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General => Archive => General Music Archives => Topic started by: Buddyhunter1 on October 25, 2012, 02:14:06 PM
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Hey guys! As you probably guessed, this is my top 33 albums list. Why such a random number? That's just a mystery you'll have to solve yourself.
Anyways, here's some general stuff about my list:
-I'm a pretty young fellow, so don't be surprised if nearly all my list is from the 21st century.
-Maximum of two albums per band.
-Most of the bands on my list are pretty well-known around here, but some of the actual album choices and their rankings might be quite unexpected.
-Along with selecting my four (sometimes more or less) favorite songs from the album at the end of each write-up, I will mention the best songs in the write up, and you can just click on the song name and it'll take you straight to a YouTube video!
-FULL LIST ON PAGE 8
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#33: Gorillaz – Demon Days (2005)
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mFCIbHHsXyQ/TYoTsLEp6zI/AAAAAAAABfo/pf3ZfcRVUPM/s1600/Gorillaz-DemonDays.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Intro (2) Last Living Souls (3) Kids With Guns (4) O Green World (5) Dirty Harry
(6) Feel Good Inc. (7) El Mañana (8) Every Planet We Reach Is Dead (9) November Has Come (10) All Alone
(11) White Light (12) Dare (13) Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head (14) Don't Get Lost In Heaven (15) Demon Days
While this might be a pretty odd album to start off my list, it just wouldn’t be right to leave it out. Why? Well, it’s pretty much the album that got me into music in general. I was in like 5th grade when I first got into Gorillaz, and while my musical tastes have definitely grown a lot since then, they’re still pretty awesome. One of the best things about them is they don’t really have a consistent genre; they just do whatever the hell they want to do. With this album especially, you never really know what the next song will be like. Feel Good Inc. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU_in_BNJlg) is definitely deserving of the popularity it got when the album came out, alternating between funk, hip-hop, and a beautiful guitar and synth section seamlessly. El Manaña (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEB56tk7I88) is a dark, somber, acoustic guitar-driven track, and Every Planet We Reach Is Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LDEm8mC-Nw) is one of the most unique-sounding songs you’ll ever hear, throwing so many different elements together it’s hard to keep track of them all. Think the variety ends there? Nope. You’ve got disco, gospel, hard rock and everything in between. There’s even a song where fucking Dennis Hopper sits down and reads a story to you. While I’ve listened this album to death over the years, this album is without a doubt one of the best examples of creativity and variety in all of music.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Dirty Harry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBie-xdbLeM), Feel Good Inc, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU_in_BNJlg) El Manaña (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEB56tk7I88), Every Planet We Reach Is Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LDEm8mC-Nw)
#32: Meshuggah – Koloss (2012)
(https://metalriot.com/wp-content/uploads/Meshuggah-Koloss-Artwork1-e1333998611361.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) I Am Colossus (2) The Demon's Name Is Surveillance (3) Do Not Look Down (4) Behind The Sun
(5) The Hurt That Finds You First (6) Marrow (7) Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion (8) Swarm
(9) Demiurge (10) The Last Vigil
On the other hand, here’s a band I’ve gotten into pretty recently. This is their newest album, and they’ve basically taken all of their sound elements from over the years and rolled them up into one. You’ve got the crushing brutality, insane polyrhythms, groovy riffs, speaker-shaking guitars (literally) and everything. I Am Colossus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW2sWSgofbg) starts off the album with a very doomy-sounding song, and sounds, well, colossal. Do Not Look Down (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUuXiAsV7BQ&feature=fvwrel) has one of the band’s grooviest riffs ever, and Behind The Sun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBOP1VSPmEM) and Demiurge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Da4GCw657g) have that huge, epic “holy fucking shit the entire goddamn universe is being sucked into a gigantic black hole and we’re all gonna fucking die” sound that Meshuggah does so well. If you’re into brutal, technical metal and you haven’t checked this band out yet… Why the hell haven’t you?
---FAVORITE SONGS---
I Am Colossus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW2sWSgofbg), Do Not Look Down (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUuXiAsV7BQ&feature=fvwrel), Behind The Sun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBOP1VSPmEM), Demiurge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Da4GCw657g)
#31: Mastodon – Crack The Skye (2009)
(https://hierophant-nox.com/files/2011/04/mastodoncrack.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Oblivion (2) Divinations (3) Quintessence (4) The Czar (5) Ghost Of Karelia (6) Crack The Skye (7) The Last Baron
This album I picked up because so many people on the forums loved it, and I was initially not really sure what was so great about it. However, it’s grown on me a lot and I can say that it’s deserving of all the praise it gets. Why? Well, it’s kind of hard to say. It has a very unique sound, taking the typical prog-metal elements and merging them with Mastodon’s style to create something that’s hard to describe, but is very original and undeniably great to listen to. It’s also incredibly consistent throughout, with no real filler. Oblivion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQ5o7b7qf0) starts the album off great, and The Czar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx2fp-kKOIw&feature=related) and The Last Baron (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pvfQtUhtNE&feature=related) are incredibly proggy, lengthy songs that take you on quite the musical journey. There’s not much else to say about this album other than yeah, go listen to it. Most of you probably have already, anyway.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Oblivion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQ5o7b7qf0), Divinations (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrrFHq5v8iw), The Czar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx2fp-kKOIw&feature=related), The Last Baron (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pvfQtUhtNE&feature=related)
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Meshuggah is great!
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Meshuggah and Mastodon :metal :metal :metal
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Weakest Mastodon album IMO, but will be following the list.
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Weakest Mastodon album IMO, but will be following the list.
What's your favorite, out of curiosity? I haven't listened to their first two albums yet, but I really should.
And thanks for following. :)
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Leviathan
Remission
Blood Mountain
Call of the Mastodon/Lifesblood
The Hunter
Crack the Skye
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Koloss :metal :metal :metal!
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Weakest Mastodon album IMO, but will be following the list.
that's odd considering it has some of their best songs. :biggrin:
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Crack the Skye is my favorite Mastodon album as well - it's heavy, progressive, catchy, epic, it's pretty much everything. I really think it has a perfect balance of all Mastodon elements. It's nice to see it in your list. :tup
I loved Demon days when it came out, but I rarely return to it. I might have to give it a spin one of these days, just to see if it still gets me going. :smiley:
Following this, obviously. :corn
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Yeah Crack the Skye is my favourite Mastodon album I've heard.
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Blood Mountain is my favourite Mastodon record, with Crack the Skye as a close second. Following, but why 33?
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Blood Mountain is my favourite Mastodon record, with Crack the Skye as a close second. Following, but why 33?
Blood Mountain's my least favorite of the three that I've heard, but hey, to each his own.
And because:
1: I don't want my list to take forever
2: I haven't really listened to enough albums to do a full 50
3: It gives the lowest albums more points on Big Hath's database.
Maybe I'll do a full top 50 in the future.
Anyways, new update soon! :)
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#30: Nightwish - Once (2004)
(https://img206.imageshack.us/img206/503/folderxv9.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Dark Chest Of Wonders (2) Wish I Had An Angel (3) Nemo (4) Planet Hell (5) Creek Mary's Blood
(6) The Siren (7) Dead Gardens (8) Romanticide (9) Ghost Love Score (10) Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan (11) Higher Than Hope
Nightwish is pretty hit-or-miss with me, but this album is definitely a hit. A home run, even. While symphonic metal has the tendency to be incredibly cheesy and overblown, this album has perfected the genre. It not only succeeds in having tons of good songs, but striking a fantastic balance between the “symphonic” and the “metal”. The two styles always compliment each other perfectly, and each gets enough time in the spotlight. You’ve got heavy, guitar-focused songs like Dark Chest Of Wonders (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsV5sUuCn4M) and Planet Hell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBMV55ejvPw) where the orchestra adds to the bombastic and intense sound, and other songs that are more calm and symphony-based, like Creek Mary’s Blood (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HrxBOaBYuo). The highlight of the album is easily Ghost Love Score (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN3yqMr3ffY). The orchestra is absolutely flawless and the guitars add to it to create one of the most epic-sounding songs ever. Great variety, great composition, great album.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Dark Chest Of Wonders (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsV5sUuCn4M), Planet Hell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBMV55ejvPw), Creek Mary’s Blood (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HrxBOaBYuo), Ghost Love Score (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN3yqMr3ffY)
#29: Periphery - Periphery II (2012)
(https://metalinjection.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/this-time-its-personal.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Muramasa (2) Have A Blast (3) Facepalm Mute (4) Ji (5) Scarlet (6) Luck As A Constant (7) Ragnarok
(8) The Gods Must Be Crazy! (9) Make Total Destroy (10) Erised (11) Epoch (12) Froggin' Bullfish
(13) Mile Zero (14) Masamune
If you’ve shrugged off Periphery for being yet another modern, generic djent metal band, well, stop it and go listen to this album right now. Periphery followed up their first release from 2010 with an album that is better in pretty much every way. Spencer’s vocals, both clean and harsh, have improved dramatically. There’s less of a focus on Misha’s guitar riffs and the whole album feels much more like a band effort. (Probably because it was.) Despite being quite heavy, the album has a very optimistic and bright feel to it, especially on songs like Have A Blast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6c8Cl3Hka0) (which features a couple fantastic guitar solos from the legendary Guthrie Govan) and Mile Zero (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz3E_JNW4oU). Other highlights include the centerpiece Ragnarok (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyHFVtgsCzI), which starts out face-smashingly brutal with the 7-string guitars pounding your ears like jackhammers, abruptly transitions to an uplifting climax with some amazingly powerful clean vocals, then mellows out into an ambient clean section all in the course of six and a half minutes. The closer Masamune (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amfcHi1ZBSs&feature=relmfu) is also fantastic, and has one of the most hellish and demonic-sounding outros in all of metal. Periphery II is a fantastic follow-up to their first album, and I’ve got a feeling it will get even better from here.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Have A Blast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6c8Cl3Hka0), Ragnarok (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyHFVtgsCzI), Mile Zero (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz3E_JNW4oU), Masamune (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amfcHi1ZBSs&feature=relmfu)
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Two more amazing albums. :tup
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One of the downsides of owning nearly 1000 albums: A really good album like Once wouldn't even be considered if I was making a top 100 list, and I really like that album.
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One of the downsides of owning nearly 1000 albums: A really good album like Once wouldn't even be considered if I was making a top 100 list, and I really like that album.
Yeah, a coupla thousand albums and 30+ years of music listening makes a top 50 very very hard.
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One of the downsides of owning nearly 1000 albums: A really good album like Once wouldn't even be considered if I was making a top 100 list, and I really like that album.
Yeah, a coupla thousand albums and 30+ years of music listening makes a top 50 very very hard.
All of this.
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One of the downsides of owning nearly 1000 albums: A really good album like Once wouldn't even be considered if I was making a top 100 list, and I really like that album.
Despite owning nearly a thousand albums, Once is fantastic enough to make my Top 50. Planet Hell was the song that introduced me to symphonic and female-led metal, and GLS usually wins (or places) in the Nightwish survivor.
However, as I've always said... Century Child is the best them.
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#28: Thrice – The Alchemy Index (2007 / 2008)
(https://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2yp72mEV71qfvjle.gif)
Here’s a type of musical project that needs to happen more often. Different albums usually have their own “feel” to it, represented by a certain color, season, etc. This often comes unintentionally, but when an artist tries to replicate a certain feel with their music and does so successfully, the result is something truly special. The Alchemy Index is a collection of four six-song EPs, each representing a different element. (Fire, Water, Air, Earth.) Both the music and the lyrics revolve around the EP’s respective element, and the end result is a very interesting concept that is executed fantastically. While The Alchemy Index is meant to be taken as one big album, I’m just going to go over the four elements separately to keep things organized.
---Volume 1: Fire---
(1) Firebreather (2) The Messenger (3) Backdraft (4) The Arsonist (5) Burn The Fleet (6) The Flame Deluge
It was a great idea to open up the collection with the heaviest and most energetic EP, and Fire definitely succeeds at sounding like a raging, unstoppable inferno. That said, it’s probably my least favorite of the four. I love heavy music and everything, but for this particular album I like the calmer, atmospheric sounds of the other three elements better. Still, Fire is definitely an enjoyable listen.
---Volume 2: Water---
(1) Digital Sea (2) Open Water (3) Lost Continent (4) Night Diving (5) The Whaler (6) Kings Upon The Main
Water beats fire. It’s just a fact. This is definitely my favorite of the four, and provides a relaxing, soothing, but rather cold-sounding experience. It definitely sounds like you’re in the middle of an ocean. Compared to the rest of the EPs, Water is the most electronic-based, the most atmospheric, and the most consistent in quality. All of those things are good, if you ask me, and that puts this EP above the others.
---Volume 3: Air---
(1) Broken Lungs (2) The Sky Is Falling (3) A Song For Milly Michaelson (4) Daedalus (5) As The Crow Flies (6) Silver Wings
Air is my second favorite of the four, but it’s also the hardest to describe. It’s probably the most accessible (because air is everywhere, duh) but also manages to be heavily atmospheric. Air is a pretty hard thing to make music sound like, with my first guess to the EP’s sound being something along the lines of Opeth’s Damnation. Instead, Thrice focused on making all the songs sound like you’re flying over the land, high in the sky. The music is both uplifting and melancholy at the same time (if that makes any sense at all) with some heart-wrenching lyrics thrown in for good measure. While not as consistent as Water, it comes pretty close in terms of overall quality.
---Volume 4: Earth---
(1) Moving Mountains (2) Digging My Own Grave (3) The Earth Isn't Humming (4) The Lion And The Wolf (5) Come All You Weary
(6) Child Of Dust
Earth is very folky-sounding, with all of the songs except the excellent Come All You Weary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkneZYbJHY&feature=related) using exclusively acoustic instruments. It’s very simple and down-to-Earth. (See what I did there?) There’s not much else to say about this one except that it’s good and very unique.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Fire: Firebreather (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzX-fkAtIQ0), The Arsonist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2HKZyIDFKk&feature=related)
Water: Digital Sea (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw_W5PYkHI4&feature=relmfu), Night Diving (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0COXExyRCFQ&feature=relmfu)
Air: Broken Lungs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jRPmzQzoYs&feature=related), The Sky Is Falling (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iw_JIuzing&feature=related)
Earth: The Earth Isn't Humming (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcD81fKRZVU&feature=relmfu), Come All You Weary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkneZYbJHY&feature=related)
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No love for The Alchemy Index? You guys need to listen to it if you haven't before.
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Daedalus is their best song. :metal
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My #7 when I did mine, so good choice.
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Much love for The Alchemy Index, one of the best albums ever by one of the best bands ever :tup
Daedalus is their best song. :metal
I don't know about that, but it's a great tune for sure ;)
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#27: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)
(https://images3.makefive.com/images/entertainment/music/albums-you_ll-still-be-listening-to-20-years-from-now/wish-you-were-here-pink-floyd-7.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5 (2) Welcome To The Machine (3) Have A Cigar (4) Wish You Were Here
(5) Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 6-9
Wish You Were Here on another top albums list? Shock and horror! After the monster write-up of The Alchemy Index, I’ll keep this one pretty short since most of you here have probably already heard it. Easily the best Pink Floyd album in my opinion, it’s somber, calm, and holds your attention from start to finish. There isn’t a bad moment on the album, and Welcome To The Machine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnzaykWhlXs) is definitely my favorite Pink Floyd song. Recommended tracks? All of them. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npy1PHRpoTk#movie_player)
#26: Oceansize - Frames (2007)
(https://www.neformat.com.ua/images/releases/Oceansize-Frames.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt (2) Unfamiliar (3) Trail Of Fire (4) Savant (5) Only Twin (6) An Old Friend Of The Christy's
(7) Sleeping Dogs And Dead Lions (8) The Frame
This album was a grower, but it was definitely worth the time. While Oceansize is a very modern-sounding band, this is without a doubt a very progressive album, with the shortest track being six minutes and barely any use of a standard time signature. Except for the mostly forgettable second track, this record is consistently great and has a fantastic share of variety. You’ve got heavier songs, quieter songs, proggy songs, an instrumental, everything. Trail Of Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PpLPx6XvIk) and Only Twin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB0dEjr1tkg) are the best songs on the album, taking their time to steadily build and build in intensity; but while the former is bright and uplifting, the latter is a bleak, chilling, and frightening trip through Hell. Savant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NTIg3wUz-I) and The Frame (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rjJ_qxiRzM) are also great, both being soft and warm with some of the best outros you’ll ever hear. It’s a shame Oceansize isn’t around anymore, but what they left behind is something to cherish.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Trail Of Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PpLPx6XvIk), Savant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NTIg3wUz-I), Only Twin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB0dEjr1tkg), The Frame (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rjJ_qxiRzM)
#25: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect (2009)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Between_the_Buried_and_Me_-_The_Great_Misdirect_cover.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Mirrors (2) Obfuscation (3) Disease, Injury, Madness (4) Fossil Genera - A Feed From Cloud Mountain (5) Desert Of Song
(6) Swim To The Moon
While Between The Buried And Me is one of the most popular bands on these forums, the fanbase seems to be pretty split on this album. There’s nothing wrong with that, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everything, but a lot of the criticism for this album has bugged me. A lot of people say that this album is just a bunch of random ideas stitched together to form structureless tracks that wander around without really going anywhere. Well, first of all, you’re pretty much describing every single Between The Buried And Me album right there. That’s just the band’s style, and they always pull it off quite well. But the thing is, out of all the band’s recent albums (post-Alaska) the songs in this album have the MOST structure of them all. Each song is split into noticeable segments, they all have pretty great flow, and they never feel like they overstay their welcome. The only exception to this is the fourth song, but the rest are fine. It just makes no real sense that this album is criticized for being structureless while Colors and Parallax II are praised for it. Besides, the songs on this album are just plain good. Disease, Injury, Madness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwm0mIaqVRU) has the typical BTBAM heavy sections, but also features a quiet and atmospheric part in the first half and an all-out progressive instrumental section in the second half. Swim To The Moon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhkpCjmXHTU&feature=related) is the band’s longest and most progressive song to date, and manages to hold my attention and be consistently fantastic throughout. While it does end a bit abruptly, the rest of the song more than makes up for it. Great band, underappreciated album.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Mirrors (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZmiQJMLo5Q), Obfuscation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVv3tCiSA5Q&feature=related), Disease, Injury, Madness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwm0mIaqVRU), Swim To The Moon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhkpCjmXHTU&feature=related)
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Always good to see Wish you were here. :tup
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Lots of great albums here! Love Wish You Were Here, Crack The Skye is by far my favourite Mastodon album, and I still need to check out The Alchemy Index and Periphery II.
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Yet ANOTHER appearance by WYWH. Deservedly so.
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:heart Frames :heart
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Both great albums. :)
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TGM is good, but if I had to rank quality of albums that were released after Colors, it would be at the bottom. Still enjoy it though, as BTBAM is my favorite band.
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Both great albums. :)
Which two? There's three. :lol
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Silly me. For some reason I remembered only WYWH and Frames. All three are great. :lol
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Silly me. For some reason I remembered only WYWH and Frames. All three are great. :lol
Glad you agree. :tup
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New update in a bit!
(Posting this so the update won't be the last post on this page)
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#24: Dethklok - Dethalbum II (2009)
(https://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/36300109/The+Dethalbum+II+Deluxe+Edition+Dethklok++The+Dethalbum+II+200.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Bloodlines (2) The Gears (3) Burn The Earth (4) Laser Cannon Deth Sentence (5) Black Fire Upon Us (6) Dethsupport
(7) The Cyborg Slayers (8) I Tamper With The Evidence At The Murder Site Of Odin (9) Murmaider II: The Water God
(10) Comet Song (11) Symmetry (12) Volcano
First of all, if you haven’t seen Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse, you need to. It’s one of the funniest TV shows out there, especially if you’re a metal fan. Even if you aren’t a fan of the show, you should still check out this album. Dethklok, despite being a fictional band, makes some of the best melodic death metal out there, and Dethalbum II is definitely the best of the current trilogy. While the first Dethalbum was very goofy and could easily be classified as a parody album, this record feels very more like a serious effort. You’ve still got some tongue-in-cheek songs like Laser Cannon Deth Sentence (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZX62imOapU) and The Cyborg Slayers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhOaMIZf40U), but you’ve also got a lot of tracks that wouldn’t feel out of place on a completely straight-faced record. Black Fire Upon Us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtPGmpWq9ok&feature=related) has a very dire and serious tone to it, and Symmetry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ijpE9FP7wA&feature=related), while being about a murderous supermodel, is actually a great analogy of how screwed up modern society’s perception of beauty is. If you’re looking for a fantastic metal album, look no further than this.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Black Fire Upon Us (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtPGmpWq9ok&feature=related), The Cyborg Slayers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhOaMIZf40U), Murmaider II: The Water God (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb8oZt-a2rc&feature=relmfu), Symmetry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ijpE9FP7wA&feature=related)
#23: Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad (2003)
(https://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/5/1/2/15127.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Dire (2) Consequence (3) Relentless (4) Rape Song (5) Aftermath (6) Devour (7) Last Minute (8) Force Fed
(9) Dirt Pride (10) Bring On The Young
Here’s my opinion that’s sure to get my Devin Townsend / SYL fan card revoked: This is my 2nd favorite Strapping Young Lad album. Sure, it’s got a raw, ugly production that’s the direct opposite of Devin’s other records. Sure, it barely has any of his noticeable traits and sounds very much like a typical early-2000s death metal record. Sure, he even admitted that he barely paid any attention to this record when it was being worked on. But none of that matters, because this album kicks truckloads of ass. It has no gimmicks or distractions; it’s just pure, brutal, relentless extreme metal. The guitars are simple but done flawlessly, Devin’s vocals are amazing as always, and Gene Hoglan shows that he’s one of the best metal drummers in the world. The song Aftermath (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nijj4nRi9PQ) alternates between slowly chugging along and melting your face off with a breakneck-speed barrage of brutality, Force Fed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zij4SVtue9U) has one of the best choruses in Devin Townsend’s whole discography, Rape Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKcDLj45tFU) is just as heavy and insane as it sounds, and Bring On The Young (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Le2Li4Az4) starts out eerily quiet, but builds and builds until it completely loses its mind. Devin Townsend is widely regarded as a legend around here (because he is), and this is one of, if not the most underrated of his albums.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Rape Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKcDLj45tFU), Aftermath (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nijj4nRi9PQ), Force Fed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zij4SVtue9U), Bring On The Young (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Le2Li4Az4)
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Just catching up on this list, some really great albums so far! Keep it coming man.
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Good, but not great albums. And I think City and Alien are much better SYL albums.
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Alien for sure, though I'm not really that sold on City as most people seem to be. I don't really know why, it just never really clicked with me. :dunno:
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I'm not so keen on the older SYL stuff, bit too intense for me I think. The New Black is damn good fun though.
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Yay, someone finally replied! XD
And yeah, I'm definitely the minority when it comes to my love for that SYL album, but I don't care. I don't really like HaaRHT or The New Black that much, but the middle three albums are all fantastic. As for which album (City or Alien) is my favorite, you'll just have to wait and find out!
Anyways, since this update finally got a few replies, new one coming soon!
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I'm sure its frustrating if people aren't posting after each one, but keep chugging. With Superstorm Sandy and the presidential election, people have had other things on their mind. Also, and no offense since I'm replying, but newbies tend to get a lot less traffic in their list threads it seems.
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Ima following, but only comment when I have something meaningful and/or nice to say. As the good doctor said, keep plodding... lots of people lurk on these.
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Laser Cannon Death Sentence is absolutely killer along with the rest of Dethalbum II :tup
Have you had a chance to listen to Dethalbum III yet? Brendon Small is just a genius, I mean along with his solo project, I feel confident in saying he's on the road to becoming the next Devin Townsend, not sure exactly what I mean by saying that, but yeah.. :lol
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Laser Cannon Death Sentence is absolutely killer
I don't know if Dethklok will ever top that song. By far my favorite Dethklok song.
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D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-DIE :metal :metal
I didn't get to see them live this cycle around, but I did back during the Crack The Skye touring and they didn't play this song, I hope when I get to see them again some day they play this song and I just melt in a puddle of complete man crush for Brendon Small.
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Laser Cannon Death Sentence is absolutely killer along with the rest of Dethalbum II :tup
Have you had a chance to listen to Dethalbum III yet? Brendon Small is just a genius, I mean along with his solo project, I feel confident in saying he's on the road to becoming the next Devin Townsend, not sure exactly what I mean by saying that, but yeah.. :lol
Awesome song, but not one of my favorites.
And yes, I've heard Dethalbum III. It's awesome, but not quite as good as II in my opinion. But Crush The Industry = HOOOOLY SHIT :hefdaddy
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I'm sure its frustrating if people aren't posting after each one, but keep chugging. With Superstorm Sandy and the presidential election, people have had other things on their mind. Also, and no offense since I'm replying, but newbies tend to get a lot less traffic in their list threads it seems.
I follow all the Top 50 threads but I don't really post too much in them. Maybe I should change that.
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#22: Sigur Rós - ( ) (2002)
(https://www.themusicmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/frontcover-usa1.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
Untitled 1, Untitled 2, Untitled 3... you get the idea.
As the previous update shows, I’m quite the metalhead. However, something else that I absolutely love that’s completely on the other end of the musical spectrum is atmosphere, and this album is just about as atmospheric as it gets. Some of the songs are optimistic, some are bleak, but all of them are stunningly beautiful. The record is very quiet for the most part, but when the more intense climaxes start showing up in the last three songs, they feel truly orgasmic. If you’ve heard of this album before you’re probably aware that the songs have no names, and all of the vocals are in a fictional language called “hopelandic”. (It’s just like Icelandic, except half of the language’s dictionary consists of something that sounds like YYYUUUUUUUU SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.) Untitled I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkhzZIzFzUo) starts the album off on a somber but strangely uplifting and beautiful note. Untitled III (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQt-7iUhBwo) sticks out amongst the rest of the album for several reasons; it’s the only purely instrumental song, and while the rest of the album feels very cold and wintery, this song is incredibly lush, perfect for a rainy, warm day. Untitled VI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnXuLNOwzDk) feels very war-like and serious and gets truly amazing towards the end, and Untitled VIII (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwDHBqFedFg) ends the album off with a bombastic, energetic and optimistic outro. If you’re a fan of atmospheric or just plain beautiful music, this album will definitely find a special place in your heart.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Untitled I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkhzZIzFzUo), Untitled III (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQt-7iUhBwo), Untitled VI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnXuLNOwzDk), Untitled VIII (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwDHBqFedFg)
#21: OSI - Office Of Strategic Influence (2003)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ld-ZYGACo9I/Tq-KK8XrTHI/AAAAAAAAAgI/Mr0CbtbJrNU/s400/front.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) The New Math (What He Said) (2) OSI (3) When You're Ready (4) Horseshoes And B-52's (5) Head (6) Hello, Helicopter!
(7) ShutDOWN (8) Dirt From A Holy Place (9) Memory Daydreams Lapses (10) Standby (Looks Like Rain)
OSI, the collaboration between Kevin Moore (who nobody here knows about, obviously) and Jim Matheos of Fate’s Warning, has made four albums since 2003. While they’re all great, in my opinion they still haven’t topped their debut album. It has the best songs, the least amount of filler, and the best flow. Sound-wise, while you’ve got plenty of Kevin Moore’s fantastic, atmospheric keyboard work, he wasn’t in on the project from the beginning. As a result, you can hear a lot from the project’s beginning when it was just Jim Matheos and Mike Portnoy. (Again, who’s that guy?) The first two songs in particular, The New Math (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpYlpNxNXPM) and OSI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qd8-v4VWVc), sound very much like typical progressive metal, but not in a bad way. The album has a good amount of variety to it, balancing out the more moody, ambient songs with louder, guitar-focused tracks. The two styles also blend together fantastically, unlike some of the band’s other albums. (Blood, in particular, sounds like two completely different albums stitched together at the last minute.) The song Head (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLr9ONBf1aU) is a great example of this, as it alternates between the two styles numerously and seamlessly. ShutDOWN (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJ1L5Y-b6Y) is another standout track; it features Steven Wilson (another random musician nobody cares about) on vocals, but the song sounds so Porcupine Tree-esque that my guess is he probably wrote a lot of the music for it too. Mike Portnoy’s drum work on the album is also fantastic, some of the best he’s ever done. Of course, he didn’t do nearly as well a job on the follow-up album due to him not really giving a shit because he didn’t get to make every single musical decision in the whole band like he was used to. This is definitely an album absolutely everyone on here should check out.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
The New Math (What He Said) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpYlpNxNXPM), OSI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qd8-v4VWVc), Head (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLr9ONBf1aU), ShutDOWN (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJ1L5Y-b6Y)
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I tried OSI, but this album never did anything for me.
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I tried OSI, but this album never did anything for me.
What didn't you like about it?
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() is absolutely fantastic, but I wouldn't call the outo of Untitled 8 "optimistic". It's not as bleak, desperate and depressive as Untitled 5-7, but neither is it optimistic. Actually, I think the first part of Untitled 8 is much more hopeful than the second part. Still, great choice!
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I tried OSI, but this album never did anything for me.
What didn't you like about it?
Just not quite my thing.
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() is absolutely fantastic, but I wouldn't call the outo of Untitled 8 "optimistic". It's not as bleak, desperate and depressive as Untitled 5-7, but neither is it optimistic. Actually, I think the first part of Untitled 8 is much more hopeful than the second part. Still, great choice!
I guess that's true. But whatever, Untitled 8 is amazing. Easily the best song on the album, imo.
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Both of those albums are great!
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Listened to that OSI album today after reading your writeup, that's a cool album!
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Listened to that OSI album today after reading your writeup, that's a cool album!
Glad you liked it. :) Is it the first time you've checked out OSI?
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Can you tell us how many albums you have? Sigur Ros aside (not my cup of tea at all), I'm finding your choices to be good albums, but nothing I'd serious consider for a list if I was doing one. We might be in the same relative ballpark though as in where it falls by percentile based rank.
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Can you tell us how many albums you have? Sigur Ros aside (not my cup of tea at all), I'm finding your choices to be good albums, but nothing I'd serious consider for a list if I was doing one. We might be in the same relative ballpark though as in where it falls by percentile based rank.
Nowhere near as many as you. :P
Maybe you'll find the albums closer to the end of the list better. (Don't count on it though, heh.)
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Fellow OSI fans always get a thumbs up from me :heart I preferred Free and Blood, but, really, whatever KM's involved in - I'm just going to put it on, sit back and enjoy the ride, I have high standards for him but he always delivers.
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Listened to that OSI album today after reading your writeup, that's a cool album!
Glad you liked it. :) Is it the first time you've checked out OSI?
Yes, it was.
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Fellow OSI fans always get a thumbs up from me :heart I preferred Free and Blood, but, really, whatever KM's involved in - I'm just going to put it on, sit back and enjoy the ride, I have high standards for him but he always delivers.
Yeah, OSI's awesome :) Blood is my 2nd favorite despite my main criticism about it in the write-up. Free was mostly disappointing for me, but hey, it's still got some great stuff.
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I really like that OSI album, my fav album from them.
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Buddy likes Meshuggah and is doing a 33-song list. I just wish I had more to go on to help me figure out what number 1 could be.
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Buddy likes Meshuggah and is doing a 33-song list. I just wish I had more to go on to help me figure out what number 1 could be.
Catch Thirtythree isn't even on the list.
Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams. :P
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#20: Pendulum - Immersion (2010)
(https://mp3passion.net/uploads/posts/thumbs/1273982120_pendulum.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Genesis (2) Salt In The Wounds (3) Watercolour (4) Set Me On Fire (5) Crush (6) Under The Waves (7) Immunize
(8) The Island, Part 1 (Dawn) (9) The Island, Part 2 (Dusk) (10) Comprachicos (11) The Vulture (12) Witchcraft
(13) Self Vs. Self (14) The Fountain (15) Encoder
Electronica is a music genre I’ve always enjoyed elements of, but never really found a band or album of that’s truly fantastic. That is, until I found this album. Pendulum is by all means an electronic band, but their music is so good and they have enough variety that I’d recommend them to anyone, regardless of their musical tastes. This album has no bad songs, and each one has their own unique qualities to the point where it would be impossible to go over them all. To name just a few, Salt In The Wounds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYY3_-Rkt8A) opens up the album with an energetic drum ‘n’ bass song that I could totally see at a sweet rave party, Set Me On Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeOJDgAu4LE) is pretty much the only great dubstep-esque song I’ve ever heard, and The Island (both parts) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGow4nmYkkA) is easily the highlight of the record. The album also has its share of guest musicians. The Fountain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5f966vztPk) features Steven Wilson (This guy again? It hasn’t even been a whole entry yet…) on vocals, and In Flames plays on Self Vs. Self (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnBxYFJLVS4) to create a memorable mash-up of electronica and metal. Even if you dislike electronic music, you need to check this album out.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Salt In The Wounds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYY3_-Rkt8A), Set Me On Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeOJDgAu4LE), The Island (both parts) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGow4nmYkkA), Self Vs. Self (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnBxYFJLVS4), The Fountain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5f966vztPk)
#19: Katatonia - Dead End Kings (2012)
(https://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/Metaltim/April%202012/Katcvr1fltF-1024x1024.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) The Parting (2) The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here (3) Hypnone (4) The Racing Heart (5) Buildings (6) Leech
(7) Ambitions (8) Undo You (9) Lethean (10) First Prayer (11) Dead Letters
Wait a minute! This album has barely been out for two months! Yes, it has been released quite recently. Now you shut your whore mouth because this album is freaking amazing and so much better than the rest of Katatonia’s discography that the difference is practically night and day. This was the album I had been hoping Katatonia would release ever since I became a fan of them. All the filler has been removed. Every song on the album is great. Each song has its own memorable elements, as opposed to every one sounding nearly exactly the same. While the classic Katatonia mood is still as present as ever, and they haven’t tried much new stuff in terms of song structure, Dead End Kings is fantastic from start to finish. It also feels much warmer than their prior albums while still being incredibly melancholy, making it the perfect “rainy day” album in my opinion. The first track, The Parting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aNOq7tL_GE), alternates between a bombastic chorus and quiet verses in typical Katatonia fashion, The Racing Heart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaNxGe0Vz3g&feature=fvwrel) is one of the most emotional songs you’ll ever hear, and The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGMnV0uYATM&feature=related) is completely new-sounding for the band, featuring female vocals, a simple grungy guitar riff and an excellent use of background vocals to create a truly hypnotic and relaxing song. After ten excellent tracks, the album closes with its best song, Dead Letters (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u79MohYXcl4). This album completely blew my expectations out of the water, and features virtually none of the complaints I had with their previous records. Well done, Katatonia. Well done.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
The Parting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aNOq7tL_GE), The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGMnV0uYATM&feature=related), The Racing Heart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaNxGe0Vz3g&feature=fvwrel), Dead Letters (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u79MohYXcl4)
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Watercolour!
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Buddy likes Meshuggah and is doing a 33-song list. I just wish I had more to go on to help me figure out what number 1 could be.
Catch Thirtythree isn't even on the list.
Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams. :P
No sweat dude. Combustion is basically the only song I know by them anyway.
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Holy shit. I still need to listen to the Katatonia album, but I was curious about the Pendulum album. Saw this guys live @ Sonisphere 2009 in Holland, and I thought they weren't that good. Moreover, I generally hate electronic music. But then I listened to that song they did together with In Flames (I'm an IF fan), and it was quite good. And then I listened to Salt in the Water. Congratulations dude, you just made me find an electronic song that I actually quite like for the first time ever.
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Can't really say I like Katatonia. When they were playing with Devin Townsend I just wanted them to get off the stage so Devy could get on. It seemed like every song started off heavy as fuck, then transitioned into the singer singing in the same pattern/range the entire time, going back to the heavy music, and then the singer doing the same thing again, and again.
Hella sweet album cover though :biggrin:
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give them another chance, so maybe I'll pop them on at work tonight.
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Can't really say I like Katatonia. When they were playing with Devin Townsend I just wanted them to get off the stage so Devy could get on. It seemed like every song started off heavy as fuck, then transitioned into the singer singing in the same pattern/range the entire time, going back to the heavy music, and then the singer doing the same thing again, and again.
Hella sweet album cover though :biggrin:
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give them another chance, so maybe I'll pop them on at work tonight.
Katatonia does follow the heavy chorus / calm verse / repeat structure quite a lot. Personally I think that actually works pretty damn well in a live setting.
I'd definitely recommend checking out Dead End Kings. It's so much better than the rest of their albums.
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Can't really say I like Katatonia. When they were playing with Devin Townsend I just wanted them to get off the stage so Devy could get on. It seemed like every song started off heavy as fuck, then transitioned into the singer singing in the same pattern/range the entire time, going back to the heavy music, and then the singer doing the same thing again, and again.
Hella sweet album cover though :biggrin:
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give them another chance, so maybe I'll pop them on at work tonight.
I do like Dead End Kings but I didn't really enjoy seeing them live. Luckily, they were the last band of the night so I didn't have to wait for them to finish before I saw Devin.
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#18: Unexpect - Fables Of The Sleepless Empire (2011)
(https://f.bandcamp.com/z/38/10/3810242332-1.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Unsolved Ideas Of A Distorted Guest (2) Words (3) Orange Vigilantes (4) Mechanical Phoenix (5) The Quantum Symphony
(6) Unfed Pendulum (7) In The Mind Of The Last Whale (8) Silence This Parasite (9) A Fading Stance
(10) When The Joyful Dead Are Dancing (11) Until Yet A Few More Deaths Do Us Part
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Unexpect, to sum them up in seven words would be something like “What the hell am I listening to”. They’re one of the craziest, weirdest, most insane-sounding bands out there, and they’re freaking amazing. This is their most recent album, and while it’s still crazy as hell, it’s not quite as ridiculous as their previous record, In A Flesh Aquarium. It’s more “controlled madness” as opposed to “sheer insanity”. Therefore, if you’re new to the band I definitely recommend checking out this record first. Songs like Unsolved Ideas Of A Distorted Guest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46U2y-lO344) and Words (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBDvDBuLKEY&feature=related) are quite accessible for the band while still being incredibly avant-garde, and the same could be said for most of the other songs on the album. There seems to be more of a focus on the female vocals and violin than on the previous record, and the album sounds quite bright and majestic, as opposed to the very dark and disturbing In A Flesh Aquarium. (We’ll get more in-depth about that album sometime later…) Other great songs are The Quantum Symphony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vznel8r7QOg&feature=relmfu), Unfed Pendulum (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CgLBeWeL-4&feature=relmfu), and the final (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb1_-5PrkC4) three (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rci0cqsPylE&feature=relmfu) tracks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrhmbWV6t3A&feature=relmfu) that form the excellent suite Until Yet A Few More Deaths Do Us Part. There’s a lot to love on this album, as long as you aren’t turned off by something more on the strange side.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Unsolved Ideas Of A Distorted Guest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46U2y-lO344), Words (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBDvDBuLKEY&feature=related), The Quantum Symphony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vznel8r7QOg&feature=relmfu), Unfed Pendulum (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CgLBeWeL-4&feature=relmfu), Until Yet A Few More Deaths Do Us Part (the final (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb1_-5PrkC4) three (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rci0cqsPylE&feature=relmfu) tracks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrhmbWV6t3A&feature=relmfu))
#17: Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh (2008)
(https://miphol.com/muse/2008/12/26/The-Way-Of-All-Flesh.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Oroborus (2) Toxic Garbage Island (3) A Sight To Behold (4) Yama's Messengers (5) The Silver Chord (6) All The Tears
(7) Adoration For None (8) The Art Of Dying (9) Esoteric Surgery (10) Vacuity (11) Wolf Down The Earth
(12) The Way Of All Flesh
Gojira, simply put, is everything that’s good about metal. With their face smashing but incredibly creative guitar work, amazing drumming, awesome vocals and fantastic composition skills, they’re hands-down one of the greatest bands in the genre. The Way Of All Flesh contains all of these good elements, and is my personal favorite of their albums. Once again, what makes this album shine is its songs. There are barely any weak tracks, you’ve got some of their best songs, and there’s enough variety to hold your interest from start to finish. Toxic Garbage Island (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hHDb3waOnY) is insanely heavy and features some guitar work that only Gojira could pull off, and A Sight To Behold (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFvkEid7Izs) introduces some electronic elements to their usual sound, like synth-focused verses and a vocal filter that makes Joe sound like some kind of pissed off alien robot. The real standout tracks are the more epic and progressive songs. The Art Of Dying (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKwyTQkaQ8A) goes on for almost ten minutes and has several epic-sounding segments that give me goosebumps every time I hear them, and the title track The Way Of All Flesh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aPZvJc793A) closes off the album on a strong note. (Minus the fact that it has one of those “hidden” songs tacked onto the end that makes the song appear three times longer than it actually is.) There’s not much else to saw about this record other than it truly is one of the greatest metal albums of all time.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Toxic Garbage Island (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hHDb3waOnY), A Sight To Behold (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFvkEid7Izs), The Art Of Dying (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKwyTQkaQ8A), The Way Of All Flesh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aPZvJc793A)
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I don't know if it's my favorite Gojira album, but it has one of the coolest metal productions I've ever heard. I once read they mixed ages on this. And it has the one-two punch of 'Oroborus' tap-groove and 'Toxic's insane breakneck opening.
Reminds me of going to a gathering at the city hall to demonstrate against the closing of a music venue. When I entered out of the parking garage they were blasting 'Toxic Garbage Island' over a ridiculously powerful soundsystem in front of their doors to piss them off. Amazing. Play this album loud folks.
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Yeah, the production is absolutely fantastic.
From Mars To Sirius sounds really awesome too, but in a completely different way. It's sound is freaking COLOSSAL.
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Fuck yes Fables. :metal Also, ( ) earlier. :tup The second half of Untitled 8 is probably the only section of all Sigur Ros' music I'd call angry.
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Cool choices. Never really got into Unexpect, but Gojira is cool.
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#16: Opeth - Ghost Reveries (2005)
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tdtwvg2CeV0/TukYiYGKDyI/AAAAAAAAAB8/OI-xSAieQdY/s1600/ghostreveries.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Ghost Of Perdition (2) The Baying Of The Hounds (3) Beneath The Mire (4) Atonement (5) Reverie / Harlequin Forest
(6) Hours Of Wealth (7) The Grand Conjuration (8) Isolation Years
What is there to say about Opeth? Everyone here knows and loves them. Not only is this album one of their greatest, but it was also a pretty big turning point for the bad. It was the last album to feature Martin Lopez and Peter Lindgren, the first to feature a full-time keyboardist, and showcased a more progressive style that showed that the band was starting to distance itself from its death metal elements. While there are still plenty of Mikael’s harsh growls, the extra clean sections, proggier riffs, and abundance of keyboards made the record sound very new for the band. If for some strange reason you’re reading this and have never checked out Opeth, this would definitely be a great place to start, especially if you aren’t much of a metalhead. My only real complaint with this album is that while it starts out perfect with amazing songs like Ghost Of Perdition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6Q4FpW-sY) and The Baying Of The Hounds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vjg7dQhARY), it definitely loses some of its momentum and its flow towards the end. Still, the latter half has some fantastic tracks like the progressive Reverie / Harlequin Forest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij0IBNb0JtU) and the sad, beautiful closer Isolation Years (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZGVCV0jVxs). I’m sure pretty much everyone here already has this album, but if you don’t, something is seriously wrong with you.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Ghost Of Perdition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6Q4FpW-sY), The Baying Of The Hounds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vjg7dQhARY), Beneath The Mire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR6SQPkK4bA), Reverie / Harlequin Forest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij0IBNb0JtU)
#15: Meshuggah - obZen (2008)
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nJfXEKj_7zk/SQtFn6DS5RI/AAAAAAAABF8/jfbDTHVPNqc/s400/Meshuggah_-_obZen.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Combustion (2) Electric Red (3) Bleed (4) Lethargica (5) obZen (6) This Spiteful Snake (7) Pineal Gland Optics
(8) Pravus (9) Dancers To A Discordant System
Meshuggah’s back, and they’re here to kick your ass. obZen, the band’s best album, is a nonstop barrage of brutality that will assault your ears as you beg for more. Like Koloss, this record is everything that Meshuggah does great rolled into one. You’ve got fast, heavy as hell tracks like the opener Combustion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bqh8nj4oIE) and the infamously difficult to play Bleed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4GXNzom6ik), as well as slower, groovier songs like the fantastic Lethargica (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EHLjxZ4AIs). All the performances on this album are absolutely flawless, with the precision and coordination of a machine. An extremely pissed-off machine. The songs are all great, with barely any forgettable tracks and some of their best songs like the title track obZen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYlejUiW8N8&feature=relmfu) and the epic closer Dancers To A Discordant System (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J4Ye7nRT0s&feature=related), which sounds King Crimson if they were a Swedish extreme metal band playing during the apocalypse. This album is technical metal at its finest, and it’s hard to see Meshuggah ever top it in the future.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Combustion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bqh8nj4oIE), Lethargica (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EHLjxZ4AIs), obZen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYlejUiW8N8&feature=relmfu), Dancers To A Discordant System (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J4Ye7nRT0s&feature=related)
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Ghost reveries is a good album, although not one of my favorite Opeth releases. I also don't think it is a good starting point for non-metalheads, as I consider it pretty heavy. Watershed, on the other hand, might have a better balance between their metal and prog elements.
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Ghost reveries is a good album, although not one of my favorite Opeth releases. I also don't think it is a good starting point for non-metalheads, as I consider it pretty heavy. Watershed, on the other hand, might have a better balance between their metal and prog elements.
Watershed is a very underrated album and has a good metal / prog balance, but Ghost Reveries is a much better representative for Opeth's whole discography than Watershed is, imo.
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Two fantastic albums :tup
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I never could get into opeth. I have no clue why, they just never clicked for me. I've tried to check them out multiple times, but it never worked.
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:2metal: Ghost Reveries :2metal:
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:2metal: Ghost Reveries :2metal:
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:2metal: Ghost Reveries :2metal:
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#14: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)
(https://cdn.head-fi.org/8/80/806a3b17_2838427.jpeg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Deadwing (2) Shallow (3) Lazarus (4) Halo (5) Arriving Somewhere But Not Here (6) Mellotron Scratch (7) Open Car
(8) The Start Of Something Beautiful (9) Glass Arm Shattering
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbWhpfXisZw), Mellotron Scratch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG0uDShi60g), The Start Of Something Beautiful (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu8c8XExXVs), Glass Arm Shattering (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6TUGJRYig4)
Deadwing is one of the most popular and acclaimed albums on these forums, and with great reasons. It’s amazingly consistent, has a great atmosphere, and contains all the elements of a perfect Porcupine Tree record. But hey, don’t take my word for it, lots of other people have included this album in their top 50 albums list, often pretty high on it. So instead of repeating the same stuff that you’ve probably already heard many times before, I’ll bring something new to the table.
*drum roll*
INTRODUCING, THE STEVEN WILSON DRINKING GAME!
[WARNING:] MAY CAUSE A TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL AND/OR DEATH IF PLAYED WHILE LISTENING TO THE DEADWING ALBUM.
---RULES---
Gather some friends, bring lots of alcohol, and line up the shots. Put on a Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson album (no mp3s allowed!) from start to finish.
1: Whenever a mellotron comes in, take a shot. It doesn’t matter what kind of mellotron it is, as long as it is, indeed, a mellotron.
2: Whenever trains are mentioned in the lyrics or song title, or whenever train sound effects are used, take a shot.
3: Whenever Steven Wilson layers his voice to create his unique vocal harmony effect, take a shot. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s used in pretty much every Porcupine Tree song, especially in choruses.
4: Whenever Steven Wilson uses any of these four chords, take a shot.
- Asus4
- Dm9
- Em7/C
- Bb7sus4/F
These four chords are used (in order) during the chorus to The Sound Of Muzak and the vocal section of .3, as an example. If you keep an ear out, Steven Wilson spams the everloving shit out of these four chords, especially in choruses.
IMPORTANT: If multiple chords are used in the same riff/progression, you must take a shot for each one. If the riff/progression loops, you only need to take a shot the FIRST time the chords are used. However, if the riff/progression goes away then comes back again later, you have to take the shots again.
Have fun, and enjoy murdering your liver to Steven Wilson’s amazing music!
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Very good album. Possibly my fave from PT. ASBNH is choice :tup Of course, it's hard for a song with Mike Akerfeldt's involvement to not have a leg up on the rest when you're juding with my taste in music.
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5th favourite from PT. Here's me hoping you'll include at least my top 3, which I know isn't happening. Also, I've had enough beer already, so I'm not doing the SW drinking game.
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Very good album. Possibly my fave from PT.
From my brain to floydie's typing fingers. Well done. :biggrin:
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Word. Although, I must say that IA or FoaBP could also contend strongly. The weird thing for me and PT albums is that I've been so thoroughly turned off by their softest ballads that my level of dislike for them is actually a bigger factor in which PT albums I enjoy most than the level of love I have for the remaining songs. That's not even spite-driven toward those ballads but just a matter of how my level of enjoyment for the rest of their songs (those ranging from "regular ballads" such as Trains to full-on rockers such as Blackest Eyes) can be somewhat compromised by the interruption of the album's flow every time I have to skip through the songs I classify as snoozers.
And before the beyond-worn-out meathead metalhead versus sappy prog fan cliched can of worms is opened for the millionth time on DTF, I didn't just take a vow to not like softer songs when I became a teenage metalhead several years ago. I've never liked ultra-soft ballads at any point in my life unless they brought something to the table that could appeal to me enough to make look past the possibly-mundane vibe.
For instance, on GR, we have Hours of Wealth and Isolation Years which are about as soft as Opeth have ever gotten but there's a fragile beauty in them that's both comforting and delightful to my ears. Also, AiC's Whale and Wasp has a nearly-tearjerking vibe to it especially when the song shifts into that new section toward the end.
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I'm with you on Fear, for sure. IA? Eh, besides Blackest Eyes, The Sound of Muzak, and Strip The Soul I just do not see why IA is held in so much higher regard than Deadwing. Deadwing absolutely SLAYS IA IMO.
Your mileage may vary. :lol
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Porcupine Tree does soft ballads better than pretty much any other musical artist ever, imo...
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Not disagreeing with ya, Buddy. :tup
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Awesome album is awesome. :metal
And that game sounds so amazing, it might actually help me start drinking. :lol
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Epic album!
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And that game sounds so amazing, it might actually help me start drinking. :lol
(https://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/274/525/cc1.jpg)
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cool list.
checked out pendulum for the fuck of it. expected that it wouldnt be up my alley. and maybe it isnt. but it IS a place in my neighborhood that i dont mind taking a stroll through. its even kinda :metal
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Dat picture... :rollin
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#13: Tool - Ænima (1996)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sR-Ax5XNiMY/Sk6SKcxaoOI/AAAAAAAAASI/XtQuB7O1tpo/s400/Tool+Aenima.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Stinkfist (2) Eulogy (3) H. (4) Useful Idiot (5) Forty Six & 2 (6) Message To Harry Manback (7) Hooker With A Penis
(8) Intermission (9) jimmy (10) Die Eier Von Satan (11) Pushit (12) Cesaro Summability (13) Ænima
(14) (-) Ions (15) Third Eye
Part grunge, part prog, part alternative, part metal, and always experimental, Tool has a sound all their own. Not only was this record such a step-up from their first album, it was something completely new and amazing. Everyone’s performances on this album are flawless. Maynard’s wide range of vocal styles are all fantastic and accommodate every musical mood the band creates. Adam Jones’s guitar tone sounds almost alien at times, and he uses all of his effects creatively. Danny Carey is quite simply one of the greatest drummers alive, and Justin Chancellor’s bass is more noticeable than the guitar at times. This truly is a unique-sounding record, and it has some great songs too. The opener Stinkfist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07pLGIgyfjw) mixes sludgy, groovy riffs with a thick and unsettling atmosphere. (Don’t click that link if you don’t like watching strange and disturbing music videos…) The follow-up song, Eulogy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHdlhUfJ5qc), starts out slow and calm then transitions into a faster, more energetic second half. The title track, Ænima (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCEeAn6_QJo), is a heavy rocker about Los Angeles sinking into the ocean, and has a great anger-filled energy that’s sure to get you pumped up. The album closes with Third Eye (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zV78IgXzB0), a sprawling, psychedelic voyage inspired by LSD trips. If there’s one complaint I have with this album, it’s that the segue tracks get a bit annoying after a while. They don’t really transition the songs, making them mostly pointless filler, and there’s far too many of them. (Though Die Eier Von Satan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htxZZKv4pMw) is one of the most hilarious things ever.) If you’re one of the unfortunate people who haven’t given this album a listen, pick it up as soon as you can. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience you won’t soon forget.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Stinkfist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07pLGIgyfjw), Eulogy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHdlhUfJ5qc), Ænima (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCEeAn6_QJo), Third Eye (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zV78IgXzB0)
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my bud mentioned yesterday how Aenima/Lateralus/10KDays would be his top 3 albums ever if it weren't for the segues. and i think he was exaggerating less than normal.
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Ænima was my favorite album my senior year in high school, which is when it came out.
Also, most people consider Ænima to be their third album, with Opiate being first and Undertow second.
You're going to die of cancer, I promise.
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Fantastic album. Far and away my fave from Tool. There was an atmosphere created on this album that they've yet to top and I used to listen to this album like every day, especially because I'd borrowed it from my cousin, didn't know how long it'd be before he'd want it back, and this was back in '96 when no one had access to burners or could rip CDs unless you had really good (and rare for that time) tech connections. I guess a CD/Cassette player's dubbing feature could've worked but by that point in time cassettes were starting to feel like an antiquated pain in the ass.
Back to the story, I remember fall had just started when Stinkfist hit the radio and the colder, dreary days were such a perfect complement to the unsettlingly bleak vibe which was so prevalent throughout the album. I remember once H came out, I hauled ass to Blockbuster Music and got Ænima and Undertow. After a couple listens, I was floored by Eulogy. As my only in-depth exposure to rock as of that point in time had been grunge, a song of Eulogy's caliber hit me probably as hard as 2112 hit rockers who were old enough to legitimately appreciate music in 1976. The duck-core CB squawks of Adam Jones' guitar laying on top of the ominous vibe established by Danny Carey's eclectic percussion created such a captivating buildup and when things like the first chorus, the middle section at 5:24 when the swift beat kicks in, and "GOOD BYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" hit my eardrums for the first time, I was in awe that music could make such an impression on me.
A masterpiece if ever one was written.
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Has my all-time favorite Tool song, Forty-Six & 2. :letam: :2metal: :metal
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You're forgetting 'Pushit'. That song litteraly floored me when I heard it first. Yeah, this one is definetely in my top 10 list of greates rock records EVER. :hefdaddy
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LOVE the Bill Hicks sample they used too.
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This list is pretty cool.
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I've been following your list for a while, and I dig your writeups. Also, I know you get this a lot, but your avatar is fucking amazing, every time it gets to "is that a mellotron riding a train?" I completely lose it :laugh:
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Buddy's avatar is :hefdaddy
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Also, most people consider Ænima to be their third album, with Opiate being first and Undertow second.
Opiate is an EP. :P
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I think he knew that. I agree with his stance, though, that most longtime Tool fans lean more toward counting Opiate as their debut rather than Undertow because songs like Jerkoff, Opiate, and Cold and Ugly are pretty well known for most of their fans I've encountered over the years so it's not like how some bands who released an EP before an LP have the EP as some obscure, somewhat forgotten chapter of their discography.
Mastodon's Lifesblood (yes, "Lifesblood", before any Mastonewbs try to erroneously correct me on this by saying "Ya mean 'Call of the Mastodon'?") is a good example of the forgotten EP since even back when Leviathan was "that new Mastodon album", most of their fans would've been hard-pressed to name more than 2 or 3 tracks from it.
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#12: Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day (2009)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oXSCaIrmSqI/SxqE_mvq5wI/AAAAAAAAHj8/e7euR7pZ7Z4/s400/Guilt+Machine+-+On+This+Perfect+Day.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Twisted Coil (2) Leland Street (3) Green And Cream (4) Season Of Denial (5) Over (6) Perfection?
…And now for the most controversial pick on my list. Arjen Lucassen is mostly known as the man behind the Ayreon project, but he’s also done a few side-projects over the years, like Star One and his recent solo record. Honestly, I’m not a fan of any of these projects, including Ayreon. They just aren’t really my thing. And then there’s this album. I absolutely love it, and for whatever reason, I seem to be pretty much the only one that does. So, how would one describe the sound of this record? Well, it definitely does share a lot of similarities with Ayreon, so let’s use that as our starting slate. First, get rid of the whole rock opera thing with all the characters and plot. Throw out all the cheesy lyrics about aliens and science fiction and replace it with personal, poetic lyrics about guilt, depression, and other somber but relatable subjects. Arjen stepped down from writing the lyrics and had the guitarist do them all, and she did an absolutely amazing job. Secondly, remove all the guest vocalists and replace them all with just one guy. While the whole cast of vocalists on the Ayreon albums is one if its defining features, it’s mostly just a gimmick to me. The vocalist for this record is fantastic, and has such a wide range that fits every mood the album has to offer, making multiple vocalists unnecessary. Last but certainly not least, the composition on this record feels much more polished and mature than on the Ayreon albums. It’s more somber, flows much better, has much more texture and fullness to it, and all the songs cover a lot of ground without ever feeling bloated. There are only six songs on the album, with four of them over ten minutes, and with the exception of the fifth track, they’re all great. The opener Twisted Coil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9U4L4B0fEA) starts with a quiet, building into that explodes into a bombastic heavy section after several minutes. Leland Street (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuoPHLcWZ0A) alternates between ambient and energetic, Season Of Denial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rWIqYXLVkk&feature=relmfu) is bleak, somber, and progressive, and the closer, Perfection? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt1-iGD15e0&feature=relmfu), spins the whole mood of the album around and ends with an optimistic note that no matter how dark your past is, the future can always be bright. Fans of Arjen Lucassen’s work always seem to rank this album among his very lowest, but if you ask me, it’s a masterpiece. Perhaps it’s not for everyone. But it’s my personal opinion that not only does it blow all the Ayreon albums out of the water, it’s one of the best records out there.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Twisted Coil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9U4L4B0fEA), Leland Street (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuoPHLcWZ0A), Season Of Denial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rWIqYXLVkk&feature=relmfu), Perfection? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt1-iGD15e0&feature=relmfu)
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I'm curious... was this the first Arjen album you heard? Regardless, it is a good album. There isn't anything of Arjen's that I don't love. I think the reason I probably don't come back to this one though is for all the reasons you listed that it's great. What I love and want most out of Arjen's work is everything you listed about what you don't like about Ayreon. I love the story's, love the vocalists and the diversity they bring. Sure, lyrics get a little stinky sometimes (I'm looking directly at you, Connect The Dots), but I can deal with that. So, relatively speaking, being such a divergence from all of that is probably the reason Arjen/Ayreon fans rank it low. I'd put this above a couple of Ayreon works, and I probably like it better than Ambeon (but it's a totally different style). For me, it's probably on par with his solo release from the summer.
None-the-less, I think I'll go back to this and listen to it through your ears. Really nice writeup.
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That makes sense.
Still, I think the music itself on this album really shines through on this album. It sounds more... mature and developed, imo.
It also helps that the record only has six songs and isn't like, an hour and a half long.
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#11: Tool - Lateralus (2001)
(https://saitfainder.altervista.org/tool/files/2010/08/lateralus_inside.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) The Grudge (2) Eon Blue Apocalypse (3) The Patient (4) Mantra (5) Schism (6) Parabol (7) Parabola (8) Ticks & Leeches
(9) Lateralus (10) Disposition (11) Reflection (12) Triad (13) Faaip De Oaid
Tool again? Already? Yes, not only did Tool manage to reach the brilliance of Ænima once, but they were able to do it again five years later with their follow-up album. The two records are VERY close together in terms of quality (hence why they are so close on the list), but I personally like this one just a tiny bit more. There are several improvements made to this album that put it over the edge. The segue tracks are almost all gone, and the very few that remain actually do their job of transitioning into the next song perfectly. Maynard’s voice has gotten even more powerful, with powerful screaming on the intro track The Grudge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiR1hmpk-x4), and the song Ticks & Leeches (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RelR85j09XY) (which also features Danny Carey’s most amazing drum work to date.) Most importantly, the quality of the songs on this album is more consistent, and features some of their greatest songs like the dark but mostly calm Schism (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1I6pFbwhWU), the two-parter Parabola (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWRLPZSzVDk&feature=related) that starts out quiet and ambient then suddenly explodes into an amazingly powerful heavy riff, and the title track Lateralus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDlC7oG_2W4), which might be their best song ever. The record also has more dynamics, better flow, and an overall calmer and less-trippy atmosphere. You can’t go wrong with either Ænima or Lateralus, they’re both amazing experiences. That said, this record is just barely superior to me, and is a great final album before we enter my top ten.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
The Grudge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiR1hmpk-x4), Schism (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1I6pFbwhWU), Parabola (both parts) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWRLPZSzVDk&feature=related), Lateralus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDlC7oG_2W4)
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Never could get in to Tool.
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Never could get in to Tool.
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Gotta disagree with you two gents. Lateralus is a brilliant album, one of my all-time favorites.
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Tool's best for sure, it just missed out on my top 50 when I did mine, but it will show up in a top 100. Great album.
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Lateralus is so amazing.
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I love Tool, and am in firm agreement that Lateralus is their best. An absolutely wonderful album.
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Lateralus is so amazing.
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Great call on Lateralus, although I think I would put it even higher on my list. Lateralus (the song) epitomizes eargasmic
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#10: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (2012)
(https://metaltalk.net/images2/storm_corrosion.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Drag Ropes (2) Storm Corrosion (3) Hag (4) Happy (5) Lock Howl (6) Ljudet Innan
Let’s start my top ten off with a bit of a surprise. Storm Corrosion, the recent collaboration between Steven Wilson and Mikael Akerfeldt, is an amazing, amazing record. My expectations before the album came out weren’t all that high. I had gotten pretty tired of the “70s throwback” records everyone was putting out, and the news that the whole album would be entirely ambient made things even more risky. When I picked the album up, it took some time to grow on me, but before too long I soon realized that this record is truly something special. I guess in a way I shouldn’t be too surprised, since it was made by two of my favorite musicians of all time. As I’ve mentioned before, I love atmosphere in music. You could say it’s a musical fetish of mine. Not only might this be the most heavily atmospheric record ever made, but it has a striking amount of variety within it, too. Every song creates vivid mental images in your head. The title track, Storm Corrosion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk_Vu1m4XLA), is one of the most beautiful songs ever made, and creates images of extensive fields with rain coming down from the cloudy skies above, empty buildings being overtaken by nature, and a beautiful sunset. It is definitely one of my favorite songs of all time, made even more lush by Steven’s soothing vocals and the single most beautiful guitar solo I’ve ever heard. Hag (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYW-BSFpuis) is very dark and brooding, evoking images of a shady, candlelit cult, an empty room with no light. The closer, Ljudet Innan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qtQ2-5wWP8&feature=related), is another beautiful song, creating images of a large, peaceful cathedral, a glimmer of shining light in the middle of darkness. There isn’t a single weak song on the album, and each one is unique. The only complaint I have is that while I prefer Steven’s clean vocals, I wish Mikeal got to sing more often. The harmonies between them on the opener Drag Ropes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=manW5v-AR7U) are fantastic, and aside from that song, pretty much all the vocals are handled entirely by Steven. Still, he does such a great job that it doesn’t really hurt the album. Now, as much as I love this record, it’s not for everyone. If you don’t like ambient, atmospheric music, you won’t like this album. Don’t wait for something exciting to happen on this record, because it rarely ever does. However, if you’re the type that likes long passages of quiet, ambient, and beautiful music, you should absolutely adore this album.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Drag Ropes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=manW5v-AR7U), Storm Corrosion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk_Vu1m4XLA), Hag (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYW-BSFpuis), Ljudet Innan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qtQ2-5wWP8&feature=related)
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WAY too early to put in a top 50, let alone a top 10..
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I believe out of the four 2012 albums on this list, this one's the oldest. :lol
edit: Nevermind, Koloss is. 2nd oldest. :P
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Wow, a surprise pick. It's a damn good album. :tup
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WAY too early to put in a top 50, let alone a top 10..
If an album's good, it's good. Death's Symbolic entered my alltime top 10 within its first day or so and, 13 years later, it remains there.
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Yes, but often an album can initially be very good, but doesn't age well at all. I can think of several examples of such album in my case. When composing a top *anything* you should take this into account as well. For my top 50, when I did mine, I excluded all albums I hadn't known for more than 6 months. Taking this into account, he could place Storm Corrosion there, since i's been out for more than 6 months if I recall correctly. Keep in mind I was drunk when I wrote the first comment :lol
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There definitely is validity to your angle but just not enough to completely eliminate the possibility of something aging as well as its initial "new car smell" era. Another wrinkle is that people sometimes include material that isn't currently in their 50 favorite albums of all time but still include it because it had been for an important portion of their lives yet no one seems to consider that invalid.
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Woohoo, Storm Corrosion is awesome!
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Keep in mind I was drunk when I wrote the first comment :lol
Don't drink and post! :coolio
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#9: Between The Buried And Me - Colors (2007)
(https://i29.tinypic.com/b8usue.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Foam Born (A) The Backtrack (2) (B) The Decade Of Statues (3) Informal Gluttony (4) Sun Of Nothing (5) Ants Of The Sky
(6) Prequel To The Sequel (7) Viridian (8) White Walls
On the other hand, here’s an entry that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Between The Buried And Me’s magnum opus, Colors, plays out like one gigantic song, and a freaking amazing song, too. As one would guess, it’s definitely a lot to take in the first few listens. There’s no way you’ll be able to absorb the whole thing without repeated listenings, because not only is it one huge song, it has the typical Between The Buried And Me “random composition” style with barely any song structure to speak of. That’s not to say that the album feels disjointed or lacks flow though, it flows as smoothly as a river of butter. The transitions in this record are incredible, and while you don’t exactly need to listen to the whole album start to finish to get anything out of it, once you start listening, it’s incredibly hard to stop until the record has finished. While the album starts out a bit slow, it just gets better and better as it goes on. Once you’re about halfway through the first big track, Sun Of Nothing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nphGs5kQz5Y), things really start picking up, and when that song transitions directly (and I mean DIRECTLY) into the complex, sprawling Ants Of The Sky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZsRlPQv-zo), the album goes from great to amazing. And just when you think it can’t get any better, the album concludes with White Walls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNdRh2un5eg), one of the greatest and most orgasmic closing tracks of all time. Once that absolutely jaw-dropping outro is done and the last piano note fades out, all you can do is just look back and marvel at what an amazing musical journey you just experienced. While Colors is hard to get into at first, and the heavier segments with Tommy’s harsh vocals might take some time to get used to, once this album clicks, it becomes perfectly clear that this is one of the greatest progressive metal albums ever created.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Sun Of Nothing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nphGs5kQz5Y), Ants Of The Sky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZsRlPQv-zo), Prequel To The Sequel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAjK4czlH9U), White Walls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNdRh2un5eg)
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Great choice, and an even better description. I love Colors and would have this album even higher in my own rankings. The run of tracks from Sun of Nothing to the end of White Walls might be my favourite run of all time.
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If your CD collection was 10 times bigger than it currently is, this would still probably be a top 10 album. Fucking beast it is.
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...they seem more jagged than normallll!!!! :metal
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Indeed a brilliant album. Also, what doc said. It stayed in my top 15 since I've known it, even as my CD collection is growing still.
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This album is SOOOOO good.
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#8: Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N-2QLcuZbTI/S07deLV3VpI/AAAAAAAADfI/V4OIh9RDAj8/s400/i.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Fear Of A Blank Planet (2) My Ashes (3) Anesthetize (4) Sentimental (5) Way Out Of Here (6) Sleep Together
When compared to the rest of the Porcupine Tree discography, Fear Of A Blank Planet sticks out like a sore thumb in terms of mood and feel. Porcupine Tree has always been a pretty somber-sounding band, but with this record, they took it to the next level and created one of the most dark, bleak, and depressing albums of all time. There’s not a single happy song on the album, it’s a completely cold and dark journey throughout. That said, it’s easily the best Porcupine Tree record in my eyes. I absolutely love the composition on this album. The keyboards are especially great, adding just the right atmosphere to each song with ambient soundscapes and moody synths (Richard Barbieri doesn’t get anywhere near as much credit as Steven Wilson or Gavin Harrison, but Porcupine Tree wouldn’t be anywhere near as good without him). Being such a dark album, there’s a good amount of metal elements to be found, and they always fit in well and feel like they serve their purpose. And of course, Steven Wilson’s vocal style works perfectly for the somber mood. Where this record really shines is its flow. Being a concept album, it plays out like a big suite, and the tracklist is structured perfectly in this regard. There are only six songs on the album, and they seem to go by pretty quickly. The centerpiece of the record is Anesthetize (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E1FIc74KaM), one of the band’s longest songs. It starts out ambient, transitions into a heavy middle movement, then ends with a heart-wrenching and emotional finale. You’ve also got Sentimental (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ITNnBRveU), the most melancholy song on the album (which is saying a lot), My Ashes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz1cIRqiyPY), the album’s most “warm” sounding song (which isn’t saying much), and the incredibly bleak Way Out Of Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6psOf1B79w). …There’s also the first and last tracks, because honestly, the whole record is amazing. There’s not a weak moment throughout, it’s designed and executed perfectly, and it’s a truly unique-sounding album. And that’s why I rank it as the best of Porcupine Tree. (…Oh yeah, and the lyrics were pretty damn relatable during my phase of typical teenage angst depression bullshit, so if you’re going through that time of your life, you’ll probably relate to them too.)
---FAVORITE SONGS---
My Ashes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz1cIRqiyPY), Anesthetize (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E1FIc74KaM), Sentimental (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ITNnBRveU), Way Out Of Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6psOf1B79w)
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One of my all-time favorite albums :metal :tup
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Yeah, great album!
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Excellent album! I completely agree with what you said about Barbieri. He's a huge part of the music and I love the atmosphere that he provides.
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them last two records are indicative of just how stellar a year 2007 was. a couple of masterpieces.
combine nil recurring with FOABP, and i'd have a hard time arguing against it as possibly being the greatest. album. ever.
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I'm one of the only people who call Sleep Together the best of the album. Think Zantera is the only other one who agrees.
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I've tried it once. I didn't click. However I liked the title song and Anesthetize.
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Epic album!
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Title-track not in your favourite tracks = fail.
Nah, kidding, but this album is amazing. About my 4th or 5th favourite from PT I think.
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LOVE FOaBP :heart
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I've tried it once. I didn't click...
must try harder
aka must try more
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I've tried it once. I didn't click...
must try harder
aka must try more
Perhaps. I've heard some other PT and it sounded alright. And I love the title song.
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#7: Devin Townsend - Addicted (2009)
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Gsugb1Hrcss/Su5Jvhwo_OI/AAAAAAAAAHw/SYaSqMdMAxI/s400/folder.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Addicted! (2) Universe In A Ball! (3) Bend It Like Bender! (4) Supercrush! (5) Hyperdrive! (6) Resolve! (7) Ih-Ah!
(8) The Way Home! (9) Numbered! (10) Awake!!
What a coincidence that we’ve gone from one of the most depressing albums ever made to one of the most, happy, upbeat, and energetic albums ever made. Devin Townsend has made tons of amazing stuff over the years, and this is one of his greatest accomplishments. How would I describe this album? Well, it’s like a show where half the crowd is moshing and the other half is disco dancing. It’s a very heavy record, with huge, crushing guitars and Devin’s powerful screaming vocals, but it’s mixed with lots of electronic and pop influences. While that might sound terrible on paper, it works out amazingly well. Nobody could have made a record that sounds quite like this besides Devin. It strikes the perfect balance between heavy and accessible, and its constantly upbeat and energy-filled vibe is absolutely infectious. Putting this record on is like injecting yourself with a combination of ecstasy and caffeine. It’s perfect for Friday afternoons when you’re all done with work or school or whatever, and have nothing but the weekend ahead of you. It’s a pretty short album, but not a second is wasted, and each song is great. The opening track, Addicted! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfPpxjEhb8), sets the tone for what’s to come with a brutal but upbeat and catchy-as-hell riff. That song then transitions directly into the amazing Universe In A Ball! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1IZpNm2Qyw), which, like a lot of the record, would fit perfectly in both a heavy metal show and a sweet rave party. Most tracks on the album feature female vocals by Anneke Van Giersbergen, and she really adds a lot to the music. This is especially noticeable on the track Hyperdrive! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBP8-ootc40), which she sings lead vocals on, and does a freaking amazing job, too. The album closes with Awake!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmEaqDeLvCc&playnext=1&list=PL628BD6F991578C96&feature=results_video), which brings all the album’s elements together into a satisfying and uplifting conclusion. This record is truly a work of genius, both in concept and execution. It’s so well done and unique-sounding that it sounds like a completely new genre of music, almost. While it may be a little TOO happy for some people (I feel bad for those guys), it’s an amazing record that I’d recommend to nearly everyone, and if for some unfathomable reason you’re reading this and haven’t checked Devin Townsend’s work out yet, this would be a great place to start.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Addicted! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfPpxjEhb8), Universe In A Ball! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1IZpNm2Qyw), Hyperdrive! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBP8-ootc40), Awake!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmEaqDeLvCc&playnext=1&list=PL628BD6F991578C96&feature=results_video)
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It’s perfect for Friday afternoons when you’re all done with work or school or whatever, and have nothing but the weekend ahead of you.
This is exactly how I feel about this album. I just got this album in August and I've been listened to it almost every Friday on the way home from school. Perfect way to end the week.
My favorites are Supercrush!, Hyperdrive!, and Numbered!. Anneke's voice is perfect for the music.
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Absolutely fantastic album. One of my all time favorites.
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good call on FOABP . . .
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Addicted is a great abum. Bend It Like Bender! was the first track from Devin that I really got into.
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#6: Unexpect - In A Flesh Aquarium (2006)
(https://heizi.musicnerds.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/unexpect-inafleshaquarium.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Chromatic Chimera (2) Feasting Fools (3) Desert Urbania (4) Summoning Scenes (5) Silence 011010701
(6) Megalomaniac Trees (7) The Shiver - Another Dissonant Chord (8) The Shiver - Meet Me At The Carrousel
(9) The Shiver - A Clown's Mindtrap (10) Psychic Jugglers
This album was originally a lot lower on my list, but damn. Whenever I think about this record, I start orgasming. As I mentioned in my write-up for Fables Of The Sleepless Empire, In A Flesh Aquarium is sheer insanity. It’s hands-down one of the craziest albums ever made in the history of Earth, and it’s freaking AMAZING. It never feels like it’s being insane for the sake of being insane. There is undeniably a method to its madness, and it’s actually a lot more structured than you might expect. As a result, it hits the sweet spot of being absolutely crazy while still having fantastic composition. If you can handle the style of the music, this record has pretty much everything you could want. It has great flow, there’s barely any weak sections on the album, there’s plenty of variety to hold your attention throughout, and while it will definitely take multiple listens to fully absorb, every song on the record is great in its own way. Chromatic Chimera (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbEi1JRa7w) is everything an opener track should be. It has great energy, sets the tone for the rest of the album, and I can’t image a better introduction for it. It starts out with an unsettling but melodic intro that builds up in intensity into it drops into absolute madness that persists for the rest of the record. The following three tracks continue this style while introducing new elements and memorable segments to keep things interesting. Things actually cool down a bit in the second half of the album, with the ambient instrumental Silence 011010701 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLP7hQkCIyU) that sits right on the line between disturbing and soothing, and is definitely one of the more underrated songs on the record. That track is followed up by Megalomaniac Trees (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcSEWeY-8pw), which actually contains some really fast but melodic and catchy chorus sections. That’s not to say that the album loses its craziness as it approaches the end, as a matter or fact, it saves the most insane for last. Psychic Jugglers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVwl3kZwRX0), the big closer, holds absolutely nothing back, is an absolute mindfuck, and might actually be the band’s best song. Words can’t really do it justice. Heck, that’s actually how I’d describe the whole album. I can talk for days about how amazing, insane, and amazingly insane it is, but the only way to really know what I’m talking about is to experience it for yourself. Give it a listen, if you dare…
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Chromatic Chimera (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwbEi1JRa7w), Desert Urbania (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbSUEbG3OVE), Megalomaniac Trees (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcSEWeY-8pw), Psychic Jugglers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVwl3kZwRX0)
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No Unexpect fans in this thread?
FOR SHAME.
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No Unexpect fans in this thread?
FOR SHAME.
Well, what did you expect...?
I'll get my coat..... :blush
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I like Fables more, but that's an excellent album too.
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Unexpect! :heart :heart :heart :heart
I put Fables higher on my list, but honestly if you put me on the spot I'd definitely pause when deciding which is better. This one is definitely one of the more insane albums out there.
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i think fables reaches higher highs :hat but flesh aquarium is damn strong right through. t'was my favorite metal OAT until I couldn't decide following the release of Colors a year later.
if u hadn't typed "I like my eggs broiled and that's it!" i probably would have (er um, I guess I just did). totes the go-to line of the album.
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#5: Strapping Young Lad - Alien (2005)
(https://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/syl-alien.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Imperial (2) Skeksis (3) Shitstorm (4) Love? (5) Shine (6) We Ride (7) Possessions (8) Two Weeks
(9) Thalamus (10) Zen (11) Info Dump
If you thought In A Flesh Aquarium was the most insane thing on my list… Well, it is. But this album comes pretty damn close. Hands-down the angriest record Devin Townsend has ever done, listening to Alien is like running over a crowd of pedestrians with a rocket-powered steamroller. Ridiculously heavy, always pissed-off, yet surprisingly catchy at times, this is, in my eyes, THE metal record. Imagine every good quality extracted from every genre of metal on the planet, rolled into one, injected with steroids, and let loose. If you’re in a bad mood, this record is anger management in the form of music. Devin is absolutely PISSED on this album, and songs like the aptly named Shitstorm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czrB4ilyHo0) more than show it. That’s not to say that the composition on Alien is just a bunch of angry noise; nothing could the further from the truth. Songs like Skeksis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjVT0MhSNeo) are sprawling, melodic, and technical while still being brutal as hell. Special mention must be made of the drummer Gene Hoglan on this album; he lays down some of the al-time best drum work in all of metal. Alien has no bad tracks, a great roller coaster-like flow that speeds along most of the time but still has a few sections to cool down, and most of the band’s best songs are found on this record. The song Love? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I96YDUzRJHQ) is my personal favorite, combining absolutely brutal but catchy guitar riffs with a good amount of melody and a soaring chorus. We Ride (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak6ZUldfF5Q) is only two and a half minutes long, but it’s one of the best songs on the album due to its ridiculously fast tempo, crazy guitar solos and awesome lyrics. Zen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI4wpkrnA5U), the last “real” song on the record, is also fantastic. Honestly, I could do a track-by-track review for this album and have lots of positive things to say about every one of them. They also avoid the typical metal record trap of all sounding the same; each one is special in its own way. Not much else to say besides that if you like metal of any kind, you’ll love this album. Prepare yourself, and check it out.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Skeksis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjVT0MhSNeo), Shitstorm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czrB4ilyHo0), Love? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I96YDUzRJHQ), We Ride (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak6ZUldfF5Q)
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I think this CD was stolen from my car (along with a lot of other stuff) on Christmas eve 2005. I remember liking what I heard a fair bit and Love? is just a really good, simple groovin asskicker. I should get it again.
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ALIEN :heart
We Ride is awesome, one of my favourite metal songs ever.
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I'm glad this thing is almost over...
I'll probably get a lot of shit for #4, not for the band, but for the album choice.
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inb4 Lulu.
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I'm eager for this one. :)
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I've been a Devin Townsend fan for a few months but I never listened to Strapping Young Lad until today. I listened to Love? and I'm hooked. Going to get Alien after Christmas when I have some money. :metal
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An disliked album by a well-liked band on this site.
St. Anger?
Test For Echo?
Love Beach?
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No Metallica or Rush, sorry.
I do like the first two songs on St. Anger though.
OH SHIT
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inb4 Falling into Infinity, Systematic Chaos or Black Clouds & Silver Linings
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Ooh, I'm always happy to see a controversial choice on one of these lists. Mostly because it usually happens to be an album I like as well. ;D
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Alien is a monster of an album, but City shits all over it. Props for mentioning Chickenfeather, as it's a great album in its own right, but I can't imagine it ever getting to my top 50.
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#4: Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
(https://mp3passion.net/uploads/posts/1344931099_dt03.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) As I Am (2) This Dying Soul (3) Endless Sacrifice (4) Honor Thy Father (5) Vacant
(6) Stream Of Consciousness (7) In The Name Of God
This probably won’t come as much of surprise, since we’re on a forum about them, but Dream Theater is, and probably will continue to be for a long time, my all-time favorite band. While my musical tastes have branched out a huge amount since I first discovered them, and while they aren’t exactly perfect, they’re still the best band I’ve ever come across, and for a long time, Train Of Thought was my number one favorite album of all time. So, why do I love this album so much? Well, same reasons why a good chunk of the fanbase dislikes it, I suppose. I love the huge amount of heaviness. I love the ridiculous, wanky instrumental sections. I love the anger; I love the balls-out style. But what makes this album far superior to say, Systematic Chaos or Black Clouds & Silver Linings is that instead of letting the metal elements overpower the progressive elements, Train Of Thought throws in as much of both as it possibly can and cranks both of them up to unfathomable levels. In my eyes, this album is the band throwing every single element of their sound together and supercharging them to ridiculous proportions. And while that might turn a lot of people off, I fucking LOVE it. Like a lot of my all-time favorite albums, this record is pretty insane, hands-down the craziest thing the band has ever done. Who needs subtlety when you can do a ridiculous album this damn well? Train Of Thought has perhaps the highest amount of energy of any record I’ve ever listened to. After the first track, the record kicks up to full-speed and heads into one of my absolute favorite strings of songs on an album. This Dying Soul (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJta8qGNnXw) is absolutely insane. It never stops to take a break, and instead repeatedly fucks your brain with wave after wave of breakneck-speed, brutal, technical goodness. Endless Sacrifice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STXFFYcuhuw) starts out with some calm verses and a heavy chorus, then breaks into one of the band’s greatest instrumental sections, which is saying a lot. Ridiculous solos, heavy riffs, and a perfectly fast tempo make it perhaps the best segment on the album. Think things are going to cool down after that? Hahahahaha, NO. Time for Honor Thy Father (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGHXy9Fa45k). It really took a lot of balls for Dream Theater to follow up three immensely heavy tracks with their angriest song ever. I absolutely love this track. Hell, I even love the lyrics. Angry music is just a joy to listen to for me, and this song absolutely nails that vibe. Finally, after the fourth brutal track in a row has finished and the level of heaviness is at a complete bursting point, the album realizes it’s time to cool down and heads into the soft, melancholy ballad Vacant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxK-_Q6VeZU). While it’s just an okay song on its own, its place in the album is absolutely perfect. If it were cut from the album, the whole thing would have collapsed under its own weight. But no, it provides a much-needed breather before the record gets back into gear for the final two tracks. Anyways, this write-up is getting overly long so I gotta wrap things up. In conclusion, I can see why this album isn’t liked by everyone. It’s unapologetically heavy, never subtle, and mostly one-dimensional. But that’s exactly why it clicks so well with me. It might not be my favorite album of all time anymore, but I still absolutely love it to pieces.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
This Dying Soul (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJta8qGNnXw), Endless Sacrifice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STXFFYcuhuw), Honor Thy Father (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGHXy9Fa45k), Stream Of Consciousness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIANchfl7Z8)
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The thread-title made me hope this was Awake, but instead we got this. It's decent, but nowhere near favourite DT album for me. In fact, it's in my bottom three.
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Don't like this album at all. :sadpanda:
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Lower half of their albums for me. But I don't dislike it like I used to.
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The thread-title made me hope this was Awake
Nah, people actually like that album. :P
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The thread-title made me hope this was Awake
Nah, people actually like that album. :P
Including me, top 10 album of all time.
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I like it overall but This Dying Soul and Honor Thy Father are the only two that don't disappoint me in some way.
As I Am is fun to listen to but isn't nearly heavy enough to get by on heaviness alone since it seems to be lined up as the album's de facto asskicker given its simplicity coupled with the fact that it's track 1 on their "heavy" album.
This Dying Soul is just awesome. JP's intro solo gets off, the verse is an unexpected shift into a dark/mellow vibe, and the song is a labyrinth of exciting moments and unexpected twists. Sure, it may get a little nutty in the final third or so but the final minute is just sheer insanity.
Endless Sacrifice is kinda good in the first half but really drags on for me. The real excitement lies in the instrumental section though I know everyone will disagree with me.
Honor Thy Father is just fantastic. Explosive intro with unrelenting energy and groove (DT has always benefitted from adding groove) as well as a chorus that was far more instrumentally interesting than most of theirs in the years leading up to ToT. The instrumental section was excellently built up as well.
Vacant is JLB at his absolute worst as far as my taste for his vocals go. Basically it reached uncomfortably effeminate levels and the delivery almost came off as a whiny dude hitting on me.
Stream of Consciousness is up and down for me. Most of it's pretty good but the middle groove miserably destroys the vibe for me right down to the forced segue back into SoC's main anthem.
In The Name of God never did anything for me except for the chorus and even that doesn't hold up anymore. I guess the middle section with all the unison stuff slightly grew on me over time but not a whole lot. It's probably in my DT bottom 25.
When I first heard the album, it threw me for a loop since I wasn't expecting an album that was almost entirely heavy material. As I made it all the way through, I kept on hoping to hear some stuff reminiscent of I&W, Awake, or SFAM. Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by it and it took a month or two to grow on me though I did generally like it at least a little.
I think I was just bummed out that it really came off as nu metal with shred. I just couldn't fathom how DT could so badly miss the mark for what their fanbase wanted as far as heavy goes. I used to listen to nu metal for a couple years and so did many of their fans but, for most of us, it's not really something we still like and I think they'd have been far better served by making each track a prog-infused take on a different genre of "extreme metal" (I hate that umbrella term too, so sorry for using it) with JLB's clean vocals. It'd be awesome to hear DT take a stab at black, death, technical, and power (I know it ain't considered extreme, but I'm just throwing it in there for variety.) Shit, they basically were doing technical with The Dance of Eternity anyway and that song is fairly well regarded.
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It made my top 50. Great album. I know plenty of people here that agree.
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I think I was just bummed out that it really came off as nu metal with shred. I just couldn't fathom how DT could so badly miss the mark for what their fanbase wanted as far as heavy goes. I used to listen to nu metal for a couple years and so did many of their fans but, for most of us, it's not really something we still like and I think they'd have been far better served by making each track a prog-infused take on a different genre of "extreme metal" (I hate that umbrella term too, so sorry for using it) with JLB's clean vocals. It'd be awesome to hear DT take a stab at black, death, technical, and power (I know it ain't considered extreme, but I'm just throwing it in there for variety.) Shit, they basically were doing technical with The Dance of Eternity anyway and that song is fairly well regarded.
...Nu metal? I have never even thought of associating that genre with Train Of Thought. The only parts that even come close to that style would be like, twenty or so seconds in This Dying Soul and Honor Thy Father.
As I explained in my write-up, I've always thought of the album as progressive metal cranked up to completely over-the-top levels.
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Not quite. ToT would've been fairly heavy if it had come out in the mid 90s but it was barely average heaviness when compared to the full spectrum of metal styles that were around in 2003. Endless Sacrifice's chorus has a very Sevendust-ish sound as well with the way the harmonic cuts right into the riff. HtF's intro is straight System of a Down too. It's been a while since I listened to ToT but I remember listening to it all the way through with a friend after it had just been released and he and I picked out several clear similarities to nu metal bands.
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Not even a top 4 Dream Theater album. I was going to count how many albums I own that I like more than ToT, but I was at 81 after going through bands/artists that start with A or B and decided that estimating not in my top 500 was fair enough :lol
I don't dislike ToT, it just really doesn't stack up well against most of my library.
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Endless Sacrifice is a MUCH better song live, but it's still the weakest link on ToT. Killer album though.
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I love ToT, but both TDS and HTF are not among my favourite DT songs, sadly.
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Vacant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxK-_Q6VeZU). While it’s just an okay song on its own, its place in the album is absolutely perfect. If it were cut from the album, the whole thing would have collapsed under its own weight.
Great point. The song itself isn't one of my favorites, but whenever I play the entire album, I massively enjoy it. A nice write up as well, and a cool pick. :tup
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In the Name of God is my favourite pure wankery section of theirs.
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Like in a good way or a bad way?
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I accidentally a word. Fixed. :lol
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This Dying Soul is the most hilarious song they have ever done, in a bad way.
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This Dying Soul is the most hilarious song they have ever done, in a bad way.
Even more than BMU,BMD? :lol
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There's nothing funny about BMUBMD I think, it's just a good hard rocking song. This Dying Soul however, I think suffers from that ending that feels completely out of place and comes across as complete instrumental wankering for no reason at all. I don't think it really fits the song and even if it would have, musically it's uninteresting to listen to as well. But that's just me.
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This is shockingly surprising place.
I mean, having ToT in top 5 album of all the time is one thing but the favourite ones you choose and love are absolutely... uhmm strange.
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I approve of this. ToT is the last DT album which I loved from the first second til the last one, with just several minutes I found off. A really great album.
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There's nothing funny about BMUBMD I think, it's just a good hard rocking song. This Dying Soul however, I think suffers from that ending that feels completely out of place and comes across as complete instrumental wankering for no reason at all. I don't think it really fits the song and even if it would have, musically it's uninteresting to listen to as well. But that's just me.
I understand where you're coming from, but I've always enjoyed TDS. Hell, it used to even be one of my favorite songs by DT before I became more familiar with the rest of their material. I'm just a BMUBMD hater though, don't mind me. :lol I think the chorus is catchy and enjoyable but the rest of the song just sounds like a sloppy nu-metal like mess to me.
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There's nothing funny about BMUBMD I think, it's just a good hard rocking song. This Dying Soul however, I think suffers from that ending that feels completely out of place and comes across as complete instrumental wankering for no reason at all. I don't think it really fits the song and even if it would have, musically it's uninteresting to listen to as well. But that's just me.
I don't have that same problem with TDS, the ending is pretty cool IMO. But the parts I find uninteresting are the rapping parts, and the parts where JLB almost sounds like Dave Mustaine.
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Loving the discussion, guys. :)
#3 will be up tonight. It'll gain me back some credibility before I lose it all once again with #1. :P
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Loving the discussion, guys. :)
#3 will be up tonight. It'll gain me back some credibility before I lose it all once again with #1. :P
It's been a fun list to follow :) I'm looking forward to seeing the top 3.
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#3: Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)
(https://s.cdon.com/media-dynamic/images/product/music/album/image3/blackwater_park_legacy_editio_import-opeth-18660191-frnt.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) The Leper Affinity (2) Bleak (3) Harvest (4) The Drapery Falls (5) Dirge For November (6) The Funeral Portrait
(7) Patterns In The Ivy (8) Blackwater Park
Oh hey, Blackwater Park is on another top albums list. I bet you’re all surprised. Unlike some of my other picks, this record is almost universally regarded on these forums to be pretty damn awesome, so I’ll keep this relatively quick. Simply put, this is Opeth at their finest. Every element they do right is done better on this album than the rest of their discography. The contrast between the heavy bits and the softer bits is perfect, it has that distinct, wintery atmosphere, and most importantly, the songs are all great. What really makes this album special to me, however, is just the sheer power it has. While it might not be their heaviest record, it definitely feels like the “biggest” and most energetic. It’s hard to put into words, but once you hear the sheer force and driving power behind songs like the amazing Bleak (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8atiEPs0bQ), you should know what I mean. From the crushing intro of The Leper Affinity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu7UvZTPT4M) to the bombastic finale of the title track, this album is an amazing ride throughout. Speaking of the title track… Oh God. My top three albums contain my three favorite songs of all time, and Blackwater Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb9C1u8HsR8) stands loftily at number two. I love that song so much you don’t even know. It starts out with a fantastic, heavy intro that pumps you up and prepares you for the sheer greatness that’s to come. Then, it suddenly retreats into a quiet, ambient section out of nowhere. Now, I fucking LOVE when a quiet section suddenly breaks into a bombastic, heavy section out of nowhere, and oh man, this section completely EXPLODES into it. The quiet part of the song makes the rest of the song seem even heavier than it already is, and once said transition is complete, it’s a nonstop barrage of sheer, orgasmic brutality that builds and builds into the absolutely stunning finale. Amazing song, amazing album, completely worthy of all the praise it gets.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
The Leper Affinity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu7UvZTPT4M), Bleak (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8atiEPs0bQ), The Funeral Portrait (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ijpBdyyRUg), Blackwater Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb9C1u8HsR8)
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Terrible album. No longer following.
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Terrible album. No longer following.
:lol
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My first Opeth album, and still one of my favourites. :tup Bleak may be one of the best songs that Opeth have ever written.
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:floydapproves:
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Terrible album. No longer following.
NOOOOOOOOO! This was supposed to make people love me again!
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Terrible album. No longer following.
:slowclap:
:jets:
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Despite the fact I can't make it through a full Opeth album in one sitting, great album. The title track is one of the best songs ever.
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Such a odd top-33 list.
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Fantastic, my favourite Opeth album!
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Make it your avatar then, sissy!
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Such a odd top-33 list.
No, it's not. There's no set standard for top 50 lists, because it's all based on taste. You disagreeing with it doesn't make it an 'odd list', especially considering there's many people on this board that listen to different music than others. The only 'odd' thing about this list, I think, is that it only has 33 albums, instead of the standard 50.
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Such a odd top-33 list.
No, it's not. There's no set standard for top 50 lists, because it's all based on taste. You disagreeing with it doesn't make it an 'odd list', especially considering there's many people on this board that listen to different music than others. The only 'odd' thing about tjis list, O rhink, is that it only has 33 albums, instead of the standard 50.
well, whan I said "odd" I meant, unusual.
you gotta admit its a pretty unusual list, compared to other lists
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Such a odd top-33 list.
No, it's not. There's no set standard for top 50 lists, because it's all based on taste. You disagreeing with it doesn't make it an 'odd list', especially considering there's many people on this board that listen to different music than others. The only 'odd' thing about tjis list, O rhink, is that it only has 33 albums, instead of the standard 50.
well, whan I said "odd" I meant, unusual.
you gotta admit its a pretty unusual list, compared to other lists
Other than the placement of some albums, what's so unusual about it? Most of the bands on here seem pretty typical for these forums, imo.
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Have you seen Big Hath's list? That's the list with a lot of first time appearances. The only reason this list is odd is because 33 is an odd number. Maybe you are the odd one crazyaga.
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Have you seen Big Hath's list? That's the list with a lot of first time appearances. The only reason this list is odd is because 33 is an odd number. Maybe you are the odd one crazyaga.
maybe XD
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Sorry about the lack of updates this week, I've been busy with end-of-term stuff.
#2 should be up tonight!
HINT: Has been someone on this forum's #1 album one time, and I believe one time only.
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Terria.
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In Absentia?
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In Absentia?
There's already been two out of two Porcupine Tree albums on my list, and I mentioned several times in my Fear Of A Blank Planet write-up that it was my favorite. :lol
In Absentia would probably be my third favorite, though.
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Oh okay. :lol
-
#2: Devin Townsend - Deconstruction (2011)
(https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/covers/devin-townsend-deconstruction-20120427100942.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Praise The Lowered (2) Stand (3) Juular (4) Planet Of The Apes (5) Sumeria (6) The Mighty Masturbator (7) Pandemic
(8) Deconstruction (9) Poltergeist
Deconstruction is, without a doubt, Devin Townsend’s magnum opus. It’s completely crazy and over-the-top. It’s absolutely huge and overwhelming. It’s hands-down the heaviest non-SYL record Devin has ever made. It has a sixteen-minute long song with “masturbator” in the title. The title track features a choir worshipping a giant cheeseburger and an audio sample of someone having explosive diarrhea. Yeah, as with many of my favorite records, the same reasons I love this album could easily be the exact same reasons why others don’t. This is one of the weirdest, biggest, most epic and overwhelming albums ever made, and it’s also a near-perfect work of absolute genius. The Frank Zappa comparison has been made many times before, but it’s worth bringing it up again. If Frank Zappa were a metalhead, his music would definitely sound something like this. What really makes this album so mind-blowingly amazing is its pacing. While it starts out relatively tame, it just gets heavier and crazier as it gets closer to its end. The first two tracks start out with calm, quiet intros that build into heavier segments, and the third song, Juular (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-DKs0qfdEk), is a pretty basic metal composition. (Well, for this album's standards, anyways) Then, Planet Of The Apes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhH5Nna41J4) comes in and things start getting crazy. It’s a pretty long track, and it goes absolutely all over the place within its ten minutes. It’s a perfect example of the album’s chaotic nature, and is where the record really starts getting into gear. Sumeria (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUppvqnDBv0&playnext=1&list=PLBD79566793D09738&feature=results_video), the following track, is the heaviest and most energetic song yet. After it crushes through breakneck-speed metal passages with an epic choir and orchestra, it suddenly stops and concludes with a peaceful, quiet, and beautiful acoustic outro. It’s a much-needed break before the albums biggest and best song, The Mighty Masturbator (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eDngElZBxQ). Holy mother of God. Remember how I said that my top three albums had my top three songs of all time? Well, this song is number three. It features some of my absolute favorite sections in all of music, like the bombastic, unimaginably epic intro and the crazy, catchy, brutal, and mind-blowing movement in the middle of the song. It also has one of the most hilarious and ridiculous grand finales to any song, ever. After it’s done, you would think that the record was all depleted of its craziness. Not at all. The final three tracks are the heaviest, most insane songs on the whole album. Most notably, the title track, Deconstruction (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMm9039dlro), may be the single most ridiculous and zany song ever created. Every element of insanity found on the record is cranked up to infinity to the point where there’s really no way to describe the song without hearing it for yourself. The album then concludes with its angriest, most brutal track, Poltergeist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouoXdO49_hk). Needless to say, this record could easily be way too much for some people to handle. However, for people like me who like this type of music, Deconstruction is, and will most likely be for a long time, one of the greatest creations in existence.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
Planet Of The Apes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhH5Nna41J4), Sumeria (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUppvqnDBv0&playnext=1&list=PLBD79566793D09738&feature=results_video), The Mighty Masturbator (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eDngElZBxQ), Deconstruction (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMm9039dlro)
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Deconstruction is, without a doubt, Devin Townsend’s magnum opus.
No, that would be Terria. Deconstruction is his third best though and Poltergeist is a top 3 Devin track. And I liked your write-up.
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Terria's pretty good. Not one of my favorites. I'd rank it the 3rd best of his non-DTP, non-SYL albums behind Accelerated Evolution and Ocean Machine.
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Won't hear any complaints from me about this one.
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However, for people like me who like this type of music, Deconstruction is, and will most likely be for a long time, one of the greatest creations in existence.
Truth.
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I think Ocean Machine is his best album. It's a masterpiece
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Still can't seem to like Deconstruction. I like a few songs from it, but the song Deconstruction itself sounds quite pointless to me.
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Definitely my favourite Devy release. :metal
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Finished my final write-up, #1 will be posted tomorrow!
It will be one of two albums:
(A) A universally-praised classic that won't surprise anyone.
(B) An underrated gem that will be just as controversial, if not even more so, than #4.
-
So, either (A): Images and Words
Or (B):
Falling Into Infinity
Octavarium
Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Hold Your Fire
and the list goes on.
-
Well, here it is, folks.
At long last.
My #1 album.
Are you ready for this?
ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?
NO.
No you're not.
Because this album is TOO GOOD FOR MORTALS TO EVEN GAZE UPON
READY?
READY?
READY???
HERE IT IS
#1: Dream Theater - Images And Words (1992)
(https://991.com/newGallery/Dream-Theater-Images-And-Words-467556.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) Pull Me Under (2) Another Day (3) Take The Time (4) Surrounded (5) Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper
(6) Under A Glass Moon (7) Wait For Sleep (8) Learning To Live
You knew this was coming.
This album is so good.
It's so good that it should be framed in gold and put in a museum of mankind's greatest achievements.
It's so good that it makes every other album look like Lulu by comparison.
It's so good that if I was told that I had to insert a cactus covered in sandpaper up my rectum if I ever wanted to listen to it again, I would do it twice.
It's so good that it's been discovered to cure 80% of cancer victims who listen to it.
It's so good that it is worshiped as a god in 17 countries (Mostly in Asia and South America.)
IT'S SO GOOD THAT IT'S...
SO GOOD THAT IT'S...
THAT IT'S...
...that it's not actually my real #1 album.
My REAL #1 favorite album will be posted tomorrow.
(https://cache.ohinternet.com/images/thumb/2/2d/Trollface_HD.png/618px-Trollface_HD.png)
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Fell for it.
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Prediction A: Correct!
So, it's not in your top fifty?
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Prediction A: Correct!
So, it's not in your top fifty?
Its not in his top 33
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If I got rid of the two albums per band rule pretty much all of DT's albums (excluding four which I won't name cuz that'll limit the options for #1 down to five) would be in my top 50. :lol
But yeah, it's not on the list.
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If I got rid of the two albums per band rule pretty much all of DT's albums (excluding four which I won't name cuz that'll limit the options for #1 down to five) would be in my top 50. :lol
But yeah, it's not on the list.
So now we know its a DT album :p
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If I got rid of the two albums per band rule pretty much all of DT's albums (excluding four which I won't name cuz that'll limit the options for #1 down to five) would be in my top 50. :lol
But yeah, it's not on the list.
So now we know its a DT album :p
You wouldn't need me to tell you that if you looked carefully.
#4 write-up: I say that Train Of Thought isn't my favorite DT album anymore, and there hasn't been another one on my list since.
EDIT: Actually, it just says that it's not my favorite album of all time anymore. Whatever :lol
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I fell for it :lol :lol
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This is bad and you should feel bad.
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Word on the streets is that #1 is gumbycore (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Qz8zjQD8s).
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Word on the streets is that #1 is gumbycore (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Qz8zjQD8s).
brb have to do a new #1 write-up
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:hearts:
-
Any guesses, guys?
-Dream Theater
-Not one of their highest rated
-Not ToT or IaW
-Not Systematic Chaos (just throwing that out there.)
-
BC&SL?
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Octavarium or Falling Into Infinity.
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The fact he had Storm Corrosion in his list... makes me think he is going to choose A Dramatic Turn Of Events
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I'll go with Awake.
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Awake is not underrated, but after that stunt it would be the only album for me that wouldn't make this list disastrous, so I'll go with that too.
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it would be the only album for me that wouldn't make this list disastrous
Yeeeeeah, sorry to disappoint you. :lol
I'll post the update in an hour or so.
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I'm telling you guys, he chose Dramatic Turn Of Events.
-
Alright folks, guessing game's over.
This is it.
My #1 favorite album of all time.
FOR REALS this time.
GET READY!
3...
2...
1...
0.5...
0.0000000000001...
#1: Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)
(https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll251/dutanegara/DreamTheater-Octavarium.jpg)
---TRACKLIST---
(1) The Root Of All Evil (2) The Answer Lies Within (3) These Walls (4) I Walk Beside You (5) Panic Attack (6) Never Enough
(7) Sacrificed Sons (8) Octavarium
Octavarium.
My favorite Dream Theater album, and my favorite album of all time.
(https://static.fjcdn.com/gifs/Haters+Gonna+Hate+OC.+I+literally+just+finished+making+this_bb868e_3521784.gif)
This album changed everything for me. Along with Black Clouds & Silver Linings, it introduced me to the world of Dream Theater, the world of prog; it was what truly made me a music lover for the fist time. But while Black Clouds & Silver Linings lost some of its charm over time, Octavarium just got better and better. It’s very unique-sounding when compared the rest of Dream Theater’s discography. The biggest problem I’ve always had with the band is that more often than not, they feel quite cheesy, overly dramatic and emotionless. Octavarium never feels like that at all. It’s easily their most emotional and down-to-earth record, and every moment is executed perfectly and with a great deal of dignity. It also has a good amount of variety amongst its eight different tracks, and it experiments with the typical Dream Theater sound, introducing lots of different elements and influences. Special mention must be made of James LaBrie on this record. While his vocals are often criticized by many people (myself included), his performance on this album is perfect. Great delivery, lots of emotion, easily the best album for him since Awake. Most people on here are aware of the many “nuggets” on the album, and while they don’t add that much to the actual music, they’re really cool to discover and make the record feel more cohesive and linked together. Add all this to what already makes Dream Theater my favorite band, and it’s easy to see why this is my favorite album of all time. The songs themselves all stand out amongst each other in their own special ways. While the first track, The Root Of All Evil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgAc7ekYmVA), sounds the most like a “normal” song for the band, it’s still one of the best songs on the album. It’s a fantastic opener, and has a great length, not too short and not dragged out at all. The two ballads on the record, The Answer Lies Within (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72xn8O1vJb0) and I Walk Beside You (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S42r7EQ0lmw) are both nice, and while they aren’t the best parts of the album, they’re a refreshing departure into the band’s more simple and lighter side. These Walls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzovR0s7EbI) is absolutely amazing. It has fantastic guitar and keyboard work, emotional lyrics, and great delivery from James LaBrie. It’s a great example of what I mean when I say that the album feels much more down-to-earth and emotional compared to the rest of the band’s discography. Panic Attack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hDs6mCVAKs) is probably the heaviest song the band has ever done, and it kicks tons of ass. The riffs are amazingly brutal. The choruses are extremely well done and epic as hell. Everyone in the band is absolutely on fire. It was the first Dream Theater song I ever heard (Thank you, Rock Band 2!), and it’s still one of my favorites. While Never Enough (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TheGJeZUf_U) is generally considered to be the album’s worst track, and is admittedly the cheesiest song on the record, I still like it a lot. It’s got great energy and really cool guitar riffs and keyboard work. Sacrificed Sons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nBpLzNwkZw) is another fantastic track. While it’s not exactly “subtle” about its lyrical topic, it conveys the emotions associated with it very well and has a really fantastic instrumental section and finale. And then there’s the final song, the 24-minute epic, the title track, Octavarium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH_9lJxeiXg). It is, and probably will be forever, my absolute favorite song of all time. It’s the musical equivalent of the greatest sex you’ve ever had. It starts out slow and calm, gradually increases in intensity, gets better and better as it goes on, and when it reaches its bursting point, explodes into pure bliss. Then, when it’s all over, you feel absolutely satisfied and can only look back and think about what a fucking amazing experience you just had. The song is everything an epic should be. It takes its time to build up to its greatest moments. All of its movements are strong, transition together seamlessly, and just get better and better with each one. It has the best flow of any song I’ve ever heard, and the most epic, satisfying grand finale ever written. Hell, I even love the lengthy Sine On You Crazy Diamond intro. I love every second of the song. All 1,440 of them. Favorite song, favorite album, favorite band, hell, favorite year even. (You can’t deny that 2005 was fucking awesome.) I may be the only person on the planet that likes this record this much, but that doesn’t bother me at all. Octavarium is my favorite album of all time.
---FAVORITE SONGS---
The Root Of All Evil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgAc7ekYmVA), These Walls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzovR0s7EbI), Panic Attack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hDs6mCVAKs), Octavarium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH_9lJxeiXg)
So there you have it. Like it or not, that is my list of my top 33 favorite albums. Big thanks to all of those who have followed, and stay tuned for one final update with a full list, a few honorable mentions, and a little afterword.
:)
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Unique choice for "the best album of all time".
I enjoyed following your list ^.^
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It's his fav album and that's cool by me. I love Octavarium and also enjoy his previously listed ToT. Nice list and enjoyed the read :)
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Its cool by me too, I just said its unique, and unique is a good thing!
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I love Octavarium. Its not my favorite DT album and it probably wouldn't be in my top 50 but its still an excellent album (except Never Enough. Can't get into that song). Interesting and surprising pick for sure!
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Easily their worst album and by a canyon's distance at that imo. At least I agree with your track selection.
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Nice choice for #1 - quite the underrated album IMO. :tup
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Octavarium's not quite my favorite, but it's in my top three DT albums along with IaW and ToT. Great pick, great list! :tup
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Easily their worst album and by a canyon's distance at that imo. At least I agree with your track selection.
Worse than Systematic Chaos and WDADU?
Really?
-
For me, 8V has some of their lowest lows, but some of their highest highs. So it's middle of the road for me.
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8varium sucks. Just my opinion, but aside from the title track it's a bit boring...
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Opinions are opinions, but some of you are crazy to be hating on 8Varium IMO. It's not MY fav but it's a thousand times better than BCaSL, Systematic Chaos, and WDADU for me.
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Better than SC, Absolutely... But not better than wdadu
In a word, octavarium is: forgettable
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Easily their worst album and by a canyon's distance at that imo. At least I agree with your track selection.
Worse than Systematic Chaos and WDADU?
Really?
For me? Yeah. SC and 8VM are the only DT albums where I don't have a single song I unconditionally enjoy. TRoAE is okay for me but is paltry for a song that's supposed to continue the awesomeness of The Glass Prison and This Dying Soul. It has some decent parts but its heaviness pales badly in comparison to TGP and TDS. It also lacks the grandiose vibe of the other two and feels very forgettable to me. I'd like it more if it had nothing to do with the AA saga.
On Panic Attack, JLB's vocals reach that cringe-inducing feminine territory at some points in the chorus and detract from an otherwise awesome song with a ripping solo section. The title track remains my biggest DT disappointment to date. I was pretty stoked when I saw they'd made a 24-minute song and expected something on par with Metropolis and ACOS. I couldn't have been more wrong.
The remaining tracks are all DT bottom 20 stuff for me and have never come remotely close to gripping me. I go back to the album a few times a year but it only reinforces my feeling that the album was mired in DT having an identity crisis by simultaneously trying to sound like other bands, trying to win back their non-metal fans who were put off by ToT, and trying to lure in new fans with uninspired filler like TALW and IWBY.
A while back, the title track began to slightly improve for me but barely since it hasn't been enough to make me wanna listen to it at any other point in time except for when I'm forcing myself to listen to the album to try to let it grow on me.
As for SC, ITPoE is much more of an enjoyable epic than 8VM imo. Of course the "dark master within..." section is painfully boring but the first 8 minutes are pretty damn solid. CM and TDeN are also fun in a tolerably meatheady way so they at least have some degree of accessibility for me.
As far as WDaDU goes, I think people just like to take the easy way out and shit on it cuz of CD's vocals despite the fact that his somber delivery seems to fit the album's mood much better than JLB's would have. The other cop-out is griping about the production. I think that's just laughable and ironic for a fanbase that generally prides itself on not dismissing music for petty reasons the way the general public does. Every instrument can be fairly easily discerned in the mix but, despite this, people seem to take issue with it not having that audio "glossiness" of the other albums. Most importantly, it isn't weighed down by a "single" type track. In general, DT's short, simple songs have been some of their least impressive except for Wait For Sleep so it's a big plus for me that all of WDaDU's songs have some "meat" on 'em for lack of a less shitty way of wording it.
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*double post*
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My least favourite DT album by a landslide and pretty much the only DT album I would ever refer to as being 'bad'. Good job! :tup
And that's too harsh probably; your list, your rules, but I disagree very much.
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8vm is a great album. Not my favorite DT, but it's up there. The title track alone makes it a top 50 album. Haters can go pound sand. :-*
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The remaining tracks are all DT bottom 20 stuff for me and have never come remotely close to gripping me. I go back to the album a few times a year but it only reinforces my feeling that the album was mired in DT having an identity crisis by simultaneously trying to sound like other bands, trying to win back their non-metal fans who were put off by ToT, and trying to lure in new fans with uninspired filler like TALW and IWBY.
Couldn't agree more with that... not to rain on the OP's parade but considering how much I love DT it was slightly frustrating to me how bad this album is. When I bought it I tried so hard to get into it, not wanting to believe I had just wasted my money on this album... but it just never happened. IWBY is so awful that it's actually laughable to me. I know I'm in the minority here but I think SC crushes this album, it's much more fun to listen to even if it's corny at times (not like 8vm isn't). 8vm is all the way at the bottom of my list of DT albums, the only thing that keeps it from being downright awful imo is that TRoAE and 8vm are both decent songs. While I do like the title track, I just don't get the crazy love it gets here. It seems like people have a tendency to overrate "epics" for whatever reason.
Anyway, it was a nice list to follow :tup Definitely unpredictable, which was cool.
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Dream Theater, aka your favorite band, are more often than not emotionless?!!
(my wife just asked if youre sure theyre your favorite band)
anywayz, cool pick and interesting choice for a number one. :metal
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Dream Theater, aka your favorite band, are more often than not emotionless?!!
(my wife just asked if youre sure theyre your favorite band)
That might be a bit harsh, but they could definitely use a bit more at times. (Same for a lot of prog metal bands, not just DT.)
And yes, I am sure they are my favorite regardless.
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cool. i assumed it had to be an exaggeration or just slightly misworded.
i pretty much love all DT material, fanboy style. but retrospectively, i feel like octavarium is the most recent album of theirs that i still get the desire to spin in full.
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Wow. This is an album that I never expected, I must say. I really enjoyed your write-up, but I'm afraid that my opinions on Octavarium are diametrically opposed to yours - in fact, after listening to this album a few times during the last two weeks, I can safely say that the only songs I really enjoy are The Root of All Evil, These Walls and sometimes Sacrificed Sons. The rest of the album is just as chore to listen to, in my opinion, which makes it my least favourite DT album.
To end on a positive note: your list was very cool, a lot of the stuff appealed to me and you inspired me to check out Alien again, which kicked my ass for its whole duration, so thanks for that!
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8v is lower middle tier for me. Better than SC and FII, but DT don't do crap albums.
You were right with I&W ;D
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I used to love 8vm, but now it and ToT fight it out for second least favorite DT album. SC has a death grip on least favorite though.
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Good choice dude, great list.
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Wow, I couldn't see this coming. Octavarium isn't one of my favorite DT releases, but it's still really good and likable. I haven't listened to it in while, I have to admit that. Hopefully today I'll give it a spin.
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I haven't listened to this in awhile, but I remember it being a chore to listen to, like Scorp said. These Walls kicks ass though.
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---BUDDYHUNTER1'S TOP 33 ALBUMS: FULL LIST---
33: Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)
32: Meshuggah - Koloss (2012)
31: Mastodon - Crack The Skye (2009)
30: Nightwish - Once (2004)
29: Periphery - Periphery II (2012)
28: Thrice - The Alchemy Index (2007/2008)
27: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were here (1975)
26: Oceansize - Frames (2007)
25: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect (2009)
24: Dethklok - Dethalbum II (2009)
23: Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad (2003)
22: Sigur Rós - ( ) (2002)
21: OSI - Office Of Strategic Influence (2003)
20: Pendulum - Immersion (2010)
19: Katatonia - Dead End Kings (2012)
18: Unexpect - Fables Of The Sleepless Empire (2011)
17: Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh (2008)
16: Opeth - Ghost Reveries (2005)
15: Meshuggah - obZen (2008)
14: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)
13: Tool - Ænima (1996)
12: Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day (2009)
11: Tool - Lateralus (2001)
10: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (2012)
9: Between The Buried And Me - Colors (2007)
8: Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)
7: Devin Townsend - Addicted (2009)
6: Unexpect - In A Flesh Aquarium (2006)
5: Strapping Young Lad - Alien (2005)
4: Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
3: Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)
2: Devin Townsend - Deconstruction (2011)
1: Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)
---HONORABLE MENTIONS---
Here's a few albums that I've grown to like a lot recently, and definitely would have made the cut if I was starting my list today.
Gojira - Terra Incognita
Rarely does a band release a debut album as kickass as this. Pure, brutal metal with a raw production, a relentless barrage of amazing riff after amazing riff, and some of the band's best songs. It has a very different sound than the rest of Gojira's albums. It's very straight-forward, focused, and simple, compared to their later, bigger and more grandiose-sounding records. But that's what I like about it, and it's also got that alien, unsettling atmosphere that gives it a good sense of uniqueness. It's a bit of a shame Gojira never released another album with this sound, it's a fantastic record that leaves me wanting more.
Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
Agalloch is hands-down one of my greatest musical discoveries of this year, and I can already say this album would be pretty damn close to my top ten. Every song on it is amazing, and there's never a weak moment. It's just a constant stream of brilliant composition. While the weird black metal vocals were a bit jarring at first, the wintery, atmospheric, and beautiful music more than makes up for it. If you're a fan of Opeth or other similar atmospheric metal bands, definitely give this one a try. It's a near-flawless record.
Pink Floyd - Animals
I kinda hated this album when I first listened to it. Nothing really grabbed me, and a lot of time it simply felt painfully boring. Needless to say, it's grown on me a lot. It's not quite as good as Wish You Were Here, but it's pretty damn close. The three big tracks are all equally amazing to the point where I'm not even quite sure which one is my favorite. They're all fantastic in their own ways. I'm sure everyone here has already listened to this album many, many times, so I don't really need to elaborate any further. Great, great album.
Agalloch - The Mantle
There's a lot of debate on whether Ashes Against The Grain or The Mantle is Agalloch's best record. This is quite unsurprising, frankly, since both albums are just so damn good. While I prefer Ashes, The Mantle is also absolutely amazing. It's got a more quieter vibe with more acoustic guitars, it's even more atmospheric than Ashes, and it's got my favorite Agalloch song, In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion. That said, it's just not quite as consistently brilliant as Ashes. But that's not saying much at all. Fantastic record, would probably be in my top twenty.
---EPILOGUE---
Well, that's all, folks. I must say, I'm a bit relieved that this is finally over. Making all those write-ups is certainly time consuming. I'm aware that a lot of them could have been a lot shorter, but hey, I like putting my all into this stuff! Hopefully it showed. Thank you to all who have followed this list, I hope you had a good time. I'm still a relative newbie to those forums, but I definitely plan on sticking around. The community here is great, and I've discovered a lot of new music here that I probably would not have found otherwise. I'm actually still pretty new to being a music lover, hence why this list might seem a bit... limited. That said, I definitely plan on doing a full top 50 sometime in the distant future. Don't count on that happening anytime soon, though. :lol
Once again, thank you to those who have taken the time to follow this list and read my wall of text write-ups. I know that my opinions may be controversial and hard to agree with sometimes, but hey, that's what makes talking about music interesting. More than any other art form, it really boils down to personal taste. Music is in the ear of the beholder. Something that you love to pieces may sound like absolute crap to someone else, and vice versa. And there's nothing wrong with that. Be respectful of others opinions while maintaining your own. Don't be ashamed of your music tastes, because they're YOUR music tastes. Be proud of that.
Goodnight, folks.
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---BUDDYHUNTER1'S TOP 33 ALBUMS: FULL LIST---
33: Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)
32: Meshuggah - Koloss (2012)
31: Mastodon - Crack The Skye (2009)
30: Nightwish - Once (2004)
29: Periphery - Periphery II (2012)
28: Thrice - The Alchemy Index (2007/2008)
27: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were here (1975)
26: Oceansize - Frames (2007)
25: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect (2009)
24: Dethklok - Dethalbum II (2009)
23: Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad (2003)
22: Sigur Rós - ( ) (2002)
21: OSI - Office Of Strategic Influence (2003)
20: Pendulum - Immersion (2010)
19: Katatonia - Dead End Kings (2012)
18: Unexpect - Fables Of The Sleepless Empire (2011)
17: Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh (2008)
16: Opeth - Ghost Reveries (2005)
15: Meshuggah - obZen (2008)
14: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)
13: Tool - Ænima (1996)
12: Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day (2009)
11: Tool - Lateralus (2001)
10: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (2012)
9: Between The Buried And Me - Colors (2007)
8: Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)
7: Devin Townsend - Addicted (2009)
6: Unexpect - In A Flesh Aquarium (2006)
5: Strapping Young Lad - Alien (2005)
4: Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
3: Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)
2: Devin Townsend - Deconstruction (2011)
1: Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)
---HONORABLE MENTIONS---
Here's a few albums that I've grown to like a lot recently, and definitely would have made the cut if I was starting my list today.
Gojira - Terra Incognita
Rarely does a band release a debut album as kickass as this. Pure, brutal metal with a raw production, a relentless barrage of amazing riff after amazing riff, and some of the band's best songs. It has a very different sound than the rest of Gojira's albums. It's very straight-forward, focused, and simple, compared to their later, bigger and more grandiose-sounding records. But that's what I like about it, and it's also got that alien, unsettling atmosphere that gives it a good sense of uniqueness. It's a bit of a shame Gojira never released another album with this sound, it's a fantastic record that leaves me wanting more.
Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
Agalloch is hands-down one of my greatest musical discoveries of this year, and I can already say this album would be pretty damn close to my top ten. Every song on it is amazing, and there's never a weak moment. It's just a constant stream of brilliant composition. While the weird black metal vocals were a bit jarring at first, the wintery, atmospheric, and beautiful music more than makes up for it. If you're a fan of Opeth or other similar atmospheric metal bands, definitely give this one a try. It's a near-flawless record.
Pink Floyd - Animals
I kinda hated this album when I first listened to it. Nothing really grabbed me, and a lot of time it simply felt painfully boring. Needless to say, it's grown on me a lot. It's not quite as good as Wish You Were Here, but it's pretty damn close. The three big tracks are all equally amazing to the point where I'm not even quite sure which one is my favorite. They're all fantastic in their own ways. I'm sure everyone here has already listened to this album many, many times, so I don't really need to elaborate any further. Great, great album.
Agalloch - The Mantle
There's a lot of debate on whether Ashes Against The Grain or The Mantle is Agalloch's best record. This is quite unsurprising, frankly, since both albums are just so damn good. While I prefer Ashes, The Mantle is also absolutely amazing. It's got a more quieter vibe with more acoustic guitars, it's even more atmospheric than Ashes, and it's got my favorite Agalloch song, In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion. That said, it's just not quite as consistently brilliant as Ashes. But that's not saying much at all. Fantastic record, would probably be in my top twenty.
---EPILOGUE---
Well, that's all, folks. I must say, I'm a bit relieved that this is finally over. Making all those write-ups is certainly time consuming. I'm aware that a lot of them could have been a lot shorter, but hey, I like putting my all into this stuff! Hopefully it showed. Thank you to all who have followed this list, I hope you had a good time. I'm still a relative newbie to those forums, but I definitely plan on sticking around. The community here is great, and I've discovered a lot of new music here that I probably would not have found otherwise. I'm actually still pretty new to being a music lover, hence why this list might seem a bit... limited. That said, I definitely plan on doing a full top 50 sometime in the distant future. Don't count on that happening anytime soon, though. :jets:
Once again, thank you to those who have taken the time to follow this list and read my wall of text write-ups. I know that my opinions may be controversial and hard to agree with sometimes, but hey, that's what makes talking about music interesting. More than any other art form, it really boils down to personal taste. Music is in the ear of the beholder. Something that you love to pieces may sound like absolute crap to someone else, and vice versa. And there's nothing wrong with that. Be respectful of others opinions while maintaining your own. Don't be ashamed of your music tastes, because they're YOUR music tastes. Be proud of that.
Goodnight, folks.
Although you may be new to being a music lover as you noted; you definitely have the right approach. Like what you like and go with it. I don't begrudge anyone their own favorites as long as everyone can respectfully agree/disagree... we're all good. :)
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I have 12 of the 33 albums in your list, a 36.4% match. Let's go get coffee sometime, cowboy ;)
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26 here. :D
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Back off guy, I saw him first!
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I didn't follow your list very actively, but I've heard 13 of those albums and I have to say you made some great picks! :tup
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I have two of those albums, three of them if you count the Alchemy index as two albums (although you could, in theory, have four albums if you split up each disc. Thanks for the recommendation dude!) This list helped me pick up a couple albums, such as Epicloud by Devin Townsend and Blackwater Park by Opeth. Addicted and Ghost reveries will have to be picked up at some point too
Great list dude, thanks for the write-ups, I felt that they were a very worthy conveying of your feelings about the album.