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

[mikemangioy]

Infact, I've heard far more than that but I get what you're trying to say.

[mikemangioy]

#45: Symphony X - The Odyssey
2002 - Progressive Symphonic/Power Metal - New Jersey, USA

I’ve known this one for quite a while now, but over the last months it grew on me a lot, hence its appearence in the list. Symphony X are some kind of an hybrid metal band, uniting the most pretentious and cheesy subgenres in the whole scene: prog, symphonic and power metal. When I first heard that I admit I said “MUST. HEAR.”. It all started with Set The World On Fire blahblah, but it was when I got to this album that I understood the true nature of Symphony X: great melodies, virtuosism, heavy riffs and overall a great atmosphere that remind me of something quite “godly”, like if this was the music the Greek Gods listen to up there in the Olympus – heck, they even got an album named “Twilight In The Olympus”. So, let’s take a look at The Odyssey.

Recorded in the band’s headquarters, The Dungeon, this is the band’s sixth effort. Production is great, everything is well balanced, the guitars are fat enough, I love the drums in this one. The only thing that make me cringe are the orchestra sounds used throughout the album – they’re really not that great. I mean, c’mon, they could’ve use at least two or three musician instead of using stuff from the keyboard. The music is pretty basic prog metal, again, with symphonic influence, although some of these riffs are among my favorites of all times. The vocal lines are very kinda solemn and sustained, props to Russell Allen because that guy has an amazing voice and tooooooone. Also, props to Michael Romeo that basically wrote most of the album by himself. HOW DO YOU DO THAT

The record opens with a fast as hell (no pun intended) tune, named Inferno (Unleash The Fire). This is one of my favorites intros in prog, and as I’ve said, the riff before the verse is one of my favorites of all times. When I first heard that my jaw hit the floor. The lyrics are inconsistent though. Strange thing, the verses are awesome, but the rest is pretty meh lyric-wise. No problem with that, since the music itself is top notch. Wicked is so groovy, featuring a typical Romeo riff figure, but very heavy. Once again, the intro in this song is awesome, and I like the overall vibe of it, and I think it has a cool storyline in the lyrics. Incantations Of The Apprentice features a different kind of vibe in some parts. It gets really spooky in the chorus. I mean “DAAARKNESS FAAAALLS”  is a pretty sinister sounding melody, if you ask me. I like that.Accolade II(sequel of The Accolade, from The Divine Wings Of Tragedy) feels a bit forced in itself, maybe they needed another song and decided to write this, but you know what? It’s not bad at all, heck, it’s a great tune! The references to its prequel make me shiver, and its chorus is probably my favorite one in the whole album. Also, it manages to be melodic and heavy at the same time, and it’s a pretty well balanced thing, good job with that. Up next is probably my favorite track from this, King Of Terrors. The song, much like The Mirror and Honor Thy Father, has a simplistic heavy riff, played with various drum figures and time signatures. And it probably does a better work than those DT song in this aspect. It’s just so groovy and heavy it hurts! I love Russel’s vocals in here. He sounds pretty desperate, seeing as this song’s lyrics are from The Pit And The Pendulum, by E.A. Poe (one sinister short story), he interprets stuff pretty well. The instrumental section is a thing to mention also. That piano break. The Turning is next, when I said Inferno was fast, I was lying. THIS is what fast means. Just listen to that  This song is pretty quick in every sense, and catchy. I’d recommend it right away GO LISTEN TO IT NOW. Awakenings is the proggiest song (except for the title track), it’s written in stream-of-consciousness style, and features melodic stanzas along with heavy/neoclassical instrumental sections. Yes, I feel it’s my least favorite, but I think it’s a grower too. With time we’ll see. Have I mentioned that this album includes an epic piece? Yes, it does. The Odyssey. Perfect fusion between classical music and metal, in my opinion. If only the instruments were real. The song would be  better. When I say perfect fusion I talk mostly about the first movement, Odysseus’ Theme. It’s like having an orchestra with drums and heavy guitars, and not the contrary. Awesome opening. As you might have guessed this song is about Homer’s Odyssey. To me, it’s always been a perfect topic to talk about in music, and when I found out about this song, I joyed a little inside. This song is subdivided in 7 sections, reaching a whole range of dynamics and feelings, like I imagine an epic journey to be. The best movements are certainly the opening, as I’ve said, Journey To Ithaca, featuring a stunning chorus and one heck of an instrumental section, Sirens, that has another one of my favorite riffs of all times (what the hell Romeo) and Champion Of Ithaca, very cheesy ending to this piece, but still great nonetheless. Overall this is a great epic tune, I prefer it to the band’s other epic, The Divine Wings Of Tragedy. I think it flows better and is more consistent. Top notch stuff.

This album is really fun, I recommend it a lot, I always have a good time when I listen to it. Can’t wait for the new album.

Favorite tracks: Inferno, King Of Terrors, The Turning, The Odyssey

[Evermind]

Symphony X is kind of cool and I listen to them occasionally, but somehow I prefer Russell in Allen/Lande much more. Or in Star One.

[Elite]

Or in Adrenaline Mob?

[Evermind]

Or in Adrenaline Mob?

Not a big fan of AMob to be honest. I think I like SX more.

[jjrock88]

My favorite album from SX.  Just awesome!

[Scorpion]

Awakenings is awesome. Shame on you.

(Good album though.)

[mikemangioy]

Nice to see some Odissey appreciation.

So guys, I've got some bad news. Since I won't be home both this evening and tomorrow morning, there's gonna be one update for a couple of days. I don't think it would be much a problem, since it's Easter tomorrow, and probably you'll be busy. And, monday i'm off to somewhere (still have to decide), so no update at all. With that said:

# 44: Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
2001 - Progressive/Psychedelic/Pop Rock/Metal - UK

And here come the Porcupines, and here comes mr. Wilson, one of his many appearances in this particular list. SPOILERZSPOILERZ.  What can be said about PT? I freaking love their musicianship, and the way they sound, uniting three of my favorites aspects of music together: atmosphere, catchiness and (in their late period) heaviness. There’s no need to say that each and every member of this band is a master at what he does. SW shines as an outstanding songwriter, Colin Edwin gives us tasty bass-line after tasty bass-line non-stop, Richard Barbieri uses his patches and synth sounds to give more texture to the songs, while not actually interfering with the actual music (talking about riffs, melodies etc.) and Gavin Harrison. I’ve already expressed my love for this man, but I’ll say it once more: in my top three favorite drummers EVER. Groove? Check. Technical abilities? Check. Tasty drum fills? Check. Creativity and musicality in his playing? Checkitty check. I think I’ve made my point clear.

In Absentia is actually the first album with Gavin in the band, who was filling the shoes of Chris Maitland, who left the group in 2001. This album marks the beginning of the band’s third era, the “metal” era. Indeed, more soundscapes are being introduced in this album, new to the band: creepiness and heaviness. And from here on out it’s only uphill with every album. So, as I’ve said, this album (and you can already tell by the cover) is pretty dark, both in music and in lyrics: infact it deals with rapists, killers and stuff like that. It’s not clear if it’s a single story line or more stories together, but still, it’s about that. The band heavy factor has a “surprise” approach, often appearing for a few seconds in the middle of a pretty calm section, but destroying everything in those few moments.
This album was recorded at Avatar Studios in New York (same studio in which Systematic Chaos was recorded, for reference), and of course, with Steven at production, you can’t really go wrong; infact everything is crystal clear as it could possibly be, and perfectly balanced too.

This record begins with a legendary duo of songs: Blackest Eyes, a legitimately “Pop Metal” track, featuring one hell of a heavy riff, catchy and sunny verses and choruses, talking about a violent sex addict (I’ve always loved that constrast). Whilst Trains is practically a ballad, and one of my favorite PT songs. A happy song about love and possibly even about incest. What? Didn’t he hear the sounds from his cousins bed? Yeah, maybe I just ruined the song for you Anyways, this song is capable of lighting even the darkest of hearts, specifically with its bridge and outro. Lips Of Ashes is probably the creepiest PT song around, a gentle lullaby about necrophilia. The “lalalas” usually make me smile, but here they make me go in my pants. The Sound Of Muzak is the only “innocent” piece in the record, talking about modern mainstream music and how it sucks. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a great track, but it feels out of place in the album (they could’ve replaced it with Drown With Me, a b-side from this record’s sessions). This song features a great 7/4 groove. Gravity Eyelids is a bit boring. It’s very calm and ethereal, at least until the bridge, where the song explodes in heavy riffing. I don’t really listen to this one out of the context of the album, but it’s ok. Wedding Nails is possibly my favorite PT instrumental track, featuring great groovy riffing and creepy ambient parts. It’s pretty fun to play to, the breakdown leaves space for nice fillings, drumming-speaking. Prodigal is a very typical PT song with a sad tone, nice funky influences and catchiness. .3 brings us back to the space rock days of the group, featuring one bassline with all sorts of ambience behind it, and eventually a verse, with the same chords as the chorus of The Sound Of Muzak. Talking about groove, how about The Creator Had A Mastertape? Now, that’s how you use drums and bass properly. It’s so infectious. This is a frenetic fast song about a killer, who slowly lost his mind, until "he raised a proper family, so he could tie them to a bed". Heart-Attack In A Layby is the saddest song in the album, a piano ballad dealing with a man who gave up on his life. But as soon as he starts regretting his decisions and turning back to say sorry to everybody, he has an heart attack. Poof. Strip The Soul is possibly the darkest song in PT’s entire carreer. Just to say a few lines “They are not gone, they are only sleeping, in ways, in graves, in clay, underneath the floor”. It features a similar bass-line to the one in .3 and a fucking heavy outro that still scares the shit out of me everytime I listen to it. Seriously, it’s that creepy. The album closes with Collapse The Light Into Earth which is like a light at the end of the tunnel, providing a great finale and an uplifting melanchonic song.

Overall, this is an album that I really recommend for first-timers PT listeners, especially if they come from a metal background. It shows what the band is capable of in terms of technicality, even if it’s not the best IMO. Great stuff 

Favorites: Blackest Eyes, Trains, Wedding Nails, The Creator Had A Mastertape, Strip The Soul

[Scorpion]

Trains darkens my heart with the fact that so many people suck its dick when about 100% of the songs on this album are superior to it.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

gtfo with these opinions

Though I will agree Trains isn't the best song on IA. Probably around number 4 for me.

[Elite]

Trains darkens my heart with the fact that so many people suck its dick when about 100% of the songs on this album are superior to it.

Trains is a nice little tune, but it's not even close to being the best song on this album.

[Tom Bombadil]

Is say Trains is top 3 on the album for me.

[Elite]

Oh good god. I just saw this: 'Gravity Eyelids is a bit boring'. What? it's the best song on there man!

[Elite]

Then again, I adore this album. Every track is amazing. The combo if Creator, Heartattack and Strip the Soul is brilliant as well.

[Sacul]

All-time top 3 album for me  . And Trains is my fav you suckers .

[mikemangioy]

That's right folks, fight for your trains!

[Crow]

Trains is my favorite Porcupine Tree song so whatever

[425]

Yep, Trains is one of the band's top 5 songs period. In this case, popular opinion is right.

As a whole, I think IA would go around here in my list. It's very good straight through, but it's not in the very elite level of albums for me.

[Scorpion]

My dislike for Trains has nothing to do with it being popular, it just means that it's an opinion that I mention more often, but I found it extremely bland from the first listen on, when I had no idea which songs people dug and which they didn't.

[Elite]

^ same thing applies for me. I honestly think that part of what makes this song popular is the ridiculous hype it gets, as well as Wilson's own apparent fondness for this song (using it as encores at shows and stuff). Then again, it's a catchy tune and it's a logical song to release as a single.

[mikemangioy]

Good to see some discussion going on!
Anyways, I figured I'd post the next update now, because who gives a heck, it's Easter. Oh yeah, happy Easter everyone.

# 43: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
2010 - Progressive Death Metal (Country/Folk) - North Carolina, USA

Between The Buried And Me. If you had told me 6 months ago “hey, you’ll listen and love this band one day”, I wouldn’t have believed you at all. BTBAM were really hard for me to get into, but they did at one point. They clicked, not with this album, but with another one (which we will find out about at a later point.). This band combines prog with death metal and yes, metalcore, but also a lot of other genres of which we find little nuances once in a while.

Every member of this band is a master at what he does, starting with the almighty Paul Waggoner on lead guitar. I love this guy. Blake Richardson on drums, he’s one of the best drummers I’ve discovered in a while, and has a great taste in his drum parts. On rhythm guitar Dustie Waring, he always provides big and fat stuff; Dan Briggs on bass. This guy is a musical genius, from what I understand he can write scores for orchestra, other than playing bass masterfully, while also being 29 years old. And of course Tommy Rogers on vocals and keyboards. Now the thing is, when he screams he’s not bad, can’t deny it, but I inevitabely prefer any section in which he’s singing in clean. That dude creates some awesome vocal lines, and some of which give me chills. Also, these guys are fucking hilarious, watch some of their studio videos and you’ll see what I mean

BTBAM songs are often a mess, in the sense that it’s stream-of-consciousness type of songwriting, with blast beats and heaviness all over everything, topped with the right amount of melodicness and wacky stuff. I just wish that the band was more melodic-focused, but still, they’re great the way they are. The Great Misdirect was recorded in 2009 at Basement Studios, in Winston-Salem, NC. I’ll start saying that the drums sound stunningly great, Blake has one of my favorite tones ever. The rest of mixing and production is awesome too.

The record opens with two songs, which are tied together both musically and lyrically, Mirrors And Obfuscation, the first one being pretty chill with nice ethereal (at times poppy) guitars and Obfuscation being the heavy side of it all. It’s not that memorable IMO, but still it’s a great listen. Disease, Injury, Madness is a track that plays on dynamics: it starts heavy with blast beats and fast riffings, to step back a few notches for a nice little interlude. Then the heaviness starts again but it’s soon interrupted by a quiet jazz part, with a stunning bass solo. Now, written like this, you get the impression that it’s pretty incoherent. Well, it isn’t at all, infact one of my favorite moments in this album is the transition from heavy to jazzy. Dem brushes. Another cool moment is the “cowbell” riff, featuring heavy cowbell use and horses. Up next is Fossil Genera – A Feed From Cloud Mountain, a three-part epic about the “Night Owls”, a fictional group of creatures that controls us and make us kill ourselves in order to evolve. The first part is a ragtime metal thing (it cracks me up everytime), the second part is your classic BTBAM heavy tune and the third is this anthemic build up with choirs and a great climax. Shivers everywhere. Desert Of Song is a ballad with country influences, I love this. I wish the band moved more towards this direction, but still maintaining that prog element of theirs. In this song, Paul sings the first few verses, and he’s awesome, he has a very deep voice which fits perfectly in the mood of this piece. Swim To The Moon. Where do I begin to talk about this track. It’s the band’s longest, to begin with, and that’s already a pretty big statement. This song has a few classic BTBAM parts, but features Spanish influences and a great melodic chorus. The instrumental sections are amazing, and everyone gets a solo in this track, even Tommy on keys, if we can call that a solo The best part is without shadow of doubt the breakdown. It’s scary how heavy it is. LOOOK INTOOOOO THAAAAA PICTCHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA . Seriously though, there’s brilliant songwriting all over this track, from the blast beats to the samba drum solo, including the acoustic passages, and the overall Dream Theater-ness in the tune. Amazing stuff.

This album is great if you wanna start with BTBAM. It has all the cool elements, and it’s interesting enough to catch someone’s attention. Can’t wait for Coma Ecliptic, since from what I understood the band's going more into the direction that I wished.

Favorite tracks: Disease Injury Madness , Desert Of Song , Swim To The Moon

[Evermind]

In Absentia has two of my favourite PT songs, but as a whole this album isn't that great for me. Probably top 150 or something like that. Still, great choice, that.

I've heard Colors from BTBAM, and I didn't like it at all, looks like this band isn't my cup of tea.

[Sacul]

In Absentia has two of my favourite PT songs, but as a whole this album isn't that great for me. Probably top 150 or something like that. Still, great choice, that.

I've heard Colors from BTBAM, and I didn't like it at all, looks like this band isn't my cup of tea.

What a funny thing they are, tastes .

I didn't like Colors either some years ago. But I got more and more used to harsh vocals and growls, so decided to give it another chance last year. It went like this:

Oh, that's a sweet piano intro there.


Hey I'm liking this, wonder why I disliked it before? *gets a bit heavier*. This is grea...

*explodes*

[mikemangioy]

It went pretty much this way with me too. Just not with Colors, which hasn't clicked yet (except Prequel To The Sequel)

[Crow]

Colors is alright but TGM is probably my favorite from BTBAM. A lot less death metal nonsense and a lot more melodic stuff and overall better songwriting.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

It went pretty much this way with me too. Just not with Colors, which hasn't clicked yet (except Prequel To The Sequel)

Spoiling your own list.

TGM is great all-around, there are only a few moments I'm not so down with (such as certain moments in Swim to the Moon). I do feel as though TGM, while more melodious, is not quite as memorable as Colors is. TGM (as well as Parallax II) is the album to get people into who are coming from a more progressive edge rather than an extreme metal one.

[Prog Snob]

I'll follow any list that has In Absentia on it.   

[Sacul]

TGM (as well as Parallax II) is the album to get people into who are coming from a more progressive edge rather than an extreme metal one.

Then that's what I should listen to then .

[Elite]

To the people saying The Great Misdirect is a better album than Colors: you're wrong

[sneakyblueberry]

To the people saying The Great Misdirect is a better album than Colors: you're wrong

yes.  a thousand times yes.

[mikemangioy]

No one said that. It just hasn't clicked yet, as opposed to TGM and ??. I'm sure it will though pretty soon.

[mikemangioy]

# 42: Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World
2000 - Heavy/Thrash/Progressive/Death Metal - Washingston, USA

In the last list this album was featured along with the debut album by the same band, and well, while “Nevermore” fell into oblivion, Dead Heart In A Dead World managed to survive. Why? BECAUSE IT’S DEAD HEART IN A DEAD WORLD. There’s something about this band that I really enjoy, but I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is. Maybe it’s the songwriting style, maybe it’s the riffs and the drum work, hell, maybe it’s the guitar tuning. A# standard man. Well, whatever, the point is, that I love Nevermore and it’s one band that no matter what mood I’m in, I can listen. There are very few bands like these in my book, so that’s a great thing.

Warrel Dane’s vocals really adjusted by this point, in the past he used to have vocal lines that didn’t fit in the song sometimes, but here? Everything is coherent and awesome-sounding. I love this guy’s voice, it’s evil and eerie but incredibly melanchonic and touching at the same time, very particular. Well, of course, Jeff Loomis is the master here, he wrote everything along with the other guitar mate Jason L. Brown. The rhythm section is provided by Van Williams, a great groovy man on drums, and on bass Jim Sheppard, which is also in Sanctuary, Warrel’s other band. Well now, Warrel’s only band  :C
This album features typical Nevermore metal. A big mix of subgenres. We have straight heavy, thrash, prog and death metal influences in the same album. I’m in love with each and every riff in this record, they are the way I like them: heavy, hard-hitting, and slightly wacky.

The tracklist consists of 11 songs: Narcosynthesis kicks things off with a hard hitting double bass riff, which is a bit all over the place admittedly, but everything adjusts as soon as the djenty riff kicks in. I love the lyrics to this song, I interpreted them as a drug person calling out for help. We Disintegrate continues the record with a similar speed, with a succession of riffs, all memorable. I like the chorus, Warrel here uses various vocal styles, passing from a deep register to a high falsetto. It has quite a strange outro though, they could’ve done better than that. Inside Four Walls is a classic. A straight heavy tune, with cool harmonics placement and a memorable anthemic chorus. Also, that bridge hypes me up everytime. Evolution 169 slows things down quite a bit, but that doesn’t mean it’s not heavy. Nope, still heavy. I love the outro, it has a cool message: “Don’t set your mind to one side”. Warrel vocals are pretty helpless in this one, and deep too. The River Dragon Has Come is probably my favorite tune out of this album. It starts with a clean arpeggio and soon everything goes nuts with one of the heaviest riffs in the record. I love the verses riff figure. 0. 0. 0-0. *pause* 0-0-0. 0000. It’s so groovy, and it has balls. The bridge is another section where all hell breaks loose, but not in a fast way, there’s just scales, but they create a great dark and doom-y mood. The Heart Collector is a powerful power ballad (look at that poor writing :rolling), with one moving chorus and touching topic. I think it talks about a man that in order to feel any good emotion, has to steal other people’s hearts. The problem with Nevermore’s ballads is that they all kinda sound the same… I mean The Sanity Assassin, this one, Sentient 6.. all pretty similar. Well, that doesn’t mean they’re not great, because they truly are. Sentient 6 especially. The album goes on with Engines Of Hate, a fun song with lyrics that I don’t know if they are to be taken seriously or not (don’t read ‘em out loud ). Following is a peculiar track, The Sound Of Silence, and it’s a metal reindition of the classic Simon & Garfunkel track. And out of all tracks in the record, this is where the guys decided to freak the hell  out and spit some of the heaviest and meanest shit in Nevermore’s discography. Minor complaint is : why didn’t you make this an actual song of yours? Yeah, it’s that different from the original, and I think the lyrics don’t quite fit the music. Well, whatever, it’s a nice experiment at least. Insignificant is probably my least favorite song in the album. It’s an ok ballad (strange placement since it’s before another power ballad), with a great vocal melody, but IMO it doesn’t quite stand out compared to the rest of the album. Putting Believe In Nothing next kinda kills the pace of the album, two ballads in a row are not a great thing to do. Especially when they are the least interesting songs on the record. This song was released as a single and was covered a couple of times too, so it has some recognition. The lyrics are actually great, the solo is nice, but the rest? A bit meh. But let’s come to the closing tune, the title track, Dead Heart In A Dead World, a war-centered piece, with an incredibly depressing intro, that soon explodes in a fast-paced destruction and possibly my favorite chorus in the whole album. Great closing track.

So, overall, this album starts awesomely, it kinda loses itself towards the end with Insignificant and Believe In Nothing, but still, it’s a great listen, and it’s also fun to play, like most of Nevermore’s material (I Voyager is a pain in the ass D:)

Favorites: Narcosythesis, Inside Four Walls, The River Dragon Has Come, The Sound Of Silence, Dead Heart In A Dead World

[mikemangioy]

Looks like nobody really cared about Nevermore - Let's see if some kind of relatively controversial pick will light you up!

#41: Metallica - Death Magnetic
2008 - Thrash/Heavy Metal - California, USA

Metallica are often seen as good and bad. The first half of their carreer is definetly something to respect, and something to be inspired from. The latter half (starting from Jason Newsted’s departure) has been increasingly pathetic, but not this. I fucking adore Death Magnetic. Now, I know some of you really hate this record, but to me it’s an incredible showcase of what the band is still capable of doing. Some of these songs are the best in ‘Tallica discography, or at least, they are my favorites.

Of course the biggest problem of the record is production and mixing – these songs feel like demos. There’s nothing to do about it, and it’s also brickwalled as demos, everything clips so much it hurts. Pity, ‘cause with good production this record could’ve been appreciated more. Also, Lars, please learn how to play properly, thank you. You bastard. Have you guys heard why there’s no bass on AJFA? Well, it’s all Lars’ fault. Look it up on Google.

So the actual music is pretty sick, the riffs are pretty cool and fun – yes, that’s what this album is, it’s fun. There’s something pretty happy about this record, I don’t know, it makes me smile for no reason. Well, whatever. Death Magnetic has also sort of an historical importance: it’s the first album with Roberto Augustin Miguel Santiago Samuél Trujillo Veracruz on kazoo bass, and it’s one of the last albums recorded in the Sound City studios. It’s not that important, but I saw the Sound City documentary like 7 times and yes, it’s a studio to be attached to. Watch it if you didn’t! Dave Grohl is really a great director when it comes to documentaries.

So the album starts with That Was Just Your Life after a creepy/evil intro, and yeah, it’s a good song with a nice pace and groove. Nothing really amazing, unlike the next track which is one of my favorites of course, The End Of The Line. This song pumps me up each time I listen to it, and I always have a good time playing it, whether I’m doing it on guitar or on drums. I love the pre-chorus. Broken Beat & Scarred has a fast-anxious kind of vibe to it, and yes, the gang vocals are kind of annoying, but it has a great instrumental section at least. We find a classic “track 4” piece, half a ballad, half a furious instrumental. The Day That Never Comes; now I recognize the flaws in this song, it sounds forced in many ways (that arpeggio is Fade To Black, the 0000000 is One basically), but I like it so much that I actually look past those flaws, and once again, have a good time with the tune. All Nightmare Long brings back the Lovecraft-ish vibes that the band used to have back in the days (I’m talking about songs like The Call Of Ktulu or The Thing That Should Not Be). Even though this time the music isn’t actually creepy, like its predecessors, it’s fast and given that it’s about wolves that hunt you down without mercy, it fits still. Also the music video is creepy. Cyanide is both a bit mediocre and amazing. It manages to do that thanks to its vibe and especially thanks to the instrumental section, even though admittedly it has a couple of generic riffs. And here comes the filler, The Unforgiven III. Was it really worth calling this song Unforgiven? We didn’t need another one. It’s not that bad, but it really feels unnecessary. Bah. The Judas Kiss,though, is the most creative piece out of the record and it features a long guitar solo, with some pretty cool rhythms and riffs underneath it. Here comes the other meh track, Suicide And Redemption. This instrumental tune for the sake of it, has great potential but in the end it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Too long and the heavy bits are too generic, even though the clean part is stellar. The record closes with My Apocalypse which is a definite return to thrash for the band, it’s the only full stretched thrash song in the disc, and it’s a great listen, fast and heavy.

So yes, I get why some people don’t like Death Magnetic, but I really enjoy it and, what the heck, it’s my list and I shouldn’t even bother justifying such placements. Or should I?

Favorites: The End Of The Line, The Day That Never Comes, All Nightmare Long, The Judas Kiss

[sneakyblueberry]

That album could've been great, but sadly it falls flat for me.  Mostly because it feels like Metallica covering Metallica.  RiP is way better than this

[Scorpion]

Dead Heart is awesome and WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE DOING ABOVE IT