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

Angel Dust vs Walls Of Jericho... mmmmm. Quality is seriously intensifying in this game. Angel Dust is one of the most iconic rock albums of the 90's. Land Of Sunshine erupts in a million of hues as an appetizer for the sonic kaleidoscope we're about to dive in. This is a trip that combines equal doses of insanity and genius. There are almost experimental, heavy as hell bursts like Smaller And Smaller or the superb duo of Malpractice and Jizzlober. Then we get these more tamed tunes yet filled with subtle somber undertones on Caffeine, Kindergarten and Midlife Crisis along with poppy alternative rock tunes in A Small Victory, Everything's Ruined and Be Aggressive. Not to mention other oddities like the mumbling RV or the band's renditions of Midnight Cowboy and Easy. To sum it up Angel Dust is an album that, when I picked it up, I feared would absolutely ruin the commercial success of The Real Thing due to fact of how bizarre it is. But I was dead wrong and it makes me happy to know people enjoyed this record in large scale for its daring, original, uncompromising approach while being undeniably rich and eclectic. On the other hand there's Walls Of Jericho: a record that almost single handed created a genre, filled with metal classics that would deeply shape the genre with its influence being felt in various subgenres. So this is no easy picking... I'll go as far as saying I love both these records the same. I think I'll have to go with the "what's Metal for me" tie breaker and give my vote to Helloween.

Love At First Sting is that "let's make the ultimate radio hit friendly hard rock record" thing I dislike. And although I find no appeal on listening to Big City Nights and Rock You Like An Hurricane it sounds way better than the utterly boring and derivative symphony Scorpions is going against.
 
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Hi everyone, this is the first song (vid) I requested to present for this album and since we are having the albums 2nd and hopefully not last appearance I felt it is time bring it on.

With reason. The menacing drive, awesome guitar harmonies, aggression, Ingo's spirited drumming and very fitting vocals make for the ideal combo of speed and melodies.
The tempo and mood changes, intense soloing, it would be very demanding to wish more.

Walls of Jericho is an important album, influential for decades to come.

Hail Helloween !! \m/
 
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terrell39 said:
Also was amazing to see Kai perform WOJ medley with Helloween on Pumpkins United tour in Chicago! Never thought that would happen
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The only bad part is it was a medley. Heavy Metal, Ride The Sky, Starlight and Judas are so damned good they should have been played in its entirety. But as it was is already excellent.
 
It was also cool to see the different speeds for these tracks! That drummer really had some endurance in this set.
 
Was that in 2018 or a different time? I saw the 2018 version on the bill at a festival Maiden were headlining.
 
If Resurrection deserves a place in the pantheon of "great metal albums", it isn't really due to the quality of music. Halford put out quality music during his time away from Priest, but none of it really hits that apex sound that he had before the break. It's because the album was one of the first in so many post-90s resurrections, along with Brave New World, that brought metal back to prominence.
 
It was very much a history repeating scenario. Many artists were making a comeback, but once again Maiden was carrying the torch and had the best album.
 
LooseCannon said:
Testament and Kreator didn't one-two Rock in Rio, Halford and Iron Maiden did.
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Rock In Rio is for sell out commercial crap! Only false metal adepts pay attention to such grabage (saying this while striking a Manowar pose). :D . Now, seriously... to be fair there were more bands that were coming back with strong albums in the turn of the century. But Maiden was without shadow of doubt the one with more projection (the reunion also helped a lot).
Nevertheless there's a small difference that you pointed out (and well). While Resurrection and Brave New World, although being good albums, weren't on the same echelon of Priest and Maiden's best records, Violent Revolution and The Gathering are easily on the same level of both bands best works like The New Order or Coma Of Souls.
 
Possibly because the echelons of Maiden and Priest's best works are at a far higher echelon than Testament and Kreator, i.e. not as tough for those bands to match their former glorys.
 
Resurrection > Ram It Down
Resurrection > Angel of Retribution
Resurrection > Nostradamus
Resurrection > the one after that
Resurrection > the one after that (Firepower was good, but was not that refreshing and strong as Resurrection was imo)
Resurrection > Point of Entry
Resurrection > Jugulator
Resurrection > Demolition
Resurrection > most other Priest related records, bar the two Fight albums


Before someone says: "hey but these were not very good Priest albums...." then this:

Other Priest albums > most of all other metal albums ever made, bar Maiden's best and a max of other 20-30 records.
 
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I might bust out Resurrection later, it's been a good while. Made in Hell makes a regular appearance when I'm playing random tracks though.
 
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