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

Arch Enemy didn't need too much to win this, AC/DC is too uneventful.

Insomnium because there's still some stuff I don't like about this Death record. But it's close

Megadeth would defeat Buckethead so they surely beat this noodle.

And...Possessed wins the last one. Neither are that great.
 
I didn't get round to voting in this one. Oops. I'd have voted for AC/DC, Megadave and Van Halen but not sure about the other pairing. I don't mind that Death album and I only know the most recent Insomnium album which is much better than the Death album. Perhaps I'd have preferred 'Winter's Gate' to 'The Sound of Perseverance', but we'll never know.

I don't actually care for this AC/DC album or for any Van Halen album, but anything by these two bands is preferable to Arch Enemy or Possessed.
 
AC/DC defeats Arch Enemy in a close enough battle, but that's it for Arch Enemy in the GMAC. Next up, Katatonia.
Death continues their minnow run, beating Insomnium. They'll be back in League 8.
Jason Becker is crushed by Megadeth. The virtuoso is eliminated. Megadeth next fights Fear Factory.
And finally, Possessed knocks off Van Halen. A lesser Van Halen album, for sure, but still a bit of a titan to be defeated. We'll see Van Halen later in this league.
 
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Aspid - Кровоизлияние (1993)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 35
League 15 - Match 5vs.
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Bewitched - At the Gates of Hell (1999)

How it got here
List entries: Metalstorm 77
Previous Rounds:
League 17: Defeated Deafheaven - New Bermuda 17-7.
League 16: Defeated Sentenced - The Cold White Light 9-8.
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Bathory - Bathory (1984)

How it got here
List entries: Loudwire 40
League 15 - Match 6vs.
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Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll (2003)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 98
Previous Rounds:
League 18: Defeated Heavens Gate - Planet Earth 12-11.
League 17: Defeated Ophelia - 당신의 환상을 동정하라 16-7.
League 16: Defeated Anorexia Nervosa - Drudenhaus 14-3.
 
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Heavens Gate - In Control (1989)

How it got here
List entries: Metalstorm 46
League 15 - Match 7vs.
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Spiritual Beggars - Ad Astra (2000)

How it got here
List entries: Metalstorm 68
League 16: Defeated Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears 10-8.
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Dark Tranquility - Fiction (2007)

How it got here
List entries: DigitalDreamDoor 42
League 15 - Match 8vs.
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Persefone - Aathma (2017)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 96
Previous Rounds:
League 18: Defeated Kvelertak - Meir 14-9.
League 17: Defeated Riot - Fire Down Under 12-11.
League 16: Defeated Sad Legend - Sad Legend 13-4.
 
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Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who is participating. I really want to commend those who are stepping outside their bounds of comfort to expose themselves to new music. That's what this project is about and hopefully over the course of the next leagues you'll find more stuff to add to your personal playlists.

So far this game has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. Thanks again :)
 
LooseCannon said:
Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who is participating. I really want to commend those who are stepping outside their bounds of comfort to expose themselves to new music. That's what this project is about and hopefully over the course of the next leagues you'll find more stuff to add to your personal playlists.

So far this game has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. Thanks again :)
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It's been a lot of fun! I've enjoyed the discovery aspect of this game. Spiritual Beggars, for example, is a band I've never heard of previously who I've come to really quite enjoy.
 
Bewitched (already gave my opinion) versus Aspid (generic early Death Metal)... flip coin: Aspid wins.

Then we have COB against one of metal's pivotal releases. Bathory's debut is far from being my favorite from the band or the more influential regarding the creation of Black Metal (let's be real... Quorthon created almost every basilar sound trait we know about the genre several years before true cults and BS like that). In all honesty the band still lacks originality here, still sounding a bit like a faster, dirtier and heavier Venom (something that would change in The Return). But it's more than enough to beat a completely meh album by COB.

Heaven's Gate is a quite decent and competent Heavy Metal act. The little I know about them never captivated me enough to dig deeper but also never sounded bad in any way possible. On the other hand we've got Ad Astra, my favorite Spiritual Beggars album which I've already praised before and obviously get my vote here.

Finally I must reiterate that Persefone's record is an interesting Prog Death Metal act. As for Fiction is an odd choice for representing the band. I mean... with albums such as The Gallery, The Mind's I or even Damage Done or Character the album that was picked to represent a classic act like Dark Tranquillity is an arguably middle of the rank album? Not that Fiction is bad: far from it. If Dark Tranquillity never existed and someone released this album I would really dig it: excellent guitar dual work and great riffs, showcasing how the band easily blends heaviness with melody. But when compared with the top tier DT material it falls a bit short. It's the cross you have to bear when you are a great band: good records sound quite normal when compared with your maximum accolades. Nevertheless I'll go with Fiction.
 
The Aspid album is pretty OK progressive thrash. Didn’t really grab me by the throat, but it did carve out its own sound without blatantly copying other bands. The Bewitched album is decently executed but very derivative melodic metal with bad but not horrible vocals. Not a big fan of either record, but I’ll lean in the direction of more originality here. Winner: Aspid

This Bathory album sounds like early Megadeth demos recorded on a portable cassette deck in a bathroom with Dave Mustaine straining to take a shit during every vocal. (Yes, I understand this came out the year before Megadeth’s first album, but this is the impression it gave me.) The vocals aren’t as horrible as most black metal vocals, but they’re still horrible. Children Of Bodom, while still having unpleasant vocals, has more appealing music, so they also continue their improbable winning streak on my ballot. Winner: Children Of Bodom

This Heavens Gate album is very good proto-power metal. The singing is a little over the top at times, and some of this has a low rent feel, but the riffing and soloing is right up my alley. (The Joni Mitchell cover was ill-advised, though.) The Spiritual Beggars album is also good, but more intricate melodic metal beats stoner rock for me. Winner: Heavens Gate

The Dark Tranquillity album is pretty much what you’d expect from a melodeath record — pretty good guitar work with shit vocals and too many gratuitous blast beats. Some of the songs have more nuance, though, and the album closer has some clean vocals mixed in with the glass gargling. The Persefone album has more varied and interesting music, and while it also has shit vocals, it mixes up the vocal sounds a bit more, and is less annoying overall. Winner: Persefone
 
Aspid - intro noise nearly made me turn it off, but a good riff came in before I got to the mouse, when the verse came in the arse fell out of the song, drumming too weak and the riff was a bizarre choice, vocals bad but I'd have turned a blind eye if the music was better, but it wasn't

Bewtiched - opinion given before, if anyone likes this but wants to hear something similar with a more standard vocalist, it reminds me of the first In Solitude album

Bewitched with the win

Bathory - venom rip off, and venom are bad

Children of Bodom - opinion given before

Children of Bodom by default, every fuckin' time they get my vote hopefully their luck in the draw runs out soon as this is terrible

Heaven's Gate - I gave the opinion on their other album a few times, this is the same really, not awful but if I want to listen to stuff like this Screaming for Vengeance and The Warning are way better.

Spiritual Beggars - opinion given before, the verse of that track is vaguely reminiscent of Bruce's Space Race.

Spiritual Beggars with the win

Dark Tranquility - bad guitar sound, bad keys, bad vocals, verse sounds like Terminal Spirit Disease which must be well over a decade before this, not for me.

Persefone - awful stuff

Dark Tranquility with the win
 
Jer said:
The Aspid album is pretty OK progressive thrash. Didn’t really grab me by the throat, but it did carve out its own sound without blatantly copying other bands. The Bewitched album is decently executed but very derivative melodic metal with bad but not horrible vocals. Not a big fan of either record, but I’ll lean in the direction of more originality here. Winner: Aspid

This Bathory album sounds like early Megadeth demos recorded on a portable cassette deck in a bathroom with Dave Mustaine straining to take a shit during every vocal. (Yes, I understand this came out the year before Megadeth’s first album, but this is the impression it gave me.) The vocals aren’t as horrible as most black metal vocals, but they’re still horrible. Children Of Bodom, while still having unpleasant vocals, has more appealing music, so they also continue their improbable winning streak on my ballot. Winner: Children Of Bodom

This Heavens Gate album is very good proto-power metal. The singing is a little over the top at times, and some of this has a low rent feel, but the riffing and soloing is right up my alley. (The Joni Mitchell cover was ill-advised, though.) The Spiritual Beggars album is also good, but more intricate melodic metal beats stoner rock for me. Winner: Heavens Gate

The Dark Tranquillity album is pretty much what you’d expect from a melodeath record — pretty good guitar work with shit vocals and too many gratuitous blast beats. Some of the songs have more nuance, though, and the album closer has some clean vocals mixed in with the glass gargling. The Persefone album has more varied and interesting music, and while it also has shit vocals, it mixes up the vocal sounds a bit more, and is less annoying overall. Winner: Persefone
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+ 1

Aspid is adventurous. Although I'm not a fan of the vocal this band wins this round for daring and making it interesting.
Bathory is cool, but this album isn't imho. Hatecrew Deathroll is the last good Children of Bodom album. Songs like Needled 24/7, Bodom Beach Terror, Angels Don't Kill and You're Better Off Dead are impressive combinations of fury and melody. The riffs and guitar melodies are insanely good.
Heaven's Gate guitar work and catchiness wins this battle. In Control!
Persefone: interesting discovery in this game! Never heard of them before (just like Aspid) and they sound very competent. Great solo section.
 
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Metal in Russian, that's a first for me! It wasn't as heavy as some of the songs on the earlier rounds, but nothing very special. So no vote for Aspid. Bewitched has a nice name, the song was groovy and the melody was all right. If the singer didn't sound like he's only half recovered from a cold, I might actually listen to this stuff. :)

I don't know if my computer loudspeakers just don't play the sound properly, but Bathory sounded like it wasn't mixed at all. If that's the way it should sound, then I don't get it. I've actually been to the lake Bodom a number of times, once with pupils on a sports day, and sometimes on the beach, so that's not a very sinister place for me. :bigsmile: But this was the first time I properly listened to a Children of Bodom song, although I've seen many interviews of the band members on TV. The song rocked, but it wasn't really my thing. The spoken announcement at the end of the song isn't my philosophy of life, but it's good that people who feel that way can have some consolation from this kind of music.

Heaven's Gate was melodic and quite nice, and finally someone sings normally! Spiritual Beggars is a bit borderline metal in my opinion. There wasn't anything specifially wrong with it, but I didn't like it. Maybe it was the macho singing style.

Dark Tranquility returned to the sore-throat-type of singing, and the song was a jumble of sounds and styles. Persefone is a name that's always funny, because "perse" in Finnish means "ass". :p This wasn't a humour band though. The song didn't seem to be going anywhere, and had too much going on. Had to think a while which one to vote, but decided to vote against Persefone, as somehow I didn't like it at all.
 
The unknown Aspid wasn't really my thing, Bewitched pleases me much more. Although I don't dig the vocals that much, the melodic riffs are right up my alley.

I'm not that much into Bathory, however I was surprised it wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be. Two decades ago I was really into the first 2 Children Of Bodom albums. This album is not radically different but I didn't like it that much. Surprise: I voted Bathory!

Heavens Gate! Fantastic melodic heavy metal band! Great singer, great riffs, blistering solo's: what do you want more?
Spiritual Beggars is nice for a few songs but not for a whole album.

I used to love a lot of stuff of the Gothenburg melodic death metal scene in the past: In Flames, At The Gates and offcourse Dark Tranquillity.
From this album I only knew the fantastic Misery's Crown. The other songs aren't that great though.
Persefone is unknown to me but has alot of layers in their music. Unfortunately those screamy vocals ruin it all for me. However, they get my vote for much more diversity than Dark Tranquillity.
 
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The hate for Bathory here makes me sick. There's certain bands in the heavy metal that deserve the utmost respect for their craft and Influence, and Bathory is one of them. That shitty Children of Bodom band you guys are voting for wouldn't even exist without Bathory. That Bathory debut is one of the finest heavy metal albums ever. It really doesn't get any better than Hades, In Conspirasy With Satan, or Necromansy

EDIT: Bathory's body of work is even greater considering the fact it was essentially just the work of one person.
 
Dityn DJ James said:
The hate for Bathory here makes me sick. There's certain bands in the heavy metal that deserve the utmost respect for their craft and Influence, and Bathory is one of them. That shitty Children of Bodom band you guys are voting for wouldn't even exist without Bathory. That Bathory debut is one of the finest heavy metal albums ever. It really doesn't get any better than Hades, In Conspirasy With Satan, or Necromansy

EDIT: Bathory's body of work is even greater considering the fact it was essentially just the work of one person.
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I think you're taking it too personal. While I mainly agree with you this is an opinion poll and people have the right to vote in whatever they want to even if they're based in (to say the least) doubtful criteria. And let's be honest : while I still enjoy their debut it was only with The Return and later with Blood Fire Death and Hammerheart that Bathory became the myth we all (should) know.
Of course some people tend to disregard how much Quorthon was FULCRAL for bands like Children Of Bodom to even start thinking what the hell they would play (as you pointed out rightfully) as well as fail to put the whole record in perspective (this was composed in 1983 and released in 1984) and as the first steps in the evolution of one of metal's more influential acts. People in this era (where everyone can get their hands on decent recording software and hardware for a relatively modest amount of money) tend to forget how important those first low budget, imperfect first steps were back in the day and how crucial they were while creating new genres.
But as I said before we are all entitled to our opinion. Some people simply don't like it and that's absolutely fine. And even those who prefer to disregard Bathory completely and recur to the same old "it's just noise" type phrases hey... more power to them!. It's their "problem" not yours. I myself can perfectly understand why that happens and have more things to think about than that kind of diatribes.
I suggest you would do the same. Don't bother, overreact or whatever. It's simply not worth the effort :p

 
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