Scorpion's Top 50 Albums, the 2nd v. All Going Away Now

[Lolzeez]

sent.

Just going to quote this.

 

[Scorpion]

05. Wintersun – Wintersun (2004)



I don't think that anyone has missed that I have irreversibly fallen in love with Wintersun's debut over the last half a year. It is one of those rare albums where everything is perfect, and the fact that this is only their debut makes it both even more amazing. I never thought they could top this one, and I was right, but after a long period of feeling so-so about it, their follow-up Time I is almost as good, making them one of the most consistent bands I know – it only doesn't appear on this list due to the fact that I haven't been liking Time I for longer than a month or so. But anyway, this album is chock-full of amazing riffs, great vocals – both clean and harsh – INSANE drumming and some of the best lead guitar playing that I have ever had the pleasure to hear. What makes this album an interesting experience is the multitude of styles here – you have the furious black-metal attack Beautiful Death, the melancholic and melody-driven Sadness and Hate, the almost power-metalish Death and the Healing and the beautiful – for lack of a better word – ballad Sleeping Stars, even though all the songs are pretty much seated in the same genre. Plus, as already mentioned, the guitar playing here is amazing – just listen to the solo of Winter Madness, one of my favourite solos ever – yet it never becomes over-the-top or shred for the sake of it. Really, this is the correct way to black metal. Hats off to Jari for this one.

Favourite tracks: Winter Madness, Sleeping Stars, Death and the Healing, Starchild, Beautiful Death, Sadness and Hate

[adace]

Fantastic album. As much as I like Time I, the debut is still my go-to Wintersun album.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

This is a great album, though I still prefer Time I.

[Scorpion]

04. Agalloch – Ashes Against the Grain (2006)



A little lower on this list, I already praised The Mantle quite a lot, but this one is my favourite Agalloch album, quite easily. The reason for that is the sheer consistency of the album. On The Mantle, every track is great in the context of the album, but here, every track can stand on its own as well. Be it the amazing opener Limbs, the anthemic Falling Snow, the epic Fire Above, Ice Below or the beautiful closing trilogy Our Fortress Is Burning..., which features one of the most amazing musical climaxes that I know with Bloodbirds, every track here is an absolute gem. John Haughm's voice is better than ever here, both his black metal growls and his hauntingly cold clean vocals are used to perfection on this album, and the atmosphere that this album evokes is cold and wintery like no other, and always manages to draw me in. Highly recommended to anyone that is looking to get into Agalloch or just likes atmospheric stuff in general.

Favourite tracks: Limbs, Falling Snow, Fire Above, Ice Below, Not Unlike the Waves, Our Fortress Is Burning...

[Onno]

Yay! Great album.

[Scorpion]

Nearing in on the finish!

03. Pain of Salvation – Remedy Lane (2002)



Remedy Lane is what I'd consider to be Pain of Salvation's masterpiece. Everything about this record is pretty much perfect, and the way that themes are reprised throughout makes this album a magical listen. Like always, Gildenlöw is in top form, both on the guitar and the vocals, but the other members deserve mentions as well – the soloing by Johan Hallgren is some of my favourite soloing ever, especially on Rope Ends and Beyond the Pale, and Kristoffer Gildenlöw offers quite a spectrum of interesting bass parts, instead of simply following the guitar. Also, like with Entropia, the Japanese edition is far superior, because of the inclusion of one of PoS's most insane tracks, Thorn Clown, whose instrumental section might just be my favourite of the whole album.

Favourite tracks: Ending Theme, A Trace of Blood, Thorn Clown, Undertow, Rope Ends, Chain Sling, Beyond the Pale

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Knew it from the title change. One of my absolute favorite albums.

Though, I still don't own any other POS albums. I'm not sure why that is.

[Scorpion]

TPE and Entropia nao.

[adace]

Ashes Against the Grain is one of my favorite albums.

[wolfking]

Remedy Lane is incredible.  That Wintersun album is classic too.

[Elite]

Once Remedy Lane wasn't even in my top 4 PoS albums. I think it's my second favourite or favourite now. It's so god-damn amazing.

[Lowdz]

I tried the Wintersun a year ot two back and the growls killed it for me at the time. Loved the music though. Will have to revisit it as I've been a bit more tolerant lately, though only if the growls are used sparingly.

I have that PoS album but it never diid anything for me at all. I just  found it bland I think. I bought it cos I liked them when I saw them supporting DT but all the tracks I've tried have the same lack of impact with me. Guess they just aren't for me.

[WindMaster]

Fucking love that Agalloch album. So good.

[Lolzeez]

Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time. 

[senecadawg2]

AAtG is maybe my favorite of all time. I'm only just now getting into Rememdy Lane, but I'm enjoying it so far

[nightmare_cinema]

Remedy Lane is awesome, Chain Sling was the song that first clicked for me with PoS. I think The Perfect Element is more of a favourite for me though, even the two Road Salts kinda jostle for space alongside Remedy Lane, Undertow and Beyond the Pale are two of my absolute faaaavourite songs of theirs, though. I often put the CD on at work just to listen to Beyond the Pale on repeat. Bit sacrilegious for a concept album I know, but meh

[Bolsters]

Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time. 

[Scorpion]

02. Dog Fashion Disco – Adultery (2006)



Dog Fashion Disco are a band, that, until they split after this album, only got better and better. Their penultimate release, Committed to a Bright Future was already a masterpiece of avant-garde metal, but Adultery is their masterpiece. What makes this album so amazing is the atmosphere that permeates it – it feels more like a film, actually, than like an album, and many parts of the album have a decidedly film-noir feel to them – and, of course, the brilliant vocals of frontman Todd Smith. I swear, this guy is one of the best singers that I have ever heard, and he brings his A-game on this record. There's simply everything, from the haunting narration on Private Eye and the crooning singing of Desert Grave to the amazingly brutal screams of Silent Film. The music here is very eclectic, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have direction – on the contrary, once you get to know this album, it's actually an amazingly focused album. Highly, highly recommended for anyone that likes some weird stuff every now and then (or more often).

Favourite tracks: Silent Film, Desert Grave, Moonlight City Drive, Private Eye, The Darkest Days, The Hitchhiker

[Mladen]

I'm always intrigued when someone puts an obscure album so high, and being that I'm pretty much always in the mood for weirdness in music, I'll give this thing a spin at some point. 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I still haven't heard the whole album, but I did really enjoy the few track I heard.

[Elite]

Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time. 

Yeah. I would love to be banned.
And screw the filter, y'all know what it says.

[Ultimetalhead]

ADULTERY 

[Scorpion]

01. Devin Townsend – Terria (2001)



If there was one artist that I had give the prize of “biggest musical discovery through DTF” to, it's our favourite bald Canadian (not jingle.boy). Devin is simply a man that can do pretty much every style amazingly well, but even among his prodigious discography, Terria stands high above all the others. The album is amazingly consistent, with every second being amazing in the least, and it has a certain atmosphere that Devin has never recreated since, and, to be honest, I doubt that he could. This album features some of his best vocals and some top-notch guitar playing that shows that while Devin doesn't have to shred to impress, he can certainly impress with shredding.

In fact, I love this album so much that this is the only one on this list that I will do a track-by-track for. Yes, this will get long

Olives is a great opener. It sets the mood of the album perfectly, with some great distorted vocals and some nice guitar playing, both clean and heavily distorted. It doesn't really work as a stand-alone song, but as an intro to this album, I absolutely love it.

And just when Olives ends on a calm note, Mountain hits you in the face with its absolutely crushing opening. The first time I listened to this, I would have fallen out of my chair, if I hadn't been sitting on my bed. After that brutal opening, which features one of Devin's best screams, we move into calmer territory and the song becomes very bass driven and groovy as it trudges along, only to become more brutal again at the end. The lyrics don't seem to make that much sense to me, but who cares?

Earth Day might be one of Devin's most popular songs, and for a damn good reason. That opening riff is amazingly huge, and the song just never lets up, twisting and turning through its nine and a half minutes of runtime. The guitar playing here isn't anything THAT notable (though still great, of course) – in fact, pretty much every instrument here takes the backseat to what I would consider to be one of Devin's vocal performances, ranging from calm singing to absolutely punishing screams, culminating in the often-quoted “WELL IT'S JUST ENTERTAINMENT FOLKS!”. Still, as much as I love this song, I can't help thinking that it's slightly overrated – pretty much every other song on this album is, in my opinion, better than this one.

Deep Peace. What can I say about that one? This is probably my favourite Devin song ever, and Top 10 of all time. It starts of tranquil and calm, featuring just some tasteful nature noises and quiet acoustic guitar strumming. Then Devin's voice comes in, adding to peaceful atmosphere of this one, which just meanders along pleasantly for a while, until the music stops. And then it comes in – the best guitar solo that I have ever heard. Starting out with what seems like random notes on the electric guitar, over the course of its nearly three minutes, the solo gains shape, becoming more and more structured, all the while becoming more powerful and powerful, until it culminates in one of the best musical climaxes that I know, after which the song calms down again, slowly, ending on a tranquil note once again. Out of all of the songs on this album, this is the one that I can always rely on to take me on a journey.

Canada is a little more conventional, if there is such a thing, being more vocally focussed again, but that's by no means a bad thing. The lyrics are a little nonsensical again, but Devin's amazing vocals and the great atmosphere of this song more than make up for that.

Down and Under is a weird one. It's the shortest real track on this album, but it doesn't feel like a lesser song than the others, in fact, it feels just as worthwhile. It's built around a simple but engaging guitar motif and features, like pretty much song, some great vocals again. This song, more than any other on the album, really gives me the earthy feel that I think Devin was aiming for with this release.

The Fluke is another oddball. The first half is pretty straight-forward, very guitar- and vocal driven, featuring one of the best choruses that Devin has ever done and some great riffing. However, after about half of the song, it suddenly calms down and turns into a great ambient piece, complete with a nigh perfect transition into the next track.

Nobody's Here is one of the first Devin tracks that I really, really loved, and it's easy to understand why. Out of all songs on this album, it features what might be the most conventional song structure (well, this or Stagnant), but it's just executed so damn beautifully and has all those small musical twists that you from Devin, like the strange vocals or the weird guitar solo, that I don't really care about the simple structure of this one. The guitar solo and how it builds up into the final chorus especially is a thing of beauty.

Out of all the songs on this album, Tiny Tears took the longest to grow on me, but now it's my second favourite. The opening guitar notes cut right through everything, like falling tears, that I never fail to get chills within the first minute. After that we have some great vocal sections, a nice guitar solo and an amazing build-up after that, culminating in the “Kyrie eleison” section, which fits perfectly into the song.

And finally, we have Stagnant. This is probably the most upbeat song here, and also the most conventional, but again, that's not a bad thing. Devin delivers some great singing here – especially on the chorus, which features some infectious melodies that won't leave your head for days – and the guitar solo is another great example of just what a great player Devin is.

Humble ends the album on a quiet note. It has a more relaxed, jammy feel, but it works perfectly as a closer, giving the listener a chance to come down from the incredible journey that he or she has just experienced, tying the whole thing together nicely.

So there you have it. I could probably rave on about the merits of this album for another page, but this review is already long enough, so I'll just conclude with these four words:

LISTEN. TO. THIS. IMMEDIATELY.

Favourite tracks: The whole damn thing, but gun to the head, I'd pick Deep Peace, Nobody's Here, Tiny Tears and Stagnant

[Big Hath]

really cool album.  Of Devin's work I only have Terria, Ocean Machine, and Addicted and all three are great in their own way.

Looking forward to see how these albums mesh with your original list.

[Elite]

Nice review. My favourite Devin album and a top 10 album ever for me.

[Onno]

Wow, nice #1. At first I didn't really get Terria, but it's a real musical journey and I just had to get used to that. I finally really got into it when one night I listened to the whole thing while I was really tired and just lying in my bed, it was amazing. It's one of my favourite DT(P) albums now for sure, and Devin is also my biggest musical discovery through DTF probably. Nice top 50 Scrop, thanks for doing this!

[Scorpion]

Alright, now I have the whole list, so here's the mixture of both of my lists, primarily for Big Hath's benefit. As those that remember my first list, will notice how little of that one is here, and how the positions have changed, which is a testament to how much my musical tastes have changed during the last year.

50. The Ocean - Precambrian (2007)
49. Avantasia - The Scarecrow (2008)
48. Amorphis - Elegy (1996)
47. Scars on Broadway - Scars on Broadway (2008)
46. Fates Warning - Disconnected (2000)
45. Symphony X - The Odyssey (2002)
44. Angra - Rebirth (2001)
43. Devin Townsend - Infinity (1998)
42. Sigh - Imaginary Soniscape (2001)
41. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
40. Pink Floyd - Animals (1977)
39. Adagio - Archangels in Black (2009)
38. Opeth - Still Life (1999)
37. SikTh - The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out, Wait for Something Wild (2003)
36. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away (2013)
35. Placebo - Without You I'm Nothing (1998)
34. Grayceon - All We Destroy (2011)
33. Helloween - The Dark Ride (2000)
32. Marillion - Clutching at Straws (1987)
31. Stratovarius - Dreamspace (1994)
30. Polkadot Cadaver - Sex Offender (2011)
29. Farin Urlaub - Am Ende der Sonne (2005)
28. Cynic - Traced in Air (2008)
27. Green Carnation - Light of Day, Day of Darkness (2001)
26. die ärzte - 13 (1998)
25. Pain of Salvation - Entropia (1997)
24. Ihsahn - After (2010)
23. Buckethead - Population Override (2004)
22. Buckethead - Colma (1998)
21. Devin Townsend Project - Ki (2009)
20. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads (1996)
19. The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia (2006)
18. The Human Abstract - Digital Veil (2011)
17. Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech (1997)
16. Kalmah - They Will Return (2002)
15. Children of Bodom - Hatebreeder (1999)
14. Rammstein - Mutter (2001)
13. Iced Earth - Alive in Athens (1999)
12. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)
11. Diablo Swing Orchestra - Sing-Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious (2009)
10. Megadeth - Rust in Peace (1990)
09. Trivium - Shogun (2008)
08. Wintersun - Wintersun (2004)
07. Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (2006)
06. System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)
05. Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane (2002)
04. Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
03. Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery (2006)
02. Devin Townsend - Terria (2001)
01. System of a Down - Hypnotize (2005)

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I approve of this pick, although I would not have it quite so high.

[adace]

I approve of this pick, although I would not have it quite so high.

[wolfking]

I'm a casual Devin fan and own about 1/3 of his albums.  I've always meant to check this one, but I guess I definitely will now.

[Lolzeez]

Awesome album from Devin! I prefer the energy of Addicted! though.

Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time. 

Yeah. I would love to be banned.
And screw the filter, y'all know what it says.