in a different way; check out if you want heartbreakingly beautiful music.


Twin Temple- Bring Their Signature Sound...Satanic Doo-Wop
If the title doesn’t give away what this sounds like...I don’t know what to tell you; oddly the most soothing satanic album I’ve ever heard.


Tyr- Hel
Pretty much all the folk elements (besides some hints at it) of this band has been stripped away for more straight ahead Metal and leaving the folklore more towards the lyrical concepts; a perfect gateway album to try to get into Folk Metal, especially if you have been afraid to try it in the past.


Whitechapel- The Valley
The band stripped away so much of their Deathcore sound and is expanding their horizons in what’s possible in heavy music; and to me, that makes them far more enjoyable.

And there you go folks, 45 album reviews in one sentence or less. If something captures your interest, go out and check those albums out and support the bands.

Till I'm back at 100%, this is That Drummer Guy signing off! Have a Good Day!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

To offset my depression  and try to work on more That drummer Guy related stuff in 2019. I have decided to do something new by reviewing The Top 10 Albums of each month going forward. Don't get worried, my year end stuff will be in tact and as plentiful as ever. But now you get to hear about some of those albums just a tad earlier and enjoy them as long as I do.

Few Rules First:

1.) This will happen every Monday after the last Friday of each month to cover as much ground as possible for each month.

2.) This will be in ALPHABETICAL ORDER! Not going away all my year end stuff. I want that to mean as much as ever.

3.) This will only be for the current month. While I get some albums MONTHS in advance, I wanna cover the current month.

4.) If an album you think deserves to be on here and it isn't it's because I haven't heard it yet, haven't heard it enough, or just not my bag...baby.

So let's get cracking with the 10 best albums of January 2019!



A Pale Horse Named Death- When The World Becomes Undone
FFO- Gothic Metal, Doom Rock, Alternative Metal

The 3rd album from this powerhouse of a group showcases some of the darkest, bleakest, yet oddly uplifting music in the band's career. The band carries on with their brand of rock and metal with loving tribute to Type O Negative (how could it not?) but is separated enough to have their own sound in this dark world we live in. In all honesty, I needed this album this year. It hits so many tropes of what I'm currently going through mentally and if you are feeling down, this is an album I highly recommend to help bring some peace into your life. A must hear from a band that deserves to take over the world.

Altarage- The Approaching Roar
FFO- Extreme Metal, Blackened Death Metal Portal

This album fills that void of chaos you need in your life. The band's 3rd album is at their most aggressive, most hostile, and most horrific in the best ways possible. The production is perfect for the style, The songs vary in intensity but doesn't stop it's relentless terror. If you dig bands like Portal but have never heard Altarage, you are seriously missing out.

The Drowned God- I'll Always Be The Same
FFO- Post Hardcore, Crust Punk, Blackgaze

It is an odd mix, but a mix that works so perfectly. Taking the atmosphere of post hardcore, emo and post rock, with the tinges of black metal and crust punk to make a unique sound that really strikes a chord with the darkest parts of your emotions. Mix Deftones, Deafheaven, and Explosions in The Sky in a melancholic blender and you got an absolutely solid album

Evergrey- The Atlantic
FFO- Progressive Power Metal, Dark Metal

The kings of dark metal have returned with their latest opus and continuation of their current concept covering oceans. The album is filled to the brim with catchy, haunting riffs. The production is top notch, and Tom Englund's voice continues to have the most heart breaking soul you will hear in heavy music. Evergrey refuses to disappoint and The Atlantic proves that Evergrey will carry the torch of dark metal till the end of time.

Flotsam and Jetsam- The End Of Chaos
FFO- Thrash Metal

One of the most underrated bands in music returns with their latest musical assault. The band returns as fast, heavy, thrashy, and catchy as ever. Covering so much ground from their past, yet modern enough (with perfect production) that really hits the thrasher's heart and soul. This is what all thrash albums should aspire to be going forward.

Kane Roberts- The New Normal
FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

This album covers so much ground, musically, that I love. You have the Iced Earth vibe of King Of The World, to the dark and heavy Beginning of the End (Which features the legendary Alice Cooper and extreme vocals of Alissa White-Gluz) to powerful ballads like Forever Out of Place. Basically, no matter your style of rock and metal enjoyment, there is something here for you. That just may be The New Normal.

Nailed To Obscurity- Black Frost
FFO- Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal

This band continues continues to hit you harder and hard with every subsequent album. Black Frost hits right at home with dark overtones, beautiful passages of music and that melancholic tone that really makes the band what they are. If you love doom, melodeath or dark music in general, Nailed To Obscurity should be your new musical obsession.

Soilwork- Verkiligheten
FFO- Progressive Metal, Melodeath, Hard Rock

This band can seriously do no wrong. With every album in the last album, the band continues to explore how extreme, yet progressive, yet catchy the band is possible of being. With this album, it continues to hit levels of controlled chaos and hits even closer to hard rock/radio rock territory, without losing a single drop of intensity. One of the most adventurous, yet mainstream albums, the band has made to date. I did a whole track by track review of the album here: www.thatdrummerguy.com/written-material/album-review-soilwork-verkligheten

Swallow The Sun- When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light
FFO- Doom Metal, Melodeath

There is something to be said about a band who put out a trilogy of albums a couple years back showing off everything the band is capable of at the time; yet come back in 2019 and write one of the most poignant, soul crushing, and hauntingly beautiful albums in their career. This album covers the bases of loss, love, and everything in between so majestically. This is the perfect gateway album to the band and will easily be one of the best albums of the year. Get ready for a trip around the darkest depths of your mind and coming out the end with a purged soul.

Together To The Stars- An Oblivion Above
FFO- Post Black Metal, Blackgaze

Of course it's in a Scandinavian Country where a genre is perfected. Together To The Stars perfectly captures what bands in the blackgaze, post black metal genre have been trying to do for years. A seamless blend of dark and light, emotional and heartbreaking, and easily some of the best production of it's style that it's crystal clear, yet raw enough to violate the senses. A band you really should not pass on if this intrigues you, I couldn't recommend it more.


And that's what we got for January 2019. As you can tell, January is a good month for some of the darkest albums to come out (with winter hitting us and all) and a good blend of great genres that really shows us that 2019 is a year that will contain some absolutely amazing music.

I already have enough albums to do February's list. But I have so much catching up to do for next month that it'll have to wait. So enjoy these ten albums now and see why good music never stops coming out.

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

I simply can't believe it's the last full week of 2018. This year has gone by so very fast and at this time next week, it'll be New Year's Eve.

Hey Everybody!

It's time for my yearly wrap up where I talk about the good, the bad, the sexy, and the ugly things of 2018 in my life. I'm not sure how long this will be, but I do want to summarize my 2018 both personally and professionally, and what lies ahead for 2019 (at least tentatively).

Let's break from tradition and start off with the good that has happened this year!

First off, at this time last year, I was really scared I wouldn't have a place to live. My old apartment raised up another 50 bucks a month that I simply couldn't afford. It started at a very reasonable $760 when I moved in June 2015 and by January 2018 it was going to be nearly $1200. So I scrambled to look for a new place and I hit the jackpot. A new place just one town over and maybe an additional 5 minutes away from Minneapolis. It's bigger, less neighbors, way nicer and homier, and even now, it's only 90 bucks more than that original $760 a month price at my old pace. So it's a win in every way!

I've been getting even more into gaming this year, PS4 all the way (ThatDrummerGuy1 if you wanna add me). It's a fantastic escape for me and depending on the album I'm promoting, I can both study an album and game at the same time, which is killing two birds with one stone in the best way possible.

With that,  just a few days ago, I bought my first 4K TV, a 55" TCL 5 Series Roku Smart TV. Considering it's 400 bucks right now at Best Buy, it's not the greatest top of the line tv available, but for 400 bucks, it is one of the best deals you could get at the moment. It covers all my needs. Everything looks better and gaming has never felt better to me.

Professionally, a lot of great things has happened, I'm over 1700 likes on FB, neatly 550 Subscribers on YouTube, and my Best Of 2018 lists have been the biggest hits they have every been with over 25,000 views! With that I have also done 147 interviews this year (maybe I'll get 3 more this week to make it an even 150?) It is less than last year's 162, but I'll get into why later on that. I got to cross more names off my bucket list, got more promos from labels and bands I never dreamed I'd get, made some absolutely amazing connections and as a whole, this has been the most successful year for That Drummer Guy so far.

Now onto the bad...

My depression has hit it's worst peak since 2013, when I was nearly at death's door and not at my own hand. It was hitting me all over this year and for a good 4 month span, it got me really bad. So bad that I actually tried committing suicide twice in one night last month. I'm not proud of it, but it's reality. I will say that overall I am better than that night, but this is the hardest week of the year for me as on New Years Eve 2013, it was the closest I ever came to committing suicide as it was the only time that I wasn't stopped by someone. I'll also get more into that later.

That same night, possibly related, but it was on my mind well before it happened, my band, Systemic Collapse...collapsed. I'll take my share of the blame, thought not all of it. I hate that it happened as it finally felt right musically, but some things are just not meant to be. Will I be in a band again? Will I ever be in a position to even be able to set up my real kit again and play for my own enjoyment? I have no clue. There's a huge part of me that wants to play and I feel so very empty every day I don't even have the opportunity to play. I do have an electronic kit to use if I even dare set that up. My previous band break up ruined me in a bad way, this one just broke my heart. With 15 different bands since I was 13 and not a single one ever panning out, I just don't think being in a band is really in the cards for me. If an opportunity ever came up that I couldn't turn down, sure. But to start something from the ground up again and have it fall apart right before we start recording AGAIN? I simply can't, at least now now.

Along with suicide attempts and bands collapsing, my family life is all but destroyed as well. Twice this year my brother tried to get me to attempt suicide. He feels I am absolutely worthless and I should have finished the job years ago and many more details I won't get into now. With other family issues, no one else is really a part of my life except for my grandma. Though, for the first time in years, I heard from my oldest sister and we have exchanged a few words that were actually good. I also heard from my nephew for the first time in almost a decade (can't believe he's 18 now) and that was just a great feeling. I hope I will again. But that's about it. Every day I feel like a massive part of my life is gone that I can't get back. It's a bad part of my life as particular family members just bring upon misery I never want back. I guess I just miss the idea of having a loving family, longing for something I never had.

Other bummer news on my end is that I only went to one concert this year, Protest The Hero. Was really hoping for more but it didn't work out. Either for the reason that the shows were at venues that I will not support till new promoters take over, or my depression prevented me from leaving the house. PtH put on one hell of a show and it was a great feeling seeing them, but I really hope I'll remedy the situation soon with my ability to see shows again.

Also in regards to depression keeping me from being able to do things this year. I easily could have done way more interviews this year, which is funny because I've done an interview for way more than 1/3rd of the year; but my depression kept me from doing about 90% of my interviews this year. The other 10% was getting the flu and having absolutely no voice. The best part of being my own boss is that I can take days off if I need to, but the worst part of being my own boss is canceling things that I want to do because my mind is messed up. I feel like I let the bands down, the PR down, those who would want to hear the interviews down, and most importantly, myself, down.

Also, in 2019, one of my major forms of income, YouTube, dropped my monetization. Another direct hit I didn't need. I can reapply for it when I hit 1K subscribers and hit 4,000 Hours of views in a year. In Other words, I need to become viral before I can make money on YouTube again. I'm still pushing it as hard as I can with interviews. Maybe I need to add other videos up there as well. I thought about list videos in the past, but it's just too clickbaity for me and I coudln't do it with authenticity. My Year End Best Of Lists are the only authenticity with lists I can ever truly do year after year. I guess we'll see. I've already come to terms with the fact that I won't make it any farther than I am on my own, but that's all I got unless something miraculous happens. Time Will Tell.

To add onto ALL of that, the last two stations that aired my show shut it's doors this year, leaving me without a radio station. When the news hit, I thought about calling it quits right then and there. (also right in the midst of my 4 month dark depression phase, perfect timing) Other people tried convincing me to keep going with it, even offered me names and addresses to get my name out there. I actually wrote back to all of them, plus additional stations I found...not a single bite. Either I heard nothing back, or I was told that I don't fit what the stations needed. Either I was too heavy or not heavy enough or too diverse or didn't play enough mainstream music or many other things. 15 stations total and not one of them was interested. Hard not to feel like a failure when that happens. So I told myself I would finish out the year with my show in podcast form and reassess the situation from there in 2019.

Segue Way!

So 2019 is pretty much a week away, what's going on in the world of That Drummer Guy?

Well after much deliberating online, social media, and feeDback from trusted people; I am keeping my two hour show as is, but just in podcast form. It'll still be available on iTunes, Google Music, Stitcher, Spreaker, and TuneIn. If you want the show on a station near you or if you have a station you run that you want me on, drop me a line, I'll be happy to talk business.

I am also adding a 2nd show. It's a show I've wanted to do for YEARS but never thought there would be an audience. Then, someone I trust told me I should do it, make it bigger than my original plan and show off something else I truly care about. So coming up sometime in January, I am going to be adding my 2nd show that's currently untitled. It's going to be me talking to anyone who wants to talk about mental health and music with me. The idea is to have fellow fans of music and musicians talk mental health and how they survive. It's an ambitious thing, but I wanna knock down those walls of mental health and make it something that should be talked about, rather than hiding it away. I'm putting my money where my mouth is with the first episode and talking about my struggles in detail, from the day that changed my life the day before I turned 12 years old to the day I hit record for the first episode. After that episode, my plan is to have guests on it and just have real, open discussions about each others' struggles, how to improve out lives, what we do to make it through each day, etc. Once I get a name and a format down, I'll be making a press release, but till then, be on the lookout.

I am also going to do my damnest to start doing album reviews year round. I will still do my Best Of Lists the same way I do every year. But rather than just waiting for December to roll around, I wanna cover those albums as soon as I get them. Obviously I won't be covering every album I get but I wanna make good on promoting the albums I truly care about. Not just ok albums or albums that I don't enjoy...the ones I actually dig and hopefully you will too. For how that goes down, go check out my review for the latest Soilwork album and get an idea of how I wanna do things.

It's also been on my mind to start covering gaming and/or wrestling as well. Not entirely sold on the idea as gaming and wrestling are my escapes from work and I do like having them as hobbys rather than more work, but neither of those are off the table.

But that's what I got to wrap up 2019. Some great things I'm proud of. Some things that led me to trying to end my life, and some things that I wanna make an effort to try and make something out of in the next year.

No matter if this is the first you're hearing of me, been a fan for years, or been a friend in my life. Thanks for reading this, thanks for sticking around, and thanks in advance for any and all support you can give in 2019. Let's see what this 30 year old Drummer Guy can do in 2019!

Till 2019, This is That Drummer Guy saying "See You Next Year!"

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

Just the list, In countdown order; ENJOY!

100.) Black Majesty- Children of the Abyss
FFO- Power Metal

99.) Poets Of The Fall- Ultraviolet
FFO- Alternative Rock, Gothic Rock, Symphonic Rock

98.) Shattered Skies- Muted Neon
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal

97.) Orange Goblin- The Wolf Bites Back
FFO- Stoner Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

96.) Agrypnie- Grenzgaenger
FFO- Atmospheric Death Metal

95.) Skeletonwitch- Devouring Radiant Light
FFO- Blackened Atmospheric Thrash Metal

94.) Siege of Power- Warning Blast
FFO- Hardcore, Punk, Thrash

93.) Antiverse- Under The Regolith
FFO- Thrash Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Progressive Metal

92.) Alkaloid- Liquid Anatomy
FFO- Technical Metal, Progressive Metal, Death Metal

91.) Black Fast- Spectre of Ruin
FFO- Blackened Thrash Metal Progressive Metal

90.) Entransient- The Weight of Things
FFO- Dark Progressive Rock

89.) Primordial- Exile Amongst The Ruins
FFO- Celtic Black Metal

88.) Clutch- Book of Bad Decisions
FFO- Blues Rock, Stoner Rock, Hard Rock

87.) Unleashed- The Hunt for White Christ
FFO- Viking Metal, Death Metal

86.) Howling Sycamore
FFO- Technical Death Metal with Clean Vocals

85.) Dire Peril- The Extraterrestrial Compendium
FFO- Iced Earth in Space

84.) Freak Kitchen- Confusion to the Enemy
FFO- Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal

83.) Khemmis- Desolation
FFO- Doom Metal, Heavy Metal

82.) Parasite INC- Dead and Alive
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

81.) Tribulation- Down Below
FFO- Black Metal, Occult Rock, Heavy Metal

80.) Hooded Menace- Ossuarium Silhouettes
FFO- Doom Metal, Death Metal

79.) Wolvhammer- The Monuments of Ash & Bone
FFO- Black Metal, Death Metal, Post Metal

78.) Metal Allegiance- Volume II- Power Drunk Majesty
FFO- Heavy Metal of All Styles

77.) Arsis- Visitant
FFO- Technical Death Metal

76.) Terrorizer- Caustic Attack
FFO- Death-Grind

75.) The Lion's Daughter- Future Cult
FFO- Horror, Black Metal, Death Metal, 80s Synths

74.) Angra- Omni
FFO- Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Groove Metal

73.) The Night Flight Orchestra- Sometimes The World Ain't Enough
FFO- 70s-80s Classic Rock

72.) Subsignal- Le Muerta
FFO- Progressive Rock

71.) The Absence- A Gift For The Obsessed
FFO- American Melodic Death Metal

70.) THEM- Manor of the Se7en Gables
FFO- Melodic Metal, Heavy Metal

69.) Ghost- Prequelle
FFO- Blue Oyster Cult, Mercyful Fate, Top 40 Rock

68.) Striker- Play To Win
FFO- Speed Metal, Heavy Metal

67.) Deicide- Overtures of Blasphemy
FFO- Death Metal

66.) Skyharbor- Sunshine Dust
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal

65.) Mile Marker Zero- The Fifth Row
FFO- Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal

64.) Follow The Cipher- S/T
FFO- Modern Metal, Power Metal

63.) Refuge- Solitary Men
FFO- Heavy Metal, Speed Metal

62.) Manticora- To Live to Kill to Live
FFO- Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Speed Metal

61.) Satan- Cruel Magic
FFO- NWOBHM

60.) Aborted- Terrorvision
FFO- Brutal Death Metal, Deathgrind, Horror

59.) Vessel of Light- Woodshed
FFO- Heavy Metal Occult Rock

58.) Lords of Black- Icons Of The New Days
FFO- Power Metal, Heavy Metal

57.) The Sea Within- S/T
FFO- ALL Star Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal

56.) Memoriam- The Silent Vigil
FFO- Old School Death Metal

55.) Deceased- Ghostly White
FFO- Death Metal, Thrash Metal

54.) Haken- Vector
FFO- Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock

53.) Beyond Creation- Algorythm
FFO- Technical Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal

52.) Tomb Mold- Manor of Infinite Forms
FFO- Death Metal, Dark Souls/Bloodborne

51.) Orphaned Land- Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs
FFO- Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Folk Metal

50.) Skull Fist- Way of the Road
FFO- Speed Metal, Heavy Metal

49.) Against The Grain- Cheated Death
FFO- Heavy Metal, Rock and Roll

48.) The Crown- Cobra Speed Venom
FFO- Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal

47.) Warrel Dane- Shadow Work
FFO- Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Dark Metal

46,) Alice In Chains- Rainier Fog
FFO- Heavy Metal, Sludge Metal

45.) Horrendous- Idol
FFO- Old School Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal

44.) The Atlas Moth- Coma Noire
FFO- Atmospheric Metal, Sludge Metal, Post Metal

43.) Glass Lungs- Imperenance
FFO- Post Rock, Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Progressive Rock

42.) Mournful Congregation- The Incubus of Karma
FFO- Funeral Doom Metal

41.) Kataklysm- Meditation
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

40.) Riverside- Wasteland
FFO- Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Experimental

39.) In Vain- Currents
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Modern Metal

38.) Light The Torch- Revival
FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

37.) At The Gates- To Drink From The Night Itself
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

36.) Gruesome- Twisted Prayers
FFO- Death

35.) Amorphis- Queen of Time
FFO- Progressive Metal, Melodic Death Metal

34.) Between The Buried And Me- Automata (I & II)
FFO- Adult Contemporary Progressive Death Metal

33.) Corrosion of Conformity- No Cross, No Crown
FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Stoner Metal, Hardcore

32.) Obscura- Diluvium
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal

31.) Wolfheart- Constellation of the Black Light
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

30.) LIK- Carnage
FFO- Old School Swedish Death Metal

29.) Harakiri for The Sky- Arson
FFO- Blackgaze

28.) The Ocean- Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
FFO- Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Post Metal

27.) We Sell The Dead- Heaven Doesn't Want You and Hell is Full
FFO- Hard Rock, Gothic Rock, Heavy Metal

26.) Slugdge- Esoteric Malacology
FFO- Death Metal, Progressive, Technical, Many Other Styles

25.) Lux Terminus- The Courage To Be
FFO- Instrumental, Progressive Rock, Fusion

24.) Seventh Wonder- Tiara
FFO- Progressive Metal, Power Metal

23.) Anaal Nathrakh- A New Kind Of Horror
FFO- Sounds of the Apocalypse

22.) Journal- Chrysalis Ordalias
FFO- Majestic Epic Technical Mathcore

21.) Magic Dance- New Eyes
FFO- 80s AOR, Hard Rock

20.) Yob- Our Raw Heart
FFO- Doom Metal, Post Metal, Sludge Metal

19.) Cauldron- New Gods
FFO- Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 80s Metal

18.) Ihsahn- 'Amr
FFO- Ihsahn

17.) In The Woods...- Cease The Day
FFO- Progressive Metal, Black Metal

16.) Long Distance Calling- Boundless
FFO- Progressive Post Metal

15.) Wills Dissolve- The Heaven's Are Not On Fire...
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Post Metal

14.) The Antichrist Imperium- Vol II: Every Tongue Shall Praise Satan
FFO- Extreme Metal

13.) The Moor- Jupiter's Immigrants
FFO- Dark Progressive Metal

12.) Revocation- The Outer Ones
FFO- Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, H.P. Lovecraft

11.) Bloodbath- The Arrow of Satan is Drawn
FFO- Old School Swedish Death Metal

10.) Oceans of Slumber- The Banished Heart
FFO- Progressive Metal, Doom Metal, Black Metal

9.) Redemption- Long Night's Journey Into Day
FFO- Dark Progressive Metal

8.) Omnium Gatherum- The Burning Cold
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

7.) Panopticon- The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness (I and II)
FFO- North American Folk Metal, Black Metal

6.) Head With Wings- From Worry To Shame
FFO- Progressive Rock, Post Rock, Alternative Rock

5.) Ghostbound- All is Phantom
FFO- Post Metal, Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal

4.) Distorted Harmony- A Way Out
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal

3.) Zeal & Ardor- Stranger Fruit
FFO- African American Spirituals meets Black Metal, Experimental

2.) Rivers of Nihil- Where Owls Know My Name
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

1.) Witherfall- A Prelude To Sorrow
FFO- Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Dark Metal

Here it is, the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the highest possible ranking this drummer guy can possibly can, The Top 20 Albums of 2018. I've already covered 120 albums up to this point and only 20 more to go with each album proving worthy of being named The Best of 2018. Of course, for one last time, Let's go over the rules before diving head first into 20 of the most positive examples of great music this year.

1.) These are albums that I have personally checked out this year that I have either bought, streamed or was sent to me via promo.

2.) The order of the Top 100 is just based on my own enjoyment. I do not feel any album here is worth overlooking, otherwise I wouldn't take the time out of my day to talk about it.

3.) When the full 100 list begins it will be 20 albums per list. Starting with 100-81 and going 20 by 20 till the Top 20. The honorable mentions will be in Alphabetical order as I'm already ranking 100 albums, 140 is pure insanity.

4.) My list is not your list. There is bound to be a a few albums that show up on this list that you either hate seeing listed or you will ask why I don't have it on mine. It comes to either I didn't hear it enough, I didn't enjoy it enough, it's not my bag...baby, or I simply haven't heard it. The following 140 albums is not the be all end all list of 2018 rock and metal albums, but it does give a great representation of what came out this year.

5.) The entire purpose of these lists are to have you discover some new music and prove that every year, great music comes out from brand new bands, bands just hitting their stride, classic bands, and anything in between. If any band is of interest to you, go check them out, play a song on YouTube, stream their stuff on Spotify, buy their albums if you dig them, go see them live if there is the opportunity; just go support music in any way you can. It's what a music lover's life is all about.

LET'S FINISH THIS!!!

20.) Yob- Our Raw Heart
FFO- Doom Metal, Post Metal, Sludge Metal

From being on the brink of your life can come of life's most glorious moments. That is what is shown here. When you may be faced with your own mortality and not knowing what is coming next, you no longer feel the need to hide anything and you can truly be yourself. That is what I hear with this album from Yob. After facing life threatening illness, Mike Scheidt wrote a good portion of this album in the hospital and was, thankfully, able to flesh out the rest of the ideas for the album after getting better. What is left is one of the most emotional pieces of music in this style you will ever hear. The title track hits me so very hard every single time. This is not your typical doomy, stonerish, post sludge metal. It is so much more from the heart and grabs your soul. This is required listening for those that dare to find something emotional in music in 2018.

19.) Cauldron- New Gods
FFO- Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 80s Metal

This album is the perfect throwback to everything you love about 80s metal, be it the thrash side, the glam side, or the occult side. Cauldron continues to get better and better with every album and this album just slays with it's melodic metal riffs and perfect raw production. Get your leather vest back on, crack open a cold one with the boys, and throw this album on for guaranteed good times.

18.) Ihsahn- 'Amr
FFO- Ihsahn

I feel like I say this every single time there is a new Ihsahn, but he finds a new way, every single time, to amaze me and repeat myself...this is the most innovative and commercial sounding Ihsahn album to date. Leading you on with the most Emperor sounding song he has written since the band was still actively writing to writing some of the most wicked, nearly pop rock sounding songs you'll hear this year. I wish I had a tenth of Ihsahn's creative prowess so I could just comprehend being this creative with your sound and literally standing by the ideal of creating the music you want to make. Mindblowing from start to finish and you just may agree.

17.) In The Woods...- Cease The Day
FFO- Progressive Metal, Black Metal

Possibly the last album I heard this year that I fully got to have a full grasp on before making this list and I was completely blown away. This is how you make dark progressive metal with tinges of black metal and a little bit of psychedelic. It helps that the band features members of one of my favorite bands ever, Green Incarnation and has hints of that sound, even with a newer lineup since it began. Had I been able to hear this album more, it would probably be a Top 10- or even Top 5 album of the year for me, but the fact I've had this album about 3 weeks or so and it's blown me away this much to make number 17 out of 140 really says a lot of what this band can do. Check them out and see if they are right for you as well.

16.) Long Distance Calling- Boundless
FFO- Progressive Post Metal

After writing one of my favorite albums ever, Trips, back in 2016. The band stripped away the vocals, catchy mainstream songs, and guest appearances to make a return to form. This is the first full on Instrumental LP in the band's catalog and it is easily the best instrumental metal album of the year. It combines all of the great soundscapes I love about the band, no matter how mellow, beautiful or heavy the album gets. LDC has been on my radar since 2009's Avoid The Light and it's great to see 9 years later that I am still just as big of a fan as I have ever been. A band that truly makes the music they want to make. Long Distance Calling is...Boundless.

15.) Wills Dissolve- The Heaven's Are Not On Fire...
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Post Metal

I've been hyping up this band for a little bit now and I simply can't do it enough. This Texas band combines the elements of Swallow The Sun, Novembers Doom, Isis, and Opeth that I've always wanted to hear in a band. They can go from a hauntingly beautiful acoustic driven ballad and quickly change it into a brutalized death metal song and it's entirely seamless. This concept album hits all the right notes that makes the band's original sound stick out amongst so many progressive death metal bands and forms something that is truly memorable. Seriously, check this one out!

14.) The Antichrist Imperium- Vol II: Every Tongue Shall Praise Satan
FFO- Extreme Metal

It's futile for me to properly categorize this band. To put it one way, take members of Akercocke, The Berzerker, My Dying Bride, and Voices and have them create a Satanic album that lives up to the hype. It hits every style of music you want in heavy music: prog, thrash, black, death, grind, atmospheric, post, you name it, you'll hear it somewhere on this album. But rather than being a hodgepodge of sound; it completely makes sense and brings forth one of the most awe-inspiring albums of the year. Even if the subject matter isn't for you, I highly recommend checking this album out for the songwriting alone. You're jaw will drop to the ground.

13.) The Moor- Jupiter's Immigrants
FFO- Dark Progressive Metal

One of my favorite discoveries of the year. This band has such a great edge of mixing bands such as Nevermore, Opeth, Early-Mid Era In Flames that makes some of the most intriguing prog music you'll hear in 2018. It's also some of the catchiest you'll hear as well. Try listening to a song like Lead The Difference and tell me that doesn't get stuck in your head in the best way possible. I hope this band continues to flourish as this is how you make dark progressive music.

12.) Revocation- The Outer Ones
FFO- Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, H.P. Lovecraft

One of the most straightforward albums in the band's career; Revocation doesn't do their genre bending songs like on Chaos Of Forms or exploring extreme diversity. They went ahead and wrote a very technical, but killer Death Metal album that hints at what they are best at and flourishes with their most brutal album to date. Inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft; the album explores so many classic horror tales and characters and they wrote the prefect soundtrack to pair with it all. Don't get me wrong, the album still has so many twists and turns that makes the band stand out, but focusing more on death metal this time around was the perfect choice and makes this one of the best death metal albums of the year.

11.) Bloodbath- The Arrow of Satan is Drawn
FFO- Old School Swedish Death Metal

Bloodbath has made another masterpiece of a death metal album. Old Nick has now made is presence even stronger since Grand Morbid Funeral and really brings the power to the band that matches up the intensity and brutality the band has always been known for. Everyone has their favorite era of Bloodbath, but if you ever doubted this era of Bloodbath, you are missing out on the best death metal album of 2018. remedy that now before the arrow of Satan stabs you in the heart.

10.) Oceans of Slumber- The Banished Heart
FFO- Progressive Metal, Doom Metal, Black Metal

The debut album from Oceans of Slumber literally took my breath away. I always wanted to hear a band like this and completely delivered. It was going to be pretty rough to stop that album. Despite some personal setbacks for the bands that could ruin anyone; the band was able to go even darker, even heavier, even doomier, and write one of the darkest albums of 2018 that is completely and utterly heart wrenching. You know things are dark when you gotta add Evergrey's Tom Englund to do guest vocals because the music just isn't dark enough without him. The music is complete and utter perfection, it's a bit slower overall than the debut album, but this album hits you so much harder. An absolute must listen.

9.) Redemption- Long Night's Journey Into Day
FFO- Dark Progressive Metal

How do you make one of my favorite bands of all time even better? You add one of my favorite singers of all time to the fold. Evergrey's Tom Englund makes his debut in Redemption with this ever growing dark album that perfectly matches his voice and makes the band even stronger (and I never thought that was possible). One complete shocker is that there is actually some Major Key action going on in this album that Tom Englund sings over and it actually sounds....HAPPY! (hell has literally frozen over!) But in all seriousness, this album is complete brilliance and I hope if you give it a spin, you'll agree.

8.) Omnium Gatherum- The Burning Cold
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

My final point, this year, on how Finnish metal is the best metal overall. With this release, Omnium Gatherum has become my favorite Finnish band. This album contains so much melodic brutality mixed with a beautiful sense of wonder, atmosphere and feel good music. This is the music you put on with you have inner battles that you must defeat. There is also a great sense of 80s metal that happens from time to time that just puts a gigantic smile on your face as you listen. I love this album and is the pure definition of how to make heavy music beautiful. If you are not aware of this band, please check them out immediately...or at least write them down and check them out after you read this list.

7.) Panopticon- The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness (I and II)
FFO- North American Folk Metal, Black Metal

Very proud to say that this Minnesota band has released the best double album of 2018. In instances in the past, the band has brilliantly mixed black metal, folk metal, Americana, and bluegrass in a way that just blew my mind when I first discovered the album, Kentucky. Now several albums later; this double album actually separates the two. The first disc is pure post atmospheric black metal with hints at everything else the band is known for and disc two is straight up folk, Americana and bluegrass. So no matter your mood, you'll find something to love here. The band is absolutely at the top of their game and I can't even fathom seeing them slowing down any time soon. Just listen, you'll understand why.

6.) Head With Wings- From Worry To Shame
FFO- Progressive Rock, Post Rock, Alternative Rock

What a brilliant album! A sad, depressing, heart crushing, yet strangely uplifting, album. Tackling a story and issues that must be heard to truly comprehend, this emotionally driven masterpiece flows through so many dynamics of all shapes and sizes. No matter how indie, heavy, or proggy this album gets, it feels so natural and meaningful. This is not an album that should be heard just off of singles. Listen to this from start to finish, read the lyrics, and invest your time into hearing this soon to be classic album. They are going to skyrocket from here. Just you watch.

5.) Ghostbound- All is Phantom
FFO- Post Metal, Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal

My favorite discovery of 2018. Be it an accurate description or not, I love describing the band as if Bruce Dickinson formed a band where he showed his love for Anathema, Pelican and Isis. It is a culture shock to the sense if you are not prepared for it, but if you let it sink in, it is an experience you will never forget and it will completely absorb you. This utter masterpiece of an album is an absolute game changer. If the right people hear this, it could change metal going forward. I simply can't get enough, I hope you'll agree.

4.) Distorted Harmony- A Way Out
FFO- Modern Progressive Metal

The best, straight up, progressive metal album of 2018. This is what every single prog band (new and old) should be striving to achieve in today's world. Even if you play a different style of prog, you need to match something on this album, otherwise there's no point. The choruses are beyond catchy, the riffs are the perfect blend of heavy and memorable, the songs are sheer brilliance. If you want your prog to be heavy, catchy, and to the truest meaning of the word, EPIC; you need Distorted Harmony in your life.

These last three albums I have had the hardest time deciding what would be number one. I can make an argument for all three and feel completely justified, but this was the final order I picked and they are seriously the best albums of the years to me.

3.) Zeal & Ardor- Stranger Fruit
FFO- African American Spirituals meets Black Metal, Experimental

Taking everything I loved about Devil is Fine, but making the production stellar, the instrumentation stronger, the songs more meaningful and the overall presentation of the band. This hits you on so many levels. It's more than just Spirituals and black metal now, it adds so much more atmosphere, experimentation and I date say poppy elements that makes this the most creatively satisfying album of 2018. Whether the intrigue in this band stays or not, I hope the band will continue to strive forward and expand upon their sound even further. Incredible doesn't even begin to describe this band, especially if you have an open mind.

2.) Rivers of Nihil- Where Owls Know My Name
FFO- Progressive Death Metal

Take everything I said about Distorted Harmony and put it into context of progressive death metal and the same rules apply. This is the new standard of progressive death metal. The creativity, the atmosphere, the instrumentation. They truly made one of the most innovative albums of the year in a way that was hinted at in the past, but now fully is achieved. The clean vocals (guest spots or normal) fit so perfectly), the keyboards, organs, synths, and saxophone that are layered throughout this makes the album flow in a way that would have been lost otherwise. This is an album to behold and need to be regarded as the gold standard of progressive death metal moving forward.

1.) Witherfall- A Prelude To Sorrow
FFO- Progressive Metal, Power Metal, Dark Metal

As I've said with the epics, in reality, there's no other choice for the number one position this year. This album is written about the loss of one of the greatest people I'll ever know, Adam Sagan. This is an album I was, with full transparency, and album I was afraid to listen to because of the subject matter. There is a lot of people that are behind me in my endeavors. So many people who love what I do and want to see me as the biggest voice in music promotion (radio shows, interviews, reviews, etc). But there is not a single person who graced this earth that wanted me to achieve that more than Adam. He thought what I did was not only cool, but one of the most honest ways of caring about music. We've had so many great conversations through text, over the phone and in person. One of the greatest moments of my life was hanging out with Adam and the bands Krisiun and Ex Deo (featuring pretty much all of Kataklysm) eating (what I realize now were after several) marijuana cookies, drinking beer, and air dumming/guitaring to Van Halen's I outside the now defunct Station 4 in St. Paul, MN in their tour bus. I loved Adam as my brother and seeing him battle to his final days was so inspiring yet so painful. One of my biggest regrets was not getting to fully interview Adam while he was here. We wanted to wait till he had a project he really wanted to push and that band was Witherfall. I have no idea what's on the other side. Is there an afterlife? Do we rot in the ground and become one with carbon once again? I'm not the guy to ask, I just go on living my way. But if there is anything out there beyond this life, I hope I am making him proud. As I write this, it passed the two year anniversary of his passing and it is not any easier knowing he's not here. That's what real life friendship is and I hope anyone reading this can have that if they don't already.

But let's get back to the music. The music is haunting, dark, heavy, and has some of the greatest vocals tracked to record this millennium. Amongst some killer 10+ minute epics, there are emotional ballads, and fire breather thrashers that take you on a whirlwind of emotions. Think Nevermore, Sanctuary, Iced Earth and Into Eternity and you'll be getting closer to what this band is all about. I can't promise you'll have the same emotional attachment to this album as I do, but I hope you can enjoy even a tenth of what I tried to portray here and see an album that is one of the greatest goodbyes to someone you could ever give.


That's it, we're done, we're finished, it's over! That is the top 100 albums of 2018 with 40 honorable mentions covering a good chuck of what was about there in 2018. From the darkest of dark, to the heaviest of heavy,  to the proggiest of proggy, to the funnest of fun. I hope you have enjoyed this six-part list and found at least one new album that you can enjoy.

I will be doing a wrap up of my life in 2018 coming up sometime soon, but till then, I think I've earned a well deserved break so till next time this is That Drummer Guy saying, SEE YA!

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)

We have finally made it to the part of the list where the most people start paying attention, the Top 40 Albums of 2018. For the average reviewer, news site, and consumer; 40 albums is a lot of ground to cover and the average consumer feels that anything more than this is worth skipping out on; I hope my lists prove that theory wrong. These next 2 lists just so happen to be the 40 albums I enjoyed most this year. You may love them as much as I do, you may think my musical credibility may need to be reconsidered after looking; that's all on you, the reader! So let's get these pesky rules out of the way and get into some music, eh?

1.) These are albums that I have personally checked out this year that I have either bought, streamed or was sent to me via promo.

2.) The order of the Top 100 is just based on my own enjoyment. I do not feel any album here is worth overlooking, otherwise I wouldn't take the time out of my day to talk about it.

3.) When the full 100 list begins it will be 20 albums per list. Starting with 100-81 and going 20 by 20 till the Top 20. The honorable mentions will be in Alphabetical order as I'm already ranking 100 albums, 140 is pure insanity.

4.) My list is not your list. There is bound to be a a few albums that show up on this list that you either hate seeing listed or you will ask why I don't have it on mine. It comes to either I didn't hear it enough, I didn't enjoy it enough, it's not my bag...baby, or I simply haven't heard it. The following 140 albums is not the be all end all list of 2018 rock and metal albums, but it does give a great representation of what came out this year.

5.) The entire purpose of these lists are to have you discover some new music and prove that every year, great music comes out from brand new bands, bands just hitting their stride, classic bands, and anything in between. If any band is of interest to you, go check them out, play a song on YouTube, stream their stuff on Spotify, buy their albums if you dig them, go see them live if there is the opportunity; just go support music in any way you can. It's what a music lover's life is all about.

Let's Begin The Top 40 Albums of 2018!

40.) Riverside- Wasteland
FFO- Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Experimental

Overcoming pure tragedy to continue as a functioning band is something that can seem impossible. Thankfully, Riverside, overcame the odds and wrote another masterpiece of an album. This album hits you on all levels; heavy, mellow, acoustic, poppy, and grabs you by the soul. While the band may be a bit different now, they are still Riverside and that's all any of us could ever want.

39.) In Vain- Currents
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Modern Metal

The band's previous outing, AEnigma is still one of my favorite albums of the last decade and it was going to take a lot to be able to top that. They didn't top it, instead they matched it by going in a different direction. Instead of keeping the music as an epic, atmospheric progressive metal route; they focused much more on writing catchier, heavy modern metal with progressive death metal mixed in. It was a bit of a risky move, but it really paid off as this album has gotten the band more attention than ever before and new fans have 3 other albums to explore. They still sound like In Vain, just more catchier to unknowing listening ears. A great choice and shows that the band can write whatever they want and it will sound awesome.

38.) Light The Torch- Revival
FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

I'm just going to straight up say it.  With everything that happened with Devil You Know behind the scenes, had they just kept making the same style music, I would have been disappointed. I'm quite thankful to hear this band going more into the heavy rock route rather than trying to make more metalcore. I really enjoyed Devil You Know, but the fact that they went this direction feels so refreshing. Screams are kept to an absolute minimum, double bass is only hinted at and not a focus, and there's not excessive use of brutal breakdowns. It's just solid heavy hard rock and it fits so perfectly well. Nice, short, catchy and memorable. This is an album I've always wanted to hear Howard Jones make and the heavy music world should be thankful. I know I am.

37.) At The Gates- To Drink From The Night Itself
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

The absolute kings of melodeath return and grace us with another chapter in the world of At The Gates. If you are looking for that signature ATG sound, it's here. If you want them to experiment with the formula, that is also here. It's a great blend of both sides of the band and creates an atmosphere that just simply works. No one can do melodeath like At The Gates...nobody!

36.) Gruesome- Twisted Prayers
FFO- Death

The band's newest release tackles the inspiration of the band, Death's, Spiritual Healing album and creates their loving tribute of completely original music. Making the production, vibe, tone, and musicianship the band has paid tribute to the band so far; this is another case where the band just knocks it out of the park. Gruesome is easily one of my favorite active death metal bands and this is just another example why. Revisit 1990 28 years later in 2018 with Gruesome's Twisted Prayers!

35.) Amorphis- Queen of Time
FFO- Progressive Metal, Melodic Death Metal

Amorphis has yet to ever make a bad album, or even a weak album. Queen of Time continues to prove that whether they make a full blown death metal album, a pure prog album (saxophone and all) or a mixture of both; They can nail what ever music they choose to make. This album is the latter, which may be their signature blend. Growls when needed, proggy when called for, and melodic...so melodic, in all the right spots. I've said it a few times now but it bears repeating, Finland makes the best metal music. Amorphis is Example A...for Amorphis.

34.) Between The Buried And Me- Automata (I & II)
FFO- Adult Contemporary Progressive Death Metal

Is it two albums? Is it two EPs? Is it an album that was split in two and released a few months apart? I'm going with option three on this one to make it fair to both the EPs list and to any band I would of had to knock off this monumental list of mine. BTBAM made what some call a return to form with Automata. With a new label backing the band in Sumerian; The band has taken what has made them stand out in the past, but also kept their progressive side continue to flourish. Basically, whether you love the death metal or prog side of the band, you'll LOVE Automata as it features both and should make fans on both sides of the fence satisfied. I know I am.

33.) Corrosion of Conformity- No Cross, No Crown
FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Stoner Metal, Hardcore

Anyone else miss Pepper as much as I have? Don't get me wrong, I love what COC has done since In The Arms of God and it was fantastic to hear their early hardcore roots once again. There is just something about that Pepper Keenan era of COC that just has the tastiest riffs, most killer songwriting and overall coolest vibes of all eras of the band. This album seriously sounds like they haven't missed a step and I am so thankful for that. For the longest time this was my album of the year and I can see how someone would think that I lost love out of it seeing it's at number 33. Nothing could be further from the truth. This deserves all of your love, one listen and you'll understand why.

32.) Obscura- Diluvium
FFO- Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal

The final chapter in the 4 album concept cycle Obscura has created shows the band hinting back at the previous three albums, yet hitting brand new territory at the same time. The music is just as insane as ever with creative songwriting, killer musicianship and the perfect blend of melody and technicality. If you are brand new to the band, this is the album to start with, then go get the previous three albums and discover all the Easter eggs laid out in Diluvium. Such an utterly brilliant album.

31.) Wolfheart- Constellation of the Black Light
FFO- Melodic Death Metal

Finland...best music country around. Getting past that, Wolfheart returns with their latest heart wrenching, depression filled, melodeath epic and that is what I really needed in 2018. This hits you on all levels of dynamics and emotions and doesn't let go till the bitter end. Finnish melodeath...man what a journey. ALSO, if you watch the video for the single, The Saw, be forewarned, it's literally not for the faint of heart...just trust me...

30.) LIK- Carnage
FFO- Old School Swedish Death Metal

Swedish death metal is just something made of pure glory. While many bands have come and gone or come and stayed; the genre has been transformed in so many ways, there is something about the original sound that is just so perfect in the right mood. That's what LIK brings back to the masses. If you enjoy your OSDM or if you like other bands that pay tribute to it such as Bloodbath; you are doing yourself a disservice by skipping out on this band any longer. Arguably, no one does this better in 2018.

29.) Harakiri for The Sky- Arson
FFO- Blackgaze

With other bands of the style either breaking up or nearly completely dropping the black metal aspects of the genre, HFTS is my favorite active band in the genre. With such a signature blend of black metal, shoegaze, post rock and pure emotion, the band just does it right and every album seems to get better than the last. There's just something about how the band does this music that just soothes the soul in a way you don't realize until you let it come over you. A masterpiece of a blackgaze album.

28.) The Ocean- Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
FFO- Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Post Metal

The Ocean (Collective) is one of the most underrated bands currently active. One of the most unique sounds in the business with their pulverizing song structures and some of the most hauntingly beautiful soundscapes. This is a band that if you love oceanography or you just beautifully crafted heavy music you won't hear anywhere else, pick this album up immediately.

27.) We Sell The Dead- Heaven Doesn't Want You and Hell is Full
FFO- Hard Rock, Gothic Rock, Heavy Metal

An All Star band featuring past and present members of In Flames, HIM and Firewind that write music about 1800s European Horror (fiction and non fiction). The songs are so heavy yet so catchy, it should be played regularly on Top 40 radio, in all honesty. Just a completely solid debut album from a band that I hope continues to write albums for decades to come.

26.) Slugdge- Esoteric Malacology
FFO- Death Metal, Progressive, Technical, Many Other Styles

This band covers the extreme metal genre to an absolute T. While the FFO may make it seem like it's a giant hodgepodge of sounds; It truly all makes sense. It can go from death metal to sludge metal to technical metal to blackened metal on the flip of a switch and it will feel completely logical. This is truly forward thinking music done in the best way possible and I love every second.

25.) Lux Terminus- The Courage To Be
FFO- Instrumental, Progressive Rock, Fusion

Much like I talked about in my Top 10 Epics of 2018 List, this is a band that created by some absolute masters of music creating music that you can hear both at a Lounge in Vegas or in the pit opening for Animals as Leaders. This album is filled with so much emotion in both the music, the songwriting and the final track, Fly, which features one of the greatest voices in music, Anneke Van Giersbergen. This album is not for everyone reading this list, but I recommend it to ANYONE with an open mind, appreciation for skilled music, or like me, had a really bad go of it this year and need a reason for hope to continue on. The Courage To Be is simply that...the courage to be...YOU. And no one can do that better than you. Easily the most impressive (nearly completely) Instrumental debut album I may ever hear.

24.) Seventh Wonder- Tiara
FFO- Progressive Metal, Power Metal

Man, those last 8 years just flew by between albums didn't it? No? I completely agree; it's been such a long wait for this opus, but I'm so thankful we got it. This album is exactly what I was hoping for, heavy, melodic, powerful and moving in all the right spots. If you want to describe progressive power metal to someone who is completely new to the genre, throw on this album and let them enjoy. It's not the most innovative album of the year, but it's not set out to be. It's 100% solid and that's all I wanted.

23.) Anaal Nathrakh- A New Kind Of Horror
FFO- Sounds of the Apocalypse

AN is that band that is the pure soundtrack to the end of the world. black metal, industrial, grindcore, noise, and oddly some of the most melodic moments you'll ever hear in extreme music. The band continues this trend with seamless evolving with every album and destroys everything in it's path. A worthy investment once you comprehend the band.

22.) Journal- Chrysalis Ordalias
FFO- Majestic Epic Technical Mathcore

In speaking of 8 year waits between albums, this was an album I simply didn't expect to see and I am so thankful that they returned with complete full force. IF you want music that is complete off the wall in technicality and intensity, Journal provides it to you. If you want some of the most dream filled, majestic melodic riffs on that same album, that's here too. This band is a complete mind screw in the best way possible. Imagine being a gamer that loves hack and slash games, but out of nowhere you start riding a unicorn on rainbow road in Mario Kart before it transforms back into a demon and are about to be slaughtered. All that and more kinda, but ask anyone else who comprehends the music and they'll give you a different answer, describes the band and what an epic journey it truly is once again.

21.) Magic Dance- New Eyes
FFO- 80s AOR, Hard Rock

If you especially checked out the last two albums on this list, you may just wanna sit down in your favorite chair, put on sunglasses, put on a Maxwell Cassette tape in your 80s Stereo System and be blown away a band that channels their inner Kenny Loggins, Toto, Loverboy and Icon. This band channels the 80s in one of the most original ways I've heard. Yes, there is nostalgia to be found, but there is originality, excelled songwriting, and some of the most upbeat, and beautiful rock music of 2018 also featured on this album. If you are reading this as the list comes out, the album comes out tomorrow. Go and pick it up. Couldn't recommend it more.

And there we are kids. 120 albums covered in five lists because I am an absolute psychopath and want to see myself suffer...I also love showing off the best music of the year, every year. The best part is that I still have one list tomorrow. That Drummer Guy's Top 100 Albums Part VI: The Top 20.

- Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy)