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

Next time anyone walks into the room and asks me what music I'm listening to, I'm going to answer 'Dripping Ovipositor' even if it's not. Hilarious song titles - I can't take this band seriously at all. Maybe nobody is supposed to, but it's just too silly even for self parody. Going for Power Trip who at least have some chunky riffs in there.

Enjoyed that Atlantean Codex album. They do a great job of grandiosity. Sorry, Death, but I'm voting against you this time.

Between the Buried and Me were okay, if slightly samey after a few tracks. They had a very passing resemblance to Children of Bodom in places, which I quite liked. Megadeth get the vote, though.

Buckethead as usual is going between some very nice musical moments and some 'oh some guy messing about with a guitar' moments. Primordial are far more consistent and have a great, moody sound.
 
This Amputated album is terrible, but kind of hilarious. And the really surprising thing is that I find these pig grunts and squeals to be a breath of fresh air compared to the vast majority of extreme vocals I’ve heard in the GMAC. They’re actually not grating at all, just confusing. Unfortunately every track on here follows the same general structure and sounds about the same, the guitar playing isn’t very interesting, and the drumming is spastic. I’m not sure if @Diesel 11 actually thinks this is one of the greatest metal albums of all time, or if he just wanted to see how we’d react to it. Not a big fan of the Power Trip album, but @Whooten ’s choice gets an easy win here. Sorry, @Diesel 11, but only if your nomination was serious. And if it was, then I’m sorry for entirely different reasons. Winner: Power Trip

This Atlantean Kodex record checks most of the boxes for being a strong, epic melodic metal album — the singer is good, the structures are varied, and there are plenty of nice parts. But at the same time, it sounds like they’re just going through the motions. No spark, no fire at all. Also, the production has issues, especially with the rhythm guitars. I think the rhythm guitars might actually be out of tune throughout the entire album, or at least tuned to a different frequency than the lead guitars. This sticks out like a sore thumb in the opening track in particular. Weird. The Death album certainly has fire, and it has interesting guitar work and song structures, but it also has terrible vocals. I’m actually pretty torn on this one. What’s worse, pretty good melodic metal with no heart and bad technical issues, or high-quality technical metal with terrible vocals? I guess I’ll go with @Perun ‘s choice here in the end, but I’m not too happy about it. Winner: Atlantean Kodex

The Between The Buried And Me album was an interesting and challenging listen. Lots of disparate styles mashed together here, and at first I thought I might latch onto it, but then the shitty extreme vocals came in and dominated most of the rest of the album, so that pretty much killed my interest. If you’re into extreme vocals I can see how this would be a cool album, but it’s not for me. Even a weaker Megadeth album is preferable. Sorry, @Mosh. Winner: Megadeth

This Buckethead album is pretty cool. Not stunning or anything, but consistently enjoyable, similar to the last one in the competition. Also, bonus points for dropping Six Million Dollar Man and KFC references in the same song title. The Primordial album is pretty solid, but samey, and the singer is off key a lot. Sorry, @Perun, but I’m going with @Diesel 11 ’s choice here. Winner: Buckethead
 
Power Trip in the first match. I struggle to find the "music" in what Amputated is doing.

I still think they might be a little too much, but Kodex get an easy win, too. I'm sick of Death.

I really don't like KIMB...ABIG, and I especially hate The Mechanix (Four Horsemen is vastly superior in every way), but still a win for Deth. I don't get BTBAM. I get that they are talented, but I don't want to listen to it. Count me in as another person who can't get onboard with their vocals.

I don't think I like Primordial all that much, but I like what they're doing. They're folk/metal vibe jives with me. Buckethead has too many albums of noodling. Talented noodling, but noodling.
 
Jer said:
I’m not sure if @Diesel 11 actually thinks this is one of the greatest metal albums of all time, or if he just wanted to see how we’d react to it.
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I do, but it’s not one of my favorites for the same reasons as albums like The Chemical Wedding. If I had guilty pleasures, this would be one of them. It’s just something I can come to when I feel like it. I don’t need to process sheer artistic talent with Amputated. They’re not good musicians. But they’re dumb, they’re fun, and you know what? The album sounds exactly like it’s intended. Like I said, every time I hear it it’s like I’m wading through rancid offal myself. And I like that auditory execution of that idea. The guitar is big and juicy, the vocals are absolutely insane (or inane?), and the sound bites at the beginning of each song are a bonus, too. It’s an album I found by myself and haven’t met a single other person who likes it — just about everyone else has simply responded with, “It’s not even music!” So yeah, I didn’t expect any to like this record, but I’m glad people are finally listening to it now. And the responses... exactly as expected. It’s not an album to take seriously, regardless of what its creators intended... and that’s why I love it.
 
My next nominee is up in the next round, and this time it’s The Answer Machine? from folk metal pioneers Skyclad.

This album is a bit lighter for them, blending pretty much equal parts folk, punk, and metal, bringing in more folk instrumentation and letting Martin Walkyier sing more cleanly. Electric guitars have a constant presence, but are lower in the mix to stand about equal with the violins and other instruments, so some purists may question if this is “metal enough”, but we’ll see. I shared more detailed thoughts in the random album reviews thread if anyone is interested.

The sample song for this round is Building A Ruin, which gives a pretty good taste of the sound of the album, and is an excellent song in its own right. (It’s actually best enjoyed by listening to the short opener A Clown Of Thorns and letting that roll into Building A Ruin, but I couldn’t find any combined version of these on YouTube that didn’t have a big awkward delay in between.)

Other great representative tracks are Helium and Troublesometimes. If you’re looking for something more balladic, try Single Phial. If you want something more hypnotic, try The Thread Of Evermore. If you want something haunting, try Catherine At The Wheel.

This album is going up against the Danzig debut, which I think is a pretty weak album in the first place. Danzig only has one great song, a couple of pretty decent ones, and then the rest is filler, IMO. I think the quality of the musicianship and lyrics on the Skyclad album is on a completely different level, but we’ll see what the rest of you think.
 
The Atlantean Kodex vs Death match I find difficult.

Atlantean Kodex needs my patience and tolerance if I want to hear the whole thing. Initially, a dislike for the drum sound (especially snare) starts to evolve. I am not that fond of the vocal in the beginning. But then later on the vocal melodies is what this is about. A little sweet perhaps, with Gamma Ray-ish harmonies and bombast, but the melodies are carrying me through. During the not so brilliant solo I hear a nice atmospheric keyboard.

Death is rhythmically so interesting. The music is surely no easy listening because on top of the busy drums, the guitars sort of follow their own course, with sudden jumping patterns out of and into the heavy riffs. I never could stand Chuck's vocals that well but on this track it isn't that bad.
 
Amputated: WelI, that was... bewildering. I have to admit I didn't like the sounds of gurgling and pig squeaks.
Power Trip wasn't really my thing either, but I guess I'd choose a Power Trip over getting Amputated.

Atlantean Codex was alright, a bit long maybe.
Death: We meet once again. No comments. (Kind of goes against the rules of the game, though.)

Between the Buried and Me: This was rough.
Megadeth is always a difficult opponent when I'm voting, and so it wins this time too.

Buckethead: The song was so beautiful it made me feel all happy inside. There is a lot of music by different bands that I don't get or connect to. This one I do. Will definitely keep the name in mind.
Primordial: This was very, very dark. The video intensified the feeling of hopelessness. As I was listening to the long song, sort of anxious, I got a thought in my head that I kind of envy people who can listen to this kind of stuff. Me, it just makes fall into clinical depression.
 
I have listened to a few songs off of Wading Through Rancid Offal due to Diesel's recommendation in the past. It's, uh, not good. I don't find much of it interesting or enjoyable. All that being said, I am glad this album was in here, because that way there's no way anyone can yell "death bias" when Power Trip trounces them.
I've enjoyed learning more about Death through this, but Atlantean Kodex is a massive band with sadly little reputation. The Course of Empire is grandiose, harder to digest, and a little pompous, but it's a true unheralded masterpiece, just like their previous album.
I'd bury Between the Buried and Me, because, Jesus, it's not good. It sounds like unfiltered noise to me, I barely made it through the song, where as Megadave is Megadave.
Which brings me to the last pairing. I enjoy the Primordial album a lot, and probably I think the average song is better, but the peaks for Buckethead are so friggin' high. Soothsayer is a pure masterpiece.
 
Lamia020281 said:
Buckethead: The song was so beautiful it made me feel all happy inside. There is a lot of music by different bands that I don't get or connect to. This one I do. Will definitely keep the name in mind.
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That was exactly my first experience with him too. Before Buckethead I never cared about instrumental music. Then I heard Soothsayer and it opened my eyes to a vibrant work of color. Buckethead knows how to tug on your heart strings.

LooseCannon said:
Soothsayer is a pure masterpiece.
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That’s a much more positive review than you gave some years back in the chat. I remember you saying it just got too noodly at the end — fair play, but I’ve always thought his noodling just helped reach that climax all the better. Glad to see it’s grown on you since!

Buckethead is my favorite guitarist because he’s so versatile. Give him any genre and he’ll rip it to shreds. Hell, my favorite album with him is electronica (hence why I didn’t nominate it here). He can get very noodly, but once he creates a sound, an atmosphere, he pulls it off so friggin’ well. Which reminds me that I should start listening through more of his discography. I’ve only heard fifty some albums...

LooseCannon said:
I have listened to a few songs off of Wading Through Rancid Offal due to Diesel's recommendation in the past. It's, uh, not good. I don't find much of it interesting or enjoyable.
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Yeah. Brutal slamming death metal is the biggest oddball in my music taste. Bigger than pop, I dare say.
 
When I saw a notification that Diesel had quoted my post, I was afraid he'd be annoyed by my stupid amputation joke. Then I remembered he had another nomination as well! :)

Hmm, 50 Buckethead albums and more in store? Doesn't run out soon, seems to be a positive thing if you like his music!
 
Lamia020281 said:
Hmm, 50 Buckethead albums and more in store? Doesn't run out soon, seems to be a positive thing if you like his music!
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Well he has 300+ solo albums and over a hundred more collaborative efforts, so uh... yeah, that’s the positive! :P His discography is just very time consuming, but someday I’ll hear them all. I swear!
 
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