Sacul's top cheesy albums v. #1 ...to find the answers inside our illusive mind!

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

BTB YES

[Evermind]

Great to see Beyond the Bridge getting some well-deserved love.

[Lowdz]

Not my favourite DT album, and not one I play often but when I do I enjoy it. Only weak point for me is HTF, and SoC is awesome - shows you can have an instrumental stay interesting without having to widdly widdly all over it.

[jjrock88]

Like Lowdz said, not my favorite DT release.  But I always enjoy it when I do play it

[Dr. DTVT]

ToT isn't anywhere near in the same league as Beyond the Bridge IMO.  ITNOG is the only reason it is not my least favorite DT album.

[Zook]

Beyond the Bridge was only good for a few listens. No lasting power.

[Scorpion]

Zook, you have weird opinions. I would have thought that BtB would be right up your alley.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Sacul, you so cwazy. SOC is by far and away the best track on TOT (not to mention their best instrumental).

Great DT album. In their upper-tier for me.

[jingle.boy]

Old Man and the Spirit was a top 5 DTF discovery for me.  Stunning album.

ToT is a Top 50 album for me.  I agree with Paul though, HTF is the low point.  It has some good moments, but mostly doesn't do anything for me.

[Sacul]

Nice to see come love/hate for both albums

13
Deadwing
Porcupine Tree


Is that Wilson using some Instagram filters?

Who are these?
The band we are all hoping to reunite to make another album or at least to make another tour.

How does it sound like?
After the amazing In Absentia, it seemed difficult for band that’s been around for almost 20 years to repeat such success making another great album. But, as we know, Steven Wilson always manages to make great album after great album. no matter the project he’s working on. And this it’s certainly not the exception to the rule (that’s The Incident).

There are albums that are just a bunch of great songs that can easily be listened individually and not in the album context. And there are those albums that are a journey, such an experience that needs to be listened as a whole, as it’s better than the sum of it’s parts. Deadwing is like that. There’s an amazing flow through all the songs, even when they’re so different in style. And I believe that’s because it’s a concept album. Wilson said he had a script for a movie he was planning to film, but finally released it as an album. The exact concept remains unknown, but there are hints that it talks about ghosts and people who talk with them, along with some teen issues like sex and drugs.

Think about it. The self-titled opener has ideas that are later developed on the rest of the album, so you could say it’s some kind of medley or Overture. The songs share a common theme and atmosphere, despite being so different. Glass Arm Shattering sucks as a standalone tune, but serves as a brilliant closer in the album context.

Recommended songs: Shallow, Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, Open Car

Something personal
I had Deadwing on the top 10 when I first started posting my updates on the list. But some listens have made me realize it wasn’t as good as it’s competence — it wasn’t even my favorite Porcupine Tree album. But it still remains as a true experience, one like no other out there.

12
Liquid Tension Experiment 2
Liquid Tension Experiment


Talking about bad covers...

Who are these?
In 1996, Mike Portnoy was asked to create a superband with the “best prog artists”. After checking lots of his favorite musicians, he finally ended up with Tony Levin (King Crimson), Jordan Rudess (Dixie Dregs) and his DT partner, John Petrucci. However, it wasn’t until 1998 when they released their debut and it’s sophomore in 199, while they recorded Scenes from a memory.

How does it sound like?
It’s hard to say, for they have such an unique sound that reminds of their influences and respective bands, but at the same time, it sounds as anything I’ve heard. There is the prog metal/rock vein, but you also have lots of jazz fusion, which gives the album a special flow. And while it’s completely instrumental, this is the case where music speaks louder than words. Recommended if you like DT’s instrumental side or just want something fresh an original.

Recommended songs: When the Water Breaks, Acid Rain

Something personal
LTE was my introduction to Dream Theater and prog. And some months ago I realized how amazing their stuff actually is, and how just a few bands can match the level of musicianship displayed here. The chemistry between the guys here is ridiculous, as if all were just one person or they knew each other from kinder garden. It gives it an amazing flow, making the album end quickly and leaving me with a big smile on the face.

[Xenon]

Both great albums

[Zook]

Zook, you have weird opinions. I would have thought that BtB would be right up your alley.

It should be. It has all the fixins. It just wasn't strong enough. Maybe the next album?

[Sacul]

From here on, I absolutely love all the albums listed here. They all have a perfect 5 star ranking on my SputnikMusic account (don't dare to see them before I reveal them )

11
Damnation
Opeth


I need more stuff like this

How does it sound like?
I believe is was a member of Katatonia, old friend of Mikael, that suggested him making two albums, one which reflected their mellow, acoustic side, and another made of pure metal brutality. So we got Damnation and Deliverance, respectively. As you imagine, there’s not a single trace of metal here, just pure beautiful dark atmospheres crafted by Mikael’s voice and the band’s classic folk-y guitars.

There’s not much more to say, really. This is as dark and beautiful as just few albums out there. If you dislike growls but are interested on Opeth, then this is definitely your choice to go.

Recommended songs: Windowpane, In My Time of Need

Something personal
Damnation, although being really beautiful and haunting, is a mood album, so I have to be in a certain mood to appreciate it. And when I do, it's a glorious experience.

This is definitely my fav Opeth album, so I was kind of excited to hear the band were leaving their heavier sound behind to focus on something more soft and proggy. Heritage bored me, I listened to it several times and there’s just one vocal line that I can remember from it —it felt too empty for my taste. And with some people praising Pale Communion over their other effort, well, it seemed interesting. The fact that the band said it’d be more a la 70's prog made me think that they would do something like Steven Wilson did on The Raven, prog with a modern look. But no, they made it the old fashioned way. And I dislike that style. Oh well, I can still listen to their other stuff, right?

[Xenon]

Agree with everything

[adace]

Damnation

[Evermind]

Great to see Damnation here, my favourite Opeth album.

[Onno]

Damnation 

[Sacul]

And now, have what I consider is 2013's Album of the Year.

10
Bilo 3.0
David Maxim Micic


Djent doesn't get any better than this.

Who is this?
As I pointed out previously on my writeup of #30 Bilo 2.0, David Maxim Micic is a guitar/keyboard and multi-instrumentalist player, composer and producer from Serbia, and was a student at Berklee. By the age of 20, he had composed, recorded and produced over 8 hours of original music, written music for commercials, movies and TV series, and produced and arranged for many great musicians, mostly from Eastern Europe. He has had the privilege to study guitar with many great teachers. And is the main leader of Destiny Potato, a band that mixes prog metal with pop hooks and some djent, with a female vocalist.

How does it sound like?
This is the culmination of everything David has ever done, he has refined his abilities on songwriting, recording/mixing/producing and playing music. He has gathered all his influences and put them together on his very own way. He has created an album that is an experience, a journey through such despair genres and sound yet without loosing flow ever. A journey that goes from symphonic and subtle, beautiful sections to some brutal and powerful parts. In one song, for example, there's a mix of Devin Townsend, Arch Enemy, The Mars Volta and Dream Theater.

Worth mentioning are the guests, one better than the other, and the outstanding singers, Vladimir Lalic and Aleksandra Djelmas (Destiny Potato's singer). Their appearance is a bit sporadic, since this is mainly instrumental, but they always are where it's needed, like the operatic section on Where is Now? and the brutal female growls/harsh vocals of Smile. Another curious thing are the motifs from David's past Bilo works, which give the trilogy a perfect sense of unity.

All in all, this is possibly the most eclectic yet accessible album from last year. Not even The Mountain nor The Raven... can match this level of mastery reached here. This shows that djenty guitars can still make something awesome. Highly recommended even if you dislike down-tuned guitars and harsh vocals - there's a lot more than that here.

Recommended songs: Where is now?, Smile

Something personal
It took some time top grow on me but holy crap that it grew, uh? This guy is definitely on of my fav artists, and his songs have gave me some success on roulettes  . This album is beautiful. Truly, even on the most intense sections, it just rises up and shines during all the 6 songs. Words cannot describe enough how much I love this, but as it entered my top 10, you may figure it out.

[Sacul]

No love for David?  Oh well, will post next update tomorrow night - I'm kind of busy right now.

[Sacul]

I'm finally free of work by now, and I feel quite uplifted, so have a double update to compensate yesterday's.

9
Awake
Dream Theatre


Ok, prog has the weirdest covers

How does it sound like?
Like Dream Theater had spent too many hours with Pantera and Metallica albums. It was certainly their heaviest album at the moment, and a very dark one, just the opposite to the bright and soft I&W. The songs are more direct and catchy; the production is pure eargasm; and LaBrie hits his best performance ever. Truly an outstanding record that showed how the band was at the moment and how prog metal would evolve in the future.

Recommended songs: 6:00, The Mirror/Lie, Space-Dye Vest

Something personal
I just love every second of this album, and I might be on the minority here, but I think Innocence Faded and Lifting Shadows Off a Dream are the strongest tracks. There's really not a single bad moment. Well, maybe Scarred's chorus, which is as weird as the song, but what the hell, this is an almost-flawless record. There's not much else to say, besides that I'm glad Kevin Moore left the band so they could evolve with the new keyboardist and elevate their music to a whole new fucking level of awesomeness.

8
Flying Colors
Flying Colors

I need more of this

Who are these?
One upon a time, Portnoy gathered some legendary prog artists with a pop singer. And they made the antithesis of what everybody expected.

How does it sound like?
With all those musicians you would expect an epic prog metal album, wouldn't you? But this is exactly the opposite. There's no metal. And there's not prog, at least not directly. This is modern pop-rock made the old fashioned way, and know what? It actually sounds refreshing and new. The tunes are catchy and accesible, yet they have that prog thing that makes it a bit hard to digest during the first listens, but that will make you fall in love with it later. Every song has a distinct personality, say in mood or for it's amazing chorus and all the members shine here, all through the album.

And there's not much more to say about it, other than if you like The Beatles, U2, Queen, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Coldplay or Muse, you'll find a bit of everything here. Such an eclectic yet accessible album.

Recommended songs: The Storm, Shoulda Coulda Woulda, Everything Changes

Something personal
Another fabulous 2012 album. There's a list out there that has both this record and another one from here the top 10, and even some from the rest of the lists released that year. I just love modern music. For every old good album (during and before the 80s), I find 5 great modern records. It might be just my taste, but I don't identify with old stuff, except some rare cases were the musicianship is such superb that it really doesn't matter it was recorded more than 30 years ago. But, if I had to choose from a modern-album recommendation and an old one, I'd go with the former.

[Xenon]

Awake is an amazing album with a shitty tracklisting. I love it anyway and I love dat Labrie.

PD: THE STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORM!!1

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Awake is a phenomenal DT album. Enough said.

I disagree about FC lacking prog and metal. For example, Infinite Fire is definitely what I'd call a prog epic (excluding its length), and All Falls Down I'd go out on a limb to say, has a large metal edge to it.

It's overall a very solid album for me. A few tracks I don't really care for, and a few I think are fantastic. Somewhat inconsistent, but it leaves you satisfied.

[Evermind]

You have like, what, the entire DT discography in your Top 50?

I'm not saying that's a bad thing though.

[mikemangioy]

 

[jjrock88]

Awake is fantastic!

[Sacul]

I disagree about FC lacking prog and metal. For example, Infinite Fire is definitely what I'd call a prog epic (excluding its length), and All Falls Down I'd go out on a limb to say, has a large metal edge to it.

Yeah, I can agree on that, but the rest of the songs have very little prog or metal, so I don't think that, overall, the album fits both genres.

You have like, what, the entire DT discography in your Top 50?

At least half of it

[Xenon]

Shoulda it's pretty metal.

[Tomislav95]

Awake is amazin album, probably in my top10 as well. Flying Colors is good but I wouldn't rank it that high

[Sacul]

7

The Human Equation
Ayreon

A collaboration of Arjen with Steven Wilson would blow the universe

Who is this?
Ayreon is the pet project of Arjen Anthony Lucassen, one of the most talented and creative musicians of today. All of his Ayreon records are opera-rock concept albums, normally about sci-fi or fantasy.

How does it sound like?
It's hard to believe how eclectic yet totally accessible this album is. You have like, prog rock and metal, a bit of death metal, lots of folk, some oriental vibes and even nü-metal at times. All of it funneled through catchy, short songs. And there are also some of the best prog singers: James LaBrie, Mikael Akerfeldt, Eric Clayton, Devin Townsend, Mike Baker and Marcela Bovio, among others, forming a very long double disc rock-opera epic album.

The story is of "a man has a car accident and ends up in hospital in a comatose state." according to Ayreon.com. "The car accident was very bizarre: it was broad daylight and there was no other car in sight. His wife and his best friend are keeping a vigil at his bed, trying to understand what happened, hoping he will wake soon. Cut off from the outside world, the man finds himself trapped in a strange realm where his emotions -most of which he's ignored for a long time- have come to life to confront him with all the choices he has made in his life. As he is taken from one memory to the next, he slowly becomes aware of all the events leading up to his accident, and realizes that if he ever wants to wake up from his coma, he must find a way out of his prison".

Although it's such a long album, it never loses the flow and there's always something to keep the listener's attention, be it with catchy choruses or the outstanding vocal performances. The huge variety of sounds and styles presented here might be too much to take on first listen, but it's friendly, accessible approach will make you replay it over and over again.

Recommended songs: Day Two: Isolation, Day Eleven: Love, Day Fourteen: Pride

Something personal
If I had to choose between both discs, I would choose both. It's impossible for me to say which one is better, as both have their epic moments and their cheesy sections. But what the hell, this is an incredible kind of cheese. The first time I heard it, some years ago, I love it. But kind of overplayed it and got tired of the catchy songs, so there was a period of a year or so in which I completely forgot about it. It wasn't until the beginning of this year that I realized how amazing this actually is. I love every second of it, specially the folk sections .

I don't listen to this album too much but that's due to lack of time to listen it thoroughly. But when I do it, my mind is blown away. Truly a masterpiece.

[Onno]

I don't listen to this album too much but that's due to lack of time to listen it thoroughly. But when I do it, my mind is blown away. Truly a masterpiece.

Oh yes.

[Evermind]

This is one of the best things that happened to music.

[Zook]

01011001 (holy shit I finally memorized it!) is better.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Oh man, The Human Equation is fantastic. Definitely the best of Arjen's work.

[Sacul]

This is one of the best things that happened to music.

Indeed!

01011001 (holy shit I finally memorized it!) is better.

Never listened to it, but I plan to solve that soon. Come on, jingle.boy, bring us the Arjen discography thread!

[Zook]

01011001 (holy shit I finally memorized it!) is better.

Never listened to it, but I plan to solve that soon. Come on, jingle.boy, bring us the Arjen discography thread!

It's very different, and actually not well liked here. I guess Arjen was depressed and that affected the music, and admittedly there are a couple goofy numbers, but I love the atmosphere and the vocalists. I mean, come on, you have the amazing and bad ass Hansi Kursch, and an album where I actually like Daniel Gildenlow.

I'll take Electric Castle over THE as well.