Top 10 Most Important Albums in Extreme Metal History

1) albums that contained foundations of new extreme metal subgenres
2) albums that perfected new extreme metal subgenres
3) albums that popularized new extreme metal subgenres.
The Top Ten
1 Reign in Blood - Slayer

There is no denying on Slayer's influence on Metal as a whole. They may not have been as popular as Metallica or as technical as Megadeth, but their sheer ferocity, blistering speed, machine-gun drumming and volatile vocals and lyrics would shape Reign in Blood, an album that would not just break the limitations of Thrash Metal during its time, but also lay the groundwork for what's to come for Death Metal and Extreme Metal as a whole.

And for that, thank you and congratulations Slayer. You've made a timeless classic that is still able to hold up and still be influential even after 30 years :).

2 Welcome to Hell - Venom

It's prominently described as speed metal, but it effected thrash more with more emergence of death metal as well I think every person who has listened to this album would say that it's made way too rough...lemme tell you - it was recorded in just three days, as a debut..It's awesome. I have this album, and of course who can forget Witching hour?

Template for all extreme metal genres. The first speed/trash/death/black metal album.

3 Kill 'em All - Metallica
4 Bathory - Bathory

I'd consider this to be the first true black metal album. It contains all of the elements that would become prominent on future black metal albums.

@Ananya - I agree there are thrash elements and I wouldn't debate on this (thrash or speed) because the difference between thrash and speed metal was even smaller back then - thrash was a development of speed metal. Whatever it was, this album was very important, mostly for the black metal ideas in it.

MT, It's basically a black metal album, with some elements of thrash, NOT speed metal.

5 Morbid Tales - Celtic Frost

1984 - the album contained black metal and thrash metal.
"The thrash metal intensity of Morbid Tales had a major influence on the then-developing death metal and black metal genres. It included elements that were adopted by the pioneers of both styles. The band's bleak and dead serious fashion style was also influential, including their corpse paint face makeup." (wiki)

6 Seven Churches - Possessed

This is a duplicate - somebody didn't notice it was already on the list and submitted it again but the correct format on this list and this site is: Seven Churches - Possessed.
I reported it's a duplicate but I don't know if and when it will be removed from the list.

1985 - the official birth of death metal but Possessed had a demo released earlier: in 1984.

7 Black Metal - Venom

This was the best albums from venom I playing al days when I was a young man my parents get mad about the so loud music. and when we play that record a trange thing happening in my house when I was alone a home with my girlfriend the devil came in my house. I was laughing but not my girlfriend. I was fan from that group I seen them the first live but now is not the same. sorry when the spelling our somme word is not koret

1982 - thrash metal and black metal.
Oddly enough, the title track (Black Metal) is a thrash song and not a black metal song.

8 Altars of Madness - Morbid Angel

This album was released in 1989 and set a new precedent for heaviness and extremity both musically and lyrically.Definitely one of the most influential metal albums of all times.Between Reign in Blood and this one two albums of Death were released but they didn't manage to be recognized for their importance in extreme metal history at that time.The flames of Slayer and Morbid Angel (and don't forget Metallica) burned a lot.
I'not a fan of Morbid Angel but this album is underrated the last decades.

9 Scream Bloody Gore - Death
10 De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas - Mayhem
The Contenders
11 At War with Satan - Venom
12 Rust in Peace - Megadeth

This is a great album but it invented what? Umm, nothing. Just implemented more technical guitar playing being influenced by Annihilator's guitar work on Alice in Hell.

13 None So Vile - Cryptopsy

1996 - this album did not create technical death metal but it fully demonstrated the brutality of technical death metal and produced one of the heaviest and most brutal sounds in metal. Even now, 20+ years later, this album still sounds damn heavy and brutal.
None So Vile came out before Nile and Necrophagist debut albums.

Flo Mounier turned the drums into a whole nother instrument. The way he plays is like no ever album I've ever heard.

Flo Mounier... yeah, this machine. I was like, what kind of weapons he used instead of drums?

14 Show No Mercy - Slayer
15 In the Nightside Eclipse - Emperor
16 Symbolic - Death

This should be at #1 spot, we are talking about the most inportant albums...

17 Master of Puppets - Metallica
18 Slaughter of the Soul - At the Gates
19 Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? - Megadeth
20 Ace of Spades - Motorhead

There's a big misconception related to Motorhead (and this album, respectively). Lemmy himself (R.I.P.) said many times they were not a metal band and explained why. Here's a quote about the speed metal bands people believe Motörhead have inspired: "They've just got the wrong bit. They think that being fast and loud is the whole thing and it isn't."
There are more details on my list Top 10 Surprising Lemmy Quotes About Metal and Motorhead

Absolutely disgusted that this album is so low. Without Motorhead, Metallica (who is one of the biggest bands in metal history) most likely never existed.

21 Ride the Lightning - Metallica
22 Skydancer - Dark Tranquillity

1993 - pioneered melodic death metal.
Carcass and In Flames released albums in the same year but several months later. I don't think they influenced each other's albums so all these 3 bands count. Also, a 4th band (At The Gates) released an album with melodic death metal in 1994.
There are still some discussions about who was the first so I mentioned all 4 bands.

23 Outre' - Portal
24 Don't Break the Oath - Mercyful Fate

Just to remind you: lyrics are about Satan and the occult which was probably influential towards the lyrical themes of black metal but music of this album isn't extreme - it's rather traditional heavy metal.
I mean, this album deserves to be mentioned on this list but shouldn't be very high.

25 Transcendence Into the Peripheral - Disembowelment

It's a pity that this was the only album of the band.Its' experimental sound inspired lots of others of different subgenres.

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