Best Death Metal Albums

This is the best death metal album and also one of the greatest in heavy metal history by far. Amazing songwriting, every song is awesome, the riffs, solos, bass lines, drums, and the voice of Chuck are all amazing. Perfect album.
How is this not in the top 5 at least? Every single track is amazing. Hear Crystal Mountain, Empty Words, Without Judgement, and Misanthrope if you don't believe me. I love all Death's albums, but this one is my favorite.
Death metal aside, this is one of the greatest albums I have ever had the pleasure to hear.

This album should be number 1 on the greatest death metal albums of all time. The whole album is just amazing.
Plus, Human is Death's greatest album and not Symbolic. Period.
One of the most influential albums of the death metal genre, this album influenced the Swedish death metal scene.
This is a really heavy album, but it also displays some artistic merit as well as having some kick-ass tracks.

Best album by Death. Just because Scream Bloody Gore spawned the genre doesn't mean it's the greatest album of all time.
This is top 3 material. In fact, the top 3 should be: Symbolic, Individual Thought Patterns, and Human.
I can't say anything but awesome.

Amazing vocals, guitars, bass, and drumming. On Painkiller (cover of Judas Priest), Chuck uses his normal vocals at the end. Also, you've got to hear Voice of the Soul. Other kickass songs are Scavenger of Human Sorrow, Spirit Crusher, Story to Tell, Flesh and the Power It Holds, and one of Chuck's best guitar solos on In a Moment of Clarity. All songs I'll give 10/10. Best death metal album along with Heartwork, Scream Bloody Gore, Symbolic, Blackwater Park, and more.
Better than Symbolic for sure. This album is perfection. Ask Rob Halford.

Come on guys! It is progressive death metal! It may not be the same as the others on this list, but it's still very much death metal, just more complex, and the songs are longer. This is by far the best.

Slowly We Rot should be top 5. You can't forget Obituary and this awesome album.

This album has an irresistible raw sound to it that just makes it fantastic! Also, it arguably created the genre of death metal.
Pioneers with evil, crushing guitars, chromatic harmonies, and a disturbing sound aesthetic!
Come on, this album spawned the genre. Though I do love Death and I personally think they're the best death metal band, Scream Bloody Gore did NOT create death metal. Seven Churches did, but both are great albums.


It was banned in countries. It was a powerful album. Cannibal Corpse is one of the most important death metal bands in the history of metal music!
Why is this 15? Do people not know what death metal is?
It was so brutal it was banned in Germany.

This album is astonishing! Every song sounds completely different, and the vocals are really nasty and amazing! The first track (Charred Remains) is a death metal masterpiece.
Difficult to choose one. This album is great.
Influential to all death/doom bands.
The Newcomers

How the hell was this not on the list until I added it? It's a MASTERPIECE. The production suits the music perfectly, the guitars are amazing, and the bass is utilized very well. Flo must be one of the best/fastest drummers on the planet. Last but not least, the vocals performed by Lord Worm are so brutal and amazing! He sounds so evil and like he's suffering, as if someone is trying to sing while being mutilated! If you haven't heard it before, go listen to it right now!
If you ask the question, "What does it feel like to have your ears torn off in under 30 seconds?"
The answer: listen to "None So Vile."
Seriously, this album absolutely mutilates you in under a second. The first song is one of the heaviest on the album!

Honestly, Seven Churches might be the first death metal album, but I think this album truly captured the essence of how death metal should be. Also, each song on the album is good, and that's how you rate an album.
My vote: Scream Bloody Gore.
Mainstream music lovers are voting for their prog metal garbage. This influential album should be in the top 5 instead of those sleep-inducing, pretentious, and diluted prog albums from this band.
When I was listening to this album, I was blown away by the opening riff of Zombie Ritual. Man, Chuck Schuldiner's vocals were the DEFINITION of a death growl. My fave songs from this HISTORIC album are Zombie Ritual, Mutilation, and Evil Dead.

Yet to listen to a better death metal record than this. That cover art has kept me frozen and intrigued for years. The eyes of the devil are savoring your mental suffering.
This album made me fully fall in love with death metal. That's how fantastic it is.
One of the best death metal albums of all time! This should be in the top ten.

I have this album on vinyl, and when I have parties, it's all Slayer and Leprosy on the turntable. This album, The Bleeding, and anything by Napalm Death should be on the list or way higher. And also At the Gates.
The undisputed champion of all that is death metal. Created with input from all the members and released before the band turned into a one-man, weak, miserable prog-fusion metal act.
Best death metal album ever! Listen to Leprosy, Pull the Plug, Born Dead, and Forgotten Past, and then you'll know why this should be number 1.


If you're new to metal and you think that the guitar riffs in this album remind you of Arch Enemy, it's because this was the album where Michael Amott's signature guitar style that he carried over into Arch Enemy originated.
This is also the first "melodic death metal" album ever, a game-changing album. Which is probably why many people cite "Heartwork" as Carcass' magnum opus. It's also the band's most commercially successful.
An awesome album and one of the most influential ones, Carcass defined melodic death metal with this.

This is the best death metal album ever made!
How is this not higher? How is CC not higher?
Best death metal album of all time!

Not only is this on top of the list of death metal albums, it is also the best metal album of all time, period.

Should be higher. It's way better than most of the albums ranked above it.

I don't necessarily know if this really is my favorite death metal album, but I saw it down here and thought it deserved to be much higher. I love Nile, especially this album, and it's amazing workout music as a plus. I know it sounds weird, but try listening to this album next time you go biking.
This album is one of the best. It definitely deserves a higher placement on this list.
One of the best ever. It is the best Technical Death Metal album.

Earth-shatteringly heavy! Seriously, this album can cause earthquakes when blasted at max volume from a large stereo system!
Come on, this beats everything by Cannibal Corpse and at least half of Death's discography. It should beat at least some of Carcass and Obituary's stuff.

Crimson is an album that contains a single 40-minute song that combines progressive rock with death metal. Picture King Crimson, but heavier and darker. This song is long but never feels that way. It's constantly evolving and tells a wonderful tale to boot. Belongs in the top 10 death metal albums and songs.


Epic album with damn brutal tracks. Try:
Soul Evisceration, Eaten, The Ascension, and Year of the Cadaver Race.
