Top 50 traditional heavy metal albums
including traditional speed metal |
| 50 |  | Armored Saint
Symbol of Salvation |
| 49 |  | Witchfinder General
Death Penalty
this belongs more to a doom list but has big nwobhm influences |
| 48 |  | Stormwitch
Stronger Than Heaven |
| 47 |  | tytan
Rough Justice
check this hidden gem |
| 46 |  | Atomkraft
Future Wars
venom's cousins |
| 45 |  | Pink Cream 69
Pink Cream 69
aside from the terrible name and glam influences, this album is full of great tracks, an awesome vocalist and structured solos |
| 44 |  | Raven (ENG)
Rock Until You Drop
hell patrol's 10 seconds scream deserves an honorable mention |
| 43 |  | Holy Grail
Crisis In Utopia
the beginner is one of the best modern speed metal songs ever |
| 42 |  | Lordi
The Arockalypse
yes, it's cheesy, but the horrorific b movie atmosphere, the backing vocals and the keyboards makes this record fun to listen |
| 41 |  | katana
Heads Will Roll
japanese themed modern metal |
| 40 |  | manilla road
Crystal Logic
while i love the music, the impact on heavy metal and the songwriting, i never got into the vocals |
| 39 |  | tank
filth hounds of hades
one of the biggest inpirations for sodom |
| 38 |  | praying mantis
time tells no lies
classic nwobhm with a softer sound |
| 37 |  | warlock
triumph and agony
one hell of a frontwoman |
| 36 |  | enforcer
death by fire
one of the few modern heavy metal bands that knows how to tribute 80s |
| 35 | | fates warning
awakening the guardian
before they went totally prog they released this greatheavy metal album with prog influences |
| 34 |  | anvil
Forged in Fire
one of the biggest influences for thrash |
| 33 |  | Warlord
And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun...
it gives you war vibes, great atmosphere |
| 32 |  | Brocas Helm
Defender of the Crown
that bass sound... |
| 31 |  | UFO
Lights Out
their "most metal" release |
| 30 |  | Heavy Load
Death or Glory
Sweden always known how to make great music |
| 29 |  | venom
Welcome to Hell
raw sond, fast riffs and controversial lyrics influenced subgenres like black and thrash metal |
| 28 |  | Budgie
Never Turn Your Back on a Friend
this needs more recognition for having inspired many heavy and prog bands, it even inspired the famous bass riff on iron maiden's phantom of the opera |
| 27 |  | Angel Witch
Angel Witch
the title track is one of the best nwobhm anthems |
| 26 |  | riot
Thundersteel
the album that inspired painkiller |
| 25 |  | accept
Metal Heart
classic songs like wrong is right, bound to fail and midnight mover makes this my favorite accept album |
| 24 |  | King Diamond
abigail
one of the darkest and spookiest albums in the list |
| 23 |  | Axel Rudi Pell
Oceans of Time
such a virtuoso, this album is a journey through epicness |
| 22 |  | satan
Court in the Act
some of the best melodies in nwobhm |
| 21 |  | Van Halen
Van Halen
Van halen's guitar skills influenced thousands metal and hard rock guitarrists |
| 20 |  | Bruce Dickinson
The Chemical Wedding
Bruce is not just one of the best vocalists on earth, he's also a great songwriter |
| 19 |  | Ozzy Osbourne
Blizzard of Ozz
R.i.p. Randy Rhoads |
| 18 |  | Loudness
Soldier of Fortune
maybe the most underrated album on the list, Akira is a master of tapping and Vescera's vocals were top notch |
| 17 |  | Triumph
Allied Forces
this canadian band has lots of great album but the originality of this one takes the cake |
| 16 |  | Skid Row
Slave to the Grind
even with glam influences this album is still one of the best heavy metal albums ever, Bach is outstanding |
| 15 |  | Saxon
Denim and Leather
the perfect example of what nwobhm means |
| 14 |  | Scorpions
Blackout
Scorpions managed to create an album with both iconic softer tracks (no one like you) and heavier stuff (dynamite) |
| 13 |  | Motorhead
Ace of Spades
the creation of speed metal, this album incorporates many genres influences such as punk and blues |
| 12 |  | dio
Holy Diver
without any doubt one of thebest frontmen in music |
| 11 |  | Diamond Head
Lightning to the Nations
while their later albums are bretty average, their debut remains one of the most influetial albums ever |
| 10 |  | Manowar
Kings of Metal
the biggest influence for power metal, this album contains the most epic tracks of manowar |
| 9 |  | savatage
Hall of the Mountain King
Oliva brothers were some of the best songwriters ever, an energic effort that came after a bad album, the first of many masterpieces |
| 8 |  | Blue Oyster Cult
Fire of Unknown Origin
while secret treaties is still their best fouo is the first boc album considered metal, great combination of psychedelic atmospheres and metal energy |
| 7 |  | Mercyful Fate
Don't Break the Oath
goosebumps, diamond's vocals are unimitable |
| 6 |  | W.A.S.P.
The Crimson Idol
Blacky's band never ceased to evolve, this concept album is outstanding both for the music and the story |
| 5 |  | rainbow
rising
no one could ever recreate this majestic sound |
| 4 |  | Deep Purple
Machine Head
the foundation of the genre |
| 3 |  | Judas Priest
painkiller
after a 20 years of distinguished career, these masters of music created another masterpiece that incorporate every good thing possible, pure adrenaline |
| 2 |  | Black Sabbath
Paranoid
the magnum opus of heavy metal by the creators of the genre |
| 1 |  | Iron Maiden
The Number of the Beast
the perfect heavy metal album, still sounds fresh today, it's complete, influential, every member shines and has a personal style |
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