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

mckindog said:
Power metal is something I’ve always been able to tolerate, but never fully embrace. It’s got drama and melody but lacks grit, nuance, and/or self-awareness, or really much in the way of emotion.
Click to expand...
Thanks - this explains my feelings on power metal perfectly! Especially the lack of grit. It's why I tried out Helloween, Blind Guardian and Dragonforce, but never got into any of them.
 
Ugh... we start with a tough one. Black In Mind is a bit more my cup of tea than BC but Ice T and Co. debut is one hell of a landmark in the Metal/ Rap/ Core scene of the early 90's. And it wasn't only thanks to Cop Killer and the buzz it bred: the record features some really good stuff (Body Count's In The House , There Goes The Neighborhood, and the aforementioned Cop Killer being my favorites). But This time I think I'll be a bit selfish and go with Rage (plus I also think BC will have more votes so what the heck).

Then what we have here? Some more la la la stuff with some electric guitars here and there to sound metal versus Down's NOLA, one of the best stoner metal records ever made (so much I like it as much - or even more - as Pantera, COC and Crowbar's best releases) featuring hymns such as Lifer, Pillars Of Eternity, Stone The Crow and especially Bury Me In Smoke? Yeah... right...

The third contest is quite interesting. I must admit that I didn't know any other 80's Russian metal band apart from Gorky Park. Those Arya dudes have metal in their veins and man... what is that brutality of a voice? Seems like Hansi Kursch singing Russian! Who is this guy? Simply mind blowing! The remainder of the wrap is also quite decent true heavy metal. Yes, the sound is quite derivative (ehem... Maiden) but taking in account the conditions (or lack there of) these guys had to pull this out, the whole thing is pretty enjoyable. Virgin Steele is also a cool act. THOA dwells in a style I'm not much a fan of but the band really knows what they're doing here, pulling some exciting songs here and there (One of them being this Kingdom Of The Fearless). But then again they also borrow too much from their fellow contemponies Manowar here (even the Ancient Greek battle theme). Overall Virgin Steele's effort is way more solid but Arya seems really Ok too.

And last we have another boring post Better Than Raw album versus yet another of those Symphonic Power Metal bands. Yeah... I think that even if Helloween released Chameleon II they wouldn't do worst than all this corny pseudo D&D crap. The choice is obvious.
 
Last edited:
Midnight said:
It's why I tried out Helloween, Blind Guardian and Dragonforce, but never got into any of them.
Click to expand...
Mmmm... Helloween's first Ep and Walls Of Jericho also had tons of Speed Metal and Heavy Metal (hey... back in the day there wasn't even such thing as a "Power Metal" genre). Blind Guardian's first two records feature lots of Speed Metal as well.
 
mckindog said:
Re: bias.

I think it is silly to think factors like familiarity, culture and age don’t affect taste.
On the contrary, I’d think they play a key role. But taste isn’t the same as bias.

I think the fact I am familiar with Stevie Nicks plays a role in where my vote went on the vocalist game. The fact she is a woman or American, or was popular when I was a kid, in and of themselves are not. All those things are true of Madonna, and I wouldn’t be voting for her (unless she was up against some screaming guy pretending he‘s some demon)

The biggest factor is how much I like the sound of someone’s voice.
Click to expand...
100% agreed
 
Rage vs Body Count - how many times can you say Body Count?
Avantasia vs Down - neither one is excellent but I'm drawn more to the heaviness of Down.
Arya vs Virgin Steele - the Maiden influence is huge on Arya. I like them both. The vocals on Virgin Steele annoy me a bit but I'll give them the win.
Heaven vs Helloween - it's heaven vs hell apparently. Technically impressive but pretty boring, I'll go with hell.
 
Last edited:
karljant said:
Mmmm... Helloween's first Ep and Walls Of Jericho also had tons of Speed Metal and Heavy Metal (hey... back in the day there wasn't even such thing as a "Power Metal" genre). Blind Guardian's first two records feature lots of Speed Metal as well.
Click to expand...
Oh. I only touched Keeper Of The Seven Keys (both parts), and Nightfall In Middle Earth.
 
I just want to say real quick that I am a die hard RAGE fan. Their discography is pretty varied and they had LOADS of great albums in the 90's. Black in Mind is dark and thrashy and had some awesome vocal melodies from Peavey. If anyone here is new to the band I highly recommend checking out two other of their 90's albums: 'Lingua Mortis' and 'Trapped!'. I recommend those along with Prayers of Steel (back they were named Avenger), Perfect Man (excellent 80's speed), and their 2000's full out power metal assault Soundchaser.

As for the other matchups, I vote DOWN, Aria, and Helloween. That Aria has pretty good (if not entirely original) songwriting. NOLA has great tracks in Bury Me in Smoke, Lifer, and Swan Song. And I also went with Helloween as I like more of their stuff vs Heavenly.
 
Is that just for albums or does it go for solid riffs and solos too?
 
Perun said:
I keep reading this word in everyone's reviews to the point that it's become a cliché. What is it even supposed to mean?
Click to expand...
You're right... and in order not to be cliche or vague from now on instead of writing "solid" I'll go like this:
karljant said:
Overall Virgin Steele's effort is less overly discombobulated, accomplishes in a more suitable way what it seems to aim for, achieves in a more significant fashion a higher degree of quality through the sum of its parts, the lack of unneeded elements is more noticeable, it manages to deliver a better sense of coherency to the listener as a whole, and although it manages to do all the above in a very satisfactory way it is by no means mind blowing.
Click to expand...
Ah.. words... :p
 
Midnight said:
Oh. I only touched Keeper Of The Seven Keys (both parts), and Nightfall In Middle Earth.
Click to expand...
3 great albums (especially Part I, my favorite album by the band) but I agree those already bear lots of Power Metal DNA. You'll be surprised when you get to both bands early stuff. They're not as good as Part I IMO but certainly heavier, faster and although being a bit raw they really soli... oh sorry... (deep breath)... devoid of discombobulated moments, accomplish in a suitable way what they seem to aim for, achieve in a significant fashion a certain degree of quality through the sum of its parts, the lack of unneeded elements is noticeable, manage to deliver a satisfactory sense of coherency to the listener as a whole, and although they manage to do all the above in a very satisfactory way they are by no means mind blowing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top