Crack the Skye was the first Mastodon I ever listened to, and a great choice! I still need to check out August Burns Red yet, would Leveler be a good place to start or should I start further back in their discography?
Yes! Leveler is a fantastic album, though not my favorite by them. Close, though. @Zydar, you should definitely check it out, it's a pretty rad album! Some meh songs, but the ones that are awesome... are awesome. Zantera, that's unfortunate... I do think Leviathan is fantastic, though, my 3rd favorite by the guys.
29. Porcupine Tree - In AbsentiaSecond favorite PT album right here! Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream have been creeping up behind it quickly, though, so who knows by this time next year. In any case, this was the first PT album I heard in full, and the first that finally got to me. At first, PT were a band I liked a few songs from, but didn't really care for the entire discography. It took a good while for the band to grow on me, but now they have, and I love their work; I think it was Deform to Form a Star from SW's solo album that really made me realize how beautiful SW's work was that got me to finally delve deeper into the discography and learn to love it. This album is among their best (except in Zantera's opinion
) and showcases three of my favorite PT songs: Trains, Collapse the Light Into Earth, and Blackest Eyes. Overall, the album is a staple of PT's discography and an album any progressive fan should listen to!
Favorite songs: Trains, Collapse the Light Into Earth, Blackest Eyes, Heartattack in a Layby 28. Avenged Sevenfold - NightmareAvenged Sevenfold are the band that got me into music, but you'll hear a good bit about that later on in this list. For now, I'll just say that their music impacted me enough to start checking out lots of other stuff, which eventually got me where I am today, I suppose. However, no matter how my taste changes, I will always love these guys and their music. Nightmare was a fantastic release from 2010, one of my top albums of the year (Anathema released their best album that year, though, so not
the best
) and it was a definite step up from the self-titled in my opinion. A more return to the heavy metal sound that defined City of Evil fused with some of the more rock tendencies from the S/T and the typical experimentation, Nightmare was written at a time which makes the album even more recognizable-- the death of Avenged Sevenfold's drummer came in 2009, right as the album's writing had been underway. The album then changed from a concept album about who knows what to a different kind of concept album-- an album written as a tribute to their late best friend, and the band did it seamlessly. Everyone's favorite ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy stepped in to record the drums for the album, him being one of the Rev's favorite drummers, and he does an excellent job on each song.
Overall, the album is very solid. It's a metal record, full of fast solos, heavy riffs, and blazing drums, while also containing slower ballads, melody in every corner, and even progressive elements. It's what makes these guys one of my favorite bands. The album closer "Save Me" shows what a genius the Rev was, being based off of some things he had written before. Save Me is like Avenged Sevenfold on Dream Theater steroids, and it closes the album majestically.
Favorite songs: Tonight the World Dies, Save Me, Buried Alive, So Far Away, Welcome to the Family27. Opeth - Blackwater Park Here's my second favorite Opeth album, Blackwater Park. Originally my favorite, this album was the first I heard in full by Opeth, and, contained the first song I'd heard from them in general (Harvest.) The album was produced by Mr. Steven Wilson, and his influence is definitely there. Bleak is my favorite song by Opeth, and it features SW on the song, too. What I love about the album is the atmosphere, the change between dark and light, heavy and soft, mixed with evil sounding growls, then accompanied by a soft, mellow voice. Opeth are a really interesting band, and they continue to grow on me with each listen, because each listen showcases new things in the songs I hadn't heard before. Blackwater Park is considered Opeth's magnum opus by lots of fans, and I can definitely see why.
Favorite songs: Bleak, The Drapery Falls, Blackwater Park, Harvest