Here's some heavier contributions:
Gorefest: Eindhoven Insanity [Live]
Suffocation: Pierced from Within [Studio]
Judas Priest: 98 Live Meltdown [Live]
Nine Inch Nails: And All That Could Have Been [Live]
The Gorefest album is unfortunately out of print and hard to find. But sonically it's one of the better recordings in the Death Metal / Grindcore Metal genre. It was recorded live at the Dynamo Open Air festival in Eindhoven, Holland 30-05-1993. The liner notes report that this was a 24 track recording. I have no idea if 24 tracks is good or not. All I know is the music sounds clean on most high end systems.
The Suffocation album is one of the better studio produced death metal albums I have heard. It sounds great on both mid fi and high end systems. It has been my experience that most studio albums in this genre sound disappointing on the more revealing systems. This one is pretty good.
I wouldn't necessarily buy it for the sonics alone. but luckily this has some of the better death metal guitar work I have heard yet. Again, that's a highly subjective call, so take it with a grain of salt. Still, this album is highly recommended. I liked that this album relied on musicanship, rather than shocking lyrics or disturbing artwork to get their point across. It's nice to see that for a change.
I threw the Judas Priest in the mix. I bought it on a whim 4 years ago. It hasn't got much play since my car stereo days, but I pulled it back out about a month ago. I didn't remember this album sounding this good, but as of right now it's still in my heavy rotation. Since I was enjoying it on my ESL/tube system, I took it to Audio Visions in Solon to play on their $80k Martin Logan Statement E2 / Krell biamp setup. I still enjoyed it. Good air. Not overly compressed. Clean. You can easily "see" the PA system, lol. It's like having your own "pet" metal-band-for-a-day.
Trent Reznor also seems to do a good job with each one of his albums. And his latest live disc is no exception. FYI this was the disc that converted my brother to our hobby. I think he "gets it" now, lol. :-) And if you are interested in this disc, the deluxe edition (2 discs) is highly recommended. The regular release only has the first disc. The second disc is a set of cuts of Trent Reznor playing solo piano. The mood on the second disc is quite a stark contrast to the first disc- it paints a melancholy mood. It's one of those albums that you can play anytime, since one disc or the other will suit you mood at any given time. Although the music isn't for everyone, I do suggest you get the deluxe edition if you do purchase it.
$0.02
Of yeah, I do have a 5th recommdatation. Pink Floyd's P.U.L.S.E.. And I just thought of a 6th. The Eagle's XRCD recording. You know the stereophile recommended one with Hotel California.
