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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: WildRanger on February 24, 2021, 03:28:21 AM
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My picks:
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
The Who - Quadrophenia
Dream Theater - Metropolis pt. 2
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1. Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element, Part I
2. Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects - Sol Niger Within
3. Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
Shoutouts to:
Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage
Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree
Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Grey
King Diamond - "Them"
Symphony X - V
Voivod - The Wake
Gong - You
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Nigh impossible, but I'd say:
Dream Theater - Scenes from a Memory
Trans Siberian Orchestra - Beethoven's Last Night
Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime
Honorable mentions for all the other Savatage concepts, the Wardruna ones, the Virgin Steele ones (House of Atreus act I mainly), and Ayreon's The Human Equation. Oh, and Kamelot's Epica!!! and Cellar Darling's The Spell. And Elveking's Reader of the Runes - Divination. Gah, so many :D
Also, do Avantasia albums can be considered concepts? they are, but the story is very loose and you can't really follow it.
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
King Diamond - Abigail
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Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
Marillion - Brave
King Diamond - Abigail
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Obsidian Kingdom - Mantiis: An Agony in Fourteen Bites
Ulver - Perdition City
Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
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Obsidian Kingdom - Mantiis: An Agony in Fourteen Bites
Love this album. What's the concept?
My picks -
1. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness.
2. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness.
3. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness.
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1. Pink Floyd - The Wall
2. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
3. Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
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1. W.A.S.P - Crimson Idol
2. King Diamond - The Puppet Master. not my favorite KD album musically but it's my favorite story from him.
3. Fates Warning - A pleasant shade of grey
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My Top 3 FOAT
Marillion - Brave
Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming of the True
Apes & Androids - Blood Moon
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Marillion - Clutching At Straws
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
DT - Scenes
If Clutching doesn't count, and I understand why it might not, its:
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down
DT - Scenes
Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
Honorable mention:
Operation: Mindcrime
The Elder
Seventh Son
Ayreon 10010101
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This could vary depending on what is and isn’t considered a concept album. But the three off the top of my head are:
1. Marillion - Brave
2. Kip Winger - Songs from the Ocean Floor
3. Spock’s Beard - Snow
Some honorable mentions:
1. Genesis - Duke (maybe not a concept album but feels like one. Might be number 3 if it is).
2. Marillion - Clutching at Straws
3. Moon Safari - Lover’s End
4. Camel - Nude and also Dust and Dreams
5. Big Big Train - Gathering Speed and The Difference Machine
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Not sure if my number 1 would be considered a concept album but:
1. Dredg - El Cielo
2. Pink Floyd - The Wall
3. Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory
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My serious answer is more like:
1. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
2. The Dear Hunter - Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise
3. The Ocean - Pelagial
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Marillion: Brave
Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime
Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
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This could vary depending on what is and isn’t considered a concept album. But the three off the top of my head are:
1. Marillion - Brave
2. Kip Winger - Songs from the Ocean Floor
3. Spock’s Beard - Snow
Some honorable mentions:
1. Genesis - Duke (maybe not a concept album but feels like one. Might be number 3 if it is).
2. Marillion - Clutching at Straws
3. Moon Safari - Lover’s End
4. Camel - Nude and also Dust and Dreams
5. Big Big Train - Gathering Speed and The Difference Machine
Such a good call on 'Songs from the Ocean Floor' — talk about a gut-wrenching artistic catharsis...'Only One Word' might be the most incredible song that man has ever written, and I suspect that the vast majority of his audience has never heard it.
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This could vary depending on what is and isn’t considered a concept album. But the three off the top of my head are:
1. Marillion - Brave
2. Kip Winger - Songs from the Ocean Floor
3. Spock’s Beard - Snow
Some honorable mentions:
1. Genesis - Duke (maybe not a concept album but feels like one. Might be number 3 if it is).
2. Marillion - Clutching at Straws
3. Moon Safari - Lover’s End
4. Camel - Nude and also Dust and Dreams
5. Big Big Train - Gathering Speed and The Difference Machine
Such a good call on 'Songs from the Ocean Floor' — talk about a gut-wrenching artistic catharsis...'Only One Word' might be the most incredible song that man has ever written, and I suspect that the vast majority of his audience has never heard it.
Absolutely. Shivers thinking about it. It’s an incredible work born out of tragedy, and it really takes you all the way down and back up again. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time (not just favorite concept albums).
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For a long time I thought concept albums were the bee's knees but I've come to the realization that a lot of them aren't the pinnacle of creation, either the concept is weak/silly/strange or the music is forced to fit the format. That said, there are still some good ones out there and my favorites are:
Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory
Ayreon - The Human Equation
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
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Obsidian Kingdom - Mantiis: An Agony in Fourteen Bites
Love this album. What's the concept?
Honestly, I don't know, but it's messed up (check the lyrics) and probably purposefully left a bit vague. It's definitely a concept album, since it's basically one song split into 14 tracks.
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Ayreon - The Human Equation
Ayreon - The Theory of Everything
Beyond the Bridge - The Old Man and the Spirit
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Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Eagles - Desperado
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Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
Symphony X - V
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This is really hard to leave some off the list (The Wall, Scenes), but I'll weigh in with these three.
Ayreon / The Human Equation
Queensryche / Operation:Mindcrime
Flaming Row / Elinoire
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Mindcrime
SFAM
APSOG
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The Arkitecht - Hyperstructure (I don't know if this counts as it's 2 concepts in the album. One that spans the cd tracks and one that is a 42 minute song.)
Anais Mitchell - HadesTown
Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man and The Spirit
Odd Logic - A Penny For Your Thoughts/Ayreon - The Human Equation
That's what they are currently, and can change depending on the mood I am in.
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Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga
King Diamond - Abigail
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1- Marillion, Brave
2- The Who, Quadrophenia
3- IQ, Subterranea
The Wall, Clutching at Straws, Elinoire, and SFaM can be interchanged with any of these.
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Dream Theater: SFAM
Coheed and Cambria: Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
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Haunted—Poe (all time favorite)
What’s Going On—Marvin Gaye
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road—Elton John
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
King Diamond - Abigail
Adding to this. House of God would battle Abigail for KD's best concept album.
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Obsidian Kingdom - Mantiis: An Agony in Fourteen Bites
Love this album. What's the concept?
Honestly, I don't know, but it's messed up (check the lyrics) and probably purposefully left a bit vague. It's definitely a concept album, since it's basically one song split into 14 tracks.
I've just checked out the lyrics and you were right, some pretty dark stuff. I've heard this album many times, but I couldn't have told you a single lyric! It's easily my favourite album by Obsidian Kingdom :metal
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If I had to make an "all time" list of the top 3 I think it would probably come down to these three albums. If you've ever heard my music you'll spot the influences, especially the Iron Maiden influence.
1. Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
2. Iron Maiden- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
3. Savatage - Dead Winter Dead
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Runners up:
Dream Theater - Metropolis Part II: Scenes From a Memory
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Kamelot - The Black Halo
Spock's Beard - Snow
Neal Morse - ?
Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite
Teramaze - Her Halo
Triumph - Surveillance
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Surprised that no one mentioned Opeth's Still Life so far.
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Triumph - Surveillance
A concept album? I've never heard of that. I even googled "triumph surveillance concept album," and nothing came up? Did you maybe mean Thunder Seven (which is really only half of a concept album)?
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To me, as Opeth albums go, I kind of put that one in the "early albums" category, meaning, I don't listen to it very much. I didn't even know it was a concept album and I've heard it at least 30 times if not more :lol
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Triumph - Surveillance
A concept album? I've never heard of that. I even googled "triumph surveillance concept album," and nothing came up? Did you maybe mean Thunder Seven (which is really only half of a concept album)?
I don't know i always just kind of assumed it was a concept album.
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Going with concept albums that tell a story and leaving off thematic ones (like Dark Side), I will go with:
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Neal Morse Band - The Similitude of a Dream
Dream Theater -Scenes from a Memory
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Really hard to narrow it down to just three, but at the moment I think:
Kamelot - The Black Halo
The Dear Hunter - Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
Dream Theater - Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
All three are albums that I've played over and over again. The first two are the only concept albums I can think of right now where I'm consistently made emotional by both the music and the story.
SFAM has a decent story with some moments that make me emotional occasionally (mainly One Last Time and Finally Free), but it's absolutely stood the test of time for me from a musical perspective after being only the second or third concept album I owned (after Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and maybe Clockwork Angels).
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In no particular order:
Dream Theater - Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes From A Memory
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence
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Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
The Dear Hunter - Act IV (Could also go with Act V depending on the day)
Marah in the Mainsail - Bone Crown
Too hard to only pick 3. I've left off...
Savatage - Streets
Dream Theater - Scenes from a Memory
Pink Floyd - The Wall
and probably many others that will come to me later when someone mentions them.
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Alice Cooper-School's Out
Dream Theater-Scenes From A Memory
Iron Maiden-Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Queensryche-Operation Mindcrime
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Those for me ..........about the only 3 concept albums I have bothered to read into the concept and understand the whole story. An obscure one .....Morifade: Domination would be one more.
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Dream Theater-Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory
The Beatles-Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Avenged Sevenfold-The Stage
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The first two are instant choices and they would be:
Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Number three is tough, it’s hard to ignore Dark Side Of The Moon, The Wall by Floyd or Brave by Marillion. Even Snow by Spock’s Beard or some of the Neal Morse solo records. There’s even Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson ones that I love.
Right now though (and this could change) I would go with Apex by Unleash The Archers.
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Those for me ..........about the only 3 concept albums I have bothered to read into the concept and understand the whole story. An obscure one .....Morifade: Domination would be one more.
I thought you'd be on board with me there. I remember you pimping That Morifade. Don't think I checked it yet.
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Checking it now. Pretty nice.
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
King Diamond - Abigail
Adding to this. House of God would battle Abigail for KD's best concept album.
I gravitate more to Puppet Master and GMYS...P.
That said, The Graveyard is pretty fucked up.
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
King Diamond - Abigail
Adding to this. House of God would battle Abigail for KD's best concept album.
I gravitate more to Puppet Master and GMYS...P.
That said, The Graveyard is pretty fucked up.
The Graveyard is an amazingly twisted story, plus I find the album very underrated. The Puppet Master too is an excellent story and album.
I didn't mind Abigal 2 also just quietly. Something about House of God gets me going. The ending with This Place is Terrible is one of the coolest climaxes I've ever heard in a concept album.
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Peace Of Mind is Schenkerific. I've always felt that.
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Really tough question this one. Like a few others above instantly to my mind is:
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Dream Theater - Scenes from a Memory
After that though, I really don't think I could name just one, so many I could chose from, all which have been previously mentioned.
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Peace Of Mind is Schenkerific. I've always felt that.
I can hear that.
Schenkerific. :lol
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No judgment, just observation, but surprising to me that the references to Brave outnumber the references to Misplaced Childhood by approximately 254 to 1.
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Brave_Poster.jpg/220px-Brave_Poster.jpg)
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HAHAHA
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No judgment, just observation, but surprising to me that the references to Brave outnumber the references to Misplaced Childhood by approximately 254 to 1.
It’s partly because I’m more of an H fan, but I just think Brave is on a totally different level than Misplaced Childhood. For whatever reason Misplaced Childhood doesn’t resonate with me all that much. It has some songs I really like (Heart of Lothian, Blind Curve), and I enjoy most of the rest, but in terms of a concept album it starts and ends with weak tracks (Pseudo Silk Kimono and White Feather) and I’m not even sure what the concept is to be honest. It’s also overshadowed by Clutching at Straws, which is Fish’s best work and Marillion’s best work to that point IMO.
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Like Kev, I'm leaving out thematic concept-y albums (so Anathema's Weather Systems or Haken's The Mountain for me) and only including full-on narrative concept albums.
1. The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life and Death
2. Pain of Salvation - Be
and then number 3 is too difficult to choose, but it'd be one of the following (in alphabetical order):
Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence
The Dear Hunter - Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise
The Dear Hunter - Act V: Hymns With the Devil in Confessional
Haken - Virus (or possibly Vector & Virus as a double album)
Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element I
Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
The River Empires - The River Empires (Epilogue)
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Had to pour over my library to get a handle on this.
1 - Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
The Other Two:
Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle
Savatage - Dead Winter Dead
Honorable Mentions:
Spock's Beard - Snow
Green Day - American Idiot
Neal Morse - Testimony
Rush - Clockwork Angels
Iced Earth - The Dark Saga
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Ayreon - The Human Equation
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Clockwork Angel's
Operation Mindcrime
SFAM
I was gonna say The Astonishing but I guess it's considered more of a rock opera. I think it certainly qualifies to be a concept album too.
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The Astonishing would definitely qualify for this imo but it’s not in my personal top 3.
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The Astonishing would definitely qualify for this imo but it’s not in my personal top 3.
It probably makes my bottom 3.
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Those for me ..........about the only 3 concept albums I have bothered to read into the concept and understand the whole story. An obscure one .....Morifade: Domination would be one more.
I thought you'd be on board with me there. I remember you pimping That Morifade. Don't think I checked it yet.
Definitely worth a listen .........probably a bit long and the first few tracks are a bit vanilla but from that point on there's more than a few good songs IMO. And like Mindcrime it's an album where the drumming is subtle but stands out - not something that normally grabs my attention.
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No judgment, just observation, but surprising to me that the references to Brave outnumber the references to Misplaced Childhood by approximately 254 to 1.
Brave is just so much more a complete and fully developed concept in my opinion, and the album is such a lush soundscape to get completely lost in. While MC set a standard, for me, Clutching at Straws surpasses it as well.
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The Astonishing would definitely qualify for this imo but it’s not in my personal top 3.
It probably makes my bottom 3.
...out of all the albums released in the last decade.
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An egregious oversight....so far, after perusing two pages worth.....Seventh Wonder "Mercy Falls".
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This is a tough one for me, in part because it depends on what you consider a "concept album". You have full on narrative-driven albums, and then there's albums with a central "concept" or theme as its focus. The title of the thread doesn't make the distinction, so I'm including those of either category.
1. Harmonium - Les cinq saisons
2. Aphrodite's Child - 666
3. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
Honorable mentions:
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Pink Floyd - Animals
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
MF DOOM - Mm.. Food
Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
I honestly forgot about Animals. That's a good call, right there.
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An egregious oversight....so far, after perusing two pages worth.....Seventh Wonder "Mercy Falls".
Definitely not.. if I had actually named progressive metal concept albums and if I could name more than three albums, this one could be on the list :)
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I love. Good concept album
Q Operation:Mindcrime
2 SFAM
3 WASP - The Crimson Idol
Underneath those three would be
Savatage - Streets
Alice Cooper - From The Inside
Camel - Nude
The Avantasia albums
The Coheed and Cambria albums
My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade
Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage
KISS - Music From The Elder in the originally intended running order
Marillion - Clutching At Straws, Misplaced Childhood
Rhapsody- Dawn of Veeectoooory
Virgin Steele - House of Atreus
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This is a tough one for me, in part because it depends on what you consider a "concept album". You have full on narrative-driven albums, and then there's albums with a central "concept" or theme as its focus.
It's not really a thing, but I do make that distinction, a "themed" album.
I consider a concept album something that tells a story, like SFAM or Mindcrime.
I consider a themed album something where the songs have a unifying theme, but they don't tell a story from beginning to end.
if DT had released the title track of Six Degrees as a standalone "album", I would consider it a themed album. There's no story told there, it's just that all the "songs" are about the same subjects, mental diseases / issues.
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Alice Cooper-School's Out
I have never heard the album, and have never been an Alice fan in general. I haven't disliked anything I have heard. But nothing really grabbed me either. Just another of many artists where, if a song of his came on, I enjoyed it well enough, but never felt compelled to seek out any of his music. The other day, while having YouTube cycle through stuff on autoplay while I was working, a pro-shot Alice show from Wacken a few years back came up, and MAN what a fun, fanstastic performance that was! School's Out (the song) was one of many highlights.
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This is a tough one for me, in part because it depends on what you consider a "concept album". You have full on narrative-driven albums, and then there's albums with a central "concept" or theme as its focus.
It's not really a thing, but I do make that distinction, a "themed" album.
I consider a concept album something that tells a story, like SFAM or Mindcrime.
I consider a themed album something where the songs have a unifying theme, but they don't tell a story from beginning to end.
if DT had released the title track of Six Degrees as a standalone "album", I would consider it a themed album. There's no story told there, it's just that all the "songs" are about the same subjects, mental diseases / issues.
Agreed. Call it splitting hairs, but I do think there is a difference between a concept album and a thematic album. Take Pink Floyd. The Wall is a concept album. Dark Side of the Moon and Animals are thematic albums. IMO, of course.
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This is a tough one for me, in part because it depends on what you consider a "concept album". You have full on narrative-driven albums, and then there's albums with a central "concept" or theme as its focus.
It's not really a thing, but I do make that distinction, a "themed" album.
I consider a concept album something that tells a story, like SFAM or Mindcrime.
I consider a themed album something where the songs have a unifying theme, but they don't tell a story from beginning to end.
if DT had released the title track of Six Degrees as a standalone "album", I would consider it a themed album. There's no story told there, it's just that all the "songs" are about the same subjects, mental diseases / issues.
I used to think of Iron Maiden’s Killers as a concept album but it is more a thematic one.
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This is a tough one for me, in part because it depends on what you consider a "concept album". You have full on narrative-driven albums, and then there's albums with a central "concept" or theme as its focus.
It's not really a thing, but I do make that distinction, a "themed" album.
I consider a concept album something that tells a story, like SFAM or Mindcrime.
I consider a themed album something where the songs have a unifying theme, but they don't tell a story from beginning to end.
if DT had released the title track of Six Degrees as a standalone "album", I would consider it a themed album. There's no story told there, it's just that all the "songs" are about the same subjects, mental diseases / issues.
Agreed. Call it splitting hairs, but I do think there is a difference between a concept album and a thematic album. Take Pink Floyd. The Wall is a concept album. Dark Side of the Moon and Animals are thematic albums. IMO, of course.
I agree that this is usually what people think of in terms of a concept album, but I sort of think these are just two different types of concept albums. You’re describing more of a rock opera concept, but historically the term has also included an album where the songs all explore or deal with a unifying theme (I looked this up on Wikipedia yesterday :-).
I think there’s less gray area with the “story” type of concept album though. It’s pretty easy to identify that as a concept album, whereas the unifying theme idea can be more of a gray area as far as when something is or isn’t a concept album.
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This is a tough one for me, in part because it depends on what you consider a "concept album". You have full on narrative-driven albums, and then there's albums with a central "concept" or theme as its focus.
It's not really a thing, but I do make that distinction, a "themed" album.
I consider a concept album something that tells a story, like SFAM or Mindcrime.
I consider a themed album something where the songs have a unifying theme, but they don't tell a story from beginning to end.
if DT had released the title track of Six Degrees as a standalone "album", I would consider it a themed album. There's no story told there, it's just that all the "songs" are about the same subjects, mental diseases / issues.
Agreed. Call it splitting hairs, but I do think there is a difference between a concept album and a thematic album. Take Pink Floyd. The Wall is a concept album. Dark Side of the Moon and Animals are thematic albums. IMO, of course.
This guy gets it.
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^Yeah, as far as how those terms are actually defined within music circles, that's right. But it can get fuzzy when the artists themselves blur the lines, which is the case for quite a few albums. And for purposes of this thread, I'm not sure the distinction matters.
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I'd argue albums where there isn't an overarching narrative but it's clearly about a specific theme are definitely concept albums. I.E. Thrice's The Alcehmy Index (different sections representing Fire, Water, Air and Earth), The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End Of Time (a musical representation of the different stages and progression of dementia), or pretty much any album by The Ocean.
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No judgment, just observation, but surprising to me that the references to Brave outnumber the references to Misplaced Childhood by approximately 254 to 1.
It’s partly because I’m more of an H fan, but I just think Brave is on a totally different level than Misplaced Childhood. For whatever reason Misplaced Childhood doesn’t resonate with me all that much. It has some songs I really like (Heart of Lothian, Blind Curve), and I enjoy most of the rest, but in terms of a concept album it starts and ends with weak tracks (Pseudo Silk Kimono and White Feather) and I’m not even sure what the concept is to be honest. It’s also overshadowed by Clutching at Straws, which is Fish’s best work and Marillion’s best work to that point IMO.
I've always seen Misplaced Childhood as 3 hours worth of lyrics crammed into the same space they had to stretch 20 minutes worth of music into. I mean, they had to extend Lavender to make it a single for radio play! And Clutching is better in every way.
Brave, on the other hand, is where the H-era finds it sound, and it's a wonderful marriage of music and lyrics.
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No judgment, just observation, but surprising to me that the references to Brave outnumber the references to Misplaced Childhood by approximately 254 to 1.
It’s partly because I’m more of an H fan, but I just think Brave is on a totally different level than Misplaced Childhood. For whatever reason Misplaced Childhood doesn’t resonate with me all that much. It has some songs I really like (Heart of Lothian, Blind Curve), and I enjoy most of the rest, but in terms of a concept album it starts and ends with weak tracks (Pseudo Silk Kimono and White Feather) and I’m not even sure what the concept is to be honest. It’s also overshadowed by Clutching at Straws, which is Fish’s best work and Marillion’s best work to that point IMO.
I've always seen Misplaced Childhood as 3 hours worth of lyrics crammed into the same space they had to stretch 20 minutes worth of music into. I mean, they had to extend Lavender to make it a single for radio play! And Clutching is better in every way.
Brave, on the other hand, is where the H-era finds it sound, and it's a wonderful marriage of music and lyrics.
I also kind of don’t love Lavender (I used to but now the melodies grate a little), and those themes repeat on Blind Curve. I don’t love Waterhole either, so that’s kind of a big chunk of the album I’m not huge on. I was listening to it in the car on the way in to work this morning, and it’s still a good listen. It’s just a little uneven.
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My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade
I don't know anything about this band or album, but I can only assume it's a hockey-themed concept? ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZL7S6vCVKY&t=41s
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No judgment, just observation, but surprising to me that the references to Brave outnumber the references to Misplaced Childhood by approximately 254 to 1.
It’s partly because I’m more of an H fan, but I just think Brave is on a totally different level than Misplaced Childhood. For whatever reason Misplaced Childhood doesn’t resonate with me all that much. It has some songs I really like (Heart of Lothian, Blind Curve), and I enjoy most of the rest, but in terms of a concept album it starts and ends with weak tracks (Pseudo Silk Kimono and White Feather) and I’m not even sure what the concept is to be honest. It’s also overshadowed by Clutching at Straws, which is Fish’s best work and Marillion’s best work to that point IMO.
I've always seen Misplaced Childhood as 3 hours worth of lyrics crammed into the same space they had to stretch 20 minutes worth of music into. I mean, they had to extend Lavender to make it a single for radio play! And Clutching is better in every way.
Brave, on the other hand, is where the H-era finds it sound, and it's a wonderful marriage of music and lyrics.
Those are not unfair statements, and with Clutching, you nailed it (Clutching is in my top five or so albums of all time, by any band). For me, MC has resonance simply because it was the first. That's what introduced me to Marillion. I really was going more for the "Fish/H" thing than whether MC was a "better" album. I thought for sentimental reasons there would be more than one (my own) reference.
FWIW, Brave is probably my favorite H era record (Marbles and Season's End come close, though).
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I'd argue albums where there isn't an overarching narrative but it's clearly about a specific theme are definitely concept albums. I.E. Thrice's The Alcehmy Index (different sections representing Fire, Water, Air and Earth), The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End Of Time (a musical representation of the different stages and progression of dementia), or pretty much any album by The Ocean.
I agree with this, although to varying degrees. People felt or looked at Jethro Tull's Aqualung as a Concept Album frequently after it was released, but Ian Anderson contended it never was, and that is largely why they made Thick as a Brick right after to distinguish what he felt actually is a Concept album.
I think between a Story (or Music written as an "Opera," or largely in a Theatrical Way), and just music/songs/pieces that focus on 1 shared theme or idea constitutes as a "Concept" work.
But then you just consider when music is made and then released on 1 work, and the Title is usually supposed to represent at least 1 part or idea of all of the pieces on that release, then almost any album could be considered loosely as a "Concept" album.
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An egregious oversight....so far, after perusing two pages worth.....Seventh Wonder "Mercy Falls".
The problem, though, is I can come up with 20 or more albums that all deserve to be pretty high on this list. Where do you draw the line?
For me the defining characteristic is longevity in rotation.
I still listen to ALL the albums I listed in my top 3 and runners up regularly. There are at least 20 more concept albums I listen to semi-regularly, like the rest of Neal Morse's solo catalog, which other than his first two solo records, are all concept albums. What's that, like 25 albums right there? :P
Mercy Falls would probably make it into my "top 25 concept albums' along with stuff from Pain of Salvation, Hourglass, Ayreon, Beardfish, Daydream XI, Dominici, Blaze Bayley, Fates Warning, Heart of Cygnus, Rush, Glass Hammer, Mercyful Fate, Megadeth, Shadow Gallery, The Tangent, Theocracy, Threshold, Vanden Plas
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I'd argue albums where there isn't an overarching narrative but it's clearly about a specific theme are definitely concept albums. I.E. Thrice's The Alcehmy Index (different sections representing Fire, Water, Air and Earth), The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End Of Time (a musical representation of the different stages and progression of dementia), or pretty much any album by The Ocean.
I agree with this, although to varying degrees. People felt or looked at Jethro Tull's Aqualung as a Concept Album frequently after it was released, but Ian Anderson contended it never was, and that is largely why they made Thick as a Brick right after to distinguish what he felt actually is a Concept album.
I think between a Story (or Music written as an "Opera," or largely in a Theatrical Way), and just music/songs/pieces that focus on 1 shared theme or idea constitutes as a "Concept" work.
But then you just consider when music is made and then released on 1 work, and the Title is usually supposed to represent at least 1 part or idea of all of the pieces on that release, then almost any album could be considered loosely as a "Concept" album.
Half the Rush catalogue - or at least that part from Signals on - falls into that category, no?
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I'd argue albums where there isn't an overarching narrative but it's clearly about a specific theme are definitely concept albums. I.E. Thrice's The Alcehmy Index (different sections representing Fire, Water, Air and Earth), The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End Of Time (a musical representation of the different stages and progression of dementia), or pretty much any album by The Ocean.
I agree with this, although to varying degrees. People felt or looked at Jethro Tull's Aqualung as a Concept Album frequently after it was released, but Ian Anderson contended it never was, and that is largely why they made Thick as a Brick right after to distinguish what he felt actually is a Concept album.
I think between a Story (or Music written as an "Opera," or largely in a Theatrical Way), and just music/songs/pieces that focus on 1 shared theme or idea constitutes as a "Concept" work.
But then you just consider when music is made and then released on 1 work, and the Title is usually supposed to represent at least 1 part or idea of all of the pieces on that release, then almost any album could be considered loosely as a "Concept" album.
Half the Rush catalogue - or at least that part from Signals on - falls into that category, no?
For me? Nope. As far as I'm concerned Rush stopped making music I care about after Moving Pictures. I like the odd song here and there from the rest of their catalog but it's all very hit and miss with me, mostly miss. The problem is, I came for the guitar playing and they became a very keyboard/synth-centric group after Moving Pictures and it just never really did much of anything for me. I know that's blasphemy in these parts :lol But it's the truth
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I certainly considered Mercy Falls, but for someone like me who listens to genres that tend to produce a lot of concept albums, three is not that many to choose!
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For me? Nope. As far as I'm concerned Rush stopped making music I care about after Moving Pictures. I like the odd song here and there from the rest of their catalog but it's all very hit and miss with me, mostly miss. The problem is, I came for the guitar playing and they became a very keyboard/synth-centric group after Moving Pictures and it just never really did much of anything for me. I know that's blasphemy in these parts :lol But it's the truth
Blasphemy? No. But it's also not "the truth."
Rush did become very keyboard/synth-centric for a few albums in the 80s, but they moved away from that starting with 1989's Presto, to the point that their 2002 release (Vapor Trails) had not a single keyboard on it (a first since 1975's Caress of Steel). So...if you "came for the guitar playing," you might want to check some of the post-Hold Your Fire material.
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I'd argue albums where there isn't an overarching narrative but it's clearly about a specific theme are definitely concept albums. I.E. Thrice's The Alcehmy Index (different sections representing Fire, Water, Air and Earth), The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End Of Time (a musical representation of the different stages and progression of dementia), or pretty much any album by The Ocean.
I agree with this, although to varying degrees. People felt or looked at Jethro Tull's Aqualung as a Concept Album frequently after it was released, but Ian Anderson contended it never was, and that is largely why they made Thick as a Brick right after to distinguish what he felt actually is a Concept album.
I think between a Story (or Music written as an "Opera," or largely in a Theatrical Way), and just music/songs/pieces that focus on 1 shared theme or idea constitutes as a "Concept" work.
But then you just consider when music is made and then released on 1 work, and the Title is usually supposed to represent at least 1 part or idea of all of the pieces on that release, then almost any album could be considered loosely as a "Concept" album.
Half the Rush catalogue - or at least that part from Signals on - falls into that category, no?
For me? Nope. As far as I'm concerned Rush stopped making music I care about after Moving Pictures. I like the odd song here and there from the rest of their catalog but it's all very hit and miss with me, mostly miss. The problem is, I came for the guitar playing and they became a very keyboard/synth-centric group after Moving Pictures and it just never really did much of anything for me. I know that's blasphemy in these parts :lol But it's the truth
No, no, I'm with you on that. I meant more about the thematic part. Neil would write 8 or 10 songs that weren't a story, weren't a concept, but were all thematically in line. Certainly Power Windows and Roll The Bones are like that. I think Signals is. Hold Your Fire is. p/g is.
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Very true, and I never got the sense that the band went in with any preconceived notions of trying to make a record thematic lyrically; it's just the headspace Neil was in at the time that would inevitably come out in the lyrics he would write.
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I don't say this to argue, I say this to learn in case my understanding is wrong, but I thought he admitted that, at least with Power Windows. I seem to recall that.
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For me? Nope. As far as I'm concerned Rush stopped making music I care about after Moving Pictures. I like the odd song here and there from the rest of their catalog but it's all very hit and miss with me, mostly miss. The problem is, I came for the guitar playing and they became a very keyboard/synth-centric group after Moving Pictures and it just never really did much of anything for me. I know that's blasphemy in these parts :lol But it's the truth
Blasphemy? No. But it's also not "the truth."
Rush did become very keyboard/synth-centric for a few albums in the 80s, but they moved away from that starting with 1989's Presto, to the point that their 2002 release (Vapor Trails) had not a single keyboard on it (a first since 1975's Caress of Steel). So...if you "came for the guitar playing," you might want to check some of the post-Hold Your Fire material.
By "the truth" I was referring to my position, not how much or how little guitar is in some of their later albums, jesus. Kind of thought that was obvious, but I forget where I am :facepalm:
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I've realized I have a lot of Thematic albums that I consider my top albums, stuff like Marillions Marbles, Moonsorrows Verisakeet, Tools Lateralus, Oceansizes Frames, etc etc...
But if we are talking about full on Conceptual story album...
1. Sieges Even - The Art of Navigating by the Stars
2. Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
3. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
Honorable mentions
Riverside - Out of Myself
Shadow Gallery - Room V
Negură Bunget - Om
Enslaved - Isa
Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris
I tend to gravitate towards music that is Thematic or Conceptual in nature. I probably need to look through my collection again, because I know there are some more recent albums that would probably be ranked higher than these.
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Alice Cooper-School's Out
I have never heard the album, and have never been an Alice fan in general. I haven't disliked anything I have heard. But nothing really grabbed me either. Just another of many artists where, if a song of his came on, I enjoyed it well enough, but never felt compelled to seek out any of his music. The other day, while having YouTube cycle through stuff on autoplay while I was working, a pro-shot Alice show from Wacken a few years back came up, and MAN what a fun, fanstastic performance that was! School's Out (the song) was one of many highlights.
That's a great show.
He's fantastic live and always sports a hot band. His current band has been with him well over a decade and they are tight as hell.
If you ever have an extra 40 minutes and you're not sure what you want to listen to, go ahead and pull up School's Out on Spotify. It's a great album. I consider the original Alice Cooper band the most underrated American rock band going. Their songwriting was way ahead of its time. My two faves are School's Out and Killer. Halo Of Flies, off of Killer, is what I consider the original progressive metal song.
His radio hits don't even scratch the surface.
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It really was a great show. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Was he the closer that night? It looked like it. But I didn't think he was huge enough to close a festival that gigantic.
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It really was a great show. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Was he the closer that night? It looked like it. But I didn't think he was huge enough to close a festival that gigantic.
Wacken is a 3-4 day festival and runs two stages side by side. Technically Nightwish headlined the Saturday night and their slot was 10:45 -12:15, but Alice Cooper played right before them and their slot was 9:00-10:30.
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Question for the hard-core Rush fans:
Is 2112 a concept album?
I don't think it is, but I admit I have no authoritative source for that information.
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Question for the hard-core Rush fans:
Is 2112 a concept album?
I don't think it is, but I admit I have no authoritative source for that information.
it's not IMHO (and neither is Hemispheres), because there is only 2112 that tells a story, not the rest of the album (same with Hemispheres). IIRC though, Neil Peart mentioned Clockwork Angels (their final album) to be one.
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Question for the hard-core Rush fans:
Is 2112 a concept album?
I don't think it is, but I admit I have no authoritative source for that information.
it's not IMHO (and neither is Hemispheres), because there is only 2112 that tells a story, not the rest of the album (same with Hemispheres).
Concur.
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I really tried with that last album, but like all the other stuff they've done post Moving Pictures I just can't get into it. It was a chore to get through the entire CD once and I never went back to it. I had the same reaction to Snakes and Arrows, Vapor Trails was unlistenable because of the awful production, and I've tried every other album of theirs and like I've mentioned before I usually find one or two tracks that are OK but they tend to be the radio songs. Rush is one of the very few bands I use playlists for.
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This is a tough one for me, in part because it depends on what you consider a "concept album". You have full on narrative-driven albums, and then there's albums with a central "concept" or theme as its focus.
It's not really a thing, but I do make that distinction, a "themed" album.
I consider a concept album something that tells a story, like SFAM or Mindcrime.
I consider a themed album something where the songs have a unifying theme, but they don't tell a story from beginning to end.
if DT had released the title track of Six Degrees as a standalone "album", I would consider it a themed album. There's no story told there, it's just that all the "songs" are about the same subjects, mental diseases / issues.
Agreed. Call it splitting hairs, but I do think there is a difference between a concept album and a thematic album. Take Pink Floyd. The Wall is a concept album. Dark Side of the Moon and Animals are thematic albums. IMO, of course.
as with DT IMHO: Met2 and TA are concept albums, 6D and Octa are thematic albums. Quite a difference there IMHO. (DT15 might be a thematic one too, given what Jordan mentioned already, more on that as it happens of course)
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Question for the hard-core Rush fans:
Is 2112 a concept album?
I don't think it is, but I admit I have no authoritative source for that information.
I don't see why anyone thinks 2112 is a concept album, although I see it described as one with some regularity. The song 2112 tells a continuous story from start to finish, but that story has nothing to do with Twilight Zone or Something for Nothing.
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Question for the hard-core Rush fans:
Is 2112 a concept album?
I don't think it is, but I admit I have no authoritative source for that information.
I don't see why anyone thinks 2112 is a concept album, although I see it described as one with some regularity. The song 2112 tells a continuous story from start to finish, but that story has nothing to do with Twilight Zone or Something for Nothing.
My guess is just because the title track dominates the album and the other tracks are almost like B-sides (technically they were b-sides I guess)
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I never thought of it as a concept album myself but I was having this discussion with a couple of people in my band the other day when we were talking about cover tunes we'd like to do. We have a vocalist who sounds exactly like 2112-era Geddy Lee so we are thinking about doing the entire album and our drummer said something like, "oh cool I always wanted to play an entire concept album from beginning to end at a live show" I was polite about it and didn't correct him but I was pretty sure he was mistaken because I always thought the same thing. Side A is the epic and side B is all individual songs that are completely unrelated.
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Crack The Skye
Scenes From A Memory
The Astonishing
Cant think of many other concept albums i even like !
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Crack The Skye
Scenes From A Memory
The Astonishing
Cant think of many other concept albums i even like !
Crack the Skye is a great choice!! I think I'll go listen to it now.....
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Crack The Skye is a concept album?
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Crack The Skye is a concept album?
Indeed!
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How TF is Crack The Skye NOT a concept album ? :rollin
Also - I forgot about American idiot !!! :metal
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Crack The Skye
Scenes From A Memory
The Astonishing
Cant think of many other concept albums i even like !
Crack the Skye is a great choice!! I think I'll go listen to it now.....
I think Emperor Of Sand is just as good. Another concept album. I think the only Mastodon albums that don't have a theme or story are Remission and The Hunter.
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Crack The Skye
Scenes From A Memory
The Astonishing
Cant think of many other concept albums i even like !
Crack the Skye is a great choice!! I think I'll go listen to it now.....
I think Emperor Of Sand is just as good. Another concept album. I think the only Mastodon albums that don't have a theme or story are Remission and The Hunter.
Funny thing, I love Crack the Skye, but I found Emperor of Sand fairly bland :dunno:
As far as Remission goes, it's more Thematic. Fire being the theme.
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I think Once More Round The Sun is the bland one.
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Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
Pink Floyd - The Wall
The Who - Tommy
Pain of Salvation - BE
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Crack The Skye is a concept album?
Indeed!
What's the concept?
How TF is Crack The Skye NOT a concept album ? :rollin
:huh:
I bought it after hearing it being played in a record store. I think I've listened to it 2 maybe 3 times.
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I think Once More Round The Sun is the bland one.
I'm not getting into this again.
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Would be 3 of;
WASP - The Crimson Idol
Savatage - Streets
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
Those for me ..........about the only 3 concept albums I have bothered to read into the concept and understand the whole story. An obscure one .....Morifade: Domination would be one more.
Just listened to this last night while working out. Quite sweet. Can't quite put my finger on who the vocalist reminds me of. I'll definitely come back to this one.