GREATEST METAL ALBUM CUP - Winner: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!

I've said it before and I say it again: Black Sabbath-Tony Martin-era is very underrated.
And the title track of Headless Cross is one of my favorites. Fantastic bass too. :wub:
This Skyclad-song appeals to me more than the one in the previous round.
Hardest battle of the 4 this round... Sorry @Forostar

I saw Haken live some years ago on a Progrock festival in The Netherlands (together with Sun Caged and Arena) and they were my least favorite act of that night. I'm not too fond of the quirky Gentle Giantish parts and the vocals tbh. Sorry @Mosh
With only 1 Opeth album in my collection (Watershed) this is a band I have to explore yet. Although I'm not a fan of the vocals, the instrumental parts are great.

Nirvana is youth sentiment, Rape Me is one of the songs I sang on my first live performance on a Grunge Live Party when I was 18.
In Utero (and Bleach and Nevermind) were albums cherished by me during that period...however, I'm going to throw @LooseCannon a bone here and vote for Iced Earth. Sorry @Ariana

Here we have Haken again. Don't like this song either, don't know why... it's not my cup of prog metal I guess. Sorry @Lampwick 43
The Divine Wings Of Tragedy is the masterpiece of Symphony X. Now this is my cup of prog metal. Beefy riffs, great vocals, haunting synths and neoclassical guitar parts. :rocker:
 
I probably prefer Divine Wings but I’m throwing a vote to Haken since they are lesser known/popular around here. Doubt they’ll win either round, but hopefully their inclusion brings in some new fans. One of the most exciting bands of the last decade for me.
 
Mosh said:
I probably prefer Divine Wings but I’m throwing a vote to Haken since they are lesser known/popular around here. Doubt they’ll win either round, but hopefully their inclusion brings in some new fans. One of the most exciting bands of the last decade for me.
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Could you recommend a few songs or a single album that is their most...metal? I think what doesn't appeal to me about them (based on my limited listening) is that they tend to do quieter parts/major key parts/uplifting or chill parts but the music feels a little too mathy and less soulful than when bands like Dream Theater or Symphony X or even Fates Warning do those same types of sections.
 
Black Sabbath - Production sounds dated, even for 89, verse similar to Heaven and Hell/The Sign of the Southern Cross, pre-chorus good, bridge weird, solo good, could easily have fit in on the 2 original Dio era albums quality wise

Skyclad - Gave the whole album a listen or two on spotify after the last round and I've got my eyes peeled for a copy of it.

Skyclad with the win.

Haken - never heard of these, guitar sound not great, barbershop verse is bizarre, like something Queen would do, skipped forward a bit to Frank Zappa part around the 3 min mark, just don't have the attention span for this sort of stuff

Opeth - intro ok, Metallica style riff around the 1 min mark good, vocal bad, lost interest around the 3 min mark. There's aspects of this I could like, the guitar sound is good and the interplay between the 2 guitars is excellent, but the whole package just doesn't click with me, and the non-existent arrangements are a real turn off, you can get away with maybe a song like that per album but all 3 that have featured in the game so far from this album have been like that.

Opeth with the win

Iced Earth - A band that I know of from forums but not sure I ever heard bar maybe a Maiden cover or two. Intro ok, when it kicks in it's too over produced for me or at least the open 6th string rhythm riff is. The chord progression from Disposable Heroes makes an appearance, songs about the saxons getting slapped are fine by me :lol: Vocal not top tier by any means but way better than most of the other vocalists from peer groups that have been in the game. Power Metal with a lot of the negative traits toned down would be my summation, not bad.

Nirvana - opinion given before

Iced Earth with the win

Haken - heavy guitar sound as bad as the previous album, song much less off the wall though, don't care for the music but you could salvage the vocal track and put it into a real song

Symphony X - not for me

Haken with the win
 
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Mosh said:
I probably prefer Divine Wings but I’m throwing a vote to Haken since they are lesser known/popular around here.
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Same here. I know that I prefer Divine Wings, but I'm planning on voting for Haken since I expect Divine Wings to win quite handily.


MrKnickerbocker said:
Could you recommend a few songs or a single album that is their most...metal?
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Honestly their most metal album might be the newest one, Virus. I haven't really given it a proper listen yet, but based on the couple songs I have heard, and on skipping around through it a little bit, it seems to be heavier than their previous work.

My favorite albums of theirs happen to be the ones featured in this round, however. I love how diverse and unique their music can be, even within the same album. On Affinity, for instance, you have that little dubstep section in The Endless Knot, and then in 1985, there's a part with full-on retro videogame sounding, Sonic the Hedgehog style synths.
 
The Mountain is here so I'll share this YouTube gold again :D (the bottom comment):
[For my own conscience' sake:] While looking for the video I found out Rocky Lockridge (the man from the "best cry ever" video) died February last year. I'm almost certain I missed the news the first time. R.I.P.
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srfc said:
Intro ok, when it kicks in it's too over produced for me
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This is the exact reason I haven't been listening to more Iced Earth. The riffs are good and the singing is great, but it lacks a certain... roughness. I can hear them and think "oh, it's supposed to sound rough and heavy", but I can't feel anything. Plus, they've got Stained Class production and clumsy, jerky transitions.
 
Midnight said:
This is the exact reason I haven't been listening to more Iced Earth. The riffs are good and the singing is great, but it lacks a certain... roughness. I can hear them and think "oh, it's supposed to sound rough and heavy", but I can't feel anything. Plus, they've got Stained Class production and clumsy, jerky transitions.
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Have you heard Something Wicked This Way Comes and Horror Show yet? Those two are their S Tier albums. And if you want rough then Burnt Offerings is the way to go (although it has a lot of transitions).
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Could you recommend a few songs or a single album that is their most...metal? I think what doesn't appeal to me about them (based on my limited listening) is that they tend to do quieter parts/major key parts/uplifting or chill parts but the music feels a little too mathy and less soulful than when bands like Dream Theater or Symphony X or even Fates Warning do those same types of sections.
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I haven’t heard Virus yet, but Vector (its companion album) is probably the heaviest album they have and Virus appears to be in the same vein, so probably those. Otherwise there are songs here and there: Endless Knot, Architect, Falling Back to Earth, Darkest Light, drowning in the flood. I also think the mathy stuff is more of a recent thing and not as present on their first two albums.
 
Headless Cross is a great album, and it would demolish most of its competition. But I think the music on The Answer Machine? is fundamentally richer, and the lyrics and production are better. Skyclad’s music is also more original in this case. While this is close, I’m still going to stick with my own nominee here. Sorry, @Forostar. Winner: Skyclad

Wow, this Haken album is amazing. What an eclectic set of styles they fuse together, and they do it on top of a very assertive proggy base. I’m not totally sold on the thin, Coldplayish vocals, and some of the detours into jazz and carnival music are a bit jarring, but I would imagine this grows on you hard after a few listens. It’s like Mr. Bungle with PhDs, or something. The Opeth album has its high points, but it’s really not operating at the same musical level in general, and fuck those death metal vocals. Sorry again, @Forostar, but @Mosh ‘s nominee takes this in a walk. Winner: Haken

Iced Earth is a band I’ve never been able to get into in any of their incarnations. I won Days Of Purgatory in a web site contest over 20 years ago when fandom was at peak Barlow, and I don’t think I’ve listened to it more than twice. Schaffer always gets some cool guitar parts into the songs, but he picks vocalists I really don’t like, and the songwriting has never impressed me at all. Incorruptible is no different in this respect — some nice riffs and leads, but I can’t remember a single song after listening to it. The current singer is also weaker than usual, with awful performance on the high notes and some questionable gritty vocal parts. Meanwhile Nirvana offers up an album that isn’t really to my taste, but has more memorable musical passages in it, along with a few classics. No real enthusiasm here, but I’ll go with @Ariana ’s nominee. Sorry, @LooseCannon. Winner: Nirvana

Here’s another Haken album which is also really impressive, albeit with the same pros and cons. This one is perhaps a bit heavier and more focused than The Mountain. “The Architect” and “The Endless Knot” really stood out on first listen, and I want to listen to it more. The Symphony X album has its Yngwieish strengths, but I can’t help but think it feels a little outclassed here. Congratusorrylations, @Lampwick 43, but you both win and lose this one. Winner: Haken
 
Already praised The Answer Machine before and rightfully so. But they find one of Sabbath's Tony Martin's era best records on their way and now I'm completely divided. Really... although not being as good as their iconic first records or the first two Dio albums this is one hell of a release and from the get go the title track is slow and heavy as hell, proving that the resurgence the Metal grandfathers started previously on The Eternal Idol was no fluke. Next comes Devil & Daughter and man what a song! Really, this is prime 80's Sabbath stuff. Iommi's riffs sound huge and the recruiting of the late great Cozy Powell proves to be a huge add on. When Death Calls keeps the quality bar really high and reminds of something like Sign Of The Southern Cross, another amazing tune featuring none other than Brian May. Kill In The Spirit World is a bit of step down nevertheless that chorus and guitar solo simply kills. Call Of The Wild simple yet strong verses culminating in awesome arabesque licks is also far from being a filler. Black Moon is perhaps the weakest link here while Nightwing closes the album in a really powerful fashion, combining mystical ambiance, heaviness and melody in a way only Sabbath can do (and man... that bass line by Cottle is something). So there you go: two excellent records but this time I think I'll succumb to nostalgia and vote for Black Sabbath.

Next we have Prog Rockers Haken entering the game and from I must admit the somewhat post rock like tones on The Path took me by surprise and it truly flows perfectly into the hooking and intricate melodies of Atlas Stone. The colorful musical like lullabies on Cockroach King have its bizarre charm and that piano and bass doodle sure did made me raise a eyebrow. In Memoriam starts to bring more to the surface the late Porcupine Tree influences rendering it a bit derivative while a great a capella work introduces The Mountain's calm yet amazing soundscape. Man, the bass andor loses) drums are on fire on this one in what in my opinion is the best track from the whole record. Falling Back To Earth brings us a intricate Prog Metal labyrinth that sounds as disconcerting as exciting only to be spoiled in a really out of context mundane chorus followed by several minutes of soloing mind fuckery and I must confess that, in a universe more than exhausted like prog rock soloing is, these guys can pull some interesting and somewhat original passages in that regard. The quiet part and huge subsequent ensemble (the keys sound huge) are really cool also. After a brief interlude Pareidolia comes as another Prog Metal long track driven by a middle eastern melody at start. This one is a bit more predictable in its main melodies (nonetheless still exciting), but once again when it comes to the soloing the guys go bananas (to a point of including blast beats during a guitar solo). The album closes with Somebody, that seems like a overgrown outro serving the narrative of the concept behind the album as it ends. So there you go. Enjoyable and even groundbreaking at certain points, The Mountain can be a bit overwhelming due to its extreme mood variations here and there but no doubt it is a good quality Prog release. And to be fair it's a tie with Orchid but since I think Opeth will get some flak for the growling and this game lacks a bit more of Death Metal I'll give it my vote.

I must confess I'm not the biggest Iced Earth fan. I mean... I love me some Night Of The Storm Rider and Burnt Offerings but once they left their thrashier sound and started to thread into more Power/Speed metal waters I lost the interest in the band. The only exception was when Ripper Owens was recruited and while I considered The Glorious Burden's main disc quite meh I absolutely loved Gettysburg and think it's a unique piece in the metal landscape. And... thats all. As for Incorruptible: well, yeah... There's nothing wrong here. It's epic and heavy, well composed and this Stu guy sure can deliver so I can understand why die hard fans can love this record. But on the other hand there's nothing overly exciting here when compared with the heavy weights of the genre. I mean, the opener sure has its charm, Raven Wings surely builds an ambiance and 7 Headed Whore is a furious piece of piercing metal but then again... I always get the feeling I've listened to this before. So it's not that Incorruptible has something wrong with it because it doesn't. Maybe the problem here is me and how I expect a band to reinvent the wheel when it comes to a genre that's been around for almost 50 years now. So although I had no problem while listening to the album and I feel Iced Earth belong way more to this game than Nirvana, I would lie if I said I like it more than In Utero. And to be honst I only consider In Utero to be an ok record... but it's way more appealing and challenging to me.

Well, finally there's Symphony X: a band that - as I stated before - is an absolute boredom trip for me. I only listened to the Haken track loosecannon put here and it was enough to earn my vote. I'll listen to rest of the album later (no matter if it wins or loses this round).
 
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karljant said:
Already praised The Answer Machine before and rightfully so. But they find one of Sabbath's Tony Martin's era best records on their way and now I'm completely divided. Really... although not being as good as their iconic first records or the first two Dio albums this is one hell of a release and from the get go the title track is slow and heavy as hell, proving that the resurgence the Metal grandfathers started previously on The Eternal Idol was no fluke. Next comes Devil & Daughter and man what a song! Really, this is prime 80's Sabbath stuff. Iommi's riffs sound huge and the recruiting of the late great Cozy Powell proves to be a huge add on. When Death Calls keeps the quality bar really high and reminds of something like Sign Of The Southern Cross, another amazing tune featuring none other than Brian May. Kill In The Spirit World is a bit of step down nevertheless that chorus and guitar solo simply kills. Call Of The Wild simple yet strong verses culminating in awesome arabesque licks is also far from being a filler. Black Moon is perhaps the weakest link here while Nightwing closes the album in a really powerful fashion, combining mystical ambiance, heaviness and melody in a way only Sabbath can do (and man... that bass line by Cottle is something). So there you go: two excellent records but this time I think I'll succumb to nostalgia and vote for Black Sabbath.
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:notworthy:
 
Black Sabbath: Ok, but nothing special.
Skyclad: All right, but maybe not 100% me.

Haken 1: The a cappella parts sounded like something you can hear in Finland in Christmastime. Very interesting music, although I'm not sure if I'd put this on my playlist.
Opeth: Okay musically, but the songs are way too long for my taste. Did some art&crafts on the side as I was listening.

Iced Earth: This was a lot of fun! The only problem is, once again, that every single ex I have was into heavy metal, and bittersweet memories keep coming back to me as I listen. That isn't Iced Earth's fault, however, and I would have liked to vote for them, but Nirvana is just so good...

Haken 2: I didn't like this one as much as the other Haken competing. Something alien about the sound.
Symphony X: Maybe not my favourite, but liked it better than Haken 2.
 
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I enjoyed Tony Martin and Skyclad enough in earlier rounds that I listened to each album in matchup one all the way through. I now have two new albums to add to my collection and no idea which one to vote for. They're both good and deep.
 
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