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EDIT: This list is unfinished. Please go to page 6 for a reboot!
Sup, it’s me once again. I know it’s not been all that long but thanks to a series of fortunate and unfortunate events, here I am doing another top 50, 6 and a half months after I started the last one.
In here lists were kinda left aside for a bit, and I felt bad for it, so I tried to make up for it, creating this new list. I found out that it’s actually pretty different from last time. I’d say that 60% of the stuff is new, and wasn’t on the previous one, and that shows how lists are often inconsistent, and are just an indicative way to say “Hey, I fucking love these records”.
So, once again, before I embark on this epic journey, I encourage you to participate, share your thoughts and hey, feel free to suggest me anything if you need. There’s the roulette for that (My turn should be soon, get ready for that), but still.
So, this is how this’ll work:
I’ll post two albums a day (I’ll try to keep the pace steady) in separate updates, to give each more emphasis. The updates will be indicatively around 13:00 and 20:00 (GMT), and once I reach the top 15, there’ll be one update a day.
With that said, this list is pretty write-up oriented: writing those helps me with English language, and it’s a fun thing to do overall. I think they really have improved from my v1, so prepare for some long stuff actually.
Before starting the list here are a few albums from last time that sadly didn’t make the cut:
(https://i.imgur.com/Sw5vp5U.jpg)
...that’s it for now. Tune back in tomorrow at 13:00 (GMT) for the start of the list! I’m excited, man :dangerwillrobinson:
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The list so far:
What are you looking at? It hasn't even started yet!
#50 - "Autumn's soundtrack": Opeth - Blackwater Park (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1943096#msg1943096)
#49 - "Tanks and stuff": Sabaton - Heroes (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1943273#msg1943273)
#48 - "Cowboys on Mars" : Muse - Black Holes & Revelations (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1943508#msg1943508)
#47 - "One heavy return" : Anthrax - Worship Music (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1943673#msg1943673)
#46 - "Four songs and some solos" : Yes - Fragile (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1943929#msg1943929)
#45 - "Music of the ancient gods" : Symphony X - The Odyssey (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1944102#msg1944102)
#44 - "Stevie being creepy" : Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1944319#msg1944319)
#43 - "Death metal and country" : Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1944632#msg1944632)
#42 - "I miss these guys" : Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1945284#msg1945284)
#41 - "Hire another sound guy" : Metallica - Death Magnetic (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1945458#msg1945458)
#40 - "Just some power chords" : Green Day - Dookie (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1945694#msg1945694*)
#39 - "Serious songs. Almost." : System Of A Down - Hypnotize (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1945960#msg1945960)
#38 - "Mermaids are metal" : Haken - Aquarius (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1946247#msg1946247)
#37 - "Everything is my fault" : Nirvana - In Utero (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1946487#msg1946487)
#36 - "Stevie being trippy" : Porcupine Tree - Up The Downstair (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1947000#msg1947000)
#35 - "NUGGETZ" : Dream Theater - Octavarium (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1947268#msg1947268)
#34 - "Hold your insults thanks" : Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1947629#msg1947629)
#33 - "Sell outs?" : Metallica - Metallica (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1947662#msg1947662)
#32 - "Speechless" : Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1947824#msg1947824)
#31 - "Space and orchestras" : Muse - The Resistance (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1948017#msg1948017)
#30 - "Steel, eh!" : Rush - Clockwork Angels (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1948337#msg1948337)
#29 - "Ominous Germans" : Rammstein - Reise, Reise (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1948341#msg1948341)
#28 - "Stevie being jazzy" : Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1948402#msg1948402)
#27 - "EINZ ZWEI POLIZEI" : Rammstein - Herzeleid (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1950116#msg1950116)
#26 - "Prog Metal done well" : Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1950306#msg1950306)
#25 - "How to blow minds up": Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1950500#msg1950500)
#24 - "Stevie being lonely" : Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1950672#msg1950672)
#23 - "I think Lucas likes this" : Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1950824#msg1950824)
#22 - "Yin and Yang" : Opeth - Watershed (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1951416#msg1951416)
#21 - "A bald man's sum-up" : Devin Townsend - Z2 (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1952597#msg1952597)
#20 - " :D " : Rush - Permanent Waves (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1952794#msg1952794)
#19 - "I think Evermind likes this" : Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1952984#msg1952984)
#18 - "A bomb." : Alter Bridge - Fortress (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1953415#msg1953415)
#17 - "A fitting title" : Devin Townsend Project - Addicted (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1954256#msg1954256)
#16 - "Headbanger's manifesto" : Metallica - Master Of Puppets (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1956788#msg1956788)
#15 - "An exercise in self-indulgence" : Rush - Hemispheres (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1957085#msg1957085)
#14 - "Grohl has a fetish for vintage" : Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1957550#msg1957550)
#13 - "Poor Jason" : Metallica - ...And Justice For All (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=43527.msg1959135#msg1959135)
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You left The Dream Sequencer out? I'm not following this shit.
:neverusethis:
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You left The Dream Sequencer out? I'm not following this shit.
Fixed.
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You guys :rollin
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following
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Some strong albums listed there, looking forward to the actual list.
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Wait, wasn't Rust in Peace your number 9 or something? You mean to tell me you've found 41 new albums that you like better than your previous number 9???? THIS IS HORSE SHIT MANGIOY
... following.
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You left Rust In Peace out? I'm not following this shit.
:neverusethis:
FTFM
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Rust in Peace and Powerslave made my own top 50. Those are some great picks. :tup
Follooooow
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Wait, wasn't Rust in Peace your number 9 or something? You mean to tell me you've found 41 new albums that you like better than your previous number 9???? THIS IS HORSE SHIT MANGIOY
Yeah kind of ridiculous, but I had to sacrifice something from the top ten so it doesn't get too stale and repetitive.
Anyways, thanks to all those who'll follow, first update coming one hourish later than I told you because life is hard.
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Starting the list off, this is what is called a modern prog classic.
(https://coverlib.com/Download/573069/Opeth-Blackwater_Park-2-Front-.JPG)
#50: Opeth - Blackwater Park
2001 - Progressive Death Metal - Sweden
You know, Opeth have been one of those bands with which I used the more “A little of each” approach, meaning that I only listened to a couple of songs from all the records. This was also because they took a relatively long time to grow on me completely, and so I didn’t listen to the actual records until December – that’s when I’ve explored this band a little more. And them showing up in here is the result.
Blackwater Park has been always acclaimed as one of the best Progressive Metal albums of all times, and while it is surely a classic, I can’t say that I completely agree with that statement. We’ll see why in a bit.
So, this album was “painfully conceived” (as the booklet says :lol) at Fredman Studios, in Sweden, and was mostly written (as all Opeth records) by the band’s frontman, Mikael Akerfeldt. I’ve already expressed my immense love and respect for this man in my previous list, but I’ve been kind of an ass not including any Opeth album too. In terms of production, with this album some kind of relationship begins between the band and another immense immense musician, Steven Wilson. Since this album he’s worked on every Opeth release and eventually he and Mikael formed a duo, and made the album “Storm Corrosion”, which is ambient/proggy-folk, very weird, but still stellar.
In this album Opeth’s pre-keyboards sound is at its complete evolution: the songs are long, featuring mostly intricate and stream-of-consciousness-styled structures, which may be a bit overwhelming on the first listens: infact there are just a few recurring parts in the songs and so it’s prog in every sense of the word: even the songs progress, they evolve, in the words of Mikael, they feel like a journey.
The riffs are creative, complex but yet catchy and interesting, and they’re capable of creating a beautiful, haunting atmosphere, painting a really beautiful picture of (this is at least what they remind me of) forests, autumn, fog and other stuff like that. That’s amazing, few bands can really do that, and Opeth is one of them for sure. Also, the transitions between heavy and soft (and viceversa) are flawless, they feel very natural even though we’re talking about two completely different dynamics. With SW at production, you should expect the best, and indeed it is an awesome sounding album, especially the acoustic guitars and the drums, good God, that snare sound. The lyrics (which are also penned by Akerfeldt) are quite complex too, and I don’t always understand them, but still, they’re very beautiful and they help the atmosphere and the pathos.
The band performance is also stunning, Martin Mendez on bass does a really cool and clever job creating bass lines that play with the guitar parts, not necessarily following them, and Lopez surprises us once in a while with some fast double bass parts. Mikael is capable of using his melodic voice and growl at their best in this album, and I really love both sides of his voice, he’s a top 5 vocalist of mine. Wow.
So, this album opens up with The Leper Affinity, which hits you in the face with a pounding 6/8 riff (very recurring time signature in Opeth) after the creepy organ buildup. This song opens the album really well, and it’s an amazing showcase of the band’s heavier sound. All the riffs are great, and they’re really fun to play – it also flows very well, 10 minutes fly by in the blink of an eye, and all of the sudden you find yourself in the beautiful piano outro, which closes the song with a melanchonic touch. Bleak is next, and it may possibly be my favorite; this song is much more melodic than the previous track, but it’s still heavy, especially during the finale. There are two things about this song that make me enjoy it so much: one is a section I call “Steven Chorus” in which Steven Wilson makes a vocal appearance, and it’s just a gorgeous melody. The other section is the acoustic transition… I’ve got no words for that, it’s just pure eargasm material. The album goes on with Harvest, a nice ballad which makes a good breathing space between other epic and heavy pieces. I really love the vocal lines in this one, although it’s not my favorite Opeth ballad. After that The Drapery Falls starts, and here the record begins to sound a little repetitive, but more of that later. This song is bipolar: the first half is in a power-ballad style, with a beautiful chorus, the second part is heavier and features growls. One highlight of this piece is the 5/8 riff after the first growl section. Good heavens, that’s really sick. Like really really really sick. Overall it’s a great song, but it does drag a bit, and I think that it’s because of its placement, I mean it’s basically another 6/8 ballad afer another 6/8 ballad, so yep. Next up is Dirge For November, which is my least favorite song. Now, this song represents my biggest Opeth critic: they are repetitive. Every song has that same atmosphere, but they are clever because they keep it cool throwing neat riffs at you, so yeah. This reason is why I prefer a particular album over this one, you’ll see with time. So, even though it’s really uninspired for me, Dirge For November features both a beautiful intro and outro. The Funeral Portrait is a shorter (well, 8 minutes.. but you get what I mean :lol) heavy song, and it has some of the coolest riffs in the album, along with top notch growls, until everything goes melodic in the last section, creating great contrast. After a great acoustic interlude, under the name of Patterns In The Ivy (such a cool title) the final track begins, and it’s a vortex of pure evil and darkness: Blackwater Park, with its lyrics about the darkest side of humanity, has growls all the way through. Each riff is a little masterpiece in this one, and everything is stopped after the first verse, when a creepy and eerie arpeggio part begins, and it’s one of the best moments in the entire album. After that the song goes heavy again and it builds and builds and builds until THE SUUUUN SETS FOR-EVAAAAAH OVER BLACKWATER PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK BOOM- nope. Acoustic outro for ya. And that closes the album masterfully.
So, overall, this is an awesome record, but can be repetitive, and kinda tiring to listen to. Still, it’s a progressive masterpiece, and one that you need to check out if you didn’t. Also, multiple listens required.
Favorite tracks: The Leper Affinity, Bleak, Blackwater Park
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Come on man, Blackwater Park is top 10 material.
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I'm fine with it on this position. I agree, it can be a bit repetitive at times, but it's a great listen nevertheless.
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It's one of the better Opeth albums with growls, but still... it's with growls.
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Let's continue with these gorgeous new forum graphics :lol :rollin :lol :rollin (for the confused people of the future, use this (https://archive.org/web/), and try to search for the forum during April 1st 2015.
(https://picscdn.redblue.de/doi/pixelboxx-mss-64676532/fee_786_587_png/Sabaton---Heroes-(CD))
#49: Sabaton - Heroes
2014 - Power Metal - Sweden
This is one of my favorite albums of 2014. Could it be because it came out on my birthday? Maybe, but still, I’m not that egocentric :lol
So, I wanted to include this album because, even though it’s not my favorite by Sabaton, I wanted to honor the band’s second era, because since Carolus Rex four members of the band left, and so since 2012 there’s been this new lineup, which is what I ultimately think about when I think of Sabaton, so yep.
Heroes was recorded in the Abyss Studios, in Ludvika, Sweden. It’s the same studio in which the previous 3 albums were recorded, and you can really tell that the band became comfortable with it. BUT it’s almost a completely new lineup, and this is one of the high points of the strength in Sabaton – they still sound like Sabaton, even though they went through this drastic lineup change. That’s because of lots of touring, as you can tell by the tour vlogs. Go check them out, hilarious stuff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrcPfYUgrK0).
As every Sabaton album, this one is really fun, catchy, epic sounding and also a bit heavier I think. The band, as I’ve said, sounds tight and the arrangements of the songs do a real great job with nice interplay between the two guitars, melodic synths, and a bombastic drum sound, which may be one of my favorite drum sounds ever. As always, good ol’ Joakim Brodén provides amazing vocals, raw but melodic and very powerful. Lyrically, instead of focusing on battles and war, the band with Heroes tried to focus on individual soldiers or companies that went beyond their call of duty, and did actions which caused them to be called, of course, “Heroes”.
This record starts with Night Witches which I proclaimed since the first listen an istant classic – it might be the band’s best opener after Ghost Division, or hell even better than that. This song is fast and short but reeeally memorable, and its strong points are the vocal lines, and the glorious chorus. Up next is No Bullets Fly, a pounding disco drum track with heavy riffs and one great chorus with nice backing vocals. The lyrics show that no matter how hard we may hate each other during war, in the end we’re all humans and inevitably help each other. One of my favorites, Smoking Snakes, is the third track. It’s a furious and triumphant 6/8 piece with good lyrics and melodies throughout. Although here I start to think of this band’s issue: their music is repetitive, throughout albums. I mean a lot of times there are really similar melodies going on, even from other songs, and there’s a strong feeling of the “it reminds me of” factor, the same problem with Iron Maiden, let’s say. Well, the next two tracks are the contrary of that: Inmate 4859 is an unusual song for Sabaton, since it’s fairly slow, a little creepy, but still a great chorus and an unexpected classical twist near the end – whilist To Hell And Back features country influences including the use of whistles, trumpets and even a jew’s harp. This song is really addicting, since it’s very catchy too, and it has also a great music video, proving the strong story behind the song, about a man that after battling with enemies, ultimately battles with himself. The Ballad Of The Bull is my least favorite tune. Ballads are really not for Sabaton, Joakim’s voice doesn’t really fit the slow and melodic moods (of course there are exceptions: A Lifetime Of War), so yep, I don’t really like this track, even though I admit it has a strong melody in the chorus. The record goes on with Resist & Bite, a march-like song which is great to sing along to, Soldier Of Three Armies, a track in which I find again the repetitivity issue, but this time less so, because the song features cool ideas throughout, and Far From The Fame which I heard long before the album came out because of the DVD Swedish Empire Live. The record closes with Hearts Of Iron, and the song is basically Uprising meets The Price Of A Mile. I really like the anthemic sound of this song, and it’s a really great closer, with a strong concept and vocal melodies. Also nice Bach guitar solo.
Overall Heroes is a very cool and easy listen, and pretty short too (36 minutes), if you want a quick album, catchy all the way through, but still heavy and, well, glorious, there you have it.
Favorites: Night Witches, Smoking Snakes, To Hell And Back, Resist & Bite
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It's one of the better Opeth albums with growls, but still... it's with growls.
Yeah, I know you're not pretty keen on growls. But still, it's cool that you actually like it.
Come on man, Blackwater Park is top 10 material.
Yeah, I can see where all the hype comes from, but it ultimately doesn't hit me as much as some other people.
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Saw Sabaton live on this album's tour just a month ago. They rocked the hell out of the venue.
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Saw Sabaton live on this album's tour just a month ago. They rocked the hell out of the venue.
Which show were you at precisely? I'm curious to see the setlist
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Saw Sabaton live on this album's tour just a month ago. They rocked the hell out of the venue.
Which show were you at precisely? I'm curious to see the setlist
The one in Moscow at 6th of March. Here's the setlist (https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sabaton/2015/ray-just-arena-moscow-russia-1bcbfd74.html), I think that should work.
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The one in Moscow at 6th of March. Here's the setlist (https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sabaton/2015/ray-just-arena-moscow-russia-1bcbfd74.html), I think that should work.
Wow you got Stalingrad :o :metal - they never play that one.
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(https://www.nicherecords.ro/uploads/cover/thumb/muse/700x700_muse-black-holes-revelations.jpg)
# 48: Muse - Black Holes & Revelations
2006 - Pop/Progressive/Electronic/Latin Rock - UK
One of the things I’m trying to do in this V2 is honor some of the honorable mentions by including them in the list, and this is one of ‘em, Muse’s third album, Black Holes And Revelations.
Usually the most praised albums by the fanbase are the first three records, but I’m in the vast minority, because I really prefer the latter three (I hope four, with Drones coming out soon), I think mostly because I grew up with ‘em. I actually remember when this one came out, I was 7, and so this one of the very few bands that I’ve been following for ten years.
BH&R was recorded in various studios in New York, France, Italy and England – and I have to say, the production suffers a bit in this one. It’s not that bad, but I wish it was more clean, and that the primary instruments were more upfront.
So, this album showcases some strange Muse experiments, some of these sounds are only used in this record: we have a more prominent use of synths, and some strong latin/Spanish influences – I would love to hear ‘em again someday. As always, the three guys are top notch and pretty distinguable, Matt’s voice shines through, and has some of the best performance ever, Chris rocks his bass as always, and Dominic really rocks in this one, showcasing his abilities like never before. One thing that this album lacks are riffs. Sure, there are a couple, but there’s never a WOAH riff, like there’s always been in every Muse album. I guess that’s part of experimenting, a thing that I’m grateful they do, because they’re really successful, and kind of bring prog to the masses.
The album opens with Take A Bow, strange choice for an opener, but still, works ok. This song is how you do a build-up properly, since it’s based off of a synth pattern that repeats itself, and Matt sings lines about corruption and V-For-Vendetta kind of stuff. It’s really emotional and gives me goosebumps every time, especially the very last note. It’s sadly underrated though, unlike the next track, which is sadly overrated:Starlight. Now, don’t get me wrong, this song is alright, I appreciate the way it’s dynamic with melodic verses and stronger choruses, but I wish people (and the band) would focus on objectively better songs, rather than a catchy tune about being loved. Not that it’s a bad song, again. Another commercial success, but a lot better in my book, is Supermassive Black Hole. I’ve known this song for about ten years, I listen to it every single day, no joke, and it still doesn’t bore me. That’s how you pass the test of time, ladies and djents. This song features Matt’s falsetto throughout, and it really fits the song. I just wish that it was a full heavy composition, without the strange drums, but with a proper rhythm – imagine it, it would break our necks! Map Of The Problematique is one of my least favorites, it’s bland, repetitive and flat, it doesn’t really grow in any sense. The lyrics, though are great:
"And no one think we are to blame,
why can’t we see
that when we bleed we bleed the same”
These are accompanied by a great vocal line. I just wish that the music was more dynamic and creative. Soldier’s Poem is one of the few ‘strange experiments’ in the album. This one is practically a bluesy ballad. Dom uses brushes and there’s a strong Queen influence. I don’t really dig it, but I appreciate its presence on the record; what follows is one of my favorite ballads by these guys, Invincible. This is how you do love songs, you start with a low dynamic and gradually grow and grow until the last chorus is the most epic thing you’ll ever hear – they’ve used this technique even in Madness, and that’s what saves that song from being an ordinary pop song. So, yes, very cool track, with a very cool music video too. Up next is the heavy track Assassin: it’s no secret that I like the heavier side of this band, and this song is no exception – with an incredible chorus and great great drum performance by Dominic (DAT drum fill before the heaviness ensues :metal). Again, sadly underrated, like Exo-Politics, a catchy tune about believing in aliens and stuff. It features a cool pulsating rhythm in 4/4, a great chorus and yeah, cheesy lyrics, but what the hell, it’s so groovy that I don't care about 'em. Following with the underrated tracks,City Of Delusion, a synth-ish bassline (reminds me of Darkshines from Origin Of Symmetry) and latin influences, with trumpets, strings and stuff. The latin stuff goes on with Hoodoo, a strong song, with great feel and a dramatic sound. Peculiar song for Muse, I wish they’d play this live more, because the HAARP version is stunning. And there it is, one of my absolute favorites, and probably one of many people’s absolute favorites, Knights Of Cydonia, a 2-parts country-infused galloping tune. It sets a really good vibe, and it’s heavy enough to headbang to, especially the second section (the crowd usually goes nuts during this). This could open the album really well actually, I’d swap It with Take A Bow, which could close it well also.
So, overall, this album is full of nostalgia for me, it’s not Muse’s best work objectively, but I still enjoy it a lot and there are great tunes all over. I’ll wait impatiently for Drones, but until then…
YOUR AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASS BELONGS TO MEEEE NOOOOWOWOW
Favorites: Take A Bow, Supermassive Black Hole, Assassin, Exo-Politics, Knights Of Cydonia
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I'll pretend you didn't say anything about there actually being objectivity in music, because otherwise we would be here all night, and just say that Black Holes is very good. Not my favourite Muse album, but it does sit comfortably at #3 behind Origin of Symmetry and The Second Law.
Also, props for that Rammstein album on the honourable mentions. I didn't like it much at first, but it has grown on me a lot. Have you listened to the bonus tracks? Three of the five are some of the best songs that Rammstein have written and are inifinitely better than songs like Roter Sand. Also, my mother sings in the choir on that album, which is pretty dope. :metal
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Also, my mother sings in the choir on that album, which is pretty dope. :metal
Neat! :metal
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Yeah, I'll just go ahead and censor the word "objectively" in my head when I read these write-ups now. :lol
Blackwater Park is far too low. ;)
I'm really not into Muse's most recent records, and Black Holes is probably the last of theirs I'd call "great". Not a bad choice at all.
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Muse? I'll pass.
Actually though, I'm looking at my Top 50 once again, and while there are some mediocre songs on the albums in 40-50th place range, I don't think I would call any song from them "one of my least favorites, bland, repetitive and flat".
And yeah, let's not start that objective vs. subjective debate once again. :lol
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man, i love map of the problematique, you cray man
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(https://www.thedevilwearsparsley.com/images/2011/Metal/AnthraxWorshipMusic/WorshipMusic.jpg)
# 47: Anthrax - Worship Music
2011 - Heavy/Thrash Metal - New York, USA
Here’s one of the first few metal groups I’ve go tinto. If Metallica showed me how to play aggressive music that also has class, Slayer showed me how dark can everything be and Megadeth showed me how much skill can a band have, Anthrax did show me that at the end of the day it was all about having fun and kick ass. This band brings to the stage its energy, and make a bunch of 50 year old man, seem like they’re in their 20s.
Worship Music was their first album in eight years, and it felt like they really needed to come back with a bang after all this time. Well, did they? Kind of. This is a great album, but it has some major flaws. But let’s not look at that quite yet.
To begin with, this record has an awesome production, every instrument is crystal clear in the mix, the drum sound is great and the guitars are fat and heavy. The band itself is in great shape, the best ones being as always (probably one of my favorite rhythm section ever) the uncle-nephew duo, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello. These guys make my day whenever I hear them play. Charlie has the most awesome, but still subtle, ideas for his drum parts, and Frank Bello is always there, the bass is always heard and I love this stuff. Scott and Rob are throwing epic riff after epic riff, and there’s also a renewed Joey Belladonna, who sounds the same, but has more catchy vocal melodies than he ever did before. And I like that. The songs are action packed, heavy, catchy and memorable especially. Regarding the lyrics, they’re not that awesome, actually. Bummer.
The album opens (after the “Worship” ambient intro) with a bang: Earth On Hell is a heck of a furious track – fast and very heavy at the same time, especially at the very beginning. It left me surprised actually the first time I heard it. Overall a classic Anthrax song, which is very memorable especially, once again, thanks to its heaviness. Another memorable thing is found in the next track, The Devil You Know: the stop and go riff. So catchy. Other than that, the song has a really strong and melodic chorus. And also some random screams thrown in which crack me up everytime. Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t, a zombie-themed song, has brilliant riffs all over, and one heck of a performance by Charlie. Jesus, that bridge section. Also, the solo in this song is worth mentioning. I’m Alive is probably the poppiest entry in the record, featuring an uplifting groovy riff, a catchy chorus and a groovy second half, even though I think it should’ve been trimmed down a bit. After that, it’s In The End’s turn, and here comes one of the problems with this album, it could be either good or bad. I can’t really pick a favorite tune, but at the same time I can’t also really say that it’s because the songs are too awesome or they’re too average. Quite an enigma for me, this is. Well, whatever, the thing is, In The End is proooobably my favorite. But I’m not sure at 100%. Once again, heavy, this time emotional (the song is dedicated to both Dio and Dimebag, so yep) and DAT palm-muted riff. The Giant is the last song I really like until the last track. It’s fun, fast and I like the structure of the vocals, the melodies (the chorus, man) and the 000000. 000000. 000000. 000000. After this song the album gets kinda bland. Judas Priest is a filler, easy. It steals the riff from I’m Alive and the chorus from Earth On Hell. Come on, ‘Thrax, you're better than that. Crawl is fairly meh, but not that bad either. The Constant IMO is really boring, bland, and really should’ve not be there. But after three really meh songs the album picks up its pace again with Revolution Screams, one great final track, featuring stunning double bass work by Charlie, and a heavy-as-fuck riff. It’s also not your typical Anthrax song, I like how the band explored a little more.
So yeah, overall, nice record, but it could’ve been shorter. The flow is amazing on the first 6 tracks and then it gets boring. We didn’t need fillers, it could’ve been just a tidbit shorter and be more awesome, but whatever, I’m grateful for the rest of the songs up there. Waiting for the new album!
Favorites: The Devil You Know, Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't, In The End, The Giant
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I don't think I would call any song from them "one of my least favorites, bland, repetitive and flat".
It's actually not that bad, I've said it in the writeup. It just lacks dynamics to me, and that makes it feel uninterasting.
man, i love map of the problematique, you cray man
;D
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:corn
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very cool Anthrax pick!
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very cool Anthrax pick!
Worship Music finally clicked with me a couple of months ago. It's a great album.
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I still don't understand how an album where a third of it is bland and boring to your ears can even come near a list like this, but whatever. I personally dig Worship Music a bit more than you seem to and would rank it considerably lower (it might touch my Top 100, were I ever to make such a list, but probably not).
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To be honest, that's how the top 50-tier of my list was like - didn't have enough excellent albums to cover all the spots, so had to add some merely good ones instead.
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I'm with Scorpion, it does raise the question of how many albums you've listened to when an album in the top 50 is merely "good". :P
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Well, what can I say guys? It is what it is, it's like Sacul said. Things get significantly better now. It's just those four spots where the albums "great" and not "amazing" to me. Just because there are one or two underwhelming songs, it doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the album and that it can't be in the top 50. As you may probably know, I listen to less music than most of you, so this is the result :D
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(https://sungraffix.net/QuantumnIrridator/MuzikLibrary/box/Yes/AlbumArt_Yes/1971%20Fragile%20folder_LARGE.jpg)
# 46: Yes - Fragile
1971 - Classic Progressive Rock - UK
Yes are probably my favorite-sounding classic prog act. To begin with, I love Jon Anderson’s voice, very particular, and it can create this cool atmosphere, that I can’t really describe in words. The other guys in the band are also pretty amazing in what they do: we have Rick Wakeman, one of the greatest keyboardists at his times, Bill Bruford, an old version of Mangini basically, Chris Squire tone is awesome, and the stuff he plays fills the songs with a great fat end. And then Steve Howe, a man of which I especially love the quirkiness of his parts and his acoustic guitar sound, which is honestly the best acoustic guitar sound I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear. But why do I focus so much on the members of the band? Well, that’s because it’s what this album is.
Fragile is, infact, a collection of little solos, along with four actual songs, and there’s a “solo” piece to each member. I like this experiment, it makes you understand what’s really behind a band songwriting, much like Periphery did with Clear. Only this is better. IMO at least.
This was recorded in London (Advision Studios), and honestly I didn’t listen to the original version, because the remastered is just sooo perfect. It’s amazing what modern technology can do to relatively old music. The sound is so crystal clear, especially drums and acoustic guitars. Props to Dan Hersch, who did the thing.
So, as I’ve said, Fragile is four songs + little solo tracks. It opens with Roundabout, one of the best openers around; the song makes you think is gonna be sad, with the beautifully touching acoustic guitar intro, but eventually transitions in the happiest thing you’ll ever hear. I mean, it just makes you smile, especially the chorus. If every song had a face, :D would be the one for Roundabout. Also love the heavy riff in the middle of the song. Cans And Brahms is Rick Wakeman’s solo piece, even though it’s actually a cover of a composition by Johannes Brahms. It’s a pleasant and quirky listen, although admittedly a strange piece to put on a record. We Have Heaven is Jon Anderson’s piece, a nice groovy song with, of course, lots of layered vocals and choirs and stuff like that. It’s suddenly interrupted by a door and some footseps, that freak me out everytime. South Side Of The Sky is “actual song” number 2. This one showcases Yes’ heavier edge, with ominous guitars and one awesome interlude, featuring a grand piano solo and after that, layered vocals, a thing that Steven Wilson would be proud of. I like this track. Five Percent For Nothing is Bill Bruford’s piece, and it’s 35 seconds of random notes along with some organ chords and some drumming paradiddles within hi-hat, snare and kick drum. The fuck, Bill. Long Distance Runaround is the next actual song, and it’s quirkiness galore. The main melody is once again pretty happy, and high too. It also features a cool polyrhytmic figure in the verses. The Fish is my favorite little-tune. Chris Squire gives us a layered bass performance, with multiple tracks, one great groove and a vocal line. It’s cool. The last solo song is Mood For A Day, an acoustic guitar solo. What can I say, I love Steve’s acoustic work, as I’ve stated. This is no exception – an emotional solo, a great prelude to the dark and proggy Heart Of The Sunrise. Jeez, this track is the bomb. This is prog done masterfully. It’s very dynamic, serious but quirky, the vocal melodies are touching and epic, the lyrics? Same. I raise my hands. It’s like forshadowing Dream Theater and Haken – it really reminds me of Haken, ‘cause of the quirkiness and vocals, Ross and Jon have very similar voices. So yep, masterful track, hard to describe but beautiful.
What else to say about Fragile? It’s strange, its flow is not that great, but I appreciate the experiment, and the standalone tracks are just gorgeous. Chapeau.
Favorite tracks: Roundabout, Heart Of The Sunrise
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Yeay, well, I just think every album in any top 50 list should be 'amazing' by the stadards of the person making the list. There's no point in creating a 'Top 50 albums list' if you've only heard 70 records of which you think half is crap. Now, that's me exaggerating, but you get the point.
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Infact, I've heard far more than that but I get what you're trying to say.
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(https://amassing2.sakura.ne.jp/image/jacket/large/2013b/23295.jpg)
#45: Symphony X - The Odyssey
2002 - Progressive Symphonic/Power Metal - New Jersey, USA
I’ve known this one for quite a while now, but over the last months it grew on me a lot, hence its appearence in the list. Symphony X are some kind of an hybrid metal band, uniting the most pretentious and cheesy subgenres in the whole scene: prog, symphonic and power metal. When I first heard that I admit I said “MUST. HEAR.”. It all started with Set The World On Fire blahblah, but it was when I got to this album that I understood the true nature of Symphony X: great melodies, virtuosism, heavy riffs and overall a great atmosphere that remind me of something quite “godly”, like if this was the music the Greek Gods listen to up there in the Olympus – heck, they even got an album named “Twilight In The Olympus”. So, let’s take a look at The Odyssey.
Recorded in the band’s headquarters, The Dungeon, this is the band’s sixth effort. Production is great, everything is well balanced, the guitars are fat enough, I love the drums in this one. The only thing that make me cringe are the orchestra sounds used throughout the album – they’re really not that great. I mean, c’mon, they could’ve use at least two or three musician instead of using stuff from the keyboard. The music is pretty basic prog metal, again, with symphonic influence, although some of these riffs are among my favorites of all times. The vocal lines are very kinda solemn and sustained, props to Russell Allen because that guy has an amazing voice and tooooooone. Also, props to Michael Romeo that basically wrote most of the album by himself. HOW DO YOU DO THAT
The record opens with a fast as hell (no pun intended) tune, named Inferno (Unleash The Fire). This is one of my favorites intros in prog, and as I’ve said, the riff before the verse is one of my favorites of all times. When I first heard that my jaw hit the floor. The lyrics are inconsistent though. Strange thing, the verses are awesome, but the rest is pretty meh lyric-wise. No problem with that, since the music itself is top notch. Wicked is so groovy, featuring a typical Romeo riff figure, but very heavy. Once again, the intro in this song is awesome, and I like the overall vibe of it, and I think it has a cool storyline in the lyrics. Incantations Of The Apprentice features a different kind of vibe in some parts. It gets really spooky in the chorus. I mean “DAAARKNESS FAAAALLS” is a pretty sinister sounding melody, if you ask me. I like that.Accolade II(sequel of The Accolade, from The Divine Wings Of Tragedy) feels a bit forced in itself, maybe they needed another song and decided to write this, but you know what? It’s not bad at all, heck, it’s a great tune! The references to its prequel make me shiver, and its chorus is probably my favorite one in the whole album. Also, it manages to be melodic and heavy at the same time, and it’s a pretty well balanced thing, good job with that. Up next is probably my favorite track from this, King Of Terrors. The song, much like The Mirror and Honor Thy Father, has a simplistic heavy riff, played with various drum figures and time signatures. And it probably does a better work than those DT song in this aspect. It’s just so groovy and heavy it hurts! I love Russel’s vocals in here. He sounds pretty desperate, seeing as this song’s lyrics are from The Pit And The Pendulum, by E.A. Poe (one sinister short story), he interprets stuff pretty well. The instrumental section is a thing to mention also. That piano break. The Turning is next, when I said Inferno was fast, I was lying. THIS is what fast means. Just listen to that :metal This song is pretty quick in every sense, and catchy. I’d recommend it right away GO LISTEN TO IT NOW. Awakenings is the proggiest song (except for the title track), it’s written in stream-of-consciousness style, and features melodic stanzas along with heavy/neoclassical instrumental sections. Yes, I feel it’s my least favorite, but I think it’s a grower too. With time we’ll see. Have I mentioned that this album includes an epic piece? Yes, it does. The Odyssey. Perfect fusion between classical music and metal, in my opinion. If only the instruments were real. The song would be better. When I say perfect fusion I talk mostly about the first movement, Odysseus’ Theme. It’s like having an orchestra with drums and heavy guitars, and not the contrary. Awesome opening. As you might have guessed this song is about Homer’s Odyssey. To me, it’s always been a perfect topic to talk about in music, and when I found out about this song, I joyed a little inside. This song is subdivided in 7 sections, reaching a whole range of dynamics and feelings, like I imagine an epic journey to be. The best movements are certainly the opening, as I’ve said, Journey To Ithaca, featuring a stunning chorus and one heck of an instrumental section, Sirens, that has another one of my favorite riffs of all times (what the hell Romeo) and Champion Of Ithaca, very cheesy ending to this piece, but still great nonetheless. Overall this is a great epic tune, I prefer it to the band’s other epic, The Divine Wings Of Tragedy. I think it flows better and is more consistent. Top notch stuff.
This album is really fun, I recommend it a lot, I always have a good time when I listen to it. Can’t wait for the new album.
Favorite tracks: Inferno, King Of Terrors, The Turning, The Odyssey
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Symphony X is kind of cool and I listen to them occasionally, but somehow I prefer Russell in Allen/Lande much more. Or in Star One.
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Or in Adrenaline Mob?
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Or in Adrenaline Mob?
Not a big fan of AMob to be honest. I think I like SX more.
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My favorite album from SX. Just awesome!
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Awakenings is awesome. Shame on you.
(Good album though.)
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Nice to see some Odissey appreciation.
So guys, I've got some bad news. Since I won't be home both this evening and tomorrow morning, there's gonna be one update for a couple of days. I don't think it would be much a problem, since it's Easter tomorrow, and probably you'll be busy. And, monday i'm off to somewhere (still have to decide), so no update at all. With that said:
(https://www.ladyobscure.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Porcupine-Tree-%E2%80%93-In-Absentia.jpg)
# 44: Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
2001 - Progressive/Psychedelic/Pop Rock/Metal - UK
And here come the Porcupines, and here comes mr. Wilson, one of his many appearances in this particular list. SPOILERZSPOILERZ. What can be said about PT? I freaking love their musicianship, and the way they sound, uniting three of my favorites aspects of music together: atmosphere, catchiness and (in their late period) heaviness. There’s no need to say that each and every member of this band is a master at what he does. SW shines as an outstanding songwriter, Colin Edwin gives us tasty bass-line after tasty bass-line non-stop, Richard Barbieri uses his patches and synth sounds to give more texture to the songs, while not actually interfering with the actual music (talking about riffs, melodies etc.) and Gavin Harrison. I’ve already expressed my love for this man, but I’ll say it once more: in my top three favorite drummers EVER. Groove? Check. Technical abilities? Check. Tasty drum fills? Check. Creativity and musicality in his playing? Checkitty check. I think I’ve made my point clear.
In Absentia is actually the first album with Gavin in the band, who was filling the shoes of Chris Maitland, who left the group in 2001. This album marks the beginning of the band’s third era, the “metal” era. Indeed, more soundscapes are being introduced in this album, new to the band: creepiness and heaviness. And from here on out it’s only uphill with every album. So, as I’ve said, this album (and you can already tell by the cover) is pretty dark, both in music and in lyrics: infact it deals with rapists, killers and stuff like that. It’s not clear if it’s a single story line or more stories together, but still, it’s about that. The band heavy factor has a “surprise” approach, often appearing for a few seconds in the middle of a pretty calm section, but destroying everything in those few moments.
This album was recorded at Avatar Studios in New York (same studio in which Systematic Chaos was recorded, for reference), and of course, with Steven at production, you can’t really go wrong; infact everything is crystal clear as it could possibly be, and perfectly balanced too.
This record begins with a legendary duo of songs: Blackest Eyes, a legitimately “Pop Metal” track, featuring one hell of a heavy riff, catchy and sunny verses and choruses, talking about a violent sex addict :D (I’ve always loved that constrast). Whilst Trains is practically a ballad, and one of my favorite PT songs. A happy song about love and possibly even about incest. What? Didn’t he hear the sounds from his cousins bed? Yeah, maybe I just ruined the song for you :lol Anyways, this song is capable of lighting even the darkest of hearts, specifically with its bridge and outro. Lips Of Ashes is probably the creepiest PT song around, a gentle lullaby about necrophilia. The “lalalas” usually make me smile, but here they make me go in my pants. The Sound Of Muzak is the only “innocent” piece in the record, talking about modern mainstream music and how it sucks. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a great track, but it feels out of place in the album (they could’ve replaced it with Drown With Me, a b-side from this record’s sessions). This song features a great 7/4 groove. Gravity Eyelids is a bit boring. It’s very calm and ethereal, at least until the bridge, where the song explodes in heavy riffing. I don’t really listen to this one out of the context of the album, but it’s ok. Wedding Nails is possibly my favorite PT instrumental track, featuring great groovy riffing and creepy ambient parts. It’s pretty fun to play to, the breakdown leaves space for nice fillings, drumming-speaking. Prodigal is a very typical PT song with a sad tone, nice funky influences and catchiness. .3 brings us back to the space rock days of the group, featuring one bassline with all sorts of ambience behind it, and eventually a verse, with the same chords as the chorus of The Sound Of Muzak. Talking about groove, how about The Creator Had A Mastertape? Now, that’s how you use drums and bass properly. It’s so infectious. This is a frenetic fast song about a killer, who slowly lost his mind, until "he raised a proper family, so he could tie them to a bed". Heart-Attack In A Layby is the saddest song in the album, a piano ballad dealing with a man who gave up on his life. But as soon as he starts regretting his decisions and turning back to say sorry to everybody, he has an heart attack. Poof. Strip The Soul is possibly the darkest song in PT’s entire carreer. Just to say a few lines “They are not gone, they are only sleeping, in ways, in graves, in clay, underneath the floor”. It features a similar bass-line to the one in .3 and a fucking heavy outro that still scares the shit out of me everytime I listen to it. Seriously, it’s that creepy. The album closes with Collapse The Light Into Earth which is like a light at the end of the tunnel, providing a great finale and an uplifting melanchonic song.
Overall, this is an album that I really recommend for first-timers PT listeners, especially if they come from a metal background. It shows what the band is capable of in terms of technicality, even if it’s not the best IMO. Great stuff :tup
Favorites: Blackest Eyes, Trains, Wedding Nails, The Creator Had A Mastertape, Strip The Soul
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Trains darkens my heart with the fact that so many people suck its dick when about 100% of the songs on this album are superior to it. :P
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gtfo with these opinions
Though I will agree Trains isn't the best song on IA. Probably around number 4 for me.
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Trains darkens my heart with the fact that so many people suck its dick when about 100% of the songs on this album are superior to it. :P
Trains is a nice little tune, but it's not even close to being the best song on this album.
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Is say Trains is top 3 on the album for me.
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Oh good god. I just saw this: 'Gravity Eyelids is a bit boring'. What? :lol it's the best song on there man!
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Then again, I adore this album. Every track is amazing. The combo if Creator, Heartattack and Strip the Soul is brilliant as well.
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All-time top 3 album for me :hefdaddy . And Trains is my fav you suckers :P .
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That's right folks, fight for your trains!
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Trains is my favorite Porcupine Tree song so whatever
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Yep, Trains is one of the band's top 5 songs period. In this case, popular opinion is right.
As a whole, I think IA would go around here in my list. It's very good straight through, but it's not in the very elite level of albums for me.
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My dislike for Trains has nothing to do with it being popular, it just means that it's an opinion that I mention more often, but I found it extremely bland from the first listen on, when I had no idea which songs people dug and which they didn't.
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^ same thing applies for me. I honestly think that part of what makes this song popular is the ridiculous hype it gets, as well as Wilson's own apparent fondness for this song (using it as encores at shows and stuff). Then again, it's a catchy tune and it's a logical song to release as a single.
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Good to see some discussion going on!
Anyways, I figured I'd post the next update now, because who gives a heck, it's Easter. Oh yeah, happy Easter everyone.
(https://www.furiacontralamaquina.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/greatmisdirect.jpg)
# 43: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
2010 - Progressive Death Metal (Country/Folk) - North Carolina, USA
Between The Buried And Me. If you had told me 6 months ago “hey, you’ll listen and love this band one day”, I wouldn’t have believed you at all. BTBAM were really hard for me to get into, but they did at one point. They clicked, not with this album, but with another one (which we will find out about at a later point.). This band combines prog with death metal and yes, metalcore, but also a lot of other genres of which we find little nuances once in a while.
Every member of this band is a master at what he does, starting with the almighty Paul Waggoner on lead guitar. I love this guy. Blake Richardson on drums, he’s one of the best drummers I’ve discovered in a while, and has a great taste in his drum parts. On rhythm guitar Dustie Waring, he always provides big and fat stuff; Dan Briggs on bass. This guy is a musical genius, from what I understand he can write scores for orchestra, other than playing bass masterfully, while also being 29 years old. And of course Tommy Rogers on vocals and keyboards. Now the thing is, when he screams he’s not bad, can’t deny it, but I inevitabely prefer any section in which he’s singing in clean. That dude creates some awesome vocal lines, and some of which give me chills. Also, these guys are fucking hilarious, watch some of their studio videos and you’ll see what I mean :lol
BTBAM songs are often a mess, in the sense that it’s stream-of-consciousness type of songwriting, with blast beats and heaviness all over everything, topped with the right amount of melodicness and wacky stuff. I just wish that the band was more melodic-focused, but still, they’re great the way they are. The Great Misdirect was recorded in 2009 at Basement Studios, in Winston-Salem, NC. I’ll start saying that the drums sound stunningly great, Blake has one of my favorite tones ever. The rest of mixing and production is awesome too.
The record opens with two songs, which are tied together both musically and lyrically, Mirrors And Obfuscation, the first one being pretty chill with nice ethereal (at times poppy) guitars and Obfuscation being the heavy side of it all. It’s not that memorable IMO, but still it’s a great listen. Disease, Injury, Madness is a track that plays on dynamics: it starts heavy with blast beats and fast riffings, to step back a few notches for a nice little interlude. Then the heaviness starts again but it’s soon interrupted by a quiet jazz part, with a stunning bass solo. Now, written like this, you get the impression that it’s pretty incoherent. Well, it isn’t at all, infact one of my favorite moments in this album is the transition from heavy to jazzy. Dem brushes. Another cool moment is the “cowbell” riff, featuring heavy cowbell use and horses. Up next is Fossil Genera – A Feed From Cloud Mountain, a three-part epic about the “Night Owls”, a fictional group of creatures that controls us and make us kill ourselves in order to evolve. The first part is a ragtime metal thing (it cracks me up everytime), the second part is your classic BTBAM heavy tune and the third is this anthemic build up with choirs and a great climax. Shivers everywhere. Desert Of Song is a ballad with country influences, I love this. I wish the band moved more towards this direction, but still maintaining that prog element of theirs. In this song, Paul sings the first few verses, and he’s awesome, he has a very deep voice which fits perfectly in the mood of this piece. Swim To The Moon. Where do I begin to talk about this track. It’s the band’s longest, to begin with, and that’s already a pretty big statement. This song has a few classic BTBAM parts, but features Spanish influences and a great melodic chorus. The instrumental sections are amazing, and everyone gets a solo in this track, even Tommy on keys, if we can call that a solo :lol The best part is without shadow of doubt the breakdown. It’s scary how heavy it is. LOOOK INTOOOOO THAAAAA PICTCHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA . Seriously though, there’s brilliant songwriting all over this track, from the blast beats to the samba drum solo, including the acoustic passages, and the overall Dream Theater-ness in the tune. Amazing stuff.
This album is great if you wanna start with BTBAM. It has all the cool elements, and it’s interesting enough to catch someone’s attention. Can’t wait for Coma Ecliptic, since from what I understood the band's going more into the direction that I wished.
Favorite tracks: Disease Injury Madness , Desert Of Song , Swim To The Moon
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In Absentia has two of my favourite PT songs, but as a whole this album isn't that great for me. Probably top 150 or something like that. Still, great choice, that.
I've heard Colors from BTBAM, and I didn't like it at all, looks like this band isn't my cup of tea.
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In Absentia has two of my favourite PT songs, but as a whole this album isn't that great for me. Probably top 150 or something like that. Still, great choice, that.
I've heard Colors from BTBAM, and I didn't like it at all, looks like this band isn't my cup of tea.
What a funny thing they are, tastes :lol .
I didn't like Colors either some years ago. But I got more and more used to harsh vocals and growls, so decided to give it another chance last year. It went like this:
Oh, that's a sweet piano intro there.
(https://replygif.net/i/726.gif)
Hey I'm liking this, wonder why I disliked it before? *gets a bit heavier*. This is grea...
*explodes*
(https://media.giphy.com/media/EldfH1VJdbrwY/giphy.gif)
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It went pretty much this way with me too. Just not with Colors, which hasn't clicked yet (except Prequel To The Sequel) :neverusethis:
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Colors is alright but TGM is probably my favorite from BTBAM. A lot less death metal nonsense and a lot more melodic stuff and overall better songwriting.
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It went pretty much this way with me too. Just not with Colors, which hasn't clicked yet (except Prequel To The Sequel) :neverusethis:
Spoiling your own list. ;)
TGM is great all-around, there are only a few moments I'm not so down with (such as certain moments in Swim to the Moon). I do feel as though TGM, while more melodious, is not quite as memorable as Colors is. TGM (as well as Parallax II) is the album to get people into who are coming from a more progressive edge rather than an extreme metal one.
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I'll follow any list that has In Absentia on it. :hefdaddy
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TGM (as well as Parallax II) is the album to get people into who are coming from a more progressive edge rather than an extreme metal one.
Then that's what I should listen to then :P .
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To the people saying The Great Misdirect is a better album than Colors: you're wrong :P
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To the people saying The Great Misdirect is a better album than Colors: you're wrong :P
yes. a thousand times yes.
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No one said that. It just hasn't clicked yet, as opposed to TGM and ?????. I'm sure it will though pretty soon.
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(https://www.guitarworld.com/files/imagecache/futureus_imagegallery_fullsize/gallery/Dead-Heart-In-A-Dead-World.jpg)
# 42: Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World
2000 - Heavy/Thrash/Progressive/Death Metal - Washingston, USA
In the last list this album was featured along with the debut album by the same band, and well, while “Nevermore” fell into oblivion, Dead Heart In A Dead World managed to survive. Why? BECAUSE IT’S DEAD HEART IN A DEAD WORLD. There’s something about this band that I really enjoy, but I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is. Maybe it’s the songwriting style, maybe it’s the riffs and the drum work, hell, maybe it’s the guitar tuning. A# standard man. Well, whatever, the point is, that I love Nevermore and it’s one band that no matter what mood I’m in, I can listen. There are very few bands like these in my book, so that’s a great thing.
Warrel Dane’s vocals really adjusted by this point, in the past he used to have vocal lines that didn’t fit in the song sometimes, but here? Everything is coherent and awesome-sounding. I love this guy’s voice, it’s evil and eerie but incredibly melanchonic and touching at the same time, very particular. Well, of course, Jeff Loomis is the master here, he wrote everything along with the other guitar mate Jason L. Brown. The rhythm section is provided by Van Williams, a great groovy man on drums, and on bass Jim Sheppard, which is also in Sanctuary, Warrel’s other band. Well now, Warrel’s only band :C
This album features typical Nevermore metal. A big mix of subgenres. We have straight heavy, thrash, prog and death metal influences in the same album. I’m in love with each and every riff in this record, they are the way I like them: heavy, hard-hitting, and slightly wacky.
The tracklist consists of 11 songs: Narcosynthesis kicks things off with a hard hitting double bass riff, which is a bit all over the place admittedly, but everything adjusts as soon as the djenty riff kicks in. I love the lyrics to this song, I interpreted them as a drug person calling out for help. We Disintegrate continues the record with a similar speed, with a succession of riffs, all memorable. I like the chorus, Warrel here uses various vocal styles, passing from a deep register to a high falsetto. It has quite a strange outro though, they could’ve done better than that. Inside Four Walls is a classic. A straight heavy tune, with cool harmonics placement and a memorable anthemic chorus. Also, that bridge hypes me up everytime. Evolution 169 slows things down quite a bit, but that doesn’t mean it’s not heavy. Nope, still heavy. I love the outro, it has a cool message: “Don’t set your mind to one side”. Warrel vocals are pretty helpless in this one, and deep too. The River Dragon Has Come is probably my favorite tune out of this album. It starts with a clean arpeggio and soon everything goes nuts with one of the heaviest riffs in the record. I love the verses riff figure. 0. 0. 0-0. *pause* 0-0-0. 0000. It’s so groovy, and it has balls. The bridge is another section where all hell breaks loose, but not in a fast way, there’s just scales, but they create a great dark and doom-y mood. The Heart Collector is a powerful power ballad (look at that poor writing :rolling), with one moving chorus and touching topic. I think it talks about a man that in order to feel any good emotion, has to steal other people’s hearts. The problem with Nevermore’s ballads is that they all kinda sound the same… I mean The Sanity Assassin, this one, Sentient 6.. all pretty similar. Well, that doesn’t mean they’re not great, because they truly are. Sentient 6 especially. The album goes on with Engines Of Hate, a fun song with lyrics that I don’t know if they are to be taken seriously or not (don’t read ‘em out loud :lol). Following is a peculiar track, The Sound Of Silence, and it’s a metal reindition of the classic Simon & Garfunkel track. And out of all tracks in the record, this is where the guys decided to freak the hell out and spit some of the heaviest and meanest shit in Nevermore’s discography. Minor complaint is : why didn’t you make this an actual song of yours? Yeah, it’s that different from the original, and I think the lyrics don’t quite fit the music. Well, whatever, it’s a nice experiment at least. Insignificant is probably my least favorite song in the album. It’s an ok ballad (strange placement since it’s before another power ballad), with a great vocal melody, but IMO it doesn’t quite stand out compared to the rest of the album. Putting Believe In Nothing next kinda kills the pace of the album, two ballads in a row are not a great thing to do. Especially when they are the least interesting songs on the record. This song was released as a single and was covered a couple of times too, so it has some recognition. The lyrics are actually great, the solo is nice, but the rest? A bit meh. But let’s come to the closing tune, the title track, Dead Heart In A Dead World, a war-centered piece, with an incredibly depressing intro, that soon explodes in a fast-paced destruction and possibly my favorite chorus in the whole album. Great closing track.
So, overall, this album starts awesomely, it kinda loses itself towards the end with Insignificant and Believe In Nothing, but still, it’s a great listen, and it’s also fun to play, like most of Nevermore’s material (I Voyager is a pain in the ass D:)
Favorites: Narcosythesis, Inside Four Walls, The River Dragon Has Come, The Sound Of Silence, Dead Heart In A Dead World
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Looks like nobody really cared about Nevermore :lol - Let's see if some kind of relatively controversial pick will light you up!
(https://sentireascoltare.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/metallica-death-magnetic.jpg)
#41: Metallica - Death Magnetic
2008 - Thrash/Heavy Metal - California, USA
Metallica are often seen as good and bad. The first half of their carreer is definetly something to respect, and something to be inspired from. The latter half (starting from Jason Newsted’s departure) has been increasingly pathetic, but not this. I fucking adore Death Magnetic. Now, I know some of you really hate this record, but to me it’s an incredible showcase of what the band is still capable of doing. Some of these songs are the best in ‘Tallica discography, or at least, they are my favorites.
Of course the biggest problem of the record is production and mixing – these songs feel like demos. There’s nothing to do about it, and it’s also brickwalled as demos, everything clips so much it hurts. Pity, ‘cause with good production this record could’ve been appreciated more. Also, Lars, please learn how to play properly, thank you. You bastard. Have you guys heard why there’s no bass on AJFA? Well, it’s all Lars’ fault. Look it up on Google.
So the actual music is pretty sick, the riffs are pretty cool and fun – yes, that’s what this album is, it’s fun. There’s something pretty happy about this record, I don’t know, it makes me smile for no reason. Well, whatever. Death Magnetic has also sort of an historical importance: it’s the first album with Roberto Augustin Miguel Santiago Samuél Trujillo Veracruz on kazoo bass, and it’s one of the last albums recorded in the Sound City studios. It’s not that important, but I saw the Sound City documentary like 7 times and yes, it’s a studio to be attached to. Watch it if you didn’t! Dave Grohl is really a great director when it comes to documentaries.
So the album starts with That Was Just Your Life after a creepy/evil intro, and yeah, it’s a good song with a nice pace and groove. Nothing really amazing, unlike the next track which is one of my favorites of course, The End Of The Line. This song pumps me up each time I listen to it, and I always have a good time playing it, whether I’m doing it on guitar or on drums. I love the pre-chorus. Broken Beat & Scarred has a fast-anxious kind of vibe to it, and yes, the gang vocals are kind of annoying, but it has a great instrumental section at least. We find a classic “track 4” piece, half a ballad, half a furious instrumental. The Day That Never Comes; now I recognize the flaws in this song, it sounds forced in many ways (that arpeggio is Fade To Black, the 0000000 is One basically), but I like it so much that I actually look past those flaws, and once again, have a good time with the tune. All Nightmare Long brings back the Lovecraft-ish vibes that the band used to have back in the days (I’m talking about songs like The Call Of Ktulu or The Thing That Should Not Be). Even though this time the music isn’t actually creepy, like its predecessors, it’s fast and given that it’s about wolves that hunt you down without mercy, it fits still. Also the music video is creepy. Cyanide is both a bit mediocre and amazing. It manages to do that thanks to its vibe and especially thanks to the instrumental section, even though admittedly it has a couple of generic riffs. And here comes the filler, The Unforgiven III. Was it really worth calling this song Unforgiven? We didn’t need another one. It’s not that bad, but it really feels unnecessary. Bah. The Judas Kiss,though, is the most creative piece out of the record and it features a long guitar solo, with some pretty cool rhythms and riffs underneath it. Here comes the other meh track, Suicide And Redemption. This instrumental tune for the sake of it, has great potential but in the end it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Too long and the heavy bits are too generic, even though the clean part is stellar. The record closes with My Apocalypse which is a definite return to thrash for the band, it’s the only full stretched thrash song in the disc, and it’s a great listen, fast and heavy.
So yes, I get why some people don’t like Death Magnetic, but I really enjoy it and, what the heck, it’s my list and I shouldn’t even bother justifying such placements. Or should I?
Favorites: The End Of The Line, The Day That Never Comes, All Nightmare Long, The Judas Kiss
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That album could've been great, but sadly it falls flat for me. Mostly because it feels like Metallica covering Metallica. RiP is way better than this :P
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Dead Heart is awesome and WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE DOING ABOVE IT
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You just made a terrible mistake, son. :lol
Yeah, it's clear that it was trying a little too hard to be a "return to form" for them, which I wouldn't have minded had the song-writing and production been better. The only song I'd consider great on here would be All Nightmare Long, while most of the rest tends to fall flat.
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Metallica wouldn't even enter my top 200 :P
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I for one, when the day comes for me to do a Top 50 albums, have Death Magnetic on my list and the only Metallica album on that list. I wouldn't put at 41. Maybe a tad lower than that. Is it Metallica's best album? No, not by a long shot. That said, I enjoyed a lot from start to finish for the most part. I wouldn't say that for the other albums, except Master of Puppets. That Was Just Your Life and The End of the Line was a great one-two punch to kick it off and I enjoy Suicide and Redemption a great amount moreso than the general consensus, especially during the solos parts between Hetfield and Hammett.
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I won't jump down your throat over DM ;-) . I probably wouldn't put it this high, but it is one of my favorite Metallica albums, honestly. It's a mature, well-written record.
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Posting update now because later I can't :laugh:
(https://www.4ump3.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Green-Day-Dookie-600x600.jpg)
# 40: Green Day - Dookie
1994 - Punk Rock - California, USA
Continuing with lately-disappointing bands, Green Day. A band that I’ve been following from 10 years, and that I’ve at least respected up until Uno, Dos and Trè came out (although Dos was actually pretty good). Oh well, we’re not looking at those abominations, nope, we’re looking at probably the most well-viewed album by the band, Dookie, which came out in 1994, and had a big success, thanks to tracks like Basket Case and When I Come Around.
This one is a punk rock classic, that I still pop up once in a while these days (even though I’m currently into totally different music) because it brings me nostalgia and a good time too. Sometimes if I come out of listening something pretty complicated like BTBAM and I need something simple, this is my go-to album. After all this is a trio playing simple power chords over a catchy melody for 2/3 minutes, and it’s still great and consistent as a 20 minute piece in 19/16 with an ambient/drone influence. Although the two are pretty much uncomparable. Enoguh with the chitty-chatter, on with the record!
Burnout starts the whole thing with a fast piece and a catchy chorus, with a notable drum solo in the middle. Trè Cool cracks me up in a lot of ways. Having A Blast is a bit darker and bitter in tone, whilist Chump features a riff that reminds me of Foo Fighters. It includes a cool buildup towards the end, I love these moments. Following there are two notable bass-songs, Longview, which has one of the coolest bass riffs that I know about (written under LSD), and also pretty funny lyrics – this one is really capable of bringing me back to my childhood, when I used to obsess to Bullet In A Bible and a lot of other live performances and bootlegs. The other bass-song is Welcome To Paradise, which is actually a rerecorded version (the first one appearing in the previous album Kerplunk); it’s a classic and the instrumental section once again features a really cool bass riff, wacky stuff. Pulling Teeth is a pure Beatles song, with backing vocals and happy-sounding vocal lines about a love story. Next is probably Green Day’s most famous tune, Basket Case. Whilist some of their hits actually grown off of me (I’m looking at Holiday and Wake Me Up When September Ends), this one managed to survive, possibly because it’s just a good song all around, it has a raw energy factor, and it’s quick. She, I’m kinda partial on. I don’t like the verses but the chorus is nothing short of epic, actually. No big deal since each is pretty short. Sassafras Roots has cool melodies, I like the backing vocals on that. When I Come Around is another famous one, I like that it’s relatively heavy but still so poppy and catchy, the video is also pretty sick. Coming Clean is about Billie Joe’s relationship with his sexuality (he used to be bisex, I’m actually finding out as I write :o), it’s short and once again catchy. Fuck, this album is so consistent I actually have a hard time remembering which song is which. Is that good or bad? Emenius Sleepus features lyrics by Mike Dirnt, I think it’s my least favorite, here the album kinda begins to be repetitive, thankfully the next few tracks are pretty unique. In fact In The End finally brings the speed back, with a really cool breakdown/buildup thing that really makes the song shine, DAT snare drum work by Trè. He’s awesome! The last track F.O.D. is probably my favorite, it starts off with an acoustic guitar (possibly a very cheap acoustic guitar), to then explode with a pretty heavy electric chorus (the same as the acoustic part), the song really works on both ways. And then the album closes here… if it weren’t for All By Myself. A song completely performed by Trè, who sings about thinking about someone while he is alone. Yes, it’s what it sounds like.
So, Dookie. Awesome, short, quick, heavy at times, fun and catchy. Oh why won’t people look at pre-American Idiot material…
Favorites: Burnout, Longview, Welcome To Paradise, In The End, F.O.D.
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Meh.
I used to like Green Day, but even then this one never really spoke to me.
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(https://www.vinileshop.it/vinili/images/System-of-a-Down-Hypnotize-Vinile-lp2.jpg)
# 39: System Of A Down - Hypnotize
2005 - Alternative/Experimental Metal - California, USA/Armenia
With recent news that this band is starting to write new material, I’m more than excited to bring you a return from v1, Hypnoitze.
SOAD are an American-armenian metal group, that doesn’t actually fall under subgenres, I can’t see them well in any type of subgenres, and they're cool with that, they are their own genre. This is the band “latest” album (it came out in 2005, that’s ten years ago!), and it features a wide variety of style, much like the other records, but this time it’s incentred on a more melodic approach, with cool melodies and epic anthemic choruses; this is also a “part 2” album, since it came out 6 months after its counterpart, Mezmerize, album of the same melodic idea, but IMO it’s performed a lot better in here. The songs sound fluent, and every has a little melody that gets stuck in your head as soon as you hear it. I also love the fact that this band went from being 1 vocalist, to 2. I love the fact that two pretty different voices, Serj Tankian’s and Daron Malakian’s, together, they sound so awesome and quite unique too. Another cool thing about this record is that the riffs are pretty creative, and intriguing. There’s something strange about them that make ‘em really really cool. And one other thing, this album has quite the flow – it’s quite a pretty perfect tracklist.
Starting with Attack, the album opens with a frantic riff followed by melodic verses. Overall Attack is pretty dynamic, as it explodes in the chorus after somewhat of a buildup from the calm verses. Dreaming is one of my favorites, featuring soaring and epic melodies with incredible lyrics. “Someone kick me out of my mind, I hate these thoughts I can’t deny”. Kill Rock ‘N Roll is the Radio/Video of this album, a fun song about a gruesomely funny accident (Daron killed a rabbit while he was pulling up in the parking lot :rollin), not the best, but it’s a nice listen. The title track Hypnotize takes us to esotic places (an atmosphere not new to this band), with a great melodic approach, and a really groovy bridge section. Stealing Society is probably the heaviest piece, featuring cool counter-vocals (*riff* HEY *riff* ALRIGHT *riff* HEY *shorter riff* ALRIGHT *riff* *pause* *heaviest riff in the world*) that make the song one of my favorites in the record, and possibly one of the better ones overall, although I admit the bridge vocals are a bit annoying. Tentative is another one of those fucking heavy but so beautiful tracks, another anti-war song for the band, and probably one of the most memorable (although you can’t be more memorable than Boom. That’s THE anti-war song for me.). That bridge is stunning, I cry a little each time I listen to it :heart. U-Fig is another fun piece, featuring an insane vocal performance by Serj: “Youuu and mee should go outside and eatemeatemeatemeatem”, not to mention that calm bridge that scares the fuck out of you each time bursting out into a screaming section. A truly underrated track that showcases that the band still has some madness, which is possibly what they’re most known for. Holy Mountains is yet another song about the Armenian Genocide in the band’s discography (the other ones are P.L.U.C.K. and X). This is an emotionally heavy song, that truly showcases the rage of Armenians during and after the genocide, when they still don’t have the recognition of it by the Turkish people. SOAD are so pissed that they are touring about that. I think this song focuses on that problem. Anyways, once again, epic melodies and one hell of a bridge. When I said that U-Fig was the “mad one” of the album, nope. This is the one. Vicinity Of Obscenity is an hilarious critique towards all the sex in media these days, and how there’s too much of it everywhere. Honestly, this is one of the best things ever in the history of metal. I mean where else could you headbang to “BANANABANANABANANABANANABANANANA”? Just epicness. The last chorus actually sounds serious enough, and to me, that’s when you get the whole sense of the song. So, here starts the weak part of the record, even though it’s still great. She’s Like Heroin is a full Daron-fest, a cute and actually kind of creepy song about hookers and pushers, in a pretty rude and direct way.
“I need someone to make some cash selling.. Ass! (selling ass for heroin) “
It’s an ok song, but it doesn’t compare to the rest of the album, and I honestly could’ve lived without it. Continuing with Daron-songs (I wonder what Serj does in these tracks, other than backing vocals), Lonely Day is my least favorite piece in the record. That’s only because of its lyrics. Terrible. Done on purpose? Possibly. Who knows, but still, it’s a pretty ordinary ballad with a solo (unusual thing for SOAD), so nope, doesn’t hit me at all. On the other hand, Soldier Side might be the most emotional song written by the band. It’s a melanchonic power ballad about, of course, war and bad stuff about it, namely about young soldiers fighting far away from their home. We had a preview of this song on the previous album, using it as an intro; the preview in the full song
is actually the outro, so there’s a nice feeling of coming full circles, even though Mezmerize and Hypnotize are not concept albums. Or at least I think so. Anyways, Soldier Side is truly beautiful, one of the best tracks.
So yep, this is my favorite SOAD album, I really have nothing more to say. If you like a nice mixture of crazy heavy stuff and epic, melodic melodicness, I recommend this for you, I think you’d like it a lot. Although the vocals may be a little annoying, it’s up to you.
Tracks favorites tracksevorites: Dreaming, Hypnotize, Stealing Society, U-Fig, Tentative, Soldier Side, Holy Mountains
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Yes yes yes yes yes! My favourite album of all time. Ridiculously perfect.
Soldier Side :hearts:
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Yes yes yes yes yes! My favourite album of all time. Ridiculously perfect.
I thought that one was DT's Terria :P .
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That's #2.
I had that as #1 on my v2 Top 50, but I had made a point of not including any albums that I had already written writeups for on my v1, and that album has held that spot for more than half a decade now.
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Dookie is a fantastic album. Good choice.
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Yes yes yes yes yes! My favourite album of all time. Ridiculously perfect.
Finally some love for this album!
Moving on:
(https://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/6/7/7/267739.jpg?1738)
# 38: Haken - Aquarius
2010 - Progressive Rock/Metal - UK
This next record is the debut album from what I consider to be theprog band of my generation (along with BTBAM). Haken are a band from London, Great Britain – and I’m pretty sure you know them if you’re on this forum. This band is capable of summing up prog in its every aspect, even though it took sometime for them to grow completely into the perfect state they are in now. Here folks, we have everything. Heavy guitars, sometimes even djenty 8th string riffs, epic shivering pieces with amazing and touching melodies, and a nice touch of silliness and wackiness which give the band a memorable aspect. The last aspect is what characterizes Aquarius best.
Aquarius, not only is one of the best sounding debut albums I’ve ever heard, it’s also over the top and cheesy in its every aspect, but it’s what makes it so great. The music, as I’ve said, it’s serious and menacing one moment, epic in the other, laughable (in a good way) the other. When I say cheesy I say it because it’s a concept album about a mermaid saving the world. No, I’m not kidding. Seriously, when I first read that, I cringed. But in the end, the cheesiness is never that much, and it’s still quite a good listen.
The album opens with The Point Of No Return which is possibly Haken’s craziest tune along with Cockroach King. It starts out incredibly serious, and after something like 15 seconds, enter circus music! I always laugh my ass off each time :rollin. Anyways, it lasts shortly since everything quiets down and the song transforms into a dark and dramatic piano ballad, with an uplifting chorus. But the thing that makes this song so great is the instrumental section: it starts out with a succession of solos from everyone in the band, which cycles, and each solo gets shorter and wackier until everything collapses in a jazzy piano solo. After that what? DJENT of course. Anyways, listen to this song please :lol Streams is subdivided in three parts: the first one being happy with a cool short instrumental section, the second part is funereal and features growls and the third part is just a sadder reprise of the first part. Now, two problems: this song is too long and has unnecessary parts, like the growl section aaand the growls are kinda terrible ahaha, I’m glad they never used them again in the next albums. After a nice electronic/ambient introduction, Aquarium starts. This song is pretty emotional, it deals with a fisherman who captures the siren, and uses her to make money. Selling ASS! Nope, wrong album. Anyway, regardless of the lyrical theme, there are beautiful vocal lines brought to us by Ross Jennings, the heir of Jon Anderson. After the second chorus the song transform in a happy happy 80’s thing that reminds me a bit of Take The Time. :D:D:D:D, that’s the face that this part inspires me. This one as opposed to Streams, has actually a great flow, and it’s consistent. Eternal Rain is a shorter track, this album really needs them. It has a great vibe, and an awesome guitar/keyboard duel. Even though at times I don’t like the patches Diego Tejeida uses. Overall this is a great track, and I like that in the end the bend took this direction (shorter and more consistent songs) instead of sticking to the all over the place wacky stuff. Not that that’s not great. Drowning In The Flood features djent influences and a great chorus. I love this track, and I love Ross’ vocals, they’re very Metallica-ish. Towards the middle, though, it’s ballad time again. The last chorus is possibly one of the best things in the album, shivers everywhere. The song abruptly gets interrupted by the beginning of Sun, the official ballad of the album. This is actually a pretty good ballad, and it may possibly be my band’s favorite, out of the three they did (or four? I think three). Last track is the mammoth, 17 minutes long Celestial Elixir. This track, with its incredible performance video, helped me get into Haken a lot. This track is basically the album in a nutshell, having a grand melodic verses and chorus, wacky instrumentals and metals everywhere. I love the shit out of it. It’s a perfect closer, truly, and in my top 3 Haken songs.
Overall this album is awesome, it’s one of the best debut I’ve ever listened to, and even though it’s a bit long, it still serves as a good and entertaining listen, even though the storyline is cringeworthy.
Favorites: The Point Of No Return, Aquarium, Drowning In The Flood, Celestial Elixir
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Haken improved with every album in my opinion. This one isn't bad, but aside from the final two tracks (Sun is awesome fuck da haterz) it's nothing I really come back to.
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Haken :heart
I must revisit this album tonight. It's been too long.
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Always nice to see Haken in Top 50 list.
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I prefer The Mountain - I feel like this album has lots of filler. But the circus music is pretty cool :lol
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(https://www.clashmusic.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_feature/public/field/image/Nirvana-In_Utero-Frontal.jpg)
# 37: Nirvana - In Utero
1993 - Alternative/Grunge/Noise Rock - Washington, USA
Last time this album made an appearance, I defined it “shitty”, and was pretty much misunderstood by everybody, if I recall correctly. Hahaa those times were fun. Anyways, everybody knows Nirvana, and everybody knows that they are a grunge band from Seattle. And everybody knows that they tend to morph together melodic elements a-la Beatles to punk rock furiosity and energy. But on this album this three guys decided to put aside the melodic part of their to focus more on noise, and it was the right choice for me. Infact, while not being a totally mess, it stills maintain those melodic moments that Nevermind had, making this album a pretty perfect presentation of what the band truly is, whilist Nevermind was a bit of a scam, talking about the true nature of Nirvana.
With Steve Albini on production, this album has a great sound, everything sounds boomy, vocals have that slight delay that make them interesting, guitars and bass are buzzing as they should and the drums sound big and fat; maybe because they are. Dave Grohl back in the day used 15” and 18” toms, with 20” cymbals. And he pounded the shit out of those skins.
You may possibly know that I played in a Nirvana cover band; well, we now have disbanded because our “Kurt” moved to Australia, and so this band has a new nostalgic feel to me, like it never did before. That band was important for me, it truly made me grow as a musician and as a person, especially thanks to Dylan, our “Kurt”. But enough with the feels and business of mine, let’s talk about the record!
*1,2,3 WHAAANG* Serve The Servants opens this whole thing masterfully, and it’s actually a quite different and memorable Nirvana song. It’s a fun one too, and the lyrics are actually great and they’re about the experience of being famous, from the point of view of Kurt Cobain. Scentless Apprentice, one of the few songs written by the entirety of the band, continues with a sick groovy riff and an insane chorus, where Kurt screams his lungs out. This one was especially fun to play live, we scared people with it :lol . Next is one of Nirvana’s biggest hits, Heart-Shaped Box. This one is a ballad with a powerful chorus, and even though I might’ve heard it thousands of times, it still doesn’t bore me, unlike other certain songs that I’ve heard thousands of times (ehemSmellsliketeenspiritsehemmmhm). Rape Me and its iconic lyrics, is possibly my least favorite tune out of this, it feels kind of a filler, with the same kind of structure as Smells Like Teen Spirit, riff-speaking. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle is one tune of the “underrated elite”, which is sadly pretty present in this album. A lot of overlooked awesome tunes. Dumb sounds like a mix of Smells, On A Plain and About A Girl, and we’d often joke about it, introducing it like “This song is called Smell Of A Dumb Girl On A Plain” :rollin Anyways, this is one of my favorite Nirvana ballads. Very low dynamic and a lovely cello appearance. The cello is one element that makes this album particular, and more awesome. It appears in this song, All Apologies, and in the 2013 mix of Serve The Servants. It adds a lot of texture that this band does eventually need in order to make their songs sound better, as proved in Unplugged In New York. Very Ape is possibly my favorite Nirvana song. It’s a quirky and short piece, with one hell of a riff and a lot.. a LOT of energy. That chorus has more power than 12 cups of coffee. Milk It is the most awesome ugly song ever. A great experiment, very possibly written while Kurt was high on something. The product is great: odd time signatures and drum patterns, dissonant guitars and vocals, and lyrics that proclaim self-disgust. It’s so ugly that Kurt laughs at one point in the vocal track, he maybe thought “Why the heck am I doing this”. Pennyroyal Tea is another famous tune, with its iconic chorus. I really love this song, it’s a bit slower and calmer, while still rocking out. A nice listen. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter has all the potential of being an awesome song, but I feel it kinda falls flat. Although it is a great live piece, we included a drum solo, maybe that’s why :neverusethis: Tourette’s is a return to the origins, a 100% dirty punk song, with no actual lyrics and just screaming. Fun stuff! Yeah, it’s all fun and games until All Apologies comes up. A creepily melanchonic song, that I still like to think as a goodbye from Kurt, even though we have You Know You’re Right for that. Beautiful, shivering, a masterpiece, in my top 3 Nirvana tunes and a great close to a quite ugly album, aestethically.
So this is my favorite Nirvana record, if you didn’t guess that already. Like I’ve said, it has a cool mix of all the characteristics of the group, while also bringing new stuff to the table. And, considering it’s their last studio album, they truly went out with a bang.
Favorites: Serve The Servants, Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle, Very Ape, All Apologies
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Still have to listen to this one, but I also need to give Nevermind a fair chance, since I finally ended up liking Smells like teen spirit a few weeks ago, after years of loathing it :lol .
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It's probably my favourite Nirvana album, and one I enjoy.
That said, out of the big ones, Nirvana is probably my least favourite grunge band.
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Aquarius is their second best. I had it in the top 15 of my first top 50 list. I think Visions is slightly better, but both are awesome. I'm of the small group that think The Mountain is their worst album to date. It's strange how quickly this band became big (at least in the prog world). From opening the Saturday of Prog Power Europe 5 years ago (I was there at their first show outside the UK!) to headlining a US tour this year, it just seems a little unreal. They're the band I've seen live the most and I'm quite glad I can say I must have been one of the first fan boys they got (at least on mainland Europe). Enough with the ramble. Great album, that's all.
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In Utero, classic, you classy man. :tup
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Sorry guys, one post today. I was busy with school and stuff.
(https://images.cryhavok.org/d/5371-1/Porcupine+-+Up+the+Downstair.jpg)
#36: Porcupine Tree - Up The Downstair
1993 - Psychedelic/Space Rock - UK
Here’s the return of PT. This time we’ll take a few steps back in their carreer, and go to the first “era” of the group, the space rock/psychedelia days. In these days, the first two albums are actually completely performed by Steven Wilson. Infact, if you didn’t knew it, PT started as some kind of a joke, but ultimately began the major cause of Steven’s success in the rock, and especially, progressive area. So, yep, in the previous album, On The Sunday Of Life, and this one (and half of the next one), he’s all by himself, except for bits and pieces which actually include guests spots by the future members of the band. And there’s re-recorded drums by Gavin Harrison, but that’s years later, it doesn’t count.
So, Up The Downstair is characterized by this ethereal, and spacey approach, and even though it could be very unmemorable, it does an actual great job making every song memorable, having great riffs and/or melodies, and overall a great groove. Steven’s voice is very calm and soothing in this one, and blends with the music excellently, like if it’s just another guitar or another layer of keyboards, and the effect is great and leaves you in awe. Yes, that’s what this album does, it leaves you in awe, it makes you travel through the sky. The songs sound massive, even though they’re not heavy at all. Mammoths. Rainbow psychedelic mammoths. Ok, sorry for that – this album also flows really, really well. It’s almost as good as the flow in Dark Side Of The Moon. Infact, it makes you wanna listen more and more and more stuff.
After a creepy/funny intro, Synesthesia starts things off with a electronic-infused funky groovy piece of music. It’s damn catchy too, that chorus sticks with you until the grave! Definitely one of the best PT openers, and a fairly underrated one too. Always Never kind of forshadows the pop atmospheres that we will hear in the band’s second era, in the albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun. This one is where Steven’s voice really shines, and features a lot of cool idea, other than Colin Edwin on bass. That’s right, this is his first appearance in PT’s history. Even though Colin is on Always Never, I feel that the most amazing bass moments in the album (and possibly in the whole discography) are in the title-track, Up The Downstair. This is a 10 minute long instrumental, that constantly alternates between ambient, funk (this is where the glorious bass-line is) and hard rock soundscapes. It’s a unique PT song, and there really was never one like It (except maybe for Idiot Prayer, to an extent). Not Beautiful Anymore is yet another instrumental, this one featuring a hard hitting and simple drum groove, and samples. I quite don’t like this track, although in the album itself, it fits greatly. Small Fish is the shortest song in the record (other than the little transitions like Monuments Burn Into Moments and such), and it serves as some kind of prelude to the next track. I really love this one, it really brings to life what I’ve said about how the record affects your mental state, and makes you travel to new lands. Spectacular. Indeed, yet another instrumental: Burning Sky. This is much more dramatic than the other major instrumental track, Up The Downstair. It features a triumphant guitar loop, which is alternated with a heavy oriental-styled riff. This song particularly reminds me of the instrumental section in Ancestral, in Steven’s latest solo record. Cool stuff. The album is closed by Fadeaway, which still remains today one of the best accomplishments by Porcupine Tree. This album is here mostly thanks to this track and how it’s so, so gorgeous. It’s a slow ballad, once again with ethereal spacey atmosphere, but this time the vocal melody is top notch. And the chorus at the end features one of the best lyric line I’ve ever read: “Hit heaven far too high”. Way to go, Steven – 20 years ago you made masterpieces and today? Still masterpieces.
This is a criminally underrated Porcupine Tree record, one that I’d take over The Sky Moves Sideways (which is more highly regarded) any freaking day. And now I need to listen too it again. Goddammit!
Favorites: Synesthesia, Up The Downstair, Small Fish, Fadeaway
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I never gave this album a fair chance tbh, so I have no opinions on it :P . Btw, your write-ups have surely improved, as well as your English :tup .
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YES YES YES
3rd favourite PT album right there. Fucking fantastic!
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Btw, your write-ups have surely improved, as well as your English :tup .
Thanks man. I was really aiming to that.
I don't think you guys know this next band, but whatever.
(https://a3.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/051/Music/y2005/m05/d25/h10/s05.uwlzforq.600x600-75.jpg)
# 35: Dream Theater - Octavarium
2005 - Progressive Rock/Metal - New York, USA
We finally arrive to a point of this list where I can start talking about some major epic stuff. It’s a big step up compared to the stuff before, and of course, that also coincidentally is whenever a Dream Theater album comes up. There’s no need to introduce this band, we’re in the band’s unofficially officialy forum, what the heck. What needs to be done is an introduction to this album, because there’s actually quite a bit to talk about.
Octavarium is the band’s 8th studio record, and it’s the most different out of the albums that came out in the ‘00s. Yes, because if we’ve got the instrumentally heavy and insane stuff from Train Of Thought and Systematic Chaos, and the long and intertwining pieces from Black Clouds & Silver Linings and Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, this album is the polar opposite of its neighbors. Infact, Octavarium features 8 songs and only 2 (one just barely) are more than ten minutes long. And also, the songs are more pop influenced, brighter, less heavy (not that there’s not heavy stuff in the record, mind you) and definitely simpler. Another cool key factor to the record is the incredible amount of musical and graphical nuggetz. I’m sure you all know them, but if you don’t, check this out (https://dt.spatang.com/octavarium.php). The most known and, honestly, coolest nugget is the fact that this album is based around 2 concepts. The first one being circles, completion, and how everything starts the way it ends and viceversa. The second concept (a truly ingenious thing) is that this album is based around octaves. There are 8 tracks and each track represents a note (and the note they represent is actually the key of the song). Starting with F, the next song is gonna be G, the next one A and so on, up until the return of F in the last track. Complete with little interludes which represent the sharp notes. I know, if you’re reading this for the first time and didn’t know about it, it sounds insane, but it’s actually very very cool, and it’s quite an unique approach.
Octavarium starts (or ends :neverusethis:) with The Root Of All Evil, which is the third entry of Mike Portnoy’s Twelve Step Suite. While all the other songs of the 12SS are divided into different sections that are very distinct from each other, TROAE actually flows like a normal song, with a recurring chorus and everything. It’s also the shortest 12SS song, clocking in at 8 minutes. This is also probably the best track to open a concert with, the intro is that good. Talking about the actual track, it’s really groovy and heavy enough, especially in the first part. Moving on, The Answer Lies Within is a poppish ballad like we didn’t hear since Falling Into Infinity. The lyrics are kinda meh and stereotypical, but they work well at least, sung with a melodic tune which also features strings. These Walls is a track that features a baritone guitar, and one would think “BRING THE MESHUGGAH” but actually no. Infact it’s still a melodic piece, even with the low tuning, and, dare I say, one of the best ones in the album. Dat outro. I Walk Beside You sees the return of strong influences from U2, an influence that I certainly miss, and that I hope they bring back. It’s nice sometimes to have happy and uplifting stuff, even if it’s 4 minutes long. After this, the heavier side of this album begins, with Panic Attack. This track is pure Mike Portnoy goodness. It’s one of the best drum tracks that I’ve ever heard. It manages to be hard and challenging, groovy and creative at the same time. God bless MP. Anyways, this song is as frantic as DT can get, and given the topic, the lyrics fit well for sure with the music. Up next is Never Enough. I love this song a lot, even though I know it’s not well-seen upon the majority of you guys. This track features heavy Muse influences, namely Stockholm Syndrome-ish ones, and that’s not bad, considering SS is kind of my favorite Muse song (this version tho (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Ajxkws0Og)). James has one of his best performances in this one, in my opinion. It seems he really got the lyrics, about stupid fans. And the album just keeps getting better and better with the two final tracks. Sacrificed Sons is and will always be one of my favorite DT songs of all time, and for one reason: it’s about 9/11 and it does such a good job recreating all of the emotional spectrum that people had that day. From fear, to anger, to wrecking sadness. It just hits me a lot, and makes me think. Whilist the last song, the long suite, the best DT song ever (in my opinion), Octavarium. In its 24 minutes this track manages to grow and grow and grow in pathos, atmosphere, tension, lyrics, musical complexity and anything else. Until you arrive at the “Intervals” part, where you get like a sum-up of the album, with samples from other songs being thrown in that beautiful 7/8 riff. Everything gets incredibly heavy at one point and then all hell breaks loose. TRAPPED INSIDE THIS OCTAVARIUM is one of the most iconic and epic moments in music’s history, period. After that, having such an emotional outro with the Razor’s Edge, thinking about all the road behind you, and where you started your journey, is one of the best feelings ever. And of course, everything ends with the intro of The Root Of All Evil, so staying faithful to the “full circle” concept.
Octavarium was my first DT record, and it will always have a special place in my heart. Even after 20 years, the band had the balls to risk something different, but creating one of their best babies. For me at least.
Favorites: These Walls, Panic Attack, Never Enough, Sacrificed Sons, Octavarium
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It's always interesting how the DT records you discovered first fare after you become familiar with their whole discography. My first DT record was Systematic Chaos, and for all the flaws it has, it's actually somewhere at 4th or 5th place among all DT records (my top 3 is SFAM, I&W, TOT).
Octavarium is a great pick, and Sacrificed Sons is one of my favourite DT tunes too.
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You'd normally think that your first DT album might always remain your fav. In some cases it is, but not for me - I discovered the band with ADTOE (after being blown away by LTE), and loved it. But now I think it's among their weakest efforts :lol .
Oh fuck yeah 8VM. Never really clicked with me until a few months later, whaen I gave it another chance. Dude, what the hell was I thinking. It's all-around awesome :metal .
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Worst DT album, and it's not even close.
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Worst DT album, and it's not even close.
:lol
It's in the bottom three for me, but those three are miles away from the rest.
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So, guys, since I'm running short of writeups (I don't want to write one just before I release it) that's gonna be it for today, since I want to write more so that I have less pressure. Sorry guys, and anyways, thanks for following this. Tune back in tomorrow :biggrin:
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but TROAE is the best song off Octavarium
:<
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A bit late, but here it is, once again, the return of controversy!
(https://a2.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/030/Music/eb/d6/fc/mzi.opxridrf.600x600-75.jpg)
#34: Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
2009 - Punk/Pop/Alternative/Opera Rock - California, USA
Once again, controversy! Last time when I revealed this album I think I lost some of my followers in the thread. I hope this time you’re more used to it, but what the hell, it’s my list. Infact, 21st Century Breakdown is my favorite Green Day record, and I can’t really do nothing about it. I just see pure brilliance through this album, great musicianship, and a lot of experimentation, talking about Green Day. Infact, this is the furthest Green Day have ever been from punk rock. 21st Century Breakdown is a concept album, divided in three acts: “Heroes And Cons”, “Charlatans And Saints” and “Horseshoes And Handgrenades”. It feels that this album’s concept was actually trying to be an American Idiot 2, and so it kinda feels forced. But ultimately they’ve done a good job with the lyrics actually, so I don’t mind about that. Whilst musically, as I’ve said, there’s a lot of experimentation for the band. We’ll see, now, let’s take a look at the tracklist. Keep in mind that Green Day are technically a punk rock band:
After the intro, which is also a recurrent melody in the album, Song Of The Century, the record actually begins with the title-track, 21st Century Breakdown. This track was defined by the band “our Bohemian Rhapsody”. Infact, like the Queen track, it goes to three distinct phases: the first, this kind of mild melodic rock track (reminds me of some classic rock acts), the second, a more aggressive and punk-ish thing and the last, an anthemic kind of outro. Know Your Enemy is probably one of the very few punk pieces in the record. It was also the single, but it’s not that much of a strong song compared to the others. Not bad though. ¡Viva La Gloria! starts out quite melodic, with piano, only then to transform into a fun and fast pop punk tune. It’s lovely. Now for one of the best in the album, Before The Lobotomy. This song once again, starts out as a ballad, but towards the end, energy kicks in, this time in 7/4! Very uncommon for punk (even though it’s not all that punk). Anyways, this song is furnished with beautiful melodies, and a powerful message. Now for Christian’s Inferno the band sails through industrial seas, combining electronic noise with a typical Green Day chorus. This is one of the most critiquited ones, and I honestly never got why. Last Night On Earth is the sweetest Green Day ballad around. Entirely done with piano, this one is a love song, of course. And being one that usually hates love songs if they’re not done with some kind of uniqueness to them, this is an exception. It’s a bit cheesy though, but still great. Act two begins with probably my favorite song in the album, East Jesus Nowhere. Still haven’t got that title. This song has a bluesy atmosphere, that actually translates pretty well to Green Day. Other than that it also has some eastern atmospheres in the instrumental section. Check the live version of it, especially this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRA_lcU-E-Y), you’ll not regret it. Peacemaker explores more of a spanish/ska idea, and I do enjoy it. A lot, especially the instrumental part. It’s unexpectedly complex, especially drumming-speaking. It’s also a hate song, and I love hate songs, as incoherent that sounds :lol . Last Of The American Girls is another one of those poppish songs, although more groovy and somewhat slower. I also hear a bit of Weezer in it. Once again, like Know Your Enemy, it feels a bit sub-par. Although, I enjoy it more than KYE. Murder City is THE punk song in the album. This is how it should be done, Green Day. This is what Uno, Dos and Trè should’ve sounded like. Amazing groove, flow and instrumental value. When they play this live they include a sax solo (I have no idea why) and it actually fits great, so check that out. ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl) has a piano-ragtime feel. I love the 6/8 use in this album, and this song is the best use of it. Now, here come the feels. Restless Heart Syndrome is one of the most, if not the most emotional Green Day song out there. They’ve really proved their musicianship and maturity in this one. It’s sadly underrated though, everyone looks at that fucker 4 tracks later. No offense to 21 Guns, but I really think this is far superior. That climax. After a few tears and a lot of shivers, it’s always nice to rock the fuck out. And that’s Horseshoes And Handgrenades job. This song, man, this song. This piece opens the final act of the album and it’s an headbanging fest. It really pumps me up. The Static Age brings things back towards a melodic edge, and it’s the best song of its kind in the record. It has a really great vibe and makes me smile, even though the lyrics are sad in a way. 21 Guns is the most popular song out of this record, and even though I bashed it a few lines before, I still have to say that it is a great ballad, with quite the moving bridge. And video. The record closes with two of my favorites in there: American Eulogy, a two-piece song that reminds me of Homecoming and Jesus Of Suburbia (Mike sings in it), and See The Light, a song that takes the intro of 21st Century Breakdown, and makes it a song on its own. The result? One hell of a closer.
This is a very controversial entry to the list and yes, I see why so many people bash it. But if it weren’t for Green Day, I probably would not be where I am today. I respect them for what they did and what they represented for me at such a young age, and this is their masterpiece IMO. Haters gonna hate :zydar:
Favorites: Before The Lobotomy, East Jesus Nowhere, Peacemaker, Restless Heart Syndrome, Horseshoes And Handgrenades, The Static Age, See The Light
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Down the list we go
(https://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/1057thehawk.com/files/2012/06/cover_blackalbum_lg.jpg)
# 33: Metallica - Metallica (aka The Black Album)
1991 - Heavy Metal - California, USA
Poor Black Album. Poor, poor Black Album. This record presented to us the first big change in Metallica’s music, by eliminating all the thrash and proggy aspects of their songs. For this reason I see a lot of people bashing it, because “Metallica sold out after And Justice For All”. Now, while I think they’ve recently sold out (they don’t know how to profit anymore, so they sponsor teams and go on endless tours :/ :/), this is not selling out, this is realizing that you went too far, and taking a step back. I respect this decision, and what came out of it is ultimately a great product.
One of the biggest things about the Black Album is that Bob Rock is at production. And he did a fucking great job with the record. After an album such as And Justice For All where the songs were long and complex, here we have 3 more songs, and it’s five minutes shorter. So the songs are actually just straight heavy metal, with some thrash influences here and there of course, and they’re pretty short too. Another thing about the record is that bass is back! In AJFA, as you all may know, it was barely audible, if not at all. In this record is actually well present, and takes even a frontseat in some of the tracks. As the fan of bass that I am, I couldn’t be much happier. I love Jason Newsted. All of these characteristics make TBA a unique album in Metallica’s discography, since it’s pretty much the only one in its style.
Enter Sandman is a song everybody knows. It’s a classic and pretty iconic, but yes, overrated. Overall it’s very enjoyable, brings back a lot of nostalgia. Sad But True is the bomb, though. It’s one of ‘Tallica heaviest tracks: slow, fat, evil and even solemn. I love the lyrics. Holier Than Thou is faster, and quicker in delivery. In fact it’s only 3:48. It’s a fun track, and I like to come back to it once in a while. The Unforgiven is a ballad that I cannot praise enough. The preview of Load’s country/bluesesque style, united with that gorgeous solo and feeling make this one of my favorite ballads ever. Wherever I May Roam presents oriental influences, tied with lyrics about ghosts and wandering the earth forever. It’s a very cool track, with a nice groove and structure. Don’t Tread On Me is very groove metal in nature, infact it reminds me of Pantera. It’s very sing-along-y and catchy, and so it’s always a fun listen. Through The Never features the thrash influences I was talking about, even though they’re not that explicit. This is Metallica’s take at proggy lyrics about time and space, and they’ve done it pretty well, I admit. It’s also one of my favorites on the record. Nothing Else Matters is the other song that everybody knows. I like a bit more than Sandman, since it’s pretty emotional and features one hell of a build up and solo at the end. Also, that orchestra is very lovely. Of Wolf And Man is another quick and groovy song. I actually quite like this one, and all of its backing vocals give it greater strength. And now begins the best part of the record. The God That Failed is I think my favorite song in the record. It’s slow like Sad But True, but not as heavy. I just like that it’s pretty melodic and that the riffs and lyrics are so memorable. My Friend Of Misery is yet another ballad, although this one is more of a power ballad, and yes, guided by bass. I love the live performance of this, where James makes the crowd do a harmony :heart. The album closes with The Struggle Within, which is the fastest song on the record. It’s great fun, especially after the second chorus.
So, yep. The Black Album. Pretty self-explenatory, but still awesome, and an album that I occasionally pop in.
Favorites: Sad But True, The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, Through The Never, The God That Failed, My Friend Of Misery
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:corn
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The Black Album is awesome. I really don't care what anyone says about it. It's a very good, straightforward heavy metal album. I personally would not put it this high, but I applaud you for giving credit to Metallica for both it and Death Magnetic.
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(https://blog.timesunion.com/rightnow/files/2012/11/pink-floyd_dark-side-of-the-moon-600x600.jpg)
# 32: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon
1973 - Progressive Rock - UK
Time for one classy classic. And it’s not just a “prog” classic, it’s a music classic. This album’s cover is instantly recognized by anyone, and that can’t be a bad thing. Because this album ,this band, is possibly up there with best bands of history. And you come to realize that when you look at PF’s discohraphy, which towards the end (starting from this very record) has one of, if not the best succession of records ever.
Dark Side Of The Moon is the manifestation of human beings done in a single ten-track cd. In this album we touch a lot of aspects of the life of any individual, and it’s actually its strong point – anyone can relate to these lyrics. Put it with awesome, relaxing and dreamy music, and it’s done. You have a masterpiece.
In particular, the flow of this album is incredibly good. The songs start from where the previous ended, and the effect is that you’re actually hearing one standalone piece of music. And in my opinion, that’s the best way to make the concept of “albums” clear. It’s not about one song, it’s about every note, the packaging, the lyrics – about the experience. And, being the first album of its kind that I’ve listened in my life, I feel that it has taught me these things.
DSOTM starts out with an intro called Speak To Me. It consist of an intensity build-up based on an heartbeat, and samples, forshadowing the rest of the record. The first actual song is Breathe. It’s a very calm opening piece, with soothing vocals. I interpret the lyrics as someone being born, so the beginning of life. Next is the most out-of-place song in the album, even though it fits extremely well, On The Run. This is three and a half minutes of a synth pattern. It’s very frantic and anxious sounding, and that feeling is helped by a number of samples being thrown in. This represents fear, and how frantic can one’s life be. After this, there’s my favorite piece in the album, and possibly one of my favorite songs of all times, Time. It has a jazzy mood, and masterful lyrics, about how time passes and doesn’t care about us at all. The guitar solo is truly something to be stunned from. David Gilmour ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know what else to say about this song because words aren’t enough. Just shivers. And after time passes, we die, you know? And that’s the message of The Great Gig In The Sky. An emotional ballad with an awesome vocal solo and no lyrics at all. In fact the only actual words we hear in this track are just samples of interviews, about being arfraid of dying. This is one that makes me think a lot. So, after TGGITS, side one of the album is over. This side was actually about the cycle of life, from the beginning of life, to death. The second side is more about ideological things and philosophy, starting with Money, a 7/4 piece about the evil power of cash. This one is very bluesy and features a great instrumental section, with a sax solo. Soon the volume lowers for Us And Them. This is a ballad about war and hatred. Think about it, how many ballads are there about this topic? That’s quite an unique thing. Anyways, Us and Them is the calmest piece in the whole record, not considering the chorus, which is an explosions of epic choirs and intensity that send shivers down my spine each time I listen to it. Any Colour You Like is the last instrumental in the album. Even though I can clearly see the message of each piece in the record, this one still remains a mystery to me. Maybe, looking at the title, it may be about choices in life. I still am not convinced though. So, this piece is half a synth nightmare and half a funky guitar solo. A cool moment. Thus begins the last part of the album, which consists of: Brain Damage, a piece which sounds like a faster version of Us And Them, with calm verses and emotional and a choir-y chorus. This also feels like the title-track, because in the chorus it says “I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon”. This song deals with madness, and as we know, it’s a close topic to Pink Floyd, since Syd Barrett went mad some years before. Eventually, we transition in the last track, Eclipse. This is epic music. Like, really really epic. It’s about the whole experience, it sums up the whole thing with amazing choirs and lyrics, and the album closes with the same heartbeat that it began with, along with the sentence “There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, it is all dark”. One of the most powerful endings to an album.
Once again, I’m pretty speechless about all of this. It’s a record that everybody should hear at least once in their life. It’s that good.
Favorites: Every song.
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:heart :hefdaddy
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It's funny how the response suddenly decreases once I put out that Green Day record :rollin
(https://www.blowuprock.com/blowrock/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The-Resistance.jpg)
# 31: Muse - The Resistance
2009 - Symphonic/Hard/Electronic/Prog Rock - UK
To continue with the controversy, here is my favorite Muse record. I think there is a logical explanation why this is my favorite one: it’s their proggiest. Infact in The Resistence, Muse explored their huge sound, with a largely symphonic and spacey atmosphere. And it just suits them so well. It’s kinda cool, at first this one was my least favorite. Then when I bought it (it was cheap), listening through it once more, I was blown away like never before. This album also continues with the use of electronic elements, even though it’s less so, while also being really accessible and catchy all around.
We see the commercial-ness especially with the opening track, Uprising. This is a classic 6/8 groovy tune, with the *clap – clap clap* kind of rhythm. It’s one of the very few cases in which the opening tune is also my least favorite, but still, it’s fun and a Muse classic. And the live version includes one of the heaviest riffs. The title-track, Resistance, is not a ballad, even though it’s very dramatic like those kind of songs, and bleeds emotion from the start through the ending, including one of my favorite outros in Muse’s discography. Shivers. Matt’s voice, man. Following is one of the most unique Muse songs, Undisclosed Desires. This is an electronic piece of music with a nice funky influence, especially in the chorus. I love the musical textures in this song and the overall composition – the music video is also really cool. United States Of Eurasia is an operatic, symphonic, big-sounding tune. I always have a good time when I listen to it, thanks also to the sudden Queen-ish choir explosions. That’s an amazing moment for an amazing song. Guiding Light is a melodic pop tune, à la Invincible, from the previous album. It really reminds me of that one. It features a catchy drum rhythm, which sounds also massive with all those effects on it. Not one of my favorites, but you should check it out, still. Unnatural Selection opens the heavy one-two punch of this one and the next track. This song reminds me of New Born, structur-wise. It starts quietly with an organ, and then it explodes into a groovy riff. The track suddenly quiets down in the middle part, with a slow blues groove and ethereal vocals. I love these little parts in the album, we also find one like it at the end of United States Of Eurasia. A lovely little piano solo, named Collateral Damage. There’s one later in the album, but after the next heavy tune. MK Ultra provides us with speed and headbanging-worthy moments. I love the sound of this track, I listen to it very often. I Belong To You brings back the funk influences from Undisclosed Desires and expands them into a fun track, with quite a poetic interlude, Ma Coer S’Ouvre à Ta Voix. The contrast is really well done. What follows next is Muse’s biggest song, ever. Or at least, ‘til now. Exogenesis is a three-part symphony that I’m so glad they did. It’s a really nice experiment, and considering this band is really popular, bringing something so big in the mainstream is something to be admired for. The first part, Overture, is quite dramatic. After a nice orchestra intro, we get the usual Muse/Devin Townsend arpeggiated riff, with some falsetto. Complaint: why are the drums electronic here? Everything would’ve sounded much much more powerful if they were real. Any song ever would sound more powerful with acoustic drums, what the hell. Cross-Pollination is the second part. This time everything is guided by a grand piano. We hear lyrics about re-populating human kind through space. Someone’s been listening to Ayreon :neverusethis: The third part is called Redemption, and it reminds me A LOT of a precise classical piece, but I don’t know which one. I think it’s Chopin or something. Please help. Anyways, this part is quite epic sounding, with a nice build up towards the middle, and a quiet finale. Overall, I think that Exogenesis is a nice experiment, but it feels a little pretentious. And I don’t listen to it that often. But when I do it grabs me and it puts me into SPACE
So, The Resistance for me, is awesome. For others, not quite so. But I really don’t care. It’s great experimentation through a genre for me nearly unknown, and it does its job amazingly.
Favorites: Resistance, Undisclosed Desires, United States Of Eurasia, MK Ultra
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nah.
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I like some Muse, but never heard this one :P .
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Aside from Undisclosed Desires and Unnatural Selection, I rarely come back to this. Nothing that really excites me, quite frankly.
The Second Law was like light years better.
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Pink Floyd :heart
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Don't care too much for Muse's recent material. We'll see how Drones turns out.
Dark Side of the Moon is fantastic. :heart
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Double post for you fellas
(https://www.rush.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/clockwork-angels-cover-600x600.jpg)
#30: Rush - Clockwork Angels
2012 - Progressive Hard Rock - Canada
Aaaaaaand Rush. Such a pleasant word. RRRUSHHH. Who in the world doesn’t like Rush? Well, I know some of you don’t. You bastards :lol – This band doesn’t need any kind of introduction, everybody knows them, but I’ll begin to say that they are possibly one of the most influencial bands alive. Each guy plays its instrument masterfully, bringing the band to be also one of the most admired out there. They just celebrated 40 years of carreer, and that they have 19 fucking albums, which none I feel are too bad. That’s quite a point. And you know what’s another great point of Rush being one of the best bands alive? The fact that after almost 40 years they put out an album that renewed their sound. Further. Their nineteenth album is their best since 1985’s Power Windows. Of course, I’m talking about Clockwork Angels.
The strange thing about Rush is that they’ve never really done a concept album. Yes, they had thematics going on a couple of records, but no story-based concepts. Until Clockwork Angels came out, and they decided to go completely steampunk. Why? I don’t know, but the steampunk style is one of the coolest things out there in my opinion. The wackiness, the union between old and modern, hell, the vapor. THE GLINT OF IRON WHEEEEEEEELS THE BODIES SPIN IN A CLOCKWOOORK DAAANCE . This album’s lyrics and music translates so well that style that I almost wanna make a cosplay based on it. Even the tour was so in the concept that there were wacky machines on stage! I’m so stoked by it. Anyways, musically I’ve said that this album unites the past and the future of the band, making you feel at home but also bringing something entirely new to the table. Let’s dive in this sea of machines and top hats!
Caravan opens the album with a bang. This song is a blast. The riff is simple but so heavy and groovy, the chorus is wonderfully melodic and the instrumental section is one of my favorites overall by Rush. One of their stronger openers. BU2B is even heavier. I think that if it weren’t for Stick It Out, this might be Rush’s heaviest tune. I love the structure of the verses, there’s some kind of poetic technique in it, but I can’t honestly remember the name. This is a great track, although not amongst my favorites. Clockwork Angels is an epic tune. Like, this legitimately sounds epic. The word “epic” is often misused, but here? Nope. Epic. It sounds like worship music, and it is, actually. And the lyrics… Jesus Christ. No words for this song. The Anarchist continues the heavy idea of the album with some actual fun music. Guys, I feel this is one of the most fun records that I’ve ever listened to. It’s such a blast. Anyways, The Anarchist features oriental atmospheres (dat solo) and strings, which give a unique touch of drama to the song. Also, great lyrics, as always. Damn, Neil. And now comes my favorite, Carnies. This is the representation of the whole damn record: heavy, fun and interesting melodies. Quirky steampunk imagery in the lyrics, and will to discover the world. Amazing live version. THE CHORUS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE RUSH CHORUS EVER GOOD GOD IT’S THAT GOOD- ok enough. I just love this track so much. Easily in my top ten Rush songs. Halo Effect is a ballad. Rush is not exactly a ballad band, even though some of their best songs are their more melodic ones (Bravado); infact this one is pretty much ok, nothing really special. I love the acoustic guitars, though, Alex has a great acoustic sound. Seven Cities Of Gold. This song = bass. Geddy’s my favorite bass player, no wonder why. This song infact features quite the groove with amazing bass lines and a great chorus. The Wreckers has a powerful message (always pay attention and always be weary), and it’s more of a melodic thing, Bravado-style. I really enjoy this one, I think it’s one of the best ones. Back to the heaviness with Headlong Flight. This track feels like a song from the first two albums, mixed with the rock sound of the band’s 90’s production, and a little bit of prog from the 70’s. A bit of everything, but still sounds fresh. Also a blast. After a brief return of BU2B, in BU2B2 (a darker and sadder version of the predecessor), there’s Wish Them Well a song that has some personal value to it, even though it’s actually not in my favorites. It’s a great tune though, if you need really catchy stuff. It has a real Presto/Roll The Bones mood goin’. The album closes with The Garden, which is a song that I don’t think the band ever did before, stylistically speaking. It’s a beautiful ballad featuring touching strings and a powerful vocal melody and lyrics, when the character looks back at his life, in his death bed. I think that this is Rush’s most touching song and most understandable one. Shivers everywhere, a great end.
Clockwork Angels is truly something to look at. This album proves what kind of monsters are these three canadians. I have little to no words.
Favorites: Caravan, Clockwork Angels, The Anarchist, Carnies, Headlong Flight, The Garden
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I'm not a big fan of Rush, but I kind of like some of their albums. This is not one of them. :biggrin:
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(https://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Music/75/e9/26/mzi.nrtpwidq.600x600-75.jpg)
# 29: Rammstein - Reise, Reise
2004 - Alternative Metal - Germany
Time for one of the strangest bands in the whole discography. This is an entry that may really upset some people but please/satisfy others (sup Scorpion). Rammstein always fascinated me for the fact that they are one of the most known groups in metal, but they sing in german. Since I’ve been listening to them, I regretted choosing Spanish as a language to study in school. But, it’s ok, since my daily german lessons are the songs from this group!
These 5 fine folks here, produce some of the most hard hitting, pounding, and (strange to say) catchy music around. The first albums focused more on a disco-type of approach, providing a prominent kick drum and amazing riffs. But simple. The vocals are quite the interest here: Till Lindemann’s voice is so fucking deep. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone that could go so low with its voice. Infact, he can manipulate that fact to sound both menacing and sinister, but also poetic and romantic. While of course, singing in german. Rammstein have really matured from the cheesy/strange/fun stuff from their first two albums. The band now is definitely more aware of their situation, and started writing some serious metal material, while of course maintaining the uniqueness of the band. This album in particular is very dramatic in tone, it has all sorts of movie-like choirs and huge huge hooks. But still, catchy hooks. But huge. You got my point :lol
The riffs are very meaty and headbanging worthy. There are some really heavy moments spread throughout the album, but there’s also room for melody and experimentation, just how I like my albums in general. Although this is sang in german, but still. Talking about that, even the lyrics are a bit more mature than the first ones. Other than some fictional stories, we see love, hate and even globalization as topics in this album. I think this is the only Rammstein record totally sex-free actually. Anyways, let’s take a look at the songs featured in Reise Reise:
Everything starts with this strange intro, which is actually pretty disturbing. It’s an actual recording of a plane that’s about to crash, and looking at the recent Germanwings events, everything is much more disturbing. I’ll be in a plane like that in less then a year, and that crash didn’t quite help my unborn fear of flight. Anyways, the intro lasts 40 seconds or so, then it’s time for Reise Reise, the song. This piece is incredibly dramatic and opens the album really well. It has a huge keyboard sound with electric guitars buzzing around it, and once in a while a really heavy riff. The lyrics are about some mariner’s epic journey, which ends up badly from what I understand. I love the chorus, it’s so anthemic and glorious. Mein Teil kicks the heaviness up a notch, as we hear about cannibalism events going on. These lyrics are actually based on a true story, don’t read it up if you don’t want to throw up. It’s quite bad. Anyways, once again the song has this catchy-epic vibe and an aggressive edge that makes it memorable. Dalai Lama is slightly slower, more groovy and melodic than the other two songs. I think this is my least favorite on the album, but it’s a cool listen nonetheless, not your typical Rammstein song. Keine Lust is the song that got me into Rammstein. I knew Waidmanns Heil and Du Hast, but this was it. Its historic music video and breakdown makes this one one of the funnest song in the album, and the one I come back to very often. Los is an experiment. It features what would be a heavy riff, but done on acoustic guitar. And everything stays in this very low dynamic, unless you listen to the live version (highly recommended), in which everything explodes in an extended jam session. This song is groovy as hell, and it’s a nice change of tone confronted with the other tunes. Amerika is the most known song from this album, and one of the most known by this band. It’s another one of those epic dramatic tunes, but this time with cheesy humorous English lyrics. It’s a critique towards globalization and such, and it couldn’t really be done better. The chorus is a bit annoying though, I have to say; as always the music video is great. Did Rammstein ever did a bad video? Oh wait, they did (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmn4aNGr5E8). Moskau has more of a pop vibe, and features Russian chorists, that actually remind me of K-Pop and stuff. Very strange song for Rammstein, but hey it’s Rammstein, anything can happen. After this song the best part of the record starts. Morgenstern has one of the most memorable Rammstein riffs out there. I mean, what’s better than 00. 3030. 00. 30300300. ? It will haunt your head until it explodes. I love the vocal pattern in this song, and the chorus brings back the epic dramatic vibes once again. This next track is my favorite, and I think the best one in the album. Stein Um Stein. It’s like Das Alte Leid grew up and became more mature. The atmosphere in this song is so dark, and the lyrics help it too. They talk about a man trapping a man inside some kind of wall, and letting him die in there. Here Till’s vocals are so fucking amazing. He explodes in the chorus and at times he screams like a beast. You rarely hear him doing this, but when he does it, everything is much more scary and creepy, especially the last one. Jesus, that’s really disturbing, with those lyrics too. Ohne Dich is a ballad, I feel it’s not the band’s best, but it’s close to that. It features strings, which are always welcome in any song, really. It’s really melodic, and once again, dramatic and epic. It actually reminds me of the first track, really. The last track, Amour, is another strange Rammstein song. This one has again low dynamics in the verses, to explode in a deep-vocals chorus. It’s different from the rest of the album, but it closes it greatly, although I would’ve had Ohne Dich has the last song. The outro is fairly heavy though, and it ends with a fun vocal rap-ish thing.
This album feels really cohesive and overall a great one to pop in once in a while, with all those memorable tunes about memorable topics and such. But there's better Rammstein stuff out there.
Favorites: Reise Reise, Mein Teil, Keine Lust, Morgenstern, Stein Um Stein
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Look, I've ruined your double post. :lol
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Look, I've ruined your double post. :lol
Of course, being russian, you do that with two albums with a red album cover, and two artists that begin with R, and a song that's called "Moskau".
You've been planning everything from the start. You sneaky sneaky person.
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I'm not a big fan of Rush, but I kind of like some of their albums. This is not one of them. :biggrin:
Hey, finally something we both agree on :o .
I never gave Rammstein a fair listen, but they seem to be right up my alley, so I'll have to check them soon. I only know their gigs are epic as hell :metal .
PD: Que hay de malo con el español? :sadpanda:
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PD: Que hay de malo con el español? :sadpanda:
Nothing really, it's pretty cool, but I wish I could hablar alemàn, man.
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So guys, I have an announcement. Since I'll be on a school trip for the next three days and I'll be super busy on sunday, expect no updates, or maybe just one, until next week. Sorry for that, but life is life! :metal
(https://www.rockshock.it/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/grace-for-drowning-steven-wilson.jpg)
#28: Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
2011 - Jazz influenced prog/hard rock/pop - UK
You know, I’ve literally been just sitting like a dumb idiot, staring at the blank Word page for four minutes. I have no idea how to describe what Steven does. Well, let’s start with the fact that: Steven Wilson is an English singer-songwriter. He’s been the frontman of various projects, namely Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, Storm Corrosion, Bass Communion, and various others. Throughout the years Steven created and produced a lot, A LOT of music, with lots of experimentation and a grand variety of musical inspiration. Well, in 2008 he decides to go solo, releasing his first album “Insurgentes”. That album didn’t quite hit me since Steve decided to go on a post-rock/drone direction, and that’s actually not my cup of tea. After a couple of years he decides to put out another solo record, named Grace For Drowning. It’s a double album and this one practically resumes EVERY SINGLE THING this man did for the past 20 and plus years. And given that it’s like 12 genres, and this album has one heck of a flow, standing ovation to Steven Wilson, right now.
Although this is a sum-up of his influences, there is still a new element being brought in the record: jazz. Yes, throughout the album there are these jazzy keyboard moments, along with flutes, saxophones, clarinets and all sorts of drumming shenanigans (which are so tasty) that give this record a unique vibe. So, as I’ve said, this is a double album. Part 1 being called “Deform To Form A Star”, which has more of a pop vibe (although it has a couple of strange and dark songs) and the second one is “Like Dust I’ve Cleared From My Eye”, featuring the dark and creepy atmospheres of Steven’s songwriting.
Volume 1 starts out with the title-track instrumental Grace For Drowning. It has a sunny vibe, although with a touch of melanchonia, and a great piano track by none other than mister Jordan Rudess. Sectarian, another instrumental, touches creepy and at the same time solemn atmospheres, that actually remind me of Opeth. It has also a lot of dynamics, going from really low to noise explosions of the loud kind. Really cool track. Deform To Form A Star unites poppy atmospheres with the jazz influence that I’ve talked about, and the result is one of the best SW ballads ever. Soaring melodies, beautiful lyrics about imperfection and overall just loveliness. It makes you smile, believe it or not. And the outro is gorgeous. No Part Of Me has an electronic vibe, which arks back to Insurgentes. Maybe it’s for that, but it’s my least favorite :lol although admittedly, the second half features a cool riff. Postcard is totally a throwback to Lightbulb Sun. It has the same kind of poppy vibe, but still with that touch of sadness, especially when you look at the lyrics. I like how the song builds and builds and each stanza is more epic than the other. Raider Prelude is a look at the creepy ambient type of music that Steven gave us in Bass Communion. It’s meant to be a prelude to a track in disc 2, but more of that later. A thing about this song is that the album takes a creepy and dark turn after this track, and it will be like this until the last song. Infact, Remainder The Black Dog is one of the strangest, darkest and overall pretty eerie songs that Steve wrote in his solo carreer, and in general I think. It’s a jazz/metal/avant-garde/dafuq/vegetarian thing, and it breathes life. It’s actually quite wicked and it goes through various phases. It’s also nearly instrumental, it only has one verse at the beginning, then Steven decides “fuck vocals” and proceedes to play this strange piece just with instruments. Actually, on guitars is mr. Steve Hackett. Heck Steve, you know how to choose your session musicians. So, really interesting and weird. Recommended song. Disc 2 opens with Belle De Jour, yet another instrumental track, this time completely done on acoustic guitar. It has this spacey atmosphere, and it reminds me of some Super Mario Galaxy 2 soundtrack, namely the song that plays in the Cosmic Cove Galaxy. Out of nowhere videogame reference for ya :rollin Index is one of Steve’s most famous solo tracks, it’s an industrial creepy song about a “collector” (I think he’s talking about bodies). While the lyrics remind me of In Absentia, the actual music does not. I love the drum glitches in this track; one thing: this song’s live version is miles ahead than the one in the record. Just check it out. Track One is the little sister of Remainder The Black Dog, since it’s also a strange and sinister song. It starts out acoustic then it abruptly transitions into a noise/drone kind of part à la Insurgentes, to end with a peaceful piano/acoustic guitar outro. And at the end you’re there asking yourself “Wat”. The music video of this song scared the shit out of me. I won’t say more, it’s just an incentive to make you go and watch it :P We finally came to this point: Raider II. This is a 20 minute long epic which sums up the album amazingly. It’s also one of Steven’s finest compositions, in my opinion, and one where his various styles intertwine against one another, but still maintaining a great flow. Overall though, the feel is “creepiness”, and if there’s a song that can translate fear, it’s this one. Such pathos. Watch the live version. DO IT. Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye brings back the poppish atmospheres of the first disc, serving like a light at the end of a deep dark tunnel which started back at Raider Prelude. A great ambient outro closes this mammoth of an album greatly.
This has been possibly the hardest writeup to write, because it’s such a strange record. It’s very enjoyable though and one that really translates well live.
Favorites: Secterian, Deform To Form A Star, Remainder The Black Dog, Raider II
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Man, it took me a lot of time to appreciate this album, but now it rivals HCE as Steven's best solo record :hefdaddy . It truly is one weird, dark album.
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my least favorite of the three SW solo albums I have, really feel he should've cut it down to one disc of material, it's too bloated and exhausting to listen to much
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Man, it took me a lot of time to appreciate this album, but now it rivals HCE as Steven's best solo record :hefdaddy . It truly is one weird, dark album.
Raven is the Steven's best solo record, so I don't know what you're talking about. :P
Anyway, I like GFD. Deform to Form a Star is awesome, and Raider II is just breathtaking (especially in live rendition). Great pick.
Also, you've also mistyped "Sectarian" in your favourites section. :angel:
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I'm of the group that thinks GfD is the best Wilson solo record. Freaking fantastic album all the way through, although not one I (would) listen to often.
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Late to the party here, but The Resistance? That's barely a top 31 Muse record in my books. 1 fantastic track, 2 or 3 pretty good ones, and then a whole lotta meh. Easily my least favorite of what they've done.
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Man, it took me a lot of time to appreciate this album, but now it rivals HCE as Steven's best solo record :hefdaddy . It truly is one weird, dark album.
Raven is the Steven's best solo record, so I don't know what you're talking about. :P
Honestly, I love the title track from that album, and really enjoy the first two tracks, but can't get into the others for some reason :sad: .
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Hell yes Rammstein. Reise Reise is pretty neat, though not my favourite of their albums.
Also, very minor note: I don't think the lyrics of Stein um Stein specify whether its talking about a man or a woman, but that's minor.
Slightly more major note: my mother sings in the choir on Morgenstern. Awesome, or awesome? (Btw that's another song where I prefer the live version. In fact, most of Rammstein's songs are better live).
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I'm back guys, yaaay
Posts will resume in a few hours.
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Hell yeah
(https://i.imgur.com/SEQ0jQA.gif)
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(https://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Music/d6/f2/32/mzi.qbiqdnrm.600x600-75.jpg)
#27: Rammstein - Herzeleid
1995 - Disco/Industrial Metal - Germany
You know, while I was making the list I thought that Reise Reise was still my favorite Rammstein record. But then I relistened to Herzeleid.
I don't know if it's the union between disco and metal, the cheesy imagery of the band, the atmospheres/riffs/melodies, but Herzeleid is now officially my favorite R+ record.
It starts with the fun but repetitive Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen. This track obsesses over one single riff and concise lyrics about sex. It’s a really fun song to see live, but otherwise it’s just a tidbit too repetitive. Dat RAMMSTEIN chorus though. Der Meister continues with an typical Rammstein riff. I really like the chorus in this one, it sounds both completely out of place and pretty fitting. Interesting track. Weißes Fleisch is one of my favorites. It starts with this synth pattern which gets faster and faster and then everything goes nuts with a disco metal assault. This song is fucking fun, especially in a live setting. It features a choreography and a dance solo by Flake and even a drum solo by Schneider. It’s one of the few times in which the band is more important than the look, in Rammstein concerts. Anyways, this song’s lyrics are actually pretty creepy and disturbing. And not because they sound like that, go read the translation :o Moving on we have, Asche Zu Asche, one of the few straight heavy metal pieces in the record. I like the use of the palm muted pattern in the song, it gives it a nice technical feel, which fits with the “coldness” of their sound. Once again, it’s also a fun track. Seemann is the band’s first attempt at ballads, and even though it’s nice, they have done better. You see, this is a debut album, after all. And now comes one of the catchiest songs of all time: Du Riescht So Gut. This song is hell. A ringworm. An obsession. I avoid it when I can because I know that if I listen to it I’m gonna obsess about it for a long time. It’s cool because the riff has two freaking notes, but it’s so ingenious. Also, the video (I’m talking about the 98 version) is well done. And now comes my favorite piece. Das Alte Leid. This song is fairly slower than the rest of the album, but it’s really really really heavy. Like one of those “Anselmo face (https://38.media.tumblr.com/ad2a1aac919906e5e7c38e0a0082c7a1/tumblr_inline_njv83yYQ3p1s37a6e.gif)” songs. And “ICH WILL FICKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN” will forever remain in history in one of those funnily epic moments (much like SOAD’s Vicinity of obscenity last chorus). Heirate Mich is really groovy, and starts off with Till’s incredibly deep performance (that’s what she said), that actually scares me. Up next is Herzeleid, the title track. I really love this one. It’s another catchy piece, with that stop and go riff, and that vocal pattern. I listen to this one more than Du Riescht So Gut because it actually isn’t that obsessive as the catchiness in that one. Laichzeit is the disco-est song in the record, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one was played at any parties in discotheques and stuff. Awesome piece, once again. The album closes with the band’s declaration of superiority, Rammstein. Nah, I’m kidding, that’s RammLied. This one infact, focuses more on the origin of the band’s name: an accident in an airport. It’s another slow piece, and one that live brings up Till’s fire fists. Incredibly stunning to watch.
So Herzeleid is freaking fun and addictive, catchy and strange. I like those kinds of albums.
Favorites: Weißes Fleisch, Du Riescht So Gut, Das Alte Leid, Herzeleid
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(https://houseofprog.org/hop/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/600x600.jpg)
#26: Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit
2012 - Progressive Metal - Germany
You know, playing and composing prog metal is risky. You either end up playing awesome, creative and admirable stuff, or you create something pretty bland, with no life, repetitive, heard before. While of course there are bands out there that are “copycats”, that doesn’t mean that a strong influence cannot bring a gem. Infact, Beyond The Bridge did this. These guys play prog metal in its purest form, drawing a lot of influences from DT, Ayreon and other bands of the genre. While they really do sound like them, at the same time, the music is so enjoyable that it doesn’t sound too repetitive and already heard. And to do that with a debut album? Wow, guys, this is talent. I also understand all the inspiration, since it’s a debut album (remember how WDADU was Rush on steroids?), I think this band will eventually find their own sound. But if they stick to this one, I wouldn’t be bothered too much since it’s amazing!
Beyond The Bridge are german, they are one of the most numerous bands that I know about: 7 people. 1 guitar, 1 bass, 1 drums, 2 keyboards, 2 vocalists. And, unlike in other bands such as Slipknot, where I feel that the band could’ve easily be the same without all those people, Beyond The Bridge wouldn’t. Yes, because the keyboards are layered to make great effects, sometimes even glitchy stuff that I adore. And the two vocalists, man. Herbie and Dilenya. Two incredibly different voices, but they sound so well together. Herbie reminds me strongly of Jorn Lande, whilst Dilenya has more of a soul/blues influence to her tone. The guys make some incredible melodies and vocal interchanges that make the album memorable. Also, all the other guys are awesome. Props to the songwriting, which I feel Is very close to what I would do/play in songs like these, and so I really feel a connection in this sense.
The Old Man And The Spirit is also a concept album, dealing with a man, at the end of his life, struggling with a decision imposed by a spirit of the underworld. This man has always wanted to know the meaning of life, all the unanswered questions and such. So he calls out to this spirit, which says that he can have that, but she has to erase all his memories in order to do it. So yeah, pretty cool story line, and one that can relate to some people, we all make questions once in a while.
The record opens with The Call, a heavy mid-tempo piece, with stunning vocals from Herbie. I love the “IIII TRY TO SEEE BUT II AM BLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND”. Another cool part is the build up with the poem, I always get chills in the “Why was I even born” part. The Apparition is longer, proggier, but so enjoyable. Here we hear Dilenya for the first time, and it’s a joy. This song is very enjoyable and features a lot of ideas that will eventually be reprised throughout the record. Triumph Of Irreality (cool title) is the instrumental song. It features a lot of hammer-on stuff on the guitar and honestly, I feel it’s my least favorite one, because it’s ok, but falls a bit flat. On we go with two sweet pieces, The Spring Of It All and World Of Wonders. This is as poppy as the album gets, and the two ballads have a very nice joyous hook, and I come back to them fairly often. So, yep, this closes the “first act” of the record. The second’s act intro is The Primal Demand. This is just some samples of some poems from before, bathed in ambient until everything explodes towards the end with a fucking brutal riff, that eventually transitions into Doorway To Salvation. This is my favorite piece in the whole record and when I listened to it for the first time I was on the edge of my seat. What an adventurous song, heavy, ballsy, but melodic and with a strong message and a hell of a difficult drum track! The Struggle is a hell of a fun track, both vocally, with all those intertwining lines between Herbie and Dilenya, and instrumentally with a really greats section at the end of the track. The album closes with a trio of tracks that bring to the album dramatic soundscapes: The Difference Is Human, Where The Earth And Sky Meet and All A Man Can Do. All these tracks are huge, send shiver and are an awesome way to close this album.
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Awesome album. Hearing it live in its near entirety (Where the Earth and Sky Meet and The Difference Is Human switched, no Primal Demand or All a Man Can Do) was one of my favourite concert experiences.
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Fuck yeah :metal
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Love this album. Wonder what will they come up with for the second one.
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(https://s3.amazonaws.com/mno.products/15580/b43c28a75f.jpg)
#25: Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence
2012 - Progressive Death Metal - North Carolina, USA
And here it is, the album I was talking about back in The Great Misdirect writeup. The Parallax II is what got me into BTBAM thanks to its incredible songwriting ability to take you on a hell of a journey with each piece, while also sounding very cohesive and flowing. And when you also have a huge storyline like that, and also an amazingly stunning performance DVD, you just fall in love with everything, and that’s what happened with me.
This album unites the technical death metal elements of Colors with the progressive soundscapes of Great Misdirect. It really feels that those two albums had a child, and that child is Future Sequence. There's really a perfect marriage between untouchable, scary technical chaos and purest forms of melody in this record. Each second of it doesn’t sound wasted, it’s all meticulously studied, and it takes a lot of listens to digest. But when it clicks, oh man, it never leaves you. I’ve known this record for a couple of months now, and I can’t seem to stop listening to it; maybe it’s a spontaneous thing that my mind does, challenging itself with trying to fully comprehend everything in the disc, maybe it’s just me that wants to jam on some BTBAM, I don’t know. The fact is that this album is really addicting, and I listen to it at least up until half, once every two days, or even everyday. Hell yeah.
So, this is actually a concept album about two characters, which are worlds away from each other, but have a deep spiritual connection: Prospect 1 and Prospect 2. The story of these two actually reaches far back into the band’s discography, specifically in three songs: Prequel To The Sequel, from Colors, which describe somewhat of an apocalypse (maybe it’s a prophecy) that happens upon Prospect 2‘s planet, Lost Perfection, from The Silent Circus, in which the apocalypse actually takes place, also because of Prospect 2 himself, and in Swim To The Moon, where we first hear about Prospect 1, and his will to die drowned in the sea. Now, in the first installment of The Parallax series (Hypersleep Dialogues), we find out that these two are connected spiritually, and have the purpose to be some kind of Gods, and decide whether the humans can continue to live or not. Reasons, unknown. At least until now.
The album starts with Goodbye To Everything, a spacey and moving acoustic introduction, that actually takes place at the end of the story. So, we already know that everything ends badly for humans and our two Prospects. After this awesome introduction, the album kicks in at full progginess with Astral Body. This is one of my favorite intros in any song, and I really love the way the vocals kick in. Also, that opening lick is groovy as fuck. This song continuously shifts from sound to sound, beginning with melodic death metal, then through Arabic, death metal once again, to end up with an epic melodic outro, which transistions directly into my favorite track, Lay Your Ghosts To Rest. This is the perfect fusion between melody and sonic destruction, like I’ve said in general about the albums. Yes, because the verses are fucking brutal, especially the “Precaution documents” one, whilst the chorus is gorgeous, melodic and sends shivers down my spine. Also, I’m a big fan of “THE END STARTS NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW”. A powerful breakdown. Lyrically these two songs are pretty much about the same thing, Prospect 2 is feeling guilty about what happened to his planet, so he cuts away pieces of his body (this is presumably a metaphor about memories and stuff), only to leave new material, so that he can move on. He moves on in the sense that he arrives to Earth to meet Prospect 1, and those are the events narrated in the third track (after a short transitional piece, Autumn), Extremophile Elite. This track showcases in its ten minutes of length, the technical abilities of the band. Jesus, it’s really an assault of time signatures and chaos, but it flows so freaking well. I could name fifteen moments in this song worthy of mention, from the incredibly heavy second verse, to the Specular Reflection reprise, to the unexpected orchestral breakdown. Now, that part is really amazing. Fast riffing, blast beats, that eventually transition into an Opeth-styled dissonant 6/8 riff. This does really “Send bliss throughout me”. The album takes a bit of a break with the next two tracks, Parallax and The Black Box. The first one is a short 1-minute ambient piece, with spoken words about the two Prospects’ cosmic relationship. The second one starts out as a simple piano ballad that suddenly becomes an arpeggiated epic build-up to the next track. The Black Box is where the driving forces behind the whole operation are revealed. Well, not exactly, but there’s the reveal that there are some actual driving forces behind it all. This track is really epic, but it’s short and serves as somewhat of an intro to the next piece, Telos. This is the heaviest piece in the entire album, featuring some hard hitting death metal soundscapes, interrupted in the middle by some Steven Wilson-influenced atmospheres. This track is one of the best in the album, the structure is amazing. The build up from the calm melodic part to the second part of the mass destruction, is really well done, and it sends shivers. It really sounds like the world is ending. In Telos there are two storylines: the first one is Prospect 2 wanting to end humanity, but Prospect 1 does not agree, so the two separate from each other. Prospect 2 wants to do that because he found out that the letter he wrote to his wife before leaving for his journey, was never delivered. Infact, we also take a look at the point of view of Prospect 2’s wife, who is really upset that her husband left with no explanation, so she commits suicide. Great storytelling right there. Props to Tommy. Bloom takes us back to Swim To The Moon, chronologically speaking. We find out that after Prospect 1 passes out in the sea at the end of that song, he is abducted by some kind of sea creatures that experiment on him. Now, this track is fucking hilarious. Not only it has a surf rock section, but it also features the line “Bebop skippity tippity tap those toes” which is sung in growl. Other fun facts are the quirky vocal effects and the accordion. I feel like this album really needed a bit of humour, since that’s always been a part of BTBAM songwriting, but in here it would be absent, if it weren’t for this song. Melting City is kind of an encounter of the technicality in Extremophile Elite and the melodicness of Lay Your Ghosts To Rest. I feel it’s my least favorite, but it’s a great listen, especially thanks to the great chorus “Faceless In A Sea Of Space” and the “I must let her know” section. Major chills during that one. In this song we find out what actually happened to Prospect 2’s letter, and why it was never delivered. It seems that an individual, named “The Black Mask”, broke into P2’s house and stole the letter before the wife even noticed it. He was meant to destroy it, but he instead kept it, and read it, developing a strong feeling of remorse. Once he went back to give it to her, he actually witnessed the fire in which the wife took her life. Pretty sad point of the story, but not as epic as the conclusive long piece, Silent Flight Parliament. In this dramatic long tune, we find out that it was all fault of The Night Owls, the same creatures described in Fossil Genera, back in The Great Misdirect. Infact, it’s all just a game to eliminate humans, in order for them to grow. Musically, the first bit features some throwbacks to both Astral Body and Lay Your Ghosts To Rest, and since I always love this kind of stuff, it’s nice to hear it. Towards the end everything gets more melodic with the creepily disturbing “Like it’s their last…and it is” verse. Infact, Prospect 2 is pretty pissed off about everything, and he breaks into P1’s house, and he kills both him and himself, and P1’s wife. He also presumably ends all sorts of life with some kind of weapon that The Night Owls provided him with, but it’s still all speculation. The climax of the album is a joy to the ears, providing a great apocalyptic finale with “Jet propulsion disengage, dancing towards our future, A future of nothing”. Chills, man. I always picture the Prospect 2 laughing histerically whilist Prospect 1 is shitting himself, just a second before everything explodes. And the thing is, the two are meant to look alike, so imagine: you wake up to see a laughing man, ending human life, laughing, and he looks like you. That’s terrifying. So yep, definitely a great climax to a big storyline. Everything actually ends with Goodbye To Everything Reprise, just a brief guitar solo and the line “Goodbye to Everything” that end the album the way it begins, with some astral ambient sounds and acoustic guitars. Stunning.
Wow, that came out pretty long. Well, yes, there is really a lot to talk about this album. It’s surely a fucking awesome discovery, and I think it will grow further on me, maybe next time it will be higher.
Favorites: EVERYTHING
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this one never clicked with me to be honest, I tried and tried but could never get too into it, it's not bad or anything but I'll take Colors or TGM over this. Hell, I'd take Parallax 1 over this.
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Why the hell haven't I dug deeper into their discography? I'm just familiar with Colors :lol.
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Why the hell haven't I dug deeper into their discography? I'm just familiar with Colors :lol.
You really should.
(https://www.jpc.de/image/w600/rear/0/0802644852256.jpg)
#24: Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
2015 - Progressive/Pop/Electronic Rock - UK
Is it too early for this? I don’t know, but I just wanted to praise it for what it is. And what is it, actually? Well, it’s Steven latest solo album, but it’s also currently AOY for me, and for a lot of people, and, it’s a nice breath of fresh air. Steven was getting into the same idea (prog/jazz) for two albums in a row, and that’s not him. Infact this time he decided to go on a different route, both lyrically and musically.
Hand Cannot Erase is a journey into Steven’s lighter and more melanchonic side, and because of that, this album is much much easier to get into than the other three solo records of his. The songs are melodic, feature catchy melodies and hooks, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not enough space for proggy shenanigans! Infact this album has tons of them, beginning from the fact that it’s a full blown concept album, the first time that Steve decides to do this. HCE talks about a woman who goes to live in a big city, and she isolates herself from the rest of the world until one day she disappears. There’s a lot going on in the story though, and for further analysis you may need to go read this (https://handcannoterase.com/). This subject is very touching and relatable, because being an album that talks about loneliness and stuff like that, it’s one universal topic. So, I’ve praised Steven enough in these write-ups, but I never did praise his other musicians: on here we have what I call the “SW Elite”: Marco Minneman, Guthrie Govan, Adam Holzman and Nick Beggs (occasionally also Theo Travis). If Steve’s solo albums were from a band, I wouldn’t even notice. The musicianship between these guys is incredible, their skills too. But more of that later.
The album opens with a piano intro, First Regret; this helps to set the mood pretty well, and when it transits into 3 Years Older, you feel ready for one hell of a journey. 3YO is a very dynamic song alternating sweet/ballad-sounding verses to sudden heavy explosions and hard rock riffing. I really like the vocal melody and the lyrics in this one. We have then the title-track, Hand Cannot Erase. This is a pure pop song in 9/4. It’s catchy all the way through and has lyrics about love, of course, but with a twist that makes them interasting. All in all it’s probably one of Steve’s happiest pieces ever, and I always have a good time when I listen to it. Following is Perfect Life, a journey into ambient/electronic music. This track features a diary entry from the protagonist, and it builds and builds in intensity and emotionally too, until at the end you’re there sitting in pure awe and ecstasy. Shivers everytime. Like the next song, Routine, my favorite of the album. This is an apparent piano ballad that shifts and morphs in various dynamics until at the end it explodes into an emotional chorus, sung by Ninet Tayeb, the guest vocalist in this album. The explosion moment especially hits me, like the outro, which I think is one of the best outros that Steven has ever composed. With those lyrics. Yummy. Home Invasion is like 5 genres into 5 minutes: it starts off with djenty riffing, then it goes through a jazz/fusion instrumental part, then it transitions to funky (the verses) and pop (choruses). Another fun track, that I listen to often because it’s such a blast. Regret #9 is an instrumental track that is directly related to Home Invasion. This instrumental tune is basically 2 solos, but man, they are quite the solos. Guthrie, I fucking love you after what you did here. Eargasm material. Transience is pretty short, and it’s just an acoustic/vocals thing. The vocal melodies in this one are very lovely, especially the last ones. The album goes back to a melanchonic mood with Ancestral. This song starts out as a simple dark/electronic tune, but then in the second half more and more layers of heaviness are constructed until everything gets faster and faster and faster, and that’s when all hell breaks lose. Happy Returns is pure Porcupine Tree material, it reminds me a lot of Lazarus or some song from Lightbulb Sun. The lyrics are fairly great, like “the years pass just like trains, I wave but they don’t slow down”. This song is a great epilogue to that monster of Ancestral, and does a nice job bringing back everything to a happier state.
So, HCE is freaking great. I wasn’t blown away at first listen, but each time I listen to it now I get blown away. Steven can’t really go wrong.
Favorites: EVERY SONG BITCH
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Eh, I like HCE (first half of Ancestral and whole Happy Returns are amazing), but if I rank the albums released this year, HCE would be at the 3rd or even 4th place.
Also, I don't see a point of having "Favourites" section in your writeups if you just use that lazy "everything" approach. Maybe that's just me though. ;)
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Yeah, honestly, I hate to say this, but this one hasn't aged well for me thus far. It still has time to come back around, but right now I'd rank it third out of three new albums I've heard this year (1. Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful, 2. Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi) . Could still change, but that's where it sits right now.
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I'm at the tail end of "HCE is new to me" at this point and it's probably my favorite Steven Wilson solo record thus far, but I wasn't a huge fan of the previous two. Like, Grace For Drowning is a mixed bag, Raven's an improvement but still had a lot that felt like it could be cut. I at least feel HCE is pretty succinct and not too bloated this time (or at the very least, I like the bloated parts of it this time :lol ) but I don't yet think I'd put it on the level of the better Porcupine Tree stuff. Good though, yes.
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I still feel it'd too early to rank it on my top 50, but I can totally see it claiming a spot in the 40-tier in a few months :hefdaddy . AOTY so far. And IMO, it's not likely to change.
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Raven's an improvement but still had a lot that felt like it could be cut. I at least feel HCE is pretty succinct and not too bloated this time (or at the very least, I like the bloated parts of it this time :lol )
See, I feel the opposite about those two albums at this point. Yeah, Raven has a lot of long songs, but it makes sense musically why they're so long. The instrumental sections on HCE often feel kind of meandering and pointless to me at this stage in my listening. Ancestral is a particularly serious offender; I hardly can remember what happens in the song after the last "A bicycle..." section, but there's like 7 or 8 minutes of song there.
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Ancestral is a particularly serious offender; I hardly can remember what happens in the song after the last "A bicycle..." section, but there's like 7 or 8 minutes of song there.
And that's a pity, because first half of the song is just outstanding.
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Exactly. I try to trust the intent of songwriters, particularly songwriters as accomplished as Steven Wilson, and I definitely allow for the possibility that I will "get" what he's doing there on future listens, but right now I really have no idea why he made that song 13 minutes long instead of 6 or 7.
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Hmm, I actually think it's the other way round. Everything up to the guitar solo is rather dull, whilst everything that follows (the 7 or 8 minutes you speak of, beginning with the guitar solo) is outstanding and one of the best parts of the album. That barrage of riffs at the end I find to be very cool.
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Yeah, I feel that Ancestral could have been cut in two, much like Home Invasion/Regret #9. It wouldn't be too bad.
(https://images.rapgenius.com/0dfdaafb994aa94ced13f01ec32283be.600x600x1.jpg)
#23: Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
2002 - Progressive Rock/Metal - New York, USA
Let’s be honest, when you look at DT’s latest albums, you also look at some pretty similar records in terms of tone and songwriting. All these albums are great, but they kinda sound samey to me, and I think to a lot of other people. Now, of course there are the exceptions: we already talked about Octavarium, but this time there’s an even bigger departure. Infact here we have one of the most unique DT albums around, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. This is infact the only double studio album that the band gave us, and the two records in it really differ from each other.
CD 1 is formed by 5 long songs (the shortest is Disappear, and that’s 7 minutes long.). These 5 pieces have a dark and heavier atmosphere compared to DT’s latest work at the time (talkin’ about SFAM and FII), and feature a lot of sound experimentations, like reversed stuff, reverb on drums, vocal distortion and stuff like that. Since this album DT has never really done anything like it, so this is another reason why this album sounds unique to me. Also, the heavy parts are really really heavy, whilst the soft parts are exceptionally low and quiet, so there’s that, the record’s dynamics are really well done.
CD 2 instead, is supposed to be a 42 minute long suite, called infact “Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence”. In this second album (I’ve tried so hard, but I just can’t consider it one single song), we have 6 characters, each representing a type of “turbulence” meaning disease. It’s truly like a journey through an hospital, and I like this kind of connected theme. The song sound much more like classic DT this time, we have throwbacks to SFAM and I&W, with a touch of FII and also of the future. Let’s take a look in the specific:
The Glass Prison starts the album with full blown heaviness. At this time, this was the shit, this was DT’s heaviest piece and no one would dare to affirm the contrary. It’s the first installment of the 12 Step Suite, which as we all know, is a conceptual 50 minute piece, about the alcohol/drug recovery steps. So, as I’ve said this track features a lot of heavy riffs, and ones that actually remind me of Slipknot, with that scratching vinyls in the second half. Is that good or bad? :lol Blind Faith is much lighter than the previous song, and more melodic. This song feels huge though, it has quite a topic, and quite an arrangement. To me is one of the best structured DT songs, one when the time signatures don’t feel forced. Misunderstood is the most experimental tune out of the record, featuring a soft pop verse that explodes in the chorus. This would sound pretty normal, if it weren’t for the psychedelic vibe throughout the piece, an element that we find especially in the instrumental section and in the outro, which is when the music decides to fuck itself with a knife. You’ll get it if you listen to it. I really love this track, I listen to it a lot. The Great Debate is my favorite. It’s a mirror-structured song, that starts with a build up and ends with a build down with samples about stem cell research. In between the intro and the outro is proggy epicness though. It may be one of the proggiest songs in the band’s latest history. Disappear is a ballad and it features really ethereal atmospheres, and I feel it’s like the son of Space Dye Vest. It’s very moving, dark and personal-sounding. I wish it was more known though, nobody really cares about it all that much. So, that was disc 1. Let’s take a look at the “suite”, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. Starting off with Overture, we find out that it’s all gonna be pretty orchestral. IF ONLY THE ORCHESTRA WAS REAL. Infact, those are keyboards, and much like The Odyssey, everything would feel much more bigger and credible if the orchestra was real, and not a keyboard patch. So, Overture forshadows a lot of stuff from this disc, and it’s actually a bit draggy for me. I mean, it’s the longest part of the suite, it doesn’t make much sense to me. About To Crash is very sweet. It talks about a bipolar girl, who one moment is happy and joyous and the other extremely sad and depressed. The music is much less heavy than the first disc, and melodic. The piano work here is stunning. War Inside My Head is a short piece, a 6/8 hard rock fest, about a man with PTSD, a disease that we all know about pretty much, since it’s been a recurring topic in the band’s discography. The Test That Stumped ‘Em All is like a preview of A Dramatic Turn Of Events, with all those crazy licks and time signatures. It’s pretty challenging to play, and fun especially. With a touch of irony, James sings about a schizophrenic man. Very memorable song. Goodnight Kiss is a very sad track, one that I avoid listening to because it just moves me so much. Like guys, if you wanna make me cry, make innocent kids die. The outro of this piece features various of those moments, and it’s so disturbing and morbid. I’m getting shivers just thinking about it. Everything gets suddenly more uplifting with Solitary Shell, a nice pop tune about a man with autistic problems. This is one of my favorites from disc 2, and it’s nice to see DT embrace pop rock once in a while. Dem acoustic guitars. About To Crash (Reprise) is a return to the first piece, this time it’s faster and more uplifting, featuring an orchestral instrumental section that leads into Losing Time/Grand Finale. This one is very slow and solemn, but with epic heavy atmospheres, and it does a good job at closing the whole thing, with that last chord that will forever remain in history.
Six Degrees is a gem. Very different, and that's its strength. I wish the band would do this more, maybe with the new album. I really hope so.
--Evermind's got a point here, he said it's useless to have favorites if all the songs are my favorites. So, yep.--
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Hmm, I actually think it's the other way round. Everything up to the guitar solo is rather dull, whilst everything that follows (the 7 or 8 minutes you speak of, beginning with the guitar solo) is outstanding and one of the best parts of the album. That barrage of riffs at the end I find to be very cool.
That's probably why I was eliminated in your roulette. Rather dull? This part (including the guitar solo) is incredible. ;)
edit: SDOIT is my, what, eighth favourite DT album, so there.
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Hmm, I actually think it's the other way round. Everything up to the guitar solo is rather dull, whilst everything that follows (the 7 or 8 minutes you speak of, beginning with the guitar solo) is outstanding and one of the best parts of the album. That barrage of riffs at the end I find to be very cool.
That's probably why I was eliminated in your roulette. Rather dull? This part (including the guitar solo) is incredible. ;)
edit: SDOIT is my, what, eighth favourite DT album, so there.
My roulette has nothing to do with Steven Wilson!
Also, SDOIT is my third or fourth. I don't know.
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edit: SDOIT is my, what, eighth favourite DT album, so there.
12th for me.
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That's not possible :lol
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I like it okay, but I'd rather spin even SC or WDADU.
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Even SC? It's my fourth DT album, man.
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Sorry! It's my #11. I chose those two to list because they're my #11 and #10 respectively AND they're probably the most popular choices for a #12.
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You guys are nuts - this is the best thing DT has done EVER. I really wished they tried something as experimental and unique as Six Degrees.
I barely listen to it - I know every riff, vocal line and lyrics, every sound, what all the samples say. I just can't find anything new on it (still love it to death tho). But the day I get a new hi-fi system or headphones, this will premier them :hat .
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I like the first disc of SDOIT a good bit, three of the songs make my top 20 and the other two are not bad
but then there's the title track, sigh
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I like the first disc of SDOIT a good bit, three of the songs make my top 20 and the other two are not bad
but then there's the title track, sigh
That's exactly how I feel about SDOIT as well. Three songs made my top 20 and one made the top 10. The other two are solid placements in the top 50. The title track though...
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I like every part of the title track well enough (maybe except for Overture) but I don't find that they gel well at all.
But the first disc is beyond brilliant and, as a whole, this is still my favourite DT album.
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I'm actually the exact opposite of y'all. If SDOIT was just the title track, it would not be at the bottom of my list. The first disc is just... largely good not great. SDOIT the song is in my top 15. Blind Faith and maybe Disappear would make my top 50, and Blind Faith might make my top 30. The Glass Prison would be borderline top 50. The Great Debate would be in my bottom 10. Misunderstood is maybe the best song on the disc for 7 minutes, but its last few minutes are the worst part of DT's studio discography, so it wouldn't make my top 50.
And the album as a whole is just too long for me. If an album is going to be 97 minutes long, it better not have several songs about which I can only say "eh." A one-disc SDOIT with The Glass Prison and Misunderstood slightly truncated (with Misunderstood having a different ending) and The Great Debate gone entirely would probably slip past SC and maybe even WDADU in my rankings, but as is, it's just too long and not good enough for me.
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Although it may have some awkward twists, I find the title track to be incredibly cohesive. And considering the song is about mental illnesses, there might be a relation between those "jumps" from one section to another. But I guess you need to listen to the second disc without cutting to get how the piece flows.
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Sorry guys for a lonely post, but today was literally insane.
Anyways, at the beginning of the list I've said that there was an Opeth album that for me did a better job as a marriage of destruction and melody.
HERE
IT
IS
(https://a4-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/124/4ff2069f76f4441dad0500b02ca5a4a5/600x600.jpg)
#22: Opeth - Watershed
2008 - Progressive Death Metal/Prog Rock - Sweden
So, everybody here knows Opeth. Everybody knows that this band had quite an evolution since their beginning. The first few album are just pure death metal. Then with each record they started to incorporate more and more progginess to their music, which culminated in Blackwater Park and Ghost Reveries. Then they decide to kind of abandon their death metal soundscapes, and focus only on prog. Many people get upset about this, in my opinion the band sounds great as it is today. Pale Communion is a great record. But before this dramatic shift in sound, Mike and the boys, decided to bid farewell to the death grunts and heaviness in an album that unites perfectly that and the proggy progginess that was about to come. And that's what Watershed is all about.
Equal parts blast beats and acoustic guitar, growls and clean vocals, dissonant and melodic, just pure yin and yang, perfectly balanced together. This album also sees the entrance of two new members in the group, and it's actually the line up in which I've got to know them, so this album feels a bit more familiar than some of the previous ones. Also given by the fact that there are two of the songs that got me into Opeth, I've said more than enough how important this album feels to me.
The album starts in an unexpected way with an unplugged acoustic piece, Coil. This song also features some female vocals, provided by Nathalie Lorichs (who, on a sidenote, I believe was dating someone from the band). It's really a beautiful track, that strangely opens the album very well. Although I can imagine some fans being shocked after pressing play :rollin And those who were, were also instantly relieved by Heir Apparent, one of the heaviest tracks I've ever heard from Opeth. This track has only growls, and sounds pretty creepy too. Dat piano at the beginning :o - I also love the outro, it sounds very solemn and anthemic. A great tune, followed by another great tune: The Lotus Eater. This is the track that got me into Opeth, it's also one of their strangest song. It's got blast beats with clean vocals, a clean arpeggiated part in the middle, followed by a funkadelic keyboard breakdown, and a death metal finale. The first time I listened to it, I was completely in awe. Mikael's voice is stunning, it can be perfect if used in the right way. Also, this song's live performance at the Royal Albert Hall is hilarious. Check it out. Burden is a ballad, featuring soaring vocal melodies, and a dramatic feel to it. I also love the outro: the guitar arpeggio that sounds nice, but then the guitar gets detuned as it gets played, and everything sounds so eerie and crooked. A cool technique. Porcelain Heart is like a preview of the things to come in Heritage and Pale Communion, only slightly heavier. I love the guitar riff in this one, and the second part is pretty epic sounding, gives me shivers each time. After this becomes my favorite track, the longest, and the one that better resembles the perfect balance I've talked about: Hessian Peel. It starts out with a folk kind of vibe, it doesn't even grow in intensity, you know. After a nice 4/5 minutes of acoustic stuff and great vocal work, a nice piano solo and then out of nowhere:
*ding*
THE LIGHT COMES ON
THE SIGNAL FOR US TO END OUR LIIIIIIIIVES
Holy shit, I swear this is the most brutal thing that I've ever heard from these guys. And ironically, it's the last growl section in their career, historically. AND IT COMES OUT OF NOWHERE WITHOUT WARNING. Seriously, Hessian Peel is beautiful on both sides, truly an underrated track. Hex Omega finishes the album greatly, like Porcelain Heart, it's a great preview of the following records, a bit heavier. I just wish that the closer was Hessian Peel, it would've been perfect.
You see, describing Watershed and Opeth in general is hard. Very hard. If you didn't check Opeth out (why), I think that you should start with this one. Not Blackwater Park, that's a bit too much for a first listen. But this? YES EVERYDAY
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Nice! :tup This is probably my favorite Opeth album as well. Or maybe Heritage.
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Guys, I'm extremely sorry for the lack of updates this week, but it was practically impossible for me to write stuff and I didn't want to get behind, so I had to wait. I hope everything will get back to normal, especially since we're at half the list, and it was having such a good pace.
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#21: Devin Townsend - Z2
2014 - Progressive Metal, with a touch of pop, thrash and other stuff - Canada
Do I cheat if I put both the records in here? Well, whatever, it’s one release after all, and it’s my AOTY 2014. Also, artist of the year 2014, since I’ve got to known him and his work last year. Devin Friggin’ Townsend. This Canadian fellow right here knows how to write music that is perfectly balanced in all its aspects: beauty, chaos, quirkiness, serious stuff, death metal, gospel, pop, country, ambient and one bald dude to rule them all. In 23 years Devin wrote from the most serious stuff (Ocean Machine) to the most over-the-top and fun (Ziltoid). And last year he decides to put nearly everything he did on one..well, two, records.
Z2 is infact, another double album added to my list, but this time (unlike SDOIT), the two records really really really differ from each other. We have disc one: Sky Blue. It consists of Devin’s pop side, with some slight melancholia and seriousness from back in the days, and a gospel attitude, directly taken from Epicloud. Disc two is Dark Matters, the sequel of Ziltoid The Omniscient, and as opposed to Sky Blue, this is Dev’s over the top, heavier, hilarious side. It’s a musical, with narrators, voice actors and guest vocals. Everything on top of overwhelming heavy music, with lots of layers. Even though these two albums are really different, to me they feel great on one release, and I like them pretty equally (although admittedly there are periods in which I prefer one to the other).
Sky Blue starts with Rejoice, which is definitely a trip back to Addicted. It features infact pounding drums and a cool hooky chorus, with great riffs all over the place. Fallout continues the Addicted vibe, this time featuring Anneke Van Giesbergen as a prominent voice. There was another version of this song that leaked, featuring Devin on vocals. And, not to bash Anneke, she’s awesome, but that version is the version. Enough said. Midnight Sun is a slower piece, somewhat of a ballad. This one reminds me of Terria and Synchestra. It features acoustic guitar and a huge chorus, very sing along-ish. A New Reign brings us further back in time, in the Ocean Machine days. Infact this track is very dramatic, like most of that record, and it sends shivers during all of it, but especially in the “WHERE DID YOU GO” part. Stunning. Universal Flame is my favorite from Sky Blue, it has a strong Epicloud vibe, with the choir and positive lyrics. This is another one that make me shiver all throughout the piece, I really love it. Warrior is a great track, featuring one of my favorite choruses in Dev’s carreer, sung by Anneke. It’s just powerful and features a great message. That, along with RVP’s groovy hi-hat thing and the choir makes it great as it is, for a song that would otherwise be kinda subpar. In Sky Blue Devin turns the pop knob to eleven, he explicitly stated in the booklet that this song was inspired by Usher. And you know, even pop when done good is great, and this is an example of that. There are a lot of neat vocal thingies going on in this track that makes it memorable. Silent Militia is the heaviest track in the album, and it really sounds like an army marching right nearby you. Its chorus has a strong “You spin me right round baby right round” vibe, and it’s equally funny and great. A strong song, that I spin often. With Rain City the album has a mood shift, everything becomes more dramatic and serious in tone. This track especially features an almost ominous chorus, drenched in ambient tonalities, which get fully explored in the next track, Forever, 3 minutes of new age/ambient ethereal/scary soundscapes. A nice break in the record, before the climax. Climax that eventually happens in Before We Die, another Epicloud-like song, featuring the 2000 voices of the Universal Choir, a thing that Devin did where he used the fans as choristers. A really great song to close the record, before the ambient outro in The Ones Who Love.
Sky Blue flows like a river, and also sounds like a river. I always have a great time listening to it, even though it gets a little too serious in the end. Let’s not forget this record was actually “forced” in a way by the record label, so maybe that’s why. But still, it’s incredible.
On to strange Devy-land with Dark Matters! This album compared to its prequel is far far better, IMO. The songs flow better together, there’s better songwriting and music all around. The only thing is the story, that it’s actually a bit underwhelming, but still, I don’t really care about that, since the album is amazing.
So, we begin to follow the adventures of Ziltoid, with the title-track of it all, Z2. This became one of my favorite Devy openers, probably second after Truth. This is an incredible instrumental, that begins with a huge build up and a great 0000 0000 0000 0000 riff, that’s really headbanging worthy. It ends with this huge choral part that makes me shiver. From Sleep Awake is probably the only really dramatic track in the album, one that takes itself seriously, as opposed from all the other tracks. It is infact, one of my least favorites, but still, it’s very short, and feels like an interlude, and not an actual song. Here comes Ziltoidian Empire, a stream-of-consciousness styled song, that I fucking love. Each and every section is really well composed and well played, especially Ryan here gets a chance to shine, and it’s always nice to hear that, since he is a bit underused in Devin’s realm. Or at least, when he’s not playing Planet Of The Apes :rollin The song goes full nuts towards the end, with a fast riff and farts. Yes, farts. Stereo farts. Moving on! In War Princess we encounter for the first time (well, or at least she sings for the first time) Dominique Lenore-Persi, which plays the War Princess role. Her voice is really sensual, and she can really scream too. I listened to her band, Stolen Babies, and they’re great. I recommend them. So, the song itself, sounds like a war march, and that’s really what it is, as it represents when the War Princess gathers the Poozers (her army of ass-shaped aliens) to go and get earth. That’s what happens in Deathray, a song that Devin really needed in my opinion. Pure rock and roll, I always have a blast listening to this piece, and it’s as cool as the other complex stuff that Dev puts out. March Of The Poozers is another straight forward tune, featuring quite the riffs and quite the hook. This is another one that I see really well live, and if I’m not mistaken, Devin uses that huge flying V guitar that has smoke and leds. Massive. Wandering Eye is another short piece interlude, has kind of an electronic vibe to it, but soon that vibe gets crushed by epic choirs in typical Devy fashion. Now begins Earth, which is a track that I still didn’t get. It sounds really orchestral, but for me it’s too much all over the place, and I can’t quite get into it – although the narration is hilarious. And now here it is: the epic, stunning, fast and heavy Ziltoid Goes Home. This track unites furious metal soundscapes of Strapping Young Lad to the gospel and epic choirs of DTP, and it’s just a perfect thing. My favorite. After Through The Wormhole, a skit, not a song, the finale of the story and the album is found in Dimension Z, where all the people of the earth gather together and sing this gospel tune. Like Before We Die, this is a great conclusion, also with a great epilogue that ties together this album with another, creating somewhat of a Devy universe.
Z2 is the culmination of a summer in which I’ve explored this crazy man’s work, and it’s just too good. Also, when you have a packaging like that, what can you say?
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I gave a spin to Z2 just out of sheer curiosity, and I found it awful. Sorry, man. Then again, I'm not a fan of Devin's work at all.
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I gave a spin to Z2 just out of sheer curiosity, and I found it awful.
My thoughts. I couldn't even get past Sky Blue - expected some pop a la Addicted or Epicloud, but found lots of dissonant, even a bit atonal songs that weren't that catchy.
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Man.. Z2 is one of his worst records.
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What is funny is no one believed me when I was saying it was weak for Devin when I had the promo.
I know it was your turn and all, but two lists so close to each other wasn't a good idea.
On an unrelated note, HCE will be a strong contender for my AotY. Anyone else rank SW solo albums that each new one is better than the previous one?
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On an unrelated note, HCE will be a strong contender for my AotY. Anyone else rank SW solo albums that each new one is better than the previous one?
Almost, with the exception that TRTRTS.
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Great updates! SDOIT, Grace, Parallax II, and Watershed :tup
On an unrelated note, HCE will be a strong contender for my AotY. Anyone else rank SW solo albums that each new one is better than the previous one?
Almost, with the exception that TRTRTS.
Nah, I got:
GFD
HCE
TRTRTS
Insurgentes
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oh hey it's a decent album from a guy known for putting out great/amazing albums
i don't understand you, mike
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Why would you list Ocean Machine as his most serious album? You are aware of Ki, right?
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Great updates! SDOIT, Grace, Parallax II, and Watershed :tup
On an unrelated note, HCE will be a strong contender for my AotY. Anyone else rank SW solo albums that each new one is better than the previous one?
Almost, with the exception that TRTRTS.
Nah, I got:
GFD
HCE
TRTRTS
Insurgentes
I'd be like
HCE/GFD
Insurgentes
The Raven
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Woahwoahwoah criticism, criticism! This is fun :zydar:
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Why would you list Ocean Machine as his most serious album? You are aware of Ki, right?
Good call, Ki is pretty serious too.
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#20: Rush - Permanent Waves
1980 - Progressive Rock - Canada
When you look at Rush’s discography, you see a great variety and quantity of music. There are 19 albums, and one doesn’t sound like the other. This is another point of why Rush are one of the best bands on the planet, in my opinion. But also, when you look at their discography, there’s a particular timezone in which the band put out 5 masterpieces, one after the other. This is the penultimate one, and it’s Permanent Waves.
This is Rush’s 7th studio album, it came out in January 1 1980, so the eighties started out pretty fucking well shall I say. With this record the band decided to step back a little, because they felt overwhelmed from what they had done with Hemispheres, easily their proggiest album, featuring 4 songs, including an epic 17 minute piece and an intricate 9 minute instrumental. Now, of course the band realized that it was too much, so what did they do? They took the progressive elements of their music at the time, and united it with the mainstream hard rock idea they had at the beginning of their carreer, and the union of these two is just perfect. The songs aren’t so long, but they aren’t banal at all – some of these tunes are among the most technical pieces Rush wrote. But especially, this is a pretty fun record too. Clockwork Angels is still more fun, but this comes pretty close.
The album features 7 songs, and I must say that the order is quite perfect. I really love good ordered albums, there are few that are perfect, and this is one of ‘em.
The Spirit Of Radio needs no introduction, this is a classic song that everybody knows, and it’s always been a good opener, both for the records and for concerts. This song is fun and its lyrics are probably one of my favorites of all time, props to Neil. Also, the reggae part makes me chuckle everytime. Freewill makes me smile like no other songs can do. There’s something so shiny and peaceful in that chorus that really gets me going. Also, that solo with THAT bassline. Geddy, you da man. Jacob’s Ladder is what I was talking about, when I mentioned technicality. This is one of Rush’s most progressive songs, but it’s really more than a song, it’s almost a painting or a showcase. A showcase of what a thunderstorm looks like. There’s a lot of Dream Theater and even a section of what I like to call “ancient djent”, those times in which classic prog acts broke into djenty riffing (like Watcher Of The Skies). This is one of my favorite tracks by Rush, and surely a unique song from them, really recommend it. The second side is started by Entre Nous, a good song with a great message about how each and everyone is different from the other. I like the acoustic guitars in the chorus, and also the vocal melodies. Different Strings is a good ballad, though as I might have already said, Rush are not the greatest ballad writers. But I still enjoy this one. The album closes with a mini-epic, Natural Science. This song is divided into three sections, the first one being about the oldest forms of life, the second being about how technology is evolving humans further and the last one being the moral of the story basically. This song has different moods in it, but they gel really well together, making for a great great listen.
Permanent Waves is just one of those 5 epic records, but it’s one that I’ll always remember, for the encounter between simple and complex, which is perfect in this one. I also like that when I listen to it I can't help but freaking smile. Dem canadians.
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Just noticed, you have two #22 albums. :biggrin:
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You crazy, there's clearly a 21 and a 22 :neverusethis: I actually edited it lol
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#19: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Space/Folk/Blues Rock - 1975 - UK
After releasing something as eargasmic as Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd had to really write something extraordinary to exceed that album. As a matter of fact, they did.
Pink Floyd are genius. Roger Waters is genius, I mean, that guy wrote most of the stuff of this period, but really, the whole band is the way it is because of its four members.. and the ghost of the fifth. Infact, if it weren’t for Syd Barrett, we wouldn’t have any of this today. Without Syd, and without what happened to him, we would have no Wish You Were Here. And that it’s just sad, but at the same time beautiful.
WYWH presents colder and much sadder atmospheres compared to DSOTM. Now of course, being an album that talks about pain of losing a friend (just mentally at the time) and the rage against the machine music industry, the tone and the mood fits the lyrics pretty well, and creates a thick thick pathos that makes this album remarkable. It’s also probably the best sounding PF record, and one where the songwriting really shined. The structures, the melodies, the riffs, the solos, the little clever connections between songs, everything is like it should be, and beyond that.
A cool thing was that Syd actually visited the guys during the recording of the album, but no one recognized him. Later they realized who the awkward man was, making this album more special, as if it isn’t already. It’s like if Syd’s ghost lives inside the disc, it’s pretty creepy.
So, the album opens up with the historic first part of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. This song is probably one of my favorite openers ever. Starts the record with a nice slow pace, with a lot of synths going on, and it’s so relaxing. After a guitar solo, though, the song brings a creepy arpeggio that soon kicks the song into full performance. And it’s just lovely. What can I say about this piece. Shivers, memories… everything. True art. Welcome To The Machine has a nice encounter of new and old, bringing together folk/acoustic rock atmospheres to progressive synthetizers, and techno sound effects. Really great song with a strong message. Have A Cigar is the most cool and groovy tune out of all the songs. I really have a good time listening to this song, it’s nice and bluesy and features a hell of a vocal track, provided by mr. Roy Harper. Another song about the music industry, which still, forty years later, feels very modern. We have then the famous title track, Wish You Were Here. This is a classic ballad, with godlike lyrics. Like, those have to be the best lyrics that a ballad has. I like how it starts as a guy soloing on a riff he’s hearing on the radio, that’s really well played. To end the record (yes, only 4 songs basically) we have the second half of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, that’s just as good as the first part. It starts out all bluesy, reminding me of One Of These Days, then it breaks into a chours/verse kind of thing, reminiscent of the first part. Have I mentioned how I love the freaking choir in this song? Yeah, that’s what makes it so huge.
There are very few words to describe how I feel about this album, and about Pink Floyd in general. This is some of the best music Earth was ever provided with.
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yep, good.
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yep, good.
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Just behind Animals as my fav from PF. Good stuff
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yep, unbelievably amazing.
FTFM
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Perfection.
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My third or fourth favourite from them. Stunning record.
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Their second best after Dark Side Of The Moon. Stunning stuff. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1) is my favourite Pink Floyd song ever.
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#18: Alter Bridge - Fortress
2013 - Heavy Metal - Florida, USA
Hell yeah Alter Bridge. When I first listened to this band, I had no clue that they were capable of writing something so modern, heavy, melodic and progressive as this record right here. I bought Fortress out of nowhere, and bam, my mind was blown. Incredible songwriting, album flow, songs, musicianship.. and overall a really present badassery throughout it, make this album as highly ranked as it is.
Seriously guys, this album has a great production, that makes it sound MASSIVE. Some of these riffs in the songs actually scare me for how heavy they are. Very bombastic sound especially in the guitars and in the bass drum. Those are some good sounds right there, I draw a lot of inspiration from this record, production wise, that’s how I want to sound.
So, as I’ve said, this album is incredibly heavy at times, but features a lot of melody too, thanks to Myles Kennedy. Myles’ voice is not a type that I particularly like, but in this album it fits soooo well that I forget that, and go on rocking out. The choruses of each track are really catchy, and some of the songs have quite great lyrics, even though they are a bit stereotypical here and there. Also, compared to the band’s other records, Fortress has a bit of that progressive vibe, that makes everything more interesting and memorable.
Starting out with the acoustic intro of Cry Of Achilles, you know you’re in for something great. A 6/8 song, with a great sunny and solemn vibe, with one hell of an interlude. Really love it, and it’s fun to play. Addicted To Pain features one of those “scarily heavy” riffs, that make the song interesting, otherwise it’s a pretty standard metal tune. Another great thing is the solo, although it pales in comparison of the one in the next track, Bleed It Dry. This is one of my favorite songs. A great structure, with nice pounding drums and an acoustic interlude which still makes me shiver and leaves me in awe. I really recommend this song. Top notch work. Lover is somewhat of a ballad, although darker in tone, reminds me of those ABIII atmospheres. Nice track, but not the best in the album. The Uninvited, instead, is actually one of my favorites, featuring a lot of prog metal influences, namely from Tool, and even Periphery shall I say. Dat breakdown. This is also a great song to play on drums, and it has one of the coolest chorus that I’ve ever heard. Peace Is Broken is “heavy”. True definition of the word. Like, that’s how heavy music should sound. Mean, powerful, slightly sad but fun… fuck I love this track. The chorus is iconic and anthemic, so are the guitar lines in the outro. Really cool track. Calm The Fire is slightly cheesy, but it’s still a nice listen, although a song that I don’t put within the best of the album. DAT intro tho. It sounds like Muse. Even though Miles and Matt have very different voices. Pity that the song wasn’t as great as the intro. You guys know Tremonti? Mark’s side project? Yes, he sings in that band, as well as in this next song, Waters Rising. His voice sounds pretty rich, and deep. Waters Rising features one of the best choruses in the whole AB discography IMO, it’s catchy and melodic, with a slight touch of despair, given by the lyrics. Alternating between soft verses and a grand explosion in the “DON’T LET ME DROOOOOOOOOWN” in the pre chorus. Shivers. Another great track. Now. In the distance, we hear a bass riff, it doesn’t sound too offensive. But by the time the guitar enters the song, your face is on the floor, still burning and melting away. That’s how heavy Farther Than The Sun is. Jesus, that’s one of the heaviest riffs I’ve ever heard, it makes me go all “OOOOH” with somewhat of a painful look on my face. And those harmonics Marks throws in once in a while :metal And the coolest thing is that Myles melodic approach sounds awesome even with that beast of a riff. Cry A River is the fastest song of the package, and it has another awesome chorus. Dear god, whoever writes the vocal melodies in the band, major props to you sir :hefdaddy :hefdaddy The album closes with another kind of cheesy ballad, All Ends Well, and with Fortress, the band’s proggiest song. It goes from melodic to heavy within few seconds, and it’s a fun ride overall.
Fortress is a jewel. An album that does for me today what probably Master Of Puppets did for the metalheads back in the eighties. Maybe it’s a bit exaggerated, but whatever, I fucking love this album.
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Man, I love Blackbird, so I can't wait to give this one a listen soon.
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Man, I love Blackbird, so I can't wait to give this one a listen soon.
Dude it's been how many months since I told you to do so? DO IT
Jk, I know you have like 8765413 albums to listen to :lol
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Man, I love Blackbird, so I can't wait to give this one a listen soon.
Dude it's been how many months since I told you to do so? DO IT
Jk, I know you have like 8765413 albums to listen to :lol
Well, around 1000+ or so, but its still too much for a single human :facepalm: .
Hopefully I'll manage to listen to them all in 3 years. And then I'll dig into the discographies of the ones I like best. So I'll have enough music for the next 5 years or more :lol .
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The list gets shorter and shorter...
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#17: Devin Townsend Project - Addicted
2009 - Pop/Industrial Metal - Canada
There were many negative reactions to my Z2 placement, but I think that this will calm the fire for lots of you. What we're talking about here is Devin's second record in his DTP series. This series of albums includes 4 under the monicker of "Devin Townsend Project" and they're meant to represent Dev's personality, each record about a different part of himself, and each record being really different from the others.
Addicted is the follow-up to Ki, which is a very calm, ethereal and moody disc (also a great one), and it's the complete opposite of it. Infact, while Ki was more jazz/blues orientated, this brings back the metal, but adds a special ingredient to the formula: Pop. Hooks, female vocals (provided one again by Anneke Van Giesbergen) but it still has that element of heavy riffing and industrial pounding drum-beats à la Rammstein. But what makes this record great is actually its flow and how fun everything is. The songs are connected with each other, and it sounds so alive that it's almost like a concert. When albums do that, it's always awesome - and you also have the By A Thread version to make a comparison between studio and live: nearly identical. Awesome.
So, the record starts with its title-track, Addicted, aka "The heaviest Pop song ever". It's very simplistic with that two note baritonal riff that gives a nice groove to the piece, and those screaming vocals in the verses, contrasted by that gospel-like Chorus and the historic "stay away from the pornography, i'm saying, LET'S BE LIKE THE MOUNTAIN". This is also a great song to witness live, each version of it is stunning, and brings the song to life, especially during the bridge. That's a great riff. Universe In A Ball is much more Devy-like and progressive than the rest of the song in the album, although shorter. It has quite the groove and a nice arpeggiated bridge that makes the song memorable. Bend It Like Bender is as pop as the album gets (except for one other track), blending together punk pop and rock and roll, with a nice chorus sung from Anneke. It's also damn catchy. Supercrush is a union of djenty riffings with a power ballad feel, sung half by Anneke, half by Devin. This is one of my favorites, it really shows the incredible songwriting abilities of Devin, uniting two pretty different styles together in an outstanding piece. In Hyperdrive, Anneke takes full control over the vocals. This is a second version of the song, the first one being from the Ziltoid record - and it's also pretty different from that one, being fun and happy, whilist the first version was spacey and more calm. I slightly prefer this one, though. Really slightly. The album goes on with my least favorite Resolve, which is still pretty fun to hear, you can tell by Devin laughing his ass off in the beginning :lol. It has quite an anthemic chorus, and a quirky riff in the beginning. With Ih-Ah, Dev and Anneke go full blown pop with a ballad about being in love. Yes, even though I've grown to hate love songs, this is an exception, since the vocal performance is truly outstanding, intimate and just sweet, that it makes me forget the "I'm so in love with you :D:D:D" crap going on in the song. Also, The Retinal Circus version is eargasmic, like the whole concert. Best thing ever. The Way Home has a vibe of some kind of modern pop rock band, that I can't quite pinpoint though. The chorus is amazing, as it features Devin's signature operatic vocals. Thing that is much more present in the next song, Numbered. Very dramatic track, with nice layered vocals in the chorus by Anneke. I'm really in love with it and it's my favorite track from the album. I mean the bridge has both a reprise of Universe In A Ball and a forshadowing of The Mighty Masturbator, it makes me shiver, especially the WE TRIIIIIIIIIIIED scream. That's really ominous. Awake is the last song, and the longest, though it's really 5 minutes long with a 4 minutes ambient coda. It's another fun track, and features various references to the previous songs.
Addicted describes itself perfectly from the title. The song are catchy, so they make me addicted. It fun, and what's fun is also addicting. Devin is addicting. Anneke is addicting. RVP, Beavis and whoever may be playing the rest of the stuff are addicting. Just awesome music. :hefdaddy
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Best Devin album - fucking addictive, yes sir :hefdaddy
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Ok guys, this time I'm really sorry. It actually wasn't school "bullshit" but serious irl stuff, that kept me from updating here. Kinda sucks actually, but still, let's finish this with a bang, and I'll try to consistently update day by day, for we just miss 16 albums... starting with
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#16: Metallica - Master Of Puppets
1986 - Thrash Metal - California, USA
This album here is an headbanger’s manifesto. Nah, it’s the headbanger manifesto. It’s one of those albums that you either love or love. Like, honestly, I’ve never seen it critiqued or bashed, and there are probably two or three cases of this kind out of all the albums that I know about. To see that it’s from Metallica, and looking at what they became today (a brand name for baseball teams), kind of saddens my heart and fills this album with a sort of melancholia.
Why is that? Because this is the band at the top of their game, with the best production, best songwriting, best lineup, best tunes… best everything! I’m also pretty attached to this album because it’s the first album that I vividly remember learning to play and listening to all the way through. From track one to track eight. Nowadays is really normal, but back when I was 9 years old, that was an ultra special event. Surprisingly that’s about 7 years ago, and since this record, a lot of things have changed. Really a lot. If it weren’t for this band, and this album, at the right time, lord knows I wouldn’t even be on this forum, and probably a lot of you too.
I see a lot of people giving this type of speech to Images And Words on here, and that makes sense, we’re on a DT forum, what the hell. But to me I&W isn’t even in my top 5 DT records (although I still respect it and adore it and see where a lot of people come from when they praise it), hell I hated Pull Me Under when I first heard it. I hated Trial of Tears when I first heard it. I even hated Under A Glass Moon. To make me like Dream Theater, Mike Mangini had to play Outcry alone basically in front of me. But that was not the case with Metallica and Master Of Puppets. Especially when you compare Mangini to, say, Lars Ulrich :rollin
My point is that the album blew my mind. I never thought that I’d like heavy music, but this was the starting point, as I’m sure a lot of you too. Enough of my rambling, on with the album!
Battery starts things out with the typical Metallica trick: the acoustic intro. Except this time you kind of expect things to go full bananas, and infact, as soon as the intro finishes, the speed goes up up up up and one second later you find yourself headbanging to one of the most frantic, hellish and fast songs in the Metallica repertoire. Battery is a gem, an incredible opener, and sets the stage just about right for what’s about to come. And you know what’s about to come. Master Of Puppets ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this song listed as the “best metal song ever”. Now those kind of lists are a bit full of bullshit, but each time I see this song mentioned, I can’t help but nod and think “wow”. This song is really a track that takes you on a journey in its 8 minutes of length, and has all those twist and turns that make it memorable and a music classic. The structure is phenomenal, and gives dynamicity to a genre that kind of didn’t have that until this record, and it’s predecessor maybe (Ride The Lightning of course). The Thing That Should Not Be is the mean one. Pure hatred and anxiety are felt in this song, and the music matches the lyrics pretty well given that it’s about Lovecraft strange creatures and terror in general. The S&M version tho :hefdaddy :hefdaddy Welcome Home (Sanitarium) is a classic track 4 piece, half ballad, half thrash fury. I think that out of all the half ballads, this one has the best heavy part, even though it’s not my favorite song as a whole. It’s beautifully crafted though, the arpeggio strikes quite a chord with me. In comes that beautiful thing that Is Disposable Heroes. A song where “chugging” is an understatement. I love the groove of this piece, and all of its sudden change of tempos and moods. It feels underrated, but not as much as Leper Messiah. This song has been for a while my favorite Metallica song, but now I admit it kind of (really kind of) falls flat compared to the rest of the album. But it’s clever, and a stunning piece of music, with a strong message and one hell of an outro (LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE LIEEEEEEEEE is a personal hymn). Orion is an instrumental, but it’s really more than just that. It’s a testament, Cliff’s testament. Cliff left us way too early. God knows what he could’ve been capable of doing if he was still alive. Metallica wouldn’t probably be where they are today (still, there was Lars in the band so..), and that’s another reason why this album is so emotional for me. Just listen to that harmony part in the middle of the song. It sounds like they knew. Literally, it sounds like saying goodbye… quite creepy actually. Damage Incorporated closes the album like it started, with a soft intro, and destructive song. This one especially I feel that has the power to uproot trees and stuff. So damn heavy, might be ‘Tallica’s heaviest song. The riff sound mean, as well as the “damage incorporated” *0000000* GO! *epic Krik solo* - one of my favorite moments in music ever.
Master Of Puppets is. Period. It truly is. Can’t find any words, but at the same time, so much to say. BOW PEOPLE, BOW
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Fantastic album, my favorite from Metallica easily
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This one bores me to death ;D
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This one bores me to death ;D
I'll be wiling to buy you new ears if you just work with me here. :lol
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(https://www.rush.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/hemispheres-cover-600x600.jpg)
#15: Rush - Hemispheres
1978 - Progressive Rock - Canada
With the R40 tour starting yesterday, there’s not much of a better way to celebrate with a Rush album in here! We’ve already talked lots about the band in the previous write-ups, featuring albums such as Clockwork Angels and Permanent Waves. Two albums in which they took the simple complexity approach, featuring relatively short songs, with hooks, but technicality and interesting concepts. Now, of course, this time it’s gonna be different.
Hemispheres is infact the total opposite of that. Long songs, intertwining and complex music, fancy fantasy stories, and other prog shenanigans, that make this album quite memorable. But it’s not only about that, the fact is that, if you give Rush these elements, they can perfectly use them as an advantage to make awesome music, and that’s really what they did with this album. 4 tracks in which the proggy side of Rush is taken to the max. 36 minutes of pure ecstasy and also fun, let’s not forget that, Rush are a fun band. To listen to and to play also. This record especially, once you get into it and know it well, it’s a lot of fun to follow through.
Hemispheres opens up with, well, Hemispheres :lol – the title track. As in respectful prog albums, the title track is also the center piece and/or the longest piece. This is both, infact it’s a lengthy epic), but also serves as the continuation of the track that closed the previous album, A Farewell To Kings, “Cygnus X-1”. In that track we see an astronaut getting sucked in a black hole, not knowing what awaits him on the other side. Talking musically the song features a very ethereal feel in the guitar parts, and lots of groove from both Geddy and Neil. In the middle of the song there’s the “Cygnus, Bringer Of Balance” part that is pretty dramatic, and I love the way the new riffs reconnect to the Cygnus X1 riffs, it still gives me shivers, because it’s just a second and then everything goes back to the main song. Anyways, that section is so beautiful. And it’s followed by a great climax. Lyrically Hemispheres talks about the fight between heart and mind, represented by Apollo and Dionysus. The guy from Cygnus X1 ends up on the Olympus after he gets sucked into the black hole, and he sees the fight between the two, and brings a solution to both: balance between heart and mind. A great message, and a cool story overall. This song is awesome, but it feels a little bit draggy, but it’s a fucking amazing listen nonetheless. It occupies half of the album anyways, what can you pretend :lol Circumstances is the shortest song, and also one of Rush’s shortest songs, and let me tell you. This. Is. Badass. Seriously, Circumstances rocks my socks out each time, and it’s so proggy for being just 3 minutes. Those French lyrics tho. It’s also catchy as hell. The Trees is slightly longer and proggier, and it’s just a blast. I quite don’t get the lyrics, and think they are a bit stupid (they could’ve used a better metaphor than fighting trees). I mean, I just can’t picture myself singing “THE TROUBLE WITH THE MAPLEEES”. Anyways the strong point of the song is the instrumental section, featuring a strong build up and those random cowbells. I love it. The album closes with La Villa Strangiato, an epic 9 minute instrumental piece. This song here was one of the first few conscious prog song that I’ve heard, and that I’ve obsessed with (even before discovering DT). It’s hard to play, and has a lot of different sections, but they flow so freaking well with each other, lord knows how the hell did they write this. A stunning composition.
Hemispheres may be a bit overwhelming on the first few listens, but once you see where the band was going, you start to be addicted and have fun. Top notch work by Rush.
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Great write up on Hemispheres. On the Rush documentary, the guitar player from Metallica really praised LaVilla on how complex it is to play and how Alex's playing inspired future guitar players. Would be great to hear the title track when I see them in Atlanta later in the month. If they play it I will tell my wife this is a good bathroom break for her. :)
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Great album.
Great write up
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Never was big into Rush but this was one of the albums that I kinda dug. MOP - instaclassic. Not into Devin. Alter Bridge got a bit boring for me after the first two albums.
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(https://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/www.ign.com/2709/2011/04/Wasting_Light-600x600.jpg)
#14: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
2011 - Rock - Washington DC, USA
I have to say that Sonic Highways is standing the test of time really well, I’m liking it more and more. But I feel that I won’t like any other Foo Fighters record more than Wasting Light. This is truly when the band found the perfect combination between their sound, the songwriting, the production and the overall experience of the record.
Foo Fighters always get credited as “alternative rock”, and while there are some elements of that in their sound (mainly in the first few albums), I feel that this one is pure, simple and raw “rock”. Period. It’s a perfect representation of that genre, and it’s the go-to album when people tell me “hey, what’s a cool rock album?” (even though that doesn’t really happen :( ). There are neat riffs, inventive layered guitar parts (let’s not forget that there are 3 guitars in FF), the bass tone is fat and you can hear it, and the drums are a lot of fun too. You know, even if they are big and famous, this band really shows that they love what they do throughout various cool things they come up with: like the Sonic Highways thing, the concerts inside little pubs and/or garages, Sound City etc etc… but what really shows that this band is into what they do is this record, or better, the way it was conceived.
Infact this album was entirely written, produced and recorded in Dave’s house. The whole crew was there, the six guys in the band (counting Rami too), and they recorded everything with tape. They also did that with SH, and that felt a bit stressed, but in here the tape sound is fresh (even if it’s vintage), and provides a cool vibe to the album.
Bridge Burning opens things up extremely well. It’s probably my favorite FF opener, even if between the openers, there are better songs. But I think that this one does a better job at opening… things. Yeah, even concerts. A great two-note riff, and especially, a big sounding chorus make this song memorable. Rope though is more memorable. Incredibly groovy and catchy, with that awesome stop and go riff and instrumental part, with a notable drum solo and a quirky guitar part. One thing I don’t like is the vocals, I feel that they could’ve done a better job, given that they had an outstanding song, instrumentally. Dear Rosemary brings melodies up a notch rather than heavy guitars. This is a great song with a lot of catchiness to it, and I also like the rhythm, with the staccato drumming and stuff. White Limo is a great mindfuck of a song. Everything is incredibly distorted and evil, and Dave’s screams are… stunning in a way. It’s also a great fun track, especially when you look at the music video :rollin Arlandria is kind of the same idea of Dear Rosemary, but does it honestly better. There’s also a lot feeling in the song, provided that it talks about Dave’s hometown/mother, and all of that stuff. The emotional build up in the middle of the song is genius, just sayin’. These Days is one of the ballads and it’s quite important, since it’s Dave’s favorite song that he wrote. This is one of my favorite songs that embraces the “Carpe diem” idea, while not shouting it out in your face like some band from New York once did :zydar: The chorus gives major chills. Then there’s the one-two punch of Back And Forth and A Matter Of Time, two songs which are very companions in themes and music, featuring quite happy atmospheres and tons of great riffs and musical nuances. I really love those two, and I always listen to them togheter. The album now gets a bit more serious with Miss The Misery, which is dramatic, and heavy too. But not quite as dramatic as I Should Have Known. I confess that if it weren’t for this song, this album would be much lower. With a participation by Krist Novoselich on the distorted bass solo, strings, and beautiful melodies, this song touches me a lot. It easily talks about Kurt, but it’s also relatable to other persons, as I see, and especially in this moment of my life, this is one of the songs that represents what’s happening best. Shivers and sometimes tears. The album’s lead single is strangely the last track, Walk. A great message of hope after the sad events in the previous track. This one is about Dave’s daughter I think. I always have a blast when I listen to this song, especially looking at the “I never wanna die” build up, that’s genius, once again.
Dave, Nate, Chris, Taylor, Pat and Rami. You make something so simple, but you made it so good, and since I don’t listen to a lot of simple music these days, you guys truly have something. From nothing. YOU ARE MY FUUUUSE
IT GOES OH OH OH
AAAAAAALL RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISEEEEEEE!!!!! *Holy diver riff*
Whoops, wrong album
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I really fucking don't want to like the Foo Fighters at all, but I must admit I like quite a few songs off of this. I thought Rope was awesome when I first heard it, and I guess it still is, I think the chorus lets it down, it's stock as fuck. Going through the tracklist, the songs aren't too bad. The thing that really gets my goad is the whole 'we're going back to basics' bullshit: moving hundreds of thousands of gear into your mansion to record with frickin Butch Vig at does not equal going back to basics, give me a fucking break.
For me the Foos died after One by One - the last album where they gave a fuck about stretching their limits and writing outside of the box. Nowadays they're modern rock/AOR (whatever you wanna call it)'s version of AC/DC. And some people love AC/DC. And that's ok.
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(https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/metallica/images/b/b4/...and_Justice_for_All_(album).jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120605072129)
#13: Metallica - ...And Justice For All
1988 - Kind of progressive thrash metal - California, USA
And here it is, still my favorite Metallica record, but upper this time in the actual list. And Justice For All has always been Metallica’s “Hemispheres”, meaning an album that was really proggy, and so overwhelming for the band that they decided to take a step back after its release (that step back being The Black Album), just like Rush did with Permanent Waves. It feels kinda strange talking about Rush and Metallica in the same sentence, those are two bands that I don’t see quite connected, although Kirk has admitted that Alex Lifeson was one of his biggest influences, and you can quite hear it actually. But anyways, onto the record.
This was the first album after Cliff Burton’s demise, in the latter part of 1986. It left an unerasable scar in the soul of the band, a scar that included of course agony and stuff, but also a lot of anger and repression. And where did they choose to let that anger out? Of course, on the album, pretty obvious, but there’s a not so obvious second answer. The new bassist. Jason Newsted was picked as Cliff’s follower, and he honestly already had a lot of pressure because of the shoes he had to fill; add the bitchy attitude of his new bandmates towards him, you now know why he left the band 14 years later. Although those are 14 years, I admit that the guy had a strong personality. One of the first few things they did to the poor guy, was almost eliminating what he had played on his first full length album with ‘Tallica, of course, And Justice For All. And it’s a fucking pity, because this album already kills on its own, but it would’ve been TEN THOUSAND times better with a proper audible bass. Poor Jason.
Blackened starts things off, as usual, with a bang. The song is fast at first, then goes through this interlude in mid tempo, to pick up fastly again at that insane guitar solo. Easily my favorite Metallica opener ever. It’s also full of proggy stuff like odd times and stuff like that. And Justice For All is up there in my top ten Metallica songs. This is one of the band’s longests tune, clocking in at 9 minutes and 47 seconds. Even though it’s a tad bit repetitive, it’s always kept interesting by those balls-to-the-wall groovy riffing and tempo changes. And one strong lyric message. Eye Of The Beholder is the least interesting for me, although it has a lot of cool vibes and a neat structure. Then there’s One, the perfect semi ballad in my opinion. It stays dark throughout, but it explores both sides of dark: light dark, and heavy dark. And the heavy dark is really unexpected and really HEAVY. MASSIVE. IMAGINE THAT RIFF WITH BASS. I’m sure that at the time, in the genre, this was the heaviest thing around. And the lyrics describe such a horrid picture of a living piece of meat ( a man with no limbs, mute and blind) , from his point of view. Gives me the creeps. The Shortest Straw, soundtrack of the best video ever (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCJajVY_ucI), is one of the most underrated Metallica songs out there. Seriously, this has a strong fun vibe, while still being angry and ballsy. I love the structure and it’s freaking fun to play on drums. Harvester Of Sorrow is another scarily heavy song, slow and menacing this time. Some of these riffs will haunt you in your dreams. I have really nothing more to say about this one, other than it’s really recommended. The Frayed Ends Of Sanity is the band’s most technical and proggy song. They never play this one live, they did only once, pretty recently actually. Full of strange time signatures, accent changes, and a long instrumental part, this song kinda feels part of Awake or something rather than a Metallica record :lol . To Live Is To Die is the band’s instrumental tribute to Cliff. Although it’s really great, it feels a bit draggy, and I actually prefer Orion to remember Cliff rather than this one. But it’s really touching at times, and you can feel how destroyed they were. The final arpeggio is interrupted by motherfucking Dyers Eve, Damage Incorporated’s little sister. A destructive song about the poor relationship between Hetfield and his parents, this one (thanks to its fast double bass) is a bitch to play, and so I never do. That doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy it because, OF COURSE I DO :metal
And Justice For All is something quite different for Metallica, and I’m glad they did it, even if the absence of bass is quite… present, in a sense. Hope they re-release it some day.
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killer album, great pick
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killer album, great pick
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Wait! What is this? A sudden revitalization of the Top 50s? Infact, three new lists are about to happen (Parama's happening), and we didn't even plan it this way :lol
The big question is: why was I gone?
Well, folks, the last portion of school for me (basically when I was writing the writeups for the remainder of the list) was probably the busiest time for me in a while. I didn't have the time to finish the list, and when I found the time, I had to start the roulette. Meanwhile, this list changed. Now that the roulette is over, and I have a lot less pressure on me (god bless summer holidays), I wanted you to see how it has changed. So behold
MikeMangioy's Top 50 albums v.2.... ...v.2!
Starting tomorrow, these blank spaces will be filled day by day with my favorite records in this particular moment of my life. Oh, and just don't bother considering the original v2. That was admittedly a rushed list, just pretend it didn't exist.
# 50: Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
# 49: Dream Theater - Dream Theater
# 48: Nirvana - In Utero
# 47: Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways
# 46: Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine
# 45: Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit
# 44: Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos
# 43: System Of A Down - Steal This Album
# 42: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
# 41: Opeth - Blackwater Park
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A bit late, but I'm really glad to see Fortress so high up, Cry of Achilles has by far my favorite intro's of their whole discography.
Hoping to see Blackbird even higher, though!
EDIT: wait, this is finished? where's 12-1?
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A bit late, but I'm really glad to see Fortress so high up, Cry of Achilles has by far my favorite intro's of their whole discography.
Hoping to see Blackbird even higher, though!
EDIT: wait, this is finished? where's 12-1?
I'm starting over, read my last post :biggrin:
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Yea I had already read it.
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What about a new post? :P
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(https://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/stevenwilson-gracefordrowning.jpg)
#50: Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
Progressive/experimental/pop/jazz rock - 2011
This reboot starts off with a DTF fan-favorite (warning: this list is full of 'em).
Steven Wilson is a british singer-songwriter. The man, in his 25 (and more) years of career has created music for various projects, ending up being mostly known thanks to the band Porcupine Tree. After the band was put on hiatus, Steven began focusing more on his solo career (one album had already came out at this point, 'Insurgentes') - and this album right here was the first product post-Porcupine Tree that Steven gave to us.
Grace For Drowning is a very strange record. It has both some of the most beautiful and gorgeous songs that Steven ever wrote, like Deform To Form A Star or Postcard, and the most haunting and creepy songs. With no space in between. There are literally just these two moods (both are very jazz-influenced though) so it is a very strange type of album. It's also a double album containing 12 songs, for a total of one hour and twenty-two minutes of music, which can be quite long to listen to in one sitting. But thankfully, each song is brilliant and stands on its own - for instance we have the aforementioned Deform To Form A Star, a gorgeous ballad that puts a huge smile on my face, Sectarian and Remainder The Black Dog, two eerie jazzy instrumentals (aside from a few verses in the latter), Index, one of the most known SW solo tracks, and to add a touch of "In Absentiality", Raider II, a 25-minute long song, about a serial killer named Dennis Rader, who truly exists. Raider II is probably Steven's creepiest track both as a solo artist and as a band member. That shit's intense.
So, Grace For Drowning is for sure a great album, well written, well performed (just to name a few of the session members: Pat Mastelotto, Jordan Rudess, Tony Levin, Steve Hackett) but if you're not in the right mood, it might drag. But it can also be fun to listen to, thanks to the cool jazz elements in it.
Recommended tunes: Deform To Form A Star (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En9ibmBvPJI) Remainder The Black Dog (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjwPt1eNF9A) Index (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PuSd1liCuE) (watch the live version.. it's better IMO than the studio) Raider II (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wt4HP61tEg).
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No replies make me a :sadpanda:
But let's move on!
(https://metalitalia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dream-theater-dream-theater-2013.jpg)
#49: Dream Theater - Dream Theater
Progressive metal - 2013
Dream Theater's latest effort is a solid record, IMO the best one since Octavarium. After a couple of overly metal releases, one drummer quitting and a good enough album, DT returned to their relatively top game (I say relatively, because their top game is so top that it can't just be reached that easily) with their self-titled release.
This was the first album to be released after I became a fan, so I spent the entire summer of 2013 building up and waiting with an exciting anticipation to hear the new tracks from my new heroes. They delivered. For me, at least they did.
After an album like BC&SL, where out of 6 tracks only 2 were less than ten minutes long (and one of 'em was 8, so yeah), this time the band decided to step back, and write material under the ten minutes mark, making the music more focused and concise. Each song develops one style of the band's songwriting, but keeps evolving their sound, even if it doesn't seem like that. That's because of Mike Mangini finally writing along with the rest of the guys. And I honestly can hear the differences from Portnoy quite well, actually. The thing is, the production is muddy, so you can't quite hear what the hell Mangini is doing behind that monstrous kit. He's reiventing the approach to drumming, adding the melodic element to it, while still remaining both quite groovy (as groovy as MM can get, which is not that much :lol) and technical as hell. All the other guys are on fire as well, especially John Myung, which is more present this time around.
The album, as I said, represents the band quite good with each song: we have the heavy stuff, found in songs like The Enemy Inside and Behind The Veil, the more melodic side of things, with songs such as The Looking Glass and Surrender To Reason, two great ballads: The Bigger Picture and Along For The Ride and, of course, the obligatory (not really, but the last three albums excluding ADTOE had them) epic: Illumination Theory. This track is a modern masterpiece for the band. Fun, experimental and moving. Great stuff. As a bonus, the first instrumental in 10 years (let's pretend that Raw Dog didn't happen), Enigma Machine, which is okay. Admittedly a bit underwhelming. But okay nevertheless.
Overall, it might not be a masterpiece or anything, but it surely is a good damn album in my book and one that will stay with me for long, since it's gonna be my first memory of Dream Theater as an active band.
Recommended tunes, even though you should know this album pretty well, what the hell, we're on the band's forums: The Looking Glass (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cf1CF6Avvc) The Bigger Picture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpgNV4Nvetg) Behind The Veil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlOxJ7KW4dA) Along For The Ride (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp85GgcyESs) Illumination Theory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFMDGSWhHbo)
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Imma gonna follow this.
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I have to say I never listened to Grace For Drowning even though I love last two Steven's solo albums and Insurgentes is good, too. Nothing to say about Dream Theater's self-titled, it's probably my 6th favorite DT's (still great).
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Grace for Drowning is an album I am very indifferent towards, and DT12 is one of my least favorite albums from the band, probably one of the least favorite that I own period too :lol
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Grace for Drowning took some time to click on me, but when it did... Damn, what a fantastic record.
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I've never head anything from Steven Wilson, but that Index live video you posted was mindblowing. Definitely gonna have to check out that album.
As for DT12, it's one of my least favourite DT albums and I don't think it will ever grow on me.
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I've never head anything from Steven Wilson, but that Index live video you posted was mindblowing. Definitely gonna have to check out that album.
Yeah man, Steven's discography is just mindblowing. Check it out!
(https://elpomusic.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/nirvana_in_utero_front.jpg?w=627)
#48: Nirvana - In Utero
Grunge/Alternative rock - 1994
Out of all the famous rock bands out there, Nirvana has to be my favorite. Even though you see lots of people with Nirvana t-shirts around, and usually these people only know about Smells Like Teen Spirit (if they know about it) and that kind of pisses me off, because yeah, SLTS is great and all that but... they are truly missing out on a lot. Nevermind alone has tons of amazing songs other than that one, Bleach is filled with pure dirty grunge stuff, that might be not as appealing as Nevermind it is amazing nontheless. But I feel that In Utero is my favorite Nirvana record because it's the most varied one and the one I feel that represents the band better.
In these twelve tracks we have a wide variety of styles of Nirvana music. Pop-sounding hard rock pieces, like Rape Me, Pennyroyal Tea and Serve The Servants, moments of pure emotion in the ballads Heart Shaped Box, Dumb and All Apologies. The latter is one of my favorite ballads of all times, and one that never fails in delivering shivers, especially when you look at the lyrics and you see what happened to Kurt six months later. The other tracks are all unfairly underrated - we're talking about masterpieces like Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter and my personal favorite Nirvana song, Very Ape. That piece is very short but has quite the energy. And I have always lots of fun listening to it, and playing it live too (I'm in a Nirvana tribute band). There are also three of the most batshit insane songs you'll ever hear, Milk It, tourette's and Scentless Apprentice. I'll just leave the link under here so you can feel free to check 'em out because.. it's quite a trip ;D
In Utero is always a pleasant listen and will forever remain in my heart as the testament for a band that was short-lived, but left a lot in the end.
Recommended songs: Serve The Servants (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJft6_5hlGo) Scentless Apprentice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyxoQIQaogE) Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZgtMchcOy0)
Very Ape (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91yrS5PUJBY) Milk It (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in58wtVI9sI) tourette's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L117jPuQ0qg) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFVQpDKHk4)
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Milk It and Scentless Apprentice are awesome songs. I love Grohl's pre-chorus double bass beat (at least I think it's double bass, from memory) on SA.
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Great to see In Utero, pretty underrated to Nevermind..
As for DT12, took some time to grow on me, but in its entirety it now is probably one of my favorites, love every single song on it.
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I love Grohl's pre-chorus double bass beat (at least I think it's double bass, from memory) on SA.
They're eighth notes, so it sounds like double bass, but it isn't, Dave never used any.
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I really dislike Nirvana, so I can't comment on this. I've never enjoyed listening to any other song other than Smells Like Teen Spirit from them.
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I really dislike Nirvana, so I can't comment on this. I've never enjoyed listening to any other song other than Smells Like Teen Spirit from them.
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I enjoy this record more than Nevermind, just for its rawness as opposed to that particular record. It amazes me how you can really spot how the band is the love child of *insert punk band here* and The Beatles, it really shows in Kurts attention to melody, and the simpleness of some of the songs.
What do you play in the tribute act, mikemangioy?
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Curious fact: Cobain's favorite album is King Crimson's Red.
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Like most people, Cobain had different favourite albums at different times. I’ve read tons of apparent favourite albums of his over the years - albums by The Melvins and The Pixies, for example.
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What do you play in the tribute act, mikemangioy?
I am Dave Grohl. I wish. But I kinda look like him, so :lol
Speaking of which:
(https://designenvy.aiga.org/wp-content/plugins/designenvy/curator_submissions/post/11575/FooFighters_Album8_Cover_l.jpg)
#47: Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways
Rock, 2014
This isn't necessarily my favorite FF record, but damn we all have to admit that they went above and beyond the "concept" record.
Sonic Highways is an album that narrates throughout 8 songs, the musical history of 8 cities in the USA. Now, the songs aren't that different from the usual Foo Fighters tunes, but there's just this thing about them. They sound very important, because they carry the weight of an entire history of musicians, songs, bands, records of their respective city. And when you look at the documentary that came with the record, you really understand how big of a thing this is. I really understood that in the end, music is the thing that unites us humans the most (well, more art in general, but still) and when each episode of the documentary ended, I just had this big grin on my face.
At the end of the last episode for the song I Am A River (it aired at New Year's Eve in Italy, so it was even more sappy for me) I think I cried a bit. Because it's just that overwhelming to me.
Eight cities, eight rock-as-hell tunes, the Foos even had some experimentation in structure and composition in songs as Something From Nothing, which starts off very quiet and builds throughout its 5 minutes up until Dave's scream which ignites a headbanging fest, Congregation with some devil pickin' provided by Zach Brown (a guest musician featured on this track), a two part song: What Did I Do?/God As My Witness but most of all, the two ending tracks which are just beautiful. Subterranean is about starting over after Nirvana for Dave (this was recorded in Seattle), and it has ambient patches, acoustic guitars, e-bows and all that ethereal stuff, and I Am A River, a very anthemic close to this album.
98% of the time, I always say that it's just about the music, in the end. This is not the case. It's about the whole thing.
Recommended tunes: Something From Nothing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_YlZ1JdcVk) Outside (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV7c6ThfXvs) Subterranean (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze5hzWWBrEY)
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Never cared too much to check some Nirvana or Foo Fighters albums but I should. Who knows, maybe I'll like it (but I'm not sure about Nirvana, don't like that style)
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don't dig what i know from this record.
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Eeeeh. Same thing as Nirvana here. I just don't appreciate Grohl's music I guess.
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Unfollowing.
:neverusethis:
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I liked Sonic Highways, I almost consider putting it in my top 50 when I get the crack at it, but I feel like there are better albums from Foo Fighters for me to pick. That stated, they still have some good songs in Sonic Highways. Really enjoyed and can relate to Congregation. Outside is solid and I Am A River, instrumentally, was really good. The problem with I Am A River, though, was that Dave ran out of things to say and just stated "I Am A River" on and on for the last half of the song which dragged what could have been a big magnum opus for them to just merely good/great stuff.
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GFD is a great choice, no doubt.
While I probably liked DT12 more than some, I don't see it as being up on a top 50 list. Good album, but still a few other DT albums I'd put above it.
Never been too into Nirvana, and Foo Fighters is great but Sonic Highways felt really flat for me. Didn't really dig it at all.
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The problem with I Am A River, though, was that Dave ran out of things to say and just stated "I Am A River" on and on for the last half of the song which dragged what could have been a big magnum opus for them to just merely good/great stuff.
I agree on that one. They started it off so well, but then the infinite chorus kicked in. Oh well, the song is wonderful nevertheless.
(https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/lyricwiki/images/e/ef/Devin_Townsend_-_Ocean_Machine-_Biomech.png/revision/latest?cb=20090103143954)
#46: Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech
Progressive rock/metal, 1997
This man is a genious. One of the two contemporary genius that made masterful music nonstop for 25 years never failing. I really look up to Devin and his work, but also as a person and his attitude towards life. The man is unstoppable, he's working on a symphony but he also wrote an entire album as well. And wrote a book. With an unplugged CD as a bonus. Jeez.
This is Dev's first solo record, after starting off with his career with Strapping Young Lad. It's very different from his work in that band because SYL was extremely heavy and hard-hitting and chaotic, whilst this is a very calm, dense and grand piece of music. The whole album is drenched in ambient patches which make it sound really full and almost "alive" in a sense. The title says it all - "Ocean Machine", and as somebody said on this forum, it really sounds like an ocean.
This record does a really good job in the tracklist, alternating easy-listening songs like "Life" or "Regulator", to atmospherice suites such as the Sister/3 A.M./Voices In The Fan succession or the epic fan favorite Funeral/Bastard. When I saw that he played those songs at the Royal Albert Hall show, I was so happy. The album closes with "The Death Of Music" which is this minimalistic electronic piece, with a few verses and one hell of a build up in the choruses. Devin is one of the most mind blowing vocalists today, and he was even back in the day, listen to this track and you'll know why. Shivers, shivers everywhere.
So yeah, the whole album feels like this big trip inside of the ocean, and it's pretty consistent and feels like one big thing. You gotta be in the mood though, in the mood for calm but still heavy, grand but still simple.. until the final three tracks arrive, and then you have to be ready to get your mind blown.
One of the things I'm most arfraid of is deep sea, but if the ocean is like Ocean Machine, I think I'd live in it.
Recommended songs: Life (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z_UJ0_biJw) Hide Nowhere (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj2EzOurU7Y) Regulator (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMdlsMuKODs) Bastard (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq0cS_9dfDg) The Death Of Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDm8VrFrUf0)
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>recommended songs
>no funeral
:'(
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Just for ya :heart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wWuun-adj0)
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I think Ocean Machine is an overrated album. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy it a lot but I wouldn't put it anywhere Devin's top 3.
Life is like the worst track off it though. Why are Night, Things Beyond Things and Seventh Wave not in the recommended songs? :justjen
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I think Ocean Machine is an overrated album. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy it a lot but I wouldn't put it anywhere Devin's top 3.
Life is like the worst track off it though. Why are Night, Things Beyond Things and Seventh Wave not in the recommended songs? :justjen
Agree with the first paragraph - used to be my fav Devin album, but not since I listened to Ghost, Addicted, and Epicloud.
Really disagree with the last one tho. Life is bae <3 but Seventh Wave and Night are great too. Things beyond things is a meh bonus track. Also, he can only give so many recommendations per album :P
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Things beyond things is a meh bonus track.
It's my favourite off the album. :'(
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Things Beyond Things is #3 on the album for me (Funeral and Death of Music are #2 and #1, respectively)
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I don't think it's a bad track, but it doesn't really standout imo. Also, the scream at the end is ridiculous :lol
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everyone is nuts about this guy on this forum, I really should have a listen sometime but I'm like do you even Kayo Dot? DO YOU EVEN MAUDLIN OF THE WELL?!
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everyone is nuts about this guy on this forum, I really should have a listen sometime
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4kFWzCS-tUk/VXq13Y013iI/AAAAAAAAL3s/TGGDFyVxEsU/s640/Shia-LaBeouf-do-it-shias-everywhere-animated.gif)
Also, guys, the recommended songs are just my favorites, simple as that!
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81luHxSnemL.png)
#45: Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit
Progressive Metal, 2012
This is the debut (and so far, only) album for the german band Beyond The Bridge. The guys play some extremely well-produced classic prog metal, with callbacks from Dream Theater, Pain Of Salvation, Riverside and other good prog metal acts in the scene. It's nothing new, but it's done so well that you forget about that.
The thing that differs Beyond The Bridge from the rest of the bands though, is that they have two singers: a male (Herbie Langhans) and a female (Dilenya Mar). This opens up new ways of delivering melody and lyrics, and they had the perfect chance of doing a concept album, because each of them could play a character. And infact...
The Old Man And The Spirit is a story about this person, who is at the end of his life and is obsessed by basically the questions at the beginning of The Spirit Carries On (Where did we come from, why are we here, where do we go when we die, what lies beyond, and what lived before, is there anything certain in life - basically) and so he is desperately searching for answers (as we hear in the opening track The Call), until a spirit arrives in the song The Apparition, and she says that if the man wants to know these things she can show him, but she has to erase all his memories in order to do it. It's a good story, and you get lots of emotion in the vocal tracks. The songs are all great, from the openers, The Call and The Apparition, to the ballads, the best one is Where The Earth And Sky Meet, the sonic destruction of Doorway To Salvation and The Struggle (the vocal game in this one is strong), up until the emotional finale, in All A Man Can Do. Songwriting is great, concept is great, production is awesome, this makes for a great record to hear if you are a prog metal fan.
Recommended songs: The Call (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPNW8o3WSU) Doorway To Salvation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEeHInxdgWU&index=9&list=PLH_nGHrsKuslojGb4WDFay8Q7VAzFLPjF) The Struggle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD2uzpZDLJE&index=5&list=PLH_nGHrsKuslojGb4WDFay8Q7VAzFLPjF) Where The Earth And Sky Meet (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a28Lg8DD9kg&index=3&list=PLH_nGHrsKuslojGb4WDFay8Q7VAzFLPjF) All A Man Can Do (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g79F1WND5AU&index=8&list=PLH_nGHrsKuslojGb4WDFay8Q7VAzFLPjF)
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I think Ocean Machine is an overrated album. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy it a lot but I wouldn't put it anywhere Devin's top 3.
Life is like the worst track off it though. Why are Night, Things Beyond Things and Seventh Wave not in the recommended songs? :justjen
Agree with the first paragraph - used to be my fav Devin album, but not since I listened to Ghost, Addicted, and Epicloud.
Really disagree with the last one tho. Life is bae <3 but Seventh Wave and Night are great too. Things beyond things is a meh bonus track. Also, he can only give so many recommendations per album :P
You guys are crazy (IMO ;D )... Ocean Machine is definitely one of his top albums. It's probably some of his best song writing on the whole as an album. All his material tends to go in different directions but this is one of the albums of his which somewhat incorporates all of Devin. :metal
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everyone is nuts about this guy on this forum, I really should have a listen sometime but I'm like do you even Kayo Dot? DO YOU EVEN MAUDLIN OF THE WELL?!
Bath is brilliant. Have a listen sometime.
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It's probably some of his best song writing on the whole as an album
Deconstruction says hello. :metal
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It's probably some of his best song writing on the whole as an album
Deconstruction says hello. :metal
Decon is kinda chaos and heaviness from the top to the end, really - Ocean Machine is more complete in that sense.
Pardon me while I'm being slightly controversial...
(https://faq.dtnorway.com/attachments/systematic_chaos_final.jpg)
#44: Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos
Progressive Metal, 2007
Screw everybody, this album is fun. That's why I put it here. It's definitely not one of DT's best, but it's the one that I always come back to because of that. It's fun to play, fun to listen to and just outright heavy and balls-to-the wall. That's all there is to say about this.
Every song is memorable and when you have In The Presence Of Enemies in your album, you can't help but win. Every twist and turn, unnecessary or not, make me appreciate this record so much that it's not even fair to some other records such as Images And Words. Vastly superior to this product of the over-the-top-iness but doesn't put a smile on my face as much as this record does.
Recommended songs: Lol u joking right
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i still loathe TDEN and most of the album isn't that special to me, but it was one of the more accessible albums at least :lol
Repentance and The Ministry of Lost Souls are pretty great, ItPoE isn't awful but I'm never compelled to listen to it much, Constant Motion the same, ehh
putting this above Ocean Machine is silly to me though :rollin
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I actually really dig this album compared to most people on DTF.
The only track off the album I dislike is TMOLS. Every other track is killer. :metal
I doubt it would make my top 50 if I made one though. There are still like 5 DT albums I enjoy more.
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everyone is nuts about this guy on this forum, I really should have a listen sometime but I'm like do you even Kayo Dot? DO YOU EVEN MAUDLIN OF THE WELL?!
Bath is brilliant. Have a listen sometime.
Oh I totally agree, and know it back to front ;)
SC and BCSL are two DT albums everybody seems to dislike compared to the latest two, but I think they're vastly superior.
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This album has some great tunes, and it's lots of fun in genreal, but I prefer like 6 DT albums to it :P
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SC is like 4th to last, BC&SL is 3rd, ADTOE is 6th or 7th overall prob, WDADU and DT12 switch from worst and 2nd worst depending on how tolerant I am of 80's on a particular day.
i think i've said my album listing like a thousand times so everyone will know what's coming when i first have a DT album come up in my list :lol
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(https://covers3.img-themusic-world.info/000/13/13752.jpg)
#43: System Of A Down - Steal This Album!
Alternative Metal, 2002
System Of A Down are this crazy american band, with armenian origins. The band plays this strange kind of metal, psychedelic but harsh, sweet but insane - they're just all over the place. The band started with the most batshit insane stuff with their debut album, then took a more "normal" route with their latest albums, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, but it truly is Steal This Album that has the most variety, and is the most complete album to represent SOAD well.
Infact, there are insane songs: Chic N' Stu with its psychotic vocals about consumism, I-E-A-I-A-I-O with some incredibly fast toungetwisters, Pictures with a silly marching rhythm and Fuck The System, literally a fucked up song. But there's also the bright side of things with melodic, shiver-inducing songs: Innervision, Mr. Jack, Highway Song, Ego Brain, the beautiful acoustic Roulette and Streamline. Not to mention the anti-war anthem Boom! that is one of my top ten SOAD tracks. The rest of the tracks are both heavy and melodic, a perfect balance.
If you were to start with SOAD, start with this one and Toxicity, just because the latter is a classic and Steal This Album is a perfect representation of the band. Also, this is the first record that I ever bought with my own money, so it has a personal value to it.
Underrated, great album that everybody should give a chance to.
Recommended songs: Chic N' Stu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfHGqyMxuqI) Innervision (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NklhTCw1TiA) Boom! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVlSuVNkshE) A.D.D. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0Xwgo2v24E) Mr. Jack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uUruXmq_Kc) I-E-A-I-A-I-O (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38yhKhGGPJs) Highway Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtcHwr7K-2c) Fuck The System (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu_VuxWCYhQ) Thetawaves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFCQtrkRZoE) Roulette (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrazhpsuYLc) Streamline (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XNUIFfM9Us)
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YES!!! My 2nd favorite SOAD album, and most definitely worth a spot in the top 50, Roulette, Innervision and I-E-A-I-A-I-O are the best.
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The only SOAD album I listen to as a whole is Toxicity, but I know Innervision and I-E-A-I-A-I-O off this album. Have to listen to the whole album sometime when I'm in the mood for something crazy.
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(https://www.sonicabuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/deadwing.jpg)
#42: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
Progressive Rock/Metal, 2005
Porcupine Tree is one of the Wilson's products, and notably his most famous and well recognized. The band started off in the 90s providing some serious psychedelic and space rock soundscapes, went on in the latter part of the decade to more of a pop/alternative rock period, with the albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun (directly below this one in my rating) and in the 2000s developed a heavier, more focused sound, and this is the second album of that period: Deadwing.
Significantly lighter than its predecessor In Absentia, Deadwing presents a melanchonic yet dreamy atmosphere, provided by the concept of this album: ghosts. This was actually gonna be a movie, but then Steve ended up not finishing the script. This album also does a relatively good sum-up of the history of the band, providing psychedelia, in pieces like Glass Arm Shattering, or the first portion of Arriving Somewhere... But Not Here (probably my favorite PT song), pop singer-songwriter sensibilities in Lazarus, and just straight off kickassery in songs like Shallow, Halo and Open Car. The melodies in this record are just beautiful, and very well written and the production is masterful, too. What the hell, we're talking about Steven Wilson here. But also the other guys: Richard Barbieri and his textures, Colin Edwin and those damn tasty bass lines and Gavin Harrison. A drum god. Period.
Recommended songs: Shallow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_8UmXv5Xac) Halo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcrWM1pHuJE) Arriving Somewhere... But Not Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbWhpfXisZw) Mellotron Scratch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag2zXiiuF5Q) Open Car (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvpVyziILlM) The Start Of Something Beautiful (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pitwR8jPd_M)
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Finally something I like :tup
Album without fillers IMO. Mellotron Scratch is one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard, Arriving Somewhere is something special, too. Also, Lazarus will always have special place in my heart, being song that get me into PT and persuaded to check other songs/albums (along with Trains).
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Great álbum.
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Deadwing is a fantastic album.
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(https://direct-ns.rhap.com/imageserver/v2/albums/Alb.58921569/images/500x500.jpg)
#41: Opeth - Blackwater Park
Progressive Death Metal, 2001
Opeth are well-acclaimed by the whole world of metal. Before becoming the 70s revival band that they are today, the style that made the band famous is blending together death metal and progressive metal, creating a whole menacing, distorted and eerie vibe, but with cool twists, and long songs, and concepts and an extremely well done fluent songwriting, which in Blackwater Park shines.
Blackwater Park is the peak of the perfect "Progressive Death" concept. It's neither too progressive, nor too death metal. The songs all near the ten minutes in length (three of them exceed it) and they all feel very adventorous and exceptionally eerie. Opeth are really capable of creating this atmosphere which is absolutely almost concrete, when I listen to Opeth I can actually feel the coldness, and it's almost like winter is raging upon me. Wow, that sounds black metal.
With that said, there's not really a song to mention apart from the others, because admittedly the album is all samey, but my two favorite tracks are Bleak, which features Steven Wilson on vocals, a song that is perfectly balanced between acoustic and destructive powers (and the transitions are all perfect), and Blackwater Park, one of the best dark songs ever written in history.
If you haven't given a chance to this album, what the hell are you doing here.
Recommended songs: The Leper Affinity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ppq3u66_xs) Bleak (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oWhkjQWE24) The Drapery Falls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIkTFGySF3w) Blackwater Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1KPqet74EI)
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Awesome album, one of Opeth's best. Like you said, that transition in Bleak is perfect. I think when I first heard it I knew clean vocals will kick in just by change of key :D
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Too low!
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Good album, but I prefer Damnation way more ;D
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I can comment Deadwing now :lol
I disagree that Deadwing is a lighter album than In Absentia, the only really heavy songs on the latter are Blackest Eyes (not that heavy), Gravity Eyelids (but only for part of it), Wedding Nails, Creator, and Strip the Soul (again only part of it) and none of them are as heavy as the heavy stuff on Deadwing. Shallow, Halo, the instrumental of Arriving Somewhere, Open Car... all sound heavier to me :lol
to be fair Porcupine Tree never really gets that heavy to begin with, compared to prog metal bands, or especially compared to Opeth, so
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It's a relatively heavy thing, Parama :lol
(https://www.tampabay.com/resources/images/dti/rendered/2015/07/lat_muse072615_15574053_8col.jpg)
#40: Muse - Drones
Alternative/Hard/Progressive Rock, 2015
Muse are a band that I've always admired because they are really creative in what they do, and very eclectic, but they are also one of the most popular rock bands globally right now. That lightens my heart.
With Drones, the band has decided to take a step back from the previous albums, that heavily featured keyboards, electronica and orchestras, to deliver a more stripped-down release, with most of the song being just the three of them playing. Well, did it work?
We have an album that has some of the best songs in ten years for the band, songs like The Handler or motherfucking Reapers, easily in the top ten best Muse song, even top five. It's just that good. But then you also have a lot of fun stuff in the album, with songs like Psycho, Revolt and Defector. The band also did not seem to forget their symphonic influence that much, when you look at The Globalist, 10 minutes of strings and pianos, with 2 of 'em being a heavy 7-string riff that builds up to the world destruction. Yeah, did I talk about the concept?
This is Muse's first actual concept record, talking about a man selling himself to the army and becoming a drone operator. After a while he realizes that he's being controlled and that he was the actual drone, so he escapes and sets himself free. But then there's a twist. I see many personal connections in this story, so this album feels important to me, and also because it reminds me of the beginning of this summer which was some of the best times of my life so far. Infact, that's why it's so high. And, that's why Drones always puts a smile on my face.
Recommended songs: Mercy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj8Xpdx60Ws) Reapers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcNEC9NaJuE) The Handler (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF1DQr5dKW8) Aftermath (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bfPp3DMviw) The Globalist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MNy_LbBVs0)
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:tup Drones is an amazing album that would definitely make my top 50. Though I'm not a fan of Mercy, it seems like a Starlight rehash to me. Dead Inside should be in there.
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Yeah, I quite liked Drones. Dead Inside, Mercy, Reapers, Revolt, and Defector are my favorites from it. Will probably crack my fave five albums of the year.
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(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516AcgpcunL.jpg)
#39: Rammstein - Liebe Ist Für Alle Da
Groove/Industrial Metal, 2009
Rammstein are kind of "the ugly duckling" in the list. Really guys, a german-singing dance metal band? That sounds pretty trash. But they do it so well, that I don't even care. Even though I introduce this like 'em, this album is not dance metal, it is infact from their latest period which aims towards a more straight metal, groove with industrial influences from their past.
Precisely, we're talking about the band's latest album "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da". Let's go track by track this time:
Rammlied opens the album with this ominous songs about (not kidding) the return of Rammstein. It sounds really pretentious, but that's what I like about it. It's like a march of war, and manages to sound very creepy actually. Ich Tu Dir Weh features a simple, but heavy riff with morbid lyrics about torturing a band - this is easily one of Rammstein's most explicit songs, but funnily it has the simplest and cleanest of their music videos. Hah. It's also pretty catchy. Waidmanns Heil is a hymn to hunting, it's a very fun song with an anthemic chorus that will stuck with you by the time you listen to it just once. Haifisch is a triplet feel song, with a slight jazz influence (featuring brass) - this song is notable for its music video that makes sense only if you saw the other music videos by the band. Truly a work of art. B******* and Weiner Blut are the meanest songs on the record, being both dark and heavy with Till Lindemann's voice being exceptionally low and menacing, but those two tracks are separated by Frühling In Paris, easily my favorite Rammstein ballad, with a hugely emotional chorus in french. I really love it. It sounds huge and epic. We have then probably the most known song, for all the wrong reasons (lol porn), Pussy. The negative thing is that they abused of this song for promoting the record, infact the deluxe edition of the album, for no reason whatsoever, comes with dildo molds of Rammstein's penises. Yes, you read that right. Well, the song? It's not bad, but easily my least favorite in the album. The title-track, though, oh my god. This song is one of my top Rammstein's and I just love everything about it: the stop-and-go riff, the amazing chorus, the emotion, the vocals - a good damn song. The final two tracks are also great, Mehr and Roter Sand, the former being this strange atonal bipolar thing, and Roter Sand having a symphonic influence.
Overall, this album flows very well and it's a very fun listen. Also, best Till Lindemann performance.
Recommended songs: Rammlied (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DESWPAY_TiI) Ich Tu Dir Weh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r52A0LAkmzM) Weidmanns Heil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvZ2v22PIOo) B******** (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7hUknBR_Nw) Frühling In Paris (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSyB3Tew87s) Wiener Blut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ3XkQ5D9ss) Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5wvv4pQ7rM)
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Great album. I remember being disappointed at the release, but it's grown on me a lot.
You should check out the bonus disc if you haven't already - Donaukinder, Halt and Führe mich are all excellent - the former two would definitely be in my Top 5 of this album.
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Rammstein is the band that got me into rock and metal. It's one of my top 5 bands.
LIFAD is my least favourite Rammstein album though. I really liked it when it came out, but it's aged pretty badly compared to Rosenrot, Reise Reise and Herzeleid.
Frühling in Paris is probably my least favourite Rammstein ballad. Roter Sand does it much better.
You should check out the bonus disc if you haven't already - Donaukinder, Halt and Führe mich are all excellent - the former two would definitely be in my Top 5 of this album.
Agree with this 100%.
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Also, while I understand not liking it, Pussy wins points for sheer ridiculousness. It's still a weaker song, but no song with the line "Blitzkrieg mit dem Fleischgewehr" can be all bad - at the very least, it always makes me grin.
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Also, while I understand not liking it, Pussy wins points for sheer ridiculousness. It's still a weaker song, but no song with the line "Blitzkrieg mit dem Fleischgewehr" can be all bad - at the very least, it always makes me grin.
Oh, absolutely. My critique is towards the abuse of it being in the record :biggrin: Overall it's a fun song.
I will check out the bonus tracks!
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Actually, while I'm at it - have a bonus entry:
(https://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/2014/22934-shiny-eyed-babies.jpg)
#38: Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies
Art/Pop/Soul/Prog rock, 2014
This is the smallest band in the list, in terms of success. This group of Berklee students last year came up with their second record, Shiny Eyed Babies, and brought something really new and creative to the table.
Bent Knee have this amazing musicianship which they use to make simple pop/soul songs turned into epic pieces of shivering musical goodness. And I am not kidding, each song in the album is like that. From the most simple piano ballad, to the most eccentric thing, like the opener (after the short intro) Way Too Long. A sharp electricity and raw energy infects that song, and being the first one I've ever heard from the guys (and gals), it truly left an open scar and an unborn love for the group, which I carried on up until two months ago, when I decided that it was time to explore.
The record has some brilliant songwriting and musicianship, but the true best moments are the build-ups. The build ups are so intense, and the release is even more intense, and the music is really capable of using Courtney Swain's vocals perfectly even when she turns into a demon, like at the end of Sunshine, a deceiving ballad. Other great tracks are In God We Trust, Skin (just puts an insane smile on my face), Battle Creek, which really provides a dramatic picturesque type of vibe, and my personal favorite track, Being Human. There's no way to describe it, just listen to it and be amazed.
Please, please, please give these guys a listen. They are amazing and deserve a lot of credit for what they do and what they did.
Recommended songs: Way Too Long (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBiou4xCvNw) In God We Trust (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPnP8O0Euhg) Battle Creek (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBszXDyMYhs) Sunshine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv8aTTQN47Y) Skin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N-ZtBPcq9g) Being Human (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCU_lScCpAM)
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i went and forgot all about drones the moment I got any other new music beside it, I guess i'm just lame :lol
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One of the best albums of last year :hefdaddy
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(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51N5xokVKiL.jpg)
#37: Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
Progressive rock/metal, 2002
Another entry from Porcupine Tree here, this is kind of their breakthrough album. After a pretty happy album like Lightbulb Sun, the band decided to change completely direction, and get darker and darker and darker, starting exploring metal territories and, hell, even picked up a new drummer: Gavin Harrison. One of my drum heroes.
So yeah, In Absentia features some of the most dark and depressing material by the band, and given that it's a concept about criminals, sex addicts, rapists, necrophiliacs, shameful killers, the music fits the theme pretty well.
Even though it might deceive you with the first two tracks, Blackest Eyes and Trains (what a combo to open a record), which are pretty happy, the rest of the record is pretty "foggy", dark and brooding. Lips Of Ashes is one of the creepiest song that Steven ever wrote, if you haven't heard it, I'll let you discover why when you listen to it. Gravity Eyelids, Strip The Soul are incredibly dark too, while The Creator Has A Mastertape and Wedding Nails have this frantic nature to them. Let's not forget that we're talking about a Steven Wilson production, so feels have to be in there. Yep: Heart Attack In A Lay-by and Collapse The Light Into Earth are there for you, get your tissues.
This is a modern classic, one that everybody should hear at least once.
Recommended songs: Blackest Eyes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh9osYZNilU) Trains (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UHwkfhwjsk) The Sound Of Muzak (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp0OXICuZek) Wedding Nails (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeIQvxSS2M8) Strip The Soul (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M08xwotJrT4)
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Still can't believe Drown With Me wasn't originally included on the tracklist. Easily top 3 song of the album.
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(https://www.planckmachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Pink-floyd-cover-1.gif)
#36: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Progressive Rock, 1975
This is another prog rock classic, from a classic band. Wish You Were Here provides with its four songs (five considering Shine On You Crazy Diamond as two songs) a melancholic vibe, filled with amazing production and new sound experimented by the band. We open (and close) with an epic song that will forever remain in history I fear, then there's the sad Welcome To The Machine (the title fits with all the synths in this song), that is the ballad of the album along with the title-track, which is another historic piece of music. The other song, Have A Cigar, is nice, fun and groovy.
The theme of this album are the music industry and absence, specifically Syd Barrett's absence from the group. Ironically he came to visit during the recordings, so the album about his absence is the album where he's more present after his departure.
Wish You Were Here is without a doubt, a shining classic and one that everybody should know by heart and praise for its immense glory. Maybe I exaggerated but, what the hell.
Recommended songs: Since it's a flowing concept record, you should really check out the whole thing.
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My favorite by PF and it would surely be even higher on my list. I was so surprised when I so documentary about this album on (croatian) national TV few weeks ago, I recommend it to everyone who likes this album.
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Best album ever, my #1.
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i'm a freaking lamer who doesn't have any pink floyd on his list, but this and animals just barely missed the cut
i'm probably going to do an honorable mentions post before i get to my top three because there's so much stuff that missed the cut and there's a few albums on my list that probably shouldn't quite have made the cut anyways :lol
great album though :tup
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(https://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140612130448/lyricwiki/images/3/3b/Rush_-_Permanent_Waves.jpg)
#35: Rush - Permanent Waves
Progressive Rock, 1980
This is another album from the classic succession of albums, this time though, by a canadian trio, one of my all time favorites: Rush. There's no need to introduce them since they are so highly-regarded on this forum, so let's dive in what is exactly Permanent Waves.
After getting more and more complex, the band decided to take a step back in terms of arrangements, providing shorter pieces of music, but still pretty intricate and coherent to what they were. I find that doing that can be difficult, infact coming off Hemispheres, which had 4 tracks in 35 minutes, this one has 7 in 35 minutes. And oh God, are they great tracks.
From the classics The Spirit Of Radio and Freewill, which features signature riffs and rhythms by the band, to the most complicated and complex tunes, like Permanent Waves and Jacob's Ladder, which takes you on a journey through the clouds, quite literally, thanks to its dramatic atmospheres and menacing sounding drums (easily one of my favorite Rush songs), this album here is timeless. Truly a must-listen for any prog fan.
Recommended songs: The Spirit Of Radio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq-UsaRchI) Freewill (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEzgc_ne60) Jacob's Ladder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d09-oSVY9iw) Natural Science (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7W0Nm8iHwk)
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I haven't listened to a lot of Rush, but this is my favourite album from the 5 I've listened to. :tup
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My favorite Rush album, maybe tied with 2112 and Grace.
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My second Rush album after Moving Pictures. I don't think it gets enough praise, sandwiched as it is between Hemispheres and Moving Pictures. The Spirit of Radio, Freewill, Jacob's Ladder and Natural Science are all absolutely stellar, and the requisite Rush "rocker track that isn't as good as the others" and ballad are well above average for those types of songs. In my mind, this album and Moving Pictures were where they struck the perfect balance.
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I've never gotten into Rush, but I guess I should give them another chance soon.
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classic Rush album
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(https://i63.fastpic.ru/big/2014/0514/81/0416a00a30be24bca0778beaf165bd81.jpg)
#34: Destiny Potato - Lun
Progressive Pop Metal, 2014
What we have here is some of the most interesting material of the last decade: Destiny Potato.
This serbian band, featuring one of the genius of the latest generation, David Maxim Micic (which serves as main composer, producer and guitarist for the band), unites Progressive Metal, specifically the djenty kind, with pop hooks and vocals provided by Aleksandra Djelmash, an amazing vocalist, that can get on the harsh side of things too. Yeah, she does harsh vocals in a couple of tracks and it's pretty awesome.
The whole album revolves around this idea, and everysong is as heavy and groovy but also enjoyable - the hybrid is so perfect that I think that if you want to, let's say, "convert" a mainstream guy towards the more heavy stuff, this is one of the albums to go to.
While songs like Indifferent, Blue Sun and Love Song stay more towards the "pop" side, and songs such as the epic closer, Addict (truly a masterpiece if you ask me), Take A Picture are heavier, there are also some tracks where the balance within the two ends is perfect:
Lost Dream, with its Icarus Lives-esque djenty riffing, and U.Y.M., which is full of electronics.
Good god, the electronics in this album are used awesomely, especially the glitches. I love 'em, and if you use them good they can add a ton to the music spectrum and experience - for instance, in the song U.Y.M. (which stands for Use Your Mind, btw) there's a beautiful melodic build-up that is suddently interrupted by this glitch, and then the song jumps into the heavy chorus, and the glitch is capable of making the chorus even heavier, in a sense.
But enough of my rambling, if you wanna have fun but headbang at the same time while singing pop lyrics, this is where to go to.
Also, you should check out Lunatic, if you wanna have a real good time.
Recommended songs: (https://Recommended songs:) Take A Picture (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV0OslL0kgY) Love Song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TbmPPNQD5s) Lunatic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LhDfljIYTQ) Blue Sun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW-4R_sfIDA) U.Y.M. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpj9zhwCH9Y) Addict (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_iGVxpeDmI)
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Good stuff. David Maxim Micic has yet to disappoint. :metal
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Good stuff. David Maxim Micic has yet to disappoint. :metal
Fucking this! Glad you've enjoyed this album as much as me - it'd also make my top 50 :tup
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(https://www.punkrockshop.co.uk/prod-photos/sticker/sticker_ironmaiden_flight666.jpg)
#33: Iron Maiden - Flight 666
Heavy Metal, 2009
Yeah, I know, this is a bit cheating, but Iron Maiden are a band that have so many songs from all over their catalogue that I enjoy so much, and I was struggling to decide one album (as I didn't feel that multiple would be fair, I'm not that big of a fan) - so I decided to screw everybody, and put Flight 666.
Flight 666 is a concert-documentary, first of all. It narrates the Somewhere Back In Time tour, from 2008, the first tour in which they used just one airplane to fly all over the world, the Ed Force One. This allowed (and still allows) the band to have some freaky tour schedule, when they'd be playing in India and then in the US, two days later, and then maybe in South Africa few hours later.
The songs are taken from all over the tour, one from each date of the first leg: we have India, Australia, Japan, Mexico, US, Canada and South America.
All the songs are Maiden classics. Yeah, every track is a Maiden classic. But they're also some of my favorite tracks of course.
Given that Maiden are an amazing live band, there you have it, I sure enjoy this live album a lot, and it's up there with my favorite live stuff.
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Yep, this was pretty much the 1st thing, Maiden-related, that I really invested myself into watching and this probably turned me into a fan of them. The documentary was solid and depicts them as really good people and their fans (including a priest in Brazil, I think, that calls himself Father Iron Maiden has so many Maiden-related tattoos) as really passionate fans from all parts of the world.
The setlist is strong indeed with all the big Iron Maiden classics of the 80s including, one of my faves, Hallowed Be Thy name, and stuff like Rime of the Ancient Mariner. A top notch release indeed that shows that Iron Maiden can still play pretty damn well of these big songs from all fronts and have a strong fanbase to support them after all of these years.
Only 1.5 days left until that new album is out and I can go buy it and listen to it.
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I was expecting Live After Death here. never heard this one.
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That documentary is awesome. One of the funniest moments is right after a gig somewhere in India or Bangkok or something. The band gets rushed straight offstage, into some dingy ol van bus and is rushed back to the hotel. Rod Smallwood (manager) grabs a plastic bag from under one of the van seats and starts handing out cans of beer to all the bandmembers, who, led by Bruce, immediately start complaining about the fact that there's only one beer for each member in there. 'What, we can fly all around the flippin' world and play all over the sodding place, but we can't even pay for more than one beer?! That's terrible, that is!' :lol
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Yes that's great.
So is this guy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JDmzMvEy8
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I was expecting Live After Death here.
Seconded, though I can see how someone would prefer F666 to that. F666 is a lot more polished than it's 80s predecessor: as classic and iconic as it is, LAD is not without its flaws (mainly from Bruce's voice; absolutely rooted from the crazy tour schedule).
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mikemangioy, was that supposed to be #33? You have two at #34 now.
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mikemangioy, was that supposed to be #33? You have two at #34 now.
Yeah, got confused there for a sec. Fixed.
(https://www.metal-archives.com/images/7/9/0/1/7901.jpg)
#32: Symphony X - The Odyssey
Progressive/Power/Neoclassical Metal, 2004
If cheese is what you want, then look no further: Symphony X unite the most pretentious and cheesy metal genres ever in history, but they do so in a superb way, and they are for sure one of the most fun bands to listen to, and that makes me rock out, every friggin' time.
The Odyssey, especially. This album is filled with heavy and clever riffs, catchy hooks, epic atmospheres and just outright ballsiness. It's truly what I'd call a "musculed" album. From track one, the fury that is "Inferno", all the way to the last epic 24-minute magnum opus "The Odyssey" (an epic about an epic story? I'm sold), the album offers a lot. The groove of Wicked and King Of Terrors, the soaring melodies of Accolade II (sequel of The Acoolade, from Divine Wings Of Tragedy) and Awakenings, the incredibly fast-paced The Turning - this truly is a memorable album, but it took me awhile to really grasp its potential.
I guarantee a fun and quick listen, one that will surely leave a smile on your face and make you go "Fuck yeah" at least a dozen times.
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:corn
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I must be the only one who really dislikes Symphony X on this forum.
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I like this one. I don't full-out love it, because it's a bit heavier than what I typically prefer, but the title track is really good, and the rest is pretty good. So I like it.
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I must be the only one who really dislikes Symphony X on this forum.
I don't really dislike them, I just dislike them.
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I must be the only one who really dislikes Symphony X on this forum.
I don't really dislike them, I just dislike them.
This. Can't deal with the cheese.
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yeah i vaguely wanna check out a little symphony x sometime but the cheese sounds offputting and blah
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There's definitely a lot of cheese on this album, but the title track at least is worth a go.
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This album is incredible.
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This album is incredible.
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This album is incredible.
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#31: Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Progressive Metal, 2002
We all know who this band is and we all know what this album does.
IT ROCKS. It's DT's most experimental album, and for that, it does for sure a lot of things right. There's a certain uniqueness to the songwriting, one that did never return for some songs (Misunderstood and Disappear namely) and others that kind of paved the way of what was about to come (The Glass Prison), but overall, it's truly a work of art.
The suite is the band getting more into their comfort zone at the time, and even if I like the first disc a ton more, it's quite an achievement to have that in your discography.
Props to DT, and this was their last record where they really risked (or is it?), so yep. Respect for this one.
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SDOIT is aweseome. :tup I also prefer the first disc. The second's heavy songs drag it down a lot imho.
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:|
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My fav DT album, and still in my personal top 3 :metal
:|
One day you'll love it, I swear.
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disc 1 is pretty great all-around, three top 20 songs and 2 decent ones
i just cannot get into the title track at all though, I'm not huge on most of the sections by themselves and if you loosely tie them together and claim they're all one song then it's an incohesive mess of a song
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Here is a top 50 classic for y'all:
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61c-laGXNLL.jpg)
#30: Ayreon - The Human Equation
Progressive Rock/Metal, 2004
Out of all Arjen Lucassen's various musical projects, Ayreon has always been my favorite, and my favorite Ayreon album has always been the first one I listened too, since the very first listen: The Human Equation.
I distinctly remember being in bed and listening to the thing on youtube on my phone, and getting blown away at every song. It was innovative for one for all the different singers, each interpreting a role in the story and with name such as James LaBrie, Mikael Akerfeldt and Devin Townsend you can't really go wrong. These three on one album? I'm sold.
The story revolves around a man in a coma. In his head, he deals with impersonifications of his emotions: we have Anger, Fear, Pride, Pain, Love, Passion and so on, but we also have other human characters such as Wife and Best Friend. I won't give away much of the plot, since it's a big album and a lot happens, so if you haven't listened to it, you won't know what to expect.
As far as the music goes, it's prog rock, but it has tons and tons of influences, varying from death/doom metal to country/folk. It's truly well-produced, considering that it's only one guy playing almost every instrument. Yeah, also tons of cool riffs and instruments. Once again, I won't talk about the songs because it's pretty useless considering it's one big journey, and it should be felt like that. Go listen to this album from top to bottom, it will blow you away. But beware: cheese.
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As far as Ayreon albums go, I think THE actually has the least amount of cheese.
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3 pretty great prog metal albums, especially Six Degrees which is my favorite DT album nowadays.
But beware: cheese.
But the cheese is something that comes with prog in general :biggrin:
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What exactly is cheesy about THE? Compared to the other Ayreon albums it's actually got pretty amazing lyrics and concept.
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Yeeeeaaahh the reason this is my favorite is that it has very little of the Ayreon cheese :lol
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Yeah, it's definitely less cheesy than the rest of the albums, my warning was a bit in general.
(https://lukerj.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/tumblr_kvmxp58eth1qa839c.jpg)
#29: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
Extreme Prog Metal, 2009
The first of many appereances of this band in this particular list, is their 2009's record.
Between The Buried And Me are a band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina - and they are capable of writing the most insane batshit crazy chaotic material. Harsh vocals, distorted guitars, tricky time signature changes, dissonant chords and whatnot. But along that idea , there are also beautiful moments of melody and unexpected twist and turns genre-wise especially.
The Great Misdirect is probably the most varied of BTBAM's albums as it focuses on multiple sounds ideas:
we have Obfuscation that is pretty much technical/melodic death metal all the way through, preceeded by the intro Mirrors, that's all in clean guitar. Disease, Injury, Madness starts out like that, but then turns into a jazzy/country song. It's a beautiful song that does all of its transitions really well, one of the most fluent by BTBAM. Fossil Genera is part of the Parallax story, talking about the Night Owls, godlike creatures that continuosly destroy civilizations in order to evolve. It has three distinct sections: the first is some great ragtime/honky-tonk quirky metal madness, the second section is more in the style of Colors, the preceeding album: at times it gets really heavy, and other times really crazy but then it all climaxes in the epic third part which is like an anthem-like type of section. Shivers everytime. It's a seriously underrated song, and I'm just realizing that now. Desert Of Song is the most straight forward BTBAM song in history, being a 5-minute country-rock piece. The band, even being an extreme prog group, does this stuff extremely well. Infact, the whole album is more melodic than the rest of the stuff from these guys. The last track, Swim To The Moon, one of my favorite songs by the band, is 17 minutes of pure ectlectic goodness. In 17 minutes this goes from DT-styled prog, to samba, to country, to death metal, to punk, to thrash metal and even folk music. What the hell. How.
BTBAM over the course of this year have become one of my favorite bands ever, and this album was crucial to the process, being more accessible than the others, I got into this one fairly quickly.
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I'm not big BTBAM fan but I heard this one few weeks ago and liked it very much. I should give it another spin asap :tup
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Damn, this has to be the slowest moving Top 50 thread ever, barring those that never were finished. You're taking ages, man!
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Damn, this has to be the slowest moving Top 50 thread ever, barring those that never were finished. You're taking ages, man!
I just started it over. I'm just taking my time and not putting any deadlines for the posts - I know it's slow but I feel relaxed at least.
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Never listened to any BTBAM after Colors tbh. I should maybe give this a hoon at some point.
I'm glad that there is significantly less Green Day this time around, but I imagine you've probably saved up your top three for ¡UNO! ¡DOS! and ¡TRE! :neverusethis
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Never listened to any BTBAM after Colors tbh. I should maybe give this a hoon at some point.
I'm glad that there is significantly less Green Day this time around, but I imagine you've probably saved up your top three for ¡UNO! ¡DOS! and ¡TRE! :neverusethis
Nah, they're all tied for number 1 :neverusethis:
BTW, do check out late BTBAM stuff. It's all glorious.
Since I'm slow, yeah, let's some double updates for the next few days:
(https://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/TheRavenThatRefusedToSing_Medium.jpg)
#28: Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)
Vintage Prog Rock, 2013
This album helped me a lot getting into Steven's solo stuff. It was easily the most fun to listen to and the most "ear friendly" let's say, and mind that I'm talking about a period before HCE came out. In this record Steve presents the idea of going back to a 70s prog rock sound, and of course, succeding that goal. Each song reminds me of a particular artist, and even though everything does feel "old", there are slight ideas of modern stuff thrown around as well.
In typical Steven fashion, this is kind of a concept album, with each song being a ghost story involving the same ideas that he has always thrown to us: isolation, ghosts, murders, love and whatnot. Add in the excellent band put togehter for the recording process and the subsequent tour, you have a hell of a lot musicianship: 2/3 of The Aristocrats, Nick Beggs, Adam Holtzman and long-time collaborator Theo Travis, accompany Steven throughout the whole album, and you can hear how much they put themselves into the music.
Luminol is half bass-driven groovy stuff, half spacey ballad, Drive Home is a sad song about a sudden departure (or was it?), The Holy Drinker is extremely fun and groovy, a story about a man challenging the devil in a drinking game, The Pin Drop has soaring melodies that make me shiver everytime and then the two closing tracks are among the best songs that Steven has ever written. The Watchmaker is a Genesis-esque journey through the troubled love life of a watchmaker, with a twist in the end, and the title-track, The Raven That Refused To Sing, is just one of the most astonishingly beautiful songs ever. The feels are really strong in that one. Might be Steve's saddest song.
Overall: this is a damn good record. Hell, I could say that for every album on the list, but this one is top notch for production, consistency and coherence.
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5164XM4R30L.jpg)
#27: Muse - Origin Of Symmetry
Alternative/Hard/Space Rock, 2001
Muse had a big boom of success after the first record Showbiz. Unexpected success since this is one of the most eccentric, crazy, and kind of sick albums that a band so mainstream could've ever done. Origin Of Symmetry is Muse at their most creative, and will be like that for a while. All sorts of keyboards, synths, string sections are in this album making it one huge thing. The fuzz effect often added to the guitar and bass at times too, give this album the element of craziness. It gets you off guard, because it begins with New Born and Bliss, which both are pretty normal sounding alternative tracks, but after a space-ballad such as Space Dementia, which ends with some wicked noise and distortion, the album goes full nuts. The sheer energy of Hyper Music and Plug In Baby, the sophisticated Citizen Erased and Micro Cuts, and then other kinds of atmosphere, with the creepy Screenager, the funky Darkshines, a cover of Feeling Good, a pretty well-known song written in the sixties. To end it all, we have the enormous Megalomania, a pipe-organ driven anthem.
Overall, this is another fun album, and if you really want to have lots of good time, just pop this one in if you're in the mood for Muse. The serious stuff will come afterwards.
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Origin of Symmetry is a great album. I still prefer Resistance and Absolution, but it's nice to see it on the list.
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Great update :tup
TRTRTS would probably be in my Top 50 as well. Muse is band I started listening to just few months ago (silly me) so I'm not familiar with whole album but I know some songs.
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Origin of Symmetry is the only Muse album I’m all that fussed on. It trails off a wee bit at the end though, I find. I probably haven’t listened to it in years now.
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The Raven has like 2 great songs, and lots of filler imo - one of Steven's weakest albums. The title song is glorious tho :hefdaddy
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OoS is great - definitely my favourite Muse album. Citizen Erased is killer.
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Never listened to any BTBAM after Colors tbh. I should maybe give this a hoon at some point.
I'm glad that there is significantly less Green Day this time around, but I imagine you've probably saved up your top three for ¡UNO! ¡DOS! and ¡TRE! :neverusethis
yeah, their latest is really good
Muse has now been mentioned 13 times in top 50 lists, but that was the first for OoS.
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I've been listening to The Raven over the last two days, I quite like it. Guthrie Govan is what drew me to it at first, that guy is a beast. I'm glad he gets a couple face melters on this album.
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(https://www.metal-archives.com/images/3/6/1/9/3619.jpg)
#26: Devin Townsend - Terria
Progressive Rock/Metal, 2001
This one sounds big. If Ocean Machine sounded dense like an ocean, Terria sounds big, large, vast, like those Canada praires that Devy tells us about in a song.
Terria indeed, feels also like a journey, and given that it was inspired by one, Devin for sure did write something majestic. Yeah, majestic is the term I'd use for this record.
At times kind of unsettling, Terria uses grand choruses and/or vocal lines, with an immense delivery (this is one of Dev's best performances) especially on tracks such as Earth Day (undoubtly one of Devin's best songs), The Fluke and Stagnant.
The album also has those moments of pure calm and sweetness, a grand type of it, once again. Deep Peace is a perfectly fitting title for that song, when I hear it I imagine a hot day of summer but with a chilly breeze. Being outside, watching the panorama and whatnot. Down And Under, instead, makes me happy like a child, and given that it's instrumental, that's quite a thing to do. And then Canada, oh god. That's another one of the best songs for sure, it sounds like the climax of the album, since it's about the ispiration that Devin had from the country.
This feels truly like a journey through an epic landscape, and everytime I listen to it, I'm more and more amazed and joyed by this beautiful music.
(https://f1.bcbits.com/img/a3025483854_16.jpg) (yeah, I know, huge cover, but it's the only one available!)
#25: Ben Levin Group - Freak Machine
Avant-Garde/Prog rock, 2015
Yet another album from this year, this one's pretty short, but it doesn't mean that it's not intense. Remember Bent Knee? Well, this is the guitarist's solo project, and it involves also other members from that band.
Well, what could one say about this... thing? It's one of the most freaky and eclectic albums that I've ever heard from today's music, but also feels creative.
Everything has this crazy and dissonant atmosphere to it that make you go mad, and the twist and turns in this record are many to keep you interested from the first listen.
There are just four tracks, all named after the album, but each one is very different. The first one is probably the craziest one. A 9/8 crazy dissonant riff accompanies Courtney's high falsettos screaming "SOMETHING STRANGE HAPPENED HERE" and then it goes through prog, pop, symphonic and even rap. Totally crazy, but it works so well. Track 2 is more of a ballad, a beautiful ballad, might I add. I get shivers listening to it, and it might be my favorite track from this. Track 3 is divided in two parts: the first one is an instrumental symphonic-influenced piece and the second one is a circus-like madness, once again, towards the end of the song everything gets slower and slower and heavier.. it gets creepy too. Track 4 is the darkest one. At this point the character is desperate (I'll talk about the concept in a sec) and there's quite the creepy part halfway through. But then it gets all interrupted by a pop finale, drenched in autotuned vocals. Wow.
Freak Machine's concept is about a man that proves love for a woman that doesn't for him, so he is desperate and shoots himself. The album starts when he pulls the trigger and ends with the bullet getting stuck in his head, killing him. In between, there's all of his thoughts.
Isn't that... just plain awesome?
Like the whole record is, check it out, there are some amazing perfomance videos on Youtube of the whole thing.
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Man your updates are taking ages.
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Terria is my second favourite album of all time. Superb in every aspect.
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Never heard of him, but it sounds interesting; I'll try and check him out.
In other news, Swim To The Moon is a part of the Parallax series, not Fossil Genera.
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Freak Machine here? Damn son :P
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just keeping this on page one
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Man your updates are taking ages.
Damn, this has to be the slowest moving Top 50 thread ever, barring those that never were finished. You're taking ages, man!
Seriously. Either get on with it, or just stop altogether. You've taken six weeks for half a list, not even counting the undinished list you did before that. I'm cringing every time I see this thread because it still hasn't finished. What the hell os taking you so long?
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Because there is only one albums list going on besides this, so as long as he isn't cockblocking someone else, mike can take all the time he needs imo.
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Because there is only one albums list going on besides this, so as long as he isn't cockblocking someone else, mike can take all the time he needs imo.
This, plus I've taken somewhat of a pause from the interwebs, 'cause school has started/personal stuff/trips, all in the past three weeks. And overall, I'm just taking my time because I can. Come at me, bros :neverusethis:
BTW, now I'm back on it and I'll try to keep the pace as steady as possible.
(https://a.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/slideshow_large/slideshow/2014/12/3039377-slide-s-6-the-dark-side-of-the-moon-cover-pf-dark-side.jpg)
#24: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon
Progressive Rock, 1973
The second half of this list is opened by yet another classic Pink Floyd record.
The most classic of them all, probably.
The Dark Side Of The Moon is capable, with its 42 minutes, and flowing structure, to take you on a journey like no record can. As far as concept records, this one is pretty much among the best ones.
I won't say much about it since we all pretty much know this one, but it was one of the first records I ever fell in love with. Beautifully composed, planned out and recorded. A true masterpiece.
A journey through the human mind, the human history and the human thinking. It just screams "GENIUS" all over it, and it's another timeless piece of music.
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I'm not the biggest Pink Floyd fan, but I do enjoy The Dark Side of The Moon whenever I listen to it more than the other Pink Floyd albums. :tup
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(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ASc41WscL._SS500_.jpg)
#23: Devin Townsend Project - Addicted!
Pop Metal, 2009
Similarly to Destiny Potato's debut, Devin in this album decides to give us some poppy tunes to jam out to.
With the help of the amazing Anneke Van Giersbergen on guest vocals, this album is so fun and feels like a concert, because the wall of sound is very similar to what you'd hear live, sonically speaking, and each song is connected greatly to the other, making a great setlist/conter-like experience.
If you really wanna have tons of fun, but also go quite heavy and dramatic a few times, this album is the way to go.
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OH BOY YES. Love DSOTM, but love Addicted even more - top 5 album for me :hefdaddy
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Maybe I should give Devy another chance and spin a couple of his stuff. We had a bit of a falling out, you see.
Addicted in particular just never grabbed me, but I'll see how I feel about it again after a few more listens.
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Addicted! is a top 3 Devin album. I love everything about it and even the abomination of a song called "Bend It Like A Bender" doesn't subtract from its awesomeness.
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Bend it Like Bender fucking rocks, dude :metal
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Bend it Like Bender fucking rocks, dude :metal
It's one of my least favourite Devin songs, but I get why some people might like it. I just find the beat, riff and "HEEEEY BOOOOOOY" incredibly annoying. :lol
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It's one of my least favourite Devin songs, but I get why some people might like it. I just find the beat, riff and "HEEEEY BOOOOOOY" incredibly annoying. :lol
I can see your point, but at least it's freaking fun live.
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41g1r2T9AWL.jpg)
#22: Opeth - Watershed
Progressive Death Metal, 2009
After Blackwater Park and the other albums that came afterwards (including the splendous Damnation and Ghost Reveries) Opeth decided to turn the knob of progressiveness up a few notches. In this album Mikael and co. go for a cleaner sound, making more clean parts than heavy distorted and scary ones.. but those moments in the album are probably the heaviest Opeth got in the portion of their career I know about, at least. So we got beautiful pieces, like Burden and Porcelain Heart, along with pure brutality in tracks such as Heir Apparent and The Lotus Eater, while the highlight of the album is for sure a piece that has the two elements combined together beautifully, like Opeth can. My favorite Opeth record :metal
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I do like Watershed a lot, yes. It's not an album I listen to a lot but I enjoy it when I do.
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I do like Watershed a lot, yes. It's not an album I listen to a lot but I enjoy it when I do.
It's same with me. I really should spin it today. It may even be in my top 3 or 4 if Hex Omega clicked with me but sadly, it never did.
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i really like Heir Apparent, Burden, and Hex Omega, while the rest tends to be good but never on my mind as much.
i also kind of dislike porcelain heart at times because one of the riffs is literally just the grand conjuration's main riff played in a different rhythm
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Watershed is my favorite Opeth album.
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It's probably my second favorite.
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I do like Watershed a lot, yes. It's not an album I listen to a lot but I enjoy it when I do.
It's same with me. I really should spin it today. It may even be in my top 3 or 4 if Hex Omega clicked with me but sadly, it never did.
It clicked with me after seeing it live. The song had great atmosphere live.
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Haven't listened to it yet :corn
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Ouch, no updates in 4 days
Now I'm starting to feel bad about this :lol
(https://tipsartikeldanpengetahuan.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/andjusticeforall60077537.jpg)
#21: Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Kind-of-prog Thrash Metal, 1988
Well, there's really not much to say about this one, as I've talked about it many times. It's just my favorite 'Tallica, because I feel that it's the most unique and never-repeated out of all their albums. The songs got more progressive, darker, intricate and the production is really dry, but it works on this one. There are a couple of classics like Blackened and One, but also lots of underrated pieces like The Frayed Ends Of Sanity and To Live Is To Die.
This has been my favorite since I was ten and it still is.
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Favorite Tallica album as well. Really liked the more progressive and technical approach and it's got some pretty good underrated tracks like Shortest Straw and Frayed Ends.
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It my favorite Metallica, as well. And also favorite thrash album :tup
However, I'd really like to hear it with different production, louder bass, different sounding drums (I like modern thrash drums sound, check last two Testament albums) and richer sounding lead guitar. Despite all those (in my eyes... or ears) flaws it's among my favorites.
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i never listened to any metallica albums front-to-back that much but I remember liking this the most out of all their stuff i heard, yeah
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lots of underrated pieces like The Frayed Ends Of Sanity
Don't let Het catch you saying that!
This is probably my second favorite Metallica album behind Ride the Lightning.
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Never listened to it.
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Justice is one of the best albums I've ever heard. Bought it the day it came out and it felt like it was he only thing I listened to for like a year straight! :lol Never gets old.
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This is probably my second favorite Metallica album behind Ride the Lightning.
Hey, that sounds like something I would say.
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Never listened to it.
You sure do like your controversy :lol
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Never listened to it.
You sure do like your controversy :lol
I think because Metallica wasn't among the first bands I listened to nor became my gateway to metal, I never cared about them. And don't think I ever will.
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I've only heard a bunch of songs from this album and they are ok. I don't really like Metallica that much.
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crammer of hustice jrushes u
Never listened to it.
You sure do like your controversy :lol
I think because Metallica wasn't among the first bands I listened to nor became my gateway to metal, I never cared about them. And don't think I ever will.
just fucking listen to it ya bastard lol. <3
Fantastic album. Classic. Seminal Classic. Semen-erupting, seminal classic.
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I've listened to AJFA a few times over the years and don't like it at all. Is that more controversial, or less controversial? :lol
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(https://shop.napalmrecords.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/500x500/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/2/5/25031.jpg)
#20Rammstein - Herzeleid
Industrial Metal, Neue Deutsche Harte - 1995
This is my favorite Rammstein record, and I am very surprised to say it. I consider this their most "ugly" and "trash". I mean, disco metal sung in german? What the hell is this crap?
BUT IT FREAKING WORKS SO WELL.
Every song is a blast, and it's the beginning of one of the coolest bands in my book. It's nice to see where they were coming from - they are not that different from what they are now.
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I really like Mutter so I guess I'll have to check this one soon :P
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Herzeleid would be my third favourite Rammstein album (after Reise,Reise and Rosenrot) but it's the most fun to spin sometimes. I rarely listen to Rammstein anymore, but I consider them a top 3 band. It's the music I grew up on.
Just a quick ranking of Rammstein albums for me:
1. Reise, Reise
2. Rosenrot
3. Herzeleid
4. Mutter
5. Engel
6. Liebe Ist Für Alle Da
They have annouced that they're in the studio once again, and I'm super excited for their next effort (hoping it'll be better than the last one).
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The only thing I ever listen to by Rammstein is the Live Aus Berlin version of Seemann.
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Double uptade because I am a slowpoke
(https://www.lpassociation.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5929)
#19: Muse - Absolution
Alternative Rock - 2003
From one of my least favorite, this record became my favorite Muse record, once I got through some more, detailed listens. I understood the value this record had when i looked at the opening sequence: we have Apocalypse Please, which is this big piano piece with a war-like rhythm, sets up the scene and the concept of the album (being about apocalypse under different point of views), Time Is Running Out a fairly popular bass driven piece, Sing For Absolution, a beautiful ballad with amazing vocals - which is a recurring theme in this record (best Matt performance ever), Stockholm Syndrome, one of my favorite Muse songs ever, alternating heaviness with melodic epicness and rage à-la Nirvana and then, one of the very few love songs that I actually like (and I like this one a lot), Falling Away With You. Beautiful stuff. Ooh, but it's not over. What's next you say? Hysteria of course.
So, when I realized what an amazing tracklist this was, I forgave the incredibly long tracklist (14 freaking songs) and realized that this is one of the most beautiful Muse albums, one where the vocals really take the cake and one where the instrumentation just gels together so well that it creates musical bliss.
(https://elrocknomuere.com/blog/img/artist/705.jpeg)
#18: Between The Buried And Me - Colors
Extreme Prog Metal, 2007
Oh god. This is the most chaotic thing on this list, guys - This is the record that took like two years to click with me. From Foam Born (which makes you go "oh shit" the moment Decade Of Statues starts) through White Walls, this is the most outright insane, heavy and mind-blowing piece of music ever recorded. The first time I attempted listening to it, my head went "Yeah, how about no" and shut off by the time Sun Of Nothing started.
Although it is so darkly intense, Colors also has some beautiful melodic moments along with some funny unexpected stuff thrown into the songs.
This album is truly an experience, and the flow between the songs is just stellar.
Outstanding piece of death/prog/tech metal. All hail BTBAM.
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Absolution is THE best Muse album (although Resistance comes very close) imo. As for Between the Buried and Me, I still can't get into this band and probably never will at this rate.
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I still can't get into this band and probably never will at this rate.
This is the record that took like two years to click with me.
:millahhhh
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You're right, Colors is pure madness :hefdaddy
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Two good albums that barely made or didn't make my list :lol
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Absolution is THE best Muse album (although Resistance comes very close) imo. As for Between the Buried and Me, I still can't get into this band and probably never will at this rate.
Did you try The Great Misdirect? Much more accessible than Colors (and any other their album I heard) IMO.
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How about records, huh?
Two pretty great ones too:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Moving_Pictures.jpg)
#17: Rush - Moving Pictures
Progressive Rock, 1981
Well, this is a timeless classic album with lots of timeless songs in it. Tom Sawyer, Limelight, YYZ. We all know this album for how it took everything that Rush did up until then and made it quick and easy to listen to, even more than Permanent Waves. The other songs are awesome as well, as we have Red Barchetta and The Camera Eye, two of my favorites Rush songs ever.
Do not miss this album, it's a must for everyone.
(https://agesofrock.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/haken-visions.jpg)
#16: Haken - Visions
Progressive Metal, 2011
This album is the best "This sounds like Dream Theater" record ever. It takes that idea and elevates it up to what I like to refer to as "one of the best standard-prog-metal albums" if "Standard" is a word that works with "Progressive". It's one of the albums I'd advice to listen to at first, to get used to the genre.
It has everything: a big concept, repeating parts, grand, cinematic music, an epic, connected songs, and heaviness. Lots of atmosphere too. Haken did a good job in this one. Well, they did no bad job so far in their career, but whatever :lol
The final track, Visions, is still my favorite Haken track, next to Falling Back To Earth. It's truly a beautifully composed epic, and one that flows greatly.
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I'm not a big Rush fan, but I definitely enjoy Moving Pictures. As for Visions; it's okay, but I'll take Mountain and Crystallised EP over it any day.
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Just finished my first listen of Nocturnal Conspiracy, I'm excited for Visions, going to listen to it tonight!
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Not really a fan of Rush, but this is a nice record. Visions bores me :lol
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Moving Pictures, my #1 of all time
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i know a fair number of songs off Moving Pictures but I don't think I've ever listened to the whole thing front to back
Visions is probably my least favorite Haken release, including the demo and including Restoration :lol
not awful but a bit... uninspired, Deathless is the only song that I really like a lot, but the title track is good too.
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Moving Pictures is a fantastic choice. Visions is my least favorite of the three Haken studio albums; Aquarius is better and The Mountain is way better. I'd agree with either of those, but Visions... Not sure.
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Don't listen to them, Visions are fantastic, best Haken album :P
Moving Pictures, while not my favorite, is still great, probably top 4 Rush album.
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My first albums from both bands.
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Moving Pictures is top five all time for me
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Triple (or quadruple?) update for y'all bros.
(https://i.imgur.com/4wHjLSZ.jpg)
#15: Periphery - Juggernaut Alpha/Juggernaut Omega
Progressive Metal, 2015
Album of the year? Not quite... yeah, this section of the list has lots of stuff from this year. Just because this year was amazing!
Periphery have always attracted me but their music was far too complicated and growly to listen to. The songs were too much all over the place. And then this came out, and I saw praising everywhere, so I tried to listen to it.
Turns out that the band went for a more simple approach with the song structure, but fucking went nuts with the songwriting. The djent element is used in a clever way, still sounding aggressive but dense and not that 0000-ish. It's hard to describe really.
So, in this (these) albums we have a concept about a guy escaping from a cult which molested him since he was a child. He kills them all and then regrets doing so, so he kills himself, ending up in hell, where he will ascend from after a while.
The album alternates fun, and pop atmospheres with some of the heaviest shit one could imagine. For example, we have Heavy Heart, Alpha, Rainbow Gravity which could easily go to the mainstream radio, if rearranged in a more popular way. Then. You have. The. Crushing. Things.
The Bad Thing, for instance. That's a mean song. But, oh, that's not heavy. Not heavy enough. Certain sections of Four Lights, the entire Graveless, and oh my god, Hell Below... they truly resemble meanness. If you wanna get scared for how heavy a song can get, go listen to those, especially Hell Below.
Another good thing is the production - Periphery are essentially a super heavy band with THREE guitars, but somehow, the bass comes through in a great way. That's also because this album was produced by Nolly, the band's bassist. He did an amazing job.
So, overall, this is an awesome collection of songs. And fun.
(https://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/gallery/6cd32fb8e1a137c5010c390c0059bd29bb590884.jpg)
#14: Rush - Hemispheres
Progressive Rock, 1978
Staple of the top 50 band Rush, release an album where they go insane. Hemispheres is just four songs, but oh my god are these four songs quite the songs.
Hemipsheres is a 17 minutes long epic philosophical journey into two opposing school of thoughts
Circumstances is a straight-forward rocker that rocks my socks off each time I listen to it
The Trees has this strange atmosphere around it, midway wacky and atmospheric
and then La Villa Strangiato. The epitome of Rush, as a progressive band. That's like my favorite classic prog piece, right there.
Nothing to say other than I still think this is one of the best bands ever.
(https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/lyricwiki/images/3/32/David_Maxim_Micic_-_Bilo_3.0.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131205085836)
#13: David Maxim Micic - Bilo 3.0
Progressive.. idk, music I guess :lol - 2013
David Maxim Micic is Destiny Potato's guitarist and composer, and this is his third solo work. He did something beyond comparison.
This is one of the most unique records I've ever listened to. In its glorious 45 minutes, Bilo 3.0 visits a plethora of genres, but mantains a consistent sound, with an amazing production. It starts with "Everything's Fine" a piano driven classical-music piece. It's beautiful, like its title. Then we get "Where Is Now?" which is a complete groovy mess: it starts almost gospel, then goes to waltz midway through, to blues (there's even a scat solo) and back to gospel at the end. It's truly a journey. But then comes my favorite piece, "Smile". With vocals provided by Potato's Aleksandra Djelmash, this song is possibly in my top ten songs of all time. A light but dark journey through pain and how to overcome it, all with amazing pop metal sensibilities, with a slight jazz influence and crazy electronics. Not to mention, that solo at the end, jeez. Smile is a perfect song. Period. Listen to it, and be amazed. The album then turns fusion-jazz for a bit. Nostalgia, is the reprise of a theme in Smile, only done in a fusion-jazzy type of way. Then Wrinkle Maze provides some more ambient/gospel atmopshere, and it's truly a beautiful composition, which makes me shiver everytime. The album then closes with the epic Daydreamers, which sprints positivity from every side. Amazing vocals from Vladimir Lalic and Aleksandra Radosavljevic (Potato's ex-vocalist), with a nice acoustic instrumental middle.
Now, the last three songs taken alone do not stand that well, but I can assure you that this album listened to as a whole (as with every album really) is quite the thing to witness.
And it was all made in a bedroom.
David is a genious.
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Juggernaut is a top 5 album for me. Why aren't you participating in the survivor that's about to finish? :lol
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juggernaut as a whole is alright but I really think they should've cut it down and released it as a single album.
I need to get Bilo 3.0 eventually but it's definitely on my to-do list
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Don't know the other two, but that's another classic Rush.
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Don't know the other two, but that's another classic Rush.
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juggernaut as a whole is alright but I really think they should've cut it down and released it as a single album.
No. It's stellar start to finish. The only weak song is Graveless and it's pretty fun live either way.
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the difference between a periphery fan and someone who just thinks they're okay, I guess :corn
graveless is one of the weakest songs across both discs though, I'll give you that one
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Remember me? :lol
I'll just do other two updates, to end this thing as fast as possible. I've begun to hate myself.
(https://www.metalblade.com/us/covers/Destrage-AreYouKiddingMeNo.jpg)
#12: Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No.
"Spaghetticore", 2014
This record right here is one of the biggest reliefs in history. My country lately has had all sorts of bad music in it, but then you come to discover this band and you just joy. Destrage are a mad group of five people, that in this album (their third) unite A LOT of influences from different genres and styles of music, into one epic, energetic, shivering and insane record ever.
The chaos is pretty evident, but it's so organised that the song stay with you even after the first listen. Infact, the songs are quite catchy.
There's a constant shift between simple and chaotic that works so well, with the production also being a high point. Please guys, give this a chance, it really deserves it.
(https://www.metalblade.com/us/covers/BetweenTheBuriedAndMe-ComaEcliptic.jpg)
#11: Between The Buried And Me - Coma Ecliptic
Progressive Rock/Metal, 2015
Now, this is for sure one of the nomenees for album of the year, this year. BTBAM brought something completely new to the table with this one, focusing more on melody (as Memory Palace says) and flowing arrangements, and crystal clear production. The result? A damn good chill out album that I listen to a lot this year. Each song is very strong and the overall vibe is just so.. I don't know, summer-ish and country-esque. It's hard to describe it.
This record tells the story of a man in a coma, who visits past lives of his. There are some really cool ideas in the lyrics and in the music (especially in the song The Ectopic Stroll, which is hands down my favorite, and Rapid Calm). An extremely good succession of tracks for an extremely good record.
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I loved the BTBAM too, but I could never put an album that's only a few months old in a top 50 let alone top 15.
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didn't dig the new BTBAM as much as I wanted to, i'm mostly indifferent to it. think i'm just past them :lol
that destrage song has been growing on me even more recently so i probably need to check out that album myself
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I loved the BTBAM too, but I could never put an album that's only a few months old in a top 50 let alone top 15.
This. I still have to give it a full listen tho. And Destrage are fantastic.
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I think an album has to be out almost a year before it can be codified as a top 15 album, unless you only have 15 albums.
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you have 2 albums at #12
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Get it over with, just post the remaining 10. And next time you think of starting this stuff, write out all write-ups beforehand. I know how it sounds, but you didn't even finish your first list and now you're taking 2.5 MONTHS for the second (and it's not nearly finished yet). This is pretty ridiculous.
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you have 2 albums at #12
whoops fixed
Get it over with, just post the remaining 10. And next time you think of starting this stuff, write out all write-ups beforehand. I know how it sounds, but you didn't even finish your first list and now you're taking 2.5 MONTHS for the second (and it's not nearly finished yet). This is pretty ridiculous.
I know, infact that's what I'm gonna do. I'm really sorry and I really suck at committing to this. But you're wrong, my first list is complete, the second was unfinished. This is a more recent version of the second. I guess I don't really view it as a big deal since I'm not cockblocking anyone.
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LAST TEN AND THEN I'M OUTTA HERE BECAUSE I SUCK AT LISTS MAINTENANCE
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/Rush_Clockwork_Angels_artwork.png)
Number TEN: Rush - Clockwork Angels
Nothing to do, my favorite albums are also the most recent ones. The thing is, I feel closer to them, and while I respect the classics (and adore them too), I tend to prefer more modern stuff.
As with this album, Rush did an amazing job, after nearly 40 years from the start of their career. The songs manage to be both dark and bright, catchy and thoughtful. Also, the steampunk thematics are freaking cool
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Haken_The_Mountain_cover.jpg)
Numer NINE: Haken - The Mountain
Some of the best stuff around lately in this album. A perfect clash, IMO, between old school prog and new school.
Nice to introduce someone to the genre.
(https://rymimg.com/lk/f/l/46cf9a501cfef954cf09478196178eee/2252618.jpg)
Number EIGHT: Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
One of the modern classics and epics. With this record PT went full blown dark (it's their darkest after In Absentia) to tell the tales of teenagers with some serious problems. All these songs are awesome, especially Anesthetize and the last two. Seeing Sleep Together live (even if it was not the actual band) was quite an experience.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Dream_Theater_-_Octavarium.jpg)
Number 58 SEVEN: Dream Theater - Octavarium
I just love the simplicity of this album. These eight songs (well, minus the last two) feel very straight to the point, and fresh. Not counting the epicness of the title-track at then. Pure gold. Between my favorites by DT.
Also, the recurring themes are extremely well done (graphicly and musical NUGGETZ)
(https://metalsucks.junipconcepts.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/42450_devin_townsend_deconstruction.jpeg)
Number SIX: Devin Townsend - Deconstruction
This is the most brutal and crazy album on the list. One hour and twelve of absolute chaos, about an absolutely chaotic philosophical journey, that ends up in a rather..unexpected way. Takes a lot of listens to digest, but it's freaking worth it.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Dream_Theater_-_Awake.jpg)
Number FIVE: Dream Theater - Awake
Also one of the most unique DT albums (although it resembles a bit TOT), I just plain love it. But I can't pinpoint why exactly. It has tons of great songs , from the heaviest (The Mirror / Lie) to the mellowest (Space Dye Vest), just pure Dream Theaterism.
(https://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/4135/cover_4049194122014_r.jpg)
Number FOUR: Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
BUTMATT IT CAME OUT THIS YEAR IT CAN'T BE IN THE TOP 50!!!!11!1!
Yes, it can, and it does.
From day one, I just knew that another timeless classic was born. Yeah, I know, a bit early to say that but it's what it feels like. A flawless record. Flaw-less. I wouldn't change a thing. It's perfect. And I saw most of it live, with Steven playing in front of me... and it's an experience guys.
This record also helped me a lot through tough times, so it's becoming like a memento for 2015. Possibly the most intense year of my life.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/The_Parallax_II_Future_Sequence_-_Between_the_Buried_and_Me.jpg)
Number THREE: Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence
This is just an epic journey through space. It has to be my favorite storyline in a concept album, it's just that perfect and big. But the music, obviously, is what takes the cake. It's the perfect balance between insanity and melody that BTBAM delivered us since the first days. Shivers everytime. Also, the musicianship... man. Wow.
(https://cdn.rockabilia.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/300x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/MAGNET/111421F.JPG)
Number TWO: Pink Floyd - The Wall
Seeing this in the cinema, revived my love for it. Amazing well-telled storyline, with great great music. It's a timeless classic, much like the rest of Pink Floyd's album from this era, which are all (except for Animals) in the list. Love it. Loved it for a long time.
NUMBER ONE:
(https://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/gallery/778a382a165cf0a5d899adf7de1795165afd98ec.jpg)
Once again, what can I say?
This has always been the epitome of music for me. Everything that I care for, about music, is in this very album.
Perfect from top to bottom. Musical bliss. And I am a bit worried for The Astonishing. Will it live up to this? I don't know... But we'll see.
Thank you for sticking by, and sorry for the slow updates and all. I think the next list is gonna be in a very long while, If I was to do another one. BYEEE
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man i know every one of these except the Rush one :lol
The Mountain is :tup :tup :tup
FOABP is alright but not my favorite PT, might be due to the fact that I'm not huge on Anesthetize
8VM probably shouldn't be this high even if I like it a fair bit, one of their better albums really
Deconstruction is cool too though there are parts I wish were cut :lol
Awake is too low, actually
HCE is too new for me to feel it should be up this high and I don't find it amazing though it's pretty good, best SW solo album that I have at least
BTBAM is connecting less and less with me with each new release. Parallax 1 was solid but not as good as the two before it, Parallax 2 has some cool moments but is bloated and hard to listen through, and TCE is just... man, I wish I could connect with it at all but it leaves me so cold and bored :lol
The Wall is a good album but the concept is a bit overwrought and there's a lot of tiny filler tracks I could've done without, doesn't come close to the three before it at the very least
SFAM is great though and I can totally see why you'd consider it your favorite album and favorite DT, it doesn't do as much for me as it used to but it was my favorite when I was first getting into the band :lol
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oh also what even is the story of the parallax albums, i have no clue
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oh also what even is the story of the parallax albums, i have no clue
https://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2012/07/24/prognotes-between-the-buried-and-mes-the-parallax-part-i-introduction/ (https://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2012/07/24/prognotes-between-the-buried-and-mes-the-parallax-part-i-introduction/)
if you're patient enough, have a read
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Haven't listened yet
Fucking awesome
Pretty great
Pretty great
Not that familiar with it
Fucking awesome
AOTY
Haven't listened to it yet
Meh
Great
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10. Not a big Rush fan
9. :metal
8. never heard of it
7. My 4th DT album, I like it way more than most people on the forum, so you get a thumbs up
6. My favourite Devin album, but I wouldn't place it this high
5. Meh. Used to love Awake, nowadays I never listen to it.
4. never heard of it
3. never heard of it
2. a few great songs, overrated as a whole
1. A solid no.1. SFAM is great from start to finish.
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oh also what even is the story of the parallax albums, i have no clue
https://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2012/07/24/prognotes-between-the-buried-and-mes-the-parallax-part-i-introduction/ (https://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2012/07/24/prognotes-between-the-buried-and-mes-the-parallax-part-i-introduction/)
if you're patient enough, have a read
read through this all, a lot of this is technically speculation unless Tommy confirmed it I guess but it does all make sense and seems like a pretty cool story, yeah
a lot of vagueness though :lol
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Surprised and impressed to see Clockwork Angels in the top ten. Cool!
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8. never heard of it
4. never heard of it
If you're on this forum, you should definitely fix that :lol
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Even more unbelievable: "3. Never heard of it". ...really?!
He's got a periphery avatar yet he's never heard of (a particular album by) btbam?!
Thanks for the list Mangioy. I coulda gone for longer write ups for the top ten. Screw the "finish already!" haters. Especially thanks for helping me discover Destrage; I believe I'm over 40 spins in under 3 weeks (new contender for 2014 AOTY) \m/
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Especially thanks for helping me discover Destrage; I believe I'm over 40 spins in under 3 weeks (new contender for 2014 AOTY) \m/
Definitely seconding the Destrage recommendation :metal
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Destrage is the album that just missed the cut for my year-end haul but that also means it'll be an early 2015 purchase most likely :lol
the album itself was.... certainly a thing, from the one listen I gave it
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A thing that lightens up my italian pride :millahhhh
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early 2015
wow i'm just the worst
early 2016 duh duh duh ok
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He's got a periphery avatar yet he's never heard of (a particular album by) btbam?!
Not a fan of BTBAM. Nothing I've heard from them have I found particularly enjoyable.
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jake knows like 5 bands total i think :P
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He's got a periphery avatar yet he's never heard of (a particular album by) btbam?!
Not a fan of BTBAM. Nothing I've heard from them have I found particularly enjoyable.
ok, phew; as long as you're aware they exist.
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jake knows like 5 bands total i think :P
Sounds about right. :lol Start the Coheed survivor already you slacker.
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jake knows like 5 bands total i think :P
Sounds about right. :lol Start the Coheed survivor already you slacker.
end of the month i'll do it sheesh give me a break