Good albums with bad first songs?

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Devin Townsend - Epicloud

Effervescent just sounds really lame.

This.

NO. 

Yes.

Well,I wasn't really a huge fan of the album. Maybe I should give it another spin.

I like it, but it's my least favourite of the project albums. Still has some bitchin' tunes though. Especially More!

[Dark Castle]

It's become my favorite, lot of personal ties to it.

[Ben_Jamin]

Devin Townsend - Epicloud

Effervescent just sounds really lame.

Someone must not like choirs.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Devin Townsend - Epicloud

Effervescent just sounds really lame.

Someone must not like choirs.

I have nothing against choirs. But this one just sounds really cheesy. And for some reason I find Devin sounds really odd in it. Can't put my finger on why.

[Pols Voice]

Just thought of a major one:

The Flower Kings - The Sum of No Evil: One More Time.  A boring ass, plodding snoozer.  Not that I think The Sum of No Evil is even that great - the rest of the songs are all good, not great - but I am still shocked that The Flower Kings kicked off one of their albums with such a full-length song that is so boring (not taking stuff like the 29-second Rhythm of Life from Retropolis into account).

Eh, I like that song. Not one of their best, but it's good. I like it more than Monsters and Men, but I'm not a big fan of Paradox Hotel anyway (it's pretty dull overall).

[fibreoptix]

System of a Down: Toxicity

Wut. Prison Song is fantastic.

Haha, nah, not a fan at all. Which is a shame because System usually aren't bad with their openers.

[Ruba]

Queensryche: Promised Land

No way, I Am I is one of their best songs.

[Nick]

Falling Into Infinity.

I mean, it's not one of their best or anything, but NM is one of their bottom 5 songs probably. Simply replacing it with Raise the Knife would have made that album sooooo much better.

[Onno]

Falling Into Infinity.

I mean, it's not one of their best or anything, but NM is one of their bottom 5 songs probably. Simply replacing it with Raise the Knife would have made that album sooooo much better.

They should have replaced YNM with Raise the Knife. YNM is shit.

[growthmusic57]

Meshuggah's "obZen"... Combustion just doesn't hold up with the rest of the album. Truly a superb album aside from Combustion.

[Paris is Burning]

i've always like FII. that album has so much shit on it that doesn't suck

[fadetoblackdude7]

Ride the Lightning.  The music is pretty good, but those verses plus the end repetitive section in Fight Fire With Fire sound like a 4-year old wrote the vocal/lead melody, seriously.

(ducks quickly)

You've made a powerful enemy today.

[Nick]

Falling Into Infinity.

I mean, it's not one of their best or anything, but NM is one of their bottom 5 songs probably. Simply replacing it with Raise the Knife would have made that album sooooo much better.

They should have replaced YNM with Raise the Knife. YNM is shit.

I don't really have a problem with YNM. For me you make the opening song switch, change out JLMB with Speak to Me, and then you have several tracks that are on the same general quality level as the other B-sides like YNM, BMS, or HK.

[KevShmev]

Falling Into Infinity.

I mean, it's not one of their best or anything, but NM is one of their bottom 5 songs probably. Simply replacing it with Raise the Knife would have made that album sooooo much better.

They should have replaced YNM with Raise the Knife. YNM is shit.

The problem with doing that is the CD is then well over 80 minutes, so you'd have to cut off another song or two depending on the length (getting rid of You Not Me AND Burning My Soul for Raise the Knife would still make the CD too long). 

[ZirconBlue]

Queensryche: Promised Land

No way, I Am I is one of their best songs.

There's that noisy track with the baby before I Am I.  I forget the name.  I always skip over it.  I don't know if I'd consider it a "song", though

[seasonsinthesky]

since Devin Townsend is already brought up — was never a fan of "Let It Roll" opening Synchestra when "Hypergeek" actually starts with the same feel. if he'd worked the vocal (which, i'd argue, is the reason "Let It Roll" even exists) into "Hypergeek" i think the album would work better. Dev historically is fantastic at picking openers (even "Olives!"); maybe it's just the way he wanted Synchestra stated that i'm not into, rather than the song itself.

Meshuggah — "Concatenation" is much better in slower form on Rare Trax, and "Combustion" just doesn't grab me whatsoever.

Iron Maiden — also gonna back The Number of the Beast for this. i was taken aback severely when i realized the title track opens the second side, rather than the whole record! i've never heard a more obvious choice. (maybe that's why they didn't!)

Radiohead, perhaps controversially; i just find "Airbag" and "Everything in Its Right Place" don't quite live up to the rest of their albums. i probably would have opened Kid A with "The National Anthem."

Blackfield — decent song, but "Once" doesn't really pump me up for BFII.

Rammstein — while the record is full of great songs, "Sehnsucht" just doesn't make a great opener.

Tool — "Intolerance" just feels so middle-of-the-record to me. kinda feel like it would have been a statement with more impact to open with "Flood" (and end with "Bottom"), but that kind of talk doesn't go over very well with the fanbase

DT — not a fan of "6:00" (heresy! burn him!), and i side with MP on opening I&W with "Metropolis."

and now for a weird injection of recent commercial radio material:
Deftones — they just can't open their album White Pony very well, whether it's with the usual opener "Feiticeira" (just a boring, offpitch song that doesn't live up to the rest of the album) or the secondary inclusion of "Back to School," which was an awful record company decision anyway.

[Ruba]

Queensryche: Promised Land

No way, I Am I is one of their best songs.

There's that noisy track with the baby before I Am I.  I forget the name.  I always skip over it.  I don't know if I'd consider it a "song", though

Oh, you mean 9:28 A.M.

Well, I don't feel that it is a real song, it's more like an intro for the album, similar to Speak to Me by Pink Floyd.

[Paris is Burning]

Blackfield — decent song, but "Once" doesn't really pump me up for BFII.

WAT

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

since Devin Townsend is already brought up — was never a fan of "Let It Roll" opening Synchestra when "Hypergeek" actually starts with the same feel. if he'd worked the vocal (which, i'd argue, is the reason "Let It Roll" even exists) into "Hypergeek" i think the album would work better. Dev historically is fantastic at picking openers (even "Olives!"); maybe it's just the way he wanted Synchestra stated that i'm not into, rather than the song itself.

Meshuggah — "Concatenation" is much better in slower form on Rare Trax, and "Combustion" just doesn't grab me whatsoever.

Iron Maiden — also gonna back The Number of the Beast for this. i was taken aback severely when i realized the title track opens the second side, rather than the whole record! i've never heard a more obvious choice. (maybe that's why they didn't!)

Radiohead, perhaps controversially; i just find "Airbag" and "Everything in Its Right Place" don't quite live up to the rest of their albums. i probably would have opened Kid A with "The National Anthem."

Blackfield — decent song, but "Once" doesn't really pump me up for BFII.

DT — not a fan of "6:00" (heresy! burn him!), and i side with MP on opening I&W with "Metropolis."

and now for a weird injection of recent commercial radio material:
Deftones — they just can't open their album White Pony very well, whether it's with the usual opener "Feiticeira" (just a boring, offpitch song that doesn't live up to the rest of the album)

Disagree very much with all of these.

[orcus116]

Radiohead, perhaps controversially; i just find "Airbag" and "Everything in Its Right Place" don't quite live up to the rest of their albums. i probably would have opened Kid A with "The National Anthem."

I kind of agree with the bold but the rest:

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

The National Anthem would not work as an opener at all IMO. It's one of the most middle-sounding tracks ever I find.

[orcus116]

Honestly, the whole album should've been The National Anthem on repeat 10 times.

[fadetoblackdude7]

Honestly, the whole album should've been The National Anthem on repeat 10 times.

I dig both of those opening tracks.....'Everything' is probably my favorite off of the album actually.

[seasonsinthesky]

The National Anthem would not work as an opener at all IMO. It's one of the most middle-sounding tracks ever I find.

got the idea from its prominent place at the beginning of setlists for years and years (and, accordingly, EIIRP at the end). it's about the only song on Kid A besides "Idioteque" with any real energy, too. everything else might rise or fall but most have a midtempo or downtempo feel, even "Optimistic."

i dunno, we're talking about the sequence of a massively important album. it probably wouldn't have hit quite the same if it didn't open with the decidedly-unexpected-at-the-time EIIRP! it's only in hindsight, after knowing it like the back of my hand, that i start thinking it may not be laid out as best as it could be.

[Azyiu]

Honestly, the whole album should've been The National Anthem on repeat 10 times.

I dig both of those opening tracks.....'Everything' is probably my favorite off of the album actually.

Was just about to say that. How could anyone not like "Everything In Its Right Place"?

Slightly off topic, for those of you have seen this movie, IMHO, that song also works perfectly fine in Vanilla Sky.