Big Hath's Top 50 Albums v. #1: -.---.----..

[Elite]

Seventh Wonder 

I've got to give Karnivool a try...

MERCY FALLS

Also, yes. Sound Awake is an amazing album.

[Onno]

Sound Awake is brilliant. Still need to listen to Seventh Wonder.

[Big Hath]

on Star One.  Have you picked up the DVD Live on Earth (it's hard to find since they aren't in print anymore)?  That's pretty sweet too.  Even if you don't have the DVD, most (all) the songs have been put up on YT.  I'm particularly fond of Intergalactic Space Crusaders... the interaction between Wilson and Allen is a Mastercard moment.

I've seen a few of the YT clips.  Looks great.

It's too bad scheduling those live shows is such a nightmare with trying to coordinate the the schedules and pay all the different guest musicians.

[jingle.boy]

that tour was (unfortunately) a one-shot deal.  Unlikely to ever be repeated again.  However, if it was, it would be compelling enough for me to book my airfare.

[MoraWintersoul]

MERCY FALLS MERCY FALLS. I don't even have beef with the spoken-word bits. Seriously. You guys are overblowing it a bit

[Orthogonal]

This was what  I wrote about Mercy Falls in the SW thread.. "the spoken dialogue portions dealing with heavy topics in Mercy Falls are delivered with the emotional depth of a kiddie pool, almost no variation or inflection in their voices, making it come off very robotic. I had a hard time getting past that, but the music, my god, the music is SOOOO awesome, it's easy to get an acquired taste for. I couldn't stop listening to Mercy Falls and I still give it regular spins"

I love SW, I would put both MF and TGE in my top 50.


Guess I should check out Karnivool since it is getting so much praise here. These threads have been exposing me to a lot of new music too.

[DebraKadabra]

The Great Escape was the headline I envisioned seeing on the front page of the newspaper when I cut class for the first time at age 8 and thought it was some kind of big accomplishment.

was this the music playing in your head as you ditched class? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsuAbTTsV8

Nice call, Hath

[jingle.boy]

You guys are overblowing it a bit

No, we're not.  It's just a good thing the music is exponentially more 'good' than the spoken parts are 'bad'.

[black_biff_stadler]

was this the music playing in your head as you ditched class? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsuAbTTsV8

Considering I lived five blocks from school at the time, it would've been a very appropriate track length I thought it kinda sounded like the theme from the glory scene in Stripes where they're emerging from Russia but I guess I was wrong.

[DebraKadabra]

 

You've NEVER seen The Great Escape?!

 

You should fix that ASAP - damn fine movie.

[Big Hath]

The Great Escape was the headline I envisioned seeing on the front page of the newspaper when I cut class for the first time at age 8 and thought it was some kind of big accomplishment.

was this the music playing in your head as you ditched class? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsuAbTTsV8

Nice call, Hath

I tried to find the Simpsons clip where they used it while Maggie was escaping from preschool.

[DebraKadabra]

 

[Heretic]

HECK YES to The Great Escape and Sound Awake. You're right in saying that TGE's title track is like the best thing ever.

[jingle.boy]

You've NEVER seen The Great Escape?!

 

You should fix that ASAP - damn fine movie.

Incredibly, it was just on TV around these here parts last night.  Don't feel to bad Josh, I haven't seen it either.   

[MoraWintersoul]

No, we're not.  It's just a good thing the music is exponentially more 'good' than the spoken parts are 'bad'.

Sure, they're not good at all, but I never cringed or anything.

[DebraKadabra]

Incredibly, it was just on TV around these here parts last night.  Don't feel to bad Josh, I haven't seen it either.   

 

Both of you, bant.

[black_biff_stadler]

Alrighty, I'll go haul ass out to Ye Olde Theatre in a stolen Ford Escape while blasting Metallica's Escape.

[Big Hath]

#45 - Mastodon - The Hunter (2011)



Of the many bands I have gotten into this past year, Mastodon is one of my favorites, and is quickly becoming one of my (and my wife’s) favorite bands of all time.  I purchased Leviathan almost a year ago, loved it, and bought the latest three albums a few months later in preparation for the Mastodon/Opeth tour that came through Dallas in April.  (That’s also approximately the time I joined DTF, hence the avatar.)  I rate each of those albums pretty closely even though they have very different feels, but I put The Hunter just ahead of Leviathan and Blood Mountain primarily because of seeing most of the songs live (I think they played 12 of the 13 songs live at the show I attended).  The Hunter has much of the signature Mastodon sound; sludgy mix and guitar riffs, rough vocals (for the most part), insane drums, and that distinctive Mastodon tone.  It does take a step back from the prog nature of Skye - but what seems to stick out most about this album is the hook-laden nature of the tracks, leading to a very catchy album.
 
All the songs seem quite different from each other, but rather than feeling like a mixed bag or randomness, the contrast works well for the album.  And the quality is very consistent throughout.  Standouts include "Dry Bone Valley" (a top 5 Mastadon song for me), "Stargasm" (Sex in space?  SEX IN SPACE!), "Octopus Has No Friends" (great anthemic chorus, and frantic guitars during the verses) and the haunting title track (written in memory of guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds' brother who died during the making of the album).

"I killed a man 'cause he killed my goat, I put my hands around his throat.
He tried to reason with the sky and the clouds, but it didn't matter, 'cause they can't hear a sound."

[Elite]

I was wondering when this one would show up, though I expected it later. Very good album though, one of the best of last year.

[black_biff_stadler]

I like the irony of you posting the regular version when you could've just self-avatar quoted in enlarged fashion. It's a shame I don't get a hardon for this album because I find the special edition's entire packaging to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

[Mladen]

That's a damn good album. 

I started my Mastodon journey this year. Having started with Remission, I was disappointed, its extremeness wasn't really my cup of tea. Then somebody suggested that The Hunter is very heavy as well, but it's much more accessible and melodic. And man, they were right, it's a very cool album, my second favorite Mastodon record only next to Crack the Skye - after all, I can't not love prog. 

[Onno]

Really cool album.

[Big Hath]

I like the irony of you posting the regular version when you could've just self-avatar quoted in enlarged fashion. It's a shame I don't get a hardon for this album because I find the special edition's entire packaging to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

the special edition is the one I have actually, but my purpose is to cater more to those that may not already know the album so if they are interested in picking it up, this is the cover they will likely see.

Yeah, I knew you wouldn't be all that crazy about the ones I chose for the list, but as I mentioned I think they are all great.

[senecadawg2]

I've never really been able to get into Mastodon, just not my cup of tea I guess. Although another try wouldn't hurt. What album would you guys suggest?

[Big Hath]

what kind of music are you into at the moment?  and what Mastodon songs or albums have you already heard?

[senecadawg2]

I've only listened to a little bit of Leviathan. At the moment, I'm into just almost everything. Tallest Man on Earth, Agalloch, Opeth, Tool, I could go on but I don't think that's going to help 

[Big Hath]

If Leviathan wasn't quite your thing, try Crack the Skye which is much more on the progressive side of things or The Hunter which I mentioned is much more catchy with all the hooks.  For songs, try Dry Bone Valley, Oblivion, Stargasm, The Last Baron, etc.

[adace]

The Hunter is a great album, but Crack the Skye is still my favorite from them.

[wolfking]

Second weakest Mastodon album.  It's better than Crack the Skye though.

[Big Hath]

Second weakest Mastodon album.  It's better than Crack the Skye though.

It's a good thing this isn't wolfking's list then! 

[Mladen]

At the moment, I'm into just almost everything. Tallest Man on Earth, Agalloch, Opeth, Tool, I could go on but I don't think that's going to help 

Crack the Skye. 

[wolfking]

Second weakest Mastodon album.  It's better than Crack the Skye though.

It's a good thing this isn't wolfking's list then! 

hey, I did have Leviathan at 14 or something like that. 

[Big Hath]

#44 - Ayreon - 01011001 (2008)



01011001 is my favorite Ayreon album (at the moment, at least).  Although I really dig The Human Equation (which seems to be the favorite of most around here), I feel the story is somewhat cumbersome and a bit too tightly interlaced into the songs which leads to it getting in the way of the music at times.  With the follow-up album 01011001, to me the story is more loosely woven into the songs and each song has room to breath on its own merit.

As with most of Arjen's projects, I absolutely love his choice of synthesizer sounds.  And he uses them to great effect here, creating a very sci-fi, spacey atmosphere.  This double album is just an absolute beast of prog-metal goodness which shows his continuing development throughout the string of Ayreon projects.  There is something here for pretty much everybody with touches of ambient, folk, hard-hitting metal, classic rock, symphonic, electronic and many other influences.  And as always, the selection of vocalists is top notch - Lande, Kursch, Gildenlow, Jansen, Anneke, etc, etc, etc.

It's almost impossible for me to pick favorite tracks because 1) there are so many and 2) almost all of them are so good.  I will say that it was a genius selection to use Jonas Renske on "Waking Dreams".  His melancholy voice and delivery really sets a great tone.  It also inspired me to look deeper into the Katatonia discography for which I am very grateful.

"Fire, inspiration, missing branch on the tree
We are your roots, we are your blood
Come to you in waking dreams"

[wolfking]

Again, not one of my favs from Ayreon.  The list of guests is wonderful, but it just never really grabbed me.

[Orthogonal]

Fantastic album, really enjoy it. I'd give Human Equation the edge though.

JLB, Mike Baker, Akerfeldt and Devin Townsend just make it a godly cast of vocalists.