bl5150's Top 50.........TOP TEN ...#1

[King Postwhore]

Their last 3 albums are boring city.  I can't listen to them.

[jingle.boy]

I gave up after Keep The Faith. Good update Brent. SWW made my top 50 too.  I heard Wanted DOA on the radio the other day, and man ... DAT SOLO!!! 

Totally agree with everything you said about Pride. Vito was so under-rated, and Tramp had a great voice. But they always had 2-4 "filler" sings on every album.  For every Lady of the Valley, we had to endure a track like All Join Our Hands  . Pride is as close as they came to greatness ... Though I do like the other two as well.  I think I tried their 2008 reboot, but can't remember anything about it since the only thing that was White Lion about it was Tramp.

[BlobVanDam]

I love SWW, and Pride is good too, although Mane Attraction has always been my most listened to of theirs.

[bl5150]

I gave up after Keep The Faith. Good update Brent. SWW made my top 50 too.  I heard Wanted DOA on the radio the other day, and man ... DAT SOLO!!! 

Totally agree with everything you said about Pride. Vito was so under-rated, and Tramp had a great voice. But they always had 2-4 "filler" sings on every album.  For every Lady of the Valley, we had to endure a track like All Join Our Hands  . Pride is as close as they came to greatness ... Though I do like the other two as well.  I think I tried their 2008 reboot, but can't remember anything about it since the only thing that was White Lion about it was Tramp.

Don't forget WL's debut Fight To Survive (that was one of the old tapes in the fogey thread) - it's very raw but All The Fallen Men (nice riff!) and El Salvador were faves way back when. 

I totally agree re the solo in Wanted Dead or Alive.  When I was teaching guitar I used that solo as an example of using artificial harmonics to enhance a solo.  Very cool 

[Sacul]

As a good poser, I've only heard It's My Life and really liked it. I even remember getting The Circle and enjoying it quite a bit. But it's been years since I heard both! Will re-listen them, just for old times' sake.

[wolfking]

I really can't stand Bon Jovi.

[Lowdz]

No argument from me. At the time they were awesome, and there was hot chicks at the gigs! 

I was a fan from first hearing the Runaway single. New Jersey made my top 50 and is an awesome melodic rock album. This one is shorter and more to the point and saved them after the poor 7800 degrees.
The only decent album they released after New Jersey was Have A Nice Day and there have been some stinking turds along the way. Jumping on the coun try bandwagon was one thing but Coldplay? No thanks.
And I don't buy the Richie is a rocker thing because 2 of hhis 3 solo albums have been snoozefests. He's the best singer in the band though.

Love your Honourable Mention. Loved White Lion back in the day. Pride is their best, then Mane Attraction. The rest are patchy at best. Vito Bratta was an excellent EVH clone. I miss his playing and songwriting.

[FreezingPoint]

SWW is good. Undoubtedly a classic of the era. Have to say that I prefer New Jersey though. Some of the later songs on SWW just don't cut it for me. They are the only tow Bon Jovi albums that I ever listen to.

Have to get around to listening to Pride one of these days. I enjoyed Mane Attraction.

[TAC]

Great write up on Bon Jovi, B!

Definitely a soundtrack to a lot of my teenage years as well. Not that they were a favorite, but that you couldn't escape them. Saw them many times in the 80's, most notably as openers for Scorpions in 1984. They put on such a great show, I bought their debut the next day.
Wasn't into 7800 but SWW was pretty solid. I do favor New Jersey by a mile though.
Bon Jovi always put on a hell of a show. And really, the music was decent enough. As mentioned above, Richie was vastly underrated. The guy was a machine. All of the BJ guys seemed like likeable dudes (except for Alec John Such!).
Tico Torres was VERY solid.

And you're right about them being influential. I rank SWW as one of the most influential rock albums...ever. Obviously the Hair Metal movement was well underway before Bon Jovi, but none of what happened in the last half of the 80's happens without the success of SWW. It totally blew up the scene, and as evidenced by your Honorable Mention, do we even hear of White Lion without Bon Jovi?

And to tie the Armored Saint and Bon Jovi picks together, here is a shot taken sometime in 1988. Me and John Bush, and YES, that is a SWW tour shirt!
As you can see, a little too much  going on at the time.

[BlobVanDam]

SWW is good. Undoubtedly a classic of the era. Have to say that I prefer New Jersey though. Some of the later songs on SWW just don't cut it for me. They are the only tow Bon Jovi albums that I ever listen to.

Have to get around to listening to Pride one of these days. I enjoyed Mane Attraction.

The first half of SWW is definitely stronger, although I still like most of it. The stuff I like on New Jersey is all at the start, so I feel the same way about that album as you do about SWW. Between those two albums though, that's a lot of good music. Never much got into Bon Jovi before or after those two albums.

[bl5150]

at the Metal Church       It took me a while to get this up as the tied decision was made late and I had to re-write the lot. I now think that maybe they should've been ranked higher but we're talking top of the class for anything inside the top 50 and differences are fractional here , so I didn't bother moving it.



#38 (TIE)  Metal Church: Hanging In The Balance/Blessing In Disguise
Released 1993/1989

I struggled to declare a winner here , so a tie it is.

Like Armored Saint, Metal Church are one of the most underrated metal bands ever.  They almost seemed to be stuck in no man’s land between the classic metal of bands like Armored Saint/Vicious Rumors and the Big 4 of thrash and perhaps as a result they failed to cement the fanbase they deserved within either camp.  To me though this mix was just perfect – classic metal with thrashy elements, big catchy melodies etc…

I grew up during the Howe era of the band and so , although I do like the Wayne albums too, working my way back to those early albums was a little underwhelming after experiencing the pure power and ferocity of Howe.  My first exposure to the band was Blessing In Disguise which contains two of my all time best metal songs – Fake Healer and Badlands. Fake Healer is for me the quintessential Metal Church song – it contains all the classic Metal church elements that I love .  A big metal sound , huge riff , a typically well written Vanderhoof lyric containing a cutting/sarcastic social commentary and the powerful, venomous vocal delivery of Howe makes you believe it!! Angry has never sounded so catchy as Metal Church. I rarely take a great deal of notice of lyrics but Metal Church have some classics and this is surely one of them – serious and funny at the same time. For this reason they were often labelled “thinking man’s metal” and I wouldn’t argue with that at all. And just in case you think I’m exaggerating their intelligence - they rejected Lars Ulrich as drummer back in 1981.    Their only weakness from my point of view is a lack of top notch lead guitar work.

So Blessing In Disguise was a big influence , has a great metal production and contains 3 of my all time favourite songs (I’ll add in Anthem To The Estranged).  But it does tail off a bit at the end and over time, like many of the few who’ve actually heard it , the final Howe fronted album Hanging In the Balance has become my overall favourite.  Although to some it may not quite have the highs of Blessing In Disguise there’s barely a weak track in site and it is a far more diverse and well written album as a whole. And as with many albums in this list – right place, wrong time for the band.

First the elephant in the room ,in more ways than one – whoever designed the cover art for this album needs to be shot (twice to be sure).  This was an album released right into the teeth of the grunge storm and it really needed everything going for it and they do that??  They obviously missed the marketing of their old label Elektra – this was released on Joan Jett’s label Blackheart Records and I’m not sure that metal was their forte. Having said that they got it right in the production department with Paul O’Neill (Savatage/TSO) on board and it’s clear that he pushed them out of their comfort zone and into some much more progressive areas.  The only negative from me is that the guitar sound lacks the balls of Blessing In Disguise. Kirk Arrington  is a strong presence on the drums with his distinct cymbal heavy sound.

The songs are tremendous and really push the boundaries of classic metal.  There’s certainly plenty of straight out metal songs (6 or 7 ,all of which are strong, even the bonus track) but then there’s the huge metal ballad Waiting For A Saviour, the thrash of Conductor , the folk metal of End Of The Age (ahead of its time) and the 8 minute long thrashy progressive metal of Little Boy – not a song about The King of Pop but a clever look from the eyes of a “little boy” in Japan at the events around the Hiroshima bomb (which was also known as “Little Boy”).

My favourite tracks on Blessing In Disguise are clear as day but I don’t know where to start with Hanging In The Balance as far as choosing favourites or a few tracks to represent the album , which is always a good sign.

Favourite Tracks:

Blessing In Disguise: Fake Healer, Badlands, Anthem To The Estranged

Hanging In The Balance : Gods of Second Chance, No Friend of Mine, Waiting For A Saviour, Conductor, End of the Age, Little Boy

That’s a minimum 7 (of 12) tracks to provide a cross section of Hanging In The Balance – all as good as each other in their own way.

Trivia: Hanging In The Balance features Jerry Cantrell on lead guitar on the opening track.

if anyone likes the Metal Church then the other Howe era album The Human Factor is also worth a listen , if only for the title track and In Harms Way , both of which are metal classics.

Honourable Mention: GNR: Appetite for Destruction – very close to making the top 50 but suffered from over exposure in the end.. No links.

[jingle.boy]

I'm looking forward to going to church for once.

Appetite ... What needs to be said. Classic metal without a doubt.  Made my top 50. I'm not sure anything has displaced it as the best selling debut of all time?

[BlobVanDam]

I can't recall if I've heard any Metal Church before, but I haven't heard the albums.
And putting one of the greatest hard rock album of all time as an honourable mention? Tsk tsk!

[jjrock88]

Appetite is pure classic.

Badlands is an awesome tune and easily my favorite from what Ive heard from Metal Church

[Lowdz]

Hmm. NOt heard much MC but haven't been at all impressed with what I have heard.

AFD - Loved it then came to hate it due to overexposure, and having not listened to it in a decade and more I love  it again. Their only album worth playing, though Chinese Democracy wasn't awful.

[TAC]

Two great Metal Church albums, especially Hanging In  the Balance.  Don't forget the great The Human Factor. All three of the Mike Howe albums are terrific!

[wolfking]

I have quite a few Metal Church albums and they are all really solid.  Blessing in Disguise would easily be my fav though, amazing metal record.

[bl5150]

Two great Metal Church albums, especially Hanging In  the Balance.  Don't forget the great The Human Factor. All three of the Mike Howe albums are terrific!

I did squeeze a little note about The Human Factor in at the bottom.  Just a bit more filler than the others IMO but I like most of the stuff with Howe - just a great, passionate old school metal vocalist.  There's really only a couple I rate higher and none of them are from The Big 4.

[bl5150]

#37 Angra: Angels Cry
Released November 1993
Track listing
No.   Title   Music   Length   
1.   "Unfinished Allegro"  1:15
2.   "Carry On"     5:03
3.   "Time"  5:54
4.   "Angels Cry"     6:49
5.   "Stand Away"  4:55
6.   "Never Understand"        7:48
7.   "Wuthering Heights" (Kate Bush Cover)   4:38
8.   "Streets of Tomorrow"  5:03
9.   "Evil Warning"  6:41
10.   "Lasting Child  7.35
I. "The Parting Words"
II. "Renaissance"" 

Time to crack open the helium because we have Andre Matos on deck.    Here’s a vocalist that I like most of the time and struggle a bit with at others , but the music here is so damn good I can live with it even when he grates a bit.  This is one hell of a debut album  - released in that 1992-1993 era when I was really into all these great new bands (incl. DT) and Angra were one of the prime movers in taking prog metal to a new level.   Some class Angra as pure power metal but to me the depth of songwriting and musicianship is so much greater than a Helloween or Gamma Ray etc… that at the very least I’d call it power prog with more than a touch of neoclassical.  The Brazilian sound is only present sporadically (mostly in Never Understand) , but would become a much more prominent element in the follow up Holy Land , which is rated higher by many.  For me  though , each album after the debut got just a bit less impressive.

All the players on this are fantastic , including bassist Mariutti ………..if I was to pick one part of this album to showcase the brilliance of these guys it would be the solo/breakdown section of Carry On .  My jaw dropped when I first heard it and it was on constant replay – sounds like DT at their heaviest with the funky horn section of an Extreme tune.  The full speed ahead drumathon that some power metal bands engage in is usually a big turn off to me but here it is used to good effect and the music around it is so damn good I barely notice anyway..  Talking of turn offs – I know many Angra fans love their version of Wuthering Heights but it’s not for me and contains a lot of what I don't like about Matos……..a few marks off just for that.

Overall though – one of the few albums of the genre that challenges Dream Theater for musicianship and compositional skill and quite possibly the best prog metal debut ever.  Brilliant.

Favourite Tracks: Carry On , Time , Angels Cry , Streets of Tomorrow, Evil Warning

Honourable Mention:  Westworld- Cyberdreams - top notch melodic rock - quite progressive in parts - with talent from Riot, TNT and Danger Danger.

[jingle.boy]

Guess I need to give this a little more replay.  I was always more impressed with the final Matos-era albums, and the early Edu era as well.  The bookends of their first and last two albums are somewhat blecht for me.  Fireworks-Rebirth-Temple is where it's at for my liking.

[bl5150]

Fair enough - I do like Fireworks but find the Edu albums patchy ...........a few faves on each album but nothing to compare to the debut as a whole album for me.  I think a lot of weight goes to where we started sometimes - just seems to work out that way , even though it shouldn't make any difference objectively. 

I think I'll get exactly the same response from you to my next update  - great band, wrong era 

[jingle.boy]

I think a lot of weight goes to where we started sometimes - just seems to work out that way , even though it shouldn't make any difference objectively. 

I hear ya.  I'm totally guilty of that on with a LOT of artists.

[wolfking]

Fuck I love this album, it's amazing.

[wolfking]

Guess I need to give this a little more replay.  I was always more impressed with the final Matos-era albums, and the early Edu era as well.  The bookends of their first and last two albums are somewhat blecht for me.  Fireworks-Rebirth-Temple is where it's at for my liking.

There are spreads of brilliance all through Angra's career IMO.  I'm a pretty big fan of the Edu albums too, particaly AC, love the heaviness of it.  Aqua is a grower and Temple is classic too.  I'm a pretty big fan of Holy Land too.

EDIT: Forgot Rebirth, great discography from this band.

[jingle.boy]

Metal Church was so-so.  I liked the middle section of Hanging in the Balance.  Some songs were great, but some didn't work for me - got a little to close to the thrash sound that never really appealed to me.

[Lowdz]

Back on track with Angra. I don't listen to them often, but when I do its always great. Fireworks is the most likely to get played, followed by Holy Land (the two I own). Someone had Temple Of Shadows in a top 50 and that's really great too.

Your honourable mention is fine - but I prefer the first one.

[bl5150]

#36 Elegy:  Supremacy
Released 1994
Tracks
"Windows of the World" - 5:10
"Angel´s Grace" - 7:09
"Poisoned Hearts" - 5:26
"Lust for Life" - 5:21
"Anouk" (instrumental) - 1:53
"Circles in the Sand" - 4:42
"Darkest Night" - 4:10
"Close Your Eyes" - 0:39
"Supremacy" - 5:01
"Erase Me" - 7:27

Here we have another helium powered vocal and more power prog - and again .....one of the very few bands that have the huge intensity/speed in the guitar and drum work but still manage to maintain my attention with some nice variety and melody in their songwriting. They also usually manage to miraculously squeeze all the elements into a 5-6 minute song.

That this band wasn’t better recognised in prog metal circles is criminal – there’s barely a mention even on the internet and yet they really were right up there with the bands like DT , Symphony X and Angra that took prog metal onward and upward in the early  90’s    Now these guys hail from the Netherlands and had all sorts of hard luck stories with labels etc (they had a worldwide deal inked with Polydor that was withdrawn at the last minute ….thanks Kurt) …..and never worked with the big budget production many others had .

As an example of where they were at even very early in the piece , here is a link to the rather poor "semi-live" video they self-produced for I'm No Fool off their debut in 1992 – bear in mind  that this was released at around the same time as Images and Words , so they didn’t have that template to work off like plenty of others that released albums in 1993-1994..   The songwriting and sounds are not as complex , consistently brilliant or lush as DT – I think the word is probably “intense” and it's pretty amazing, even though it's raw and the guys were very young .    I actually think I may have bought that album on the same day as I&W  and , even with that for competition, this got plenty of airtime and I was seriously impressed. Another of my favourite tracks off the debut for those interested: The Grand Change

Henk van der Lars is a pretty crazy guitarist and when you add in some nice melodies and Ed Warby smashing the drums it’s a pretty imposing combo.   The only polarizing thing  is vocalist Eduard Hovinga (later in Prime Time etc...) who can be love/hate.  Aside from the odd duff note I grew to like him , probably just a subconscious thing to allow me to listen to the music .  As is often the case with Euro bands with ESL the lyrics are laughable at times , but that’s allowed.  The debut album really only garnered attention in Japan and at my joint. 

The album listed here is the second release Supremacy which is more even , a bit more catchy/accessible , better produced ……just a little bit more consistent overall.  It’s also a lot more progressive with some power metal elements at times too. There’s even a nice ballad (Lust For Life). Unfortunately the last couple of tracks aren’t quite up to the standard set by the first seven but overall it’s a great album. 

After three albums with Hovinga on vox  they recruited Ian Parry (Vengeance, Consortium) and recorded a number of albums with him .  I find most of the Parry albums rather up and down (plenty of favourites among plenty of dogs) , aside from the first one State of Mind which is much more consistent and which I would also recommend people check out.  I really like State of Mind and Supremacy and this spot could've gone to either but I’ve given the nod to Supremacy as the first incarnation of the band influenced my music life quite a bit more .

Favourite Tracks:  Angels Grace ,Circles In The Sand (comes in very hard as an instrumental leads into it) ,  Windows of The World,Lust For Life, Poisoned Hearts



Honourable Mention: Sons of Angels: s/t - good time rock with some nice guitar work.  I don't know anyone else who really rates this much but I always really enjoyed it. I love the construction of the guitar solo on the linked track.  One of the few I had on vinyl. Another to sample: Fly   They also had a minor hit with Cowgirl which isn't a big fave of mine.

[jingle.boy]

I only have the Parry fronted albums, but I think that all four of them are pretty good, with Forbidden Fruit being the best.  I remember listening to the earlier three, and (perhaps because I really like Parry's vocals) though ... meh.  Supremecy is on Grooveshark, so I might give it a spin to see if that's what I still think.

[bl5150]

I only have the Parry fronted albums, but I think that all four of them are pretty good, with Forbidden Fruit being the best.  I remember listening to the earlier three, and (perhaps because I really like Parry's vocals) though ... meh.  Supremecy is on Grooveshark, so I might give it a spin to see if that's what I still think.

Well I don't like the last couple of albums  much  (Forbidden Fruit incl) and to be frank - to me Henk Van der Lars IS Elegy and those last two albums have one original member (the bassist). So aside from the fact I don't rate the music it's barely Elegy to me anyway.  I tried but didn't like em and I thought it showed that Rondat was an instrumental guy and had never written with a band like this before.  Having said that - from the Parry era I love State of Mind and there's some great stuff on Manifestation of Fear - also a few turds.

Note that the Grooveshark listing is missing the track Angels Grace which is one of the better tracks.

[wolfking]

Anotehr one to check out.

[jingle.boy]

I only checked out Elegy because of Parry, so (good or bad) I have no historical point as to what or who Elegy should be. Thanks for pointing out the missing track, I'll be sure to YT it.

Edit: not a bad album, but you're right... vocally it's not doing much for me.  Perhaps it's because it's the debut, and the subsequent albums with Hovinga offer an improvement?  Musically it was good - Warby is a beast of a drummer.

[TAC]

#36 Elegy:  Supremacy
Released 1994


Here we have another helium powered vocal and more power prog - and again .....one of the very few bands that have the huge intensity/speed in the guitar and drum work but still manage to maintain my attention with some nice variety and melody in their songwriting. They also usually manage to miraculously squeeze all the elements into a 5-6 minute song.

That this band wasn’t better recognised in prog metal circles is criminal –

Sounds like something that should be right up my alley. I've never heard them before.

Checked out Cirlces In The Sand. NICE! This is officially on The List.

[Lowdz]

#36 Elegy:  Supremacy
Released 1994


Here we have another helium powered vocal and more power prog - and again .....one of the very few bands that have the huge intensity/speed in the guitar and drum work but still manage to maintain my attention with some nice variety and melody in their songwriting. They also usually manage to miraculously squeeze all the elements into a 5-6 minute song.

That this band wasn’t better recognised in prog metal circles is criminal –

Sounds like something that should be right up my alley. I've never heard them before.

Checked out Cirlces In The Sand. NICE! This is officially on The List.

I think I have checked out the odd track here and there, but probably the Parry era as I've always associated him as the singer in Elegy. Didn't mind that first track but prog metal really isn't my thing overall. DT really are the exception. The other bands are uusually very same-y and I get bored after a few tracks. They forget the song. Anyway, I'll check some more tracks out but don't see a purchase here. Wallet lets out a huge sigh. You've cost me a few quid already Brent 

[bl5150]

I think I have checked out the odd track here and there, but probably the Parry era as I've always associated him as the singer in Elegy. Didn't mind that first track but prog metal really isn't my thing overall. DT really are the exception. The other bands are uusually very same-y and I get bored after a few tracks. They forget the song. Anyway, I'll check some more tracks out but don't see a purchase here. Wallet lets out a huge sigh. You've cost me a few quid already Brent 

No worries - I thought there was a small chance you might like them .  I think I saw Prime Time in your listening posts and thought maybe you may have got there via Elegy , but obviously not.

I only checked out Elegy because of Parry, so (good or bad) I have no historical point as to what or who Elegy should be. Thanks for pointing out the missing track, I'll be sure to YT it.

Edit: not a bad album, but you're right... vocally it's not doing much for me.  Perhaps it's because it's the debut, and the subsequent albums with Hovinga offer an improvement?  Musically it was good - Warby is a beast of a drummer.

Sorry I confused things a bit by talking about the debut but Supremacy is the 2nd of the 3 to feature Hovinga.  The third (Lost) is considered their best by some but I found it had less substance, less intensity and where there was a great track it was often let down by a fluffy chorus.  As an example - Everything - awesome song, pre chorus , pissweak chorus.  Sorta like Elegy's Blind Faith    The other song I return to is Crossed The Line - if you like those it might be worth following up on.

Always liked the cover too

[bl5150]

#35(TIE) Gary Moore: Wild Frontier/Corridors of Power
Released 1987/1982

Two awesome but very different albums.

Well what about this guy’s resume……..in a band called Skid Row with Lynott before Thin Lizzy and involved on and off through Lizzy’s career , then a stellar rock career followed by a commercially successful blues career.  I know he pissed a lot of people off by basically disowning (and slagging off)  his rock period but hey – it means a lot to me even if it didn’t to him   He did seem to be back on the righteous path just before his untimely death.

I've done something similar here to what I did with Metal Church.  I had one album in mind (Wild Frontier) , but as I list these - if there is any doubt at all - I'm spending the day listening to the best 2 or 3 albums by the artist just to be sure I got it right , as much of this has been done without listening to a whole discography in a short period.  I came to the conclusion that while Wild Frontier is more of my era and undoubtedly more influential in my life , as we sit right now I'd probably tend to grab Corridors of Power - perhaps because I played Wild Frontier into the ground. I had underestimated how the more raw, classic sound of COP has grown on me.  In fact I thought it sounded like a more mature and classic album than most of the albums that followed. i don't want to re-write the whole thing so the rest will focus on Wild fronter.

 To get the negatives out of the way Wild Frontier does have a pretty shitty production (incl Thunder Rising being quieter than the other songs on my copy) , programmed drums and two of the tracks are just remixes.  But they’re far outweighed by some of Gary’s best playing and I don’t think he’s sounded better vocally then here.  The album has some great songs , many of which have a Celtic/Irish flavour and are obviously dedicated to his homeland– the album is also formally dedicated to Phil Lynott who I believe was meant to sing on the title track before his untimely death.  Over The Hills And Far Way got played a ridiculous amount at home , as did one of the better guitar instrumentals put on tape with The Loner. I'm not a fan of what Nightwish did to Over The Hills at all 

I’m pretty certain I first came across this when his cover of Friday On My Mind was a minor hit in Australia – as per usual the guitar solo caught my ear and off I went.  The follow up to this was After The War which felt rushed to me and , given what happened shortly after, I’m guessing his heart was no longer in it. So for me it's his last great rock album.

Favourite Tracks:

Wild Frontier: Over The Hills and Far Away, The Loner, Wild Frontier , Strangers In The Darkness  .


The link for Over The Hills is the radio edit with the different solo , but I thought it was cool to see the vid. There's some truly horrific mimed for TV performances of Over The Hills on Youtube : eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akDUVhHyw60   Love the keys man 


Corridors of Power: Don't Take Me For a Loser, Wishing Well (cover), Falling In Love With You



Honourable Mention:  Jimmy Barnes: Freight Train Heart - . - Close enough to Barnesy fronting Journey and a great melodic rock album.  The linked track has one of Neal Schon's best solos