24. Kamelot – The Black Halo (2005)This is one of those rare instances where I wholeheartedly agree with the general opinion; this album is undoubtedly Kamelot’s greatest work. Roy Khan gives one of his absolute best performances ever as a vocalist, his lyrics recreate a haunting version of the story of Faust and make it resonate with the listener.
As someone who struggles frequently with religious beliefs and the meaning of life, I really wish there were more albums like The Black Halo out there. It's easy to poke fun at how bad a lot of Christian music is these days, but I also get frustrated with songs that are on the other end of the spectrum too. To have songs like "Soul Society" or especially "Abandoned" communicate a desire to want to know God or find purpose and also recognize and bring to life the struggle that comes with faith. More songs should talk about that middle ground between religion and atheism, as I really think a lot of people out there today would identify with it.
23. Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)/Dehumanizer (1992)a. While I appreciate the Ozzy era, I do prefer the Dio era by a large margin. After all, that’s the band that got me into heavy metal to begin with. That being said, I felt that I needed to represent both eras of the band in this list, so they each get one album from me. Coincidentally, I also felt that this album in particular is the one Ozzy album that rivals the quality of the Dio albums for me.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the creative masterpiece of the original lineup. Ozzy is actually a pretty solid vocalist here and the rest of the band is on fire. The latter portion of the opening title track is easily the best thing to ever come from the Ozzy era. That sludgy riff is absolutely incredible. "WHEEERRRE CAN YOU RUN TO?!" always has a habit of sending chills down my spine. Definitely Ozzy's finest hour.
b. On a personal level, this is my favorite Black Sabbath album. As I said before, I got into the band because of the Dio lineup. I initially picked up a greatest hits album of the Dio material and eventually decided to pick up Dehumanizer, since it wasn’t as properly represented on the album as the other two Dio albums were. I was quite surprised when I heard the whole thing. Musically, the band definitely sounds more like the original lineup, albeit with a more modern production, more contemporary influences and Dio on vocals. This is probably my favorite performance from the man; he just sounds so incredibly pissed off and heavy on this album. His lyrical style was also updated and it fit the music like a glove.
The album also took on a more personal relevance to me earlier this year. Over the course of the past winter, my family and I slowly noticed that our beloved nine year old Golden Retriever, Scout, was acting more and more odd. She wouldn't eat her food, she wasn't nearly as active physically as she normally was (she was so energetic that most people often guessed she was still a puppy). Then we found out that Scout had cancer and likely would have to put her down the next morning. I spent some time with her, to say my good byes and what-not, but I also spent a fair amount of time that night and the following days listening to Dehumanizer to vent out my frustrations and pain.
22. Metallica - … And Justice For All (1988)While the production on this album sucks, I think that more and more people these days are recognizing that this album is Metallica’s high water mark. This album definitely showcases the emotional backlash the band had in reaction to Cliff Burton’s tragic death. The band manages to sound both incredibly pissed off and incredibly
cold. Whether that's because of the production, or because of the grandiose riffs or because of the dark subjects discussed on this album, I'm not sure.
It is a shame though that the band took out their frustrations and pain on Jason by cutting him out of the production of this album. He does some pretty sweet stuff on this album; I recently listened to some fan-edited versions of the songs off this album with an improved bass sound. While it was a rough edit and hardly perfect, it did show some great work by Jason. A personal favorite moment of mine is this little thing he does during the chorus on the title track. While the rest of the band does a basic riff, Jason mimics James's vocal melody on the bass, adding this really sweet "creeping" effect to the song. This album happens to be my best friend's all-time favorite album, so when I showed him that video, he freaked out and told me the experience was like hearing the song for the very first time all over again. The band would be very wise to go back and release a better quality remix of the album.
As for the actual songs on the album, Blackened is one of my all-time favorite songs ever and is to me, the greatest Metallica song ever. It's the perfect opener.
Dark as hell and incredibly apocalyptic.
Topic: Mister Gold's Top 50 Albums - "Here at the End of All Things" (Read 46886 times)