GREATEST METAL ALBUM CUP - Winner: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!
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MindRuler
Ancient Mariner
I know, pity Skyclad faced Sabbath. I did enyoy that Skyclad tune though.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Nope, that was it. I can’t feel too bad about it, since it had a very strong showing against a worthy opponent.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
There's a two CD compilation from the first 5 or 6 Skyclad albums called "Bellyful of Emptiness" which is pretty good and reasonably priced if you are interested @MindRuler , the stuff from the first two albums are more UK thrash like Sabbat, the rest of the stuff is closer to The Answer Machine. The album I'm more familiar with The Silent Whales of Lunar Sea is quite similar to the Answer Machine but maybe not as polished, Another Fine Mess is a great track from that album.
Missed my own album's first round, thankfully it won. I would have voted Sabbath - Haken - Iced Earth - Symphony X.
Black Sabbath triumphs over Skyclad, knocking them from the GMAC. Next up for Martin & co: As I Lay Dying.
Opeth continues their run by beating Haken, who are kinda eliminated with this one? Sorta? Anyway, it's...uh...it's Dethklok next.
Iced Earth squeaks past Nirvana. The Seattle crew are out of the game, and IE will next go up against Blaze Bayley.
Finally, Symphony X trounces Haken fairly heavily. It's Moonsorrow next for the prog band.
Black Sabbath triumphs over Skyclad, knocking them from the GMAC. Next up for Martin & co: As I Lay Dying.
Opeth continues their run by beating Haken, who are kinda eliminated with this one? Sorta? Anyway, it's...uh...it's Dethklok next.
Iced Earth squeaks past Nirvana. The Seattle crew are out of the game, and IE will next go up against Blaze Bayley.
Finally, Symphony X trounces Haken fairly heavily. It's Moonsorrow next for the prog band.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
If you like the lighter sound of The Answer Machine?, then check out Oui Avant-Garde A Chance. If you want to try something a little heavier from them, check out Folkémon. Everything from Prince Of The Poverty Line to Folkémon is worth your time, and if you don’t mind the rougher earlier sound, then the pre-Prince... albums are worthwhile too. Post-Walkyier albums (after Folkémon) are also good if you don’t mind the lyrical quality dropping off.
Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black (1990) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @Whooten | |
| League 11 - Match 9 | vs. |
Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog (1991) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @Lampwick 43 Previous Rounds: League 12: Defeated System of a Down - Mezmerise 19-7. |
Ayreon - The Source (2017) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @Lampwick 43 | |
| League 11 - Match 10 | vs. |
Sabaton - Coat of Arms (2010) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @KidInTheDark666 Previous Rounds: League 12: Defeated Death - Scream Bloody Gore 16-13. |
Evergrey - Hymns For the Broken (2014) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @Black Wizard | |
| League 11 - Match 11 | vs. |
Nuclear Assault - Game Over (1986) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @Magnus Previous Rounds: League 13: Defeated Living Colour - Vivid 19-7. League 12: Defeated Star One - Victims of the Modern Age 17-10. |
Anthrax - For All Kings (2016) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @Black Wizard | |
| League 11 - Match 12 | vs. |
Sabbat - Dreamweaver (1989) How it got here List entries: n/a Maidenfans Nominators: @Magnus Previous Rounds: League 13: Defeated Pantera - Far Beyond Driven 14-13. League 12: Defeated Soen - Tellurian 18-10. |
KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
I didn't expect to see For All Kings here. Cool pick by Wizzie. Ayreon vs Sabaton should be interesting as well.
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Sanctuary - Intro heavier than I was expecting, riff good, vocal delivery and words remind me of Revolution Calling, pretty good track, outro a very Pantera guitar tone.
Temple of the Dog - The main chord progression is reminding me of something and I can't figure it out and this is going to kill me, is it Hero of the Day? The heavier riff is pretty good, and the vocal as always from Cornell is fabulous, I just wish he had done more material that I was interested in.
Sanctuary with the win, tough choice, neither quite what I like but also neither bad and I'd certainly be happy enough to listen to
Ayeron - my soul sinks in this game when I click play and see the running time of that sort of length, I'm much more likely to be captivated by a "hit" single from a new artist, and leave the longer stuff until I've gotten to know a band. I've heard of this guy from Bruce doing a song with him I think. Intro section is a bit cringe, but the heavier riff sounds good and the synth/keys fit it nicely, Dream Theatre style vocal for the verse is not my cup of tea. The whole thing seems like a metal Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds
Sabaton - Intro seems a bit like the Final Countdown, very over produced and phony sounding.
Ayeron with the win, but neither of any interest to me.
Evergrey - Not sure if I heard these before or not, there was a grungey band in the mid 90's with a name like that, not sure if it's the same band but I doubt it judging from the intro. Verse and chorus pretty ok, but again overproduced to within an inch of it's life. Otherwise ok though.
Nuclear Assault - Intro not what I was expecting, main riff and verse was what I was expecting, I don't dislike this style of music but I think Nuclear Assault aren't great at playing it.
Nuclear Assault with the win, purely because I prefer lack of production to over production, but neither band particularly my cup of tea.
Anthrax - Not a huge Anthrax fan, I think Benante is a great drummer, Ian a great rhythm guitarist, Bello a solid bass player with a great tone and both Belladonna and especially Bush, are great singers, but they don't have a lot of great material, and are very poor at arranging the material they do have. This track is doing nothing for me.
Sabbat - Opinion given before
Sabbat with the win
Temple of the Dog - The main chord progression is reminding me of something and I can't figure it out and this is going to kill me, is it Hero of the Day? The heavier riff is pretty good, and the vocal as always from Cornell is fabulous, I just wish he had done more material that I was interested in.
Sanctuary with the win, tough choice, neither quite what I like but also neither bad and I'd certainly be happy enough to listen to
Ayeron - my soul sinks in this game when I click play and see the running time of that sort of length, I'm much more likely to be captivated by a "hit" single from a new artist, and leave the longer stuff until I've gotten to know a band. I've heard of this guy from Bruce doing a song with him I think. Intro section is a bit cringe, but the heavier riff sounds good and the synth/keys fit it nicely, Dream Theatre style vocal for the verse is not my cup of tea. The whole thing seems like a metal Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds
Sabaton - Intro seems a bit like the Final Countdown, very over produced and phony sounding.
Ayeron with the win, but neither of any interest to me.
Evergrey - Not sure if I heard these before or not, there was a grungey band in the mid 90's with a name like that, not sure if it's the same band but I doubt it judging from the intro. Verse and chorus pretty ok, but again overproduced to within an inch of it's life. Otherwise ok though.
Nuclear Assault - Intro not what I was expecting, main riff and verse was what I was expecting, I don't dislike this style of music but I think Nuclear Assault aren't great at playing it.
Nuclear Assault with the win, purely because I prefer lack of production to over production, but neither band particularly my cup of tea.
Anthrax - Not a huge Anthrax fan, I think Benante is a great drummer, Ian a great rhythm guitarist, Bello a solid bass player with a great tone and both Belladonna and especially Bush, are great singers, but they don't have a lot of great material, and are very poor at arranging the material they do have. This track is doing nothing for me.
Sabbat - Opinion given before
Sabbat with the win
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Hadn’t heard this Sanctuary album before, but it’s like 80s Metallica meets 80s Queensrÿche with a little hair metal seasoning. The music is generally really good, though the choruses aren’t very memorable and the vocals bounce around between strong, average, and cringey on some of the high notes. Still a pleasant surprise overall, and much more up my alley than Temple Of The Dog. Sorry, @Lampwick 43, but I’m going with @Whooten ’s choice here. Winner: Sanctuary
Hadn’t heard any Ayreon before, and it’s a lot to digest. I like the folk metal undercurrent here, especially when paired with the downtuned guitars. The songs with a heavy Queen influence are a little cringey, and I’m not sure I’m fully sold on Lucassen’s songwriting approach in general, but what’s here has a lot of breadth and musical meat and is generally well executed, so I want to dig into it more. The all-star vocal cast doesn’t hurt, either. Meanwhile, Sabaton is like Powerwolf with Down Syndrome — you admire their pluck, but they’re louder, more limited, and a little embarrassing. Sorry, @KidInTheDark666, but @Lampwick 43 ‘s nominee has yours outoutclassed here. Winner: Ayreon
Really enjoyed this Evergrey album. I like the depth and richness of their sound, and I want to listen to the record some more to fully digest it. The Nuclear Assault album is good B-list fun, but it’s not operating on the same level here. Sorry, @Magnus, but I’m going with @Black Wizard ‘s choice this time. Winner: Evergrey
I’ve never been an Anthrax fan — their songwriting style has never really worked for me. So I went into this with low expectations, but I have to say that about half the songs on this album were legitimately good. “A Monster At The End”, “Breathing Lightning”, and especially “Blood Eagle Wings” made me sit up and take notice. And nothing on here is bad, really; there are just a number of songs that I find uninspiring. But they beat expectations for sure. I’m not huge on Sabbat, but Dreamweaver is a good album, and this may be Martin Walkyier’s final stand in the GMAC, so apologies to @Black Wizard but I’m going with @Magnus ’s choice on this one. Winner: Sabbat
Hadn’t heard any Ayreon before, and it’s a lot to digest. I like the folk metal undercurrent here, especially when paired with the downtuned guitars. The songs with a heavy Queen influence are a little cringey, and I’m not sure I’m fully sold on Lucassen’s songwriting approach in general, but what’s here has a lot of breadth and musical meat and is generally well executed, so I want to dig into it more. The all-star vocal cast doesn’t hurt, either. Meanwhile, Sabaton is like Powerwolf with Down Syndrome — you admire their pluck, but they’re louder, more limited, and a little embarrassing. Sorry, @KidInTheDark666, but @Lampwick 43 ‘s nominee has yours outoutclassed here. Winner: Ayreon
Really enjoyed this Evergrey album. I like the depth and richness of their sound, and I want to listen to the record some more to fully digest it. The Nuclear Assault album is good B-list fun, but it’s not operating on the same level here. Sorry, @Magnus, but I’m going with @Black Wizard ‘s choice this time. Winner: Evergrey
I’ve never been an Anthrax fan — their songwriting style has never really worked for me. So I went into this with low expectations, but I have to say that about half the songs on this album were legitimately good. “A Monster At The End”, “Breathing Lightning”, and especially “Blood Eagle Wings” made me sit up and take notice. And nothing on here is bad, really; there are just a number of songs that I find uninspiring. But they beat expectations for sure. I’m not huge on Sabbat, but Dreamweaver is a good album, and this may be Martin Walkyier’s final stand in the GMAC, so apologies to @Black Wizard but I’m going with @Magnus ’s choice on this one. Winner: Sabbat
MindRuler
Ancient Mariner
Temple Of The Dig isn´t bad at all but I dig Sanctuary more
The Source is another great concept album of Ayreon. Sabaton? HAHAHAHAHA. (Lame @MrKnickerbocker imitation)
Evergrey is one of my favorite bands (the Columbo´s here allready found out where my nickname comes from don't you) and Nuclear Assault isn’t.
I prefer Anthrax over Sabbat.
The Source is another great concept album of Ayreon. Sabaton? HAHAHAHAHA. (Lame @MrKnickerbocker imitation)
Evergrey is one of my favorite bands (the Columbo´s here allready found out where my nickname comes from don't you) and Nuclear Assault isn’t.
I prefer Anthrax over Sabbat.