Four more albums before hitting the top 10!
14.
Megadeth - Countdown to extinction (1992)
This is a transitional record, showing a band going from their thrash metal roots into a more commercial, maybe even pop influenced material. As far as I’m concerned, it has the perfect balance, and you can hear that the band is immersed in creating something new for them. You might call it Megadeth’s answer to Metallica’s self titled album from the year prior, but that would be too easy. A lot of music was changing at the time. Although the music is still heavy, there’s a lot less focus on speed and shredding, enabling the melodies to be in the forefront of songs that have more or less traditional arrangements.
Favorite songs: Skin o’ my teeth, Symphony of destruction, This was my life
13.
Neutral milk hotel - In the aeroplane over the sea (1998)
I learned about this album online, since some of the forums I used to visit were flooded by hype and praise for this album. I realized that, if it is this beloved, it’s a must hear. Stylistically, it wasn’t something that I was familiar with. Everything is pretty raw produced, the vocals are off key at times, the sounds are distorted to the point where you can’t distinguish the tones being played. After a while, not only that I got used to it, I started wondering why isn’t more music like this out there. Its originality remains impressive 15 years later. The album became an underground cult, but the people in CD shops would have no idea it exists.
Favorite songs: Holland 1945, Oh Comely, The King of carrot flowers part 1
12.
Dream Theater - Images and words (1992)
Here’s an album that revolutionized both metal and prog, successfully combining them and making one new style of music that was actually as accessible as it was deep and serious. Its opener is the band’s biggest hit and was also my first Dream Theater song. I remember hearing it in the spring of 2007 and being struck by the song’s length, complexity, technicality and insanely high vocals. It became obvious that I need to hear more of this, so the album immediately became one of my favorites. It took a while for me to get the ballads, but once I realized the band isn’t only about chops and epics, I started to love them as well.
Favorite songs: Metropolis- part I “The Miracle and the sleeper”, Learning to live, Under a glass moon
11.
Iron Maiden - Seventh son of a seventh son (1988)
Here’s an Iron Maiden album where every song is great, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It’s no wonder the band went downhill from here, they might have been aware that they simply can’t improve on this. Seventh son of a seventh son is their most epic, most diverse, most progressive and most experimental record to date. The story can get somewhat vague, but it’s all a matter of interpretation, I think some of it is really awesome. Not to mention Bruce’s vocals, you can hear he loves singing the lyrics that tell a story. It was great to hear some of these songs live on the recent Maiden England tour, a dream come true indeed.
Favorite songs: Seventh son of a seventh son, Moonchild, Can I play with madness?
Topic: Mladen's Top 50 albums v. #1 "Sorry, but it's time to go." (Read 17333 times)
