In the Court of the Crimson King
Not really metal (viral video star Robert Fripp would flip out to be categorized as such) but it’s hard to imagine the genre without the obelisk of ugliness, the benchmark of brutality, the high watermark of horror that is “21st-Century Schizoid Man.” No groove, no sex to it, just 7 1/2 minutes of sadistic musicians knocking your feet out from under you. The middle of the record lulls you with some hippie ren faire pleasantries, but the final eight minutes document the aftermath of the Red Death arriving in Prince Prospero’s court.