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Offline Samsara

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Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« on: September 20, 2022, 10:30:52 AM »
Someone asked me this, and thought it'd be a fun thread on here. It's meant to be short and sweet. Your top three bands, your top three albums from those bands, and your top three songs from those bands.

Mine:

Band: Queensryche (original lineup)
Albums: Operation: Mindcrime, The Warning (original track order), Promised Land
Songs: Anybody Listening?, NM 156, Screaming in Digital

Band: Alter Bridge
Albums: Blackbird, AB III, Fortress
Songs: Blackbird, Words Darker Than Their Wings, Fortress

Band: Fates Warning
Albums: Parallels, Theories of Flight, No Exit
Songs: Still Remains, One, Life in Still Water
« Last Edit: September 20, 2022, 10:57:14 AM by Samsara »
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Offline pg1067

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2022, 10:40:40 AM »
Without much thought, I'll go with:

Band:  Rush
Albums:  Hemispheres, Moving Pictures, A Farewell to Kings
Songs:  Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres, Natural Science, Xanadu

Band:  Dream Theater
Albums:  Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, Images and Words, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Songs:  A Change of Seasons, Learning to Live, Metropolis—Part I: "The Miracle and the Sleeper"

Band:  Yes (nosing out Fates Warning for purposes of this post only)
Albums:  Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans, The Yes Album
Songs:  Close to the Edge, Awaken, Gates of Delirium
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Offline Revenge319

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2022, 10:41:04 AM »
#1
Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence / Black Clouds and Silver Linings / Metropolis Part 2
Songs: A Change of Seasons / Octavarium / The Best of Times

#2
Band: Haken
Albums: The Mountain / Vector / Affinity
Songs: Visions / Messiah Complex / The Architect

#3
Band: Porcupine Tree
Albums: Deadwing / The Incident / In Absentia
Songs: Heartattack in a Layby / Collapse the Light Into Earth / Glass Arm Shattering

Online TAC

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #3 on: September 20, 2022, 10:43:54 AM »
Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Images & Words, Scenes From A Memory, A Dramatic Turn Of Events
Songs: Learning To live, Octavarium, Scarred


Band: Iron Maiden
Albums: The Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind, The Final Frontier
Songs: Hallowed Be Thy Name, Fear Of The Dark, Caught Somewhere In Time


Band: UFO
Albums: No Heavy Petting, The Wild The Willing And The Innocent, Force It
Songs: Rock Bottom (Strangers version), I'm A Loser, Love To Love
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 425

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #4 on: September 20, 2022, 10:48:56 AM »
Seems fun! Bands 1 and 2 are pretty set in stone for me (as I was typing this, TAC came in with, of course, the same top two ;D), but there were a few options for band #3, and another day I might have chosen a different one.

Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Images and Words, Scenes from a Memory, Train of Thought
Songs: Learning to Live, Metropolis, Pt. 1, Breaking All Illusions

Band: Iron Maiden
Albums: The Final Frontier, A Matter of Life and Death, Senjutsu
Songs: Paschendale, The Talisman, Starblind

Band: Nightwish
Albums: Century Child, Imaginaerum, Dark Passion Play
Songs: Ghost Love Score, The Poet and the Pendulum, Beauty of the Beast
And if spirit's a sign,
Then it's only a matter of time

Offline LithoJazzoSphere

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2022, 10:58:47 AM »
Interesting, I got into all three of these bands in 2002, so I'm celebrating 20 years of them now. 

Katatonia
Dead End Kings - The Great Cold Distance - Viva Emptiness
"The Parting", "Gone", "Heart Set To Divide"

This is really impossible.  I'm thinking of creating a thread for this, but they're one of those bands where they have dozens of high points, but not really one or two that tower above all others. 

Opeth
Blackwater Park - Deliverance - Ghost Reveries
"Still Day Beneath the Sun", "Patterns in the Ivy Pt. II", "Demon of the Fall"

Two of these are on the BWP special edition, but hardly ever get discussed.  So much fun to play on guitar. 

Nevermore
This Godless Endeavor - Dead Heart in a Dead World - Enemies of Reality
"This Godless Endeavor", "The Obsidian Conspiracy", "Enemies of Reality"

Weird, all title tracks.  Never thought about it that way for some reason.  "Dreaming Neon Black" is my favorite track on that album as well. 
« Last Edit: September 20, 2022, 11:28:18 AM by LithoJazzoSphere »

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2022, 11:17:35 AM »
Oh, this is fun!

Right now I'd say:

Band: Rush
Albums: Moving Pictures, Permanent Waves, Counterparts
Songs: Natural Science, Red Barchetta, La Villa Strangiato

Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Images and Words, Awake, When Dream and Day Unite
Songs: Learning to Live, A Change of Seasons, Take the Time

Band: Paradise Lost
Albums: Icon, Draconian Times, One Second
Songs: Hallowed Land, True Belief, Yearn for Change

Offline DTA

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2022, 11:18:41 AM »
Dream Theater
Falling Into Infinity, Scenes From A Memory, Awake
Scarred, A Change of Seasons, Trial of Tears

Coheed & Cambria
In Keeping Secrets, Second Stage, Good Apollo 1
Faint of Hearts, Apollo II: The Telling Truth, A Disappearing Act

Rush
Hold Your Fire, Power Windows, Grace Under Pressure
The Enemy Within, Vital Signs, Subdivisions

Offline Samsara

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2022, 11:26:35 AM »
Katatonia
Dead End Kings - The Great Cold Distance - Viva Emptiness
"The Parting", "Gone", "Heart Set To Divide"

This is really impossible.  I'm thinking of creating a thread for this, but they're one of those bands where they have dozens of high points, but not really one or two that tower above all others. 


I need help with this band. Everyone I know says I'd love them. I listened to The Great Cold Distance last week, and I liked it, but found the record and the singer very...samey. I was waiting for some more dynamics within the songs and with the singer, and never got it. Is that just their thing? Kind of mid-tempo all the way around?
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Online TAC

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2022, 11:29:28 AM »
Katatonia
Dead End Kings - The Great Cold Distance - Viva Emptiness
"The Parting", "Gone", "Heart Set To Divide"

This is really impossible.  I'm thinking of creating a thread for this, but they're one of those bands where they have dozens of high points, but not really one or two that tower above all others. 


I need help with this band.

We all need help with this band.. :lol
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 The Letter M

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2022, 11:43:16 AM »
Just going off the top of my head on these without trying to over-think things...

Rush
Hemispheres, Permanent Waves,  and Power Windows
"La Villa Strangiato", "Jacob's Ladder", and "YYZ" (close contenders include "Subdivisions" and "Marathon")

Dream Theater
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, Octavarium, and Scenes From A Memory
"Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence", "Octavarium", and "A Change Of Seasons" (in Portnoy's words "Nothing but fucking epics!")

Big Big Train
English Electric Full Power, Folklore (vinyl tracklist), and Grand Tour
"A Mead Hall In Winter", "Kingmaker", and "Voyager" (close contenders include "Victorian Brickwork" and "Atlantic Cable" - this was tough to narrow down!)

Close 4th place band would've been Transatlantic, with possibly Spock's Beard right behind them.

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Offline LithoJazzoSphere

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #11 on: September 20, 2022, 11:44:56 AM »
Katatonia
Dead End Kings - The Great Cold Distance - Viva Emptiness
"The Parting", "Gone", "Heart Set To Divide"

This is really impossible.  I'm thinking of creating a thread for this, but they're one of those bands where they have dozens of high points, but not really one or two that tower above all others. 


I need help with this band. Everyone I know says I'd love them. I listened to The Great Cold Distance last week, and I liked it, but found the record and the singer very...samey. I was waiting for some more dynamics within the songs and with the singer, and never got it. Is that just their thing? Kind of mid-tempo all the way around?

Well, their dynamics are mostly in terms of quiet/loud, arrangements, and texture.  They have a few somewhat faster songs here and there (you've already heard several of them on TGCD, and their earliest ones are pretty radically different from most everything else that came after), but yeah, for the most part they rarely get above low-mid tempos.  And Jonas is a relatively limited vocalist in terms of range and power.  That's actually one of the things that appeals to me about them, the contrast of the heaviness of the music at times with the frailty of his voice.  There's just a certain magic to them that you tend to either fall completely in love with or don't at all. 

Awhile back for another forum I made a chronological playlist that I think came out quite well that demonstrates the range of their sound.  I'd check these out and see if any of them appeal to you, since there are usually numerous more with a similar vibe depending upon the era.  It's evolved quite a lot over the years, though there's certainly a few throughlines present.  If the first few give you mood whiplash you could start from the end and work backwards. 

"Shades of Emerald Fields", "Rainroom", "Scarlet Heavens", "Gone", "A Darkness Coming", "Don't Tell a Soul", "Omerta", "Consternation", "Unfurl", "The Longest Year", "The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here", "Dead Letters", "Serac", "Heart Set To Divide", "Behind the Blood"

Heck, here are links.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPUGRPd-jKs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfocmbPqSgU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb69dZHgqsQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Uoc3ll6xo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLBxENUil_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKboIsHXiao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mej0gh4SBo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64CScNlvGro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ9hUrTrgTc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8mAYjGsPn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkCpmDT0iQ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcsQIDsv5-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyNrm457Pvw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyVtMcue1GU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQaN2elJ-dQ
« Last Edit: September 20, 2022, 12:15:37 PM by LithoJazzoSphere »

Online WilliamMunny

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #12 on: September 20, 2022, 12:00:25 PM »
Fun thread...

Top 3 Bands/Artists "Today"

Band: Failure
Albums: Fantastic Planet, Wild Type Droid, In The Future...
Songs: "Daylight," "I Can See Houses," "Undecided"

Band: The Lumineers
Albums: III, Cleopatra, Self Titled
Songs: "The Salt & the Sea," "Angela," "The Dead Sea"

Band: Led Zeppelin
Albums: Physical Graffiti, Houses of the Holy, Presence
Songs: "Ten Years Gone," "In the Light," "Achilles Last Stand"


Offline emtee

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #13 on: September 20, 2022, 12:07:03 PM »
Someone asked me this, and thought it'd be a fun thread on here. It's meant to be short and sweet. Your top three bands, your top three albums from those bands, and your top three songs from those bands.

Mine:

Band: Queensryche (original lineup)
Albums: Operation: Mindcrime, The Warning (original track order), Promised Land
Songs: Anybody Listening?, NM 156, Screaming in Digital

Band: Alter Bridge
Albums: Blackbird, AB III, Fortress
Songs: Blackbird, Words Darker Than Their Wings, Fortress

Band: Fates Warning
Albums: Parallels, Theories of Flight, No Exit
Songs: Still Remains, One, Life in Still Water


2 of your favorite songs are from Disconnected but it's not in your top 3? I guess you think the other 3 Albums are stronger overall.


I'm paralyzed by indecision. If I say Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes I have to omit DT, Priest, Opeth, Katatonia, IQ, Rush....asrrgghhh. I can't do it. How about my 3 favorite songs:

Yes - Awaken
Floyd - Dogs
Zeppelin - No Quarter (Song Remains The Same version)

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #14 on: September 20, 2022, 12:11:47 PM »
Katatonia
Dead End Kings - The Great Cold Distance - Viva Emptiness
"The Parting", "Gone", "Heart Set To Divide"

This is really impossible.  I'm thinking of creating a thread for this, but they're one of those bands where they have dozens of high points, but not really one or two that tower above all others. 


I need help with this band. Everyone I know says I'd love them. I listened to The Great Cold Distance last week, and I liked it, but found the record and the singer very...samey. I was waiting for some more dynamics within the songs and with the singer, and never got it. Is that just their thing? Kind of mid-tempo all the way around?

Absolutely love Katatonia...they are kind of difficult to pin down, though, as they went through several phases over their (lengthy) discography...here's a quick rundown, with my own (very questionable  ;)) studio full-lengths groupings:

Dance of December Souls/Brave Murder Day: that's their Death/Doom phase...although BMD was already pretty unique, setting a bit of a blueprint for that melancholic sound. It's mostly harsh vocals here (handled by none other than  Mikael Åkerfeldt). Not sure how you feel about the genre, but that's a classic.

Discouraged Ones: that's somewhat of an oddity in their own discography. Very dark, with stripped down production and 100% clean vocals. I personally love it - it's very much recognizable as Katatonia, but it's a version of the band that was never quite revisited

Tonight's Decision/Last Fair Deal Gone Down: I'm putting these together, as they share some stylistic traits, even though the latter is, imo, far superior and focused. Songs start being a little more elaborate, and Renkse establishes himself more as a proper singer. Tonight's Decision has its charm but I feel the band was still dipping their toes in some new territory. Last Fair..., on the other hand, is one of my favorite Katatonia albums, and Teargas is one of my favorite songs of theirs

Viva Emptiness: Again, kind of its own beast. Some more "modern" influences start popping up. Another big favorite of mine, dark and heavy at the same time.

The Great Cold Distance/Night is the New Day: Well, you've heard TGCD. At first, when it came out, I liked it but I didn't love it. There was a Tool influence in certain songs that I didn't think fit Katatonia super-well and, like you said, the vocal lines don't have a ton of variation. The album has grown on me a ton over the years and, as a whole package, is one I would definitely recommend to someone wanting to explore "modern" Katatonia. Night is the New Day continues along those lines, although it sounds a little more, um, "nocturnal", with subtle electronic touches in some songs. Another one that grew on me over time.

Dead End Kings/The Fall of Hearts: Things become a tad "proggier" here, in terms of songs' length and structures (especially in the latter), although there are still some shorter, more immediate songs ("The Racing Heart" and "Lethean" in DEK, in particular, are fantastic). I like both albums, although I didn't connect with Fall of Hearts quite the same way.

City Burials: Their more recent album, and one of my favorites from 2020. Again, moody and subtly complex, but with the benefit (for me) of being more concise, which suits Katatonia better. I don't disagree that Renkse's singing tends to be a little "monotone" in general, but I think his performance on this is his career best.   

Offline Samsara

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #15 on: September 20, 2022, 12:16:26 PM »
Litho - thanks for the details. Hmm. Maybe they aren't for me. But I'll check em out more.

emtee - yeah, weird, I know. I think those two songs are incredible, but yeah, the other records are stronger as complete bodies of work.
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Online nick_z

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #16 on: September 20, 2022, 12:16:54 PM »
Awhile back for another forum I made a chronological playlist that I think came out quite well that demonstrates the range of their sound.  I'd check these out and see if any of them appeal to you, since there are usually numerous more with a similar vibe depending upon the era.  It's evolved quite a lot over the years, though there's certainly a few throughlines present.  If the first few give you mood whiplash you could start from the end and work backwards. 

"Shades of Emerald Fields", "Rainroom", "Scarlet Heavens", "Gone", "A Darkness Coming", "Don't Tell a Soul", "Omerta", "Consternation", "Unfurl", "The Longest Year", "The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here", "Dead Letters", "Serac", "Heart Set To Divide"

Heck, here are links.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPUGRPd-jKs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfocmbPqSgU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb69dZHgqsQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Uoc3ll6xo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLBxENUil_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKboIsHXiao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mej0gh4SBo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64CScNlvGro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ9hUrTrgTc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8mAYjGsPn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkCpmDT0iQ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcsQIDsv5-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyNrm457Pvw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyVtMcue1GU

That's an excellent sampling! I would add Teargas and Tonight's Music from Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Evidence from Viva Emptiness...

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #17 on: September 20, 2022, 12:24:34 PM »
Fun thread...

Top 3 Bands/Artists "Today"

Band: Failure
Albums: Fantastic Planet, Wild Type Droid, In The Future...
Songs: "Daylight," "I Can See Houses," "Undecided"

Band: The Lumineers
Albums: III, Cleopatra, Self Titled
Songs: "The Salt & the Sea," "Angela," "The Dead Sea"

Band: Led Zeppelin
Albums: Physical Graffiti, Houses of the Holy, Presence
Songs: "Ten Years Gone," "In the Light," "Achilles Last Stand"


Absolutely brilliant. 

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #18 on: September 20, 2022, 12:32:04 PM »
Without too much thought and I didn't really read through everyone else's as not to be influenced (Letter M, we have the same 3 bands), here you go.

Band: Rush
Albums: Permanent Waves, Hemisphere's, Signals
Songs: Natural Science, Available Light, La Villa

Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Scene's from a Memory, Images and Words, Six Degrees
Songs: Octavarium, Learning to Live, At Wits End

Band: Big Big Train
Albums: English Electric Full Power, Grand Tour, The Underfall Yard
Songs: East Coast Racer, Victorian Brickwork, Voyager/Atlantic Cable (can't decide LOL)

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #19 on: September 20, 2022, 12:33:49 PM »
Oceansize
Frames, Effloresce, Everyone Into Position
"Music For a Nurse", "Trail of Fire", "Massive Bereavement"

Cardiacs
Sing to God, On Land & in the Sea, Heaven Born & Ever Bright
"Dirty Boy", "As Cold as Can Be in an English Sea", "The Everso Closely Guarded Line"

Phish
A Picture of Nectar, Rift, Lawn Boy
"Maze", "Tweezer", "Run Like an Antelope"

Offline LithoJazzoSphere

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #20 on: September 20, 2022, 12:36:59 PM »
Dance of December Souls/Brave Murder Day: that's their Death/Doom phase...although BMD was already pretty unique, setting a bit of a blueprint for that melancholic sound. It's mostly harsh vocals here (handled by none other than  Mikael Åkerfeldt). Not sure how you feel about the genre, but that's a classic.

You probably know this, but in case it's not clear for others, Akerfeldt is only on BMD. 

Discouraged Ones: that's somewhat of an oddity in their own discography. Very dark, with stripped down production and 100% clean vocals. I personally love it - it's very much recognizable as Katatonia, but it's a version of the band that was never quite revisited

It's really just more of BMD, but with clean rather than harsh vocals.  Sort of shoegaze metal. 

Viva Emptiness: Again, kind of its own beast. Some more "modern" influences start popping up. Another big favorite of mine, dark and heavy at the same time.

I always group it with TGCD.  They're the most punishing they get overall in terms of riffing and speed, relatively speaking, and are significantly downtuned compared to the early albums. 

I tend to group Night is the New Day and Dead End Kings together.  They're a step backwards in sonic heaviness from the previous set, but a step forward in atmospherics and keyboard integration.  DEK definitely has a boost of proginess, especially from Liljekvist's drumming. 

The Fall of Hearts to me is more singular, with the increased complexity of structure.  City Burials strips that back some again. 

I don't disagree that Renkse's singing tends to be a little "monotone" in general, but I think his performance on this is his career best.   

Yeah, "Laquer" might be his single best performance in terms of range.  He hits a note in one part that I didn't think he was capable of. 

I would add Teargas and Tonight's Music from Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Evidence from Viva Emptiness...

What do you think those three add to the list in terms of specific traits?  Rather than "Evidence", though I love it, if I had to expand it a bit further I'd prefer "One Year From Now" because it's one of their most piano motif-driven tunes. 
« Last Edit: September 20, 2022, 12:45:27 PM by LithoJazzoSphere »

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #21 on: September 20, 2022, 01:16:07 PM »
I started a post but realized that I’m not totally sure about my 3 favorite bands anymore (I’ve long said Marillion, Genesis, and Rush, but honestly Big Big Train should be up there somewhere). And then within those, I think Rush is the only one where I feel relatively strongly about a top 3 songs.

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #22 on: September 20, 2022, 01:17:03 PM »
Dance of December Souls/Brave Murder Day: that's their Death/Doom phase...although BMD was already pretty unique, setting a bit of a blueprint for that melancholic sound. It's mostly harsh vocals here (handled by none other than  Mikael Åkerfeldt). Not sure how you feel about the genre, but that's a classic.

You probably know this, but in case it's not clear for others, Akerfeldt is only on BMD. 

Yep!

Discouraged Ones: that's somewhat of an oddity in their own discography. Very dark, with stripped down production and 100% clean vocals. I personally love it - it's very much recognizable as Katatonia, but it's a version of the band that was never quite revisited

It's really just more of BMD, but with clean rather than harsh vocals.  Sort of shoegaze metal. 

Yes, I don't disagree. The signature "cascading" riffs are there. It's just that the sound is so different...and the 100% clean vocals were quite a jarring shift from BMD.

Viva Emptiness: Again, kind of its own beast. Some more "modern" influences start popping up. Another big favorite of mine, dark and heavy at the same time.

I always group it with TGCD.  They're the most punishing they get overall in terms of riffing and speed, relatively speaking, and are significantly downtuned compared to the early albums. 

I tend to group Night is the New Day and Dead End Kings together.  They're a step backwards in sonic heaviness from the previous set, but a step forward in atmospherics and keyboard integration.  DEK definitely has a boost of proginess, especially from Liljekvist's drumming. 

The Fall of Hearts to me is more singular, with the increased complexity of structure.  City Burials strips that back some again. 

I can totally get behind these alternative groupings. When Night...came out, I initially thought there wasn't much of a shift vs. TGCD, but in time I felt the added atmospheric did mark a change...

I don't disagree that Renkse's singing tends to be a little "monotone" in general, but I think his performance on this is his career best.   

Yeah, "Laquer" might be his single best performance in terms of range.  He hits a note in one part that I didn't think he was capable of. 


Laquer is exactly what I was thinking about - and that part you refer to ("The house we lived in") surely grabbed my attention the first time I heard it. But in general it feels he is really into the material on that record (wasn't it rumored that the album was initially started as a solo project...?)

I would add Teargas and Tonight's Music from Last Fair Deal Gone Down and Evidence from Viva Emptiness...

What do you think those three add to the list in terms of specific traits?  Rather than "Evidence", though I love it, if I had to expand it a bit further I'd prefer "One Year From Now" because it's one of their most piano motif-driven tunes.

They actually don't add much  ;D They wouldn't be additions in the spirit of the list you put together (i.e. different facets of their sound)...I only mentioned them because they are among my favorite songs  :) (although, arguably Teargas is one of the earlier examples of catchy/short songs, at least within their more modern approach)

Offline jammindude

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #23 on: September 20, 2022, 01:18:22 PM »
Rush:
Albums - Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Power Windows
Songs - Hemispheres, Natural Science, La Villa Strangiato

Dream Theater:
Albums - Octavarium, Images and Words, Scenes from a Memory
Songs - A Change of Seasons, Learning to Live, Octavarium

Haken:
Albums - The Mountain, Affinity, Visions
Songs - Crystalized, Falling Back to Earth, Mind’s Eye Trilogy (kinda cheating there)

BONUS

IQ:
Albums - Ever, The Road of Bones, Frequency
Songs - The Province, Further Away, The Darkest Hour
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #24 on: September 20, 2022, 01:21:02 PM »
Without too much thought and I didn't really read through everyone else's as not to be influenced (Letter M, we have the same 3 bands), here you go.

Band: Rush
Albums: Permanent Waves, Hemisphere's, Signals
Songs: Natural Science, Available Light, La Villa

Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Scene's from a Memory, Images and Words, Six Degrees
Songs: Octavarium, Learning to Live, At Wits End

Band: Big Big Train
Albums: English Electric Full Power, Grand Tour, The Underfall Yard
Songs: East Coast Racer, Victorian Brickwork, Voyager/Atlantic Cable (can't decide LOL)

Hah, nice! I see we picked the same two same albums/one song each for each band as well! Very nice choices, especially for BBT!

-Marc.
ATTENTION - HAKEN FANS! The HAKEN SURVIVOR 2023 has begun! You can check it out in the Polls/Survivors Forum!!!

Online Stadler

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #25 on: September 20, 2022, 01:23:24 PM »
This is hard, narrowing down 8 bands to just three, but...

Band: Kiss
Albums: Hotter Than Hell; Rock And Roll Over; Creatures Of The Night
Songs: Deuce; Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll; Love 'Em Leave 'Em

Band: Genesis
Albums: Wind And Withering; Abacab; Duke
Songs: Evidence Of Autumn; Me And Sarah Jane; In The Cage Medley (Three Sides Live LP version)

Band: Neal Morse
Albums:  Innocence and Danger; One; Testimony 2
Songs: Alive Again; Supernatural; Waterfall

Offline SoundscapeMN

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #26 on: September 20, 2022, 01:26:37 PM »
Artist: Kevin Gilbert
Albums: The Shaming of the True, Toy Matinee, Thud
Songs: Last Plane Out, Water Under the Bridge, Imagemaker (from The Shaming of the True)

Artist: Marillion
Albums: Brave, Clutching at Straws, Marbles
Songs: Grendel, The Invisible Man, The Great Escape

#3 I'm torn between:

The Dear Hunter
dredg
Fates Warning
Rush


So I let a Random Number Generator pick 1-4, and got 1, so I'm going with The Dear Hunter

Artist: The Dear Hunter
Albums: Act II, Act I, Act IV
Songs: His Hands Matched His Tongue, Mandala, Waves

Online twosuitsluke

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #27 on: September 20, 2022, 01:55:56 PM »
I know this is DTF but there are some wild Dream Theater choices for best albums/songs here.

Dream Theater don't come close to my top 3 and I feel stupid for being surprised they are making the top 3 for so many of you. Anyway...


1. Coheed and Cambria (no shit)

Albums:Good Apollo 1/Good Apollo 2/Afterman: Descension

Songs: The Road and the Damned/In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth/Gravity's Union

2. Metallica

Albums:Ride the Lightning/Garage Inc/S&M

Songs: Mercyful Fate/The Call of Ktulu (S&M version)/Creeping Death

3. NOFX

Albums: Wolves in Wolves Clothing/They've Actually Gotten Worse Live/So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes

Songs: The Decline/The Idiots are Taking Over/Dinosaurs Will Die

Offline LithoJazzoSphere

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #28 on: September 20, 2022, 02:02:04 PM »
(wasn't it rumored that the album was initially started as a solo project...?)

Yeah, and he essentially did all the songwriting for it.  Probably part of why it sounds quite a bit different, though still pretty cohesive for their sound given that from Discouraged Ones-Fall of Hearts, he and Anders were the primary songwriting duo. 

They actually don't add much  ;D They wouldn't be additions in the spirit of the list you put together (i.e. different facets of their sound)...I only mentioned them because they are among my favorite songs  :)

Yeah, I was trying to focus on each song representing at least one conspicuous element of their sound more so than my actual favorites of theirs, though that surely crept in a bit. 

Online HOF

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #29 on: September 20, 2022, 02:10:53 PM »
Ah, what the heck, let’s give it a whirl.

1. Marillion
- Albums: Afraid of Sunlight, Brave, Marbles
- Songs: Gazpacho, Afraid of Sunlight, Fantastic Place

2. Big Big Train
- Albums: The Underfall Yard, English Electric: Full Power, English Boy Wonders
- Songs: Victorian Brickwork, East Coast Racer, Last Train

3. Rush
- Albums: Power Windows, Signals, Grace Under Pressure
- Songs: Available Light, Between the Wheels, Emotion Detector

Decided not to include Genesis because I have a much harder time picking favorite albums/songs with them.

Offline Sacul

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #30 on: September 20, 2022, 02:13:10 PM »
Anathema
Weather Systems, A Natural Disaster, We're Here Because We're Here
The Storm Before the Calm, Untouchable Pt. 1, Anathema

Steven Wilson / Porcupine Tree / Blackfield / No-Man / Storm Corrosion / etc
In Absentia, Grace for Drowning, Blackfield II
Trains, The Raven That Refused to Sing, Anesthetize

Nine Inch Nails
The Fragile, The Downward Spiral, Bad Witch
Hurt, The Wretched, The Day the World Went Away

Offline Kram

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #31 on: September 20, 2022, 02:13:43 PM »
Without too much thought and I didn't really read through everyone else's as not to be influenced (Letter M, we have the same 3 bands), here you go.

Band: Rush
Albums: Permanent Waves, Hemisphere's, Signals
Songs: Natural Science, Available Light, La Villa

Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Scene's from a Memory, Images and Words, Six Degrees
Songs: Octavarium, Learning to Live, At Wits End

Band: Big Big Train
Albums: English Electric Full Power, Grand Tour, The Underfall Yard
Songs: East Coast Racer, Victorian Brickwork, Voyager/Atlantic Cable (can't decide LOL)

Hah, nice! I see we picked the same two same albums/one song each for each band as well! Very nice choices, especially for BBT!

-Marc.
It's tough picking for any of these bands, but I've been on such a BBT kick for over a year now, I could have picked so many songs that are my "favorite".  It's truly amazing how consistenly great their catalog is.

Offline LithoJazzoSphere

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #32 on: September 20, 2022, 02:19:36 PM »
I'm kind of surprised I'm the only one with Opeth in my top three.  I feel like if we'd done this 10-20 years ago they'd be much more common. 

Offline Animal

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #33 on: September 20, 2022, 02:20:34 PM »
This is hard. Just going by the gut:

Band: Dream Theater
Albums: Awake, Scenes, Images
Songs: Voices, Change of Seasons, Scarred

Band: Pain of Salvation
Albums: Perfect Element, Remedy Lane, Be
Songs: Undertow, Her Voices, Trace of Blood

Band: Opeth
Albums: Blackwater Park, Ghost Reveries, My Arms Your Hearse
Songs: Drapery Falls, Ghost of Perdition, All Things Will Pass

Online twosuitsluke

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Re: Top 3/3/3 (Bands, Albums, Songs)
« Reply #34 on: September 20, 2022, 02:21:42 PM »
I'm kind of surprised I'm the only one with Opeth in my top three.  I feel like if we'd done this 10-20 years ago they'd be much more common.

They're top 10 for sure.