23. Dream Theater - Images and Words (1992)
Not much to say here, we all know it and love it and it's simply one of the best prog albums ever. A friend in school back when I was in 7th grade brought a tape which had A Change of Seasons on it. It blew my mind, and we all sat listening to it, even the teacher listened in awe and liked what he heard. About a day later I went to the cd shop to look for a Dream Theater cd, and Images and Words was all they had. I picked it up and had never heard music quite like it before. Lots of great memories discovering this band with this cd, and still one of the freshest prog albums to date. I don't think I need to post best songs or links for this one.
22. Yngwie Malmsteen - Alchemy (1999)
Yet another pick that many wouldn't expect from this artist. Discovering Yngwie Malmsteen was somewhat of a revelation to me, I loved his style and he is still one of my top 3 guitarists of all time, probably even number 1. Malmsteen had good success with his albums in the 80's and still kept going strong in the 90's. But in 1999 came an album that was totally different than anything he has ever done, and IMO it paid off. This album sees the return of the incredible Mark Boals and boy, this is probably his best performance ever. The thing that makes Alchemy so different is every song is a ball buster. Not much acoustic stuff (besides a stint in the final trilogy) and no ballads whatsoever, just shred all the way through. It's dark, heavy, fast and seriously just melts my face off everytime I hear it. This is Malmsteen at his peak IMO, an album that is one of a kind and he will never replicate again. A perfect mix of metal and shred, with seriously some of the greatest vocal performances ever put on tape. Check Leonardo.
Best tracks - Leonardo, Playing with Fire, Stand, Wield my Sword, Blue, Voodoo Nights
Leonardo -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1KIEkDxx9sWield My Sword -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK1snO5mW2821. Fates Warning - Parallels (1991)
Another prog masterpiece. This was my first album from Fates Warning and it still remains my fav to this day, it's a very special album. This album saw the complexity of their earlier music step aside for a more direct, somewhat commercial approach which was based more on songwriting. This album has such an incredible sound and atmosphere that drew me in straight away and kept me hooked for literally years. Great lyrics, great solos from the underrated Frank Aresti, Bones and Mark have a tight rhythm section that just breathes so damn much, and of course Ray sounds great. This also saw the movement of style cater well for Ray and his voice which has obviously changed over the years. One of the things I love most is the production from Terry Brown and the use of more clean piezo style guitar sounds, it gives the record a warm and dreamy sound mixed with a really nice distortion over the top. perfect record, perfect songs, prog fans should know this one inside out. (no pun intended)
Best tracks - Leave the Past Behind, Life in Still Water, Don't Follow Me, The Eleventh Hour, Eye to Eye
Leave the Past Behind -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwSft8zNaS0Life in Still Water -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgPWvjt-0oA
Topic: wolfking's official top 50 album thread v. Over and out (Read 93394 times)
