tectactoe
User

Reviews 5
Approval 95%

Soundoffs 61
Album Ratings 6403
Objectivity 88%

Last Active 09-06-22 1:37 pm
Joined 09-24-05

Review Comments 9,229

 Lists
06.26.25 Midwestern Emotionals06.13.25 TIER LIST: David Bowie
06.08.25 30 Nostalgic Vidya Levels ๐ŸŽฎ๐Ÿ•น๏ธ04.28.25 Sput BROKEN again
04.14.25 DOOM (enemies) Ranked04.09.25 TIER LIST: Ornette Coleman
02.23.25 20 YEARS ON SPUT/MX: Five albums for ea 01.11.25 2tec0tac2toe4
08.16.24 3๏ธโƒฃ9๏ธโƒฃ Jazz Funk Greats ๐ŸŽท๐ŸŽ 06.26.24 ๐Ÿ—ป PEAKING EARLY ๐Ÿ—ป
06.14.24 ๐Ÿ–๐Ÿ–๐Ÿ–2024 METAL Recs04.29.24 tec's 30 Favorite Metal Bands
10.05.23 ๐Ÿค  tecโ€™s Recs ๐Ÿค  Q2 + Q3 (2023) 04.06.23 tecโ€™s Q1 2023 Report - 7 & Ups
03.07.23 Board Games Iโ€™ve Been Enjoying Lately09.23.22 17th Sputversary | Jazz: FREE!
08.25.22 TIER LIST: Miles Davis08.03.22 TIER LIST: John Coltrane
More »

tec's 30 Favorite Metal Bands

Why 30? Idk. Felt like a good cutoff point on the list whereafter there was a dramatic decrease in quality (at least in my personal headspace). Also numbers ending in either 0 or 5 are more pleasing to the eye or something like that. Recs please.
32John Mayer
Room for Squares


BEFORE WE BEGIN, a quick list of bands who've released one or two albums that I absolutely love but whose full discography I've not given enough time nor attention to and therefore cannot say they're a favorite...yet. Every band here could eventually work their way into my favorites based on the strength of these albums but hopefully I will get around to their entire bodies of work one day... (Favorite album in parenthesis):

โ€ข Alcest (Souvenirs d'un autre monde)
โ€ข At the Gates (The Red in the Sky Is Ours)
โ€ข Atheist (Unquestionable Presence)
โ€ข Autopsy (Mental Funeral)
โ€ข Blut aus Nord (Undreamable Abysses)
โ€ข Darkthrone (A Blaze in the Northern Sky)
โ€ข Dillinger Escape Plan (Calculating Infinity)
โ€ข Drudkh (Blood in Our Wells)
โ€ข Entombed (Left Hand Path)
โ€ข Kyuss (Welcome to Sky Valley)
โ€ข Mayhem (De mysteriis dom Sathanas)
โ€ข Megadeth (Rust in Peace)
โ€ข Neurosis (Times of Grace)
โ€ข Paysage d'Hiver (self-titled 1999)
โ€ข Primus (Frizzle Fry)
โ€ข Sepultura (Morbid Visions)
โ€ข Virus (The Black Flux)
31Demilich
Nespithe


Quick honorary entry for Demilich - with only a single album released, I'm not sure I can consciously place them among my favorite metal artists (though as you'll see, I've ranked several with only two or three releases, so maybe I'm full of shit). But Nespithe is a masterpiece and so they deserve a mention.
30Pestilence
Testimony of the Ancients


๐Ÿฅ‡ Testimony of the Ancients
๐Ÿฅˆ Spheres
๐Ÿฅ‰ Consuming Impulse

Can't really rectify the hard nosedive that these guys took when they reformed and tried to come back in 2009, but their first four albums are golden and should be cherished forever.
29Drawn and Quartered
Hail Infernal Darkness


๐Ÿฅ‡ Hail Infernal Darkness
๐Ÿฅˆ Return of the Black Death
๐Ÿฅ‰ Extermination Revelry

Always forget how much I like these guys until I throw on one of their albums while I'm at the gym or some shit and I'm like "goddamn I need to listen to these guys more often." Straight up great DM.
28Portal
Outre


๐Ÿฅ‡ Outre
๐Ÿฅˆ Swarth
๐Ÿฅ‰ Seepia

An unsettling band with a slew unsettling albums. Good metal music shouldn't be "comfortable" though, should it?
27Khanate
Things Viral


๐Ÿฅ‡ Things Viral
๐Ÿฅˆ Khanate
๐Ÿฅ‰ Clean Hands Go Foul

If you have patience, Khanate makes some of the most terrifying metal in existence.
26Pyrrhon
The Mother of Virtues


๐Ÿฅ‡ The Mother of Virtues
๐Ÿฅˆ What Passes for Survival
๐Ÿฅ‰ Abscess Time

Metal that makes me feel like I have cockroaches crawling all over my skin, but I truly mean that in the best way possible.
25Liturgy
H.A.Q.Q.


๐Ÿฅ‡ H.A.Q.Q.
๐Ÿฅˆ 93696
๐Ÿฅ‰ Origin of the Alimonies

Incredibly divisive, and the whole metaphysical / transcendentalist / manifesto bullshit is uber-cringe, to be sure, but HHH's integration of totalist and chamber-rock elements with ear-piercing avant-black metal is unlike any other.
24Sleep
Dopesmoker


๐Ÿฅ‡ Dopesmoker
๐Ÿฅˆ Sleep's Holy Mountain
๐Ÿฅ‰ The Sciences

Sometimes I forgot how good Sleep is outside of Dopesmoker. But, let's be real, Dopesmoke is so fucking good.
23Burzum
Filosofem


๐Ÿฅ‡ Filosofem
๐Ÿฅˆ Hvis lyset tar oss
๐Ÿฅ‰ From the Depths of Darkness

Would be ranked higher were over half his discography not lifeless rejuvenations of the same clearance rack Dungeons 'n' Dragons soundtrack. Because goddamn when Varg is on, he's ON. Too bad he hasn't been "on" in well over ten years.
22Today Is the Day
Willpower


๐Ÿฅ‡ Willpower
๐Ÿฅˆ Sadness Will Prevail
๐Ÿฅ‰ Temple of the Morning Star

I know Willpower isn't technically a metal album but what are you gonna go? It's definitely a very metal-esque noise rock album (I guess), and the rest of their discography is plenty metal enough to qualify. Definitely an acquired taste - was not a huge fan when I first heard the meat of their oeuvre, but slowly came around to it over the years. Sadness Will Prevail is one of the most frightening albums ever.
21Hell (USA)
Hell


๐Ÿฅ‡ Hell (2017)
๐Ÿฅˆ II
๐Ÿฅ‰ III

When I think "heavy," I think Hell. Could destroy a speaker or two with these mfers, eh? Black hole type shit. (Pretty gnarly when they go straight drone/funeral metal, too, a la III.)
20Skaphe
Skรกpheยณ


๐Ÿฅ‡ Skaphe 3
๐Ÿฅˆ Skaphe 2
๐Ÿฅ‰ Skaphe

The precise brand of dissonant, unrelenting black metal that just sends my senses into a tizzy. These guys have improved with each release; I will be interested to see how they continue to build on the formula they've polished and matured over the last several years.
19Kayo Dot
Coyote


๐Ÿฅ‡ Coyote
๐Ÿฅˆ Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue
๐Ÿฅ‰ Hubardo

Like Boris, I almost didn't include Kayo Dot on this list because they haven't released anything that remotely resembles "metal" in over a decade, and my favorite album from them is also arguably not metal in any sense of the word. But, Hubardo and Dowsing Anemone save the day! (Choirs of the Eye is also fantastic, obviously, just not as fantastic as this trio.)
18Altar of Plagues
Teethed Glory and Injury


๐Ÿฅ‡ Teethed Glory and Injury
๐Ÿฅˆ White Tomb
๐Ÿฅ‰ Mammal

Always a bit puzzled when diehards of Teethed Glory line up to take consecutive Cleveland steamers on either Mammal or White Tomb (usually both); while I concede that Teethed Glory is indeed the band's overall best and most ripe and unforgiving offering to date, their entire body of work is a monolith of hypnotic, overwhelming atmosphere.
17Death
Human


๐Ÿฅ‡ Human
๐Ÿฅˆ Symbolic
๐Ÿฅ‰ Individual Thought Patterns

Sorta boring pick but these guys are sort of a litmus test for "do you even metal, bro" and I guess there's a reason they are so beloved and lionized. They rule, they shred, they are merciless, and there isn't much more to it.
16Mortiferum
Disgorged from Psychotic Depths


๐Ÿฅ‡ Disgorged From Psychotic Depths
๐Ÿฅˆ Preserved in Torment
๐Ÿฅ‰ Altar of Decay

Some of the crustiest, filthiest, most repugnant death-doom coming out today. Disgorged totally blew me away, and their follow-up showed that they most certainly aren't going to be a flash in the pan. I said earlier that I was most excited for Faceless Burial's next release, but hell. Maybe it's these guys.
15Godflesh
Streetcleaner


๐Ÿฅ‡ Streetcleaner
๐Ÿฅˆ Hymns
๐Ÿฅ‰ A World Lit Only By Fire

So influential, such an important presence in the realm of industrial/sludge metal. And while I'll never fully reconcile the weird drum 'n' bass / industrial hip-hop direction into which they momentarily veered, they recovered well and will always hold a special place in my heart. Streetcleaner forever, baby,
14Ulcerate
Everything Is Fire


๐Ÿฅ‡ Everything Is Fire
๐Ÿฅˆ Shrines of Paralysis
๐Ÿฅ‰ The Destroyers of All

Listening to an Ulcerate album is draining. Makes me feel like I just got done going twelve rounds with someone at least two weigh classes above me. I guess that's part of what makes them so special. Oh and their drummer. Dude's fucking nuts.
13Incantation
Diabolical Conquest


๐Ÿฅ‡ Diabolical Conquest
๐Ÿฅˆ Onward to Golgotha
๐Ÿฅ‰ Upon the Throne of Apocalypse

Another band build upon a foundation of consistency. Yes, the middle of their discography slumps a bit, but hey - legacies are defined by their peaks anyway, innit? Their run in the 90s is [chef's kiss] but there are plenty of hidden gems scattered among their late-career output, too.
12Boris
Pink


๐Ÿฅ‡ Pink
๐Ÿฅˆ Feedbacker
๐Ÿฅ‰ Flood

Didn't know whether I should include Boris or not as they are arguably as much "noise rock" as they are "metal" but whatever - they are metal enough for me, and it's my list anyway. One of the most energetic bands here for sure, and also maybe the single most "interesting" ? Even Boris's mediocre releases offer something to which you can confidently cling.
11Dead Congregation
Graves of the Archangels


๐Ÿฅ‡ Graves of the Archangels
๐Ÿฅˆ Promulgation of the Fall
๐Ÿฅ‰ Purifying Consecrated Ground

Yet another band I find myself constantly wishing had a longer and/or more prolific career. Three albums of this DM this exquisite simply isn't enough to satiate my pasty white ass. And for a third time comes the echo chamber: "How can a band with only three albums be considered this great?" Well people say that shit about Nirvana all the time so I don't wanna hear it.
10Ad Nauseam
Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est


๐Ÿฅ‡ Nihil quam vacuitas ordinatum est
๐Ÿฅˆ Imperative Imperceptible Impulse
๐Ÿฅ‰ ??

Oh look! Another Top 10 band that has two fucking releases, what the hell is this guy smoking. I will just reiterate: When those depressingly few releases are THIS GODDAMN GOOD, literally who cares. Give me these two albums of greatness over Judas Preist's fifty fucking years-worth of regurgitated bullshit anyway.
9Electric Wizard
Dopethrone


๐Ÿฅ‡ Dopethrone
๐Ÿฅˆ Time to Die
๐Ÿฅ‰ Come My Fanatics

A band that essentially perfected an admittedly niche genre, but man they did it so well. Aside from their unfortunate swan song (Wizard Bloody Wizard - terrible album), everything they released was somewhere between good and excellent. My EW hot take is heralding Time to Die as their second-best, most underrated, and clearly most misunderstood album.
8Serpent Column
Endless Detainment


๐Ÿฅ‡ Endless Detainment
๐Ÿฅˆ Kathodos
๐Ÿฅ‰ Mirror in Darkness

Came and went like a fart in the wind. And while this one-man project (Theo or whatever) is off doing other stuff, those new projects don't scratch the same, ridiculously specific itch that each and every Serpent Column album did. Generally not a fan of mathcore (or anything with that dreaded "core" suffix, for that matter), but the way this man dovetailed that genre's grindy, winding elements with the relentless atmospheric onslaught of typical black metal tones brought me to the dark side. Hoplites comes close to replicating this sound, sort of, but there's still a little something missing. RIP Serpent Column, for we barely knew thee...
7Faceless Burial
Speciation


๐Ÿฅ‡ Speciation
๐Ÿฅˆ Grotesque Miscreation
๐Ÿฅ‰ At the Foothills of Deliration

Was hooked back in '17 (or whenever) when I first heard Grotesque Miscreation and became a preemptive fan for life when Speciation finished near the top of my favorite albums of 2020. Their latest release took me a little longer to warm up to, but now we are nice and cozy bedfellows. Probably the band whose next release I am most eagerly anticipating.
6Grand Belial's Key
Judeobeast Assassination


๐Ÿฅ‡ Judeobeast Assassination
๐Ÿฅˆ Mocking the Philanthropist
๐Ÿฅ‰ Kosherat

Was always a fan of this band though didn't return to their albums as often as one might expect/think. But!! A recently discography run (the first in several years, I hadn't even revisited their old albums when Kohanic Chambers was released) has cemented them as well-worthy of a Top 10 spot. Amazing riffage, killer drums (esp. for black metal, let's be honest), and production values that perfectly straddle the line between actually sounding good and purposely sounding like total shit (a tricky balancing act, to be sure). Wish they weren't the world's worst human beings but... well... idk man, art is complicated.
5Ved Buens Ende
Written In Waters


๐Ÿฅ‡ Written In Waters
๐Ÿฅˆ Those Who Caress The Pale
๐Ÿฅ‰ ???

How could this band that released only one EP and one full-length album possibly be my fifth favorite metal band of all time? Two reasons: (1) that album is one of the greatest albums ever created, regardless of genre, while the EP is plenty incredible on its own, and (2) lists are stupid and meaningless anyway so who cares.
4Mgla
Exercises in Futility


๐Ÿฅ‡ Exercises in Futility
๐Ÿฅˆ With Hearts Toward None
๐Ÿฅ‰ Age of Excuse

Boring pick, maybe, but these guys are just stone cold and as reliable as they come. You know exactly what you're getting but you also know it'll be damn good, if not downright incredible. Alongside Immolation, one of the most consistently good/great metal acts of modern times.
3Gorguts
Obscura


๐Ÿฅ‡ Obscura
๐Ÿฅˆ Colored Sands
๐Ÿฅ‰ From Wisdom to Hate

Pretty neat how you can bifurcate Gorguts's discography into very distinct sections - Classic OSDM and zany, off-the-wall, whatever-the-fuck genre you wanna slap onto everything from Obscura and beyond. And they do both of those things unbelievably well. Perhaps too well. Surely one of the most influential DM bands of their time.
2Immolation
Close to a World Below


๐Ÿฅ‡ Close to a World Below
๐Ÿฅˆ Unholy Cult
๐Ÿฅ‰ Failures for Gods

Quite possibly - neigh, most definitely - the most consistent death metal band on the planet. The gap in quality between their best and their "worst" (scare quotes because they don't have a single "bad" album by any stretch of the imagination) album is remarkably small. Almost infinitesimal.
1Deathspell Omega
Paracletus


๐Ÿฅ‡ Paracletus
๐Ÿฅˆ Fas โ€“ Ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum
๐Ÿฅ‰ The Furnaces of Palingenesia

My personal favorite "modernized" take on black metal, "progressive" (varied? different? revisionist?) enough to ruffle the feathers of Paysage truthers but not so progressive that crusty Opeth fans start becoming interested. Just angry, evil-sounding, angular black metal with a twist. (The twist is that you need to forego moral superiority to enjoy this band to the fullest. My compass took a shit long ago.)
Show/Add Comments (28)

STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS // CONTACT US

Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Site Copyright 2005-2023 Sputnikmusic.com
All Album Reviews Displayed With Permission of Authors | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy