I'm going to Amsterdam this weekend so there won't be any updates till Sunday night - I'll do a few more today to make up for it.
42. Mastodon - Leviathan: Lightning riffs, sludgy psychedelia, and whales; Leviathan pretty much has it all. While many point to Crack the Skye as being Mastodon's best work, Leviathan as a whole just feels so much better – more interesting riffs, a rawer production that works much better with Mastodon's sound, and just more memorable songs in general.
41. Opeth - Still Life: My first introduction to Opeth was Godhead's Lament, and it remains to this day my favorite song of theirs. While the rest of the album doesn't quite stand up to that particular song, it's an incredible album nonetheless. The songwriting is incredibly organic, and quite possibly their best work in that department, particularly with songs like The Moor, Godhead's Lament, and White Cluster. The album is brought down a bit by the overall production and atmosphere of the album; it's too chorusy, too reverby, and too clean. To be honest I have a hard time imagining the album with any other production, but I don't particularly care for it. Despite that it's incredible album with no bad songs, and only three that fall beneath 'god-tier' status.
40. Opeth - My Arms, your Hearse: Yep, another Opeth album. MAYH in many ways succeeded where Still Life failed. The vast majority of the album (Credence being the minority) is sheer brilliance, much like Still Life albeit in a different way. Whereas Still Life's strength lies in it's composition and songwriting, MAYH just beats you in the face with it's massive bear cock (read: insanely heavy riffs). It then soothes and heals with sweet nothings before dropping trou and repeating the process. The songs aren't quite as well structured as Still Life, but they're still brilliantly done and, perhaps more importantly, the actual riffs and melodies are just as good and better than those in Still Life. Along with that the production on MAYH is ridiculously dense and heavy, and it complements the songs far better then Still Life's production does.