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General => Archive => General Music Archives => Topic started by: Zook on July 25, 2012, 02:03:34 PM
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Finally the wait is over! Greetings and welcome to Zook’s Top 50 Albums Thread of brutal brutalitary brutalness*.
I don't have nearly as many CDs as some of you folks, but it was still hard trying to pick 50 and rank them. Some of these albums I really don't listen to a whole lot anymore, but have had a big impact on my life and helped shape my musical tastes. Although, since constructing this list, I have gotten back into old favorites. Writing was never a strong point for me as I've already ran out of things to say, so let's dive right in, shall we?
*brutalness may vary
Coming in at #50:
50. Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow (2003)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/Mclachlan-afterglow.jpg)
Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan isn’t new to me, as I’ve heard her music everywhere for years, but I didn’t really get into her (lol) until last year when I heard Into The Fire at local CD store Zia. But that song isn’t on Afterglow so who gives a crap? Anyway, to me, Afterglow is the most consistent of her albums with no snoozefests on them. Arguably, Drifting could be put into that category, but it’s not a bad song by any means. The songs on Afterglow range from upbeat to McLachlan’s trademark ambient folk whatever. I AM A MUSIC MAJOR I SWEAR. (I’m not) But seriously, if you like soft, folkish, contemporary rock, you should check this album out. The first three tracks, Fallen, World On Fire, and Stupid are a nice 1-2-3 punch (a soft punch mind you) with Stupid being my favorite song on the album. This album is pretty mellow, but has plenty of soothing melodies and hooks to keep even a new listener intrigued. Oh and that guttural scream she does in Answer is fucking insane!
Recommended tracks: Stupid, Trainwreck, Answer, World On Fire, Fallen
49. Green Carnation – Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness (2001)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Greencarnation_loddod.jpg)
What can I say about this album? Well, it’s a 60 minute song! And it keeps you interested the whole time! How many bands can accomplish that? Probably a lot, I don’t know. Light of Day, Day of Darkness takes you on one hell of a journey and doesn’t let up until the 30 minute mark where a siren won’t shut up for 5 minutes, but after that, it’s back to the onslaught of dark doomy progressive metal. The pacing of this song is great and it really doesn’t feel like an hour has passed with all that’s going on in the song. 16:22 - 18:00 is my favorite part of the whole song. It's intense and :metal The keyboards on this song are great as well. They create an amazing atmosphere. Also, those concerned with the vocals, they are 99% clean with only two quick sections that are screamed/growled with a total of two words. They happen so quick that even those who despise harsh vocals shouldn't have a problem with them. Check it out!
Recommended tracks: Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness
48. Def Leppard – Pyromania (1983)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Def_Leppard_-_Pyromania.jpg)
I only bought this album recently, and have only heard the singles from it, but I always enjoyed them. My older brother was a big Def Leppard fan back in the day and owned this on cassette, so I was exposed through radio as well as family. So once I popped this in the ol’ CD player, I was immediately taken back by just how good the whole thing was. After not hearing these songs for years, still remembering the words to some, and being introduced to the other songs on the album, it was clear that this album would become a favorite of mine. It seriously rocks. Sure it’s a bit poppy, and cheesy, but the guitars shred it up and as a whole, Pyromania is catchy as fuck.
Recommended tracks: Foolin’, Too Late For Love, Rock Of Ages, Die Hard the Hunter
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You mean you can only recommend one song from that album? Lame :neverusethis:
Not familiar with 50, but GC is awesome and I grew up listening to Def Leppard, so I'll call it a good start.
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How are the vocals on Green Carnation?
Nothing wrong with old Def Leppard.
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How are the vocals on Green Carnation?
Not cookie monster, if that's your concern.
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Didn't really expect to see Sarah McLachlan in here, but Afterglow is a lovely album, great start!
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How are the vocals on Green Carnation?
I updated the description for you.
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I actually have Surfacing from Sarah McLachlan - listened to it A LOT during college. It was the favorite cd of a girl I fancied, so that was part of it, but I did enjoy the music.
Hey Zook, would you mind including the release year of each album? It makes it much easier to input into my top 50 database.
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it’s back to the on slot of dark doomy progressive metal
Was that intentional?
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Love Pyro, probably their best. The deeper tracks are best and are the ones you've highlighted pretty much. love Stagefright too but always thought it should have opened the album.
Listening to GC now, not a band I've heard of but it sounds interesting. In a good way.
The folk music you can keep ;D
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Def Leppard niceee. I personally prefer Hysteria, but Pyromania is my second favorite album by them. Don't know the other two choices.
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it’s back to the on slot of dark doomy progressive metal
Was that intentional?
No. I'm just dumb...
I MEAN YES!
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Hey Zook, would you mind including the release year of each album? It makes it much easier to input into my top 50 database.
No probs.
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Nice start, following!
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Awesome, should be an interesting list. I haven't ever listened to Green Carnation, but your write-up makes it sound very interesting.
I was surprised to see the most brutal of all singer/songwriters, SM, at number 50.
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Been forever since I've given Light of Day, Day of Darkness a listen. Love that song tons. Pretty easy to listen to for a 60 minute song.
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Following. Pyromania makes it a good start.
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47. Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory (2000)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Linkin_park_hybrid_theory.jpg)
Linkin Park were certainly a surprise to me and for many a breath of fresh air. I was never a big fan of rap, but the whole concept of blending rap and rock together (something that wasn’t new, mind you) just seemed to work with these guys. The heaviness, the screams from Chester Bennington, those angsty lyrics, the melodies and even Mike Shinoda did a good job with his rap sections. He didn’t screw that up until Meteora. Hybrid Theory is an album you can blast in the car and sing along to. To me, this album is still their best and I don’t think they can ever top it, especially with the direction they’ve gone. I guess the only down side is that the bass is barely audible, but that would become the norm among nu-metal bands. I actually traded this album in years ago, and a few months ago something sparked my interest in them again, and after buying it again I realized what a mistake it was to get rid of it in the first place. Most people here don’t like nu-metal and for good reason, but Hybrid Theory stands above the others as one of the better albums in the genre.
Recommended tracks: Papercut, Points Of Authority, Runaway, By Myself, Pushing Me Away
46. 3 Doors Down – The Better Life (1999)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/The_Better_Life_3DD.JPG)
Nu Metal was a rising force by the end of the millennium (and would soon completely dominate), but one band decided to do things a little differently: they would make a normal rock album! 3 Doors Down’s first single Kryptonite exploded on the radio and MTV (back when they still played videos… sometimes) and although Kryptonite is their most well known song, most of the other tracks on The Better Life are better. One thing to note about this album is singer Brad Arnold who also played the drums as well. Cool story bro. The Better Life is full of upbeat, catchy rockers that’ll have you banging your head and throwing the devils horns in the air. 3 Doors Down have been known to have the craziest mosh pits at their concerts. That last part may or may not be true. Unfortunately 3DD would get softer and softer with each new release and become the Nickelback of contemporary rock, but The Better Life is alternative rock at its finest.
Recommended tracks: Duck And Run, Not Enough, Life Of My Own, By My Side
45. Alyson Avenue – Presence Of Mind (2000)
(https://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/a284a1be954519d444cab6a3bdeb1e0b/3106782.jpg)
Nightwish fans might recognize this band as it’s Annette Olzon’s first band before joining Nightwish as their new singer, replacing Tarja Trurnrununrun. Alyson Avenue can be described as Pat Benatar meets good music. I’ve always had a fondness for the 80s rock sound (not to be confused with the new wave british sound) and Presence Of Mind hones in on that with perfect execution. Every song on the album could be a hit. Annette sounds great as her voice fits the AOR pop sound perfectly and I can imagine her doing that sexy dance she does in Nightwish’s Amaranth music video. This album certainly isn’t for everyone, not even Nightwish fans it would seem, but if you’re a fan of AOR bands with that 80s flare and nothing but great hooks and melodies, check out Alyson Avenue.
Recommended tracks: You can't go wrong with any of them. My favorite on the album is One Touch.
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Not interested in LP or 3DD but the Alyson Avenue is good. Nice choice.
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I'll second you on the LP and 3DD, but I don't know AA. Will check it out though. Annette in an AOR/pop setting sounds intriguing.
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The Better Life is a great album, although I disagree with you about most of the songs being better than Kryptonite. Despite overexposure to that song, I love it to pieces.
Also, Hybrid Theory. :heart
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3DD is a band that seems pretty good. I just wished I like them more.
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The Better Life is a great album, although I disagree with you about most of the songs being better than Kryptonite. Despite overexposure to that song, I love it to pieces.
Also, Hybrid Theory. :heart
Over exposure is part of why I like the other songs more, but more so it's because the other songs are better. :p
44. Nightwish – Imaginaerum (2011)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/18/Nightwish_imaginaerum_cover.jpg)
Speaking of Annette, here we have Nightwish’s magnum opus, Imaginarium or Imaginaerum. I never had a problem with Tarja, and I like their past albums, but they’re very inconsistent. I wasn’t much of a fan of Dark Passion Play though, but that had nothing to do with Annette. The songs just weren’t interesting, besides the first 3. Imaginaerum is the first Nightwish album where I think every song is great. Even the intro track, but that has a lot to do with the orchestration, which is one of Nightwish’s finest qualities. I love good Symphonic Metal, and Nightwish delivers in that regard. Even bassist Marco has stepped up his game surprising me with a side of his vocals I never heard. Epic is definitely the word to describe this album, with many different styles throughout, including an upbeat circus like section in the vein of Haken as well as an almost lounge style song. There is a spoken word section at the end of Song Of Myself which lasts a good 6 minutes, but with the beautiful music underneath, it moves along pretty quickly. If you like heavy symphonic metal, check this out. You won’t be disappointed.
Recommended tracks: Storytime, Slow Love Slow, I Want My Tears Back, Last Ride Of The Day, Song Of Myself
43. Judas Priest – Painkiller (1990)
(https://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/7ebba95f040de99c3405b24cb596ab55/1384007.jpg)
After two WTF albums by Heavy Metal giants, Judas Priest, they returned with the heaviest album they will ever make. Granted, besides Turbo and Ram It Down, it’s also the cheesiest album they will ever make. But that’s OK. It fucking slays. I’ve known about JP for a long time, hearing their singles on the radio, but I didn’t delve into their discography until probably 2005 maybe. I bought the Remasters Box set which included Painkiller with it and was blown away by how fucking heavy it was. From the opening drum fill of Painkiller, this album dominates. Any doubts JP fans had about them not being Heavy Metal again were gone once they pushed play. Leather Rebel has some insane riffage with great double bass drums accompanying it. Rob Halford proved at the time he was still the king of metal vocalists with his blistering shrieks and wails with one moment in the ballad A Touch Of Evil that’ll give you goosebumps. The closing track, One Shot At Glory is a stand out for me with an epic solo section and even more epic final vocals by Halford. If you like Heavy Power metal, you’ll love this one.
Recommended tracks: Painkiller, Leather Rebel, A Touch Of Evil, One Shot At Glory
42. Stone Sour – Come What(Ever) May (2006)
(https://d.yimg.com/ec/image/v1/release/34677116;encoding=jpg;size=300;fallback=defaultImage)
My brother recommended this album to me, so I listened once and didn’t like it. Months later I decided to check it out again on my own accord and was taken aback. This album is really good. The first track, 30/30-150 starts the album off with a bang with kick ass drumming from Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin who sadly only appears on this song. The album continues the metal with the title track and Hell & Consequences before slowing down for the first ballad of the album, Sillyworld. Although the next song, Made Of Scars has some pretty silly lyrics about showing off scars, it’s still a good rocker. Same can be said for the other songs. I was so sick of Through Glass being played on the radio constantly, but somehow I liked it again once I heard it on the album. Weird. Besides 30/30-150, the best song on the album by far is Zzyzx Rd., A ballad about singer Corey Taylor’s time recovering from alcoholism. Zzyzx Rd is full of genuine emotions that have brought me to tears on occasion. Very moving. Come What(ever) May is a great Alternative Metal album with great grooves and melodies. There’s cussing on this album but it’s not distracting or anything.
Recommended tracks: 30/30-150, Hell & Consequences, Reborn, Socio, Zzyzx Rd.
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Now for a few Honorable Mentions in no particular order:
Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
Balls and chunk galore, a great shredfest, perfect for blasting in the car, but not quite top 50 material, thanks to As I Am.
Nevermore - Enemies Of Reality (2003/2005)
This album would have made my list, but there are a couple tracks I'm not too fond of. As for the rest of the album? Holy shit. Andy Sneap's 2005 remix made this one of the best, and heaviest sounding albums I've ever heard. Heavy fucking metal.
Megadeth - Youthanasia (1994)
Although Megadeth continued to move away from thrash, their mainstream sound was still pretty heavy. An album full of catchy metal tunes, awesome riffage and loud bass.
More to come tomorrow!
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Painkiller :metal
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I love Painkiller and Imaginaerum. Awesome picks!
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Wow, props for updating so fast. Really love Afterglow, Green Carnation and Painkiller so nice one :)
How many bands can accomplish that? Probably a lot, I don’t know.
:lol
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Judas Priest and Nightwish :tup
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I've never seen Sarah Maclaclan and Judas Priest mentioned together in any capacity anywhere.
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Imaginaerum is utterly fantastic.
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I think that the Stone Sour album ist great :metal :metal :metal I like it a lot. Sadly the other ones (by Stone Sour) didn't quite meet my expectations.
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I've never seen Sarah Maclaclan and Judas Priest mentioned together in any capacity anywhere.
Really? That's weird. They're two of the greatest progcore bands around.
I think that the Stone Sour album ist great :metal :metal :metal I like it a lot. Sadly the other ones (by Stone Sour) didn't quite meet my expectations.
Their self titled is pretty good, but Audio Secrecy was a huge letdown.
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I'm not really into "hair metal" but Pyromania is a damn fine album.
Both Painkiller and that Stone Sour album is great too :metal
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Their self titled is pretty good, but Audio Secrecy was a huge letdown.
Yeah, the debut is pretty decent but compared to Come What(ever) May it's not as good. Audio Secrecy was mainly crap.
Also Pyromania is great, the last hard rocking album by Def Lep and although I don't know Green Carnation, your writeup got me interested, may try it some day.
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Following.
Green Carnation and Priest :metal
Their self titled is pretty good, but Audio Secrecy was a huge letdown.
Yeah, the debut is pretty decent but compared to Come What(ever) May it's not as good. Audio Secrecy was mainly crap.
I thought Audio Secrecy was fantastic.
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Big Priest fan here but Painkiller is 50/50. The drum work really hits hard. Seems a bit heavy for the sake of it though.
Not a big Nightwish fan. Prefer Within Temptation but the whole genre is a bit samey to me. Not really given Imaginarium much time yet.
Love the megadeth album you gave an honourable mention. not a fan of the earlier stuff (and hated Mustaine) but Youthanasia is great. Enjoyed Cryptic Writings and Risk too.
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Painkiller :metal
:metal :metal
What a great album. Scott Travis brought so much life back into this band.
Love the megadeth album you gave an honourable mention. not a fan of the earlier stuff (and hated Mustaine) but Youthanasia is great. Enjoyed Cryptic Writings and Risk too.
I remember Megadeth losing me with Youthanasia. A couple of years ago, I went back and revisited it, and yes, it is very good. But I remember hating it when it came out.
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I remember Megadeth losing me with Youthanasia. A couple of years ago, I went back and revisited it, and yes, it is very good. But I remember hating it when it came out.
Youthanasia is my favourite Megadeth album, although I wouldn't call myself a huge Megadeth fan, or a thrash metal fan in general, so that speaks for itself. Probably one reason why The Black Album is likely my favourite Metallica album, although I love all of their thrash era stuff too.
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I remember Megadeth losing me with Youthanasia. A couple of years ago, I went back and revisited it, and yes, it is very good. But I remember hating it when it came out.
Youthanasia is my favourite Megadeth album, although I wouldn't call myself a huge Megadeth fan, or a thrash metal fan in general, so that speaks for itself. Probably one reason why The Black Album is likely my favourite Metallica album, although I love all of their thrash era stuff too.
A lot of bands seemed to release "sub par" (how I felt) albums at that time. Bands like Helloween (Pink Bubbles), Dio (Lock Up The Wolves), Queensryche (Empire) and Gary Moore (Still Got The Blues).
Oddly, what they all have in common, Megadeth and Metallica included, is that all of these albums have aged wonderfully.
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I remember Megadeth losing me with Youthanasia. A couple of years ago, I went back and revisited it, and yes, it is very good. But I remember hating it when it came out.
Youthanasia is my favourite Megadeth album, although I wouldn't call myself a huge Megadeth fan, or a thrash metal fan in general, so that speaks for itself. Probably one reason why The Black Album is likely my favourite Metallica album, although I love all of their thrash era stuff too.
A lot of bands seemed to release "sub par" (how I felt) albums at that time. Bands like Helloween (Pink Bubbles), Dio (Lock Up The Wolves), Queensryche (Empire) and Gary Moore (Still Got The Blues).
Oddly, what they all have in common, Megadeth and Metallica included, is that all of these albums have aged wonderfully.
I'm not familiar with some of those, but Lock Up The Wolves is one of my favourite Dio albums. :lol Go figure.
And obviously I got into these albums long after the fact, rather than following the bands as these came out, so the departure in style of some of these albums didn't affect me.
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Following.
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How are the vocals on Green Carnation?
Mostly clean vocals. It didn't make my top 50 but I definitely dig that album :tup
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I remember Megadeth losing me with Youthanasia. A couple of years ago, I went back and revisited it, and yes, it is very good. But I remember hating it when it came out.
Youthanasia is my favourite Megadeth album,
Same here, their old thrashy stuff is pretty good but I just don't get as much from it. I think Countdown... was their first really good album, but Youthanasia is their peak IMO.
A lot of bands seemed to release "sub par" (how I felt) albums at that time. Bands like Helloween (Pink Bubbles), Dio (Lock Up The Wolves), Queensryche (Empire) and Gary Moore (Still Got The Blues).
Oddly, what they all have in common, Megadeth and Metallica included, is that all of these albums have aged wonderfully.
I still don't really like Pink Bubbles much, but oddly I really really Chameleon, there's just something really fun and charming about it. It's one of my favourite Helloween albums. :lol
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Yeah, liking Chameleon is pretty odd! ;D It's actually not that bad. It's milke half a Kiske solo album and half a Wekeith album.
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Sorry for the delay. On with the countdown!
Coming in at #41:
41. Blind Guardian – A Night At The Opera (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d8/ANatO.jpg)
This album gives me a headache. No seriously, it does. Hansi’s vocals are so layered and his vocals are so high that half way through the album I’m in need of Tylenol. So why is this higher than those below it? Because it’s still an awesome album! Blind Guardian have been changing their sound with every album, with their first two albums being thrash/speed/power metal and then from Power Metal back to Thrash, and with Nightfall In Middle Earth, they started introducing more symphonic elements with big bombastic choir choruses. A Night At The Opera took this even further with granduous keyboards, and the addition of about 12 Hansi clones. If you like lead guitar, and kick ass drumming, you’ll love this album. But the best thing about this album is the 14 minute epic And Then There Was Silence. Epic doesn’t describe how epic this song is. Based on Homer’s The Iliad, ATTWS is a nonstop thrill ride of Symphonic Metal awesomeness. They recently re-recorded the song for their best of CD, but it just doesn’t compare to the original. It’s a truly great song. But don’t take my word for it.
Recommended tracks: Battlefield, Under The Ice, Sadly Sings Destiny, Wait For An Answer, And Then There Was Silence
40. Evanescence – Evanescence (2011)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b5/Evanescence_Album.jpg)
While female fronted rock bands weren’t new, Evanescence were a breath of fresh air just as Linkin Park were 3 years before them. Although Fallen wasn’t very creative guitar-wise, it still managed to be catchy, and rock pretty hard too, introducing the world to front woman, Amy Lee. She may not be Ann Wilson, but she can belt it out. Evanescence returned with The Open Door, with some lineup changes and major disappointment by me. I just couldn’t get in to it. Lee was belting out the chords for sure, but it all seemed, I don’t know, forced. The songs lacked catchiness and were just meh. I had pretty much written them off at that point and continued listening to their demo stuff which I find far superior to their official releases anyway. 5 years later, with more lineup changes and a slightly changed direction, they would release their self-titled album, and what an album. Amy Lee wanted the band to be more involved in the writing and it shows. The gothic tone is more or less gone, but they stepped it up in every other regard. Lee still has the pipes, and her new band mates can rock out. The first single What You Want isn’t a good representative of the sound of this album, so if you heard that song and thought it sucked, give the other tracks a try. They’re great. Also, apparently Bjork was an influence on this album. Gory stool, bro.
Recommended tracks: Made Of Stone, The Change, My Heart Is Broken, Erase This, Oceans, Never Go Back
39. Within Temptation – The Silent Force (2004)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3c/Withintemptation-silentforce.jpg/220px-Withintemptation-silentforce.jpg)
Although I liked WT’s dark ,gothic, symphonic second album, Mother Earth, I like their new poppier sound more. That doesn’t mean they can’t turn up the metal, but more on that later. With The Silent Force, WT toned it down and made a nice pop album, but kept the beautiful symphonic arrangements they’re known for. This is an album to sit back and relax to, letting Sharon Den Adel’s angelic vocals soothe you. Not that there aren’t any rockers here. See Who I Am starts the album off with a bang (I need a new term now) with a heavy bombastic chorus. Every song on TSF could be a single, and while some could argue that that makes them sound the same, every song here has its own identity. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Recommended tracks: See Who I Am, Stand My Ground, Angels, Memories, Somewhere
Some more honorable mentions:
Redemption - The Fullness Of Time (2005)
This album probably would have made my top 50 if it wasn't for Parker's Eyes. It's just not that good. Every other song is killer. /Jon Schaffer
Iced Earth - Alive In Athens (1999)
Speaking of Schaffer, while not technically an album per say, I needed to mention Alive in Athens. It's my favorite live album, has my favorite version of my favorite IE song (A Question Of Haaven) and just all around slays. I don't care if there was studio trickery afoot. Alive In Athens owns.
Psychostick - We Couldn't Think Of A Title (2003/2006)
I have to mention one of the inspirations for KrotchRaut. While I don't like Psychostick's other albums, WCTOAT is a great debut and is funny as hell, and fucking :metal
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Alive in Athens is a fantastic live album. Not overly familiar with your other picks. What I've heard from Redemption and BG is good.
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I dig that Evanescence album.
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3 more before bed:
38. Missy Higgins – The Sound Of White (2004)
(https://d.yimg.com/ec/image/v1/release/15679446;encoding=jpg;size=300;fallback=defaultImage)
Missy Higgins can be described as a cross between Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch, and The Goo Goo Dolls. I discovered her through my girlfriend who’s a big fan, and although my girlfriend usually listens to mostly crap, Missy Higgins is great. Since I’ve been with my girlfriend, I’ve started liking some of the actual good music she listens to, that being the female fronted singer/songwriters like Higgins. Being Australian, she’s really big down under and has received rewards, but I don’t hear too much about her over here besides the one song they play at my work. Anyway, this album moved up a few more ranks today as it’s just that good. Give it a try.
Recommended tracks: All For Believing, Scar, The River, The Special Two, This Is How It Goes, The Sound Of White
37. Metallica - …And Justice For all (1988)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Metallica_-_...And_Justice_for_All_cover.jpg)
Metallica’s most progressive album, and containing Lars’ best and craziest drumming, it’s still not their best, but it’s still one hell of an album. Sure the bass is inaudible, but I can look past that since everything else is top notch. Hetfield’s playing is better than ever, and as I said, Lars puts on a clinic. Kirk solos and stuff, and they're good too. Now I’ve read that the drum parts may have some studio trickery, and that’s probably true :lol but it all sounds good to me. Blackened is Metallica’s best opener beginning with a backwards guitar melody and a sudden kick in the face. One tells us about the horrors of war being trapped inside yourself after being blown to smitherines, and after a mellow first half, explodes into one of their most famous metal moments. The Frayed Ends Of Sanity has one of the coolest drum fills I’ve even heard at the 4 minute mark, and I’m kind of glad they don’t play this live as Lars would either skip the fill or butcher it. AJFA contains what might be the first emo song in Dyer’s Eve, but it’s so metal you don’t care. Fans praise Master Of Puppets as Metallica’s best, but I think AJFA is better.
Recommended tracks: Blackened, …And Justice For All, Harvester Of Sorrow, The Frayed Ends of Sanity
36. Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast (1982)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1f/Iron_Maiden_-_The_Number_Of_The_Beast.jpg)
Iron Maiden’s third effort introduced their second singer Bruce Dickinson to the world. Now, he used to sing in a band called Samson, but I don’t think anyone cared. TNOTB also introduced a new style for the band, leaving the punk elements behind and going for a full on metal sound. We’re shown early on what Dickinson is capable of with his wails, and although some disagree, Bruce is a major step up from Paul Di’anno who can’t hold a candle to Bruce. I actually like opener, Invaders which is a great up tempo rocker. 22 Acacia Avenue continues the story of Charlotte The Harlot from the first album with the narrator wanting to take her away from the prostitute lifestyle. The Number Of The Beast is about killing children and worshiping the devil which is always cool. :neverusethis: My favorite on the album is Hallowed Be Thy Name which is about a man’s final thoughts before being hanged. The solo section and ending are godly. Although not their best, this is one of Maiden’s definitive albums and deserves the praise it gets.
Recommended tracks: The Prisoner, 22 Acacia Ave., The Number Of The Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name
Honorable Mentions:
The Goo Goo Dolls - Greatest Hits (2007)
If this wasn't a greatest hits album and they didn't rerecord an inferior version of their classic, Name, this would be on my top 50. If you ever wanted to check out TGGD, start here, but look for the original version of Name. This one sucks.
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga (1996)
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the album. It has a my favorite IE song, and all the other songs are good as well. It kind of lacks a punch, but it's still a great album.
Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists (2005)
This is Disturbed's last great album, and would have made the top 50, but there are a couple filler songs on here with Draiman's signature "repeat the first verse" lyrics and while I don't mind that if the songs are good, these songs are forgettable.
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Metallica. :metal
Maiden. :metal
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Cool picks with Metallica and Maiden, haven't heard the other one. Ten Thousand Fists is one of Disturbeds worst IMO. Heaps of filler.
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The Iced Earth, Metallica and Maiden picks are all very solid and would make my list too.
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Ten Thousand Fists is one of Disturbeds worst IMO.
I respectfully disagree.
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Metallica. :metal
Maiden. :metal
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Great choices with the Maiden and Metallica albums (love 'em both), but I've always strongly disliked Missy Higgins' voice (Being Australian, I've heard her stuff around often enough)
I never thought I'd say that in the same sentence. :lol
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This is a damn fine list so far dude.
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Some great albums in the last page.
I love that Within Temptation album. And not just because Sharon is the hottest woman in Europe. This album is their best.
I'm a new convert to Blind Guardian. Only have this and At The Edge Of Time. Still not totally absorbed them yet but working on it. They sound excellent so far.
Nothing else needing to be said about TNOTB. A worthy follow up with a new singer from the awesome Killers.
AJFA would be a great album with a decent production and if the drummer had used drums rather than biscuit tins.
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Classic Metallica and Maiden albums, but I also have to give you a nod for including Come what(ever) may in your list, a great album. :tup
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Great choices with the Maiden and Metallica albums (love 'em both), but I've always strongly disliked Missy Higgins' voice (Being Australian, I've heard her stuff around often enough)
I never thought I'd say that in the same sentence. :lol
Her voice took some getting used to, but I like it now.
This is a damn fine list so far dude.
Thanks mate :tup
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A night at the opera, and justice for all, the number of the beast :2metal: :2metal::2metal::2metal::2metal::2metal:
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This is a damn fine list so far dude.
Rich is right.
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:ariich:
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Tally-ho!
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And Justice For All - the bass-less 'tallica album :lol I still love it, though :hat
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Alive In Athens is the Frampton Comes Alive of heavy metal.
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Blind Guardian seems to be one of those bands slip my mind in my huge catalog, then when I get around to listening to them I ask myself why I don't listen more often. A Night at the Opera ended a fantastic 3 album run by them, and after the hiccup that was A Twist In the Myth, they seem to have found their groove again on the latest album.
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Alive In Athens is the Frampton Comes Alive of heavy metal.
Up there with ManOwar's Live On Stage as the best metal live album. Stop laughing at the back, I'm serious.
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I've never really enjoyed Evanescense, or headaches....
With that being said, the last update is much more up my alley!
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I've never really enjoyed Evanescense, or headaches....
With that being said, the last update is much more up my alley!
lol Even though I knew it might, I wasn't trying to steer people away from A Night At The Opera. It really is a great album, just a little loud.
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Blind Guardian seems to be one of those bands slip my mind in my huge catalog, then when I get around to listening to them I ask myself why I don't listen more often. A Night at the Opera ended a fantastic 3 album run by them, and after the hiccup that was A Twist In the Myth, they seem to have found their groove again on the latest album.
What he said there.
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UPDATE!
35. Pathosray – Pathosray (2007)
(https://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drj100/j128/j12893eef61.jpg)
I discovered this band while browsing the list of bands playing at Prog Power 2008 and was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. Pathosray plays a brand of Prog Metal with some thrash thrown in with great execution. Sort of a Dream Theater meets Blind Guardian. Singer Marco Sandron often channels 90s James LaBrie when he’s hitting the high notes and he does that a lot. The instrumental sections are great and don’t seem out of place, and definitely kick ass. I especially like the keyboard work on this album. Unfortunately Pathosray’s second album was a stinker, but they did improve on their production. I just wish the debut had Sunless Skies production sound. The debut doesn’t sound the greatest production wise. Production. Pathosray’s self titled debut has great music and melodies to keep you listening the whole way through, and a singer that could have gone up against James LaBrie in his prime.
Recommended tracks: The first 6
34. Disturbed – The Sickness (2000)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a2/TheSickness.jpg)
July 18, 2001. That was the day I became an official Disturbed fan. Why do I know this exact date? Because We saw Jurassic Park III opening day, and afterwards we stopped in K-Mart, and that’s where I bought Disturbed's debut album, The Sickness. At first, I didn’t really care for them, but that was mostly influenced by my step-dad’s dislike for the song Stupify. They would later release Voices and Down With The Sickness as singles and they were definitely better than Stupify, but I wasn’t quite convinced. It wasn’t until I bought the album that they grew on me like the plague. Funny how that works. I’m sure everyone has heard at least one song from this album, and I know the majority at DTF doesn’t like them, so I won’t bother trying to convert anyone. This album changed my music world. The way vocalist David Draiman sang and still does sing is unique, and his strange barks add flavor to the songs. Dan Donegan isn’t a world class guitar player, but the man can play, and the riffs on The Sickness are, well, sick. Although I grew up with classic rock, and Metallica and Megadeth singles on the radio, I was never really a metal fan, so this was my first real exposure to metal. Yes, this is a metal album. I can thank drummer Mike Wengren for my interest in drums as his playing is great with the use of double bass which becomes more prominent on future releases. I love double bass. Also, their cover of Tears For Fears’ Shout blows the original out of the water. Anyway, Disturbed is large in part of why I got into metal and The Sickness will always be a special album to me.
Recommended tracks: The Game, Violence Fetish, Fear, Shout 2000, Meaning Of Life
33. Suspyre – The Silvery Image (2005)
(https://www.nightmarerecords.com/NMR/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/SuspyreSI.jpg)
I first heard this band back in 2006, but didn’t really give them the time of day. 2 years ago I decided to check them out again and they clicked. Well, their debut album clicked. I’ve read that Symphony X was not an influence on the band, but they could’ve fooled me. Even singer, Clay Barton sounds like Russell Allen at times. The style of The Silvery Image is Power Prog with a couple songs having some harsher vocals thrown in, which admittingly I still don’t care for that much. I love prog metal with great instrumental sections and this album delivers. Great solos from both guitars and keyboards and there is even some saxophone. The Breath Of Gloria features a female vocalist who sounds lovely. I just said lovely… Suspyre lost me with their next albums, as they dropped the power metal element and started doing more technical stuff devoid of melody, but The Silvery Image was a stellar start to their career. I just said stellar…
Recommended tracks: Father Of Hate, Distant Skies, Waterburns, Last Of The Survivors
Mentionous Honorabolis:
Stone Sour - Stone Sour (2002)
My older brother got me interested in this album during our drunken escapades where he'd be singing along and playing air guitar. Most of the songs are great.
Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time (2010)
Wow, this album came out 2 years ago. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago. The next time I do a top 50, ATEOT might replace ANATO. There really isn't a bad song here.
Aeon Zen - The Face Of The Unknown (2010)
Someone recommended this album at the Circus Maximus forum because of Michael Eriksen's involvement. He sings on two of the songs, one being The Heart of The Sun, my favorite on the album. Not all the songs are up to par though, but it's still a great listen.
Sorry, I can only do 3 entries tonight. I have to get to bed soon. Didn't get much of a nap today.
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The Sickness. :metal
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The Sickness. :metal
OWAKAKAKA
I'm going to bust out 6 updates tomorrow. Don't worry, I'm not going to slow my pace. Today was just a busy day.
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I do like your pace :tup
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Not heard that Pathos Ray, just Sunless Skies, which I really like.
The Blind Guardian is really good but I'm a new convert so only got this and ANATO. CRY FOR TANNELORN!!! :metal :hefdaddy
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I'm having trouble putting my thoughts together, plus Batman Begins and some extracurricular activities distracted me. Tomorrow I'm hanging out with my brother and visiting my mom, but I will try to resume my Top 50 ASAP. I know, you guys are thinking "oh no not another one", but, well... DEAL WITH IT. Just kidding. Like I said, ASAP!
HINT:
32. M_--E
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Coming in late to just say it's great to see love for The Better Life. One of my guilty pleasure albums, absolutely fantastic.
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Guilty pleasure? It's not like they're Britney Spears.
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Where do you stand on the rest of their stuff? I thought Away From the Sun was more refined but a minor step down, and after that they just seemed to lose everything that made them special.
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Where do you stand on the rest of their stuff? I thought Away From the Sun was more refined but a minor step down, and after that they just seemed to lose everything that made them special.
I feel exactly the same way actually.
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o/
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*\o
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I have to check out that Pathosray album, I only have Sunless Skies
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I have to check out that Pathosray album, I only have Sunless Skies
DO IT.
UPDATES!
32. Megadeth – Countdown To Extinction (1992)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b3/Countdown.jpg)
Megadeth’s best album, and my favorite by them. Yep. I was never a big fan of the speed thrash days, but Megadeth’s 90’s output was right up my alley. Skin O’ My Teeth is a fun sing along song where you can even sing the guitar solo. Symphony Of Destruction I had heard a gazillion times on the radio already and knew the words by heart, but still great single. Things get heavier with Architecture Of Aggression and is one of the best on the album. I couldn’t tell you why I like Mustaine’s voice. It is pretty awful, but I grew up with Megadeth so that might be why. I think his voice fits the music well, and he knows how to write good melodies along with dem geetar solos. Even songs like Psychotron about a marvel character manage to be pretty metal, and I think he was trying to break his record of most solos in one song. My favorite on this album is Ashes In Your Mouth and it’s also my all time favorite Megadeth song. I think if I was asked to sum up Megadeth with song, it would be this one. It’s just METAL. Go listen to it. NAO! Anyway, Countdown To Extinction is Megadeth’s crowning achievement, not Rust In Peace. In fact, Ashes In Your Mouth is better than Rust in Peace in its entirety, so there.
Recommended tracks: Ashes In Your Mouth, Architecture Of Aggression, Skin O’ My Teeth, Symphony Of Destruction
31. Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Iron_Maiden_-_Seventh_Son_Of_A_Seventh_Son.jpg)
My second favorite Maiden album. As the 80s were coming to a close, Iron Maiden squeezed out one more classic before turning to shit for a decade. Moonchild is a monster opener, but it’s overshadowed by second track, Infinite Dreams which has one of Maiden’s best instrumental sections. I mean, it’s simple, but it sounds awesome. Can I Play With Madness reminds us that they can still make songs like Quest for Fire. No, I’m kidding, it’s not that bad, but certainly the worst song on the album. The Evil That Men Do brings things back to focus and is certainly worthy of being a single. The title track is epic and has one hell of an ending solo section. I like The Prophecy. I don’t understand the dislike for it. The Clairvoyant and Only The Good Die Young are great closing tracks. I like the one with the galloping… Seventh Son is a great way to end a decade. Unfortunately it took another decade to get back on track.
Recommended tracks, Moonchild, Infinite Dreams, The Evil That Men Do, title track
30. Star One – Space Metal (2002)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511H8AcMWWL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
I couldn’t really get through most of Ayreon’s albums, but not because they were too cheesy or anything like that, it’s just a lot of the songs were just uninteresting. Star One however is a nice change from Ayreon and as intended is a lot heavier. Arjen knows how to write good metal tunes, and if you slap on some of metals greatest vocalists, it’s like putting salt and pepper on cucumbers… or something… Singers include: Russell Allen, Damian Wilson, Floor Jansen, Dan Sawno, Robert Soeterboek, and Dave Brock. Russell Allen and Damian Wilson steal the show for me especially in their duet battle, Intergalactic Space Crusaders. Yes, I do realize that’s one of the cheesiest names for a song ever. I don’t care. All the songs are about space movies and I think they’re handled pretty well. My favorite on Space Metal is Starchild, a nine minute progressive journey about 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’ve never seen the movie and probably never will, but this song is awesome, even if I don’t know what it's about exactly. If you’re not a fan of Ayreon, check out Space Metal. It’s heavier and slightly less cheesy, but there’s nothing wrong with cheese.
Recommended tracks: Starchild, Intergalactic Space Crusaders, The Eye Of Ra, Master Of Darkness
Honorable Mentions:
The Offspring - Smash (1994)
their breakthrough album and the highest selling independent album for a long time. There's really only one bad song here, and also has one of their best in the title track.
Iced Earth - Horror Show (2002)
Iced Earth's last truly great album, but not without its flaws. Dracula is a masterpiece of a song, and Damien is heavy as fuck.
Conception - The Last Sunset (1993)
Roy Khan's first band. Conception is a prog band from Norway that should have been more popular. Khan hits some serious hits here, and overly the album has a bit of a spanish influence. The itle track and Among The Gods are my favorite.
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SSOASS is a great album, I don't mind CIPWM but that song sucks so bad live, I wish they'd stop playing it.
Also Horror Show is awesome! :metal My favorite IE album.
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:heart :heart :metal :metal for Space Metal.
Love 7th Son too. Agree completely that they sucked monkey balls for a decade after that one. And I too like Can I Play With Madness... a nice fun and short poppy tune. You don't get that many from Maiden.
Never really got int Megadeath though.
Good update. :tup
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My favorite Maiden disc!! Seeing a lot of these songs live last week was amazing. Gotta check out Star One, I remember Chad spoke highly of this disc too.
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Three solid choices there. :tup
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Your fail on Seventh Son is forgiven for your inclusion of Star One.
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You probably like The X Factor so shut yer trap, failface.
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I do not.
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Well that's good, but why don't you like SSOASS?
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29. Blind Guardian –Nightfall In Middle-Earth (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/NFoME.jpg)
My first introduction to this and most Blind Guardian was on their Live album simply entitled “Live”. The more you know. Anyway, after some battle noises and a spoken word section, Into The Storm explodes into your ears… … … Anyway, this is probably my favorite BG song, I love singing along, tapping along with the drums and doing it at the same time. There aren’t many songs where I can tap along to the drums and not lose my concentration when singing along. I’m proud of myself. OK, that’s lame, but anyway, in The Curse Of Feanor, drummer Thoumen Stauch puts on a clinic and unfortunately because of that, they never play it live because he kind of can’t… I really don’t know what’s going on in the story, but the music and melodies keep me interested. There are several rather pointless interludes on the album, but they don’t take away from the enjoyment. Hansi sounds great as usual and not as raspy as on Imaginations From The Other side. There’s a reason this is a fan favorite. For being a power metal album about The Lord Of The Rings lore, it’s far from cheesy and will have you singing along.
Recommended tracks: Into The Storm, The Curse Of Feanor, Blood Tears, Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill), Thorn, When Sorrow Sang
28. The Offspring – Ixnay On The Hombre (1997)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/The_Offspring-Ixnay_on_the_Hombre.jpg)
Gone Away. That is all. OK, I guess I have to write a little more than that. After the hugely successful Smash, The Offspring came back 3 years later with another monster of an album on a new label, with a slightly different attitude. Ixnay was the start of the more zany Offspring songs, but it didn’t have anything embarrassing just yet. They still rocked, and like I said, Gone Away. My second favorite Offspring song. Album opener, Meaning Of Life is a fast paced rocker about not letting anyone run your life and afterwards MOTA tells of a pothead whose life is completely run by weed. The album has a good balance of serious and goofy songs, and all of them usually have a positive message, even Don’t Pick It Up :D. You might recognize the riff in Change The World. That’s because it was used in Genocide from Smash... I mean, it was used at the end of Smash after the title track ended. It’s cool that they went back to this riff and expanded on it… But seriously, Change The World is awesome and so is the album.
Recommended tracks: Gone Away, Meaning Of Life, All I Want, Amazed, Change The World
27. Pyramaze – Immortal (2008)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2a/Immortal_(Pyramaze_album).jpg/220px-Immortal_(Pyramaze_album).jpg)
Matt Barlow quit Iced Earth in 2003 to become a police officer. Reasons being he wasn’t making enough to comfortably support his family and the events of 9-11 affected him emotionally. So he joined his force’s band that sing to kids about not doing drugs and stuff. That was way too much metal for him to handle, so he accepted vocal duties on a small time power metal band called Pyramaze whose previous two albums had Lance King on vocals. But enough background. Simply put, this is one of the best power metal albums I’ve ever heard. It’s nice to hear Barlow on something that isn’t Iced Earth, and he sings his ass off. He also wrote all the vocal melodies too so that’s cool. Oh, and this album is way better than Iced Earth’s Crucible Of Man that came out the same year with Barlow on vocals after Jon stole him back. Even if you aren’t a big fan of Power metal, I think you can find something to like on Immortal.
Recommended tracks: Year Of The Phoenix, Ghost Light, Touched By The Mara, A Beautiful Death, Caramon’s Poem
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Pyramaze was better before Barlow joined. That's right, BOOM.
Also, Seventh Son is quite overrated, has a few good tracks and some really good ones, but Maiden has done so much better.
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SSOASS and Nightfall in middle earth are awesome albums. :metal
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Countdown and Seventh son :tup
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Pyramaze was better before Barlow joined. That's right, BOOM.
Totally agree.
The last 6 albums have been amazing though.
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SSOASS, Space Metal and Nightfall in Middle-Earth, NICE! :tup
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Everytime I hear BG, I think 'man, need to give these guys more attention'. I think Mason said something like this on another thread. I have their entire discog (sans the last one), and usually enjoy it, but never seem to give them much time. I really love Hansi's vocals.
Never heard of Pyramaze, but I'm intrigued.
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Nightfall would be a serious contender for my favorite Blind Guardian album.
j.b - the last BG album is very good, get it. Twist was just a hiccup, not the start of a decline.
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pretty good couple of updates there. :metal
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I not a huge fan of SSOASS. There are some good songs there, but Mindcrime came out around the same time and blows this album out of the water, through the sky and somewhere into space. Better than Somewhere In Time though.
I like Space Metal, certainly better than Aeryon stuff. the live dvd is excellent. I prefer Iced Earth's Horror show to SM though.
The Megadeth gets a :tup from me too.
Pyramaze are ok, though not heard anything particularly special by them. Not heard this album though.
Slowly getting into Blind Guardian as I've said in others' Top 50s. Not heard this one yet. I do have an issue when htings go a bit twee and folky though (as recent Maiden tend too do). I'm imagining an album about LOTR may bring out the inner Morris Dancer in Hansi, but this is next on my list to try out.
The Offspring isn't my thing at all.
Great updates though.
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37. Metallica - …And Justice For all (1988)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Metallica_-_...And_Justice_for_All_cover.jpg)
Metallica’s most progressive album, and containing Lars’ best and craziest drumming... and as I said, Lars puts on a clinic...Now I’ve read that the drum parts may have some studio trickery, and that’s probably true...
something. doesn't. quite. add. up.
sorry, it was just kinda bugging me. anywayz, cool list. been enjoying.
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Never heard of Pyramaze, but I'm intrigued.
Check Legend of the Bone Carver, that's my fav.
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Never heard of Pyramaze, but I'm intrigued.
Check Legend of the Bone Carver, that's my fav.
Mine too, and with that in mind I'll have a treat for you in this week's podcast.
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Great stuff you have there, Zook. Will now be following.
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26. Circus Maximus – The 1st Chapter (2005)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/CM-TFC-cover.jpg)
It took a while for me to get into this album. My introduction to CM was Isolate and well, more on that later. People rag on CM for being Dream Theater clones, and they are heavily influenced, but I wouldn’t call them clones. DT aren’t the only ones allowed to make catchy prog metal. The album starts with Sin, a heavy as fuck metal tune about that darn devil taking a poor fellows’ soul. Singer Michael Eriksen shows you what he’ll be doing for the rest of the album, putting every other metal vocalist to shame. Caught In A Web, um I mean Alive… But seriously, the intro keys barely sound like CIAW so that’s a huge stretch. Anyway, Alive is more of a love song about rainbows and shit. Totally gay am I right? No, I’m wrong. Shut up. Glory Of The Empire, a song about Gladiator is a 10 minute mini epic full of catchy melodies. The Dance of… Biosfear is a crazy instrumental with some killer shredding going on. Really cool stuff. Why Am I Here is another heavy as fuck song, The Prophecy is more prog, and the 19 minute title track is a big Symphony X rip off. Ok ok, it’s not. Some of the keys are. Does this bother me? Nope. Circus Maximus mixes styles from DT, Queensryche and Symphony X to make one hell of a good prog metal album and The 1st Chapter is an exceptional debut from the guys. Oh, I almost forgot Imperial Destruction, the last song. It’s cool too.
Recommended tracks: Sin, Alive, Biosfear, Glory Of The Empire, Why Am I Here
25. Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time (1986)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9b/Iron_Maiden_-_Somewhere_in_Time.jpg)
This is the first Maiden album I fell in love with. It’s heavy, fast paced, gallopy, melodic, heavy, intense, metal and heavy. It’s even heavy. Powerslave was decent but had a few too many songs I didn’t care for, so it was nice that they came back with a better album. Sorry Mr. Nosehair. The addition of synth doesn’t bother me as it gives the usual Maiden a different sound. Caught Somewhere In Time starts off slow, but then catches you off guard with their trademark galloping that Mr. Pears likes so much. The chorus may not be on the original side, but it’s still catchy and singalongable. New word right thurr. I love the riff in Wasted Years. One of the first things that wowed me when discovering Maiden. Great song. More brutalness in Sea Of Madness. This is a serious headbanger. Heaven Can Wait is alright. I never had a problem with it. That middle section with the “oh Oh Ohhs” is pretty epic. Loneliness Of The Longest Song Title Ever is my least favorite on the album, but it’s still good song. If you sped it up, there would be serious blast beats going on. Stranger In A Strange Land is a great rocker, I love Déjà vu, and Alexander The Great is awesome. I love the instrumental section here. All in All, this is my favorite Iron Maiden album, and I’m glad Steve Harris rejected Bruce’s ballads he was pushing cause then we wouldn’t get this great album the way it is.
Recommended tracks: Caught Somewhere In Time, Wasted Years, Sea Of Madness, Déjà vu, Alexander The Great… Whoa, I typed in Déjà vu, and it put those little dash things there for me… Moving on.
24. Into Eternity – The Scattering of Ashes (2006)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d0/IntoEternityScatteringOfAshes.jpg)
The real life KrotchRaut. Or what KrotchRaut should sound like if we were any good. But seriously, I discovered Into Eternity in 2008, but thought they sounded like shit. It wasn’t until Stu Block joined Iced Earth that I decided to check them out again, and when someone posted the video to Timeless Winter, I honestly didn’t know what to think. I liked it, but yet it had those awful death growls and stuff. But they weren’t awful! They sounded good. So did the black metal vocals! There was finally a band out there that did growls that I actually like. I didn’t think it was possible. I mean, after KrotchRaut, I learned to tolerate growls more, but still thought they sounded like shit. Into Eternity just does it right. Maybe because of the use of melody, or the music, but they do it right. Stu handles the majority of vocals on this album and holy shit does he have range, being able to switch from clean singing into growls into shrieks flawlessly. Stu’s highs are insane and supposedly he’s self trained so that just makes him more badass. The production on this album is a bit on the shitty side, but Stu told me the band likes the way it sounds so I guess we’ll never get a remix, but oh well. The songs are still great, and metal as fuck.
Recommended tracks: Timeless Winter, Out, Surrounded By Night, Pain Through Breathing
HMs:
Evanescence - Fallen (2003)
As I said earlier, Fallen isn't very creative guitar-wise. The riffs are all very similar, but still a great album. Amy lee sounds amazing, and the songs rock.
Queensryche - Empire (1990)
This was in my top 50, but I took it off at the last minute. Plenty of great songs, but some aren't up to par. Silent Lucidity is far from overrated.
Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion (2004)
This was my favorite from IE, but there are a few songs where the melodies kind of annoy me now. After listening to TSOA again, it became my favorite. Stu sounds better, and there are better melodies overall. BiO is still badass. 3 Dimensional Aperture is my favorite song on the album.
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You had me right up until Into Eternity. Well, I won't be sad, cuz 2 outta three ain't bad.
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I am amazed at how many times Somewhere In Time is showing up on these lists.
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I'm not, it's an awesome album. Definitely something that would please Dream Theater's crowd, I think.
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Somewhere in Time & Empire equals awesome
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Well, of course there will be Somewhere in time. :tup
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Nice to see some Circus Maximus. I really like that album. Somewhere in time is also a great one
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I am amazed at how many times Somewhere In Time is showing up on these lists.
I'm not.
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23. Within Temptation – The Unforgiving (2011)
(https://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/44b50ab64a2b7e8f88e64b872123147e/3208214.jpg)
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)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/SymphonyXV.jpg)
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)
(https://www.spirit-of-metal.com/les%20goupes/R/Redemption/The%20Origins%20of%20Ruin/The%20Origins%20of%20Ruin.jpg)
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
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22. Symphony X – V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)
:tup
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.
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SX V is a masterpiece!
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It's a good album, though definitely not one of my SyX favorites. Haven't heard the other two...
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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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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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Origins and V are amazing.
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Three beauty albums there.
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Nice haul....
also Into Eternity kicks arse... just saying.... at least it did so far... haven't heard the new chick yet....
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Sorry for the delay.
20. Iced Earth – Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/SomethingWickedThisWayComes.jpg)
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)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41F9jZFhlGL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
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)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/55/Dream_Theater_-_Metropolis_Pt._2-_Scenes_from_a_Memory.jpg/220px-Dream_Theater_-_Metropolis_Pt._2-_Scenes_from_a_Memory.jpg)
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.
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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
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Something Wicked is my #2 IE album, only Reaping Stone is weak. :metal
And of course, Scenes. :hefdaddy
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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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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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That last update is amazing.
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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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That last update is amazing.
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Scenes should be higher, and Screaming should be MUCH higher. ;D Nice choices. :tup
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great picks.
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An update before bed:
17. Redemption – This Mortal Coil (2011)
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lVch604WWew/TwW6YIK1plI/AAAAAAAACk8/pCxRro26bYE/s1600/05+-+Redemption+-+This+Mortal+Coil.jpeg)
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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Amazing record. Not as strong as Snowfall IMO but almost.
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I really NEED to get into Redemption!
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I really NEED to get into Redemption!
Yes you do.
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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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You thought.
16. Theocracy – Mirror Of Souls (2008)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Theocracy_Mirror_of_Souls.jpg)
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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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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15. Circus Maximus – Nine (2012)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Circus_Maximus_Nine.jpg)
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)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Dream_Theater_-_Awake.jpg)
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)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/BurntOfferings.jpg)
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.
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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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Love all three of those albums :tup
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:metal
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Interesting to see Nine so high, but really, I'm not gonna complain, it's magic. Awake!! :metal And Burnt Offerings is amazing.
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I agree that Nine is a great album, but I'm not sure how any album that's only a few months old could be so high in a Top 50 of all time.
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I agree that Nine is a great album, but I'm not sure how any album that's only a few months old could be so high in a Top 50 of all time.
I love the album a lot, but I agree here, especially since my list the most recent album is as you know 5 years old.
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None of my top 50 albums contain a bad song, but there may be a song on some that isn't up to par with the rest. Every song on Nine is brilliant. Will it be that high next time around? Possibly not, but only time will tell...
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Not heard this IE album yet, but as a fan I will get to it.
Awake is a great album, if not top tier DT for me. I struggled with it for years following the awesomeness that was I&W. Maybe it would have been different hearing it at a different time as younger fans would have. Anything would have struggled to follow I&W for me.
CM are really good, and this album continues that. Not sure I'd be comfortable putting something that recent on my top 50 but this isn't my list ;D
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You and I feel exactly the same about SDV and Awake. :metal
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:metal
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None of my top 50 albums contain a bad song, but there may be a song on some that isn't up to par with the rest. Every song on Nine is brilliant. Will it be that high next time around? Possibly not, but only time will tell...
Fair enough. It's really interesting the diverse takes everyone has on their own top 50.
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SFAM at 18 is too low though I wasn't expecting to see it at all in your list so we're cool :tup
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AWAKE :letam: :2metal: :metal
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Not heard this IE album yet, but as a fan I will get to it.
Yes you do. Zook is correct with pretty much everything that he has written about the album. Especially the title track and Dante's Inferno are masterpieces.
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12. Kamelot – The Black Halo (2005)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/Kamelot_blackhalo.jpg)
Memento Mori. Nuff said. The Black Halo was the last great Kamelot album before they got all gothic on us and started writing boring elevator music. The album starts off with their heaviest track, March Of Mephisto. Kamelot is known for being a power metal band, but this is some pure Heavy Metal. Featuring vocals by Demon Booger’s Shagrath, who plays the role of Mephisto, adds even more heaviness that’ll blow Doc Brown’s mind. When The Lights Are Down is a more traditional power metal tune, but still keeps it heavy. Kamelot has never really written the rainbows and unicorns poppy power metal like Sonata Arctica used to, at least not to my knowledge. They’ve always had a darker heavier tone, and it’s much more present on The Black Halo, even on the fast tracks. But there are also more mid tempo moodier pieces like This Pain and Moonlight. Roy Khan gives us an exceptional performance on Abandoned, which also has a reprise from Epica that is really beautiful, haunting and epic. I’m not much for the interludes of Epica and The Black Halo, but Interlude I: Dei Gratia, which comes before Abandoned is also really eerie and haunting and opens the track well. Back to Memento Mori now. The almost 9 minute masterpiece is Kamelot’s crowning achievement and I don’t think they’ll ever surpass it. They pulled out all the stops for this song, and within in it, created an intense and just bad ass instrumental section which isn’t common in Kamelot’s music. Some say having Serenade as the closer track kills the epic finish from Memento Mori, but I rather like Serenade, and it works as a cool down from the epic ear fucking that Memento Mori just gave us. A lot of sequels suck, but The Black Halo surpasses Epica in every regard, and is Kamelot’s best album. AND THAT’S OBJECTIVE BECAUSE I SAID SO!
Recommended tracks: When The Lights Are Down, Soul Society, Abandoned, Moonlight, The Black Halo, Memento Mori, Serenade
11. The Magnificent – The Magnificent (2011)
(https://www.cmdistro.com/images/xlarge/41269.jpg)
This was the album where Michael Eriksen knocked Russell Allen out of my #1 singer spot. I was quite amused and put off when I saw the track list for this album because of all the cheesy song titles which screamed 80s hair metal, but once I listened to it I was surprised by how good these songs were. Yes, they are very cheesy 80s inspired hair metal love songs, but they are written really well, and I don’t think the album as a whole would have worked with someone else singing. Michael Eriksen has so much charisma and passion in his singing and fits in so well. As a homage to 80s hair metal, they do it better than every band I’ve heard from that genre (Come at me, Kangaroo Humper) and have way more class. Holding On To Your Love, Cheated By Love, and Memories start off the album with a 1-2-3 punch from hell. Seriously, not many albums start off this strong. Memories, my favorite from the album is so much fun to sing along to and the song in general is just so…. Happy. Sometimes that’s just the best kind of rock/metal to listen to. I cannot say enough good things about Michael Eriksen’s performance here, but it would be a crime not to mention the brilliance of the other musicians. I believe if The Magnificent would have come out in the 80s, they would have been bigger than Bon Jovi. I’m going to be a broken record again, but every song on this album could be a hit. Pretty much every song follows the same formula and structure which is certainly a deal breaker for some, but The Magnificent isn’t a prog band, and other than the song structures, these songs sound nothing alike. I hope The Magnificent isn’t a one off project, because I WANT MORE. As I said, I was never a big fan of hair metal. Bands like Whitesnake have several good songs, but they also produced a lot of limburger. Only grade A Cheddar with The Magnificent :biggrin: If you like hair metal, and want something modern, check this album out NOW!
Recommended tracks: Holding On To Your Love, Cheated By Love, Memories, Love’s On The Line, Tired Of Dreaming, Lost
HM's:
Crimson Glory - Transcendence (1988)
I haven't listened to this that much, but giving it props for the holy shit vocals and catchy, but badass metal.
Loreena McKennitt – The Book Of Secrets (1997)
Nice new age folky stuff. You may have heard the remix of The Mummer's Dance. McKennitt has a nice voice, and there are some cool instrumentals here too.
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
Although I think this album is highly overrated, at the same time, it deserves the praise. I haven't heard every Pink Floyd album, but of the run from '73 to '79, this album is the most consistent, and doesn't have any weirdness going on (debatable I'm sure). I don't listen to this album much at all, but when I do, it's quite an enjoyable 40 minutes.
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Black Halo :metal
The Magnificent is a fantastic record, but number 11 of all time, wow! You nailed the best tracks on the album though.
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I've heard lots of good things about the magnificent; should check them out. Nice to see CG get some attention
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I've heard lots of good things about the magnificent; should check them out. Nice to see CG get some attention
You should. Top notch melodic rock. In a similar vein is Leverage if you haven't heard them. Great riffs, great vocals.
Black Halo is good, but I preferred Kamelot around the Fourth Legacy, Siege Perilous, Karma time when everything wasn't so intense and serious.
Crimson Glory Transcendence is cool too.
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And now for something controversial.
Coming in at #10
10. Disturbed – Believe (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Disturbed_Believe.jpg)
After waxing my carrot to The Sickness for a year, I was ready for new Disturbed. I downloaded a soundboard bootleg of them playing Prayer for the first time, and this live version also made it to radio. A little off topic side note about the bootleg: it provided me with a slew of great sound bites for my custom Disturbed Worms team in Worms Armageddon. Anyway, Prayer was certainly different than anything on The Sickness, most notably being more melodic. I liked it A LOT though, and got me super pumped for the next album. In early 2002, Disturbed released two new songs to the fans, being Intoxication and Bound. I couldn’t stop playing these songs. Now, being a rabid Disturbed fanboy at the time, I would have eaten up anything they released, but almost 10 years later, the only thing from Believe that didn’t age well was the production, but even that isn’t that bad. This album is damn near perfect, but there is one thing about it that is a little lacking. “But Zook, this album is in your Top 10. How could it be lacking anything?” Good point, Timmy, but aside from the Nostalgic, sentimental and life defining aspects, this album fucking OWNS. The lacking part I was referring to is the lyrics. I think David Draiman is a good lyricist, and all the songs on Believe have good lyrics but – “All the songs have good lyrics? You’re joking right? Liberate your mind, mother fucker?” Timmy, shut the hell up. But speaking of Liberate, and before I was rudely interrupted, 3 of the songs just repeat the first verse over again, like Liberate. With Awaken, when they repeat the first verse again, the music is slowed down giving it a less repetitive feel, but then Intoxication does what Liberate did. Also, a lot of the second verse lyrics in the other songs are only changed slightly from the first verse. These are tiny little nitpicky things that don’t bother me, but would paint Draiman as being a little uncreative. He would repeat this again on Ten Thousand Fists.
Now that that is out of the way, back to what I love about this album. I’d say Believe is the album where I really fell in love with drums. Mike Wengren is a great drummer, and his double bass work on this album is killer. I mean, it’s nothing crazy, but it SOUNDS so good. The bridge of the title track when the double bass comes in is so intense and adds a lot. Also to note is Draiman’s new more melodic approach to singing. Well, he can actually sing, and that also adds a lot of dynamics to the sound. Rise is just a straight up ass kicker with a great riff, and the mini instrumental section is the tits. Bound has a great mini instrumental section as well. Maybe repeating the same badass riff over again doesn’t count as an instrumental section, but if you have a better name, please enlighten me. When the samples showed up online of all the songs, the one song everyone was talking/complaining about was Darkness, an acoustic piece with a cello and Draiman singing with his surprisingly awesome melodic clean voice. No drums, electric guitar, just a haunting mellow acoustic song. I was hoping the song would pick up after the second chorus, but it stayed mellow. Very controversial for a band like Disturbed to make a song like this, but I really like it. A lot of fans cried sell out when Believe came out, but I think they got better. The songs were more personal and mature (But Liberate!) and they proved they weren’t just a dime a dozen nu metal band screaming obscenities. Despite its minor flaws, I’m content in having this in my top 10 as it’s just a truly great album from a once great band. Also, the Believe pendent is fucking awesome.
Recommended tracks: Prayer, Believe, Remember, Intoxication, Rise, Mistress, Bound
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In 2003 or so, I was in a music store that was having a closeout sale and I was looking for a new band to check out. The two CD's I was trying to decide between were Believe and Opeth's Damnation. I chose Damnation and soon thereafter became a HUGE Opeth fan. To this day even though I don't dislike Disturbed and probably would be into them if I gave them a chance, I do not own a single album of theirs.
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There are a few things on this list that I'm not into, but well over 90% of this stuff is top notch in my
zbook :hat
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Fuck yes Believe. Though I prefer The Sickness, it's a great record. :hat
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Loreena Mckennitt is wonderful.
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I've heard lots of good things about the magnificent; should check them out. Nice to see CG get some attention
You should. Top notch melodic rock. In a similar vein is Leverage if you haven't heard them. Great riffs, great vocals.
Black Halo is good, but I preferred Kamelot around the Fourth Legacy, Siege Perilous, Karma time when everything wasn't so intense and serious.
Crimson Glory Transcendence is cool too.
Huuuuge thumbs up for this suggestion. Major fan of Leverage.
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I really like Disturbed, cool pick!
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I was going to have an update tonight, but had some family matters. In the meantime, let's take a look at 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
20. Iced Earth – Something Wicked This Way Comes
19. Redemption – Snowfall On Judgment Day
18. Dream Theater – Scenes From A Memory
17. Redemption – This Mortal Coil
16. Theocracy – Mirror Of Souls
15. Circus Maximus – Nine
14. Dream Theater – Awake
13. Iced Earth – Burnt Offerings
12. Kamelot – The Black Halo
11. The Magnificent – The Magnificent
10. Disturbed – Believe
Bedtime!
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9. Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Queensryche-Operation_Mindcrime.jpg)
My familiarity with Queensryche goes back to the early 90s, but I didn’t get into them until October 2004. My step-dad took my brother and me to an Evening with Queensryche concert where they played Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety. I bought the album the day of the concert and we listened to it on the way to the venue. I believe we only got to The Needle Lies, but what I heard peeked my interest. The show of course was amazing, but I’d never seen anything like that. We got a best of set before the album, so I got to hear some familiar tunes. Also to note is that my step-dad had Queensryche’s greatest hits, so I was reminded of the songs I hadn’t heard on the radio in a long time. After the concert I listened to O:M pretty much nonstop. I Remember Now and the short but sweet instrumental, Anarchy X set the tone for this dark depressing story. lol Geoff Tate shines and I love singing to these tunes. The bass and drums complement each other so well to create awesome groove. The guitar work is also great, with catchy solos and stellar rhythm work. Operation: Mindcrime gets better with every track, especially the haunting 10 minute Suite Sister Mary. You can feel Nikki’s pain and dread as he makes his way to kill Mary. I used to not like The Needle Lies, but it’s grown on me a lot. Breaking The Silence is what Fates Warning based their career around :P and the singles, I Don’t Believe In Love and the epic closer Eyes of a Stranger (along with the shorter interludes) bring the album to an epic finish. EPIC EPIC EPIC. Operation: Mindcrime is one of the greatest concept albums around, showcasing different moods and delivering quality metal. If you’re intrigued by my crummy write-up and like the album, do not, and I repeat, do not by any circumstances listen to the sequel. It sucks. My write up doesn’t do the album justice, so just listen to it. It’s amazing.
Recommended tracks: Operation: Speak, Spreading the Disease, The Mission, Suite Sister Mary, I Don’t Believe In Love, Eyes Of A Stranger
HMs:
Anthriel - The Pathway (2010)
This album almost made it to my top 50, but the last couple songs are on the meh side. Promised Land rips off DT's Afterlife, but it does have a great chorus. These guys are in love with Symphony X, so if you like them, check out The Pathway.
Godsmack - Faceless (2003)
Lyrics aside, Godsmack pulled out all the stops on this album, and the addition of new drummer, Shannon Larkin make it that much better. Unfortunately, they turned to suck after this one, and never recovered.
Missy Higgins - On A Clear Night (2007)
Sophomore album by the Australian singer/songwriter. It doesn't have the same flare as her debut, but most of the songs are excellent. It has my favorite song of hers, Warm Whispers.
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O:M rules!
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No argument here. A true metal classic. Ahh, when I think of how great they were, and what they became just a few years later, it makes me so mad. It should not have come to this. If the band and TLT can record a great album I can pretend the last 18 years never happened.
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Mindcrime :metal
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Out tastes are so much alike!!! I mean incredibly similar.. so much so that I could have written almost the same list!
When I'm done with the reviews at hand.. I'll read through the whole thread!
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Top 10 album for sure. Good pick.
And you're right, the sequel sucks. I refuse to accept it's existence. Bastard child for sure.
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You know, I've tried many times to approach the sequel with an open mind, but I simply cannot accept it either. If it were an album in its own right and it didn't try and leech of the beauty of the original, it wouldn't be a half bad Ryche cd, but, as it is, no thanks.
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Feel the same... couple of songs standalone aren't too bad (I like Signs Say Go), but it does just try to ride the coat-tails of the original, with about 2% of the effort (and the result shows).
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You know, I've tried many times to approach the sequel with an open mind, but I simply cannot accept it either. If it were an album in its own right and it didn't try and leech of the beauty of the original, it wouldn't be a half bad Ryche cd, but, as it is, no thanks.
When I heard they were doing I was "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO". and when I heard it I wanted to strangle Tate. There are a couple of the better Tateryche songs on it but it was always going to be awful. Had the original band wrote it (CDG included) I doubt it would have lived up to expectation, but it was dire. As everything Queensryche has been for a generation.
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O:M was one of the first metal albums I ever got. Good stuff.
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When I first got OM2 I was fairly happy because there were some heavier tracks (ReArrange You, The Chase, Murderer, Im American) so I took that as a positive. But there was a lot of crap on it too, which turned me off. If the disc was condensed I believe it would have been better. I dont dislike part 2 by any stretch though.
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I can't remember anything about MC:2 other than it flies by so fast and doesn't have a single memorable song on it. Such a waste of money, and the kicker is I have two fuzzy memories: either I downloaded it and didn't like it, but bought it anyway or I read reviews saying how terrible it was but bought it anyway. Either way, I must have hit my head because both scenarios are fucking stupid. Of course, back then I was so obsessed with buying CDs I was constantly wasting my money making blind purchases and buying random crap just because. I'm surprised I was able to stop myself from buying Guns N Roses Greatest Hits...
Fuck I was stupid in Florida. It's all Geoff Tate's fault.
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Well that was a stupid post.
HOLY SHIT UPDATES!
8. Metallica – Ride The Lightning (1984)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Metallica_-_Ride_the_Lightning_cover.jpg)
Although Master Of Puppets is a more mature, better sounding album, Ride The Lightning kicks the shit out of it. Sometimes raw angst just does the trick. If someone were to ask me to name them one album that defines “metal”, RtL would be one of the first albums to pop in my head. It captures everything I like about the genre. The music is really intense, and the solos/instrumental sections are awesome, especially the intro to For Who The Bell Tolls. The title track also starts in a pretty epic way. This is an album you can put on when you’re pissed off and it’ll put you in a good mood just by how awesome the music is. I mean, I’m not doing a jig during the depressing ballad, Fade To Black, but the second half which is a lot heavier brings thing back up to headbangery. The solo oozes emotion and still remains heavy. Trapped Under Ice is another fast paced thrasher that gets your blood pumping and the more mid tempo Escape is a nice breather before going into epic overload with Creeping Death. But back to Escape for a minute. I never understood the hate for this song. I can’t find anything wrong with it at all. It has great music, melodies and a great solo section to boot. It’s just a great mid tempo metal tune. I think the fans just hate it because Hetfield does, and the popular belief to why he hates it is because it was pushed to be a single or something to that effect, but really, any of these tracks on RtL could be singles. Anyway, now back to our regularly scheduled Creeping Death. Continuing with the amazing intros, Creeping Death tells the tale of Lars Ulrich and his silent but deadly farts, I think. I never read the lyrics and James is too hard to understand. Anyway, let’s go right to the solo and bridge of the song, which, and I haven’t used this word enough, is epic as fuck. Although I’m not too keen on seeing Metallica live anymore, if I ever got the chance, I hope they play this song as I’d love to be in a crowd of 50 thousand chanting “DIE”. For a long time I didn’t really care for The Call Of Ktulu, but only because Orion is way better and my favorite Metallica instrumental, but as I was making this list and rediscovering old favorites, I had a new appreciation for this one. It’s a very dreary and disturbing piece, but they captured the mood of the subject matter perfectly. I never read anything about Cthulhu, but I know he’s a pretty nasty fucker that’ll be the end of us all. Ride The Lightning is an incredibly fun, ass kicking thrash masterpiece. I wouldn’t say the next two albums were disappointments (I say that like I was alive or coherent back then) but they just can’t match the exciting thrill ride that is Ride The Lightning.
Recommended tracks: Ride The Lightning, For Whom The Bells Tolls, Fade To Black, Trapped Under Ice, Escape, Creeping Death
7. Dream Theater – Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)
(https://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g136/666Narsil/sdoit.jpg)
Right off the bat I’m going to say that I don’t have the strongest liking for Misunderstood. It’s OK, but certainly the low point of the album. This is kind of breaking my rule that albums in the top ten have no under par songs, but 6DOIT is a double album featuring a 42 minute suite/song which is one of my all time favorite musical pieces ever. But let’s start from the beginning. The Glass Prison. Holy shit. It took a while to get into this song since I obtained every DT album at once and didn’t know where to start, and also because it was a long fucking song, but once it clicked, fuck me I was deaf from the eargasm. That whole sentence is wrong on so many levels. Anyway, Dream Theater stepped it up in the metal department with this album after the proggier Scenes From A Memory. Not that they haven’t played metal before, but The Glass Prison turns it up to 11 and just beats the fuck out of you for 14 minutes and even though you’re beaten and bloody, you keep asking for more. This is my second favorite DT song, and it never gets old and that 14 minutes go by like nothing. THAT INSTRUMENTAL SECTION :hefdaddy Blind Faith is another favorite that takes things down a notch for the prog lovers. Great song and great CHORUS and another great instrumental section with a beautiful piano break. Misunderstood isn’t a bad song, but it kind of breaks the pace. The ending with the weird shit isn’t something I particularly like either, but it’s not Prophets Of War or anything. Although there’s one sound bite in The Great Debate that pisses me off every time, the rest of the song is gold and I don’t mind the overly influenced Tool sound. Disappear is a haunting, almost disturbing, yet beautifully sad song. The ending really drives home the emotion. Disc 2 contains my third favorite song, the title track, the magnum opus, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. Overture really isn’t boring, but I can’t wait till it ends just because I want to hear the rest of the song, and I don’t like skipping tracks. I could listen to this piece over and over again and I did that on the plane on my way to Arizona a year before moving out here permanently. Well, I hope it isn’t permanent… Anyway, I love the drumming on The Test That Stumped Them All. The whole song is pretty crazy with Portnoy’s goofy high pitched vocals lightening the mood a bit from the dark subject matter. The ending solo spot is awesome, but that’s one of the many reasons I love DT. The song slows down a bit for Goodnight Kiss, but before you know it, we’re already at Petrucci’s epic solo and into Solitary Shell, my favorite part of the song/suite/whatever. The instrumental section of both Solitary Shell and About To Crash (Reprise) are some of my favorite DT moments. The keyboards especially make these sections sound so good. Losing Time/Grand Finale brings things back down for a beautiful bombastic finish which ends with a sustained note for 2 minutes which is just… It makes me cry every time. No but seriously, this is Dream Theater’s finest achievement and the minor complaints I have about disc one are cancelled out by the sheer brilliance of disc two. Just such an amazing album.
Recommended tracks: The Glass Prison, Blind Faith, The Great Debate, Disappear, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
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Two incredible albums. :tup
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Two incredible albums. :tup
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Good update! Although RTL is far from my favourites of Metallica's albums.
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Two incredible albums. :tup
Oh yeah :metal
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Nice!!!!!
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Two incredible albums. :tup
:tup :metal
Good update! Although RTL is far from my favourites of Metallica's albums.
St. Anger is far from my favorites. :p
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Two incredible albums. :tup
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Two incredible albums. :tup
:2metal:
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6. Symphony X – The Odyssey (2002)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/SymphonyXTheOdyssey.jpg)
The album which divided a lot of fans, The Odyssey was the beginning of a new era for Symphony X. The era of balls and chunk. Now, this album isn’t as heavy as the next two releases, but I can see why it may have turned fans off from them. They sort of dropped the neo-classical aspect completely and focused more on delivering the heavy metal, which I’m OK with… for this album. I did like Paradise Lost a lot, but it got old rather quickly, and although Iconoclast had its fair share of awesome tunes, there wasn’t enough variety. With The Odyssey, there’s a nice balance. First thing to note: Sir Russell Fucking Allen. I probably sound awful singing in my car, but holy fuck do I love singing to this album. This is the last SX album to feature the ridiculously awesome clean vocals from Russell Allen, and he gives it his all. He has so much power behind his voice, and now that the music got heavier so did his vocals. I like his gruff voice, but his clean melodic singing will always be my favorite. Every song on this album is amazing, even Incantations Of The Apprentice, which did take a while for me to appreciate. Songs like Inferno, King Of Terrors and The Turning are just straight up metal tunes that make you wanna run around scaring old people, while the proggy and melodic Accolade II and Awakenings make you sit back and reflect on all the bullshit I’m typing. If there’s one thing you learned from reading these write ups of mine, it’s that I can’t properly describe a song to save my life. The Odyssey is a mixed bag of goodies that’ll have you singing along like a madman. Also, Wicked is fucking groovy. Now on to the first Symphony X song I ever heard: The Odyssey. Well, it took me several listens to get into, but being a 24 minute song, that’s understandable. I wasn’t used to songs that long, but I would soon seek out longer songs because they offer so much more. The Odyssey is just a perfect song, and although the midi orchestra sounds a little dated, it never takes you out of the song, and you never lose that “movie” feel. During Part VI: Scylla and Charybdis, the orchestration offers amazing suspense and puts you right in the action. Part VII: Champion Of Ithaca’s chorus is overwhelmingly beautiful and just a powerful moment in the song. No one else could carry this song like Russell Allen can. The Odyssey is my favorite Symphony X album and there’s not a single bad moment on it. Fantasy lyrics don’t bother me if they’re written right (something Mystic Prophecy is incapable of) and I never found Symphony X to be all that cheesy anyway. They definitely get a bad rap. The bass could be a little loader in the mix, but otherwise this is a perfect album to me.
Recommended tracks: The Odyssey, Awakenings, Accolade II, King Of Terrors, Wicked
HMs:
Conception - Parallel Minds (1993)
Their sophomore effort, featuring a heavier sound and ridiculous highs by Roy Khan. Good stuff and more accessible than The Last Sunset.
Nemesea - The Quiet Resistance (2011)
I just discovered this band, but they're pretty awesome. This album draws influences from Evanescence, Linkin Park (ripping them off a couple times but whatever) and Within Temptation. If I ever make another Top 50, this album will most likely be on it.
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That's a damn fine album. :metal
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The Odyssey, truly an epic selection. The title song is in my top 5 songs
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Ride The Lightning is probably my least favorite of the first 4 Metallica albums. But it's still a nice pick!
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The Odyssey is epic in every way!! Awesome pick
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I prefer The Divine Wings, both the song and the album, but at least it's not V :biggrin: nice album.
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V made the list...
Buttmunch.
:biggrin:
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Good update! Although RTL is far from my favourites of Metallica's albums.
This. RTL is a good pick, but I'd personally rank it behind KEA, MoP, AJFA, and TBA (haters gonna hate). And SDOIT is possibly my favourite album ever, so that's a great pick. :tup
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V made the list...
Buttmunch.
:biggrin:
Well it would be kinda awkward if you had V at number six.
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I prefer The Divine Wings, both the song and the album, but at least it's not V :biggrin: nice album.
Same here. Divine Wings was my favorite song ever for quite a few years. It may still be but it's hard to tell since I gave up on narrowing down what my favorite song might be a long time ago. Too many excellent candidates to choose from.
Also, the keyboard extravaganza in the middle of Accolade is breathtaking but I doubt I have to tell you that.
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I knew what it was from the thread title. I feel good now.
Nice inclusion! :metal
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My fave SX disc too. Nice writeup. Oh, and :metal to Nemesea! Don't see nearly enough chatter about them. I discovered them on progstreaming.com, and it was an instant purchase after 2 tracks. Great album! Their first two... not so much.
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My fave SX disc too. Nice writeup. Oh, and :metal to Nemesea! Don't see nearly enough chatter about them. I discovered them on progstreaming.com, and it was an instant purchase after 2 tracks. Great album! Their first two... not so much.
In Control is decent enough. Certainly not as catchy as The Quiet Resistance though. Mana is a little on the boring side. I'm glad they changed their style.
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Couldn't get into the uber-operatic style of her vocals, and sticking in the high range. Musically ok; vocally not so much.
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Agree with everything you said about SX and SRA's singing. A very good album.
6degrees is top drawer DT- especially the title track.
Metallica, I just didn't get. I like Death Magnetic though, and the odd track here and there.
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That's a damn fine album. :metal
Yep. I was never really that keen on Awakenings and Accolade II, that's probably why this album is only my 3rd favorite Symphony X album. :smiley:
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I just noticed you had a Missy Higgins back there, interesting. She's quite popular down here as you mentioned and I'm surprised anyone outside of Australia knows her let alone being in a top 50 on a Dream Theater board. :lol I didn't like her early stuff, but I really like a couple of tracks from that album, Scar is an amazing song, great atmosphere.
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The Odyssey is my favourite SX album as well, though it's constantly battling with The Damnation Game. Still, great pick!
o/
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I just noticed you had a Missy Higgins back there, interesting. She's quite popular down here as you mentioned and I'm surprised anyone outside of Australia knows her let alone being in a top 50 on a Dream Theater board. :lol I didn't like her early stuff, but I really like a couple of tracks from that album, Scar is an amazing song, great atmosphere.
Yeah, it took a little while to get into her (hehehe) but The Sound Of White has grown on me tremendously. It'll be much higher next time around. I'm taking my girlfriend to see her next Sunday.
The Odyssey is my favourite SX album as well, though it's constantly battling with The Damnation Game. Still, great pick!
o/
*\o
Aside from a few tracks, I don't really care for Damnation Game. A lot of the tracks are, dare I say, too cheesy and of Witching Hour quality. But the good songs are GOOD.
And now for a much needed update:
5. Circus Maximus – Isolate (2007)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/CMIsolate.gif)
It’s not often that a band completely blows me away on the first listen. Isolate was my introduction to Circus Maximus and I really have no idea how I found out about them. I’m sure it was from DTF, but I can’t really be sure. Anyway, for a short while I thought Roy Khan from Kamelot sang the beginning of album opener, A Darkened Mind, but that’s actually fellow Norwegian Michael Eriksen. Usually when I’m looking for new prog metal, the first thing I find disappointing is the vocals, next being the hookless boring music and melodies. None was the case for this new discovery of mine. Obviously influenced by Dream Theater, Circus Maximus combine technicality with melody to create some really fucking enjoyable tunes. Although Isolate is a darker album, it’s fun as hell to sing along to even with the darker subject matter. The melodies are just that good. Michael Eriksen is a beast on this album (any album he’s been a part of really) hitting ridiculous highs and singing with such emotion that makes you feel for the character of the story. As far as influences on Isolate, Dream Theater, Symphony X, and Queensryche are still the main ones, but they also throw in some 80s influence this time around. Arrival Of Love especially has that 80s hair metal feel to it, which is perfect for Michael Eriksen. The band continues the trend of fourth track crazy ass instrumental with Sane No More, and it’s a fitting title as it isn’t as focused as Biosfear, but of course that was on purpose. Mouth Of Madness, the longest song on the album at almost 13 minutes is truly epic, starting out acoustic and gradually building into a monster song. The instrumental section with the chanting is my favorite part. An addition to Zero, From Childhood’s Hour is an emotional piece dealing with the character’s difficult upbringing (paraphrased from Eriksen) and the second longest song, Ultimate Sacrifice picks up where Mouth Of Madness left off dealing with the fantasy world the main character is trapped in due to his insanity. Although this is a concept album, the story doesn’t go in chronological order, but jumps around like memories, so there’s no need to try and follow a story although the main plot is in Mouth Of Madness and Ultimate Sacrifice. Overall, this album ruled 2007. Systematic Chaos and Paradise Lost didn’t stand a chance. Circus Maximus is a force to be reckoned with (did I say that already? I know I’m a bit of a broken record in these write ups) and Nine has proven that further.
Recommended tracks: Abyss, From Childhood’s Hour, Mouth Of Madness, Ultimate Sacrifice, A Darkened Mind, Wither
4. The Offspring – Ignition (1992)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/The_Offspring-Ignition.jpg)
As I said before, some of the placing of these albums are where they are because of a more nostalgic, sentimental liking, but not the bad nastolgia, like “OMG this show is terrible how did I watch it?” I bought Ignition on my 13th birthday, after playing Smash and Ixnay On The Hombre to death. I can’t remember my initial reaction to the different, rawer sound (damn Microsoft word is awesome, I typed “more raw” and it suggested “rawer”) but I know I loved it. The Offspring’s first two albums have the traditional fast punk sound, but are more melodic me thinks. As with every Offspring album, there’s a nice mix of the silly and the serious, but nothing that goes as far as stuff like Hit That or Pretty Fly For A White Guy. My favorite song on Ignition and favorite Offspring song overall, Dirty Magic shows off their serious side with a more emotional look at what would seem like a bad relationship, but I’ve seen some people interpret it to drugs or drug addiction. Either way, it’s a great and touching song. Hypodermic and Burn It Up lighten the mood afterwards, but then No Hero brings everything back down again as it’s written about a friend who committed suicide. There really isn’t a whole lot of goofiness on this album. It’s more or less a pretty straightforward punk rock album. If you like punk, but don’t care for The Offspring’s commercial goofy side, check out their first 3 albums, but especially Ignition. I really don’t have a lot to say about this one. I was an Offspring freak in middle school, but ignition (among others) still holds up. It’s definitely their best, most well written album even for being so early in their career. I’m also getting writer’s block…
Recommended tracks: Dirty Magic, Get It Right, Forever And A Day, Nothing From Something, No Hero
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Those are some high marks for those two albums.
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Do you agree or do you not like them at all?
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Do you agree or do you not like them at all?
Well, I'm not into Offspring.
Yes, Isolate is a damn fine album. And it's cool you have it rated so high. Nine has been a grower. I may like it more than Isolate.
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Isolate is great, but Offspring isn't my cup of tea, even though Ixnay is fucking amazing.
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Ignition is pretty damn killer, good interesting pick. CM is great.
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Coming in at #3:
3. Iced Earth – Night Of The Stormrider (1992)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Night_of_the_Stormrider_cover.jpg)
Like most IE songs, I heard the majority of NOTS first on Alive In Athens. So after hearing amazing renditions of those songs with Barlow first, I was a little underwhelmed when hearing the studio album with a different singer. That all changed pretty quickly though. The 3 opening tracks, Angels Holocaust, Stormrider and The Path I Choose or “The Stormrider Trilogy” as I like to call it is probably the greatest combo I’ve ever heard. Beginning with an apocalyptic orchestra with some Carl Orff thrown in, Angels Holocaust sets the tone of this masterpiece. After the big intro, we’re greeted with some acoustics and then shit gets going! John Greely might not hold a candle to Barlow, but he’s not a bad metal singer. He can hit the highs, the lows, the sweeps, the creeps, and has a little growl here and there. But not a cookie monster growl, like a growl that actually conveys emotion. Angels Holocaust is an excellent opener with one minor flaw, and that flaw is SPLATCH! Oh excuse me. That flaw is SPLATCH! Shit excuse me again. Seriously though, what is SPLATCH and why did Greely say it? The word that’s supposed to be said is “fear” as in “Fear the Angels Holocaust”. I know they had an extremely tight budget for this one, but how could they not fix this?
Anyway, Jon Schaffer takes the lead in Stormrider, demonstrating his thrash vocal excellence. This song is very Slayer-ish, but I think Slayer is just what generic thrash is supposed to sound like. I'm not trashing the song, it’s excellent, but when there’s a song that sounds like this, I instantly think Slayer. One thing I miss from Modern Iced Earth is the instrumental sections, and NOTS delivers in that department. Although I much more enjoy the live version (because it’s faster) I’m still rocking the fuck out, thrashing all around, acting like a maniac… SPLATCH! The Path I Choose continues the madness, with Greely once again on lead, hittin’ dem highs and smackin’ dem lows, but once again, the highlight is the instrumental/solo section. Randy Shawver is greatly missed and it’s good to know from a recent interview that he actually had a big part in writing this album. But then, just look at the writing credits. All the songs with instrumental sections have Shawver as co-writer for the music. Skipping the interludes, Mystical End is very Iron Maiden inspired and is a nice fun song with some wonky lyrics towards the end and a familiar guitar riff, but let’s get back to the thrash. Desert Rain’s intro is really cool, but my favorite part is the verse riffs. Schaffer was the riff lord back in the day, and those riffs are fucking epic. Greely and Schaffer trade vocals during the verses too. Great song, with a catchy sing along chorus.
This one’s called PURE… PURE…… Shitty crowd. This one’s Pure Evil. One of Iced Earth’s most well known songs and a favorite among the whole fan base, Pure Evil is a Power Thrash ass kicker with a very fitting name… And not just because it’s in the chorus. There’s a reason this song is a fan favorite, from the awesome music to the awesome lyrics to the really awesome instrumental section, this song owns. Although the reworked vocal melodies of the Days Of Purgatory version of Travel In Stygian are miles better that the original, that doesn’t mean the original is any less awesome. More amazing riffage from Mr. Schaffer on this one, and some more sinister vocals from Greely. Before the first chorus we get a catchy little acoustic spot, and then after the chorus we get an amazing solo spot and epic bridge section. Schaffer decided to rearrange this part for the remix/remaster, but if you have Days Of Purgatory or Alive In Athens (where this song is fucking godly) you can hear the original arrangement. The song ends with a beautiful piano/acoustic piece that surprisingly the live version doesn’t do justice. It’s really something. Night Of The Stormrider is an amazing piece of work that I think is overshadowed by Iced Earth’s other work with Matt Barlow on vocals. While he is the better singer, and the best versions are with him on vocals, the original is still nothing short of incredible. Jon Schaffer was a beast back in the day, but like I said before, all the credit can’t go to him. Randy Shawver deserve just as much recognition. And those other red shirts too I guess. I love this album so much that I have 5 different versions of it. It’s just a truly wonderful piece of work. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Recommended tracks: “The Stormrider Trilogy”, Desert Rain, Pure Evil, Travel In Stygian
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Nice to see Iced Earth make it so high, but a surprising selection
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It's IE's best album. What can I say? :D
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It's IE's best album. What can I say? :D
cool, where would you rank Dark Saga and Horror Show?
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It's IE's best album. What can I say? :D
cool, where would you rank Dark Saga and Horror Show?
Shit, I ranked their albums a couple years ago. I'd have to think about it. Back atcha latah.
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The best IE album is definitely Alive in Athens. :biggrin:
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The best IE album is definitely Alive in Athens. :biggrin:
I had bought the 3 disc edition. It really is an awesome performance.
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Isolate is a great album though I prefer The First Chapter more.
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The best IE album is definitely Alive in Athens. :biggrin:
I had bought the 3 disc edition. It really is an awesome performance.
Yes and yes! It's all you really need from them. Athens is the Frampton Comes Alive of heavy metal.
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The best IE album is definitely Alive in Athens. :biggrin:
I had bought the 3 disc edition. It really is an awesome performance.
Yes and yes! It's all you really need from them. Athens is the Frampton Comes Alive of heavy metal.
Exactly. The version of A Question of Heaven is worth the price alone, and never fails to send chills down my spine.
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The best IE album is definitely Alive in Athens. :biggrin:
I had bought the 3 disc edition. It really is an awesome performance.
Yes and yes! It's all you really need from them. Athens is the Frampton Comes Alive of heavy metal.
Exactly. The version of A Question of Heaven is worth the price alone, and never fails to send chills down my spine.
I agree, and I also agree that AiA is the best them, but Night Of The Stormrider is also the best them.
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Love Stormrider.
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Something like this I guess:
Night of the Stormrider
Burnt Offerings
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Iced Earth (Days Of Purgatory Edition)
The Dark Saga
Horror Show
Framing Armageddon
The Crucible of Man
The Glorious Burden
Iced Earth
Dystopia
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The best IE album is definitely Alive in Athens. :biggrin:
I had bought the 3 disc edition. It really is an awesome performance.
First IE album I bought and still probably the best.
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The best IE album is definitely Alive in Athens. :biggrin:
I had bought the 3 disc edition. It really is an awesome performance.
First IE album I bought and still probably the best.
The Glorious Burden was my first IE album ,and then I think it was the 3 disc AiA, and then a huge haul from Amazon.
UPDATE TIME:
Coming in at
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e5/No_2_APTSWSM.jpg/200px-No_2_APTSWSM.jpg)
2. Dream Theater – Images And Words (1992)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/Dream_Theater_-_Images_and_Words.jpg)
Some of you might know this album. HAHA I BET YOU NEVER HEARD THAT JOKE BEFORE! ... Anyway, A little history about Images And Words. The year was 2006 and I was starting to get into more bands like Kamelot, Nightwish, and Symphony X, when I decided after disregarding Dream Theater for a while because I read criticisms that turned me off (all which were either false or just stupid) I finally decided to give them a chance. I downloaded Surrounded and it took a long time to finally appreciate it, but every time I’d make a mix CD, it would always end up on one. I still have the first mix CD I made with it. So I finally decided to check out the rest of the album. I found a nifty place but the only file available said the first track was corrupt. So I acquired it and listened. The first song, Pull Me Under was indeed fucked up. It cut off at the end! I found a way around this by just fading the ending. I still have that copy of the CD too. It wasn’t until I discovered DTF that I found out that the ending is supposed to “stop suddenly”. In the meantime, I still listened to that particular burned copy and loved it more and more every day. One of my friends got it for me as a Christmas present that year. I was listening to both Scenes From A Memory and Images and Words at the same time, and I bought Scenes first as it was the only one Best Buy had.
Now that I’ve bored you with a history lesson, let’s move on to the songs. Pull Me Under is actually my least favorite from the album, but it’s still a 9/10 to me. Once you actually pay attention to the end, it’s pretty clear it doesn’t just cut off. Another Day is a great ballad, which may have a cheesy saximuhphone, but I quite like the sax. Very touching lyrics, some hilarious misheard lyrics, and wonderful solo here. Take The Time, my second favorite from the album is pretty epic. A great sing along song, with upbeat, happy music where everyone has a chance to shine. Kevin Moore’s solo is my favorite of the entire DT catalog and the instrumental section is just awesome. My first and still #1 Dream Theater song, Surrounded is an experience every time I listen to it. The lyrics don’t make much sense, but that doesn’t stop me from singing my head off. Everything about this song is perfect. James sounds amazing and the atmosphere of the song just makes you feel good. This would definitely be in my top 5 favorite songs of all time. Metropolis Part I is a weird song. it has a long intro, no choruses, and a 4 minute instrumental section of utter chaos… And I love it. The intro is fucking epic, the different verses have amazing vocal melodies to where a chorus isn’t necessary (not that one should be) and I fucking love long instrumental sections. This one is a rollercoaster of awesomeness, and it’s even catchy. I’ll always remember leaving work one day and waiting at a stop light. The instrumental section was coming to an end, and I had it blasting with the windows open and a guy in a truck sitting diagonal from me turns around and just glares at me. It was hilarious.
Under a Glass Moon contains more confusing lyrics, and Petrucci’s best solo. This is a solid rocker with some great double bass work. Oh and some more great misheard lyrics. An addition to JP’s awesome solo, the whole instrumental before and after is amazing. Did I mention I love instrumental sections? I guess I like Pull Me Under more than Wait For Sleep, but I see Wait For Sleep as more of an intro or interlude to Learning To live. It’s a great little “song” with great melodies and singing from LaBrie, and of course some nice soothing piano. Learning To Live closes the album in a huge way. The intro and verses leading up to the instrumental section are all wonderful, but my favorite part of the song? DAT INSTRUMENTAL SECTION. Starting with a sort of Spanish acoustic section and then getting heavier, but still mellow and atmospheric and then someone rips James’ balls off right in the middle of some “whoas” and he hits the most beautiful note ever. Then JP bends some beautiful notes and Kevin Murr and JP do a nice little unison and Schroader from Peanuts gives us a reprise from Wait For Sleep, and JP and KM finish it off with more epic melody before returning to the final chorus. The ending though. Those final “whoas” just give me the chills. It’s epic, it’s grandiose (in a non pretentious sort of way), it’s just… a phenomenal ending to an amazing song. Images And Words rules. Discovering Dream Theater was one of the greatest things to happen to me musically, and I’m glad this was the album that started it all. Every song is brilliant. Not a moment I dislike. Musical perfection.
Recommended tracks: Images And Words
HMs:
Vienna Teng - Warm Strangers (2004)
I discovered this singer/songwriter through my... Fry's radio. aside from the nice poppy single, Harbor, the whole album is surprisingly good. Well except one song. I don't really like Passage at all. It's just her singing with no instruments, but there aren't any good melodies.
Metallica - Master Of Puppets (1986)
There are a couple songs I don't really care for, but the rest of the album is brilliant.
Nemesea - In Control (2007)
To me, this album is just as good as the follow up, The Quiet Resistance. It's more electronic, but still rocking, with great vocals by the beautiful Manda Ophuis and catchy melodies. I really like this band. They will surely be on my next top 50.
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It's funny that you say criticism turned you off from DT initially because it was the same for me. I remember hearing some kids in High School saying something along the lines of "yeah DT is ok but their singer is awful!" :facepalm: Thankfully my girlfriend's dad turned me onto them much later and I remember James' voice actually being one of the first things that stood out to me about DT. I know a lot of people don't care for his voice but personally, I love it. But anyway, great choice, I&W would definitely be in my top 5 as well. I also agree about Master of Puppets, there are some weak songs on there like Damage INC and The Thing That Should Not Be (in my opinion), but overall it's a classic... just not quite I&W status :biggrin:
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For Me it would be, Battery and Damage Inc. TTTSNB used to be my least favorite, but I actually quite like it now.
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Images :heart
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Words :heart
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Images :heart
Words :heart
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No arguments there.
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And :heart
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Images :heart
Words :heart
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:tup
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Images :heart
And :heart
Words :heart
:biggrin:
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:heart :tup
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good pic. Post ... tl:dr. Might get to it another time.
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I give some background on how I discovered DT, and then list examples of what I like in each song.
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Here's a final look at the list before my #1 album is rev---HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING DON'T SCROLL DOWN YET!
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
20. Iced Earth – Something Wicked This Way Comes
19. Redemption – Snowfall On Judgment Day
18. Dream Theater – Scenes From A Memory
17. Redemption – This Mortal Coil
16. Theocracy – Mirror Of Souls
15. Circus Maximus – Nine
14. Dream Theater – Awake
13. Iced Earth – Burnt Offerings
12. Kamelot – The Black Halo
11. The Magnificent – The Magnificent
10. Disturbed – Believe
9. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
8. Metallica - Ride The Lighting
7. Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
6. Symphony X - The Odyssey
5. Circus Maximus - Isolate
4. The Offspring - Ignition
3. Iced Earth - Night Of The Stormrider
2. Dream Theater - Images And Words
IMPATIENT MUCH?
...And coming in at #1 on the countdown:
1. Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever (1989)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4d/Tom_Petty_Full_Moon_Fever.jpg)
Ah yes, Tom Petty’s first solo album. It was released on April 24, 1989, just over a month before I would turn 4. Free Fallin’ was the first song I remember hearing as a child. That or Rocky Mountain Way… Everyone loved Free Fallin’. At least, everyone in my dad’s dorm. I would stand on my mom’s feet, and we would dance along to Full Moon Fever. It was the first musical thing I fell in love with. Full Moon Fever is my #1 album of all time based on sentimental and nostalgic memories, but also because the music contained within is bloody excellent. Catchy, melodic, rockin', this album has it all. Good ol' rock n' roll. The production is excellent too. Nice and clear. I will say that Side A is definitely better than the Side B, but side B is still great. Side A and Side B are actually pretty different though. While Side A is more rock and roll, Side B is more southern and folky. Because I grew up with this album, and it’s such a big part of my musical life, I get to contradict myself once again and say that there is actual one song on this album I’m not the fondest of. That song is Alright For Now, and while it isn’t horrible, it doesn’t do a whole lot for me either. It’s just a simple, very short ballad. I never really got into Tom Petty’s other work with The Heartbreakers other than the singles. I’ve had the famous Greatest Hits CD for many years, and just recently upgraded to The Anthology. I’ve listened to Damn The Torpedoes not too long ago, and it wasn’t bad, but some of the songs kinda stunk, so a compilation is all I really need, and there are a ton of great songs to listen to. Full Moon Fever is great from start to finish (as I said, Alright For Now brings the album down a micro smidge, but it’s 2 minutes) and doesn’t have anything skipworthy. Some of the songs are on the corny side like Yer So Bad, Apartment Song, and Zombie Zoo, but Tom Petty has always been a bit corny and never taking himself serious.
I bought Wildflowers when it came out in ’94, but Tom Petty kinda lost me with that one. It just wasn’t the same. Most of the songs were boring as all hell. Even the big hit, You Don’t Know How It Feels wasn’t very exciting. You Wreck Me is classic Petty though. I’d say my favorite song on Full Moon Fever is Runnin’ Down A Dream simply because it rocks. The main riff is classic, and the solo is epic, memorable, and just a great way to end the song. My brother and I were going to cover the song as KrotchRaut, and I actually have the drums finished. Hearing the original with double bass is both hilarious and awesome. Yeah, it would be in the same tempo. I wish I could say I’ve had the album since 1989, but I only just bought it in 2006 or 2007 and it was used and not in the best condition. Before that I had a copy my step dad made on cassette from his CD version. Not having a perfect copy haunted me for several years before I finally bought a new copy several months ago, and still haven’t opened it. Full Moon Fever means so much to me. It reminds me of simpler, carefree and happy time. Nowadays, I certainly enjoy other albums more, but this album is still a masterpiece, a truly great piece of musical history, Tom Petty’s crowning achievement, and has a very special place in my heart and will always be my #1 album. If you were ever thinking of getting in to Tom Petty, besides the greatest hits album, get Full Moon Fever. Or better yet, get The 2 disc Anthology, Full Moon Fever and the two hits from Wildflowers and you’ll have the ultimate Tom Petty Classic Rock experience!
Recommended tracks: Free Fallin’, I Won’t Back Down, Love Is A Long Road, A Face In The Crowd, Runnin’ Down A Dream, Feel A Whole Lot Better, Depending On You
Final Honorable Mentions:
Amanda Somerville - Windows (2009)
Another recent discovery, Windows, is a great mix of styles with beautiful vocals. Somerville is an amazing talent, and this album might be another addition to my Top 50 2.0.
Transatlantic - The Whirlwind (2009)
I've only listened to this a few times, but it's an excellent listen, and I wanted to give it a nod.
Mercenary - The Hours That Remain (2006)
Yet another recent discovery, this is some kick ass metal, with some extreme vocals that aren't cringeworthy. They do it right like Into Eternity. I've been really getting into this album, and it might show up on my next top 50. Time will tell.
And finally....
Amputated - Gargling With Infected Semen (2006)
I had to give this album a mention as it was the main inspiration for that successful failure, KrotchRaut. This album is fucking hilarious, but also fucking brutal. I made an edit where I cut out all the sound bites and had the songs seamlessly run together to make a 20 minute pornogrind/grindcore/whatever that one guy called it brutal piece simply titled, Amputated Epic. Props to whoever made Fresh Prince + Death Metal because that was brilliant, and really, that started it all.
So that's it. My Top 50. Is it perfect? No. I was actually changing it up during the course of this thread, and I still think some albums should be swapped, but there's always next time. I've never done this before. I don't really rank things, and these write ups were a bitch, but thank you to everyone who followed, and I hope you enjoyed the list. I think next time I'm going to do it differently and rank them without the nostalgia factor, except for my #1 of course, which will never change.
Thanks again, and sorry it took 2 months to finish.
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(https://chzmemebase.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/internet-memes-amons-true-identity.png)
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Wow. I didn't expect that at all, I don't even know the album. That said, I might have to check it out.
Also: that Amputated album has a fucking amazing title. :lol
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Wow. I didn't expect that at all, I don't even know the album. That said, I might have to check it out.
You definitely should if you're a fan of any of these: Rock and roll, roots rock, heartland rock, southern rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, country
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So...... No one likes Full Moon Fever huh?
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Apparently not. Doubt the younglings around here know it very well (if at all), and I don't recall how many of us fogey's followed your list. Being a fogey - and in high school when this was released - many songs got WAAAAAYYYYY over-played on the radio. They were ok, but never did float my boat that much.
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Well, fine then. I'll just take my list and leave.
Actually, instead of waiting 3 years to do another list, I'm just going to post an updated top 50 some time soon.
Full Moon Fever > You
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That was an awesome fucking list. I loved the Circus Maximus & Blind Guardian love, as well as Night of the Stormrider being so high
THIS IS THE PATH THAT I CHOOOOOOOOSSEEEEEEEE
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Full Moon Fever > You
Now now... Don't ask a question unless you're prepared for an answer you might not like. I've seen Petty in concert twice - though only once was on my own dime.
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That was an awesome fucking list. I loved the Circus Maximus & Blind Guardian love, as well as Night of the Stormrider being so high
THIS IS THE PATH THAT I CHOOOOOOOOSSEEEEEEEE
Thanks bro. :metal
Full Moon Fever > You
Now now... Don't ask a question unless you're prepared for an answer you might not like. I've seen Petty in concert twice - though only once was on my own dime.
I still haven't seen him live :(
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Seeing Petty live>you
:rollin :rollin
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:getoffmylawn:
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So...... No one likes Full Moon Fever huh?
Count me as 'No one', then. Tom Petty's a hoot, with or without the Heartbreakers.
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... After careful consideration I've decided that Full Moon Fever has official been dethroned. Sure it's the first album I ever heard, and a rock masterpiece, and a defining moment in my music journey, but it just dawned on me (not really), but i just realized (again not really) I already knew... it was painfully obvious that another album on my list, in my top three, I had a significant amount more love for, because not only is it a thrash masterpiece, but the best Iced Earth album ever, and my favorite metal album ever, and I have TEN DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE FUCKING ALBUM.
I guess my top 3 could swap around a bit, but Iced Earth's Night of the Stormrider really is my all time favorite album.
Thank you.
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:metal :metal :metal
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hey Zook, do you want me to swap Night with Full Moon at 1 and 3 or move Night to 1 and Full Moon and Images each down a spot?
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Move FMF and IAW down please.
And instead of doing a whole other top 50 thread, I think I might just post an updated version (I think I said that already) but I don't know when that might be.