The 2016 Retrospective Challange

[The King in Crimson]

I'm doing this too, because I love giving up on and failing at goals. I'm also doing this alphabetically because I thought 'Hey why not make this even harder on myself?' 'That's a good idea self! Onward to the flagellation!'

Anyways, I've listened to the following so far:

††† - †††
I always forget about this album. It's nice and pleasant to listen to, with a few standout tracks, and though it's a bit too long, I always enjoy it. I quite like Chino on this and personally, I think he's better at singing this more laid back music than he is at the heavier Deftones stuff. It's a nice, not quite great album and I need to revisit it more often. I probably won't but the sentiment is there. So that counts for something.

A Life Once Lost - Ecstatic Trance
I got this album for free when I preordered something from the Seasons of Mist shop. It's definitely not something I would've picked up on my own. It's okay. Got a bit of progressive metalcore (light on the progressive) style going on. Some nice riffs here and there but nothing that really stands out to me. Honestly, I haven't listened to this all that much so that might just be unfamiliarity talking, but nothing really speaks to me.

AC/DC - Back In Black
Truly a classic album here. Wall to wall good songs. I remember when I first picked up this album, I played it pretty much nonstop for weeks. AC/DC pretty much took their style and compressed it down to the most pure, essential hard rock one can imagine. Some people may bag on them for being unimaginative (me included) but Back In Black is well regarded for a reason. I quite enjoyed revisiting this for the first time in, wow, probably ten to fifteen years? God, I am getting old.

Agalloch - Pale Folklore
Despite all of my Mantle fapping, Pale Folklore unfortunately gets overlooked despite it being a pretty damn good debut. "Hallways of Enchanted Ebony" and "She Painted Fire Across The Skyline" are great, great songs. Pale Folklore is not as consistent as The Mantle is (to me) but it's quite good and I should listen to it more than I do.

Agalloch - The Mantle
Oh my god, I came. Again.

Agalloch - The Grey
I bought this (along with The White) a few years ago when it was rereleased because I didn't want it to sell out and deprive myself a chance of having a complete, physical Agalloch discography. However, I never actually listened to it. I shelved it and... forgot about it. Well, now is as good a time as any I guess. It's a couple of reworked songs from The Mantle along with two new songs. Lots of drone, ambient, and really abrasive black metal. "The Lodge (Dismantled)" is actually pretty fucking cool, but the rest, I'm not sure yet. They're nice and interesting and different but I don't know how often I'd come back to these as opposed to their other material. It's an interesting entry, that's for sure.

Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
This is still an album that escapes me. I know lots of people love it but I just like everything else that Agalloch has done... better. "Limbs" and "Not Unlike The Waves" are great but I just don't get much from the rest. Not a bad album, but my least favorite Agalloch release.

Agalloch - Marrow Against The Spirit
Probably my second favorite Agalloch album along with one of the most beautiful album covers ever. I want it on vinyl so that I can hang it on my wall. "Into The Painted Grey" and "To Drown" are the clear standouts here, but the whole album is a fantastic journey. I feel like there are a few lulls here and there, especially in "Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires", but overall it's a small mark on an otherwise great album. Not a classic like The Mantle but I don't feel bad putting them next to each other.

Agalloch - The White
Holy fuck is this a beautiful album. Agalloch do an EP of mostly stripped-down folk and it blows my mind. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. I will be listening to this more.

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes
I was surprised I owned a physical copy of this. I thought I only had it on digital. Huh. Anyways, it's an EP made up of one 22 minute song. I don't think it stands up there with Agalloch's best or even as one of their middle-best songs, probably somewhere in the lower half. It's alright. I don't get very hyped up about it but it's really not bad. Just not great. Eh, next...

Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere
This was kind of derided a bit when it was released and while I was initially very lukewarm on it, it grew on me over time. There are some very, very good songs on this, like "The Astral Dialogue." "Dark Matter Gods," and especially "Plateau of the Ages," but the problem is very few stand up against my favorites. There are no "Hallways of Enchanted Ebony," "In The Shadow of Our Pale Companion," "Not Unlike The Waves," "Into The Painted Grey" on this and while it's very consistent and lacks any real lulls (maybe "Vales Beyond Dimension?") it suffers for the lack of those standout songs. I'd probably rank this beneath Pale Folklore but above Ashes Against The Grain. A good album but there are other, better Agalloch albums if I want to listen to them.

Well, that's Agalloch. Next up is Alcest, Alice In Chains, Altar of Plagues, Amon Amarth, and Amorphis.

[Evermind]

Can we maybe have separate threads for each user?

Yes... please.  No offense intended for the other two, but this one was Nick's idea.  No harm in plagiarizing it, but I suggest anyone wanting to do this should have their own thread - and hopefully we don't have like, 24 of these.

I agree. But hey, it's Nick's thread, so if he's alright with it, I think that's what matters.

Regarding the last Nick's update: Anathema is the band I only like two or three albums from, and Weather Systems is definitely among those. Skyforger is great too, my favourite from Amorphis.

[Kwyjibo]

Weather Systems is the only Anathema album I know and it hasn't convinced me that this is a band I should check out further.

[Nick]

Update:

Neal Morse - Neal Morse
No question, this isn't One, ?, or V. But Neal is such an amazing songwriter, that this type of stripped back album is perfect for him. It's easily forgotten about, but also an always enjoyable listen.

Rush - Rush
Like the disc, like that's it's unlike anything else in the catalog. Not much that is overly spectacular, but a fun early disc.

Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite
Easily the most underappreciated album in Dream Theater's history. I have said a million times that this album captures something youthful and special that has never been seen since. I really enjoy Charlie's vocals on the album. The Killing Hand is top tier Dream Theater, and there are several other really great tracks. Status Seeker is also easily the most underrated and underappreciated song in the DT catalog.

Fair to Midland - Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times is True
What a great high energy and different album. Some of the elements in this are unlike most anything else I listen to, and sometimes those elements push things just a tad too far, but usually, this really hits the spot, and is a goto when I need something different.

Allen/Lande - The Battle
Great songwriting, highly melodic guitars, and an amazing vocal performance from two of metals greatest voices. What more needs to be said?

[jingle.boy]

^ 3 excellent debut's there with Rush, WDADU and The Battle.

[wolfking]

The Battle. 

[7deg_inner_happiness]

Updates:
Dio - The Last in Line (1984)
The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)
Foghat - Fool for the City (1975)
Humble Pie - Rock On (1971)
Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)
Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow (1975)
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
Sarah MacLachlan - Surfacing (1997)
UB40 - Promises and Lies (1993)
War - The World is a Ghetto (1972)

[7deg_inner_happiness]

Updates:
Yes - Fragile (1971)
Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - Neck and Neck (1990)
Abba - Waterloo (1974)
Genesis - Abacab (1981)
Elvis Costello - This Year's Model (1978)
Iggy Pop - The Idiot (1977)
Mr. Mister - Welcome to the Real World - (1985)
Kiss - Destroyer (1976)
David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)

[Nick]

Update:

Dio - the Last in Line
Inspired by the thread, such a fantastic album. Every track could be a single, a kickass live tune, and a metal anthem. Every time I listen to this album I'm always surprised, for some strange reason, just how strong everything is. Dio had a long and amazing career, but this album may be, or is close to the pinnacle of his work.

Beardfish - Fran En Plats Ej Kan Se
The infamous first Beardfish album. Half in Swedish, but musically 100% Beardfish. Another example of a good formative album. Is it their best? Certainly not, but it has flashes of greatness and was a clear primer of what was to come.

Phideaux - Chupacabras
When I think of art-rock, I think of Phideaux. The standard use of multiple vocalists, strange instruments, and catchy but obscure melodies. As far as more accessible prog-rock is concerned, there are few better starting points.

Devin Townsend - Epicloud (Vinyl)
Easily the best Devin work since Synchestra, it manages to cram in everything I love about Devy while leaving out those things I've hated over the years. Songwriting is great, there are catchy songs, there are heavy songs, and there are whacky songs. And they all go together great. Save Our Now is a DT favorite.

Riverside - Shrine of New Generation Slave (Vinyl)
At this point, saying a band is in my top 10 is truly saying something, given how many I've followed at this point. The fact that this is the weak point in the Riverside discography speaks volumes as to why they are in my top 10. The overall vibe is great, as you expect from this band, and there are some standout songs. It just lulls at times more than any other album.

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane (Vinyl)
The only Bowie I own, played now for obvious reason. Probably been years since the last time. Even though I've never taken the dive on Bowie, in this one album I can certainly get the sense of why people love his music. I may have to get Ziggy at some point later in the year.

[7deg_inner_happiness]

Reading through Nick's updates, I'm finding there's a lot of newer music & bands out there that I'm not familiar with.  I'm looking forward to checking these out, but for now on to my update:

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz (1980)
Queensryche - Empire (1990)
Tornado Alley - Live at JC's (1983)
Supertramp - Crime of the Century (1974)
The Velvet Underground - Loaded (1970)
The Yardbirds - Having a Rave Up (1965)
The BoDeans - Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams (1986)
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus - Eine kleine Nachtmusik (1787)

[Nick]

Dammit, you're going to make me burn a favorite early on, Crime of the Century. I have Empire and Blizzard as well, and will likely put those into rotation soon.

[ytserush]

Not going to happen.

I do force myself to listen to CDs one last time to see if I still want them after deciding to get rid of them.

Also a big problem is I'll have songs in my head that I want out of there so I'll pull out the album and listen to the album.

For some reason Another Tricky Day (The Who) has been in my head for a few days so today I pulled out Face Dances and was reminded how much I really like the album.

A lot of fans gave up on The Who after Moon died, but I really like the two post Moon albums that followed his death. (Face Dances and It's Hard.)

[Dr. DTVT]

Either you're not updating, or you're falling behind 

[Nick]

Both. Also, I forgot about this from last time, but I do allow myself one more exception than originally noted. If I'm seeing a band live, I can listen to their most recent album numerous times leading up to the show. I think that's only fair. And with that said...

Sonus Umbra - Beyond the Panopticon
Sonus is a strange band, they have a lot of cool elements, but on the album they don't always pull it 100% together for me. Even their latest album, Beyond the Panopticon, I really like, and it's my favorite, but it still isn't rant and rave worthy. That said, live... holy hell. They played the whole new album live and it was amazing. This 7-piece band needs to be seen to be believed. Both at RoSfest and tonight they were absolutely incredible live, and the material comes alive with them.

Transatlantic - SMPTe
For all the debut's on this list already, this one stands out as a potential greatest debut of all time. Pretty much everyone here knows this album, and so I won't dote for long, but I will say that I think the final 3 tracks are just as good as the first two, which certainly get more play and talk. Just amazing top to bottom.

Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part 1
Another album that needs little introduction. If you like power metal, you pretty much have it. There are some duds on here, but also a lot of stellar material, and it's no wonder that people hooked onto this new direction at the time.

John West - Earthmaker
Anytime West sings, you've started off strong, and this album adds some great Eastern US players, and some great songwriting for an all around pleasing metal experience. If you like a traditional metal sound, and you haven't checked this out, you absolutely should.

Vangough - Manikin Parade
Forgot how much I enjoyed this album, which is a great bit of US based progressive metal that has a bit more flavor than a lot of other prog-metal.

Devin Townsend - Terria
Devy is generally love or hate for me, and I love Terria. I believe this was also the first full bit of Devy I ever heard, one of many albums bought in the wake of The Human Experiment.

Tiles - Presents of Mind
Tiles has a nice distinct sound, and while they don't stray far from that sound, it's never stale, because you just don't hear anyone else who really plays like them. As with most their albums, some great stuff, some good, and they just never put out a knock-out album for me.

Threshold - Wounded Land
I completely forgot how much I enjoy this album. The clear highlights to me are Paradox and Sanity's End, but the whole album is good. That said, I still think the band hit their full stride a few albums later with Mac.

And I figure, if I have a promo of something, and plan to get the actual album, I'll include those, as well as all other 2016 releases I buy, as I am listening to those as well in all this, even if it's multiple times.

Serenity - Codex Atlanticus
I was a bit off-put by the initial video, but thankfully that turned out to be easily one of my least favorite songs on the album. The rest of the album doesn't try so hard, and it a fine addition to the Serenity lineup. The almost full male vocals is a sad change, but at the end of the day you gotta focus on what's there, and what's there is really good.

[Nick]

Update:

Rush - Fly By Night
Aside from the universal declared most boring Rush song, Rivendell, I've always enjoyed Rush's 2nd album. The obvious choices aside, I think BBB and Best I Can don't get enough love.

Flying Colors - Flying Colors
Man, few times does a lineup come together that can get you this excited, and fewer times does it live up to the hype. Not to say this is a 5/5 album, because it does have its lulls and duds, but it also has a lot of amazing material that is a unique blend of the people that came together for it.

Squonk Opera - Pneumatica
As I get older, I am definitely straying away from stuff like AaL and LTE to more stuff like this for my instrumental pleasure. Love the use of bagpipes on a few of the songs.

Rainbow - Rising
1976? This was being done in 1976? Aside from the early prog bands, which tended to the lighter side of things, I don't know what could compete. If you liked anything that approached heavier music at the time, I really don't know what could compete. Wish a band like this would have gained more success, and left comparable duds like Plant and Page in the dust. (yeah, I said it )

Relocator - Relocator
Enjoyable enough, and not the full out wankery that I'm moving away from, but as with most instrumental music it just fails to draw me back for repeated listens.

Firewind - Burning Earth
Steal Them Blind... I Am the Anger... Burning Earth... Brother's Keeper... need I say more? Lots of stellar tunes right out of the gates for these guys. Saddens me that the last two albums Gus G hasn't written a single track to even approach these.

Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Absolutely stellar album, that showcases great songwriting and emotion. Not a single weak track, and it has the hits, as well as the amazing deeper cuts like Asylum and the title track.

Queensryche - The Warning
Sort of like with Rainbow a debace earlier... how did anything compete? The EP, this, and Rage and Mindcrime... why did anyone else even bother? This is metal at its finest, and is part of one of the greatest runs in metal history.

Queensryche - Queensryche*
Only 4 songs, but my lord, how good are those 4 songs? An absolute classic right off the start, and only a tiny notch down the rest of the way. The newer version also comes with 10 bonus tracks (Live in Tokyo), that is one of my all time favorite live performances.

Queensryche - Condition Human
Gearing up to see Queensryche on Sunday, thus much of their material is appearing. No point in repeating much here, as my full review is available for anyone interested: https://wpapu.com/new-releases-100/#081

Hawkwind - Hall of the Mountain Grill
I'm not a huge Hawkwind fan, but love this album. The opening track has always been a favorite of mine.

Headspace - All That You Fear is Gone
Only on my second listen, but my first listen was a surprising one. Only a drummer has changed, and I'm not judging the quality yet, but this album is definitely different, and definitely the same as the debut. Some elements reappear, but the heavier brooding elements seem to have faded. There are still a few heavy moments, and plenty of emotion, but they don't mix in the same way they did on the debut.

*The real self titled, not the idiotically self titled album that came out decades later, because apparently the band doesn't know its own discography.

[jingle.boy]

Nice batch up there Nick.  FC debut was top shelf; Crime of the Century is an all-time classic; three great QR albums.  Gonna go spin the Rainbow, as they are one of the bands that was just off my radar back in the day.

[TAC]

Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part 1
Another album that needs little introduction. If you like power metal, you pretty much have it. There are some duds on here, but also a lot of stellar material, and it's no wonder that people hooked onto this new direction at the time.

 

No duds! This was a turning point album for me.

[CharlesPL]

Update:

Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Absolutely stellar album, that showcases great songwriting and emotion. Not a single weak track, and it has the hits, as well as the amazing deeper cuts like Asylum and the title track.

 

Your favorite Supertramp album ?

[Nick]

Update:

Supertramp - Crime of the Century
Absolutely stellar album, that showcases great songwriting and emotion. Not a single weak track, and it has the hits, as well as the amazing deeper cuts like Asylum and the title track.

 

Your favorite Supertramp album ?

It is definitely my favorite. Some others are really good, but nothing touches Crime imo.

[ytserush]

Rivendell is a beautiful song Nick.




Totally unrelated, it just hit me (listening to Cheap Trick's Sex In America box) that Zebra completely took the opening riff of Cheap Trick's Hello There for Wait Until The Summer's Gone.

[7deg_inner_happiness]

Update:
Frank Zappa - You Are What You Is (1981)
Huey Lewis and the News - Sports (1983)
Julian Lennon - Valotte (1984)
No Doubt - No Doubt (1992)
The Pretenders - Get Close (1986)
Rush - Fly By Night (1975)
The Used - In Love and Death (2004)
Will Ackerman - Returning (2004)
Steven Wilson - 4 1/2 (2016)
Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly (2003)
Average White Band - Cut the Cake (1975)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu (1970)

[Nick]

Update!

Bruce Dickinson - Tattooed Millionaire
While certainly no match for his later work, this is a fun album, and the swagger of several tracks were a really interesting place for Bruce to go. While it might be better than what Maiden would do (unlike the later albums, which slay them), it would set the tone for at least being far more fresh and creative than Maiden would be in that decade.

It Bites - The Tall Ships
John Mitchell. It sounds like him. If you're unfamiliar, think british pop-prog taken to a finely processed point and you have It Bites. The catchiness of some of the tunes cannot be denied, while others have more to offer as well. Always an enjoyable listen.

Tesla - Psychotic Supper
The biggest drop for Tesla at this point was the consistency. There are some stellar tracks on here, but on the other hand a half dozen songs I could go without hearing ever again and be fine without.

Echoes - Nature I Existence
One of the many progrock annual sale bands I've checked out over the years. And perhaps it's because I always get a box full of CDs at a time that things have trouble sticking out. I really enjoyed my listen to this, but don't have favorite tracks, and it never seems to pull me back in.

Bad Salad - Uncivilized
Sometimes the band might pull a little too close to being Dream Theater, but at all times the music is enjoyable.

Deep Purple - Fireball
Despite having had several Deep Purple albums for many years, I still get surprised when I go back to listen. I have this mental image of the songs I know well, and am always shocked when I hear songs like Anyone's Daughter.

Avantasia - The Metal Opera Pt. 1
Here, the lesser tracks are still pretty good, and the great tracks are epic. They now have 7 albums, and yet when I see them in April I wouldn't be surprised to hear 4-5 songs off this first release, just because of how good some of the songs are.

Rush - Caress of Steel
We all know Bastille Day and Lakeside Park are great. We all know I Think I'm Going Bald is a silly filler track. Let's get to the long songs. I think they are good, but rightfully forgotten compared to Rush's other similarly length songs. I enjoy both, and always like revisiting this album, because I do it so infrequently that it's like hearing those two epics for the first time.

Eric Gillette - Afterthought
Sometimes instrumental, much in the vein of Joe Satriani, sometimes singer/songwriter in the purest Neal Morse prog-leaning style, and of course a 22 minute epic. Great start for one of the true up and coming guitarists in prog.

Might Could - The NESFAN Trilogy
Some really cool instrumental work here. The band live was phenomenal, and I loved how although they had 3 acoustic guitars (and acoustic bass), the 3 guitars had unique sounds, to really set them apart. Original music with game inspired bits thrown in, and a great listen.

Big Big Train - Wassail
Finally gave into someone and bought this EP. No doubt, it's catchy as hell, and features a lot of great talent that manages to restrain themselves to make some great songs. Late to the party, but will definitely be keeping with these guys going forward.

Barracuda Triangle - Electro Shock Therapy
3 members from the Flower Kings go instrumental power trio with no guitarist... I'm intrigued. Jonas is of course fantastic, but Thomas has to really take the brunt of things, and handles himself really well on this. Really cool to see what those two, and Felix, did with the space a project like this allowed.

Odin's Court - Deathanity (R3)
New vocals and new production on an old album. Vocals are nice, production doesn't seem much changed. To be honest, I enjoyed this, as I've always enjoyed the original album, but when you dig something like this up and redo everything, I was expecting a more positive change.

Queensryche - Rage for Order
Remember when I said I was seeing Queensryche? Just kidding. Show got moved from Sunday to Tuesday and then cancelled completely, boo hiss. But hey, any reason to listen is a good one, full review here: https://wpapu.com/classic-albums/#008

Queensryche - Empire
Is it Mindcrime? No. A huge departure for sure, but a damn fine effort in not simply repeating Mindcrime, for which I give them a lot of credit. Aside from the obvious, I've always loved Resistance, Hand on Heart, and Anybody Listening?

Moon Safari - Lover's End
THOSE VOCALS. Love bands that can use a multitude of vocalists so well, and they have fantastic music to back it up. Another band I'll be 100% following going forward after seeing them live.

Kansas - Kansas
No, it's not Song, Leftoverture, or Point, but it ain't that far behind. It lacks some of the hits and punch of those albums, but this is a damn fine start, and really has all the elements of a band about to explode, and thankfully they did.

[jingle.boy]

That Echoes album is the #2 find from trl.net; Dimension Act being #1.  Absolutely love that album, but you're absolutely right, most of it gets lost in the shuffle.  The last order I did there, I still have trouble picking out the great stuff as it was so much at one time - 10 albums I think.  There were always some gems in there, but also a handful of turds.  Also, I always thought it was Nature | Existence?

Love me some John Mitchell.  I've got two It Bites albums (thanks to WPAPU) and love them both. 

Tesla - you're spot on.  MR and TGRC were so solid top to bottom, I was shocked at the inconsistency here (and even more so on Bust A Nut).

Bad Salad - you're spot on again.

Caress of Steel - I agree completely.

Tough break about missing QR (I assume because of the Snowmageddon?)

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I had no idea Big Big Train had a new release out; I need to listen to that.

[Nick]

That Echoes album is the #2 find from trl.net; Dimension Act being #1.  Absolutely love that album, but you're absolutely right, most of it gets lost in the shuffle.  The last order I did there, I still have trouble picking out the great stuff as it was so much at one time - 10 albums I think.  There were always some gems in there, but also a handful of turds.  Also, I always thought it was Nature | Existence?

Love me some John Mitchell.  I've got two It Bites albums (thanks to WPAPU) and love them both. 

Tesla - you're spot on.  MR and TGRC were so solid top to bottom, I was shocked at the inconsistency here (and even more so on Bust A Nut).

Bad Salad - you're spot on again.

Caress of Steel - I agree completely.

Tough break about missing QR (I assume because of the Snowmageddon?)

Yeah, it was the snowpacolypse.

That really fucked up thing is, Jeff was going with me to this, and come Sunday morning we were talking about the show. I said I'd be able to get a car out to go, and he'd be able to get down to me, and so we were good... and then the show gets moved to Tuesday. OK, he might have trouble with with and I had an appointment that night. He gets things straight with work, I reschedule my appointment and then BAM, cancelled. Dammit.

I had no idea Big Big Train had a new release out; I need to listen to that.

Yeah, EP came out last year I believe.

[7deg_inner_happiness]

Update:
Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton (1970)
The Guess Who - The Best of The Guess Who (1971)
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Facing Future (1993)
Kerry Livgren - Seeds of Change (1980)
Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
Underworld - Change the Weather (1989)
The Who - Face Dances (1981)
The Byrds - Greatest Hits (1967)

[Nick]

Now this has gotten tough. Things have taken a nose-dive with so much new music.

Lunatic Soul - Lunatic Soul
I think this band has gotten pretty consistently better over the years, which made how much I enjoyed this debut on this go around surprising. I remember liking it, but not this much. Duda FTW.

Geddy Lee - My Favorite Headache - It's not Rush, but certainly better than several Rush albums, and a refreshing sound despite it being the voice of Rush. Really glad Geddy did this with the time off.

Lord - Ascendence
Some great riffs, and a handful of strong songs, but for the most part this album has never fully sat well for me.

Long Distance Calling - Long Distance Calling
Full review: https://wpapu.com/new-releases-50/#047

Lo-Fi Resistance - Chalk Lines
Great up and coming band with Randy McStine on guitar leading the way. Nothing too out there, but always an interesting approach to how songs are constructed.

Karmakanic - The Wheel of Life
No question the least best Karmakanic album, but still pretty good, with at least two great tracks. Can't wait for the new one this year.

Headspace - I Am Anonymous
After listening to the new album quite a bit I had to break down and go back to this. So. Fucking. Good. An absolutely stunning debut album.

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath - I always forget how much I enjoy Ozzy era Sabbath, and am really happy to have come back to this album. Another album that I can only imagine experiencing when it first came out.

IQ - Ever
Solid entry in the IQ lineup, and I've always really enjoyed Out of Nowhere.

Fates Warning - Night on Brocken
I know, I might be the only person who thinks this, but it's my favorite of the Arch era albums. It's rough, but there is a lot of great stuff on here.

Steven Wilson - 4 1/2
Who is Steven Wilson?

And of course DT, Avantasia, Primal Fear, Serenity, and The Mute Gods.

[ytserush]

Now this has gotten tough. Things have taken a nose-dive with so much new music.



Geddy Lee - My Favorite Headache - It's not Rush, but certainly better than several Rush albums, and a refreshing sound despite it being the voice of Rush. Really glad Geddy did this with the time off.

Hoping for another one in the next year or so.

[Nick]

I've been neglecting this, so I'm just going to quick catch up with a list.

Boston - Boston
Threshold - Clone
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number of the Beast
Planet X - MoonBabies
The Flower Kings - Retropolis
Jolly - Forty Six Minutes, Twelve Seconds of Music
Dream Theater - The Astonishing
James LaBrie - Elements of Persuasion
Henning Pauly - Where Credit is Due
Avantasia - Ghostlights, The Metal Opera, Pt. II
Morglbl - Brutal Romance
King's X - Dogman
Arcane - Known/Learned
Angra - Holy Land
The Mute Gods - Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
Serenity - Codex Atlanticus
Beardfish - The Sane Day
Evergrey - Solitude Dominance Tragedy
Pink Cream - Electrified
Phideaux - 313
Oceans of Night - Shadowheart Mirror
Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Pain of Salvation - Entropia
O.S.I. - Fire Make Thunder
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
Erik Norlander - Seas of Orion

[jingle.boy]

This didn't take too long to flame out.  You still doing it?

[Nick]

This didn't take too long to flame out.  You still doing it?

Well, this will be my final set of posts on this. I did not flame out, but there is also no way I'll be able to finish this in 2016. I'm posting an update with everything since my last post, and while it's a lot, it's not nearly enough to be on pace to finish this in a year. I'd continue in 2017, but...

I'll be moving in the next few months, and there is no way I'm compounding keeping track of which of the bazillion CDs I've listened to or not onto my plate during the move. So I'm throwing in the towel now, a good run, but not a complete one.

3rDegree - Ones and Zeros: Volume 1, The Long Division
3 Doors Down - The Better Life
41point9 - Still Looking For the Answers
Ambeon - Fate of a Dreamer
Amorphis - The Beginning of Times
Angra - Rebirth, Temple of Shadows
Anneke van Giersbergen - Everything is Changing
Asia - Asia
Aspera - Ripples
Avantasia - The Scarecrow, The Wicked Symphony, Angel of Babylon, The Mystery of Time, Ghostlights
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
Ayreon - The Final Experiment
Beardfish - Sleeping in Traffic: Part One, Destined Solitaire
Beyond the Bridge - The Old Man and the Spirit
Blackfield - Blackfield II
Black Sabbath - Paranoid, Heaven and Hell
Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera
Borealis - World of Silence
Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding
Camel - Moonmadness
Casey McPherson - Space Mix
Chain - Reconstruct
Chroma Key - Dead Air for Radios
Circle II Circle - Watching in Silence
Coheed and Cambria - Second Stage Turbine Blade, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
Cosmograf - The Man Left in Space
Cryptex - Good Morning, How Did You Live?
Days Between Stations - In Extremis
D. C. Cooper - D. C. Cooper
Deadsoul Tribe - A Murder of Crows
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Derek Sherinian - Inertia
District 97 - Trouble With Machines
Dominici - O3, A Trilogy - Part 1
Dream the Electric Sleep - Lost and Gone Forever
Dream Theater - Images and Words, Awake, A Change of Seasons, Falling Into Infinity
Dredg - Catch Without Arms, Leitmotif
Electrocution 250 - Electric Cartoon Music From Hell
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus
Enchant - Time Lost
Endochine - Day Two
Enchant - Wounded
Eric Gillette - The Great Unknown
Eumeria - Rebel Mind
Evergrey - In Search of Truth
Fates Warning - No Exit, Parallels
Firewind - Between Heaven and Hell
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Frameshift - Unweaving the Rainbow
Haken - Aquarius, Affinity
Hasse Froberg & Musical Companions - Future Past
Headspace - All That You Fear is Gone
Heliopolis - City of the Sun
Helloween - Keep of the Seven Keys Part II
Hemina - Synthetic
IAmTheMorning - Lighthouse
Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick 2
IQ - Seventh House
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
IZZ - Crush of Night, My River Flows, Everlasting Instant
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Jon Anderson - Survival & Other Stories
Kaddisfly - Did You Know People Can Fly?, Set Sail the Prairie
Kamelot - Karma
Kansas - Song For America
Kingcrow - Eidos
Kowtow - Pendragon
John Arch - A Twist of Fate
John Petrucci - Suspended Animation
Lee Abraham - The Seasons Turn
Leprous - Bilateral
Magnitude 9 - Chaos to Control
Marillion - Seasons End, Script for a Jester's Tear, Fugazi
Messenger - Threnodies
Metallica - Rid the Lightning, Kill 'Em All
Mob Rules - Tales From Beyond
Morglbl - Brutal Romance
Mystery - Beneath the Veil of Winter's Face
Neal Morse - It's Not Too Late, Testimony
Oceans of Night - Domain
Opeth - Deliverance
O.S.I. - Office of Strategic Influence
No More Pain - The Human Condition, The Spader EP
Paatos - Timeloss
Pain of Salvation - One Hour By the Concrete Lake
Pathosray - Pathosray
Paul Bremner - The Witness
Persephone's Dream - Pyre of Dreams
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here
Planet P Project - Levittown
Porcupine Tree - Up the Downstair, The Sky Moves Sideways, Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun, Signify
Poverty's No Crime - The Chemical Chaos
Powerworld - Human Parasite
Proto-Kaw - Early Recordings
Prymary - The Tragedy of Innocence
Psycho Motel - State of Mind
Psychic Radio - Standing Wave
Pyramaze - Melancholy Beast
Queensryche - Q2K
Redemption - Redemption, The Art of Loss, The Fullness of Time
Rikard Sjoblom - Cyklonmannen, The Unbendable Sleep
Riverside - Out of Myself, Second Life Syndrome, Rapid Eye Movement, Anno Domini High Definition
Roine Stolt - The Flower King
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond the Horizon
Royal Hunt - Clown in the Mirror, Moving Target, Fear
Rush - 2112, Hemispheres, A Farewell to Kings, Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves
Saga - Saga
Scott Rockenfield - Theater of the Mind
Section A - Wall of Silence
Shadow Gallery - Shadow Gallery
Shinedown - Amaryllis
Sieges Even - Paramount
Silent Force - The Empire of Future
Spock's Beard - The Light, Beware of Darkness
Steel Prophet - Genesis
Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing, Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Stratovarius - Episode, Visions
Styx - Equinox
The Contortionist - Language
The Dear Hunter - Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV
The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are, Flower Power
The Safety Fire - Mouth of Swords
Threshold - Hypothetical, Critical Mass
Tiles - Flypaper, Pretending 2 Run
Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever
Universe Effects - In the Haze That Surrounds Us
Van Halen - 5150
Voyager - V