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

In hindsight I don’t know if I’d have nominated DPP if we were drawing up lists today, because Century Child and HVMAN. :||: NATVRE. are great too (I’d still nominate Once in a heartbeat). But the album has a lot to it that I quite like. The first five songs cook. Poet is a monster, probably the most bombastic thing Tuomas has ever written (including Greatest Show). Bye Bye Beautiful is a perfect follow up and one of my favorite Nightwish songs. Amaranth is a fun single, Cadence has some really nice, dark atmosphere and a great hook, and Master Passion Greed, for all its rant-y-ness, is an awesome and raw display for Marco’s voice.

After that the record takes a slight dive. Eva is fine, but not the most compelling ballad. Sahara has some great atmosphere and instrumentation but it doesn’t draw me in as much as it used to. Whoever Brings The Night and For The Heart I Once Had are borderline filler — not bad, but not that great. But then things pick up on the last four songs. The Islander is cool as hell and I love its stripped down style. Last Of The Wilds is one of their best instrumentals and really nails all the vibes it sets out to attempt. 7 Days is badass, so much atmosphere, one of Marco’s best performances, and Meadows, while not the best song overall, is a perfect closer to the album.

DPP isn’t a perfect album, but the highs are terrific and the lows are still solid. Compared to TFF, where the only songs that I really think are terrific are Talisman and Wild Wind (and I’ve become a strong supporter of the title track more recently), and the worst tracks are some of the worst in the Maiden canon (Mother Of Mercy and Man Who Would Be King), and it really has no prayer compared to Nightwish’s tour-de-force. I think if you asked Steve, who’s actually a big fan of DPP and Imaginaerum, he’d agree with me.
 
@LooseCannon not to be picky, but it’s Colma and not Colima. Might have been a typo in the poll.

Also, while I could go off on why nominating the album doesn’t fit the game, instead I’ll say that it’s great to see more Buckethead here. All three albums so far have really highlighted his versatility as an artist. It’s great.
 
LooseCannon said:
Might be your worst take yet.
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I mean it’s not perfect for sure, I wish there was more room for Marco there for instance and think that some of the material is just a redraw of previous material. That said, it utilizes Floor a lot better than on EFMB, I’m glad that Troy has gotten more stuff to do because his voice is really, really smooth and soothing and I love it (although maybe not at the expense of Marco, I think both have a lot of room to co-exist as singers in Nightwish).

There’s a lot of new sound experimentation that makes some of the songs more lush and sound-scapy than before (Music’s intro is really cool and Shoemaker sounds like a spaceship in flight), while still retaining some hard-hitting moments (Noise is typically Nightwish, but it’s fun; Pan goes in hard; Tribal is just baller) and then others that really showcase how strong of a band Nightwish are (I never expected them to write a song that sounded like a hymn and didn’t suck, but Harvest has become one of my faves from them overall, and their incorporation of doom on Endlessness feels incredibly fresh without sacrificing the Nightwish DNA). And of course there’s the entire second disc which to me is a really beautiful and lush piece of music. Maybe it’s not as bombastic or with as many flavors as Tuomas typically has, but it’s a really nice listen.

As a whole the album seems like a continuation of themes first expressed on EFMB, while taking some steps forward. I’m really looking forward to where they go next.
 
Machine Head aren't at all bad here. They have those modern metal singsongy choruses, but make me think of nu metal that's grown up via threash along the way. Not my favourite thing, but this is a decent album. Kind Diamond don't gel with me at all, particularly the screechy amd wailing vocals, but I generally don't like the way any of their songs develop either.

Kreator have some well put together songs here and a great sound, but I tire of this stuff really quickly. On the plus side, they do have some variety across the full album, but I find the content lot more samey than Dystopia. Megadeth.

Third battle isn't a fun choice to make. I quite like Abba Nightwish and don't do the anti-Anette thing, but I'm also very fond of TFF. Let's say three to four songs I really quite like on DPP, a couple of others I'll happily listen to again and again. TFF - three I absolutely adore, three more I like, the others I'll happily listen to. TFF gets my vote.

I could happily give an experimental, laid-back and mellow Buckethead effort a miss. Deep Purple have a consistent album with songs that go somewhere.
 
@Perun it really is a shame Into Glory Ride got eliminated so early. While I'm not confident I've heard every single Manowar album, those early ones like Battle Hymn, Into Glory Ride, Hail to England, Fighting the World, and especially Kings of Metal just rule to me.
 
This Machine Head album was better than I expected, as I only expected a nu-metal yellfest and what I got was something a little more varied instead. The yelly vocals aren’t as bad as most of their ilk, and there were a number of welcome diversions into more melodic territory. The music itself was mostly strong, though it would stumble into mindless nu-metal chugging for periods of time. I don’t know, it feels like there’s a good melodic thrash album with some industrial elements hiding in here, but it keeps getting covered up by yelling and chugging and “death metal lite” parts. Meanwhile, the King Diamond album is better constructed and more consistently enjoyable to me. Sorry, @Collin, but @Dityn DJ James ’s nominee takes this one. Winner: King Diamond

Dystopia was a major return to form for Megadeth, definitely their best album since Endgame. The thrashy elements maybe felt a little forced (a la Death Magnetic), and the lyrics are like Fox News on steroids, but this is a consistently high quality album. And musically, so is the Kreator album — but Kreator’s vocals are a terrible non-melodic mess, while Megadeth’s vocals are merely kind of bad. Sorry, @Black Wizard, but @Lampwick 43 ’s choice edges yours out here. Winner: Megadeth

Hadn’t really sat down and listened to this Nightwish album before (I’ve been lazy, and never really ventured past the Tarja era), and it’s...different. Anette Olzon’s voice sounds thin and girly compared to Tarja’s operatic wail, and the orchestral flourishes give the album a more bombastic and theatrical feel than their earlier material, though I’m not sure if that’s a plus or a minus. There are a lot of strong songs on offer here, and a few weaker ones, but the lows never dive anywhere near as low as those of The Final Frontier, and the highs are nearly as high. Sorry, @Collin, but @Diesel 11 ’s choice is the superior one. Winner: Nightwish

The music on this Buckethead album is heartfelt and beautiful, probably the best album of his that’s appeared in the game yet. I have no idea why anyone would nominate it for a metal album contest, but it is indeed a great album. Meanwhile, this Deep Purple album is solidly good, but nothing to get particularly excited about. I’ll leave metal bias out of it for now and say sorry to @matic22, as I think @phantomoftheicarus nominated the better album here. Winner: Buckethead
 
I'm gonna give a full and thorough listen to DPP to see how things shake out. TFF is one of the few Maiden albums that won't get the benefit of winning by default for me.
 
I've sporadically given Nightwish chances in the past and their brand of heavy metal just never really jived with me. I checked out Bye Bye Beautiful through Cadence and I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting something entirely half-baked, plastic sounding, and substance-less but those tracks had atleast a little weight to them. I'm not planning really on revisiting them nor could I love an album like that more than The Final Frontier (in the span of two days atleast, I couldn't do that), but those tracks surprised me for sure. The band, Nightwish, isn't without its merit.
 
Machine Head feel like a thrash band that turned 50% nu-metal while recording their albums. I don’t like it. King Diamond still sings like an absolute idiot, but the music is fun.

Megadeth are so much better than Kreator, even this average Megadeth album.

I love Iron Maiden and I love reunion Maiden, but The Final Frontier is their weakest new album. Dark Passion Play is my Brave New World for Nightwish and the highs are much higher, the lows much less low.

Deep Purple get my nod here over Buckethead’s experimental noodles.
 
Great round, and interestingly I almost could have voted without listening to any of the tracks. The only tough choice was the first pair, because I didn't like either of them. Chose Machine Head, because of the singing style of King Diamond.

I love Megadeth, but haven't listened to all their albums. This one was new to me. Didn't have the energy to listen to the whole album now, but will do so in the future. I liked the example song a lot, it had such beautiful melodies, like a lot of Megadeth songs. Kreator was too rough for me, so an easy choice here.

The Final Frontier is one of my very favorite Maiden albums, and one of my fave albums as it happens. I love the melodies and the scifi/fantasy/history inspired lyrics. The only songs I don't like are When the Wild Wind Blows and the Satellite 15 bit, everything else I love with a passion. And contrary to a lot of people's opinion, Mother of Mercy is one of my very favorite Maiden songs. So, it doesn't really matter what it's up against, it's likely I would still vote for it. I didn't really like Nightwish's style in the example song, so no problems in voting there.

I had heard the song Perfect Strangers before, and didn't like it. Buckethead's song was really beautiful, and would likely benefit from more listens, so Buckethead for the win.
 
For those voting for TFF and only listening to Bye Bye Beautiful, try this song instead:


It’s almost fourteen minutes long, which should be no issue for Maiden fans, has a lot of bombastic moments but also some very touching ones too. It’s more emblematic of the album as a whole (even though I personally love BBB,) and is a top 3 Nightwish song for me.
 
I wish Colma and Crime Slunk Scene switched streams. This one is chill as heck and it goes up against a monster. CSS is boring and, sorry, it went against some of the lesser albums we heard here.
 
Machine Head albums are kind of a make or miss thing. Curiously enough this record is neither. Before everything there are some cuts here. The opener is intense enough and although I think the opening orchestrations on the chorus are kinda awkward but the whole thing is overall ok. Killers And Kings is really aggressive and good and Night Of The Long Knives seems to thread the same path until it's completely washed by a barrage of mellow core vocals. And the same happens with Ghosts Haunt My Bones to an even higher degree: that stomping riff is absolutely huge vintage MH stuff but what comes after completely spoils the picture. Sail Into The Black shows the band venturing into slightly different waters and sure does build some atmosphere. Beneath The Silt is a strange mixture of Alice In Chains and Groove Metal while Eyes Of The Dead borrows some notes from Mellow Death and if it's true that In Comes The Flood also features some of those elements fact is the band recovers some melodic core stuff on this one and I think it simply doesn't click with MH. And speaking of that Game Over is perhaps the track from the lot where those influences are more relevant so... nah! And after two curious interlude like tracks he album closes with Take Me To The Fire, another Mellow Death influenced strong track. So yeah... If you're a Machine Head fanatic I'm pretty sure this album will sound wonderful to you. If you're more into the heavier stuff the band did not so much. Nevertheless this is by no means a bad record (unlike some others MH tormented us with) and it has lots of good passages, but overall it's just not my thing. So my vote goes to King Diamond.

Dystopia is one hell of an head scratcher for me. I think Kiko is one hell of a guitar player and Dave proved times and times again that he can be an elite songwriter. So let's get one thing clear from the start: when it comes to guitar leads and soloing Dystopia is as strong as it can get. When it comes to composition is also decent. But it seems there's something missing here. The Threat Is Real is a solid opener with a strong riff but nothing to make one drool when compared to some of the band's previous openers. And I won't even talk about the classic ones... just check Blackmail The Universe or the mind blowing combo of Dialectic Chaos/ This Day We Fight. Nevertheless it seems that Megadeth definetly left behind the void of ideas presented in Thirteen or the absolute disaster that was Super Collider. The title track is a typical heavy metal song with some absolute gorgeous guitar licks but completely lacks the oomph that even the softest Megadeth songs used to have. Fatal Illusion is a whole different business: this is a brutal as hell bastard that features various aspects of what made the band an absolute monument in the metal universe: crushing chords, some blues like metalized riffs and to wrap it all a thrash metal assault barrage. Death From Within has nothing wrong with it but (alongside the following tracks) it seems that, outside guitar leads, there's a lack of really exciting moments. Look Who's Talking has some of that more commercial Megadeth charm (Dave always knew how to make a hit song) but even so nothing too special. Conquer Or Die is a cool instrumental that once again underlines the quality of the newly accuired member on the 6 strings and then we finally have some real adrenaline with the absolutely addictive punch of Lying In Stage. The last two tracks shows a more lose version of the band being really easy listening. Overall it seems that's something off with Dystopia. Yes it is really well played and is far from being mediocre but there's a lack of strenght the band normally bathes their composition with that's simply not here and Megadeth without that factor just sounds incomplete. And although Enemy Of God is far from being a top album it is surely more exciting to me so I'll go with Kreator.

Then we have The Final Frontier and I'm sure everyone's more than familiar with this one. And all I have to say is, although I have 10 Maiden albums ahead of it on my rank, this record has one trait that only 6 other Maiden albums (all of them ranked way ahead) manage to attain: it is completely devoid of a simple stinker or filler song. I mean everything here seems to obey to a minimum level of quality that IMO is quite satisfying unlike some overall better classic albums that gave us things like Gangland or Quest For Fire. And while doing so TFF also managed to present us some absolutely gorgeous epics like Isle Of Avalon, The Talisman and When The Wild Wind Blows or some really interesting Heavy Rockers like the title track, El Dorado or The Alchemist. So, since TFF is a good album even to the band's demanding standards (and taking in account Nightwish simply makes me yawn) this one is a easy win for Iron Maiden.

Colma is really enjoying and rich from a musical prespective. Buckethead turns the gain down and offers us some chill out warm soundscapes that sometimes are borderline post rock. And while doing so experiments a lot with background sound textures and beats while presenting the clean hues of his strings in a myriad of colours thus not leting the calmer approach become somehow sluggish like many other musicians do when threading these venues. It's not a metal record, sure but it is the creation of a composer that is no stranger to the genre so I guess it is quite electable. So rest assured this is quality music with really original twists and uniqueness (as does the majority of the stuff the KFC man does by the way). Nevertheless I'll go with the more heavy rock like Perfect Strangers on this one. Not that I necessarily dig it more but I think that the Deep Purple album is more fitting to this game's universe. Plus that title track...
 
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