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

HammerFall may be one of the most generic power metal bands out there, but I'd be more likely to listen to them than King Diamond, who aren't bad at all, but just aren't my thing.

Coroner have the distinct advantage of not being Suffocation.

I've heard of Deftones, but never listened to them before. I'm really digging the songs I listened to on White Pony and wouldn't mind exploring them more in the future.

Dismember is a lot better than I was expecting them to be, but I'm gonna have to go with Alcest here. This album doesn't sound the least bit metal, but it still makes for a very enjoyable listening experience overall.
 
Lampwick 43 said:
I've heard of Deftones, but never listened to them before. I'm really digging the songs I listened to on White Pony and wouldn't mind exploring them more in the future.
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Deftones have a sound that’s very similar to Tool (at least in the newer albums) however they aren’t as progressive. Very similar to Chevelle if you’ve listened to them. White Pony is a very good place to start as it’s the bands classic album. Speaking of Tool, Maynard is featured on the song ‘Passenger’ a song which I consider to have one of the greatest choruses of all time. Koi No Yokan or Diamond Eyes would be other ones to check out if you’re into it. I consider them to be near flawless.

As for the Nu-Metal labels? Only their debut album. Alternative Metal is the most accurate.
 
Collin said:
Deftones have a sound that’s very similar to Tool (at least in the newer albums) however they aren’t as progressive.
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I get your point when there are some similar elements regarding the two bands but the overall result is quite different. Perhaps some songs out of Aenima can be where their sound mingle a bit more but that's where the similarities end IMO. When it comes to post Lateralus the main dividing line is the obvious lack of prog rock in Deftones' sound. In all fairness the band's melody building and overall drive feels much more fitting in the post rock genre. Where Deftones' ambiance is quite different, bizarre, bittersweet and sometimes even dissonant, Tool is focused in gigantic and pompous landscapes. And although I'm not a Deftones fan I must say that from White Pony onward these guys created an extremely unique sound of their own and respect them a lot for their originality.
Collin said:
Very similar to Chevelle
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100% on point! There's a lot more similarities between Deftones and Chevelle.
Collin said:
As for the Nu-Metal labels? Only their debut album.
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Don't forget Around The Fur. Bur appart from those two yup... different story.
Collin said:
Alternative Metal is the most accurate.
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Absolutely... And regarding their last albums the "metal" word begins to lose a little bit of context (not that it's bad... quite the opposite).
 
King Diamond - Conspiracy vs. Hammerfall - Glory to the Brave

King Diamond takes this on the virtue of not being Hammerfall. There are some pretty good riffs on the album though, from the few tracks I checked out. Not something I'm likely to revisit, but pretty decent.

Coroner - Punishment for Decadence vs. Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten

I was far from impressed by Effigy of the Forgotten in its previous appearance and Punishment for Decadence's first couple of tracks were enough win this matchup for me. Pretty intricate, moving thrash metal - very groovy at parts as well.

Deftones - White Pony vs. Dark Angel - Darkness Descends

I'm not too enamored with Deftones save for a few tracks, but what they're doing here is more noteworthy than what Dark Angel does on their album. The latter sounds off for me, whether it's the playing or the production. The former is more intriguing, albeit not all that good either.

Dismember - Massive Killing Capacity vs. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde

Heard the Dismember album in its entirety, it's damn good. Alcest is a band I like, but this is not their best work and the excellent riffage of Dismember takes it for me. It is a great shame that Alcest's best record, Les Voyages de L'Ame, is not featured in the game. Recommended to those who are intrigued by Alcest's sound.
 
I am voting for Hammerfall in the first pairing as they were an important band for me when getting into Metal as a teenager and I still enjoy the old stuff from time to time. I have no interest in King Diamond.

Unfortunately I don't have time to listen to the songs in the second and third pairings but they are all wrapped up anyway, so I will focus on the final pairing which is all square with a couple of hours remaining.

I expected cookie monster vocals with Dismember. I was pleased not to hear cookie monster vocals (although they were pretty shit) and, as The Flash mentioned, some pretty damn good riffing. It was definitely better than I expected. Alcest are completely different though: mellow, introspective and understated. This makes it quite a tough choice as both songs are pretty decent but contrast one another so vividly. I've gone for Alcest as I can imagine enjoying their music over a longer period of time than Dismember's, who I can imagine I would quickly find quite tiresome.
 
Don't have much time to comment. King Diamond is so much better than HammerFall it's not funny, and I like HammerFall.
Suffocation is garbage, Coroner over that.
Dark Angel by default.
Alcest beats Dismember, but Dismember would have beat Coroner/Dark Angel. It is what it is.
 
King Diamond is very interesting but I can’t stand the vocals, Hammerfall wins.
Coroner over Suffocation. The latter is just too harsh growly death for me. I kinda dig that old school death metal sound, though.
Dark Angel is some impressive extreme thrash, I appreciate it but find Deftones more pleasant to listen to.
Like everyone else, Dismember positively surprised me. That is one gritty guitar tone. Alcest I kept playing for a longer time, they were quite good, would listen again.
 
Shmoolikipod said:
Really, everyone is calling it nu-metal so I thought it's another Korn or something, far from it...
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The first album is pretty much rap metal. It has some killer riffs though. The second album Around the Fur borrows some of the same elements but it’s way more refined. So after listening to that album and making some reasonable comparisons, calling the song ‘Digital Bath’ Nu-Metal is absolutely comical to me.
 
Congratulations to King Diamond. HammerFall will return in League 11 for their final chance at glory.
Suffocation is eliminated by Coroner. Next up for the pathologists is Lacrimosa.
Dark Angel defeats Deftones, who are eliminated. Cryptopsy is next.
And finally, Alcest beats Dismember's only album in the GMAC, earning the rights to face pirate metal pioneers Running Wild in League 15.
 
Arch_Enemy_-_Burning_Bridges.jpg

Arch Enemy - Burning Bridges (1999)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 32
League 15 - Match 1vs.
Dirty_Deeds_Done_Dirt_Cheap_%28ACDC_album_-_cover_art0.jpg

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Rules 71
Previous Rounds:
League 17: Defeated Korn - Follow the Leader 25-2.
League 16: Defeated Turilli / Lione Rhapsody - Zero Gravity (Rebirth and Evolution) 18-6.
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Insomnium_-_Winters_Gate.jpg

Insomnium - Winter’s Gate (2016)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 37
League 15 - Match 2vs.
DeathSOP-1998.jpg

Death - The Sound of Perseverance (1998)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 94
Previous Rounds:
League 18: Defeated Deafheaven - Sunbather 28-2.
League 17: Defeated Soundgarden - Louder Than Love 15-12.
League 16: Defeated Marilyn Manson - Portrait of an American Family 21-4.
 
PerpetualBurn.jpg

Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn (1988)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Storm 28
League 15 - Match 3vs.
Combat_KIMB.jpg

Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985)
How it got here
List entries: Metal Rules 85
Previous Rounds:
League 17: Defeated Evanescence - Fallen 22-6.
League 16: Defeated Helmet - Meantime 22-2.
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Seven_Churches_%28Possessed_album%29.png

Possessed - Seven Churches (1985)

How it got here
List entries: DigitalDreamDoor 42
League 15 - Match 4vs.
Van_Halen_-_Van_Halen_II.jpg

Van Halen - Van Halen II (1979)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Rules 72
Previous Rounds:
League 17: Defeated Accept - Blood of the Nations 16-11.
League 16: Defeated Sleep - Jerusalem 14-11.
 
Arch Enemy. Even pre-Gossow and pre-helium voice ACDC, I much prefer slighty tame melodeath to old school middle of the road hard rock.

Sound of Perseverance really deserves some classic album recognition. However, this is a really, really, nice album from Insomnium, pretty much one big, epic work. Insomnium.

At risk of starting another debate about the definition of 'wankery'......forget that, Megadave by a mile.

High gloss cock rock is a turn off, so Possessed it is.
 
Arch Enemy - riff ok, music obviously an influence on later Blaze albums The Man Who Would Not Die and Promise and Terror, it's only the extremely generic and hook free vocal that is stopping me from giving the whole record a spin

AC/DC - opinion given before, but must reiterate since it's video is there, that Big Balls is awful

AC/DC with the win

Insomnium - no interest in this sort of stuff

Death - opinion given before

Death with the win, both not for me

Jason Becker - no time for this

Megadeth - opinion given before

Megadeth with the win

Possessed - rubbish

Van Halen - opinion given before

Van Halen with the win
 
Cool, an album of my birth year! I'm not a huge AC/DC fan though. I saw Arch Enemy live when they were promoting Burning Bridges. I went to see In Flames but support act Arch Enemy (with my namesake on vocals) blew me away. Very cool melodic death metal and their best album IMO.

Insomnium puts alot of melody in its black metal and although I'm usually not into this kind of metal, some of the parts are enyoable (ending of Winter's Gate part II or Winter's Gate part VI for instance are beautiful!) They even have some prog elements. Pleasant surprise!
But Death is something else. Chuck Shuldiner was one of the most inspiring metal musicians that ever walked on this earth. Melodic Prog death metal at its best.

May I hide in shame I never heard this Jason Becker album before? I know Yngwie Malmsteen and Vinnie Moore but never heard a full album of this shred master. Forgive me please. My favorite Megadeth period starts with Rust In Peace and ends with Youthanasia. Still voted for Megadeth though.

Apart from Jump and a few other songs, Van Halen didn't much to me. Same with bands like Whitesnake. Nice for a few songs but not a whole album.
Possessed however isn't my thing. So Van Halen gets my vote.
 
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