In celebration of Canada Day - a yearly event/holiday celebrating the anniversary of July 1st, 1867, which united three British colonies into a single country under the British Empire called Canada - we are counting down the key heavy musical masterworks in our history. Hence the the 30 Best Canadian Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums Of All-Time countdown which will run daily throughout July!

We've asked the BW&BK; scribes to list their faves of all-time and now we can present you with the list. And we will count-down one-a-day for 30 days! What better way to spent the dog days of summer than to visit BraveWords.com and check out which fine Canuck metal needs to be in your collection!

Without further adieu, let's keep rockin' eh!

#14) RUSH - A Farewell To Kings (Mercury 1977)

All eyes were on RUSH after the breakthrough success of 2112, and the band didn’t disappoint, following up with an album even proggier and more virtuosic, more brightly recorded, more action-packed. Still, the guys had lightened up on the metal throttle, so I do recall flashes of anger from the harder rocking fans of the band. But who can deny the majesty of pioneering prog metal epics such as ‘Xanadu’ and ‘Cygnus’? The title track is a triumph as well, perhaps creating the blueprint to ward the accessible prog metal that was ‘The Spirit Of Radio’ two records later. Elsewhere, perky “ballad” ‘Closer To The Heart’ became a considerable hit, propelling the album to a #33 placement on Billboard, marking the band's first Gold-selling (500,000) album south of the border.

The Top 30 Canadian Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums Of All-Time!

#30) TRIUMPH – Allied Forces (Attic – 1981)

#29) INTO ETERNITY - The Scattering Of Ashes (Century Media - 2006)

#28) WOODS OF YPRES - Against The Seasons: Cold Winter Songs From The Dead Summer Heat (Krackenhaus - 2002)

#27) GORGUTS - Obscura (Olympic - 1998)

#26) CONEY HATCH - Coney Hatch (Mercury - 1982)

#25) SLAUGHTER – Strappado (Diabolic Force – 1987)

#24) KICK AXE - Vices (Pasha/CBS - 1984)

#23) KILLER DWARFS – Stand Tall (1988)

#22) SACRIFICE - Forward To Termination (Fringe - 1987)

#21) KIM MITCHELL - Akimbo Alogo (Alert - 1984)

#20) VOIVOD - Nothingface (Mechanic - 1989)

#19) HELIX – Walkin’ The Razor’s Edge (Capital - 1984)

#18) CRYPTOPSY - None So Vile (Wrong Again Records - 1996)

#17) EXCITER - Heavy Metal Maniac (Shrapnel 1983)

#16) BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE - Not Fragile (Mercury - 1974)

#15) SWORD - Metalized (Aquarius 1986)

#14) RUSH - A Farewell To Kings (Mercury 1977)