"Whenever I play or listen to Sabbath now, it’s with a renewed life and admiration for the man who paved the way for his own sound. Rest in peace, the Prince of Darkness."
The genesis of heavy metal is usually identified as happening somewhere around the seventies, influenced by a wave of bands and artists such as The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Coven and Led Zeppelin who experimented with distortion or blues-inspired hard rock the decade before.
For many heavy music fans, metal as its own world, sound and scene, really took off with the emergence of Black Sabbath, and soon after, a significant amount of hard-rocking sub-genres. Not just a movement of sound, these sub-genres spawned their own aesthetic and fashion trends: androgynous glam hairstyles, the thrash metal biker style (black clothing, crosses and leather pants) or 90s nu-metal fashion, a distinct Y2K-era aesthetic blending rock, sportswear, hip-hop and skate influences.
Black Sabbath never set out to originate a new genre, but the band naturally leaned into a darkness which took on a life of its own, elevating their blues-inspired riffs into something grinding, unstoppable and unmistakably gloomy, laying the groundwork for the doom metal sub-genre. While embracing heaviness, Sabbath's debut Paranoid never sacrificed a powerful groove within its iconic riffs, making the music both memorable and accessible, a formula which produced an album with timeless appeal and influence.
With 2025 marking 55 years since the dawn of the genre itself, the farewell of Sabbath, the passing of the inimitable Ozzy Osbourne and the return of Deftones, we asked our resident metalheads, Kerrang! radio presenter and Rough Trade Liverpool staff member Hope Lynes, and Rough Trade New York's Wesley Lyons and Adrian Dirks-Pinto, to round up a selection of metal essentials and favourite metallic masterstrokes which have kept them rooted in the genre.
I never thought I’d get to talk about heavy music for a job. The music I used to keep hidden, playing out my Skullcandy earphones on the school bus, pretending to be emo while the rain dripped down the window. In Rough Trade Liverpool, you can always find me digging in our metal section, hoping to find one of my favourite bands to add to the collection, play loud and scare the neighbours. Stumbling upon Malevolence’s Malicious Intent was one of my favourite Rough Trade finds, though I’ll never forgive myself for not buying Speed’s debut before it sold out in the shop. On the radio, you’ll find me shouting about the latest releases and my favourite nu-metal bands back in the spotlight, so let's put it in writing rather than on the airwaves. This round-up of Rough Trade’s Essentials and additional favourites will feature a lot of nu-metal. Although my love for all things heavy spans across the genre, nu-metal will always have my heart. And dress sense. Thank you, Fred Durst.
Hope Lynes, Rough Trade Liverpool
National Album Day
the annual UK event returns on Saturday 18th October 2025 with this year’s theme celebrating rock. The 2025 list features a selection of limited edition metal titles from Ghost, Megadeth, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Avenged Sevenfold and more.
Rock's heaviest subgenre, pushing rhythms and riffs to the darkest extremes since the late 1960s. We explore 10 heavy records which reflect metal's diversity and legacy.
Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)
There’s only one way to start this guide, and that’s with the inventors of the genre, Black Sabbath. I was live on-air when the news of Ozzy’s passing broke, and the immense emotion of losing a legend took over. The community that came together in those hours was special. A sad day, but filled with love and celebration for a hero in so many metal-lovers' lives. Whenever I play or listen to Sabbath now, it’s with a renewed life and admiration for the man who paved the way for his own sound. Rest in peace, the Prince of Darkness. For the album, though, well, it’s a classic. Songs that, ironically, as the birth of heavy metal and subversion, are accessible enough to surpass the metal gates, with War Pigs and Iron Man recognisable to any music lover. It’s a must-have for every music lover's collection, metalhead or not, and the most essential on this list, as well as topping a lot of others.
Hope, Rough Trade Liverpool
"Reign In Blood is a touchstone for all metalheads regardless of tastes or leanings."
Slayer - Reign In Blood (1986)
1986 was a good year for metal and for expanding horizons. I had already heard of Slayer and was listening to Hell Awaits when Reign in Blood came out. I was a freshman in high school, and the album was mind-blowing to me. Nothing was as fast or to the point as that album at that time. It was a ferocious blend of punk and metal. It brokered in the term speed metal as another sub-genre to add to what would become a broad spectrum of music under the metal umbrella.
The album runs at around 30 minutes and it’s perfect. Rick Rubin’s influence was undeniable and brought the band to a new level. It crystallised their place in music history and will come up again and again in conversation when you discuss metal. Invariably, it is always brought up when describing favourite metal albums. For years going to metal shows, it was a given that if a venue played Angel of Death or Raining Blood in between sets, the entire venue would erupt into a mosh pit, guaranteed. The influence and uniting quality of it is undeniable.
Reign In Blood is a touchstone for all metalheads regardless of tastes or leanings. Whether you listen to black metal, nu metal, death metal, whatever, Reign In Blood is on your shelf and a part of your musical makeup. Period.
Adrian Dirks-Pinto - Rough Trade New York
Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
In 1986 I was 14, in eighth grade and 2 years into listening to hard rock, hair metal, the new wave of British heavy metal and other heavy things. Master of Puppets was released and I bought it on cassette knowing nothing of what I was about to discover. It singularly changed the trajectory of what I thought possible in the genre I was settling into. After hearing it for the first time and subsequently re-listening to it an infinite number more, I hastily bought their first two albums and immersed myself. Not only is this album the pinnacle of thrash music, it was some of the heaviest and most intricate song craft up to that point. The complexity of the music and transitions from effortless, beautiful soloing to the crushing heaviness they were capable of was inspiring to me and introduced me to so much more. Metal as a genre was expanding, and this was a gateway for me to really see how far it went.
As for the album itself, it is a masterpiece. Not one throwaway track, no filler. Their previous albums, Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning, were testaments in their own right, but this album pushed the band to refine their sound in a way that leaves the others behind. It’s so cruel that a few months after this album’s release, Cliff Burton tragically died in a bus accident while on tour. It was devastating to me at the time and to the entire metal community. His musicianship and growing skills were a key feature of their sound and their evolution up to that point. It changed the band forever. They were still great and continued on to be one of the most successful metal bands of all time to this very day, but without Cliff and his influence, nothing was as good. All metalheads wonder what they would have become if he had not passed.
Master of Puppets is hands down the album to own by them. To this day, I listen to this album often. It has never aged and has never let me down. Cliff ‘Em All forever.
Adrian Dirks-Pinto, Rough Trade New York
Melvins - Houdini (1993)
If you're a big Melvins head, Houdini may not be your favourite record overall, but undeniably a perfect entry point for a band that has encapsulated so much over their existence. Released in 1993, Houdini was the Melvins' major label debut for Atlantic Records, and even had Kurt Cobain receiving a co-producer credit despite the reported lack of involvement in the actual recording process. A masterclass in melding stoner, sludge, and grunge for the masses (or at least as much as Melvins could attempt at catering to a larger audience). The legacy of Houdini has it aging like fine wine, with a particularly excellent use of Night Goat in season 1 of True Detective. Long live Melvins!
Wesley Lyons, Rough Trade New York
Korn - Follow The Leader (1998)
We finish off the nu-metal with my favourite of the '90s legends, Korn. I’ve been lucky enough to catch Korn both in 2024 at Gunnersbury and 2025 at Download, and both experiences solidified the opinion that they’re one of the best live bands in the world. To pick just one Korn album to have in the collection would be a struggle for any fan, I’ve chosen 1998's Follow The Leader, of course, it features Freak on a Leash, it also features Got The Life, All in The Family and Children of the Korn and these songs are still as dynamic and impactful 27 years on. Headlining Download festival in 2025 felt like the moment they finally got their flowers in the UK, and they don’t get them as much as they should.
Hope Lynes, Rough Trade Liverpool
Slipknot - Slipknot (1999)
Now, if Deftones and System weren’t enough nu-metal for you, there’s more. Slipknot’s 25th anniversary of the self-titled album Slipknot. Celebrating with an absolutely gorgeous pressing and that tour last December, where lucky, lucky fans got to hear this beauty in full. If I heard eyeless in 2025, you wouldn’t be able to get me out of the pit. This album experiments with metal, the electronic and emotion, on an album supercharged with Wait and Bleed and Spit it Out. Although some, actually I imagine many, may argue that Volume 3 is the better album, certainly filled with more fan-favourites and complexities to the band, there’s something raw about the band’s self-titled. Hearing the band relive it for the anniversary, you could feel the love pouring out of it. On an experimental debut, something of a magnitude you don’t get to experience often, at all.
Hope Lynes, Rough Trade Liverpool
"what’s the best Deftones album? It’s a question that has started many arguments in the shop."
Deftones - White Pony (2000)
The age-old debate: what’s the best Deftones album? It’s a question that has started many arguments in the shop. For a moment, Saturday Night Wrist was my favourite, but if we’re being honest, it doesn’t get better than White Pony's Change in the house of flies. I always thought it was a bit overplayed. Then I heard it live. People talk about life-changing experiences too often, but that was one. Re-ignited my love for the older Deftones albums, and this one, with Digital Bath, Knife Prty and Back to School, cements its place as an Essential album. A good few of Deftones’ releases could be up there as essentials, with their latest, Private Music, an incredible return to form, supported by their relentless live shows; they’ve still got it.
Hope Lynes, Rough Trade Liverpool
System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)
The top of my bucket list of bands to see live, and no, I didn’t manage to get tickets to their shows in 2026, and I don’t want to talk about it. Instead, let’s talk about Toxicity, one of my favourite albums to drop tracks from on the dance floor when I’m DJ’ing, because everyone loves a good System of a Down singalong. An energy-packed album in its own lane, System steals the show with this one. This album was released the year I was born, yet somehow, I feel like every lyric has been engraved into my brain, which is why it’s such a favourite to build into DJ sets, it’s snuck its way into most brains, and is clawing to get out and scream. This album features 3 of their biggest hits, Toxicity, Chop Suey!, and Aerials, among many more fan favourites, and because of that, is essential in every way to have in your collection.
Hope Lynes, Rough Trade Liverpool
Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To (2024)
The first of the newer albums on this list, and the one that deserves to be a future essential. Knocked Loose have gone beyond with this album, and it’s already receiving cult status among fans. The band have grown through their hardcore roots into experimental, heavy, deep metal that is both poetic and creative and inspiring a whole new generation of fans to explore the genre. You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To feels like the peak for any band, but with this band, it’s just a trajectory that is going to see them grow and grow beyond any expectation.
Hope Lynes, Rough Trade Liverpool
Further Listening
Rough Trade Liverpool's Hope Lynes extends this play to recommend further touchstones of the metal genre.
Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea
The lack of gender representation on this list is not lost on me, but historically (and sadly), the albums celebrated in metal are overwhelmingly male-dominated, stemming from an overwhelmingly male audience. But women have always been here in the scene, and I’d like to spotlight both new artists and those who broke through barriers, Kittie paved the way back in the early 00s for women keeping it heavy, Evanescence brought the gothic element to metal, Halestorm have challenged the stereotypes of the classic-side of metal, and now, there’s awesome female-led projects, such as Poppy, Babymetal, Scene Queen and Spiritbox Spiritbox have broken the mould and utilised that beautiful, gothic, orchestral vocal element of Evanescence with some of the most unsettling and powerful screams I’ve ever heard. The way Courtney can control her voice is outstanding. The production on this record sets them up to be a future Essential, and their success is deserved and to be celebrated thoroughly.
Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything
A moment for the local heroes. Loathe have visited us a few times in the shop and they’re a big part of the metal scene in Liverpool. From humble beginnings to supporting Korn across a Canadian tour, the band returns to Liverpool this December for a hometown show celebrating new music. First, their latest, a magnificent album that will be hard to top. I Let It In and It Took Everything from 2020 blends the heaviest riffs with gorgeous ambient shoegaze moments, and it’s a real treat to listen to the journey this band takes us on. Whatever is next is very exciting, but this album holds a place in many modern metal fans' hearts.
Bring Me The Horizon - That’s The Spirit
I know, ‘What about Sempiternal, that’s much heavier?’..well, Sempiternal IS my favourite Bring Me The Horizon album, but as That’s The Spirit turns 10 this year, we celebrate its anniversary by including it in this list. As you can probably tell, this was the soundtrack to my school days. Aged 14 when this came out, I had an iPod nano, eyeliner and a dream. Not their heaviest, not their most experimental, but to me, their most impactful, for capturing a generation’s emotions and introducing us to heavy music. It wouldn’t be right to write this list without them, and the new pressings for their anniversary are gorgeous.
And not forgetting...
LA thrash metallers Megadeth have announced their final, self-titled album, releasing in 2026 on Rough Trade Exclusive splatter vinyl.
Japanese sludge/drone metal band Boris.
Hard rock titans Baroness and their history of releasing on Relapse Records.
Sleep's legendary second studio album became a blueprint for 'stoner rock' and doom metal.
The muscular and mind-altering catalogue of alternative metal band Tool.
Belo Horizonte formed Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura.
Last Rites
The Godfather of Metal Ozzy Osbourne finished his final memoir shortly before his death - an unflinching tell-all of his rock 'n' roll hell-raiser life story.