A-list metal

[Cargést]

Heavy: Manilla Road (give Crystal Logic a listen already)

Agreed.

Is this list going to be updated or altered any time soon?  Is anything going to be done with it?

[Transilvania]

Shouldn't there be an official DLA review for Prong's "Beg to Differ" given that it's referred to as the band's "opus" on their page?

[nastrond]

Atheist!!!!! 

[nastrond]

I should have been more descriptive, I cast my vote (yay!!!1) for  Gorguts, Mercyful Fate, and Deeds of Flesh as well.  Maybe replace Sentenced with Atheist.  Consider Cadaver-Hallucinating Anxiety.

Therion has never done too much for me and I haven't given Ildjarn or Sacramentum a scrutinizing listen

[Winter]

Is there any other rank of metal or do you guys all consider everything on the A list to be equal?

[Cargést]

Nothing is equal, but, at the same time, everything is in constant flux.  Some albums are now better than other albums which used to be superior. Anicca, etc.

[David_Brent]

"METALCORE

* Neurosis
* Human Remains
* Today is the Day
* Discordance Axis

POST-INDIE

* Jesu"

Which albums are we talking about here?
Also Power Metal:
*Blind Guardian
*Crimson Glory
*Hammers of Misfortune
*Stratovarius
*Iced Earth
*Cirith Ungol
*Helloween
*Manowar
*Fates Warning
*Angra
*Lost Horizon
*Pagan's mind
*Running wild

Why not making an A list (Sentenced) and a Triple A (Burzum) list?

[Humanicide]

Of course the personal taste of members varies widely as well. These lists were more compiled as a middle ground for people to agree on.

[death metal black metal]

Is there any other rank of metal or do you guys all consider everything on the A list to be equal?

I don't. A list is a cutoff: anything above this point is metal that I would recommend to:

* A literate musical listener of any genre(s)
* A classical listener
* A teacher
* A journalist
* An intelligent person
* Any Hessian with IQ over 110

Also Power Metal:

I know nothing about power metal except Helstar, of course. I think it should go into speed metal, since it's essentially speed metal with heavy metal vocals and some black/death technique, but that's not unique -- every post-black/death genre incorporates black/death technique.

[Chains]

Why not making an A list (Sentenced) and a Triple A (Burzum) list?

We do. We just call the AAA list A and the A list B.

[Conservationist]

I don't think this should become a jihad to eliminate "inferior" bands. Sentenced is fucking great, for example.

Here are some useful categories:

1. HISTORICAL

1983-1994 were the years of the growth of a genre. We should document it, all of it.

2. BEST OF

The easy test: would you recommend this to an intelligent non-metalhead? The answer is probably true for about 40 bands.

3. AESTHETICS

Are Venom and Mordred important? Yes, historically and in the development of aesthetic.

4. GUILTY PLEASURES

Can I "prove" to you that Von is any good? Who cares...

5. TECHNICAL MERIT

Cynic may be homosexuals who later made a turd of a second album, but their first album is hard to ignore. It's an attempt to apply technical knowledge to metal.

6. POPULARITY

Yes, fuck-me-in-the-ass-with-a-Honda, this is important. Pantera are execrable crap, but they defined much of the history to follow and much of what bands in that time reacted to, whether positively or negatively.

###

We could say that 3, 5 and 6 are subsets of 1

I think it would be a real mistake to confuse 2 and 4, but most average idiots assume we're doing that anyone. (VON probably belongs in the history section as well...)

[Spectrum]

Perhaps we can use this thread to flesh out a list for use on DeathMetal.org?

[Winter]

Nox Intempesta is incredible. I think they should be included.

[Cargést]

ICP is incredible.  I think they should be included.

[Winter]

I didnt think I would need to explain my statment. Yours on the other hand...

Really though, What are your opinion on them? Im pretty bad at describing why I find a band good withouth just talking about the surface of the music.