Check your list
Opeth vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt was the latest interviewee for Rolling Stone, which has been asking various metal musicians to list their 10 favorite albums. The magazine questioned the musicians during the process of compiling its list of the 100 best heavy metal albums of all time.
Rolling Stone also requested lists including Lars Ulrich , Rob Halford , Ozzy Osbourne , Corey Taylor of Slipknot , and Bill Ward .
See Mikael Akerfeldt's list:
10. Lucifer's Friend – 'Where the Groupies Killed the Blues' (1972): “This album is so complex. I still don't fully understand it, and I've had it for 25 years. And I play it a lot, but it's so complex. It's also a very beautiful album.”
9. Deep Purple – 'Stormbringer' (1974): “Richie Blackmore hates this album. But he wrote some songs. He wrote the best songs. The title track, 'Lady Double Dealer', 'Soldier Of Fortune', 'The Gypsy'. All fantastic, well-written, and classic Hard Rock.”
8. Yngwie Malmsteen – 'Rising Force' (1984): “I heard it and thought, 'It's not possible… Nobody can play like that.' It sounds like a synthesizer. It sounds so clean, so effortless.”
7. Entombed – 'Left Hand Path' (1990): “Destructive guitars. That's really it. This album influenced many bands in Sweden who tried to copy what happens on this album.”
6. King Diamond – 'Them' (1988): “It's an album that sounds very Metal, but with beautiful vocal melodies. It has acoustic guitars and great riffs.”
5. Morbid Angel – 'Altars of Madness' (1989): “'Altars of Madness' was my first real love, in terms of extreme music. I thought it was a very musical album, and it spoke to me as an aspiring guitarist.”
4. Led Zeppelin – 'Led Zeppelin II' (1969): “I don't think Led Zeppelin is really a Metal band, but they were there at the beginning. They started what would become Metal, along with Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.”
3. Rainbow – 'Rising' (1976): “To be honest, Rainbow never released a complete masterpiece, but the positives balance out the negatives and they always end up in my top 5.”
2. Judas Priest – 'Sad Wings of Destiny' (1976): “I don't know how many vinyl copies I've had of this album because I've ruined at least one; I had a copy that I wouldn't play anymore from playing it so much. I love this entire album, except for the song 'Genocide,' which I'm not such a big fan of, to be honest.”
1. Black Sabbath – 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' (1973): “There isn't a single weak second on this album. All the songs, in perfect order. It has all the acoustic stuff… It's simply timeless music that I'll listen to until I die. And it still sounds new.”
