Parama's Accidental Top 50 Albums List! (Current: #1)

[Sacul]

 

[Crow]

Entropia

Definitely in my PoS Top 3, probably my second favourite. Such an amazing album.

Do you know Never Learn To Fly, the Japanese bonus track? It might be the most depressing song on the album, and that's no mean feat, and it's great too - one of my all-time PoS favourites.

I've probably listened to it once but I've never really sought out bonus tracks to listen to, I think I did for Road Salt 'cause it was extended versions of the songs already there for the most part, but otherwise no

also hey you should join my roulette >:V

[Crow]

#17: Oceansize - Music for Nurses EP

Uhh... yes, an EP. The only one that made it even remotely close to my list, actually. I have a reason. Sure, this runs about 25 minutes, far shorter than everything else here. But... it's just, flawless and consistent from beginning to end. 5 tracks and they're all great, not a weak moment.

One For None is a heavy, kind of mathy rocker, very distinctly Oceansize in sound, with some softer parts that you'd also expect from the band. It's a pretty complex little song in the end, and all the better for it. Paper Champion is a more laid-back and electronic song in 9/8, with a constant sense of buildup, getting massive and kind of epic by the end. The last three tracks serve as a kind of a suite, as well. Drag the 'Nal is a short ambient piece that gives the listener a break after the more intense previous to tracks. Dead Dogs 'N All Sorts is the musical concept of build-up in song form, 'cause seriously, this one's absolutely amazing. It starts off with a slow bass groove and reprising of the ambient sound of the previous track, there are a few vocal moments as the track builds, and the pace quickens, more instruments come in. Soon there's several layers of sound and the drums keep getting faster, vocals come back in to provide another layer, everything is a huge wall of sound, and then you get kicked in the face by the heavy as hell chords coming in to transition the song to the final of the suite. Top 10 Oceansize song, no contest. Maybe even top 5. Damn, what a song. As The Smoke Clears suffers a tiny bit from not being as good as the previous track (Oceansize has a habit of putting the best song at the end to prevent this effect from happening, but it's not quite the case here) but it's a great sluggish and heavy track that closes off the album well.

This is probably their heaviest release to date, and all the better for it; I love all these songs, especially Dead Dogs, and come back to this EP quite a lot.

[Crow]

*looks at what the other two albums for the day are*

oooh. aaahhh the next write-up is going to literally kill me, ugh

[Zantera]

Music For Nurses, definitely one of my favorite EPs! 

[Crow]

#16: Ayreon - The Human Equation

It's really hard to talk about this album, especially in a brief write-up, because... it's Ayreon. It's huge, it's epic, it's more than ambitious, it's fantastic.

I think this one works for me far better than any other Ayreon release for a few reasons.
Firstly, the concept. I like the sci-fi concept, I really do, but stories that are on a more personal level, like this one, work so much better for me; the emotion of the story makes for a great, emotional record. Literally, in this case, since most of the singers are the protagonist's emotions talking to him. There's two sides of the story going on here; one inside the protagonist's mind, and the other between his wife and his friend wondering what happened, though the first one is the clear main story. The album takes us on a journey through his life, starting with his childhood up until just before the accident that put him in a coma. And it makes for compelling music, showing the triumphs and the failures, the joy, the sadness, the anger. And there's a twist ending that really changes the context of the entire story, which I love.

The other reason this works is the voice cast. I'm only familiar with a few (Arjen himself, LaBrie obviously, Akerfeldt, and Townsend) but the others all do good work too, and it helps that the voices I am familiar with are all great here. LaBrie is given the biggest role, as the protagonist, and he sells the emotion of the story very well. Akerfeldt as Fear plays on both his softer and harsher strengths, and Trauma is an especially good example of this. And Townsend has a fairly limited presence but his harsh vocal work is good here. Other ones I'd have to point out are Clayton as Reason, probably the most distinct voice and one of the most prevalent too, and Baker as the father, who is just having the goddamn time of his life hamming it up on Loser.

Standout songs? I guess, sure. Isolation is a good introduction to the album, having a lot of different elements and introducing most of the emotions, plus it has a great main riff. Pain plays off the quiet/loud contrast quite well and I like the folky section in the middle a lot too. Trauma is absolutely fantastic and dark and all sorts of grand. Pride is a fun rocker, about all there is to say on it. Betrayal is possibly my favorite Ayreon track, very dark and very unique, the synth and strings solos in the middle and the buildup to the big final chorus are -perfect- as well, and the acoustic ending is a great touch. Realization is a fun mostly instrumental with just the most epic ending imaginable, all the emotions arguing with each other and the protagonist, it really shows the struggle well. And Confrontation is a strong closer, aside from the abrupt ending I guess but it works in context, at the very least.

...that's like half the album, whatever, I really like this one a lot. Not a single weak track either, everything here is good from beginning to end and it's a shining example of a concept album done well.

[Sacul]

 

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Bought Entropia for $2 on some online sale. Can't get into it.

[Sacul]

2 dollars? What a scam!

[wolfking]

Both those Ayreon and POS are incredible.

[Crow]

oh crud i need to do another of these tonight

go go really fast cruddy writeup time

[jakepriest]

The Human Equation is my favourite Ayreon album. It's brilliant from start to finish.

[Bolsters]

I prefer Into The Electric Castle, but this is easily my second favourite.

[Crow]

#15: Thrice - Vhiessu

Thrice is a band who knows how to write really good songs, here's 11 of them. The end.

Nah that's not quite enough. Okay. So I recently got Artist in the Ambulance and I'm struggling with it a little because it only shows off one side of Thrice; namely, the aggressive side. But... maybe their other sides didn't exist before Vhiessu? That could be the case. With Vhiessu, they added more dynamics to their songs, and incorporated a lot of electronic elements. They really play with the loud/soft dynamic a lot, though admittedly there are probably a few too many soft-start followed by heavy kick-in songs on this album... The Earth Will Shake, Music Box, Like Moths to Flame, Of Dust and Nations, Stand and Feel Your Worth, they all do this same thing, but it's a trick that works well for each song individually so I can't say it's a bad thing.

Each song (well, 10 of them, I'll get back to that) brings something new to the table, too. Image of the Invisible is a frantic, upbeat track with a strong chorus and a good quiet break in the middle. Between the End and Where We Lie, probably my personal favorite, is heavy on the electronic instruments, with a fantastic drum beat for the verses, a cool, mostly 7/8 chorus, and some good quiet electronic percussion parts. The Earth Will Shake is one of the more, well, earthy songs, no electronics here, a very solemn acoustic guitar to open in and some group vocals/stomps in the middle, with some more downtempo heavy parts for most of the song. Atlantic is the polar opposite, a very relaxed and chill electronic-driven song, another personal favorite. The chorus especially, fantastic. For Miles is very piano-heavy and melodic, with some great heavy moments too, the second verse I love and the loud outro works well for the song. Hold Fast Hope is straight up in-your-face loud and sticks to its 5/4 riff the entire way through, with some quieter moments to keep things dynamic. Music Box has, well, a Music Box, and a slow feel to it. The chorus is loud and powerful, the verses are quiet, and there's a good bridge to boot. Like Moths to Flame is... there. It's the song that fails to really do anything unique, but it's a solid song on its own. Of Dust and Nations really evokes the desert sound well with its lead guitar throughout the song, and I love the drums on this, they are super fun to play aahh. Stand and Feel Your Worth is one of the more interesting tracks, and one that took longer to click for me than most of the album. It's got a lot more atmosphere than anything else, it's got more sections and it's got some of the heaviest moments as well as some of the quietest and spaciest. Favorite part is probably the spacey keyboard part in the middle, that part is very beautiful. Red Sky serves as the closer, with a lot of electronic elements again, very beautiful verses and very powerful choruses, with a good outro to end the album off well, another favorite.

So yeah... start-to-back this is a very good rock record with a lot of variety and really solidified the band's sound; The Alchemy Index, their follow up, basically deconstructs all the different moods this album has, but I like this one more because it keeps things varied instead of sticking each sound on its own disc (plus there are a number of tracks on The Alchemy Index I'm not huge on, too.)

But yeah, I love Thrice, and albums like this are a good indication of why. Even if until a week or so ago I'd never heard any of their work older than this album, haha.

[Crow]

it's impossible to write cruddy short writeups for naything up this high, i should've figured that out by now
at least my next two albums are really easy for me to write about 
at #13 we hit tier 1A by the way, the albums that would be top 10 except 13 is greater than 10 so there are 13 of them instead, it's great

[mikemangioy]

The Human Equation is amazing

[Evermind]

The Human Equation is my favourite Ayreon album. It's brilliant from start to finish.

This. As I said in my write-up for it, it's one of the best things happened to music ever.

No mention of female vocals in your write-up? I think both Heather Findlay and Marcela Bovio were great picks and totally nailed their roles on the album. Especially Findlay, she sounds so much better here than on Mostly Autumn.

[Elite]

Sorry but: The Alchemy Index > Vheissu

[LordCost]

Vheissu > The Artist in the Ambulance > Major Minor > The Alchemy Index > Beggars > Identity Crisis. I prefer the heavy side of Thrice, and I really like Fire and Water of Alchemy Index, but only a bunch of songs of the other two volumes combined. I think it's objectively a great concept, but the last two volumes are far from my tastes in music.

For Miles has been my favourite song ever for years when I was a teenager. The only song I don't like is the opener,  the rest is flawless. Maybe there are too many songs ending with harsh vocals in crescendo using the same formula, but I don't care anymore about this. The bonus tracks Flags Of Dawn and Weight Of Glory are awesome track too!

[Crow]

No mention of female vocals in your write-up? I think both Heather Findlay and Marcela Bovio were great picks and totally nailed their roles on the album. Especially Findlay, she sounds so much better here than on Mostly Autumn.

I am gonna be completely honest when I say that female vocals rarely do much for me, I think Gregor Samsa and Lorde are the only albums where I've even mentioned them 
I've always felt Arjen's female vocalists tend to blend together (this was even the case of Into the Electric Castle) but that's just me not really caring for female vocals much.

[Evermind]

No mention of female vocals in your write-up? I think both Heather Findlay and Marcela Bovio were great picks and totally nailed their roles on the album. Especially Findlay, she sounds so much better here than on Mostly Autumn.

I am gonna be completely honest when I say that female vocals rarely do much for me, I think Gregor Samsa and Lorde are the only albums where I've even mentioned them 
I've always felt Arjen's female vocalists tend to blend together (this was even the case of Into the Electric Castle) but that's just me not really caring for female vocals much.

Unless I'm totally wrong (I don't enjoy it that much), Into the Electric Castle has only two female vocalists, and I don't know how can you confuse Anneke's voice with Sharon, really. Guess that comes with not caring for female vocals indeed.

[Crow]

i guess
there aren't a lot of lower range female vocalists in metal, it seems like
I like Lorde and I like Kimbra because they're fully comfortable with a lower range but can both sing higher too
i do like some female singers, just not really in metal apparently 

[Crow]

#14: Isis - Panopticon

When I imagine what "post-metal" should sound like... I get this, definitely. It's got a lot more edge to it than post-rock but a lot of the same kinds of structures, and there are lighter parts but it's not "pretty" like post-rock. Panopticon is an hour of atmospheric, powerful music, that I just enjoy front-to-back. It's futile to even try and pick favorite songs because I always listen to this as an album and barely even notice the song breaks. Each track flows so well and the album has a good flow as a whole. The harsher vocals are utilized well, they're never high in the mix so they blend in with the music in a way that gives it more aggression without destroying the atmosphere. I also have absolutely no clue what any of the lyrics are about. Who cares, it doesn't matter.

I have Oceanic too and while I like that album a lot it felt a bit... stiff compared to this one. But Panopticon, an album so good that it's basically made me interested in an entire genre, yep. This one actually got a second wind recently which is why my current musical mood is post-metal stuff, really, but I liked it when I first heard it and came to love it on subsequent listens, not much else I could ask for from an album.

[Sacul]

This album bores me to tears

[Elite]

I don't know this one, but Oceanic didn't interest me really. You'resaying this is better, I might try it out. Their name kinda sucks though :/

[Crow]

ehh if you didn't like Oceanic at all I don't see you liking this either 

[Crow]

#13: Casualties of Cool - Casualties of Cool

I know I said there was no more Devin Townsend albums on this list. This is a Casualties of Cool album. There was no lie.

It's interesting that of all his albums I have, the one he doesn't release under his name I find the most enjoyable. But I do, somehow. There's only one track on here I'm not so hot on and it's far from terrible. The album flows very well, has an interesting but kind of vague concept backing it, and is musically different from anything else I've ever heard. There are some more straightforward country tracks, sure, but they're all enjoyable, and all different. And there are more spacey tracks, too, that still incorporate elements of country music. The diversity based on the premise of "Devin does country" is pretty amazing though, and also amazing is how many of these songs are home-runs.

Mountaintop has a cool groove to it and a nice full chorus. Flight is stupidly beautiful and builds throughout the whole song in a great way. Moon is ridiculously unique and most amazing is how everything about it works so well, the country guitar, the repetitive vocals, the spacey atmosphere, the wonderful sax solos. It's another song about buildup and just does it flawlessly, top 5 Devin song easily. Bones is fairly straightforward but certainly one of the better tracks, probably due to Dorval's vocals being the best on this one in my opinion, though she's really great on every song. The Bridge is a long instance of buildup, probably the most stubbornly non-country track on the album too, and the big climax. I love how big this song gets, though, it's wonderful.

That being said, some of these songs work really well even without context but listening to the entire album front-to-back is one heck of an experience. Crowning jewel of all Devin's ever done and it's got no metal elements or prog elements at all. I adore this album.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Their name kinda sucks though :/

Tell me about it. I'm not going to go up to someone at school and ask if they like Isis.


Casualties of Cool is great. Needs more spins from me but I love Flight.

[Crow]

to be fair, Isis was already a thing from egyptian mythology way before it was a terrorist group

[425]

I've only heard Moon so far from Casualties of Cool because roulettes and Parama, and I really liked that one a lot. So I'm going to have to get the whole album soon.

[Crow]

#12: Caligula's Horse - The Tide, The Thief & River's End

The debut record from Caligula's Horse was good, but inevitably not the best record I'd ever heard or anything, with a few weak tracks and somewhat immature songwriting.

What do you get when the band writes tighter songs, then? A damn great progressive metal album. The band borrowed some elements of djent for this album, but not too heavily to overtake their original sound, and the riffs they make out of the djent sound are all great. Dark Hair Down has gotta be the catchiest djenty track there ever was, seriously.

A thing I like that this album also does on occasion is screw with the feel of the song; in the middle of a triplet section, have a bar of 16th notes that make the pace sound frantic, or in a 12/8 section, staccato the notes so that it has a more sluggish feel of a 4/4 section. These moments of screwing with the rhythm are something I just find plain awesome to listen to and it really keeps you on your toes, these songs go a lot of places in a pretty short amount of time but they still feel cohesive.

And the band certainly doesn't toss emotion out the window with the technicality of the album. The huge ending of Water's Edge after the song's more relaxed first two-thirds makes for a nice contrast. Dark Hair Down is just an intense experience all the way through. Thief is a quiet, somber track leading into the closer, All Is Quiet By The Wall, which is just goddamn epic and powerful, the last lyrics of the song especially just overwhelm me every time.

There's a vague concept here that I kind of get (enough to know why All Is Quiet By The Wall is so damn excellent as a closer to the album's concept, dear lord, I just love that song) but even without the concept the end result is a diverse, interesting, unique brand of progressive metal, and I'm definitely looking forward to the album the band is dropping in October if their previous two releases are any indication of the new album's quality, which I imagine they should be. Maybe that one will even top this one, only time will tell.

[Crow]

i really don't feel like i did this one justice, but it's hard to do the albums up this high justice because they are all rocking at least 9.5/10 overall ratings which is really goddamn high

and i did spoil the best track of the album, but on an album that's as long and generally consistent as Casualties of Cool one song being spoiled isn't gonna ruin the whole thing for you 

[mikemangioy]

Damn, I need to get into Casualties ASAP. I'm missing that one.

I've always been interested in Caligula's Horse, but never bothered exploring, this shall be the time.

[PuffyPat]

i'm never listening to bedlam again, so gl with that

it's so good tho. it's so raw and visceral and energetic. it's their most like at the drive-in which is probably why it's my fav. that being said, i totally understand why people don't like it.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Bedlam is very good. It's not accessible in the slightest and you have to be a certain mood to listen to it, but it's damn good!

And nice, I really like the song you sent me in my roulette off that other Caligula's Horse album.