Only the wrong survive

OBITUARY - Slowly We Rot [CD/1989] 8/10=A death metal classic, when this came out there were very few things heavier, still groovy to this day.
OBITUARY - Cause of Death [CD/1990] 8/10=My favorite Obituary album, but about as good as the debut overall. This is where they truly adopted the sound they would use on later albums.

OBSESSION - Marshall Law [CD/1983] 4/10=I wouldn't say this band was bad, they were just your average cheesy 80s metal band, without going so far as to be glam. 4 tracks on this EP.
OBSESSION - Scarred For Life [CD/1986] 7/10=After a few years, the band had improved a bit, they have a cooler sound even with the same vocalist, the songwriting here is also quite a bit better. Good record.
OBSESSION - Methods of Madness [CD/1987] 8/10=Another tight record from this underrated 80s band, musically this is their most advanced material, vocals often remind me of Fates Warning from this era. Their peak.
OBSESSION - Carnival of Lies [CD/2006] 8/10=Another kickass comeback record, along with Cloven Hoof and Leatherwolf they re-emerge this year, songwriting is great and Vescera is in fine form. Awesome.

OBTEST - Tukstantmetis [CD/1997]
OBTEST - 9 9 7 [CD/1998]
OBTEST - Prisiek [CD/2001]
OBTEST - Auka Seniems Dievams [DVD74/2001] 7/10=2nd album from the Lithuanian glorious charging black metallers, really like the warlike, glorious folk edge to this stuff.
OBTEST - Dwylika Juodvarniu [CD/2003]
OBTEST - Is Kartos I Karta [CD/2005]
OBTEST - Gyvybes Medis [CD/2008] 10/10=Their fourth album is a raging burst of amazing pagan black/speed/thrash metal, a very unique sound and some fantastic tunes, a goddamn masterpiece, best Lithuanian metal ever.

OCTOBER TIDE - Rain Without End [CD/1997] 10/10=Excellent melodic doom/death, imagine a catchier Opeth without songs that are quite so long, some of Jonas Renske's (Katatonia) best career work, and a flawless album.
OCTOBER TIDE - Grey Dawn [CD/1999] 9/10=More delicious doom from Jonas and crew, I liked this one a bit less than the debut but this is certainly a more diverse effort, it's a shame they didn't continue this band.

ODIOUS MORTEM - Devouring the Prophecy [DVD32/2005] 7/10=Not as impressive to me riff-wise as the new album, but this is still a technical death fest that will alternate between bewilderment and CRUSHINGment.
ODIOUS MORTEM - Cryptic Implosion [CD/2007] 9/10=Amazing death metal, acrobatic and catchy riffs, this is their sophomore effort and by damn I will track down the first. One of the best USA death metal bands right now.

OLD MAN'S CHILD - In the Shades of Life [CD/1996] 4/10=It was a pretty clean production for black metal at the time, unfortunately the songs are really boring and it's entirely forgettable.
OLD MAN'S CHILD - Born of the Flickering [CD/1996] 6/10=Some think this is their best album and everything else they did sucks. I tend to disagree, although this is a decent cult black metal release.
OLD MAN'S CHILD - The Pagan Prosperity [CD/1997] 8/10=There is some extremely catchy stuff here, although the black metal purists had as much of a field day with this one as with Dimmu Borgir's Enthroned Darkness Triumphant.
OLD MAN'S CHILD - Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion [CD/1998] 7/10=At first I was pretty bored with this album, but over the years it's dawned on me that this was a solid, worthwhile release.
OLD MAN'S CHILD - Revelation 666: The Curse of Damnation [CD/2000] 8/10=Another monster of an album from Galder and crew, I've enjoyed this many times...it might just be one of the better commercial black metal albums ever.
OLD MAN'S CHILD - In Defiance of Existence [CD/2002] 9/10=Top notch production, top notch songs, a more prominent death metal influence, and a fantastic album, just shy of perfection.
OLD MAN'S CHILD - Vermin [CD/2005] 8/10=Now quiet solidly within the death metal camp, very few hints of anything black metal exist here save some glorious melodic guitars and synth presence. Another strong OMC record.

OLYMPOS MONS - Conquistador [CD/2004] 9/10=Fucking awesome Finnish power metal, totally manly and anthemic, just like it should be if the band has this name. I loved this.
OLYMPOS MONS - Medievil [CD/2007] 9/10=I am once again blown away, great Finnish power metal, probably the best band of this style from that country.

OMNIUM GATHERUM - Steal the Light [CD/2002] 5/5=A kickass debut EP from these Finns, and three of the tunes are exclusive here, they didn't release on the later albums.
OMNIUM GATHERUM - Spirits and August Light [CD/2003] 9/10=One of the brighter bulbs in the melodic death metal field, this Finnish band blew me away with this album, I hope they can maintain this level of quality in the future.
OMNIUM GATHERUM - Years in Waste [CD/2004] 7/10=Sadly, I was expecting a perfect album this time out and did not get it, not even close. This is still quality atmospheric Finnish melodeath, just has a lot of filler in there.
OMNIUM GATHERUM - Stuck Here on Snake's Way [CD/2007] 9/10=An excellent record. I loved Spirits and August Light but I'd have to say this is better. Some more groove to the riffs, diverse songwriting, and an album of depth.
OMNIUM GATHERUM - The Redshift [CD/2008] 8/10=A great album, less of a tangent than the previous album, but another great slab of Finnish melodic death.

ONDSKAPT - Draco Sit Mihi Dux [CD/2003] 8/10=Great Swedish black metal, a few riffs suffer from the 'heart them before' issue, but this is well worth tracking down for fans of well-produced stuff that retains its extremity.
ONDSKAPT - Dodens Evangelium [CD/2005] 9/10=What this Swedish black metal does very right is getting their songs to simply sound evil, so I have to promote them by that fact alone. Oh, they also kick some major fucking ass.

ONMYOUZA - Kikoku tensyo [CD/1999] 7/10=We have a fairly fascinating Japanese group here, they dress all pretty in a historical/fantastical/cultural way and play some good goddamn heavy metal.
ONMYOUZA - Hyakki ryouran [CD/2000] 7/10=It's like Noh or Kabuki mixed with metal...and it is quite good. As visual as say, a Malice Mizer, but far more straightforward with the speed metal. A very intriguing band.
ONMYOUZA - Tsuki ni Murakumo Hana ni Kaze [CD/2001] 5/10=Pretty cool EP from the Japanese band, four tracks that rock out.
ONMYOUZA - Fuin kairan [CD/2002] 7/10=Kickass 'EP' with 8 songs, consider it a full-length record. And it is my favorite material by the band yet.
ONMYOUZA - Kojin Rasetsu [CD/2002]
ONMYOUZA - Mezame [CD/2003] 5/10=Another four-track EP of quality Japanese metal from the eccentric band.
ONMYOUZA - Hoyoku Rindo [CD/2003] 8/10=This group continues to rule, best visual Japanese metal/rock we've had since X Japan and Malice Mizer, now one of them needs to die so they become legendary (if one already hasn't...)
ONMYOUZA - Mugen Hoyou [CD/2004] 8/10=Yet another of the quality melodic metal albums from this traditional Japanese band.
ONMYOUZA - Garyuutensei [CD/2005] 8/10=More kickass cultural metal from this unique Japanese band...they rock hard and take names, even with the female vocals...unlike so many European bands.
ONMYOUZA - Inyou Shugyoku [CDx3/2006] 6/10=Pretty awesome fan package, three discs in this limited edition, with some material you haven't heard before.
ONMYOUZA - Maou Taiten [CD/2007] 8/10=Continuing to construct their legacy of quality melodic Japanese metal, their past few albums have all been great.
ONMYOUZA - Chimimouryou [CD/2008] 8/10=Another stellar record from the theatric Japanese metal band. Straight up J-metal bliss.

ONSLAUGHT - Power From Hell [CD/1985] 8/10=A pretty raging speed/thrash album from the UK, one of the better bands in this style to emerge from there, excepting the obvious (Sabbat, Venom, etc). Killer record for 1985.
ONSLAUGHT - The Force [CD/1986] 7/10=Another storming, sick record of straightforward pummeling thrash from England. Sloppier than Power From Hell, but production is a little clearer.
ONSLAUGHT - In Search of Sanity [CD/1989] 7/10=Enter Steve Grimmett from Grim Reaper, and some newfound technicality, and more accessible songs. This is good, but it's almost an entirely different sound than their past albums.
ONSLAUGHT - Killing Peace [CD/2007] 7/10=Well, it's been a while...modern Onslaught, with the older lineup (no Steve Grimmett) and a new guitarist. It's a good thrash album, if not the perfect comeback album.

OPETH - Orchid [CD/1995] 6/10=This has some good songs and lays the foundation for what Opeth would become.
OPETH - Morningrise [CD/1996] 8/10=A great album, anyway you look at it...was a lot different than anything else coming out of Sweden, and this was the first album for most of us before the giant bandwagon arrived years later.
OPETH - My Arms, Your Hearse [CD/1998] 5/10=Not digging this one, a heaping slab of well-performed ennui.
OPETH - Still Life [CD/1999] 9/10=Really good, they finally put some intensity in their music which I enjoyed, as a whole this is a pleasurable experience.
OPETH - Blackwater Park [CD/2001] 9/10=Also excellent, with a style much like the last one. Memorable songs and overall high quality.
OPETH - Deliverance [CD/2002] 7/10=Has a few good moments but pale in comparison to the last two albums.
OPETH - Damnation [CD/2003] 1/10=Fuck off Opeth and stop hanging around with Porcupine Tree so much.
OPETH - Ghost Reveries [CD/2005] 6/10=The prog/pop elements to this album are far stronger than Damnation, but the heavier material is often weak and you can certainly feel the Swano/Moontower.
OPETH - The Roundhouse Tapes [DVD87/2007] 3/5=A double live album that should sate all the Opeth groupies.
OPETH - Watershed [CD/2008] 8/10=It's no Blackwater Park, it's no Still Life, but it's better than anything since those mighty days.

OPHTHALAMIA - A Journey in Darkness [CD/1994] 8/10=An excellent 'all-star' band with members of Abruptum among others, the style here is slower paced, melodic black metal with some folk elments. Very much worthwhile.
OPHTHALAMIA - Via Doloras [CD/1995] 8/10=They may not be perfect band, with a perfect album, but they are excellent at their folkish and interesting black metal and I like this so much better than bands like Agalloch.
OPHTHALAMIA - To Elishia [CD/1997] 6/10=Fan package, with some demos and covers, and therefore fans of Ophthalamia are probably going to appreciate this, even despite the very raw production of early tracks.
OPHTHALAMIA - Dominion [CD/1999] 7/10=They always had an element of rock to their music, but I think it is most prevalent here with a lot of rockin' doom riffs, still quite a good record if not as good as previous outings.

ORBITAL - The Green Album [CD/1991] 6/10=For its time, pretty damn good. For today, just another old techno/trance album I rarely listen to.
ORBITAL - 2 [CD/1993] 8/10=This was a big improvement, with songs I can clearly remember, not to mention their big hit (and deservedly so) 'Halycon and On'.
ORBITAL - Snivilisation [CD/1994] 5/10=My friends love this...but for some strange reason I have never been able to get quite into this one.
ORBITAL - In Sides [CDx2/1996] 10/10=Absolutely brilliant, the sound on this album is entirely unique and I've never heard the like. Laid back beautiful electronica with a lot of archaic synths used extremely well.
ORBITAL - The Middle of Nowhere [CD/1999] 8/10=Has some killer tracks on it, but pales in comparison to their previous album which was a milestone in electronic music.
ORBITAL - The Altogether [CD/2001] 6/10=I don't like having too many vocals in my Orbital, it's worked a few times with the female vocals but here they don't impress me, still some good songs though.
ORBITAL - The Blue Album [CD/2004] 5/10=Just wasn't into it...and this is their last album, I would have liked them to go out better than this.

ORIGA - Crystal Winter [DVD96/1994] 4/5=Beautiful Russian vocals from this pop/soundtrack starlet out of Russia and through Japan.
ORIGA - Origa [DVD96/1994] 7/10=Most people would recognize her as the vocalist during the OP tunes for the Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex anime. This was her first solo album, her voice is beautiful as always.
ORIGA - Illusia [DVD96/1995] 7/10=Just don't expect her albums to be quite as dancy as "Rise" or her other GitS songs.
ORIGA - Aria [DVD96/1996] 4/5=She's better than Enya and would appeal to fans of Enya...that want something better...
ORIGA - Lira Vetrov [DVD96/1996] 8/10=This is probably the best of her earlier albums, the vocals are just fucking beautiful and the music really carries them in a very j-pop way.
ORIGA - Eien [DVD96/1998] 7/10=I didn't enjoy it as much as Lira but it's still quite good.
ORIGA - Era of Queens [DVD96/2003] 9/10=One of her very, very best. This album does have a few tunes which grow closer to what you'd heard her doing in GiTS:SAC. Fantastic.
ORIGA - Aurora [DVD96/2005] 9/10=Origa kills, plain and simple. Along with Era of Queens this is her best material. Love it so much when it has grooves beneath that beautiful voice.

ORLOG - Reinigende Feuer [CD/2006] 9/10=Excellent debut from this German black metal outfit, fierce and destructive.

OVERKILL - Power in Black [CD/1983] 1/10=Just a demo, kinda crappy, better versions of these songs to come.
OVERKILL - Feel the Fire (demo) [CD/1984] 2/10=See above.
OVERKILL - Feel the Fire [CD/1985] 6/10=A thrash metal classic debut, but it loses points because it's just not much fun to listen to anymore.
OVERKILL - Taking Over [CD/1987] 9/10=Easily the best Overkill album, every song here is memorable and this is their true classic.
OVERKILL - Under the Influence [CD/1988] 7/10=Not as good as Taking Over, but still rocks with some choice Overkill tunes.
OVERKILL - The Years of Decay [CD/1989] 7/10=Another solid album by this undying American thrash band.
OVERKILL - Horrorscope [CD/1991] 6/10=A diverse New York thrash album, not bad at all.
OVERKILL - I Hear Black [CD/1993] 5/10=They seemed to have fallen off a bit here, my main problem is after listening to this a bunch I don't remember a thing about it.
OVERKILL - W.F.O. [CD/1994] 5/10=Not really that bad, just not memorable and makes me crave the days of Taking Over.
OVERKILL - Fuck You and Then Some [CD/1996] 5/10=It's got the funny title track classic and some other decent material, and then live songs I already have.
OVERKILL - The Killing Kind [CD/1996] 6/10=This was a tight album, at first I didn't like it but after a few spins I enjoyed it.
OVERKILL - From the Underground and Below [CD/1997] 6/10=Killer opening song but unfortunately the rest of it is just not as cool.
OVERKILL - Necroshine [CD/1999] 5/10=Lost in the shuffle of Overkill albums, not bad by any means.
OVERKILL - Coverkill [CD/1999] 4/10=The covers are performed adequately but it's just a really generic choice of songs, a glaring attempt to get some money without the creativity of making an original album.
OVERKILL - Bloodletting [CD/2000] 6/10=Another solid Overkill record, but again, after banging your head and listening to it, you really don't have much cause to go back.
OVERKILL - Killbox 13 [CD/2003] 7/10=Okay, this is an improvement, each song is more carefully arranged to be memorable. It's a very good album, but yep, I still miss Taking Over.
OVERKILL - ReliXIV [CD/2005] 6/10=I'll say one thing, this is the most 'thrash' album they've made since the early days, and for that I commend them, and it's decent but lacking the longevity of a Taking Over.
OVERKILL - Immortalis [DVD76/2007] 7/10=One thing Overkill knows how to, even after all these years, is maintain some EXCITEMENT in their tunes. Charismatic vocals and boundless energy equal one rocking album.

OZZY OSBOURNE - Blizzard of Ozz [CD/1980] 9/10=Randy Rhoads does not disappoint, ever, and this has some of Ozzy's classic solo work, like 'Crazy Train' and 'Mr. Crowley'. Just shy of perfect on this one.
OZZY OSBOURNE - Diary of a Madman [CD/1981] 7/10=This is another good album, but at times I don't like how Ozzy's music is just so happy, if it had been a bit darker these albums would all have been better.
OZZY OSBOURNE - Speak of the Devil [CD/1982] 4/10=Corporation got their checks? Ching. Ozzy, got your check? Roger that, mate. Fans, got that big nuclear dildo up your asses? Righto!
OZZY OSBOURNE - Bark at the Moon [CD/1983] 8/10=First new studio album after Randy Rhoads was in that plane crash, Jake E. Lee comes in blaring as his replacement, and this is an excellent album.
OZZY OSBOURNE - The Ultimate Sin [CD/1986] 8/10=Once again, Jake E. Lee proves a viable replacement, his great guitar licks are all over this fucking record and as a result it's pretty goddamn strong.
OZZY OSBOURNE - Randy Rhodes Tribute [CD/1987] 5/10=What am I gonna do? Tear this apart...I'm quite sure some of the proceeds to this went straight to Sharon, Ozzy and the record label, but I hope some got to Randy's family.
OZZY OSBOURNE - No Rest for the Wicked [CD/1988] 9/10=If the 'Prince of Darkness' does one thing right, it's in choosing kickass new guitar gods for his bands, enter Zakk Wylde, and I'm surprised this wasn't more popular.