| 5.0 classic |
| Blut Aus Nord The Work Which Transforms God |
| Blut aus Nord have created a truly frightening masterpiece by taking the basic genre of black metal and warping it into a hideous creation of their own. The Work Which Transforms God is nothing short of spectacular. Filled to the brim with dissonant guitar tones and deep, horrific vocals, it is one of the most unsettling metal releases to date. |
| Cynic Focus |
| Focus, the only full length ever released by Cynic until this year's Traced in Air, takes progressive metal to a level that is still yet to be matched. Cynic incorporates a substantial amount of jazz influence and eerie electronically altered clean vocals for an atmosphere that few bands have been able to achieve. Bass guitar also plays a large part in the music, which is highly unusual in the genre. |
| Emperor In the Nightside Eclipse |
| Widely considered to be a black metal classic, In the Nightside Eclipse delves into a style that was beforehand unexplored in black metal. It uses symphonic elements and keyboards to make the listener feel surrounded by medieval elements and awash in pagan imagery. A truly astounding album. |
| Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells |
| You know this song and you know you love it. The classic "Exorcist Theme," except that it's so much more than the little piece they play in the movie. This two part epic masterpiece takes you on a journey through Mike Oldfield's mind and holds your attention until it ends with the quite humorous "Sailor's Hornpipe." Words alone cannot fully describe this album. |
| Mirrorthrone Gangrene |
| Opeth Blackwater Park |
| Considered to be Opeth's magnum opus, this album reaches the peak of their development in the progressive death metal style. No single track stands out from the others as they are all equally astounding. Mikael's vocal effects, with some tricks from Steven Wilson thrown in, greatly increase the quality of the album. The way they go from heavy death metal riffing to breathtaking acoustic passages in this album is incomparable to any other album or band. |
