[Folsom]

I did a search and found nothing... It is funny because it seems like there is a good number of metal albums that are very high quality in sound. There are topics of rock, but I feel metal is different, goes places rock does not. Good metal is some of the most beautiful music ever, when it is recorded, mixed, and mastered well, in my opinion.

Examples

Fucking Champs - (Anything by them)
Metallica - Metallica (the Black one, freaking amazing, bad lyrics, metal gods)
Tool - anything after ( including) Aenima
A Perfect Circle - all three albums (eMOTIVE CD comes with a DVD I think)

Expand the world of metal ! (clearly I only know a few)

[TONEPUB]

All good choices!

I've got a japanese pressing of Judas Priest "Screaming for Vengance" that
really sounds great, LP though.

The Mobile Fidelity release of Megadeth's "Countdown to Extinction" is really good,
tons of dynamics.

The first Audioslave CD is another on my list.  Great demo disc.

[JRace]

Off the top of my head:

Melvins - (a) Senile Animal

On this album they've added Big Business bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis to the mix of guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover.

[lonewolfny42]

"Metal, Stuff that sounds amazing....."



You want heavy....this is heavy....and it sounds good....better than most Metal albums...a good sampler !!

Heavy Classix.......


OK....its not really Metal...but this is where the power is....

[nathanm]

Heathen "Victims Of Deception" This is a very carefully controlled warm crunch.

Tool's "Opiate" sounds especially delicious.

Judas Priest's "The Rage" on Britsh Steel will make you think your speakers don't suck like you thought they might.  It's weird, the intro sounds like The Police!

Cathedral "Endtyme" Sometimes you can forgive the "over the top" treatment.  This one was engineered by whatshisname, that guy with all the brown distortion.  It works.

Overkill "The Years Of Decay"  "Under The Influence"

Suffocation "Human Waste" I wish more death metal records had this big, hairy sound.  It's like the anti-Scott Burns sound. It sounds loud and roomy and like they are coming to GET YOU!

Pestilence "Consuming Impulse"

Exodus "Impact Is Imminent"  AAD no less.  Remember the days?

Witchcraft (self-titled)

Scissorfight "Balls Deep"  Gotta love "The Gibbeted Captain Kidd"

Mordred "In This Life" Man, I am jumping all over the map.

High On Fire "Surrounded By Thieves" (no, it's not in 5.1!)  The singer has that strained, constipated thing going on, but the music does sound like the hordes from a Boris Vallejo painting coming at you.  Well, "Eyes And Teeth" anyway.  Actually after that it's quite boring.  Hmmm.

Speaking of Matt Pike, if you don't listen to Sleep "Holy Mountain"     Well…then I guess you're just missing out.

You're not kidding Chris, sometimes classical music can be more metal than metal, retroactively.  Haven't heard that one, but I can't fathom how there could be a heavier performance of "Montagues And Capulets" than Russel Dawkins' recording.   It's a damn shame they milk Orff for everything he's worth, because if you can block out the pop culture usage it is some of the heaviest shit ever. 

[Folsom]

Nathan I knew you would have a few to mention!

It is good you pre-listened to them to know they are good recording/masterings because with the covers on those albums I would probably never pick them out!

[JoshK]

I probably have some suggestions that are not "metal" but harder and sound good.

Faith No More - The Real Thing
Its good to hear this genre of music before mass compression took the industry by storm.  I am a big fan of FNM and this album was years ahead of its time.  It might not be audiophile standards but it is a great album and it sounds good, even loud, as it should be played.   Also check out Angel Dust and Album of the Year. 

Tool as was mentioned.  I like them all.

Therapy? - Suicide Pact, You First.

There is a huge thread on symphonic and progressive metal acts.  I'll not rehash it here, but there is a plethora of great stuff in that thread.

Other mentions, more in the modern hard rock genre as some of your suggestions are:  Rage vs the Machine (self titled is best), Nine Inch Nails (I like up till Fragile),

If you like the black album by Metallica, check out the earlier ones like Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All.   Check out Megadeth too, which is among the more intelligent metal acts. 

Of course, Dream Theater is always a good suggestion, but then that is covered in the sym/prog metal thread.

[JoshK]

Off the top of my head:

Melvins - (a) Senile Animal

   I really like this album. 

[BobM]

One of the big problems I find with any kind of heavy album is the compression factor. Some metal bands have really nice sections of acoustic guitar or synth sounds. Then when they get to the power chords there is an inevitible compression that you can't help but notice. It may be a tad louder than the softer stuff, but it usually sounds squished together without deliniation between instruments that categorizes "hi-fi" or good sound to me.

So I'm not just talking about headroom. I'm talking about space between instruments, soundstaging and definition. That's why these kind of groups are mostly listened to in my car or on headphones, where it is less noticeable. The other reason I listen to them there is because I don't want to piss off the wife when I blast them for my own enjoyment

Bob

[Vapor Audio]

Tool has been mentioned, I've played "The Pot" from 10,000 Days many times at RMAF.  What I'd love is a remastering of Opiate, that album just rips but it's a bit edgy.  Tool does leave lots of headroom in their recordings.

Nine Inch Nails has quite a few well recorded albums as well.  Disc 2 of "And All That Could Have Been" is a great example.  The ModWheelMod remix of "Great Destroyer" is another great track.  A lot of the Ghosts album is critical listening worthy.  And who else gives away a free download of 24/192 files for a new EP release?  They did that with The Slip, and there are some great tracks on there.  "The Downward Spiral" SACD is excellent as well.

Soulfly "Primative" has some surprisingly dynamic recordings, as does Sepultura "Roots".

You know what really surprised me?  The last 4-5 Megadeth albums have all been recorded very well, and all their Remasters of older albums are worthy as well.

For Faith No More, the "Who Cares a Lot" greatest hits album seems to be remastered and better than the originals. 

Down, the Philip Anselmo from Pantera group, has some nice recordings on both their albums. 

I'll dig through my library and post some more ...

[Crimson]

And who else gives away a free download of 24/192 files for a new EP release?

It was 24/96, actually. But regardless, it's wonderful hearing massive distortion in all it's hi-rez glory. 

[mcullinan]

Sepultura, Slipknot, Disturbed.
YEah.
Mike

[kenreau]

I can't say that I've heard any real metal that sounds amazing in an audiophile sense.   Tolerable, yes.  Imho, most HM suffers from relatively poor recordings/mastering (ignorance and/or lack of $budget) and overly compressed recordings (new metallica for instance). 

On a relative scale, the ones that spin the most in my player is "The Sword" (both Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth) and the DCC reissue of Metalica's Master of Puppets. 

I sure wish Mofi, or someone similar, would do a deluxe remastering job (on digital) on And Justice for All as that is my favorite.

The Audio Slave mentioned by Jeff is really great.  That reminds me that Sound Gardens Bad Motorfinger really rocked also.

I do really like the sound of both Tool and NIN, but find them so overwhelming & engulfing I rarely listen to more than 2 or 3 songs.

[boead]

Didn’t Metallica release a single album on two vinyls because “…it sounds better that way!”

[mcullinan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyuFqXjKsPU
Yeah
Mike

[JoshK]

Slipknot and Disturbed are in the same category as Staind and Korn IMO....I'll skip.  Sepultura Roots is a bad a$$ album.  Rattamattata is freaking kick butt track.  Turn that crap up loud if you like percussion!

Opiate by Tool I've always thought was a great album.  I liked that it was raw as opposed to studio polished.  I am not sure I want it remastered.  If you notice, there are both live and studio recorded tracks on this EP and the live tracks sound much more "open" even if they are noisier. 

[Zeus the thunderer]

I am surprised to see that no one mention Queensryche's "Empire".This is the best recorded metal album i've ever heard.
If i wanted to be picky,i would say that bass could be a little louder there
Also, some of Therion's work,especially the song "Lemuria".Great recording;symphonic orchestra,choir etc.
My favorite band is Virgin Steele.I wish they had better recordings.Still i listen a lot to them.And every little deatil in sound usually bothers me.But their musical and lyrical quality makes up for that.

[kenreau]

I don't know if this falls under "metal" but I just remembered another favorite really hard rock (metal?) album

Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf

Track 4. Song for the Dead is the pinnacle of the album, imho.  Dave Grohls drumming is out of this world.  I recall listening intently to this track with some high end entymotic in-ear headphones and there are amazing backing vocals and subtle surround effects (almost 3D) going on that I had never picked up on before.  This track gets my highest recommendation.

Kenreau

[zapper7]

Yeah, Queensryche Empire, especially in 24 bit, is really nice. The music itself helps make the difference, better than most listed here, but maybe not in the category of Metal.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Of course, Dream Theater is always a good suggestion, but then that is covered in the sym/prog metal thread.

The double disk ($30+) DVD-A version sounds like crap. 

Bob