Author Topic: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #1: love is the dance of eternity  (Read 46856 times)

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Offline jakepriest

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I'd probably end up with a few Czech albums in my top 50 if I made one, so  :tup.

Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #141 on: April 01, 2016, 04:06:08 AM »
As I figured beforehand, no discussion on that album at all. Let's hope this album sparks some more interest.

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44. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)



My first encounter with Arcade Fire wasn’t very nice. I think I received the song Wake Up in a roulette was and in a round full of random experimental or progressive metal tunes, it didn’t stick with me. Except that I returned to this later and years after that roulette has ended, it would not surprise me if this song is the only track I received in that specific round that I still listen to. Whoever I punished with a low score that round, please take some consolation with the fact that this track is now my favourite on the album.

Arcade Fire were once hailed as a band that could make rock music true to form again and they succeeded to the extent that they are widely known among hipsters and festival goers. At least, that statement is true for where I come from. Dubbed as the second best album released in the 2000’s by Pitchfork (6th in Rolling Stone’s list, both had Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ as #1), this is a special album indeed and, if I may be so bold to state this, one of the best indie albums ever released.

Rather than quote from top-X-lists from websites I don’t read on a regular basis, I’ll try to explain what made me return to this album and what made me love it. There’s probably tons of albums out there that portray raw emotion and produce a sound that resonates as ‘pure’ or ‘authentic’, but this tends to be very hit or miss with me. The infamous Neutral Milk Hotel album many on DTF seem to love can’t seem to interest me at all, yet this album does and it’s not even that much different. ‘Funeral’ features slightly out of tune singing, deliberate ‘bad’ production (although not as apparent as on the NMH album) and not exactly the most showmanship in the songs. It’s those songs however, that make this album great, for they are so well-written.

I had a hard time choosing the other three songs apart from my favourite, but ultimately went with album opener Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) because of its raw honesty, the album closer In the Backseat for it’s the most laidback track on the album featuring vocals by the only female member of the band and Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), arguably the most rocking tune on the album. I can recommend not listen to individual tracks here though, but rather to the album in full. It’s a rewarding experience once it (finally) clicks.

Favourite song: Wake Up
Other songs worth checking out: Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels), In the Backseat, Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
Other stuff by this band: I must say I’m not too familiar with their other stuff. I listened to ‘The Suburbs’ once or twice and I quite liked it. It wasn’t as good as this one, though.
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Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #142 on: April 01, 2016, 05:02:50 AM »
Never have and probably never will care for Dutch music.

I saw a performance of Arcade Fire on youtube and they seemed like a lot of fun, still need to check out this album.
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #143 on: April 01, 2016, 05:05:00 AM »
Well, that was the only album on my list that's sung in Dutch. To be honest, I rarely even listen to it anymore, but still.

Yes, check out Arcade Fire. And the rest of the top 50 as well.
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Offline Zantera

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #144 on: April 01, 2016, 05:07:52 AM »
Never really got into Arcade Fire. I enjoy some of their songs, but they're nothing special to me, sadly.

Offline Fluffy Lothario

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #145 on: April 01, 2016, 05:23:41 AM »
Yeah, that's basically where I am with them. When I checked them out, they sounded good. There's nothing bad I can say about them. But I wasn't interested either.

Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #146 on: April 01, 2016, 08:19:20 AM »
A shame, I really like how honest this record sounds.
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Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #147 on: April 01, 2016, 09:01:56 AM »
You forgot Rebellion (Lies) :P
Great album, and The Suburbs is equally good.
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Offline Crow

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #148 on: April 01, 2016, 09:08:24 AM »
i gave this a few spins but Power Out was the only song that ever did much for me, still liked the album as a whole thouh

Offline ThatOneGuy2112

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #44: we'll just have to adjust
« Reply #149 on: April 01, 2016, 11:42:11 AM »
Funeral is great. :tup Definitely my favorite from Arcade Fire.

Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #150 on: April 01, 2016, 04:53:18 PM »
Here's number 43!

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43. Mastodon – Crack the Skye (2009)



I bet that if you put six fans of Mastodon next to each other and ask them what their favourite record of theirs is, you could get six different answers. Although Mastodon’s sound has definitely changed over the years (you might also say ‘evolved’), there’s no denying that their output has always been very consistent. You could say the band’s debut is the weakest link, because back then the band was still finding their sound and experimenting with different stuff, although you can already here on the record the blueprints for what would become the Mastodon we know today.

‘Blood Mountain’ was the first Mastodon record I heard, thanks to a guitar magazine I read in 2007 that had a feature on this album when it was just released. It’s one of the first CDs I ever bought, and it sparked my interest in this band. Naturally I was excited when two years later the band released a new album. ‘Crack the Skye’ was highly regarded among music critics and generally received good reviews. This is the band’s most progressive and technical album to date and that’s probably why I like it the most out of their output.

This album has some sort of mystical vibe to it throughout every track, but is pretty heavy throughout. The album is based on a story, like ‘Blood Mountain’ and part of it has to do with the suicide of drummer Brann Dailor’s sister, Skye. There’s also some weird spacy stuff going on with Russia and astral travel (look it up on Wikipedia, the story makes no sense whatsoever). Musically though, this album is quite different from other Mastodon album. The first three tracks are relatively similar in style to the songs on ‘Blood Mountain’, but after that it gets different. On the two longer tracks, The Czar and the album closer The last Baron the band actively experiments with elements of other genres and different song structures. Especially in the latter, the band shows they can write an amazing progressive metal tune as well and as an album closer it works fantastically.

The heaviest song on record is probably the album’s title-track, which is a true exercise in sludge metal and arguably one of the heaviest songs the band has ever recorded. Paired with the space-rock section in The Czar or some parts of the album closer, this album shows a lot of variety, much more so than on their other albums. That’s probably why I like this one more than their other albums. This truly is a great album and one I can definitely recommend to any fan of heavy progressive metal, although they could be somewhat of an acquired taste.

Favourite song: The Last Baron
Other songs worth checking out: Crack the Skye, Oblivion, The Czar
Other stuff by this band: All their albums are awesome in their own rights. Though they never went as progressive as on this one, the previously released ‘ Blood Mountain’ comes closest, though that one isn’t universally liked (I love it, it’s my second favourite by them). ‘Leviathan’ gets the most praise, it’s probably their heaviest. I really love their 2014 album ‘Once More ‘Round the Sun’ as well.
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Offline Crow

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #151 on: April 01, 2016, 05:11:14 PM »
I've always liked Mastodon but never really loved them, this is definitely their best tho

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #152 on: April 01, 2016, 05:36:47 PM »
Really love Mastodon, but this has always been my least fav album from them along with The Hunter.
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Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #153 on: April 02, 2016, 01:46:47 AM »
Really? Why is that? I think The Hunter is weaker as well, but I love Crack the Skye.
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Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #154 on: April 02, 2016, 02:15:24 AM »
Without a doubt my favorite of theirs. I had it on #2 on my list, awesome album :tup
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Offline home

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #155 on: April 02, 2016, 02:27:17 AM »
That's a great album! I only like OMRTS more :azn:
Break the mold, let's shake the ground, wreak havoc!

Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #156 on: April 02, 2016, 02:32:42 AM »
Without a doubt my favorite of theirs. I had it on #2 on my list, awesome album :tup

I know, I saw that :)
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Offline Zantera

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #157 on: April 02, 2016, 02:42:57 AM »
Never really got into Mastodon. I enjoyed Blood Mountain and Leviathan alright, but everything else was fairly meh.

Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #158 on: April 02, 2016, 06:02:58 AM »
Here's the next one! :)

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42. Caligula’s Horse – Bloom (2015)



Here’s a very recent record and I kind-of find it hard to justify its placement in this top 50, above albums I have heard and known for far longer. There’s also not a lot to say about this band, other than that they re-ignited my interest for progressive metal to a certain extent. This band uses aspects of other bands in such ways and proportions that the song-writing feels very concise. Caligula’s Horse are a band that have been on my radar for a while, mostly because of their insane output. The band was formed in early 2011 and released their debut in April of that same year. By now they have three albums out and they just keep getting better.

On this album, all of the tracks are simply very good. It’s hard to pick favourites, but the way this album opens with the amazing one-two punch of Bloom, segueing directly into [/i]Marigold[/i] is one of the best moments in recent progressive metal, if I may say such things. This band has got it all. Strong riffs (Marigold), great choruses, as the shorter track Rust showcases.

All in all, this album is a relatively standard progressive metal record, with not that much special stuff going on, to be honest. What makes this album good is that it for some reason feels fresh. There’s something about this album’s production that makes every sound really clear and defined. I don’t really know to be honest. On some record I have a lot to say, on other’s less, because I simply like them. This is one of those, check it out, it’s good stuff.

Favourite song: Bloom/Marigold
Other songs worth checking out: Rust, Turntail, Dragonfly
Other stuff by this band: Both ‘Moments From Ephemeral City’ (2011) and ‘The Tide, The Thief & River’s End’ (2013) are great albums and show roughly the same style. I prefer the latter, this band just gets better with every album.
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Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #159 on: April 02, 2016, 06:15:45 AM »
I heard whole album only once and I liked it. First two songs more than once, both are fantastic.
« Last Edit: April 02, 2016, 06:45:09 AM by Tomislav95 »
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Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #160 on: April 02, 2016, 06:26:32 AM »
Bloom/Marigold is easily my favorite. Honestly I can't even listen to them separately anymore, the transition between those songs is probably my favorite part of the whole album. After those two and Rust it's pretty hard for me to choose favorites, but it's a very consistent record.
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

Offline Crow

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #161 on: April 02, 2016, 09:38:03 AM »
wouldn't rate this one over The Tide, The Thief, and River's End (which was like just outside of my top 10 on my first top 50 list to be fair :lol) but it's definitely quite good

Offline LordCost

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #162 on: April 02, 2016, 10:02:22 AM »
I still don't know the songs of their debut album, at first impact it seems to me not as great as the other two. The Tide and Bloom are fantastic, both of them would be in my hypothetical top 50. My favourites are Bloom + Marigold, Dragonfly and Daughter Of The Mountain

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Offline Elite

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #164 on: April 02, 2016, 12:35:27 PM »
What does that even mean? :|
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Offline Sacul

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #165 on: April 02, 2016, 12:45:21 PM »
Just me waiting for an album I know or like :P

Offline jakepriest

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #166 on: April 02, 2016, 12:48:59 PM »
Just me waiting for an album I know or like :P


Offline ThatOneGuy2112

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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #42: it's all fool's gold
« Reply #167 on: April 02, 2016, 01:04:04 PM »
Crack the Skye is pretty good. Not one of my all time favorites but very enjoyable.

I think I listened to Bloom maybe once or twice and thought it was fairly solid. It peaked enough interest in me to revisit it at some point.

Offline Elite

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I said I would do two albms a day, and I'm a man of my word, so here's the next one:

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41. The Dandy Warhols – Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (2000)



The Dandy Warhols instantly rose to fame when their track Bohemian Like You was featured in a Vodafone advertisement. I don’t why or how, but the CD this song was on (this one) appeared in my mother’s CD drawer and I was exposed to the sounds of The Dandy Warhols. I’ll be honest that I can’t remember a thing about this though, but years later when looking for new music to listen to, I found this CD and ripped it to my computer to listen to this while on the road. And I loved what I heard.

This is not an album to listen to if you want to listen to some intense stuff, I have other albums on this list for that purpose. This is further amplified by the fact that the first three tracks, Godless, Mohammed and Nietzsche start relatively slow, although they get progressively ‘heavier’ for as far as you can even call it ‘heavy’. On this album most of the songs segue into each-other, and the full thing therefore feels like a journey through different parts of the weird world of indie-rock. Although I’m labelling it as such, it sounds in no way like the Arcade Fire record placed 3 spots lower.

To draw further comparisons to that album, since I suck at accurate describe what something sounds like in written text, the best thing I can do is to simply state that if you’re intrigued, that you should listen to this album. This album is a full experience, and although Bohemian Like You is an obvious radio-friendly single (hence its use in the Vodafone advertisement), I think it’s actually one of the weaker tracks on the album, so don’t be biased if you only know that track. This album opens very strongly with the aforementioned triple-punch, but there’s a bunch of gems further on in the album. Though I think this might not be everybody’s cup of tea here on DTF, I felt an inclusion was appropriate nonetheless, for I really like this album.

Favourite song: Nietzsche
Other songs worth checking out: Mohammed, Solid, Country Leaver
Other stuff by this band: This is literally the only album I’ve ever heard from them. I never had the incentive to check out more of their stuff, so I can't comment here at all.
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Offline Elite

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I can't update today, because my band is playing a gig (same festival as Leprous & Voyager :) ), so I'll be out all day. I'll be back tomorrow with my 2-albums-a-day schedule.
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I can't update today, because my band is playing a gig (same festival as Leprous & Voyager :) ), so I'll be out all day. I'll be back tomorrow with my 2-albums-a-day schedule.

That's awesome Rich.  Knock 'em dead.
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Re: Elite's top 50 albums v. - 3 Years Older: #43: the rivers ran in blood
« Reply #171 on: April 03, 2016, 05:16:09 AM »
Really? Why is that? I think The Hunter is weaker as well, but I love Crack the Skye.

Just never did it for me like their old stuff.
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Offline Onno

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Boudewijn de Groot  :tup

Crack the Skye is amazing, one of my all-time favourites I think.

Offline Elite

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Next one, sorry it took a while.

---

40. Eisley – The Valley (2007)



Occasionally, I am a sucker for female vocals, especially in a poppy setting like on this album. This is one of the less diverse albums on my list, because most songs sound incredibly similar and are in the same style. That said, every song is unique, because this band has more than one vocalist.

Eisley is a Texan indie pop/rock band that consists of 5 family members, three sisters on guitars and keyboards and their brother on drums. They have their male cousin on bass guitar. All three girls sing in the band and write the majority of the songs. Most songs are based on catchy vocal lines and the occasional vocal harmonisation. What this band does isn’t all that interesting from a technical standpoint, but as an easy-listening catchy indie pop album it’s great.

Call this a guilty pleasure or whatever, for this sure as hell is not the most fitting album compared to the rest of my list, but I really like this album every once in a while. Although there’s probably similar material out there, to me this band has a pronounced style, however interesting or uninteresting it may be.

Favourite song: Mr. Moon
Other songs worth checking out: Kind, Sad, The Valley
Other stuff by this band: Both ‘Room Noises’ and ‘Combinations’ are albums I can recommend. The band follows the same style on all albums, choosing one over the other is simply a preference for the songs, as stylistically they are fairly identical.
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Great band!  :tup