365 Albums In One Year

10046

Was intrigued to see what the top 30 albums are. I removed Live albums from this grouping which rounds off all the studio albums rated at 90% or higher. Order is from right to left top to bottom.
 
190/365
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Welcome To My Nightmare - Alice Cooper
Format: CD/Digital

Welcome To My Nightmare - The album opens up with the calm and creepy title track, Alice sings in a very calmly and in a very clean voice unlike his live singing. The music of this track is very eclectic. A very different track. - 8/10

Devil's Food - Alice's vocals on this one gets darker and more rough, the band vocals in the background add to the creepy atmosphere. The doctors speech is quite fitting. - 8/10

The Black Widow - The band comes back in for the haunting Black Widow, Alice gets even darker once more warning you of the dangerous Black Widow it maintains the atmosphere. - 8/10

Some Folks - I agree with Deisel that this has a very broadway style intro. I feel like the whole album thus far has been enjoyable but it isn't pulling me in. Having seen Alice live I can say that he has a knack for making some more lackluster tracks into killer live songs. This whole album thus far I feel could be amazing live but as a studio album it remains enjoyable - 8/10

Only Women Bleed - One of Alice's most well known tracks the calm ballad about spousal abuse. A building track which deals with incredibly dark subject matter while doing a good job at not straying outside of the album's lighter nature. - 9/10

Department Of Youth - This track has a more prominent guitar intro than the previous tracks, Alice sings fairly menacingly, the bridge of the song is quite upbeat with a kids choir joining Alice and in general a fun song. - 8/10

Cold Ethyl - A fun but so weird track, yes necrophilia is so strange of a topic for such a great song - 9/10

Years Ago - An acoustic track, furthering the dark themes under the guise of a calm track. But still remaining fairly dark - 7.5/10

Steven - A longer and once again calm and creepy track. The whole album flows perfectly but it remains so calm that it doesn't pull you in fully.This track does a fair job at pulling you in towards the end. - 8/10

The Awakening - A short track furthering the story, building in a very short time in regards to the death of Steven's wife. Dark and once more oh so calm - 8/10

Escape - The final track the most upbeat track aside from Cold Ethyl, as the name implies the song is about Steven's escape. A nice way to end of the album - 8/10

Overall 81%
If there was an album to be labeled as solely Solid then this would be it. Not amazing but not bad by any means
 
The Dissident said:
Only Women Bleed - One of Alice's most well known tracks the calm ballad about spousal abuse. A building track which deals with incredibly dark subject matter while doing a good job at not straying outside of the album's lighter nature. - 9/10
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Aw man, that one’s so worth a ten. One of his best songs.
 
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Album 118/365

1. Wolf - The opening to this song was pretty cool, but the rest is mostly boring. I still really don't get the love of Barlow. He's a competent singer, but competence does not make one stand out. Also, holy crap there's so much double bass, it hurts the song. I mean, this isn't terrible but I hope the rest of the tracks on here make up for this meh beginning. 6/10
2. Damien - Oh boy. A lot of my criticisms from the previous song also apply here. This one is nine minutes long and feels like it. It's a bit better but again, this band has not sold me on them at all. Barlow's high notes here are cheesy as hell, and that spoken word piece in the middle is a snoozefest. I can't say it's an outright failure but it disappoints certainly. 6/10
3. Jack - The chorus and bridge aren't the best, but the verses here are a bit more successful than previous. Barlow is stronger on this song and the driving sledgehammer of the riff helps make it work, at least better than the previous two. 7/10
4. Ghost Of Freedom - Way too soppy for my taste, although the choir is decent. But man, this song is way to, erm, "American" for my taste. Maybe that's my problem with Iced Earth. The band is undeniably American. Plus the singer sounds like he's a pro-wrestler. Ehhh. 5/10
5. Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh's Curse) - The high note at the end of this song is pretty cool, as is the fact that this one actually feels Egyptian in tone. But that's all I can say about it. It's another boring song and the chorus doesn't bring anything up. Fuck. 5/10
6. Jeckyl & Hyde - Good instrumental section, everything else is, dare I say it once again, boring. Worst chorus on the album so far? I love the original Stevenson story and it has the potential to be made into a metallic monster, but Iced Earth are emphatically not the band to do it. 4/10
7. Dragon's Child - Finally a song that's pretty good. I was starting to think something like that was nonexistant on this album. This song doesn't knock it out of the park, but the music is engaging, the verses lead to a pretty good chorus, and really, I dig this one. I just wish they had a different singer doing it with them because I really dislike Barlow more every time he opens his mouth. But even here he doesn't mar this song much. 8/10
8. Transylvania (Iron Maiden cover) - Solid cover, but it doesn't improve on the original. 8/10
9. Frankenstein - This one's cheesy but it came together pretty well. The music on this one is very good. If the chorus was better then it would be side-by-side with the previous two. 7/10
10. Dracula - Holy shit, this song feels incredibly dark. Also holy shit, this one's actually great. Barlow isn't the strongest singer when it comes to high notes but it's a hell of a lot better than his lower vocals, and I'm glad he's using mostly highs with this song. It helps bring it together really well and make it finally something I can really get behind. Not perfect, but pretty damn great. 9/10
11. The Phantom Opera Ghost - Wow, two great songs to close off the album. Incredible! This one is also not perfect but it's a gripping stab at the Phantom Of The Opera type of songs (see: Maiden, Iron and Webber, Andrew Lloyd). I like the male and female vocalists taking on Christine and Erik's roles and as a whole it has a lot more inventiveness than I expected from Iced Earth. Is it as good as Maiden's or Webber's songs? No, but it's a satisfying conclusion to an album that has mostly been all over the place. 9/10

The first half of this album was mostly boring but IE came back harder with the second half, which, while imperfect, was a lot stronger than I expected. As a whole, the album is above average but not treading into greatness. There's good stuff on here, but a lot of it doesn't really go anywhere and, while he has his moments, Barlow is still incredibly overrated. I loved the concept of this album, but the execution was often not on-par with the grand themes they were trying to present. If this is supposedly their best album, then god knows I can't be an IE fan.

Rating: 67%
 
Diesel 11 said:
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Album 118/365

1. Wolf - The opening to this song was pretty cool, but the rest is mostly boring. I still really don't get the love of Barlow. He's a competent singer, but competence does not make one stand out. Also, holy crap there's so much double bass, it hurts the song. I mean, this isn't terrible but I hope the rest of the tracks on here make up for this meh beginning. 6/10
2. Damien - Oh boy. A lot of my criticisms from the previous song also apply here. This one is nine minutes long and feels like it. It's a bit better but again, this band has not sold me on them at all. Barlow's high notes here are cheesy as hell, and that spoken word piece in the middle is a snoozefest. I can't say it's an outright failure but it disappoints certainly. 6/10
3. Jack - The chorus and bridge aren't the best, but the verses here are a bit more successful than previous. Barlow is stronger on this song and the driving sledgehammer of the riff helps make it work, at least better than the previous two. 7/10
4. Ghost Of Freedom - Way too soppy for my taste, although the choir is decent. But man, this song is way to, erm, "American" for my taste. Maybe that's my problem with Iced Earth. The band is undeniably American. Plus the singer sounds like he's a pro-wrestler. Ehhh. 5/10
5. Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh's Curse) - The high note at the end of this song is pretty cool, as is the fact that this one actually feels Egyptian in tone. But that's all I can say about it. It's another boring song and the chorus doesn't bring anything up. Fuck. 5/10
6. Jeckyl & Hyde - Good instrumental section, everything else is, dare I say it once again, boring. Worst chorus on the album so far? I love the original Stevenson story and it has the potential to be made into a metallic monster, but Iced Earth are emphatically not the band to do it. 4/10
7. Dragon's Child - Finally a song that's pretty good. I was starting to think something like that was nonexistant on this album. This song doesn't knock it out of the park, but the music is engaging, the verses lead to a pretty good chorus, and really, I dig this one. I just wish they had a different singer doing it with them because I really dislike Barlow more every time he opens his mouth. But even here he doesn't mar this song much. 8/10
8. Transylvania (Iron Maiden cover) - Solid cover, but it doesn't improve on the original. 8/10
9. Frankenstein - This one's cheesy but it came together pretty well. The music on this one is very good. If the chorus was better then it would be side-by-side with the previous two. 7/10
10. Dracula - Holy shit, this song feels incredibly dark. Also holy shit, this one's actually great. Barlow isn't the strongest singer when it comes to high notes but it's a hell of a lot better than his lower vocals, and I'm glad he's using mostly highs with this song. It helps bring it together really well and make it finally something I can really get behind. Not perfect, but pretty damn great. 9/10
11. The Phantom Opera Ghost - Wow, two great songs to close off the album. Incredible! This one is also not perfect but it's a gripping stab at the Phantom Of The Opera type of songs (see: Maiden, Iron and Webber, Andrew Lloyd). I like the male and female vocalists taking on Christine and Erik's roles and as a whole it has a lot more inventiveness than I expected from Iced Earth. Is it as good as Maiden's or Webber's songs? No, but it's a satisfying conclusion to an album that has mostly been all over the place. 9/10

The first half of this album was mostly boring but IE came back harder with the second half, which, while imperfect, was a lot stronger than I expected. As a whole, the album is above average but not treading into greatness. There's good stuff on here, but a lot of it doesn't really go anywhere and, while he has his moments, Barlow is still incredibly overrated. I loved the concept of this album, but the execution was often not on-par with the grand themes they were trying to present. If this is supposedly their best album, then god knows I can't be an IE fan.

Rating: 67%
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Agree. But I think 'Wolf' is awesome. I'd recommend Dark Saga next if you're doing IE reviews. It's the best album imo.
 
Diesel 11 said:
...I still really don't get the love of Barlow. He's a competent singer, but competence does not make one stand out...

...Barlow's high notes here are cheesy as hell...

...the singer sounds like he's a pro-wrestler...

...I just wish they had a different singer doing it with them because I really dislike Barlow more every time he opens his mouth. But even here he doesn't mar this song much...

...Barlow isn't the strongest singer when it comes to high notes but it's a hell of a lot better than his lower vocals...
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:funnypost:
 
Diesel 11 said:
Whatever floats your boat. In the high range he comes off as a poor man's Halford, and when he's lower and more direct, again, it's just... meh.
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Having just listened to Priest’s entire catalogue non-stop for the last year, I just can’t understand this. I can understand someone not liking Barlow’s voice for personal reasons or finding him too cheesy or melodramatic, but Halford’s voice (in any range) is just so incredibly thin when compared to Barlow.
 
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Album 119/365

1. Thaeter - Very interesting intro. N/A
2. This Is The New Shit - I was not expecting this album to sound as good as it does. The production is sleek, modern, and just sounds really good. And the song itself is awesome. Great way to begin the record. A lot of it is purposefully silly and that's what makes it work. The chorus erupts like an atom bomb. Love it. 10/10
3. mOBSCENE - The opening riff just slams into you like a ton of bricks and backs a fantastic chorus which is made even better through the use of female vocals. I'm really surprised at how good these first two songs are. Absolute slaughterhouse. 10/10
4. Doll-Dagga Buzz-Buzz Ziggety-Zag - I like the energy of this song, but it doesn't hit the heights of the previous two. 8/10
5. Use Your Fist And Not Your Mouth - Same as above. It's a banger and I like the lyrics, but it's not an outstanding song for Manson, certainly not when compared to the highs of the album preceding this one. 8/10
6. The Golden Age Of Grotesque - This is more like it. The verses aren't quite amazing but I love the chorus. There's a lot of swing in this song that gives it a very unique style compared to previous works from Manson. 9/10
7. (s)AINT - Pretty good song. Wish the chorus was a little better because the rest of the song is great, but it is what it is. 8/10
8. Ka-Boom Ka-Boom - Not a bad song, but it's not terribly outstanding. 7/10
9. Slutgarden - Same as above. 7/10
10. ♠ - And same as above. 7/10
11. Para-noir - At this point it's starting to get monotonous. This song is rather sluggish, and while the chorus has some explosive guitar, it doesn't really knock itself out of the part. The verses with basically female spoken word are interesting but not... that interesting. It's definitely a more boring song than you'd expect from Manson. Not terrible, but not outstanding. 6/10
12. The Bright Young Things - Much better. More in line with 4, 5, and 7. 8/10
13. Better Of Two Evils - And it's back into the doldrums. The music here is fine, but man, these lyrics are some of Manson's worst. 6/10
14. Vodevil - Painfully average for a musician as wild as Manson. The lyrics here are even worse than those on the previous song, with only the ones on the chorus actually being successful. And since the closer really isn't a song, this is a disappointing end to the album. 5/10
15. Obsequey (The Death Of Art) - Decent outro. N/A

Rather disappointing record. The opening duo were awesome, and there were some good songs throughout, but it's a big step down from the previous three Marilyn Manson records. Both Antichrist Superstar and Holy Wood have gotten better in more recent listenings, and I hope that the same happens with this one.

Rating: 76%
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Having just listened to Priest’s entire catalogue non-stop for the last year, I just can’t understand this. I can understand someone not liking Barlow’s voice for personal reasons or finding him too cheesy or melodramatic, but Halford’s voice (in any range) is just so incredibly thin when compared to Barlow.
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Im no big fan of either band (yet) but I agree with this. At times I like both and at times I find both verging on humorous.
 
Painkiller and Firepower, at the very least, have nothing humorous going on in the vocal department, and while it took time for Halford to absolutely annihilate his competition, he didn’t sound half bad in the ‘70s or ‘80s. Barlow’s high notes feel rather thin to me, and while I can acknowledge the thickness and power of his lower range, I just don’t like it much, if at all.
 
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