2. Death – Symbolic: Being one of the fathers of death metal, Chuck Schuldiner’s special blend of (melodic) death metal fused with prog made heads roll. He had the ability to change a heavy, evil riff into a soothing clean passage with a relaxing melody. He also had the ability to make poetic lyrics that are at the same time meaningful. 

  3. Opeth – Still Life: Opeth’s sound is undefinable. They are a Swedish metal band which mixes death metal, progressive influences, jazz and folk/acoustic interludes/segues. The first time I heard Opeth my jaw dropped. Nobody else in the music world has this sound. No one can copy it and nobody should. 

  4. Meshuggah – Chaosphere: The word “meshuggah” means “crazy” in Hebrew. Why they chose this name for their band is unclear to me but I would like to say that it fits perfectly. This metal group’s sound is absolutely out-of-this-world insane. The time-signatures in their songs are uncountable. The drumming is superhuman. The sound is so heavy that it’s deafening. Meshuggah – the world’s heaviest band. 

  5. Cynic – Focus: Cynic is a band which very straightforwardly puts jazz-fusion elements in their music. Their only album, Focus, led to the term “jazz-metal” and opened the eyes of metalheads everywhere to the wonderful world of jazz. 

  6. Dream Theater – Awake: Dream Theater’s third album, Awake, was a darker and heavier album than their previous effort – 1992’s Images And Words. But with songs like “6:00,” “Caught In A Web,” “Erotomania” and “Scarred,” they showed the world how powerful, complex and dramatic (in a good way) their sound is.

   7. Mastodon – Blood Mountain: Mastodon’s blend of prog, sludge, metal and even Southern influences are at full force on this album. It’s a wonderful concept album that has so many moods and influences that it makes the listener think twice about the band’s genre. 

  8. Tool – Lateralus: Lateralus was the album that got me into progressive metal. I discovered Tool when I was twelve and I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t quite get them. But a couple of years later when I discovered progressive rock bands like Rush and Yes, I grabbed my copy of Lateralus and gave it another spin in my CD player. I was floored. Tool’s music is somewhat of a spiritual experience. It makes you close your eyes and it just takes you away into Tool’s world of rhythm and weirdness.

   9. Atheist – Unquestionable Presence: Atheist was another band who was highly respected in the field of jazz-metal. Like Cynic, they mixed technical/progressive metal with jazz and Latin elements. Their second album, Unquestionable Presence, is a landmark for tech-metal and shows the world, like the other bands on this list, that making a difference in metal music goes a long way. 

  10. Liquid Tension Experiment – Liquid Tension Experiment 2: If you know who Liquid Tension Experiment is and you’ve read the first 9 entries, you must be thinking: “This guy sure loves the boys from Dream Theater.” That’s absolutely true. Liquid Tension Experiment consists of the drummer, guitarist and keyboardist of Dream Theater along with Tony Levin, the bassist of the legendary King Crimson. Their sound is a little similar to Dream Theater’s but purely instrumental. This album also contains what I think is Liquid Tension Experiment’s best song: “When The Water Breaks.”