A good debut album sets the tone of the rest of an artist's career. The disc will usually show the band at its hungriest, early in their infancy musically and still figuring out exactly who they are. The stress and expectation attached to their follow-up can get in a musician's head, making them think they have to write a record a certain way. And sometimes it results in the "sophomore slump," a disappointing record that hurts a band's career.

But many times this is proven wrong. Bands either rise to the challenge or figure out exactly what their direction is early on and take that next logical step. We took a look at metal and hard rock as a whole, and have chosen 33 albums that prove that idea wrong, and in some cases, proved to be the artist's best work ever.

Check out 33 Albums That Debunk the ‘Sophomore Slump’ in the gallery above!

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