Dark Castle's Radular Top 50 V. Skeletonwitch Booty Shorts Feel Great

[wolfking]

Best Opeth album.

[Elite]

No.

[wolfking]

Umm....yes.

[Zantera]

Best Opeth album indeed.

[Heretic]

3rd best Opeth album.

[Dr. DTVT]

3rd best Opeth album.

[Elite]

4th best Opeth album.

[Dark Castle]

An Opeth album.

[The King in Crimson]

3rd best Opeth album.

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[Dark Castle]

31. Ihsahn - After


Ihsahn is a mental genius.   After caught my heart when Undercurrents was featured on a Metal Hammer compilation cd and an interview with the bearded Nord.  Originally of the highly regarded Black Metal band Emperor, after the split, Ihsahn set down his own path of Black Metal flawlessly mixed with progressive elements.  Jørgen Munkeby of Shining, the Industrial Black Metal band from Sweden, provides amazing Saxaphone on the album, and really helps the album transcend into something amazing, even though Ihsahn already provides for great listening.  Ihsahn has a raspy howl, and it sometimes when I'm in the right mood gets me all emotional and bullshit.  The tracks are have a desolate feel about them, and by that I don't mean it feels empty music wise, but that the songs are melancholic and such.  The album has a shine about it, Ihsahn's guitar tone is cold, reminiscent of his Emperor days, but at the same time they feel like they're conveying along with his voice desperation, sadness, and the tone of this album just blows me away.  Check this out if you're a fan of Black Metal that's got more to it than kvlt-ness, you'll be rewarded with amazing instrumentation, including amazing sax, and you'll be treated with radular songs.
Favorite Tracks: The Barren Lands, Frozen Lakes On Mars, Undercurrent, On The Shores

[Heretic]

3rd best Opeth album.

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These guys know what's up.

I've been meaning to listen to Ihsahn, good write-up!

[The King in Crimson]

After is fucking awesome.  Definitely check it out.

[Dark Castle]

30. A Life Once Lost - Hunter


Heavier than a Wailord coming down on you, A Life Once Lost are closing out the 30's and with style.  These guys were a relatively unknown metalcore later groove metal band from Philadelphia, and are working releasing a new album, so if you like this, check out their other work and look forward to new music from them.  Anyways, on to why I love this album.  After coming to my senses and realizing that I love Converge, I started to seek out bands of similar sound but with their own identity.  It was a tough choice between this record and Iron Gag, as both are fantastic and Iron Gag has guest appearances from Devin Townsend and Randy Blythe, but Hunter is just a ferocious album, and it takes no prisoners.  Right away the album throws you into a maelstrom of anger, and visceral meaty music.  The vocals are similar to Converge except that unlike Jacob Bannon, Robert Meadows has some gruff to his voice and he pronunciates.  Pacewise they're a slower band, but they do pick up the pace at points, but that's kind of where they differentiate from other bands.  When you think of ferocious you usually think fast, ripping music, but these guys specialize in abysmal, djenty tunes that skull fuck you.  So if you like bands such as Converge, or Trap Them, check these guys out.
Favorite Tracks: Needleman, Vulture, Salai, Ghosting, With Pitiless Blows

[wolfking]

I think I have this album.  I'm sure I picked it up new for like $2.  I'll have to have a look at home to make sure I'm not trippin'.

[Dark Castle]

29. Cephalic Carnage - Misled By Certainty


One of the best surprises I've ever heard, and my gateway into grindcore, Cephalic Carnage start off the 20's, and quite classily.  Comprised of dudes with a love for the herb, they belt out proggy grindcore that often delves into progressive death metal territory.  The album itself is their latest, and with each album they get more and more weird.  I got this album shortly after I started reading Decibel Magazine, the cover was extremely badass, and the way the band was described and how they described their writing process intrigued the crap out of me, so I went out and bought the album.  It's a wall of noise, but it's layered so fine, that you can pick out every instrument and just focus on it.  The most amazing thing about this album is the drumming.  Repangaea, a 12 minute colossal track is a swooning beast, saxophone and drumming the show offs.  And saying that, everyone else is amazing as well, I love bands that make sure the bassist is heard, and it's quite fun to just listen to him on this record, and the vocalist has a powerful throaty roar, along with a high pitched growl that is peppered throughout the record at all the right places.  So if you're a fan of Decapitated, Death, or Napalm Death, check this band out, you won't be sorry.
Favorite Tracks: The Incorrigible Flame, Abraxas of Filth, Raped By an Orb, Ohrwurm, Repangaea

[Dark Castle]

28. Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech


Ocean Machine:BM is my second favorite Devin Townsend album.
At the point in time where I heard this album, I'd heard all of the Project albums and Ziltoid The Omniscient, so I knew that Devin was incapable of fucking up really.  I was going through a tough time that month, in general I just felt like shit, feelings were emerging for an ex, and I still had no new car so I was always stuck where ever I happened to be.  So this album was like a "Bro don't worry bro, it's going to be okay bro" kind of album.  It's a very ambient album for most of the ride and yet it keeps your attention, and musically feels lonely, but with flashes of optimism, something which I dug immensely.  Devin Townsends' voice is something no short of amazing, something I'll go further in depth on when I discuss my favorite album of his   and just because it's a very chill record, by no means is the musicianship lacking, in fact, they work well to set up an atmosphere for the album, and it just pulls you in.
Favorite Tracks: Seventh Wave, Hide Nowhere, Voices In The Fan, Funeral, Bastard

[Ravenheart]

Out of everything I've heard by Devin, Ocean Machine and Addicted captivated me the most. Good stuff.

[Dark Castle]

27. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis


The Dillinger Escape Plan is a band that after learning to love Converge, I found at a later point.  For awhile I was just content to listen to the song Farewell Mona Lisa.  It's a song that starts of with some twangy, distorted guitars, and then curb stomps you for the next 5 minutes, occasionally poking through to some calm passages, that are quite frankly beautiful.  The rest of the album follows much of the same suit, with the calm passages forcing itself into the spotlight on track 6, Widower.  It's a song that cradles your mind, providing a nice resting point from the insanity, a piano plays along with a crooning Puciato, slowly as drums come in, and a bass with a tone that gives me tears in the eyes, crescendoing into an amazing finale with a belligerent Puciato and jittery riffage. The rest of the album then jumps right back into the hurricane leaving you breathless by the end.  Weinman continues to lead the band with amazing music, and his riffs are some of the most memorable I've ever heard.  Really everyone is a highlight in this album, the band shines and shows everyone how to flawlessly mesh crushing riffs and beauty into a monstrous beast that challenges the listener, and provides for an ear-opening experience.  For fans of Converge, A Life Once Lost, but also bands that are on the heavier side of progressive such as Periphery, and such bands, you won't be disappointed.
Favorite Tracks: Farewell Mona Lisa, Crystal Mornings, Widower, Chinese Whispers, Parasitic Twins

[Dark Castle]

26. Converge - Jane Doe


What many call the epitome of Convege's sound, I tend to agree, it is an that is monumental, not only for metalcore, but for metal as a whole.  Decibel Magazine said it was an album that had scene teenagers with their hair all colorful to the most kvlt of black metallers connecting to, and I think that's a pretty good sum of it's reach to listeners.  It's a vicious fucker of an album, and even more so than number 27, it is an exercise for the listener, and tough to finish, but it's an album worth the workout.  By this point in their discography, Jacob Bannon became harder to understand, which can be a pitfall for some, but for me, he's just sounding angrier, and I find it for the better.  A lot of you also may know who Kurt Ballou is, he's the guitarist for Converge, and with every album, he rights amazing riffs and his solos are just incredible, but not so many of you may know that he produces many bands albums these days, and is in quite popular demand.  Back to the album anyways, eheh.  Most of the songs are short bursts of anger and shake you like you're a helpless baby, where as the title track is a slower paced, crushing song.  If you're a fan of bands such as Trap Them, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Integrity, and A Life Once Lost, and you haven't listened to Converge for some odd reason, give them a try, and find out how radular they are.
Favorite Tracks: Fault and Fracture, Hell To Pay, Heaven In Her Arms, Phoenix in Flames, Jane Doe

[senecadawg2]

Listening to some Ihsahn right now, not bad at all... Also, I'm interested in Gojira, as I have seen lots of positive feedback about them around here. Lists like this have been good for introducing me to more heavy music, which I only just got into in the last few months.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Jane Doe is a fucking insane album. I hated it so much at first, but all it takes is a listen when you're in a pissed off enough mood and it all comes together in the insane glory it is. Awesome album.

[Dark Castle]

Jane Doe is a fucking insane album. I hated it so much at first, but all it takes is a listen when you're in a pissed off enough mood and it all comes together in the insane glory it is. Awesome album.

This so much    I actually caught them on the Mastodon/Dethklok tour and fucking hated them.  But a friend urged me to check them out some more, and I eventually fell in love with them.

[senecadawg2]

Also, just listening to Jane Doe for the first time. This is SCARY.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

  Understandable first impression.

[Dark Castle]

Seneca, if you do end up enjoying Jane Doe, some other great albums from them are Axe To Fall, and When Forever Comes Crashing C:

[senecadawg2]

I'm gonna do like LLtWM, and wait until I'm very angry to listen to it all the way through. Just sampling a little as of right now.

[glaurung]

I'm a little bit late but I have to agree with you on how amazing After is. On the Shores is probably one of my favorite songs!

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I'm gonna do like LLtWM, and wait until I'm very angry to listen to it all the way through. Just sampling a little as of right now.

Good luck. Almost everyone who hears it hates it at first, but you just gotta hit the right moment I suppose.

[senecadawg2]

I'm a little bit late but I have to agree with you on how amazing After is. On the Shores is probably one of my favorite songs!

I really enjoy the sax on this album, as well as everything else. Except, I'm a bit indifferent on the vocals.

[Dark Castle]

25. Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy


Sort of a controversial opinion I suppose, The Obsidian Conspiracy shows up at number 25.  I found out a lot of people don't consider this to be their better work, but not much of their older work has connected with me like TOC did.  I suppose it was the first full album I'd heard from them so it kind of gets an unfair advantage, but I'd heard some of their other stuff before, so I wasn't completely new to them, I'd just had given them a more intense listening yet.  I bought this one day during this past summer at my local record store, and drove home jamming it, and completely loved it.  The vocals are so operatic and and captivating and were something that made Nevermore  different from a lot of other bands.  Jeff Loomis is also a mental genius and his guitar riffs, solos and just everything are something amazing to listen to.  Each song on the album has it's own tale and I found it fun to read along or just listen to what each song was about, they were very good at writing lyrics.  It was sad to see these guys break up due to alcohol issues, and hopefully in the future, when everyone's worked through their problems and have done their own things, hopefully they could join up again, as it sucked to just get into them, and then they just break up.
Favorite Tracks: Termination Proclamation, Emptiness Unobstructed, Without Morals, She Comes In Colors

[Dr. DTVT]

I like Nevermore, but TOC isn't top 3 album for them, and lightyears behind This Godless Endevor, IMO

[Elite]

Dead Heart In a Dead World > This Godless Endeavour > Enemies of Reality > The Obsidian Conspiracy

Sorry bud.

[wolfking]

Easily my least fav Nevermore record.

[pain of occupation]

i (really) like(d) nevermore. 6.5 years ago, i was touting TGE as the greatest metal album ever; did that for a couple months til in a flesh aquarium came out.

like most others, for me, TOC didnt reach the dizzying heights of TGE.
but unlike what seems to be a large number of the fans, i still liked TOC. a lot.
between the song writing in general, and the number of ballads, the album seems like something of a throw back to the dead heart days.

anywayz, youve put me in the mood. spinning TOC now. 

[Sigz]

Option Paralysis and Jane Doe are both phenomenal albums.