Author Topic: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Only once in a lifetime (#1)  (Read 30609 times)

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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Night is falling over my home (#40)
« Reply #105 on: December 03, 2018, 08:41:05 AM »
Genre: melodic symphonic power viking death metal

That's quite the pot purri of genres!

Awesome cover, and if not for the 'death' mention, I might be interested.  How prevalent are the harsh vox?
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
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Offline Evermind

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Night is falling over my home (#40)
« Reply #106 on: December 03, 2018, 09:01:25 AM »
Genre: melodic symphonic power viking death metal

That's quite the pot purri of genres!

Awesome cover, and if not for the 'death' mention, I might be interested.  How prevalent are the harsh vox?

Very prevalent in the first half of Sons of Winter and Stars (I'd say about 75% of the vocals are harsh), about 10 or 20% on Land of Snow and Sorrow (it's mostly operatic gritty vocals on the song, but there is one harsh passage and perhaps more in the background, this album is quite layered), and I'd say about 50% on Time (title track), and the other two tracks are instrumental. As I said, this album has a lot of tracks mixed at the same time, there's often both harsh screaming and operatic singing going on at the same time. I'd say there's too much harsh vocals for you, but, well, you never know until you try.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2018, 09:46:59 AM by Evermind »
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline wolfking

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Night is falling over my home (#40)
« Reply #107 on: December 03, 2018, 02:46:46 PM »
Genre: melodic symphonic power viking death metal

That's quite the pot purri of genres!

Awesome cover, and if not for the 'death' mention, I might be interested.  How prevalent are the harsh vox?

Too much for your girly ears.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Night is falling over my home (#40)
« Reply #108 on: December 03, 2018, 04:34:43 PM »
Genre: melodic symphonic power viking death metal

That's quite the pot purri of genres!

Awesome cover, and if not for the 'death' mention, I might be interested.  How prevalent are the harsh vox?

Too much for your girly ears.

Must be Memorex.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Evermind

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Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Clouds of dust are rising to the sky (#39)
« Reply #109 on: December 04, 2018, 09:56:48 AM »
Stupid work gets in the way of DTFing. I'll do two updates today in the space of basically two hours, I guess, otherwise we're falling behind the schedule.

Here goes the first one.



#39
Tales of the Sands
Myrath
Genre: oriental progressive metal
2011
Recommended to me by: Scorpion


One thing I’ve found out during my days on DTF is that I’m a big fan of metal music with Eastern touch on it. Over those years, I came to a conclusion that two biggest progressive metal bands featuring this oriental influence are Myrath and Orphaned Land—at least, those seem to be the most popular on DTF. When Scorpion introduced me to Myrath in my second roulette, they instantly clicked with me. Getting into Orphaned Land wasn’t that easy, I was sent Sapari once and pretty much didn’t like it at all. It took their latest album, Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs, to finally get me into that band.

I’m not a religious person, by any means, as I guess it's often the case with young people; however, my relatives by paternal line are mostly all Muslim, coming from a Tatar family line, and it doesn’t really have anything to do with this record, I suppose, but I’m just writing these thoughts as they come to me. I guess what I was getting at, is that the technique Zaher and Kobi both frequently use in their singing, sustaining the clean note and then changing it—I’m sure it has a name, anyone?—is quite familiar to me, and I honestly find it fascinating how effortlessly they make it work in tandem with the metal arrangements. It is easy to imagine them upon a minaret, singing the evening prayer out to the world, their voice ringing out in the dusty streets for everyone to hear. I had to go on a business trip to Cairo once, and that particular part of the everyday routine was almost exactly how I imagined it—and I’ll be damned if it didn’t send shivers down my spine. And I guess it’s not only me—take Ayreon’s latest album, The Source, where Myrath’s singer has a guest appearance as Prophet, doing almost exactly what I described above. I guess some stereotypes are difficult to overlook, even to people like Arjen Lucassen.

But while this vocal technique stands out, one shouldn’t disregard the use of instruments on this record. There are subtle oriental influences here and there carefully weaved into each song, every minute of this record exquisitely crafted into a remarkably well-made work of art. And while I haven’t been able to find even one album by these guys in our local record stores, not only I will be looking through the metal sections in European stores furiously next year I’m there, this band has a high-priority in my bucket list. Not as high as Haken, perhaps, for which I’m spending twice my monthly paycheck to see next year, but still pretty damn high. And meanwhile, I’ll be spinning this album whenever I feel like I need some Eastern-influenced music in my life.

Favourite songs: Tales of the Sands (YouTube, Spotify), Beyond the Stars (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline jingle.boy

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I grabbed all four Myrath albums at PPUSA a couple years back - all gems.  Hard to say which one really stands out as the 'best'.  I'll have a go back at this one soon.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
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Offline TAC

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I have tried. I definitely do not like the Middle Eastern flare of it.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Grappler

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I have tried. I definitely do not like the Middle Eastern flare of it.

Believer is the song that got me hooked on Myrath, which comes from the most recent album:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM1d7C8aOWk

That keyboard melody is so catchy and Zahar is such a great singer.  I love how they can write heavy, catchy songs and still incorporate the middle eastern vibe.


Also, Get Your Freedom Back dials down the middle eastern stuff and is more of a straight-forward tune:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvACYffv_tI

Offline Evermind

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Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #113 on: December 04, 2018, 11:45:07 AM »
Grappler, good to see you in this thread defending Myrath! I love them.

Tim, I know it's not your thing.

Chad, I know it's your thing. We're literally one update away from your kind of stuff.

I also know this is not the ideal pace (no updates for 22 hours and then 2 updates in 3 hours), but that's what I can do with my work getting in the way. Still better than one update though, right?



#38
Act II: The Meaning of, and All Things Regarding Ms. Leading
The Dear Hunter
Genre: progressive rock, progressive metal, art rock
2007
Recommended to me by: Train of Naught


My relationship with The Dear Hunter is quite weird. I knew they were around the progressive scene for years, and when Train sent me The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and the Sermon in a Silt—see, 425, sometimes I can remember those long-ass names; if Coheed’s music was great enough to make the Top 40 of this list, I would’ve remembered their album name too—uh, what was I talking about?

Oh, so when Train cockblocked me on getting Act III and IV from Mr. Luke a.k.a. FlyingBIZKIT, I was quite irate. Luke was selling his CDs on DTF, and he had a lot of good stuff, like the original Haken – Aquarius CD, which Train has also cockblocked me on. I was able to get Act I and II though, and Act I came with that wonderful typo on the spine, The Lkae South, The River North. The deal was still great, Luke—both Visions and The Mountain look great in my collection, and so do the Porcupine Tree records, and that Entropia bonus was awesome. I hope you’re also doing great.

You know, I really shouldn’t do these write-ups on Monday. I can’t concentrate for the life of me.

So, right, The Dear Hunter. The song Train sent me was incredible, and still remains one of my favourite songs from the band. But, you know, if you have this huge-ass concept with five (or, at that time, four) Acts of music, I’m obviously going to listen to them in chronological order. And while there’s no shortage of incredible material on each of the records, there is also some filler present here and there. Acts IV and, later, V are guilty of that—there are lots of orchestral, Disney-sounding like interludes, and especially Act V felt like Casey was just writing it on an autopilot, save for some brilliance shining through on The Flame (Is Gone) or Mr. Usher (On His Way to Town). Act III has some of the strongest songs this band has done, yet the whole picture doesn’t look so bright for me there—I always tend to skip some songs there. Act I is alright, but the band was obviously trying to find their ground at the time.

And that leaves me with Act II, and curiously, whenever I go for The Dear Hunter on my commute, in nine cases out of ten, I pick Act II. I feel like it offers the whole package of what’s this band capable of, while staying cohesive and concise. Maybe not exactly concise with the 77 minutes of music, but the album feels quite short to me. It’s never a chore to sit through these songs. It’s always a pleasure to hear the rocking chorus of The Procession followed by a journey that is The Lake and the River. You would think the quality drops after these two songs, yet it doesn’t. The album goes on with its own pace, doing its own thing with The Dear Hunter flavour which none of the bands I’ve heard were able to achieve so far. This record has its own distinctive style. So, you know, Train might’ve bought the rarest Act of the lot—I can’t find a cheap copy of Act III anywhere—but I’ve bought the best of them.

Favourite songs: The Lake and the River (YouTube, Spotify), Red Hands (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Crow

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #114 on: December 04, 2018, 11:47:55 AM »
I mean you can get discs of act i-iii in that collection pack but it doesn't come with the original art or lyrics booklets so yeah

Act II is my favorite for sure, the entire run from Evicted to Black Sandy Beaches is pretty much perfect though I think the last three tracks on Act III is a better run overall (but shorter so w/e)

Offline Evermind

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #115 on: December 04, 2018, 11:49:24 AM »
I mean you can get discs of act i-iii in that collection pack but it doesn't come with the original art or lyrics booklets so yeah

I already have Acts I and II from that deal so that would be a no.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Crow

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #116 on: December 04, 2018, 11:52:27 AM »
Fair  :P

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #117 on: December 04, 2018, 12:57:17 PM »
My relationship with TDH is really odd... I only listen to them once or twice a year at most, and EVERY SINGLE TIME, I think "I should listen to them more often".  I always enjoy it, but yeah... it's a lot to digest.  I too am a bit of a completionist, so I always want to listen to all 5 start-to-finish... or at least in a short span of time (eg, same week).  I couldn't tell you a TDH song name of the top of my head, or identify which songs are on which albums, but I always have a good time when I spin them.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
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Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Elite

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #118 on: December 04, 2018, 01:50:07 PM »
I knew what this album was from the tag-line. This album is brilliant, I love it dearly and I would place it about 20 spots higher myself. I also completely agree with you that Acts IV and V are rather bland compared to the others.
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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Offline Crow

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #119 on: December 04, 2018, 01:55:59 PM »
I don't like V at all and never got it but IV is pretty good. Not as good as II or III for me though

Offline TAC

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #120 on: December 04, 2018, 02:29:43 PM »
Haven't been able to get into them. Haven't tried real hard either.  :D
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Indiscipline

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #121 on: December 05, 2018, 05:51:51 AM »
I've been sent a bunch of TDH songs, and I must say they're among the best things I've heard this year.

Love, love, love their sense of orchestration.

Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #122 on: December 05, 2018, 06:05:47 AM »
I friggin' LOVE The Dear Hunter, trust me. They are hands down, 100%, far and away, without a shadow of a doubt, indisputably my greatest DTF discovery. I love all their albums and they each hold a special place in my heart but I genuinely can't understand why people prefer Act II over any of the later Acts. I know, I know, tastes, and yes I actually DO understand but Act IV was such a monumental album for me. Act II is amazing and has some of my favourite TDH songs on it but Act IV........Act IV is just on a whole different level for me  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy

Offline v_clortho

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #123 on: December 05, 2018, 06:53:37 AM »
I friggin' LOVE The Dear Hunter, trust me. They are hands down, 100%, far and away, without a shadow of a doubt, indisputably my greatest DTF discovery. I love all their albums and they each hold a special place in my heart but I genuinely can't understand why people prefer Act II over any of the later Acts. I know, I know, tastes, and yes I actually DO understand but Act IV was such a monumental album for me. Act II is amazing and has some of my favourite TDH songs on it but Act IV........Act IV is just on a whole different level for me  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy

I agree with all of this. I'd only add that Act V is right up there with Act IV for me.

Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. We fall beneath the sea of dreams (#38)
« Reply #124 on: December 05, 2018, 09:23:40 AM »
I friggin' LOVE The Dear Hunter, trust me. They are hands down, 100%, far and away, without a shadow of a doubt, indisputably my greatest DTF discovery. I love all their albums and they each hold a special place in my heart but I genuinely can't understand why people prefer Act II over any of the later Acts. I know, I know, tastes, and yes I actually DO understand but Act IV was such a monumental album for me. Act II is amazing and has some of my favourite TDH songs on it but Act IV........Act IV is just on a whole different level for me  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy

I agree with all of this. I'd only add that Act V is right up there with Act IV for me.

Yea, I mean Act V is my #2 TDH album and I love it almost as much as Act IV. Although it is great I just don't think it's quite as consistent as Act IV. Plus Act IV was the album that made me fall head over heels so I'll always love it more  :heart

Offline Evermind

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Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Drift with the clouds to better days (#37)
« Reply #125 on: December 05, 2018, 09:46:39 AM »
My relationship with TDH is really odd... I only listen to them once or twice a year at most, and EVERY SINGLE TIME, I think "I should listen to them more often".  I always enjoy it, but yeah... it's a lot to digest.  I too am a bit of a completionist, so I always want to listen to all 5 start-to-finish... or at least in a short span of time (eg, same week).  I couldn't tell you a TDH song name of the top of my head, or identify which songs are on which albums, but I always have a good time when I spin them.

I have a few bands like that too, nothing wrong with that approach.

Haven't been able to get into them. Haven't tried real hard either.  :D

Probably not metal enough for you!

To everyone discussing Acts IV and V vs II and III: it's totally subjective, so whatever you prefer here. It's refreshing to talk about a band where everyone disagrees on their favourite album!

Just got home from work, let's have another update!



#37
The Deviant Hearts
Phantasma
Genre: symphonic power metal
2015
Recommended to me by: jingle.boy


Remember when I said that 2015 was a great year for music, as far as I was concerned? Well, this particular gem was a huge contribution to it.

I’ve always said—well, technically, I suppose I never said this, but it was on my mind for a long time—that we need more symphonic metal bands fronted by both female and male vocals not relying on the ‘beauty and the beast’ approach. Actually, scratch that, you can even use that approach in some moments, but be sure to use different vocal techniques on the record. Don’t belt out all your notes in a high operatic voice, and don’t growl your guts out on every line. Screams or just regular melodic singing—whatever it’s called—will add diversity to the music. It doesn’t even have to do anything with the fact I wasn’t into growls until lately, although you certainly should make certain that your growls sound good, earlier Epica works come to mind. Regardless, the bands like Nightwish, if you exclude their first three albums from the equation, are good example of what I’m talking about. Utilizing both female and male voice, this is the kind of symphonic metal I can get behind.

Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the aforementioned ‘beauty and the beast’ model, too. Delain uses it, and they made honourable mentions. Epica uses it, and I’m excited for their upcoming Design Your Universe 10th Anniversary show next year. But Epica and Delain didn’t make this Top 50 list, while Phantasma—featuring the same singer from Delain, Charlotte Wessels—did.

Of course, it’s not only Charlotte on the vocal duties. On the same album, you have the voice of Serenity frontman (Georg Neuhauser), Everon main singer (Oliver Philipps), Evergrey—and now Redemption—unstoppable singer, and more people of different tracks. I guess this is what you might call a supergroup of sorts, if you look at the lineup of singers. A lot of music and lyrics here are written by Charlotte and Oliver, too. And the album indeed feels fresh in terms of vocals. Naturally, a lot of thought must’ve gone into the vocal lines, and it shows here. If you’re into this kind of music, most of the choruses will end up in your head after your first listen. The mood of songs is also quite different. While they all have a fairly conventional structure, you have some straightforward symphonic metal tracks here, some power ballads, a ballad in the vein of Where the Wild Roses Grow and a track with some swing rhythms on it. This definitely helps when you consider that The Deviant Hearts clocks around 60 minutes.

I have had Enter Dreamscape on my phone ringtone for a few years now, and the beautiful acoustic intro earned some positive responses from my co-workers and friends who are not into metal. I’ve been very careful with this so far, but one day I will forget my phone on my desk, and somebody who is quite patient will call me, and the melody will finally get to that metal part at 0:22—oh, and before you ask, voicemail isn’t that popular in Russia—and then we shall see what they all think.

And yes, every time this song comes up, I inevitably reach for my phone.

Favourite songs: Runaway Grey (YouTube, Spotify), Enter Dreamscape (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline jingle.boy

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Wahooo!!!  I made the list.

Though... I find this album to be a tad inconsistent.  The highs are VERY high, but there are more than a couple of mediocre tracks.  Think I might just click play now.  Yup... I am.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
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Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Evermind

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Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Time for the leaves to fall (#36)
« Reply #127 on: December 05, 2018, 11:38:36 AM »
Wahooo!!!  I made the list.

Though... I find this album to be a tad inconsistent.  The highs are VERY high, but there are more than a couple of mediocre tracks.  Think I might just click play now.  Yup... I am.

I thought so too, but recently I've developed a lot of appreciation for the second half of the album—which, at first, I thought was a weak part. I can honestly say I enjoy every song now.

Have another one before I venture to sleep. It's a double dose of Chad albums today apparently.



#36
Nature | Existence
Echoes
Genre: progressive metal
2010
Recommended to me by: jingle.boy


How many instrumental albums are in your audio library that you can with all the conviction say you love? My previous Top 50 list had Jon Lord’s Sarabande in the Top 10, and now that I ask this, I must confess that’s about it. For some reason, music without vocals doesn’t interest me that much anymore, especially in the full album form. Even on the albums with vocals, there are instrumental songs I tend to skip. It happened with Enigma Machine or Nil by Mouth on Haken’s latest album, although given that it will probably be featured on their European tour, I should try and get into it once more. Sacul recommended a Snarky Puppy album in the Weekly Album thread recently, and while it was good, my attention kept wandering away during the songs.

Now you probably think ‘oh well, another unrelated paragraph of bullshit’, but did you know Nature | Existence was supposed to be a fully instrumental album in the beginning? Probably not, and that’s probably because you don’t really care about the facts on the album that you’ve learned about literally a minute ago. But curiously enough, yes, the vocals were written into the songs later, and the band had to ask guest singers to perform on a few tracks. It’s up for people to decide if that made album stronger or weaker, but I can definitely say it wouldn’t have been here without the vocals. Instrumental tracks, while featuring some of the best melodies on the record, are still working as a batch of interludes and transitions between album movements to me. The real highlights, though, are the tracks with vocals (and Farewell, an incredibly beautiful piece at the end of the record). And the way they did those, you would never know this was once supposed to be a fully instrumental album.

I’ve been fortunate enough to buy a physical copy of this record—and indeed, even discover its existence—due to Chad’s e-mail to me more than three years ago, after my first roulette. I was very impressed with the epic he sent me post-roulette, Drawing the Lines of Mortal Existence by Dimension Act, and he suggested a website where I could buy it. It was a progressive music label which, apparently, was closing down, and they were selling their stocks out, offering new CDs for $5. Chad’s recommendation had a few albums on it, and so I ordered the Dimension Act and also blindly bought some of those on his list—it included Amaran’s Plight, Roswell Six, Frameshift and, finally, Echoes. You can probably find a physical copy even now without much fuss, but I prefer to think they’re nowhere to be found now. This way I feel I’m incredibly lucky to buy this one when I had the chance.

By the way, have you seen those black metal albums where the band name looks like a bunch of tree roots and branches thrown together? Well, this is a progressive metal version of that. You can’t tell how this album is supposed to be named unless you look on the CD spine. Somehow, this one drives me nuts, even though the cover itself looks fitting. Is it Echoes? Is it Elite? Is it 3|IlI|E?

What are your versions?

Favourite songs: Leaf Motif (YouTube, Spotify), Unfair (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Crow

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Time for the leaves to fall (#36)
« Reply #128 on: December 05, 2018, 11:44:26 AM »
Yeah instrumental albums are very hit or miss but then the ones that are hits are like ooouuggghhh that's some good stuff

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Time for the leaves to fall (#36)
« Reply #129 on: December 05, 2018, 11:59:22 AM »
Dimension Act and Echoes were absolute blind purchases for me back then.  Not Spotify, limited/no YT vids.  Just a random purchase from The Record Label.  Two best ones of the bunch for me there.  Glad to see this one still stuck for you.   :tup  Just a wonderfully smooth flowing album.  I still use tracks from it in regular roulette rotation.
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Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Time for the leaves to fall (#36)
« Reply #130 on: December 05, 2018, 12:07:04 PM »
The only instrumental albums I LOVE (off the top of my head) are computer game soundtracks that have either been given the metal treatment or the orchestral treatment  :lol

Offline Evermind

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Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There's no success without will (#35)
« Reply #131 on: December 06, 2018, 10:29:02 AM »
That's fair, that's why I'm glad this album isn't an instrumental one.

Possibly only one update today because I have to prepare for an upcoming D&D session, or possibly two depending on how early we'll call it a night.



#35
Nine
Circus Maximus
Genre: progressive metal
2012
Recommended to me by: ErHaO


If we were talking about how long it took me to get into a certain band since it was first introduced to me, Circus Maximus would’ve been up there with a whopping three and a half years. I’ve heard the name before, of course, but my first experience with them was Glory of the Empire in my first roulette. I think I’ve got it in one of the later rounds. The song itself is quite a long one, and from the few listens I was able to dedicate to it, I think I came away with the impression that the song was decent with some great ideas.

A few months later, after the roulette was finished, I checked out The First Chapter, and for some reason it felt just so generic. And that was it. I thought, hey, this band probably isn’t for me.

Sometimes it just so happens that the band releases the album of such a high quality that even though your previous experience with them wasn’t up to par, you fall in love with it, work your way back into the band’s discography, and end up being a huge fan in the end. You know how it happens. And so Circus Maximus released Havoc, and boy, was I excited to try and get into them again. In retrospect, there are some great songs on Havoc, like, say, After the Fire; but back then I began listening from the beginning, and I was even more dumbfounded this band was well-liked on DTF. I don’t remember if I even managed to get through Havoc on my first attempt. Obviously, later I saw the messages in their official thread, indicating that Havoc wasn’t well-received on DTF at all, but at the time, I was done with Circus Maximus.

The third time I decided to try and get into them was after Ayreon’s The Source came out. While the album ended up being quite average as far as Ayreon albums fare, in my opinion, Michael Erikson’s voice was one of the things I instantly fell in love with. And for my third foray into this band, I decided to listen to Nine.

There’s nothing extremely audacious or mindblowing about Nine, but compared to my previous experience with Circus Maximus, this record was, and I suppose still is, a bliss to my ears. Remarkably easy to listen to, despite featuring three songs near the 10-minute range, Nine finds a good balance between being too intricate to digest and too generic to enjoy. It uses already existing progressive metal ideas and spins them in its own way. Honestly, it’s just a well-crafted progressive metal music with a touch of additional accessibility to the songs. I found it to be a bridge of sorts, connecting the first two albums’ progressive influences with the simpler songwriting approach used on Havoc. For me, Nine takes the best from both sides and merges it into one fantastic record—a payoff for the time I spent getting into Circus Maximus.

Favourite songs: Architect of Fortune (YouTube, Spotify), Burn After Reading (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Crow

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There's no success without will (#35)
« Reply #132 on: December 06, 2018, 10:42:41 AM »
I probably would own this album if I had more album sites than just Amazon in 2015 when I was sent them in my roulette

Instead, I don't even remember what architect of fortune sounds like anymore. Oops

Offline King Puppies and the Acid Guppies

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There's no success without will (#35)
« Reply #133 on: December 06, 2018, 10:43:53 AM »
Love me some Circus Maximus. Although I prefer The First Chapter.
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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There's no success without will (#35)
« Reply #134 on: December 06, 2018, 12:47:49 PM »
Love Circus Maximus start to finish (except the three song run of Highest Bitter-Havoc-Pages).  Otherwise, 5* band from beginning to end.  It's weird, because Havoc (the song) was fun-as-shit live at PPUSA.  But otherwise, I truly despise those three tracks.
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Offline wolfking

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Re: Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. There's no success without will (#35)
« Reply #135 on: December 06, 2018, 03:51:00 PM »
Nine would be my fav album from CM.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

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Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Let the skies rain (#34)
« Reply #136 on: December 07, 2018, 07:26:50 AM »
Love Circus Maximus start to finish (except the three song run of Highest Bitter-Havoc-Pages).  Otherwise, 5* band from beginning to end.  It's weird, because Havoc (the song) was fun-as-shit live at PPUSA.  But otherwise, I truly despise those three tracks.

I do remember that Highest Bitter sucks big time.

Love me some Circus Maximus. Although I prefer The First Chapter.

I may have to revisit this one in the future.

Have an update before I head out to the bar.



#34
Lykaia
Soen
Genre: progressive metal
2017
Recommended to me by: Train of Naught


As it turns out, Artificial Language’s The Observer wasn’t the only album from 2017 on my list—I entirely forgot about this dark opal of brooding beauty. I’m not sure if this album made my Top 10 albums list of 2017, but I’ve been spinning it this whole year, and I’m not even remotely close to be tired of it.

2018 was a year of getting into the death and black metal, for me. Half of the reason for this was my willingness to participate in latest Parama’s roulette, where I promised to send only black and death metal albums, and, actually, fared pretty damn well, once again making it to the Top 3. Another half was, I suppose, the fact that lately I was more into the dark and brooding music. Guitar-driven progressive metal with singers not going for the high notes and staying in their comfortable register where they can pour most of the emotions into their voice became my most valued genre. Somehow, this has led me to discover more growl-oriented bands, too, because of the music similarities, if I had to guess. I’ll write about growls when the time comes, but for this record, I’ll say that it just checked all my boxes regarding the aspects of progressive metal that appeal to me now. Somber mood, heavy guitars, delicate mix of slow melodies and rhythmic, groovy sections, soulful and passionate vocals, it’s just a perfect mix. That’s why, in just over a year, Lykaia managed to climb this high in my list.

There will be more albums like this on my list, as this kind of dark, bleak progressive metal—either with clean vocals or growls—began to take over power metal in the neverending battle for my favourite genre. It’s still a contest, but a contest power metal is losing right now, not only to the albums like Lykaia, but also to, how Kattelox/Firewings once put it in his roulette, ‘the intelligent progressive rock’, which will also be heavily featured in the rest of this Top 50.

For all the talk about being dark, bleak and emotional, the album doesn’t have to be plodding or dull. You can have galloping riffs and hook your listener with a great bass line, like Soen does on the opening track, Sectarian, or in Opal, or in the first part of Orison. Still, on the scale of bleakness, this Soen album would’ve probably scored an 8, compared to some of the albums down the list. Songs like Lucidity, God’s Acre (I have Lykaia Revisited, and it’s not a bonus track on that one) and the second part of Orison are either quite minimalistic or borderline grey and hopeless. While it may not be everyone’s thing, it appears to be Soen’s thing from this album hereafter, if the track called Rival they’ve released from the upcoming record is any indication.

Before I jump to my favourite songs from this album (and as we’re roughly at one third of this list, the amount of favourite songs will grow to three now), if there are any Soen fans, let me know: how do the first two albums compare to Lykaia?

Favourite songs: Orison (YouTube, Spotify), Jinn (YouTube, Spotify), God’s Acre (YouTube, Spotify)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

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Evermind's v2 Top 50 Albums Thread v. Your silence speaking volumes to me (#33)
« Reply #137 on: December 08, 2018, 12:58:21 AM »
And another one, this one should appeal to classic metal crowd.



#33
Shades of Art
Trail of Murder
Genre: hard rock / classic metal
2012
Recommended to me by: bl5150


For all the dark and heavy progressive metal and intricate progressive rock I have on this list, sometimes staying straightforward and simple is the answer. I mean, give me a well-written hard rock / classic metal album with Urban Breed on vocals, and apparently I won’t be able to resist. It’s basically impossible to sit still while this record is blasting through the speakers. Full of blistering guitar riffs and earworm melodies, Shades of Art stays true to the genre and results in the excellent 52 minutes of metal onslaught.

This album, along with Hunter by Absolute Priority—which, unfortunately, didn’t quite make this list, despite featuring magnificent Fear of the Night—holds a special place in my heart, as these were the first two albums I checked after my first roulette. I’ve got both of these in my first round, from Brent and RJ respectively, and both songs were outstanding—I was already happy with how my first roulette turned out based on one round. I’ve got a lot of excellent music in the next rounds, too, both from RJ and Brent and other participants, and a lot of albums higher in this list I discovered because of my two roulettes, yet this particular one is special for me.

I’ve never had a lot of success with this album in roulettes, although I tried to use it a few times, usually sending either a title track, which is more on a hard rock side, or Carnivore, which is more in a straightforward metal department. After a few failures, I stopped using it, and recently, when I began to compile this list, I remember how great this album is. I think I will probably use it in someone’s roulette soon, especially now that the album roulettes are becoming a trend of sorts.

Also, you may remember that Serious Black made an appearance in the honourable mentions, and you may ask, why Shades of Art made the list, while As Daylight Breaks was left out? That would be a fair question—it’s the same singer, after all. I guess the songwriting here appeals to me much more. Serious Black first album featured a lot of fast-paced songs like I Seek No Other Life, while this album is a bit more reserved when it comes to beats per minute, while still staying excellent and captivating.

All of the denizens of hard rock / classic metal thread are already familiar with this one, but if you like that genre and haven’t heard this album yet, do yourself a favor and at least check out the songs below.

Favourite songs: Shades of Art (YouTube), Carnivore (YouTube), Your Silence (YouTube) [the album is not on Spotify]
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

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 :metal

if there are any Soen fans, let me know: how do the first two albums compare to Lykaia?
Cognitive is my favourite, Tellurian is my least favourite. I have no idea if this is typical of Soen fans or not.

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I like Tellurian a decent bit though I haven't gone back to it much lately.
No clue on Cognitive. I'm not even sure if I've ever listened to it.