35.Pain Of Salvation - The Perfect Element Part 1 (2000)Okay,we're now getting into 10/10 albums territory. I prefer TPE over RL for two reasons. 1.TPE has the best PoS song (Idioglossia) and 2.TPE was one of my first non DT prog metal albums. This album means a lot to me. Gildengow,not only as a singer but also as a songwriter is one of the greatest of all time imo. Not only the band writes some of the coolest concept albums, But also some of the greatest music from the past decade. Gildengow's vocals are filled with raw emotion and he's also a wonderful lyricist. The best part of any PoS album is that the listener is always interested to understand what's going on. It just sucks you in! Now,how is the album musically? It's progressive metal but with like an epic twist that will grab you throughout the whole thing.
Genre:Progressive Metal
Favorite Tracks:Idioglossia,The Perfect Element
34.Leprous - Bilateral (2011)The first minute of this album is one of the greatest minutes I've ever witnessed in music. Bilateral has such a badass chorus dangit. The album is a little more on the avant garde side of things which is always interesting to hear. Leprous is one of the most innovative prog bands in a while. Their songs aren't as long as most prog metal bands but man do they pack a punch. Restless and Thorn are perfect examples. They have the feel of an 18 minute prog epic but they're only 3-5 minutes! That's just insane! The vocals are really interesting,they are growly but there's a bunch of clean vocal too. There are moments where my jaw literally drop every time. The song Forced Entry is the perfect example and could very well be my favorite Leprous song. All in all,this album fucking rules.
Genre:Progressive/Avant Garde Metal
Favorite Tracks:Forced Entry,Thorn
33.Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun (1999)Sigur Ros has always been a weird band for me. Their music isn't exactly Post Rock. It's more like Dream Pop + Post Rock and on this album,the Dream Pop is apparent a little more than the others. This album has my 3 absolute favorite Sigur Ros tracks. Svefn-g-englar,Olsen Olsen and the title track. After a short reversed vocal intro,we're introduced to Svefn-g-englar (Sleepwalkers) which is one of the most touching music I've ever heard. I don't understand Icelandic or whatever language this is,but I can feel the raw emotion Jonsi is putting on the vocals. The next track, Staralfur has those beautiful strings and the kick drums have a firework-ish sound to them which just adds to the track. Olsen Olsen has that beautiful flute after the gorgeous chorus and the title track is a little more on the post rock side of things where the song has a slow flow with excellent instrumentation and then it opens up revealing some fresh feels for you. I love this album.
Genre:Post Rock,Dream Pop
Favorite Tracks:Svefn-g-englar,Olsen Olsen,Agaetis Bryjun