MikeMangioy's top 50 albums v.2: v.2 - v. The top ten

[mikemangioy]

You crazy, there's clearly a 21 and a 22 I actually edited it lol

[mikemangioy]

#19: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Space/Folk/Blues Rock - 1975 - UK

After releasing something as eargasmic as Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd had to really write something extraordinary to exceed that album. As a matter of fact, they did.

Pink Floyd are genius. Roger Waters is genius, I mean, that guy wrote most of the stuff of this period, but really, the whole band is the way it is because of its four members.. and the ghost of the fifth. Infact, if it weren’t for Syd Barrett, we wouldn’t have any of this today. Without Syd, and without what happened to him, we would have no Wish You Were Here. And that it’s just sad, but at the same time beautiful.

WYWH presents colder and much sadder atmospheres compared to DSOTM. Now of course, being an album that talks about pain of losing a friend (just mentally at the time) and the rage against the machine music industry, the tone and the mood fits the lyrics pretty well, and creates a thick thick pathos that makes this album remarkable. It’s also probably the best sounding PF record, and one where the songwriting really shined. The structures, the melodies, the riffs, the solos, the little clever connections between songs, everything is like it should be, and beyond that.

A cool thing was that Syd actually visited the guys during the recording of the album, but no one recognized him. Later they realized who the awkward man was, making this album more special, as if it isn’t already. It’s like if Syd’s ghost lives inside the disc, it’s pretty creepy.

So, the album opens up with the historic first part of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. This song is probably one of my favorite openers ever. Starts the record with a nice slow pace, with a lot of synths going on, and it’s so relaxing. After a guitar solo, though, the song brings a creepy arpeggio that soon kicks the song into full performance. And it’s just lovely. What can I say about this piece. Shivers, memories… everything. True art. Welcome To The Machine has a nice encounter of new and old,  bringing together folk/acoustic rock atmospheres to progressive synthetizers, and techno sound effects. Really great song with a strong message. Have A Cigar is the most cool and groovy tune out of all the songs. I really have a good time listening to this song, it’s nice and bluesy and features a hell of a vocal track, provided by mr. Roy Harper. Another song about the music industry, which still, forty years later, feels very modern. We have then the famous title track, Wish You Were Here. This is a classic ballad, with godlike lyrics. Like, those have to be the best lyrics that a ballad has. I like how it starts as a guy soloing on a riff he’s hearing on the radio, that’s really well played. To end the record (yes, only 4 songs basically) we have the second half of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, that’s just as good as the first part. It starts out all bluesy, reminding me of One Of These Days, then it breaks into a chours/verse kind of thing, reminiscent of the first part. Have I mentioned how I love the freaking choir in this song? Yeah, that’s what makes it so huge.

There are very few words to describe how I feel about this album, and about Pink Floyd in general. This is some of the best music Earth was ever provided with.

[sneakyblueberry]

yep, good. 

[Sacul]

yep, good.

[jjrock88]

Just behind Animals as my fav from PF. Good stuff

[Evermind]

yep, unbelievably amazing.

FTFM

[Scorpion]

Perfection.

[Elite]

My third or fourth favourite from them. Stunning record.

[Zydar]

Their second best after Dark Side Of The Moon. Stunning stuff. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1) is my favourite Pink Floyd song ever.

[mikemangioy]

#18: Alter Bridge - Fortress
2013 - Heavy Metal - Florida, USA

Hell yeah Alter Bridge. When I first listened to this band, I had no clue that they were capable of writing something so modern, heavy, melodic and progressive as this record right here. I bought Fortress out of nowhere, and bam, my mind was blown. Incredible songwriting, album flow, songs, musicianship.. and overall a really present badassery throughout it, make this album as highly ranked as it is.

Seriously guys, this album has a great production, that makes it sound MASSIVE. Some of these riffs in the songs actually scare me for how heavy they are. Very bombastic sound especially in the guitars and in the bass drum. Those are some good sounds right there, I draw a lot of inspiration from this record, production wise, that’s how I want to sound.

So, as I’ve said, this album is incredibly heavy at times, but features a lot of melody too, thanks to Myles Kennedy. Myles’ voice is not a type that I particularly like, but in this album it fits soooo well that I forget that, and go on rocking out. The choruses of each track are really catchy, and some of the songs have quite great lyrics, even though they are a bit stereotypical here and there. Also, compared to the band’s other records, Fortress has a bit of that progressive vibe, that makes everything more interesting and memorable.

Starting out with the acoustic intro  of Cry Of Achilles, you know you’re in for something great. A 6/8 song, with a great sunny and solemn vibe, with one hell of an interlude. Really love it, and it’s fun to play. Addicted To Pain features one of those “scarily heavy” riffs, that make the song interesting, otherwise it’s a pretty standard metal tune. Another great thing is the solo, although it pales in comparison of the one in the next track, Bleed It Dry. This is one of my favorite songs. A great structure, with nice pounding drums and an acoustic interlude which still makes me shiver and leaves me in awe. I really recommend this song. Top notch work. Lover is somewhat of a ballad, although darker in tone, reminds me of those ABIII atmospheres. Nice track, but not the best in the album. The Uninvited, instead, is actually one of my favorites, featuring a lot of prog metal influences, namely from Tool, and even Periphery shall I say. Dat breakdown. This is also a great song to play on drums, and it has one of the coolest chorus that I’ve ever heard. Peace Is Broken is “heavy”. True definition of the word. Like, that’s how heavy music should sound. Mean, powerful, slightly sad but fun… fuck I love this track. The chorus is iconic and anthemic, so are the guitar lines in the outro. Really cool track. Calm The Fire is slightly cheesy, but it’s still a nice listen, although a song that I don’t put within the best of the album. DAT intro tho. It sounds like Muse. Even though Miles and Matt have very different voices. Pity that the song wasn’t as great as the intro. You guys know Tremonti? Mark’s side project? Yes, he sings in that band, as well as in this next song, Waters Rising. His voice sounds pretty rich, and deep. Waters Rising features one of the best choruses in the whole AB discography IMO, it’s catchy and melodic, with a slight touch of despair, given by the lyrics. Alternating between soft verses and a grand explosion in the “DON’T LET ME DROOOOOOOOOWN” in the pre chorus. Shivers. Another great track. Now. In the distance, we hear a bass riff, it doesn’t sound  too offensive. But by the time the guitar enters the song, your face is on the floor, still burning and melting away. That’s how heavy Farther Than The Sun is. Jesus, that’s one of the heaviest riffs I’ve ever heard, it makes me go all “OOOOH” with somewhat of a painful look on my face. And those harmonics Marks throws in once in a while  And the coolest thing is that Myles melodic approach sounds awesome even with that beast of a riff. Cry A River is the fastest song of the package, and it has another awesome chorus. Dear god, whoever writes the vocal melodies in the band, major props to you sir The album closes with another kind of cheesy ballad, All Ends Well, and with Fortress, the band’s proggiest song. It  goes from melodic to heavy within few seconds, and it’s a fun ride overall.

Fortress is a jewel. An album that does for me today what probably Master Of Puppets did for the metalheads back in the eighties. Maybe it’s a bit exaggerated, but whatever, I fucking love this album.

[Sacul]

Man, I love Blackbird, so I can't wait to give this one a listen soon.

[mikemangioy]

Man, I love Blackbird, so I can't wait to give this one a listen soon.

Dude it's been how many months since I told you to do so? DO IT
Jk, I know you have like 8765413 albums to listen to 

[Sacul]

Man, I love Blackbird, so I can't wait to give this one a listen soon.

Dude it's been how many months since I told you to do so? DO IT
Jk, I know you have like 8765413 albums to listen to 

Well, around 1000+ or so, but its still too much for a single human .

Hopefully I'll manage to listen to them all in 3 years. And then I'll dig into the discographies of the ones I like best. So I'll have enough music for the next 5 years or more .

[mikemangioy]

The list gets shorter and shorter...

#17: Devin Townsend Project - Addicted
2009 - Pop/Industrial Metal - Canada

There were many negative reactions to my Z2 placement, but I think that this will calm the fire for lots of you. What we're talking about here is Devin's second record in his DTP series. This series of albums includes 4 under the monicker of "Devin Townsend Project" and they're meant to represent Dev's personality, each record about a different part of himself, and each record being really different from the others.

Addicted is the follow-up to Ki, which is a very calm, ethereal and moody disc (also a great one), and it's the complete opposite of it. Infact, while Ki was more jazz/blues orientated, this brings back the metal, but adds a special ingredient to the formula: Pop. Hooks, female vocals (provided one again by Anneke Van Giesbergen) but it still has that element of heavy riffing and industrial pounding drum-beats à la Rammstein. But what makes this record great is actually its flow and how fun everything is. The songs are connected with each other, and it sounds so alive that it's almost like a concert. When albums do that, it's always awesome - and you also have the By A Thread version to make a comparison between studio and live: nearly identical. Awesome.

So, the record starts with its title-track, Addicted, aka "The heaviest Pop song ever". It's very simplistic with that two note baritonal riff that gives a nice groove to the piece, and those screaming vocals in the verses, contrasted by that gospel-like Chorus and the historic "stay away from the pornography, i'm saying, LET'S BE LIKE THE MOUNTAIN". This is also a great song to witness live, each version of it is stunning, and brings the song to life, especially during the bridge. That's a great riff. Universe In A Ball is much more Devy-like and progressive than the rest of the song in the album, although shorter. It has quite the groove and a nice arpeggiated bridge that makes the song memorable. Bend It Like Bender is as pop as the album gets (except for one other track), blending together punk pop and rock and roll, with a nice chorus sung from Anneke. It's also damn catchy. Supercrush is a union of djenty riffings with a power ballad feel, sung half by Anneke, half by Devin. This is one of my favorites, it really shows the incredible songwriting abilities of Devin, uniting two pretty different styles together in an outstanding piece. In Hyperdrive, Anneke takes full control over the vocals. This is a second version of the song, the first one being from the Ziltoid record - and it's also pretty different from that one, being fun and happy, whilist the first version was spacey and more calm. I slightly prefer this one, though. Really slightly. The album goes on with my least favorite Resolve, which is still pretty fun to hear, you can tell by Devin laughing his ass off in the beginning  . It has quite an anthemic chorus, and a quirky riff in the beginning. With Ih-Ah, Dev and Anneke go full blown pop with a ballad about being in love. Yes, even though I've grown to hate love songs, this is an exception, since the vocal performance is truly outstanding, intimate and just sweet, that it makes me forget the "I'm so in love with you :D:D" crap going on in the song. Also, The Retinal Circus version is eargasmic, like the whole concert. Best thing ever. The Way Home has a vibe of some kind of modern pop rock band, that I can't quite pinpoint though. The chorus is amazing, as it features Devin's signature operatic vocals. Thing that is much more present in the next song, Numbered. Very dramatic track, with nice layered vocals in the chorus by Anneke. I'm really in love with it and it's my favorite track from the album. I mean the bridge has both a reprise of Universe In A Ball and a forshadowing of The Mighty Masturbator, it makes me shiver, especially the WE TRIIIIIIIIIIIED scream. That's really ominous. Awake is the last song, and the longest, though it's really 5 minutes long with a 4 minutes ambient coda. It's another fun track, and features various references to the previous songs.

Addicted describes itself perfectly from the title. The song are catchy, so they make me addicted. It fun, and what's fun is also addicting. Devin is addicting. Anneke is addicting. RVP, Beavis and whoever may be playing the rest of the stuff are addicting. Just awesome music. 

[Sacul]

Best Devin album - fucking addictive, yes sir 

[mikemangioy]

Ok guys, this time I'm really sorry. It actually wasn't school "bullshit" but serious irl stuff, that kept me from updating here. Kinda sucks actually, but still, let's finish this with a bang, and I'll try to consistently update day by day, for we just miss 16 albums... starting with

#16: Metallica - Master Of Puppets
1986 - Thrash Metal - California, USA

This album here is an headbanger’s manifesto. Nah, it’s the headbanger manifesto. It’s one of those albums that you either love or love. Like, honestly, I’ve never seen it critiqued or bashed, and there are probably two or three cases of this kind out of all the albums that I know about. To see that it’s from Metallica, and looking at what they became today (a brand name for baseball teams), kind of saddens my heart and fills this album with a sort of melancholia.

Why is that? Because this is the band at the top of their game, with the best production, best songwriting, best lineup, best tunes… best everything! I’m also pretty attached to this album because it’s the first album that I vividly remember learning to play and listening to all the way through. From track one to track eight. Nowadays is really normal, but back when I was 9 years old, that was an ultra special event. Surprisingly that’s about 7 years ago, and since this record, a lot of things have changed. Really a lot. If it weren’t for this band, and this album, at the right time, lord knows  I wouldn’t even be on this forum, and probably a lot of you too.

I see a lot of people giving this type of speech to Images And Words on here, and that makes sense, we’re on a DT forum, what the hell. But to me I&W isn’t even in my top 5 DT records (although I still respect it and adore it and see where a lot of people come from when they praise it), hell I hated Pull Me Under when I first heard it. I hated Trial of Tears when I first heard it. I even hated Under A Glass Moon.  To make me like Dream Theater, Mike Mangini had to play Outcry alone basically in front of me. But that was not the case with Metallica and Master Of Puppets. Especially when you compare Mangini to, say, Lars Ulrich

My point is that the album blew my mind. I never thought that I’d like heavy music, but this was the starting point, as I’m sure a lot of  you too. Enough of my rambling, on with the album!

Battery starts things out with the typical Metallica trick: the acoustic intro. Except this time you kind of expect things to go full bananas, and infact, as soon as the intro finishes, the speed goes up up up up and one second later you find yourself headbanging to one of the most frantic, hellish and fast songs in the Metallica repertoire. Battery is a gem, an incredible opener, and sets the stage just about right for what’s about to come. And you know what’s about to come. Master Of Puppets ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this song listed as the “best metal song ever”. Now those kind of lists are a bit full of bullshit, but each time I see this song mentioned, I can’t help but nod and think “wow”. This song is really a track that takes you on a journey in its 8 minutes of length, and has all those twist and turns that make it memorable and a music classic. The structure is phenomenal, and gives dynamicity to a genre that kind of didn’t have that until this record, and it’s predecessor maybe (Ride The Lightning of course).  The Thing That Should Not Be is the mean one. Pure hatred and anxiety are felt in this song, and the music matches the lyrics pretty well given that it’s about Lovecraft strange creatures and terror in general. The S&M version tho Welcome Home (Sanitarium) is a classic track 4 piece, half ballad, half thrash fury. I think that out of all the half ballads, this one has the best heavy part, even though it’s not my favorite song as a whole. It’s beautifully crafted though, the arpeggio strikes quite a chord with me. In comes that beautiful thing that Is Disposable Heroes. A song where “chugging” is an understatement. I love the groove of this piece, and all of its sudden change of tempos and moods. It feels underrated, but not as much as  Leper Messiah. This song has been for a while my favorite Metallica song, but now I admit it kind of (really kind of) falls flat compared to the rest of the album. But it’s clever, and a stunning piece of music, with a strong message and one hell of an outro (LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE LIE LIEEEEEEEEE is a personal hymn). Orion is an instrumental, but it’s really more than just that. It’s a testament, Cliff’s testament. Cliff left us way too early. God knows what he could’ve been capable of doing if he was still alive. Metallica wouldn’t probably be where they are today (still, there was Lars in the band so..), and that’s another reason why this album is so emotional for me. Just listen to that harmony part in the middle of the song. It sounds like they knew. Literally, it sounds like saying goodbye… quite creepy actually. Damage Incorporated closes the album like it started, with a soft intro, and destructive song. This one especially I feel that has the power to uproot trees and stuff. So damn heavy, might be ‘Tallica’s heaviest song. The riff sound mean, as well as the “damage incorporated” *0000000* GO! *epic Krik solo* - one of my favorite moments in music ever.

Master Of Puppets is. Period. It truly is. Can’t find any words, but at the same time, so much to say. BOW PEOPLE, BOW

[jjrock88]

Fantastic album, my favorite from Metallica easily

[Sacul]

This one bores me to death

[ThatOneGuy2112]

This one bores me to death

I'll be wiling to buy you new ears if you just work with me here.

[mikemangioy]

#15: Rush - Hemispheres
1978 - Progressive Rock - Canada

With the R40 tour starting yesterday, there’s not much of a better way to celebrate with a Rush album in here! We’ve already talked lots about the band in the previous write-ups, featuring albums such as Clockwork Angels and Permanent Waves. Two albums in which they took the simple complexity approach, featuring relatively short songs, with hooks, but technicality and interesting concepts. Now, of course, this time it’s gonna be different.

Hemispheres is infact the total opposite of that. Long songs, intertwining and complex music, fancy fantasy stories, and other prog shenanigans, that make this album quite memorable. But it’s not only about that, the fact is that, if you give Rush these elements, they can perfectly use them as an advantage to make awesome music, and that’s really what they did with this album. 4 tracks in which the proggy side of Rush is taken to the max. 36 minutes of pure ecstasy and also fun, let’s not forget that, Rush are a fun band. To listen to and to play also. This record especially, once you get into it and know it well, it’s a lot of fun to follow through.

Hemispheres opens up with, well, Hemispheres – the title track. As in respectful prog albums, the title track is also the center piece and/or the longest piece. This is both, infact it’s a lengthy epic), but also serves as the continuation of the track that closed the previous album, A Farewell To Kings, “Cygnus X-1”. In that track we see an astronaut getting sucked in a black hole, not knowing what awaits him on the other side. Talking musically the song features a very ethereal feel in the guitar parts, and lots of groove from both Geddy and Neil. In the middle of the song there’s the “Cygnus, Bringer Of Balance” part that is pretty dramatic, and I love the way the new riffs reconnect to the Cygnus X1 riffs, it still gives me shivers, because it’s just a second and then everything goes back to the main song. Anyways, that section is so beautiful. And it’s followed by a great climax. Lyrically Hemispheres talks about the fight between heart and mind, represented by Apollo and Dionysus. The guy from Cygnus X1 ends up on the Olympus after he gets sucked into the black hole, and he sees the fight between the two, and brings a solution to both: balance between heart and mind. A great message, and a cool story overall. This song is awesome, but it feels a little bit draggy, but it’s a fucking amazing listen nonetheless. It occupies half of the album anyways, what can you pretend Circumstances is the shortest song, and also one of Rush’s shortest songs, and let me tell you. This. Is. Badass. Seriously, Circumstances rocks my socks out each time, and it’s so proggy for being just 3 minutes. Those French lyrics tho. It’s also catchy as hell. The Trees is slightly longer and proggier, and it’s just a blast. I quite don’t get the lyrics, and think they are a bit stupid (they could’ve used a better metaphor than fighting trees). I mean, I just can’t picture myself singing “THE TROUBLE WITH THE MAPLEEES”. Anyways the strong point of the song is the instrumental section, featuring a strong build up and  those random cowbells. I love it. The album closes with La Villa Strangiato, an epic 9 minute instrumental piece. This song here was one of the first few conscious prog song that I’ve heard, and that I’ve obsessed with (even before discovering DT). It’s hard to play, and has a lot of different sections, but they flow so freaking well with each other, lord knows how the hell did they write this. A stunning composition.

Hemispheres may be a bit overwhelming on the first few listens, but once you see where the band was going, you start to be addicted and have fun. Top notch work by Rush.

[mike099]

Great write up on Hemispheres.  On the Rush documentary, the guitar player from Metallica really praised  LaVilla on how complex it is to play and how Alex's playing inspired future guitar players.  Would be great to hear the title track when I see them in Atlanta later in the month.  If they play it I will tell my wife this is a good bathroom break for her. 

[jjrock88]

Great album.

Great write up

[sneakyblueberry]

Never was big into Rush but this was one of the albums that I kinda dug.  MOP - instaclassic.  Not into Devin.  Alter Bridge got a bit boring for me after the first two albums.

[mikemangioy]

#14: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
2011 - Rock - Washington DC, USA

I have to say  that Sonic Highways is standing the test of time really well, I’m liking it more and more. But I feel that I won’t like any other Foo Fighters record more than Wasting Light. This is truly when the band found the perfect combination between their sound, the songwriting, the production and the overall experience of the record.

Foo Fighters always get credited as “alternative rock”, and while there are some elements of that in their sound (mainly in the first few albums), I feel that this one is pure, simple and raw “rock”. Period. It’s a perfect representation of that genre, and it’s the go-to album when people tell me “hey, what’s a cool rock album?” (even though that doesn’t really happen ). There are neat riffs, inventive layered guitar parts (let’s not forget that there are 3 guitars in FF), the bass tone is fat and you can hear it, and the drums are a lot of fun too. You know, even if they are big and famous, this band really shows that they love what they do throughout various cool things they come up with: like the Sonic Highways thing, the concerts inside little pubs and/or garages, Sound City etc etc… but what really shows that this band is into what they do is this record, or better, the way it was conceived.

Infact this album was entirely written,  produced and recorded in Dave’s house. The whole crew was there, the six guys in the band (counting Rami too), and they recorded everything with tape. They also did that with SH, and that felt a bit stressed, but in here the tape sound is fresh (even if it’s vintage), and provides a cool vibe to the album.

Bridge Burning opens things up extremely well. It’s probably my favorite FF opener, even if between the openers, there are better songs. But I think that this one does a better job at opening… things. Yeah, even concerts. A great two-note riff, and especially, a big sounding chorus make this song memorable. Rope though is more memorable. Incredibly groovy and catchy, with that awesome stop and go riff and instrumental part, with a notable drum solo and a quirky guitar part. One thing I don’t like is the vocals, I feel that they could’ve done a better job, given that they had an outstanding song, instrumentally. Dear Rosemary brings melodies up a notch rather than heavy guitars. This is a great song with a lot of catchiness to it, and I also like the rhythm, with the staccato drumming and stuff.  White Limo is a great mindfuck of a song. Everything is incredibly distorted and evil, and Dave’s screams are… stunning in a way. It’s also a great fun track, especially when you look at the music video Arlandria is kind of the same idea of Dear Rosemary, but does it honestly better. There’s also a lot feeling in the song, provided that it talks about Dave’s hometown/mother, and all of that stuff. The emotional build up in the middle of the song is genius, just sayin’. These Days is one of the ballads and it’s quite important, since it’s Dave’s favorite song that he wrote. This is one of my favorite songs that embraces the “Carpe diem” idea, while not shouting it out in your face like some band from New York once did The chorus gives major chills. Then there’s the one-two punch of Back And Forth and A Matter Of Time, two songs which are very companions in themes and music, featuring quite happy atmospheres and tons of great riffs and musical nuances. I really love those two, and I always listen to them togheter. The album now gets a bit more serious with Miss The Misery, which is dramatic, and heavy too. But not quite as dramatic as I Should Have Known. I confess that if it weren’t for this song, this album would be much lower. With a participation by Krist Novoselich on the distorted bass solo, strings, and beautiful melodies, this song touches me a lot. It easily talks about Kurt, but it’s also relatable to other persons, as I see, and especially in this moment of my life, this is one of the songs that represents what’s happening best. Shivers and sometimes tears. The album’s lead single is strangely the last track, Walk. A great message of hope after the sad events in the previous track. This one is about Dave’s daughter I think. I always have a blast when I listen to this song, especially looking at the “I never wanna die” build up, that’s genius, once again.

Dave, Nate, Chris, Taylor, Pat and Rami. You make something so simple, but you made it so good, and since I don’t listen to a lot of simple music these days, you guys truly have something. From nothing. YOU ARE MY FUUUUSE
IT GOES OH OH OH
AAAAAAALL RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISEEEEEEE!!!!! *Holy diver riff*
Whoops, wrong album

[sneakyblueberry]

I really fucking don't want to like the Foo Fighters at all, but I must admit I like quite a few songs off of this.  I thought Rope was awesome when I first heard it, and I guess it still is, I think the chorus lets it down, it's stock as fuck.  Going through the tracklist, the songs aren't too bad.  The thing that really gets my goad is the whole 'we're going back to basics' bullshit: moving hundreds of thousands of gear into your mansion to record with frickin Butch Vig at does not equal going back to basics, give me a fucking break. 

For me the Foos died after One by One - the last album where they gave a fuck about stretching their limits and writing outside of the box.  Nowadays they're modern rock/AOR (whatever you wanna call it)'s version of AC/DC.  And some people love AC/DC.  And that's ok. 

[mikemangioy]

#13: Metallica - ...And Justice For All
1988 - Kind of progressive thrash metal - California, USA

And here it is, still my favorite Metallica record, but upper this time in the actual list. And Justice For All has always been Metallica’s “Hemispheres”, meaning an album that was really proggy, and so overwhelming for the band that they decided to take a step back after its release (that step back being The Black Album), just like Rush did with Permanent Waves. It feels kinda strange talking about Rush and Metallica in the same sentence, those are two bands that I don’t see quite connected, although Kirk has admitted that Alex Lifeson was one of his biggest influences, and you can quite hear it actually. But anyways, onto the record.

This was the first album after Cliff Burton’s demise, in the latter part of 1986. It left an unerasable scar in the soul of the band, a scar that included of course agony and stuff, but also a lot of anger and repression. And where did they choose to let that anger out? Of course, on the album, pretty obvious, but there’s a not so obvious second answer. The new bassist. Jason Newsted was picked as Cliff’s follower, and he honestly already had a lot of pressure because of the shoes he had to fill; add the bitchy attitude of his new bandmates towards him, you now know why he left the band 14 years later. Although those are 14 years, I admit that the guy had a strong personality. One of the first few things they did to the poor guy, was almost eliminating what he had played on his first full length album with ‘Tallica, of course, And Justice For All. And it’s a fucking pity, because this album already kills on its own, but it would’ve been TEN THOUSAND times better with a proper audible bass. Poor Jason.

Blackened starts things off, as usual, with a bang. The song is fast at first, then goes through this interlude in mid tempo, to pick up fastly again at that insane guitar solo. Easily my favorite Metallica opener ever. It’s also full of proggy stuff like odd times and stuff like that. And Justice For All is up there in my top ten Metallica songs. This is one of the band’s longests tune, clocking in at 9 minutes and 47 seconds. Even though it’s a tad bit repetitive, it’s always kept interesting by those balls-to-the-wall groovy riffing and tempo changes. And one strong lyric message. Eye Of The Beholder is the least interesting for me, although it has a lot of cool vibes and a neat structure. Then there’s One, the perfect semi ballad in my opinion. It stays dark throughout, but it explores both sides of dark: light dark, and heavy dark. And the heavy dark is really unexpected and really HEAVY. MASSIVE. IMAGINE THAT RIFF WITH BASS. I’m sure that at the time, in the genre, this was the heaviest thing around. And the lyrics describe such a horrid picture of a living piece of meat ( a man with no limbs, mute and blind) , from his point of view. Gives me the creeps. The Shortest Straw, soundtrack of the best video ever, is one of the most underrated Metallica songs out there. Seriously, this has a strong fun vibe, while still being angry and ballsy. I love the structure and it’s freaking fun to play on drums. Harvester Of Sorrow is another scarily heavy song, slow and menacing this time. Some of these riffs will haunt you in your dreams. I have really nothing more to say about this one, other than it’s really recommended. The Frayed Ends Of Sanity is the band’s most technical and proggy song. They never play this one live, they did only once, pretty recently actually. Full of strange time signatures, accent changes, and a long instrumental part, this song kinda feels part of Awake or something rather than a Metallica record . To Live Is To Die is the band’s instrumental tribute to Cliff. Although it’s really great, it feels a bit draggy, and I actually prefer Orion to remember Cliff rather than this one. But it’s really touching at times, and you can feel how destroyed they were. The final arpeggio is interrupted by motherfucking Dyers Eve, Damage Incorporated’s little sister. A destructive song about the poor relationship between Hetfield and his parents, this one (thanks to its fast double bass) is a bitch to play, and so I never do. That doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy it because, OF COURSE I DO

And Justice For All is something quite different for Metallica, and I’m glad they did it, even if the absence of bass is quite… present, in a sense. Hope they re-release it some day.

[jjrock88]

killer album, great pick

[TAC]

killer album, great pick

[mikemangioy]

Wait! What is this? A sudden revitalization of the Top 50s? Infact, three new lists are about to happen (Parama's happening), and we didn't even plan it this way 

The big question is: why was I gone?
Well, folks, the last portion of school for me (basically when I was writing the writeups for the remainder of the list) was probably the busiest time for me in a while. I didn't have the time to finish the list, and when I found the time, I had to start the roulette. Meanwhile, this list changed. Now that the roulette is over, and I have a lot less pressure on me (god bless summer holidays), I wanted you to see how it has changed. So behold

MikeMangioy's Top 50 albums v.2.... ...v.2!

Starting tomorrow, these blank spaces will be filled day by day with my favorite records in this particular moment of my life. Oh, and just don't bother considering the original v2. That was admittedly a rushed list, just pretend it didn't exist.

# 50: Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
# 49: Dream Theater - Dream Theater
# 48: Nirvana - In Utero
# 47: Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways
# 46: Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine
# 45: Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit
# 44: Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos
# 43: System Of A Down - Steal This Album
# 42: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
# 41: Opeth - Blackwater Park

[Train of Naught]

A bit late, but I'm really glad to see Fortress so high up, Cry of Achilles has by far my favorite intro's of their whole discography.
Hoping to see Blackbird even higher, though!

EDIT: wait, this is finished? where's 12-1?

[mikemangioy]

A bit late, but I'm really glad to see Fortress so high up, Cry of Achilles has by far my favorite intro's of their whole discography.
Hoping to see Blackbird even higher, though!

EDIT: wait, this is finished? where's 12-1?

I'm starting over, read my last post 

[Train of Naught]

Yea I had already read it.

[Sacul]

What about a new post? 

[mikemangioy]

#50: Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
Progressive/experimental/pop/jazz rock - 2011

This reboot starts off with a DTF fan-favorite (warning: this list is full of 'em).
Steven Wilson is a british singer-songwriter. The man, in his 25 (and more) years of career has created music for various projects, ending up being mostly known thanks to the band Porcupine Tree. After the band was put on hiatus, Steven began focusing more on his solo career (one album had already came out at this point, 'Insurgentes') - and this album right here was the first product post-Porcupine Tree that Steven gave to us.

Grace For Drowning is a very strange record. It has both some of the most beautiful and gorgeous songs that Steven ever wrote, like Deform To Form A Star or Postcard, and the most haunting and creepy songs. With no space in between. There are literally just these two moods (both are very jazz-influenced though) so it is a very strange type of album. It's also a double album containing 12 songs, for a total of one hour and twenty-two minutes of music, which can be quite long to listen to in one sitting. But thankfully, each song is brilliant and stands on its own - for instance we have the aforementioned Deform To Form A Star, a gorgeous ballad that puts a huge smile on my face, Sectarian and Remainder The Black Dog, two eerie jazzy instrumentals (aside from a few verses in the latter), Index, one of the most known SW solo tracks, and to add a touch of "In Absentiality", Raider II, a 25-minute long song, about a serial killer named Dennis Rader, who truly exists. Raider II is probably Steven's creepiest track both as a solo artist and as a band member. That shit's intense.

So, Grace For Drowning is for sure a great album, well written, well performed (just to name a few of the session members: Pat Mastelotto, Jordan Rudess, Tony Levin, Steve Hackett) but if you're not in the right mood, it might drag. But it can also be fun to listen to, thanks to the cool jazz elements in it.

Recommended tunes: Deform To Form A Star  Remainder The Black Dog  Index (watch the live version.. it's better IMO than the studio) Raider II.

[mikemangioy]

No replies make me a 

But let's move on!


#49: Dream Theater - Dream Theater
Progressive metal - 2013

Dream Theater's latest effort is a solid record, IMO the best one since Octavarium. After a couple of overly metal releases, one drummer quitting and a good enough album, DT returned to their relatively top game (I say relatively, because their top game is so top that it can't just be reached that easily) with their self-titled release.
This was the first album to be released after I became a fan, so I spent the entire summer of 2013 building up and waiting with an exciting anticipation to hear the new tracks from my new heroes. They delivered. For me, at least they did.

After an album like BC&SL, where out of 6 tracks only 2 were less than ten minutes long (and one of 'em was 8, so yeah), this time the band decided to step back, and write material under the ten minutes mark, making the music more focused and concise. Each song develops one style of the band's songwriting, but keeps evolving their sound, even if it doesn't seem like that. That's because of Mike Mangini finally writing along with the rest of the guys. And I honestly can hear the differences from Portnoy quite well, actually. The thing is, the production is muddy, so you can't quite hear what the hell Mangini is doing behind that monstrous kit. He's reiventing the approach to drumming, adding the melodic element to it, while still remaining both quite groovy (as groovy as MM can get, which is not that much  ) and technical as hell. All the other guys are on fire as well, especially John Myung, which is more present this time around.
The album, as I said, represents the band quite good with each song: we have the heavy stuff, found in songs like The Enemy Inside and Behind The Veil, the more melodic side of things, with songs such as The Looking Glass and Surrender To Reason, two great ballads: The Bigger Picture and Along For The Ride and, of course, the obligatory (not really, but the last three albums excluding ADTOE had them) epic: Illumination Theory. This track is a modern masterpiece for the band. Fun, experimental and moving. Great stuff. As a bonus, the first instrumental in 10 years (let's pretend that Raw Dog didn't happen), Enigma Machine, which is okay. Admittedly a bit underwhelming. But okay nevertheless.

Overall, it might not be a masterpiece or anything, but it surely is a good damn album in my book and one that will stay with me for long, since it's gonna be my first memory of Dream Theater as an active band.

Recommended tunes, even though you should know this album pretty well, what the hell, we're on the band's forums: The Looking Glass The Bigger Picture Behind The Veil Along For The Ride Illumination Theory