Autothrall's Best Metal Albums of 1995

The Top 20 Metal Albums of 1995

01. Sentenced (Finland) - Amok
02. Therion (Sweden) - Lepaca Kliffoth
03. Lake of Tears (Sweden) - Headstones
04. Blind Guardian (Germany) - Imaginations from the Other Side
05. Necromantia (Greece) - Scarlet Evil Witching Black
06. Mr. Bungle (USA) - Disco Volante
07. At the Gates (Sweden) - Slaughter of the Soul
08. Dissection (Sweden) - Storm of the Light's Bane
09. Nevermore (USA) - Nevermore
10. Morbid Angel (USA) - Domination
11. Monster Magnet (USA) - Dopes to Infinity
12. White Zombie (USA) - Astro-Creep 2000
13. Summoning (Austria) - Minas Morgul
14. Darkthrone (Norway) - Panzerfaust
15. Faith No More (USA) - King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime
16. Mörk Gryning (Sweden) - Tusen år har gått...
17. Meshuggah (Sweden) - Destroy Erase Improve
18. Ulver (Norway) - Bergtatt - Et eeventyr i 5 Capitler
19. Clutch (USA) - Clutch
20. Paradise Lost (UK) - Draconian Times

A somewhat exciting year, a lot of the Swedish melodic death and black metal was starting to take off here and there is no argument that Slaughter of the Soul is one of the most important albums of the 90s, not because it's the most perfect, but because of its huge influence on a younger generation of fans who had previously remained ignorant beyond Slayer breakdowns and Metallica. How many melodeath and metalcore bands owe their very existence to At the Gates? Whether that's a good or bad thing, I'll leave it to you to decide, but regardless it gave the genre a clear boost. I also know many people for whom my #8 choice is their favorite metal album ever. A few unusual picks here: the Monster Magnet album was a superb stoner metal effort, the best to date in their career and even generated a radio hit; the Mr. Bungle was a genius array of eclectics with a savage thrash/death metal undercurrent in places. Clutch really took off for me with their s/t album. Amok was beautiful, a distinct and unforgettable unique mesh of melodic death and traditional heavy metal elements which I listened to so often one of my college roommates offered to buy my CD so he could throw it away. Lepaca Kliffoth is also amazing, the only other perfect album on here for me and Therion's best, catching them right at the period before they got too choral and symphonic with mixed results.

UPDATED FOR 2020