12 Most Brutally Heavy Metal Albums EVER
6. Undertow - Tool
During the mid 90's, there wasn't much for a metalhead to latch onto. Most of the thrash bands of old had already put out their classic material, and while the grunge scene did have some great riffs, it was far from reaching any real peaks of heaviness. Just when it seemed true metal was on the backburner, fans witnessed the musical second coming once Tool released Undertow.
Yes, I'm fully aware that Tool have plenty of albums that are worth an inclusion in a greatest of all time discussion, but nowhere else in their discography have they reached this amount of aggression. Across the entire record, songs like "Intolerance" and "Prison Sex" have some of the most colossal riffs known to man along with a lyric sheet of some of the most disturbing images the genre had to offer.
To ensure the group's heavy credentials, Henry Rollins' appearance on the song "Bottom" brings the entire record a new level of maniacal bliss. Even the singles from the record like "Sober" feel like the band wants to pull the listener to the ground through their sheer sonic power. Tool would go on to give us even more spellbinding releases, but their debut showed just how ferocious their sound could get.