Best Metal Concept Albums
My first contact with Scenes from a Memory was amazing, and I had not even gotten to the bottom of it. It takes time to understand the album, but the variety and intricateness of the album make it an absolute must for anyone wanting to know about progressive music.
A mind-blowing album and story from one of the best bands in prog metal ever.
I've listened to lots of music throughout my entire life. Nothing really compares to the awesomeness of the instrumentalists Rudess, Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy, and the uniquely emotional vocals of James LaBrie.
There is no doubt that "Operation: Mindcrime" should be known as the best metal concept album ever made. Being a die-hard Iron Maiden fanboy, I feel that this album blows away "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" without question.
There is not one bad song on this album. This is Queensrÿche at its best. This album is so amazing, it almost converted me into becoming an anarchist. The production is outstanding, and the harmonies from metal's great Geoff Tate blow me away every time I listen to "Operation: Mindcrime." The storyline is fantastic, though it does get a little slow during the ten-minute "Suite Sister Mary."
Other than that, "Operation: Mindcrime" should be known throughout the world as the best metal concept album of all time. Hell, it was #2 on a list of regular concept albums, except "Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon" won that list.
It was extremely difficult to choose between this and the sublime "Still Life" by Opeth. I gave it to Maiden, though, on the basis that this album inspired many metal concept albums which preceded it.
Each song can stand on its own and become even more amazing when one listens to the album in its entirety. Arguably Maiden's best, and one of the best metal albums of all time.
I bought this album in '88 and I still listen to it. Enough said.
Actually, this is a concept album. It's not only a tribute to deceased former bass player Cliff Burton, but nearly every song on the album is anti-war and anti-government. Plus, every song is long, with very technical arrangements and lengthy instrumental sections.
Great story in the lyrics to the songs. You guys should really take a look at it. It will blow your mind.
First album I listened to when I discovered King Diamond. I cannot get enough of this album. I even got to see them perform this album live and in its entirety back in 2015.
Abigail is not my favorite album from King Diamond. It's very hard to choose. But I know you will love this album. I have never been disappointed by any album released by The King.
Unlike a lot of these, there is a lot to this album. It actually tells a story, which not many of these albums can claim to have. It doesn't matter if the style is all over the place at times, it still makes a consistent theme, which is a lot more than a lot of concept albums can claim.
This is the album that will sell non-believers on Mastodon. It may not be their most ambitious, but I find it a great escape. It's kind of like sitting down to read a book.
Beautiful, intense, and epic. Can't get enough of Hansi's vocals - Thorn, Into The Storm, Nightfall.
Hansi is not only one of the greatest singers, but he is probably the best storyteller on this list. For example, Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill). Nightfall.
Scenes from a Memory is definitely the best, but this one needed some love. It's incredible.
Other great contenders for me would be Crack the Skye and The Black Halo.
An album about a wolf-like man climbing a mountain to place a crystal skull at the summit to (this is what I've read) reach the next step of human evolution. Sure, why not?
Amazing storytelling that rivals all the books I have read because if you think about it, books are 90-98% filler. However, this album is less than 10% filler, and that's just setting the mood for each of the songs. The plot furthers with each song, except for "Pendulous Skin," which is about Joseph Merrick.
Every song is heavy and has great writing. Plot-heavy songs like "Circle of Cysquatch" and "Siberian Divide" are great and do not have a bad thing about them.
I only have four problems with this album:
1. Why hasn't anyone made a cartoon dedicated to this album and its story?
2. Why couldn't it have been longer?
3. Why doesn't it have an extremely large fan base that rivals those of Star Trek and My Little Pony?
4. It never explains how it ends, leaving us on a cliffhanger that will most likely never be explained.
These are all minor problems with the exception of 4, but other than that, this album is damn perfect.
Great album! Not the best on the list, but still amazing! The Human Equation (or really any Ayreon album) has an epic storyline. Scenes from a Memory is one of my favorites. Iron Maiden, Symphony X, Kamelot, Opeth, Therion... Gah! There are just too many great albums by great bands to choose a best!
Although I prefer Horror Show and Night of the Stormrider as concept albums, this album is still pretty great in my opinion!
Blind Guardian's 2015 album is flawless (symphonic metal). Epic, epic, and epic.
The perfectionists from Blind Guardian worked on this album for five years and it paid off. Some of the songs had eight versions to choose from for the final selection.
My favorite songs from this album are: The Ninth Wave, The Throne, The Holy Grail, Sacred Mind.
More prog rock than the albums before this. I like that.
How is this not above Leviathan at least? It is by far their best album.
It's an anti-war album, released in 1995. It was pretty cool that an American band wrote a concept album dealing with a Serb boy and a Muslim girl who fall in love. The story of the album also focused on the Bosnian War, which was ongoing at the time.
My favorite songs: Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24), Dead Winter Dead, Doesn't Matter Anyway, I Am, One Child, Mozart and Madness (instrumental).
I feel like Epica should be included in this because they are part of the same story.
Anyway, it has masterful instrumentation and phenomenal vocals coupled with an amazing variation on one of the greatest pieces of literature ever. Not only is this an amazing complete album, but it lacks the drawback of many concept albums in that its songs do a great job as stand-alone pieces and not just within the scope of the entire album.
Simply the best!
A concept album loosely based on Goethe's Faust. Continuing the story introduced in Epica, it is the second and final record in Kamelot's two-part concept about Ariel.
Kamelot's amazing vocals and superb instrumentation are simply amazing.
One of the best concept albums of the decade. Corey Taylor created an amazing story that rivals some of the best concept albums.