Onwards through the 21st century we go! After kicking off the new millennium with a bang, many of the bands who dominated 2000 have returned with new offerings just as strong as those from the year prior, if not stronger. With entries from the realms of black, thrash, power, prog, and sometimes unexpected amalgamations of these four subgenres, one could argue this as being one of our most diverse retrospective lists yet, and you wouldn’t be wrong. This cross-pollination would flourish throughout the 2000s, and outright explode come the 2010s, but more on that another time. Until then, here are our Top 10 Metal Albums of 2001.
10. Apocaylptic Raids – Only Death Is Real…
It’s 2001 and Swiss extreme metal trailblazers Celtic Frost have reunited to record their long awaited comeback masterpiece, Prototype. Only it’s not a masterpiece; it’s a 45 minute nu metal trainwreck that sounds less like Celtic Frost and more like some regional band who won an opening slot on the parking lot stage of their local Ozzfest stop. It’s no wonder that the album is subsequently shelved and the general public spared. Meanwhile, in Brazil, a newly formed trio is channeling the bestial aggression of early Frost and their predecessors, Hellhammer. That band is Apocalyptic Raids. Named after Hellhammer’s debut EP, Apocalyptic Raids took headbangers back to ’84 with their primitive debut album, Only Death Is Real… (another Hellhammer reference). The riffs are heavy and chaotic, the atmosphere is bleak, and the production is rawer than an uncooked steak. Yes, it is a blatant Hellhammer/Celtic Frost worship album, but the songs on this album exude the same diabolical energy.
9. Enslaved – Monumension
After a decade of flirting with progressive tropes, and capitalizing on it outright for at least half of 2000’s Mardraum (Beyond the Within), Enslaved went full blown prog on their 6th album, Monumension. Emphasis on unorthodox and borderline dissonant riffing? Check. Unexpected outbursts of clean vocals and mellotrons? Check. Mellow, spacey chillout passages? Check. Yes, there are still those harsh blackened screams, blasting drums, and overall sense of Norwegian grimness, but all of these elements have now taken backseat to the band’s love of 70s progressive rock. There’s no doubt that Pink Floyd and King Crimson played a greater role in inspiring the pre-production of this album than Mayhem and Darkthrone, and it’s remained this way for Enslaved ever since.
8. Savatage – Poets and Madmen
After decades of touring, recording, and endless reinvention, things are finally starting to pay off for Savatage. They’ve quickly received mass radio airplay and are playing the biggest US shows of their career, filling theaters and arenas across the country. Only they’re not doing so as Savatage; they’re doing so under the moniker of Trans-Siberian Orchestra: A Christmas themed symphonic metal band whose stage productions have since become the stuff of legend. With this in mind, it’s unsurprising that the band’s mastermind, Jon Oliva, was ready to close the Savatage chapter (for now). Poets and Madmen, Savatage’s 11th and final studio album to date, saw Oliva return to vocals full time (after sharing duties with Zak Stevens on 1997’s The Wake of Magellan). The rock opera is loosely centered around the life and death of journalist Kevin Carter, and musically not far removed from the symphonic-centric approach of TSO. Fun fact: In our interview with Jon Oliva, he revealed that “Morphine Child” was “the hardest Savatage song to sing ever because of the emotion”.
7. Gamma Ray – No World Order!
Despite euro power metal’s popularity being at an all time low, this didn’t stop Kai Hansen from soldiering on with his head held high and guitar in hand. For crying out loud, this is the guy who singlehandedly INVENTED euro power metal as we know it. Would you expect anything less? By now, the post-Helloween outfit was averaging a new album every other year, and burst into the new century/decade with a bang in No World Order! Everything you loved about late 80s Helloween and 90s Gamma Ray is accentuated and then some. Hansen continued to push himself as both a singer and songwriter, cranking out such classics on this album as the high speed “Dethrone Tyranny”, the passionate “Lake of Tears”, and the absolutely anthemic “The Heart of the Unicorn”.
6. Jag Panzer – Mechanized Warfare
Just one year after releasing their most prog oriented album yet in the Macbeth themed Thane to the Throne, Jag Panzer returned to showoff their musical prowess with Mechanized Warfare. Musically, this album seems to sum up everything Jag Panzer had accomplished in their then 20 year existence. Cuts like “Take to the Sky”, “The Scarlet Letter”, and “Hidden in My Eyes” continue to expand upon the prog metal formula of Thane, dramatic melodies, adventurous musicianship, and all. Meanwhile, “Frozen in Fear” and “Power Surge” channel the aggressive US steel of their early 80s heyday. It’s a win-win for power and prog metal fans alike, and still more riveting than 99% of releases from both genres today.
5. Sigh – Imaginary Sonicscape
Enslaved wasn’t the only black metal band in 2001 with complete disregard for the “rules” and “conventions” established for the genre a decade earlier. There was also Sigh, who remained schizophrenically lethal as ever on their fifth album, Imaginary Sonicscape. Their ability to switch not just moods, but entire musical styles, usually within the same song, remains unparalleled to this day. Over the course of a little over an hour, Imaginary Sonicscape touches upon black metal, traditional metal, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, jazz fusion, classical, electronica, and more. Some would call it sensory overload. I call it one of the most exciting metal releases ever bestowed upon mankind. Life would be pointless without Mirai Kawashima!
4. Destruction – The Antichrist
Remember in 2000 when Destruction returned out of nowhere with All Hell Breaks Loose, unleashing brutal thrash like it was the mid 80s all over again? Well it wasn’t even a year later that the Teutonic trio struck again, as if to say, “You thought that was our comeback album? Think again.” Look, All Hell Breaks Loose is an amazing return to form. It made it to #5 on our 2000 list. And yet, for some unexplainable reason, The Antichrist obliterates it in every way possible. Every riff, solo, and verse is delivered with militant extremity, reminding 00s headbangers of black and death metal’s thrashing 80s roots. It’s no wonder that songs like “Thrash ’till Death” and “Nailed to the Cross” are staples of Destruction’s catalog and live set to this day.
3. Opeth – Blackwater Park
Come the early 2000s, there were no bigger names in prog than Opeth and Porcupine Tree. While the former had since transcended the Swedish death metal scene, appealing to headbangers and proggers of all walks of life, the latter made mark for their forward-thinking brand of prog that, while steeped in the past, was distinctly modern in overall approach. Put the two bands together and you’ve got one of the biggest collaborations in prog history. That’s essentially what happened when Opeth released Blackwater Park, which saw Porcupine Tree leader Steven Wilson jump aboard as producer and honorary fifth member, providing backing vocals, keyboards, and additional guitars. Many consider it to be Opeth’s finest hour, subtly balancing the gothic death metal of their heyday with the classic prog romanticism of their future. While I personally always return Orchid, there’s no denying the brilliance of Blackwater Park, hence why it’s this far up on our list.
2. Absu – Tara
Who is the greatest American black metal band of all time? Few would disagree with the label being bestowed upon Absu, if only for Tara alone. While their 90s albums are masterpieces in their own right, it’s on Tara that the band reached new levels of black metal brilliance. The riffs thrash as hard as any classic Slayer, Kreator, or *ahem* Sodom release, yet the arrangements are as mesmeric and outright arcane as the lyrical content. It’s as if this album was crafted in some other dimension; a musical testament of an unknown civilization with supernatural powers, if you will. And if that assessment doesn’t convince you, there are not one, but TWO guest appearances from one Mr. Masthema Mazziqim, better known as King Diamond.
- Sodom – M-16
Between Destruction and Absu, 2001 was no joke for thrash metal. Thrashers must’ve destroyed the soles of their shoes running in circles to those albums, and very likely needed a new pair of kicks altogether for our #1, Sodom’s M-16. If any band was going to do a concept album on the Vietnam War, it was Sodom. M-16 captures the brutalities of the 20 year conflict in true Sodom fashion. Shrapnel-infused riffs, blistering solos, nuclear drumming, and the hellish vocals of Tom Angelripper unleash one blitz after the next, pushing thrash’s extremity to its farthest reaches on cuts like “Among the Weirdcong”, “I Am the War”, and “Minejumper”. It is, without question, on par with Persecution Mania (1987) and Agent Orange (1989) in terms of memorability and brutality, and by far the greatest metal album of 2001.
Honorable Mentions
- Anthem – Seven Hills
- Borknagar – Empiricism
- Gorguts – From Wisdom to hate
- Root – Black Seal
- Summoning – Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame