Author Topic: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. A New #1 Has Been Crowned  (Read 34509 times)

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Online TAC

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Ear piercing Brutality
« Reply #105 on: August 02, 2012, 07:25:22 PM »
I am amazed at how many times Somewhere In Time is showing up on these lists.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Mosh

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Ear piercing Brutality
« Reply #106 on: August 02, 2012, 09:35:30 PM »
I'm not, it's an awesome album. Definitely something that would please Dream Theater's crowd, I think.
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Online jjrock88

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Ear piercing Brutality
« Reply #107 on: August 02, 2012, 09:51:57 PM »
Somewhere in Time & Empire equals awesome

Offline Mladen

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Ear piercing Brutality
« Reply #108 on: August 03, 2012, 02:07:21 AM »
Well, of course there will be Somewhere in time.  :tup

Offline Nekov

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Ear piercing Brutality
« Reply #109 on: August 03, 2012, 04:04:05 AM »
Nice to see some Circus Maximus. I really like that album. Somewhere in time is also a great one
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Offline wolfking

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Ear piercing Brutality
« Reply #110 on: August 03, 2012, 04:20:30 AM »
I am amazed at how many times Somewhere In Time is showing up on these lists.

I'm not.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Offline Zook

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Ear piercing Brutality
« Reply #111 on: August 04, 2012, 08:22:41 PM »
23. Within Temptation – The Unforgiving (2011)



The Heart Of everything wasn’t bad. It had several good songs, but was a bit inconsistent. The Unforgiving on the other hand is great from start to finish. And that intro track is fucking brutal! Now, I won’t argue that every song follows the same formula and can be a bit samey, but it’s only the formula of the songs. It doesn’t sound like all the songs blend together here. Basically I said the same thing in the write up for Alyson Avenue, but it’s true. Sometimes bands don’t need to experiment or write off the wall songs, but just a collection of catchy rockin’ songs, and that’s what WT have done here with great success. Sharon’s voice isn’t as angelic as it used to be, but she still sounds great as does the rest of the band. I even got my girlfriend into the band with this album. The Unforgiving is a concept album based on a comic series of the same name, and I guess you have to read the comics to really get the gist of what’s going on, because it’s kind of vague on the album. It has to do with revenge I’m pretty sure. But you really don’t have to know what’s going on though to enjoy the album as the songs work on their own too. If you like straight up Rock and metal with a female singer and you haven’t heard anything by Within Temptation yet (or you thought The Silent Force was a little too poppy), check out The Unforgiving. It’s great.

Recommended tracks: Shot in the Dark, In The Middle Of The Night, Faster, Murder, A Demon’s Fate



22. Symphony X – V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)



Symphony X is cheesy blah blah blah. V is a concept album about Atlantis. Yep. It’s also the last album to feature all clean singing from Russell Allen, which is a shame, but it’s not like he started doing death growls afterwards. Anyway, the sound of V isn’t all that different from their previous albums, but the songs are a little more fleshed out. New to the band is bassist Mike LePond who does a good job of following up Thomas Miller. Michael Romeo is his usual shreddy self and sounds great, but who really shines is Russell Allen, but that’s nothing new. He’s one of the greatest metal singers out there (“hahaha no he’s not, noob. [insert generic death metal/metalcore/Pattoncore singer here] is clearly better hahaha”) Now Russell may be doing things now that I don’t like, but back then he was amazing. Communion And The Oracle is my all time favorite SX song. It’s just a beautiful piece of music. People who can’t take Allen’s vocals seriously need to understand that Symphony X’s music calls for a theatrical singer, so being a little over the top is necessary. To finish off the album is the epic Rediscovery Part II, a 12 minute piece of Power-Prog Metal bliss, although admittedly the solo section is a bit lackluster. If you’re looking for a good place to start with Symphony X, V: The New Mythology Suite is a good place to start. How's that for redundancy? That or The Divine Wings Of Tragedy, but there’s an abomination of a song on that one called The Witching Hour.

Recommended tracks: Evolution, Fallen, Communion Of The Oracle, Egypt, Rediscovery Part II



21. Redemption – The Origins Of Ruin (2007)



This was my first introduction to Redemption. After making a signature for Nick with his favorite albums of 2007 which TOoR was a part of, I downloaded the album and tried listening to it. The vocals were certainly different, and the music just didn’t interest me. The only thing that stuck with me was the verses of Memory, or just the “I still remember” parts, because it’s said so much. It wasn’t until 2 years later I would give the follow up Snowfall On Judgment Day a listen and it was then that Redemption clicked huge for me. I listened to Origins again and it was like a different album. The Suffocating Silence kicks off the album with a full on metal assault, and the ending instrumental section is killer. I still don’t think Bleed Me Dry is all that great, but it isn’t a bad song. Afterwards, The Death of Faith And Reason gets the headbanging going again, and then it’s one of my favorite Redemption songs, Memory. The second part in the unofficial “Break Up Trilogy” following Sapphire. I still haven’t thought of a good name for it. It’s a beautiful prog epic, very melodic, but sad. The title track is very eerie and depressing about a man completely lost and without hope, and his world crumbling down. The other songs have a similar feel to each other, and I think Nick Van Dyk is a Dragonball Z fan because the intro to Blind My Eyes sounds like a theme from the show. Used To Be has one of my favorite instrumental bits from Redemption and Fall On You is an epic closer written about Nick’s daughter. Redemption picked up the metal with their future albums, but The Origins Of Ruin is a great Prog metal classic.

Recommended tracks: The Suffocating Silence, The Death of Faith And Reason, Memory, Used To Be, Fall On You


The road so far:

50.   Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow
49.   Green Carnation – Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness
48.   Def Leppard - Pyromania
47.   Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory
46.   3 Doors Down – The Better Life
45.   Alyson Avenue – Presence Of Mind
44.   Nightwish – Imaginaerum
43.   Judas Priest – Painkiller
42.   Stone Sour – Come What (Ever) May
41.   Blind Guardian – A Night At The Opera
40.   Evanescence – Evanescence
39.   Within Temptation – The Silent Force
38.   Missy Higgins– The Sound Of White
37.   Metallica - …And Justice For All
36.   Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast
35.   Pathosray – Pathosray
34.   Disturbed – The Sickness
33.   Suspyre – The Silvery Image
32.   Megadeth – Countdown To Extinction
31.   Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
30.   Star One – Space Metal
29.   Blind Guardian – Nightfall In Middle-Earth
28.   The Offspring – Ixnay On The Hombre
27.   Pyramaze – Immortal
26.   Circus Maximus – The 1st Chapter
25.   Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time
24.   Into Eternity – The Scattering Of Ashes
23.   Within Temptation – The Unforgiving
22.   Symphony X – V: The New Mythology Suite
21.   Redemption – The Origins Of Ruin

Offline RuRoRul

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #112 on: August 04, 2012, 08:30:34 PM »
Quote
22. Symphony X – V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)
:tup

Quote
21. Redemption – The Origins Of Ruin (2007)
:tup

Several others I like too but this is the first update I've caught. Glad to see Origins Of Ruin get a mention - everyone always talks about Snowfall On Judgement Day which I can understand, but The Origins Of Ruin is amazing too. I feel like Russell Allen must do some harsh singing in V as well - it's actually a very heavy album, for all that people decry later SX albums for being heavy.

Online jjrock88

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #113 on: August 04, 2012, 10:21:16 PM »
SX V is a masterpiece!

Offline Mladen

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #114 on: August 05, 2012, 02:17:39 AM »
It's a good album, though definitely not one of my SyX favorites. Haven't heard the other two...

Offline Lowdz

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #115 on: August 05, 2012, 03:18:41 AM »
SX V is a masterpiece!

Agreed. My first SX album and still my favourite, with The Odyssey. I do prefer when Russell sings rather than barks everything as he seems to do these days. Oh I sound like an old man now...

I like Within Temptation and TU is probably my favourite with Silent Force. Sharon is my fantasy woman, and she's got a beautiful voice too. The songs on TU are very catchy and instant and the symphonic edge is gone really, but that's no bad thing.

I've only heard Snowfall TMC by Redemption and they're pretty good, if a bit generic.

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #116 on: August 05, 2012, 04:05:03 AM »
Yay Symphony X and Redemption!

I have only heard a few tracks by Within Temptation, but what I have heard has not inspired me to further check them out.
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Offline wolfking

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #117 on: August 05, 2012, 04:11:57 AM »
Origins and V are amazing.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #118 on: August 05, 2012, 04:55:35 AM »
Three beauty albums there.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
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Offline obscure

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #119 on: August 09, 2012, 04:52:24 AM »
Nice haul....

also Into Eternity kicks arse... just saying.... at least it did so far... haven't heard the new chick yet....






« Last Edit: August 12, 2012, 05:59:39 AM by obscure »

Offline Zook

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #120 on: August 11, 2012, 07:27:18 PM »
Sorry for the delay.

20. Iced Earth – Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998)



The first Barlow song I ever heard was Watching Over Me and I really didn’t like his vocals, but The Glorious Burden was my introduction to Iced Earth so Matt’s vocals were very different than Ripper’s. That all changed pretty quickly after I bought Alive In Athens. Something Wicked is probably IE’s best sounding album. The Dark Saga had a good sound too it but lacked a punch. Something Wicked This Way Comes improved on that sound and it indeed packs a punch. It’s always good when you can hear a nice thick bass tone in Iced Earth and Dark Saga and SWTWC both have that. Unfortunately it kinda stopped afterwards as Jon seems to like a more twangy sound, although it does work on tracks like Damien. So anyway, the songs. The common theme for Something Wicked This Way Comes is anti-organized religion. Not a new topic for Jon as this was also a reoccurring theme is Burnt Offerings. Burning Times addresses the hypocrisy of the bible and sins while Disciples of The Lie talks about the creatures known as priests who prey on little boys. Stand Alone tells you to be yourself no matter what anyone says and inbetween these heavy songs are some nice ballads. The fan favorite Meloncholy (Holy Martyr) is about some alien named Jeebus who needs to die for the ungrateful humans of Earth, while Watching Over Me is about a dear friend of Jon’s who died in a motorcycle accident. You might notice that the songs on this album are arranged in a heavy, soft, heavy, soft manner. Some folks don’t like this, but I don’t have a problem with it. I love Larry Tarnowski’s solos on this album. There’s like a solo in every song. That’s unusual for an Iced Earth album. And now for the big kahuna of the album: The Something Wicked Trilogy. Probably my favorite Iced Earth trilogy, the story is an original concept Jon Schaffer came up with about the alien race of humans coming to earth, killing the inhabitants known as Setians, and taking over. 10,000 Setians escape into hiding and devise a plan to cloud the humans mind or wipe out their memory, take the form of world leaders throughout the years and set in motion the downfall of mankind. Of course, the trilogy is just a summary of this and we learn all the details in the future two part concept albums. The first part of the trilogy, The Prophecy starts off mellow in typical IE fashion before going full metal for a bit and slowing down again. After a grandfather clock ticks for a bit, Birth Of The Wicked explodes onto the scene with more awesome riffage. Hey kids, remember when Schaffer used to write awesome riffs? Fans give this song shit for having the same structure as Slave To The Dark, but the songs still sound different. My favorite fo the trilogy is part 3: The Coming Curse. The main riff is badass. The lyrics tell of the Setian Anti-christ Set Abominae wiping out humanity in the end and at nine minutes, this song is awesome from start to finish. Well, the chants at the end don’t add much but some more evilness. All in all, if you were going to get into Iced Earth, this is a perfect place to start. It’s their most acceptable, but doesn’t shy on the metal.

Recommended tracks: Burning Times, My Own Savior, Melancholy, The Something Wicked Trilogy

19. Redemption – Snowfall on Judgment Day (2009)



Redemption again? Yes. Snowfall was the album that got me into Redemption. I just decided I’d give the band another chance and was blown away. Origins had its metal moments for sure, but Snowfall times’d that by 100. Obviously Nick Van Dyk is a Dream Theater fan, as it shows in the shreddy, progressive aspect of Redemption’s music, but I think Redemption does the catchy metal songs better. Peel is a great in your face metal track. Ray even has a raspier voice for the verses to make it more METUL. Walls is more of a single track, but it’s pretty amazing. Great chorus, groove and solo. Ray reminds me of Ozzy on this song. Leviathan Rising is the heaviest song on the album about the season 7 storyline of the hit CW show Supernatural… Just kidding. It’s about V for Vendetta. Black and White World, my second favorite on the album is just beautiful. It starts off with a piano, keyboard, xylophone, tard, whatever but is really a beautiful piece of music. The song gets heavier, and the ending, while not so heavy, really makes the song. I’m not totally sure what Unformed is about, but I think it might be about being betrayed by god. Keep Breathing is a touching piece about the unfortunate medical situation with Nick’s daughter. One thing that’s great about Ray Alder, although his voice gets a little more coarse every release due to his smoking, he still knows how to capture the emotion from the lyrics. You know, I really don’t like Another Day Dies that much. I was debating whether or not to put this in my top 50 and this high (above Origins Of Ruin) but the other songs are just so damn good. What Will You Say is a nice ballad and Fistful of Sand is the closing heavy hitter before my favorite Redemption song, the epic, Love Kills Us All/Life In One Day. Have you ever had an “oh Shit/wow” moment when listening to a song? Mine was during this one, when at the end of the song there were reoccurring lyrics from the song Memory, tying the two together. I love stuff like that in music. Nick has said that the songs, Sapphire, Memory and Love Kills Us All/Life In One Day are song cycles, but I like to think of it as a trilogy even if they aren’t one continuing story. After the short vocal passage, Love Kills Us All, we’re treated to a kick ass instrumental bit, before going into the main song, Life In One Day. It’s just a great song with great melodies and genuine emotions. But this write up is too long as it is, so go check it out, turkeys!

Recommended tracks: Love Kills Us all/Life In One Day, Walls, Black And White World, Leviathan Rising



18. Dream Theater – Metropolis PT 2: Scenes From A Memory (1999)



After Dream Theater’s “Black Album”, they returned to form with a concept album based on Shakespeare’s epic, The Call Of Cthulhu. This was the first DT album I bought after downloading the discography. In fact, this and Images and Words were the first albums by them I got into, but I believe I asked for IAW as a Christmas present. I don’t know, my DT history is all screwed up and blurry. Anyway, SFAM is quite an experience. New keyboardist Jordan Rudess fits right in, and gives an excellent performance. James LaBrie sounds as good as ever, as does the rest of the band, but that’s to be expected. Overture 1928 is one of DT’s best instrumentals. It’s just a feel good piece and puts you in a good mood. Strange Déjà Vu is probably my favorite song on the album. It’s not overly technical, long, or epic (not that any of those things are bad) it’s just a great rocker. I love the jam sections of this album especially on Beyond This Life. You know the instrumental jam everyone hates? Yeah, I love it. Jordan’s horns and circus type sounds were different, but add a certain dynamic and weirdness to the music which is always fun. The only song I’m not crazy about is The Dance Of Eternity, which is basically just a bunch of random sections put together to make a crazy instrumental, but you already knew that. Since everyone and their dog knows this album, I’ll just close with Scenes From a Memory is nothing short of amazing.

Recommended tracks: Overture 1928, Strange Déjà Vu, Fatal Tragedy, Beyond This Life, Home, Finally Free


HMs:

Winterfell - The Veil Of Summer (2005)
Who? This short lived Prog-Power band is greatly influenced by Iced Earth and other Heavy Power Metal bands. The music is great but the vocals can get annoying very quickly which is why I can only listen to this album like once a year :lol

Staind - Dysfunction (1999)
Dysfunction is full of heavy riffs, screams, and melodies. Aaron Lewis' lyrics have always been "woe is me, my life sucks", but the songs don't bore. Unfortunately they would abandon their heavy style for several years for more radio friendly tunes, but I'm glad they're getting back into that again, although the softer albums are good too.

Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance (1982)
I couldn't get into a lot of Priest's early albums, but this one is great. While certainly cheesy, the songs are heavy and catchy enough not to be lame.

Offline pain of occupation

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #121 on: August 11, 2012, 09:06:15 PM »
Nice haul....

also Into Eternity kicks arse... just saying.... at leased it did so far... haven't heard the new chick yet....

seen them with her 2 weekends back. i sum'd it up in another thread, but basically it boils down to: pain of occupation thinks into eternity found themselves a keeper.  :metal

Offline Mosh

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #122 on: August 11, 2012, 10:10:24 PM »
Something Wicked is my #2 IE album, only Reaping Stone is weak.  :metal

And of course, Scenes.  :hefdaddy
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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Cheese, boobs, and smokes, OH MY!
« Reply #123 on: August 12, 2012, 12:43:34 AM »
19. Redemption – Snowfall on Judgment Day (2009)
...Black and White World, my second favorite on the album is just beautiful. It starts off with a piano, keyboard, xylophone, tard, whatever but is really a beautiful piece of music. The song gets heavier, and the ending, while not so heavy, really makes the song...

dem time sigs  :metal

18. Dream Theater – Metropolis PT 2: Scenes From A Memory (1999)
...I love the jam sections of this album especially on Beyond This Life. You know the instrumental jam everyone hates? Yeah, I love it. Jordan’s horns and circus type sounds were different, but add a certain dynamic and weirdness to the music which is always fun...

fuck everyone that hates. that whole instru-section owns.  :metal



great updates!  :tup

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #124 on: August 12, 2012, 03:23:11 AM »
Something Wicked is great, as is SFAM. I could never really get into Redemption, though, even though they sound like they would be right up my alley on paper... is this a good place to start with if I were to try again?
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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #125 on: August 12, 2012, 03:25:46 AM »
That last update is amazing.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #126 on: August 12, 2012, 04:56:45 AM »
Never have gotten in to IE yet.  Haven't really had the desire.
Redemption... I was never too much of a fan of the s/t, so never gave the others a chance - until about 6 months ago, then the other four clicked for me.  Can't decide which is my favorite.  Just listened to Fullness the other day, and man that's a good disc.
SFAM... made it on my list, in the 30s if I recall correctly.

Good update.
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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #127 on: August 12, 2012, 06:01:37 AM »

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #128 on: August 12, 2012, 07:11:20 AM »
Scenes should be higher, and Screaming should be MUCH higher.  ;D Nice choices.  :tup

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #129 on: August 12, 2012, 12:14:07 PM »
great picks.

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. HOLY CRAP, AN UPDATE!!!
« Reply #130 on: August 16, 2012, 08:29:27 PM »
An update before bed:


17. Redemption – This Mortal Coil (2011)



What?! Redemption again?! This list is boring! Anyway, this album and I have a bit of a history. It seems like my favorite bands keep releasing subpar material, so when TMC came out I immediately started finding things wrong with it, because I was used to the disappointment. It was expected. I posted in the Redemption thread calling out Nick Van Dyk for reusing riffs and copying himself, but I forgot that Nick actually posts here on occasion, and he responded. Of course, he’s a cool dude and didn’t take offense, and when I made a list of parts of songs I thought he had copied from himself, he debunked most of the claims, and I quietly accepted defeat. I was even going to make a video of the examples, but decided against it because it was a just a tad douchey. I do stand by some of the claims, but for most, I was merely jumping to conclusions, or “misremembering” …. OK, Word says misremembering is a word… Anyway, the album. After a few weeks, I started listening to the album again, and it clicked. I felt stupid for the shit I caused and accusing Nick of those things because I fell in love with this album. It’s so HEAVY so POWAH. I mean, the mix isn’t that great, but the songs more than make up for it. The album wastes no time with Path Of The Whirlwind, setting up what will be an emotional roller coaster. Blink Of An Eye, dedicated to the late great Ronnie James Dio, talks about how life can throw you a curve ball and change your life forever. I’ll just say the first 6 songs are phenomenal. Dreams From The Pit and Let It Rain being my favorites. The music and Ray’s singing in Let It Rain is moving. As I said before, Ray Alder can capture the emotion of any lyrics perfectly. I love this song. Stronger Than Death and Departure of the Pale Horse close the album in a big way. Even though TMC isn’t a concept album about Nick personally, I can see why he wouldn’t want to play a song like Stronger Than Death live, as it hits so close to home. Departure ends much like Transcendence in that it brings back lyrical themes from the other songs tying it all together. Nick Van Dyk hits another homerun with This Mortal Coil, Redemption’s best album to date. Another congrats to Nick, and I can’t wait for the new Redemption next year (hopefully).


Recommended tracks: No Tickets To The Funeral, Dreams From The Pit, Noonday Devil, Let It Rain, Stronger Than Death, Departure of The Pale Horse

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Procrastination Roolz!
« Reply #131 on: August 16, 2012, 08:36:24 PM »
Amazing record.  Not as strong as Snowfall IMO but almost.
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Offline senecadawg2

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Procrastination Roolz!
« Reply #132 on: August 16, 2012, 10:05:02 PM »
I really NEED to get into Redemption!
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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Procrastination Roolz!
« Reply #133 on: August 16, 2012, 10:07:15 PM »
I really NEED to get into Redemption!

Yes you do.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Procrastination Roolz!
« Reply #134 on: August 17, 2012, 05:20:12 AM »
I really NEED to get into Redemption!

Yes you do.

Yes you do.  Took me a while, but about 3-4 months ago, it fell right into place.  Still not much of a fan of the Desparation suite, but everything else is excellent.
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Offline Zook

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. Procrastination Roolz!
« Reply #135 on: August 17, 2012, 08:24:31 PM »
You thought.




16. Theocracy – Mirror Of Souls (2008)



My first introduction to Theocracy was the title track from Mirror Of Souls, and with any new 20 minute song, I didn’t think much of it at first. Plus, the religious aspect was a turn off. In Late 2011, for a reason I forgot (Contest Sanity may have recommended it), I gave the whole album a listen, and well, I was blown away. It’s strange. Lyrics are big factor for me, and for an album to be so overly religious, it didn’t bother me. In fact, I love singing along to Bethlehem, which if I’m not mistaken is about the birth of Jesus. The songs on Mirror Of Souls are just too catchy to pass up, and Laying The Demon To Rest is seriously badass. Some of the lyrics are kind of eyeroll worthy, but I can over look them as the music of LTDTR is fucking metal. And that opening sustained wail by singer Matt Smith is godly (pun somewhat intended). The epic title track also has some eyeroll worthy lyrics, but again, I’m not a fan of religion so it’s bound to be that way for me. I just think of the subject matter to be fantasy and it all works out fine :biggrin: I already called the title track epic, but that’s really the only way I can describe it. The vocal melodies are some of the best I’ve ever heard, but the album is chock full of them. The song takes you on an intense journey with Matt singing his ass off, but he also does that on the whole album. Matt Smith is a phenomenal vocalist and his high notes give me an eargasm every time which I think is still blasphemy lol. I’m not really into this type of power metal anymore, but Mirror Of Souls is a big exception. The religious themes don’t detract from the overall listening experience that much, but I think even the most evil satan worshipping neo nazi would be tapping their foot to this album and singing along.

Recommended tracks: On Eagles Wings, Laying The Demon To Rest, Bethlehem, Absolution Day,  Martyr, Mirror Of Souls


Sorry for another single, I just haven't had time to do multiple write ups. I'll try to bust out 3 tomorrow.

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. God is in my fingers
« Reply #136 on: August 18, 2012, 08:28:59 PM »
This Mortal Coil is aging very well.  I wasn't originally blown away, but over time I've really come to enjoy it.

I had the same initial issue with Theocracy as well, the overt Christianity in it.  But the musical awesomeness did win me over and I would recommend this to anyone here.  If you don't mind the religious aspects of it then it should click even sooner.
     

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. God is in my fingers
« Reply #137 on: August 18, 2012, 08:39:57 PM »
15. Circus Maximus – Nine (2012)



This album has only been out for barely a couple months, but I’m comfortable putting it this high on the list. Is it better than Mirror Of Souls or This Mortal Coil, I don’t know, but this is my first Top 50 list so next time around the ranking will be more concrete. Ok, so after 5 years, Circus Maximus finally release their third album. Was it worth the wait? Hell yeah! I had confidence that they wouldn’t disappoint, although it would have been nice for singer Michael Eriksen to do more high vocals, but his vocals are always godly anyway. After a short intro track, Architect Of Fortune greets us with booming chords before a nice instrumental piece and really nice solo. The style is a little different this time around, but the prog metal goodness is still abound. AoF is one of the best on the album, clocking in at just over 10 minutes, it offers heavy, soft, beautiful sections along with the superb vocal melodies Circus Maximus are known for. The shorter tracks are all great too, especially Game of Life and the single, Reach Within, but the highlights are the longer proggier tracks. Burn After Reading in particular has a slow build up, but once it gets going, it gets going! It has a great chorus and an awesome instrumental section which has one of the coolest music passages ever. Last Goodbye is an extended ballad with an 80s vibe, well Circus Maximus in general has an 80s vibe, but Last Goodbye would fit nicely on Michael Eriksen’s other project, The Magnificent. My favorite part is actually the end, which is a beautiful keyboard and vocal section. I like where Circus Maximus is going with their sound, and I hope we don’t have to wait another 5 years for a fourth album.

Recommended tracks: Architect Of Fortune, Namaste, Game Of Life, Reach Within, Burn After Reading, Last Goodbye



14.  Dream Theater – Awake (1994)



This album is damn near perfect. Its only flaw is the borefest at the end called Space-Dye Vest. It’s no Prophets Of War, but it does absolutely nothing for me. This album, in my opinion has James LaBrie’s best vocal performance. Introducing a new raspy style not present on Images And Words, he gives the songs a darker more metal sound. Awake offers a variety of styles in its songs never feeling over long or boring (besides that last song that doesn’t belong). My favorite song on the album is Scarred, an 11 minute masterpiece in Prog Metal. The section after the second chorus is more poppy, but with great vocal melodies, especially the “30 years” line. John Petrucci’s solo is one of his best, and the ending is pretty rad too. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream is a another favorite of mine, featuring great lyrics by John Myung, and great singing by LaBrie. I also really like the unpopular tunes like Lie and Caught In a Web. I like to pretend Awake ends after Scarred so it has a perfect score. Awake is a great follow up to Images and Words and is a true classic.

Recommended tracks: 6:00, Caught In a Web, Voices, The Mirror, Lie, Lifting Shadows Off A Dream, Scarred



13. Iced Earth – Burnt Offerings (1995/2001 Remix & Remaster)



Written during a time of great despair (Schaffer was having trouble with then and current label Century Media) Burnt Offerings is IE’s darkest, heaviest album, and Jon’s anger is well represented in the music. Focusing mainly on Jon’s hatred for organized religion, the songs are pretty brutal. The title track is a statement to the record label and his frustrations at the time. Last December is about that famous Bible story Romeo and Juliet, while Diary is about the Prince Of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. Brainwashed, Burning Oasis and Creator Failure deal with the hypocrisy of the bible with Brainwashed focusing on the hypocrisies of man as they “twist and turn” Christ’s words “for their own needs”. The Pierced Spirit is a haunting acoustic piece with beautiful vocals by new vocalist Matt Barlow. Oh, I forgot to mention him until now? Well, yeah, Matt Barlow’s awesome. Nuff said. The epic 16 minute closing track, Dante’s Inferno about, you guessed it, Dante’s Inferno, takes you through the nine plains of hell and visiting each sin and torture along the way. The music captures the mood perfectly, which is something Jon Schaffer is good at. This is my second favorite IE song and for 16 minutes goes by like 5. Unfortunately Schaffer couldn’t capture the same magic when he rerecorded it with Stu Block, but I wasn’t expecting him to. Dante’s Inferno is just amazing. Burnt Offerings has genuine emotional singing and some borderline death metal growls from Barlow, excellent shred solos from lead guitarist Randy Shawver, and Jon’s riffage is as great as usual. Although you can hear the bass at times, it’s nothing really note worthy. If you like darker thrash metal and don’t mind a little anti-religion, Burnt Offerings is for you. It’s one of Iced Earth’s best.

Recommended tracks: Dante’s Inferno, Burnt Offerings, Diary, Last December, Creator Failure


HM's:

Kamelot - Epica (2003)
Not as good as The Black Halo but still an excellent first part of the two album concept. It's just a tad inconsistent though.

The Offspring - Americana (1998)
It was with this album that the band began its slip into the mainstream, but at the time, I loved it to death. Americana is The Offspring's last truly great album.

James LaBrie - Elements Of Persuasion (2005)
CRUCIFFFFFYYYYYYYYYYY. The only solo album of his I really care for. It's heavy, melodic, and METAL, offering different styles including some poppish nu-metalish stuff.

Offline Mosh

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. We're Closer to the End
« Reply #138 on: August 18, 2012, 09:57:19 PM »
3 really awesome choices.  :metal

Nine is a cool album, but I don't think it is better than The First Chapter. The 3 long songs are really great though. Architect of Fortune is an amazing song.

Awake is tied for my favorite DT album, it's perfection. Space Dye Vest included!

Burnt Offerings  is awesome too. Love the anger and atmosphere of it, a shame that IE haven't been able to capture that since. It really is a unique album.
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Offline adace

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Re: Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread! v. We're Closer to the End
« Reply #139 on: August 18, 2012, 10:31:38 PM »
Love all three of those albums  :tup