Midnight
The Ever-Present "It"
Mega Kodex and powertools?
GREATEST METAL ALBUM CUP - Winner: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!
- Thread starter LooseCannon
- Start date
srfc
Ancient Mariner
My Dying Bride - not for me
Power Trip - opinion given before
Power Trip with the win
Alter Bridge - Pretty good track, I haven't heard much by them and that's probably the best of what I've heard
Atlantean Kodex - opinion given before
I'll give Alter Bridge the win as the intro of Atlantean Kodex's track is a bit on the corny side.
Anthrax - I'm not a huge fan of this album, I think the majority of it is solid but spoiled by most songs being longer than they need to be and by having similar arrangements, it's been years since I listened to it though
Megadeth - opinion given before
Anthrax with the win, neither album near my favourite by either band but it's a better Anthrax album than KIMB is a Megadeth one
Devin Townsend - Ok I suppose, good riff and decent vocal melody
Tool - does nothing for me
Devin Townsend with the win
Power Trip - opinion given before
Power Trip with the win
Alter Bridge - Pretty good track, I haven't heard much by them and that's probably the best of what I've heard
Atlantean Kodex - opinion given before
I'll give Alter Bridge the win as the intro of Atlantean Kodex's track is a bit on the corny side.
Anthrax - I'm not a huge fan of this album, I think the majority of it is solid but spoiled by most songs being longer than they need to be and by having similar arrangements, it's been years since I listened to it though
Megadeth - opinion given before
Anthrax with the win, neither album near my favourite by either band but it's a better Anthrax album than KIMB is a Megadeth one
Devin Townsend - Ok I suppose, good riff and decent vocal melody
Tool - does nothing for me
Devin Townsend with the win
karljant
Ancient Mariner
@LooseCannon : it's BIOMECH not Biotech 
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Turn Loose the Swans, fantastic album. Not many, but a few passages have some ultraslow Maidenish guitar lines.
The atmosphere My Dying Bride brings, they are masters, still the best doom band for me (I especially dig their 1990s work).
I saw them for the first time when they opened for Iron Maiden, on the day I saw Blaze for the first time (1995)!
Apparently Steve Harris heard their music and wanted to have them on the tour. The Angel and the Dark River was their latest album at that time.
The atmosphere My Dying Bride brings, they are masters, still the best doom band for me (I especially dig their 1990s work).
I saw them for the first time when they opened for Iron Maiden, on the day I saw Blaze for the first time (1995)!
Apparently Steve Harris heard their music and wanted to have them on the tour. The Angel and the Dark River was their latest album at that time.
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Is it? I guess I'll fix it.@LooseCannon : it's BIOMECH not Biotech
Edit: Honestly, what a stupid name for an album. I'm voting for Tool just because this pisses me off.
karljant
Ancient Mariner
Yup... also saw them opening for Maiden during The X Factour. Was thrilled when I first knew they were the opening act. And man did they delivered! Unfortunately they only played one song from this album. Fortunately it was the best one (IMO) and more representative of what Turn Lose The Swans is:
karljant
Ancient Mariner
Turn Lose The Swans is really something. So much that I'll make a comment on them alone before reacting to the other records. Needless to say I won't be voting Power Trip, but this record alone justifies a deep dive into it.
My Dying Bride was part of the so called wave of Death Doom that stem out of northern England (along with their neighbors Paradise Lost and Cathedral) and Liverpool (namely Anathema). It's true all these bands quickly evolved into something else: Paradise Lost adding more and more Goth influences from album to album, Cathedral going more retro 70's doom rock and Anathema firstly going full Into The Pandemonium then increasingly diving into alternative/ prog rock.
But My Dying Bride from the get go had something quite different: even regarding their first EP (Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empirium) they weren't solely a band that mixed slow Candlemass inspired riffs with the crunch and vocalizations of Death Metal. The fact these dudes had a Violin/ Keyboard player (Martin Powell) as a fulcral centerpiece of their sound identity (and not a mere accessory) gave them immediately an immensely weird, morbid yet beautiful ambiance to which it was difficult to be indifferent to. Even weirder was how immensly on point it sounded upon one of the genres that appeared to be close to last on compatibility terms. That along with the artwork by the genius that is Dave Mackean (his first works for record covers were made precisely for MDB ) gave them all they needed to thrive: fresh sound, great imagery, immersive ambiance. Their debut (As The Flower Withers) was somehow of a continuation of the EP: eerie growls, slow and heavy guitar dirges, complemented with excelent drumming upon which the violin and symphonic arrangements gave that extra spice to it. And if it is true it sounded great and I simply loved it when I first listened to it, fact is young MDB wasn't a band kin on repeating the same formula. So comes Turn Lose The Swans and sure these dudes had something up their sleeves. And did it shocked me from the get go once I bought the CD and pressed play!
Sear Me MCMXCIII is simply put a rearrangement of the opening track from their debut but with a jaw dropping new vest. There are no guitars, no bass, no growls and no drums here... basically no metal (Doom or any other genre)! Just 7 and a half minutes Aaron's clean baritone voice alongside Martin's violin and keys completely reconstructing an already awesome song into something even bigger. And man the balls these guys had to open a sophomore with something like this! Your River follows with some lose notes filled with echo until the whole thing explodes into an amazing construction that mixes Symphonic traits, Death and Doom only to give birth to a dragged melancholic dirge conducted by Aaron's lamenting voice. Throughout the rest of the song the band reshuffles all these elements while some growls spice up some moments with intensity in what I think is the best track from the lot. Some esoteric keys give way to a slow and heavy as hell riff as The Songless Bird breaks in, followed by a pure Death Metal riff upon which (surprisingly) we're presented with a quasi Goth Rock singing style. It then flows into a quiet violin filled bridge only to explode into a Death Metal riff even more caustic than the previous this time with the growling thundering deep. The Snow In My Hand is a strong contender for the most bipolar song from the record with depressive slow lamenting dirges contrasting with rumbling riffs full of rage. And while being on the topic of depression The Crown Of Sympathy is surely equaly as far from an happy tune than its predecessor but here the band manages to balance all the elements present throughout the record with a unique sense of simplicity and equilibrium along with some delicious details (brass sections, bells) and amazing composition wit. The title track is perhaps the least interesting moment (the previous elements are split in two distinct parts neither of them presenting nothing particularly new). But as a closer the band offers us the spine chilling dark yet beautiful Black God: another violin/ keys plus vocals only track, this time putting all the chips on the ambiance with the aid of a fragile feminine backing vocal in this sort of fading epilogue.
So make no mistake: this album is the living proof you don't need to be an amazingly crafted musician to produce a masterpiece. Every single element from My Dying Bride were far from being that when they recorded Turn Lose The Swans plus they were quite young and lacked some experience. Yet the reason why this record is truly superb lies solely on the most basic principle of creating art in general and music in particular (after learning your fundamentals, of course) people tend to forget: imagination, lack of fear of innovating and mixing seemingly unmixable elements, open minded creativity and lots of work on putting all the parts together to create a certain ambiance, feeling or aura (call it wathever you want). And this is what My Dying Bride did here in flawless fashion.
My Dying Bride was part of the so called wave of Death Doom that stem out of northern England (along with their neighbors Paradise Lost and Cathedral) and Liverpool (namely Anathema). It's true all these bands quickly evolved into something else: Paradise Lost adding more and more Goth influences from album to album, Cathedral going more retro 70's doom rock and Anathema firstly going full Into The Pandemonium then increasingly diving into alternative/ prog rock.
But My Dying Bride from the get go had something quite different: even regarding their first EP (Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empirium) they weren't solely a band that mixed slow Candlemass inspired riffs with the crunch and vocalizations of Death Metal. The fact these dudes had a Violin/ Keyboard player (Martin Powell) as a fulcral centerpiece of their sound identity (and not a mere accessory) gave them immediately an immensely weird, morbid yet beautiful ambiance to which it was difficult to be indifferent to. Even weirder was how immensly on point it sounded upon one of the genres that appeared to be close to last on compatibility terms. That along with the artwork by the genius that is Dave Mackean (his first works for record covers were made precisely for MDB ) gave them all they needed to thrive: fresh sound, great imagery, immersive ambiance. Their debut (As The Flower Withers) was somehow of a continuation of the EP: eerie growls, slow and heavy guitar dirges, complemented with excelent drumming upon which the violin and symphonic arrangements gave that extra spice to it. And if it is true it sounded great and I simply loved it when I first listened to it, fact is young MDB wasn't a band kin on repeating the same formula. So comes Turn Lose The Swans and sure these dudes had something up their sleeves. And did it shocked me from the get go once I bought the CD and pressed play!
Sear Me MCMXCIII is simply put a rearrangement of the opening track from their debut but with a jaw dropping new vest. There are no guitars, no bass, no growls and no drums here... basically no metal (Doom or any other genre)! Just 7 and a half minutes Aaron's clean baritone voice alongside Martin's violin and keys completely reconstructing an already awesome song into something even bigger. And man the balls these guys had to open a sophomore with something like this! Your River follows with some lose notes filled with echo until the whole thing explodes into an amazing construction that mixes Symphonic traits, Death and Doom only to give birth to a dragged melancholic dirge conducted by Aaron's lamenting voice. Throughout the rest of the song the band reshuffles all these elements while some growls spice up some moments with intensity in what I think is the best track from the lot. Some esoteric keys give way to a slow and heavy as hell riff as The Songless Bird breaks in, followed by a pure Death Metal riff upon which (surprisingly) we're presented with a quasi Goth Rock singing style. It then flows into a quiet violin filled bridge only to explode into a Death Metal riff even more caustic than the previous this time with the growling thundering deep. The Snow In My Hand is a strong contender for the most bipolar song from the record with depressive slow lamenting dirges contrasting with rumbling riffs full of rage. And while being on the topic of depression The Crown Of Sympathy is surely equaly as far from an happy tune than its predecessor but here the band manages to balance all the elements present throughout the record with a unique sense of simplicity and equilibrium along with some delicious details (brass sections, bells) and amazing composition wit. The title track is perhaps the least interesting moment (the previous elements are split in two distinct parts neither of them presenting nothing particularly new). But as a closer the band offers us the spine chilling dark yet beautiful Black God: another violin/ keys plus vocals only track, this time putting all the chips on the ambiance with the aid of a fragile feminine backing vocal in this sort of fading epilogue.
So make no mistake: this album is the living proof you don't need to be an amazingly crafted musician to produce a masterpiece. Every single element from My Dying Bride were far from being that when they recorded Turn Lose The Swans plus they were quite young and lacked some experience. Yet the reason why this record is truly superb lies solely on the most basic principle of creating art in general and music in particular (after learning your fundamentals, of course) people tend to forget: imagination, lack of fear of innovating and mixing seemingly unmixable elements, open minded creativity and lots of work on putting all the parts together to create a certain ambiance, feeling or aura (call it wathever you want). And this is what My Dying Bride did here in flawless fashion.
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Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
I've no time to listen, so:
Power Trip and Atlantean Kodex because I liked them
Anthrax because KIMB needs to go
Ocean Machine because... I nominated it... Love all the songs here, but especially Voices in the Fan and Bastard. Very lovely songs
Power Trip and Atlantean Kodex because I liked them
Anthrax because KIMB needs to go
Ocean Machine because... I nominated it... Love all the songs here, but especially Voices in the Fan and Bastard. Very lovely songs
Eurgh...for this first matchup, it's kinda like when people go "neither album deserves to be there". Of course, that's not true, both of these albums are well reviewed and will stand the test of time in their genres. I just don't love these genres. I'll pick My Dying Bride, I guess.
Kodex, of course.
Anthrax mostly because I'm tired of this Megadave album.
Tool because I decided that the Devin Townsend album has a silly name.
Kodex, of course.
Anthrax mostly because I'm tired of this Megadave album.
Tool because I decided that the Devin Townsend album has a silly name.
Magnus
Pica Serdica
Peak of sympathy?
karljant
Ancient Mariner
Well, this time I won't waste my time dwelling on "whys" or "whats": simply screw Alter Bridge 
. Atlantean Kodex.
I nominated Persistence Of Time but to be fair I really have other albums tied with it as Anthrax's finest: Among The Living and Sound Of white Noise. Three really distinct albums yet undoubtedly carrying 'Thrax's sound in it (yes even SOWN). Perhaps I picked this one because it has the energy and groove of Among The Living and already deals with the more delicate aspects (like racism, animosity, oppression, domestic abuses, exploitation, paranoia) and as a consequence rendering the compositions a bit darker and more complex (even featuring some prog aspects here and there) and more serious soundscape that the band would reinforce in their next album.
So Time kicks in and what a brutal track to initiate the whole thing. Charlie Benante is probably metal's most underrated drummer ever: the mere snare touch of this dude is an offer from the skies. And the way the band gives such a mechanizing pace to this track while delivering so much groove and hooks along the way is simply jaw dropping. Joey's voice continues to deliver while Ian's monster riffs along with Spitz exquisite playing complemented with the groove combo of Benante and Bello is a machine that seems to be even better oiled than before. Blood is the first of those really dark songs and that pre-chorusand bridge is something absolutely superb. Keep it In The Family and its anti racist manifest is a bit more old Anthrax driven and In My World is another dark introspective song that although bearing all the elements of songs like the cartoonish I Am The Law sounds serious as hell. Gridlock closes the first part of the record with some passages even recalling SOD's riffage fury at times. Intro To Reality opens the second half of the record and man this thing is great! A quasi prog metal track with lots of early Maiden licks on it that serves as an opener for the dire Belly Of The Beast, another example on how thrash metal bands were becoming more and more intricate in the late 80's/ early 90's. Got The Time is a really cool energetic Joe Jackson cover that somehow clears the air after a spree of dense tracks. H8Red and One Man's Stand are two of my favorite tracks from this album that tend to be forgotten and absolutely epitomize what Persistence Of Time is: intricate, infectious yet serious and hugely leaned on social political matters. man I love these two hidden gems. Discharge closes this great album with another violent dose of thrash metal this time more focused on heaviness and speed even if with a more dark and nihilistic feel to it.
The late 80's surely was a great time for Speed/ Thrash Metal acts (and to a certain extent kind of a swansong for some of them). It seems like a considerable amount of bands secretly gathered and came to terms it was time to stop singing about beer, mosh, satan and all that BS while playing at full speed to focus on more mature stuff and more intricate, heavy and creative compositions. Plus I believe 1990 was one of the strongest (if not the strongest) year regarding this paradigm shift in Thrash/ Speed and surely Anthrax gave a huge contribution with Persistence Of Time.
Devin's solo debut is also one hell of a work. especially if we take in account that during that same year this dude almost single handed composed the classic that is SYL's City. Dev was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and it started to show a bit, if one pays attention to the immense difference in style between the dream like soundscapes that make the majority of Ocean Machine and the saturating aggression of SYL. Basically this is a prog metal album since Townsend, as a good Canadian, always praised Rush.
Even so anything made by this dude brings new colors to your pallete and prog metal by mr. Towensend is something really unique. After a spoken words intro Seventh Wave's first chords reverb and unfold what this Ocean Machine is all about: larger than life riffs that come in deeply worked out layers, serving as a channel to express the most various emotions, not in a chaotic way SYL's roller coaster splatters them in your hear drums but rather in a strangely organized and yet echoing fashion. Also take in account this is a conceptual album which meaning I completely missed until earlier this year when Dev explained it in a podcast. It's the first of many self soul searching albums in which he tells the story of someone that daydreams on a dream like blueish world quite indifferent to the real world until in the end he comes to the conclusion that dream world is starting to become nothing but a prison he built for himself out of fear of others and comes to terms that he lost precious time living his real self with real people and relationships for a farse. when it comes to moods, Ocean Machine can be really varied within its concept. From the pomp of Seventh Wave, the lightness of Life, the oneiric Hide Nowhere to the intensity and disruption of Regulator, passing through the resentfullness and dellusion of Bastard and Funeral, Ocean Machine has every trait an amazing rock album should have. And wraps it all in the state of the art that is The Death Of Music, something so intense that if you don´t feel your soul bouncing to this thing you might as well don't have one.
Although not being my favourite Devin album this one's in my top 5 for sure and the fact this is the man's first record even makes it more impressive. This is a genius in the making, a singularity in a late 90's world of copycats. And while 10000 days is also a great record that at its best passages equals (and even tops) Ocean Machine, Devin Townsend's debut is way more solid and constant when it comes to its top notch quality.
. Atlantean Kodex.I nominated Persistence Of Time but to be fair I really have other albums tied with it as Anthrax's finest: Among The Living and Sound Of white Noise. Three really distinct albums yet undoubtedly carrying 'Thrax's sound in it (yes even SOWN). Perhaps I picked this one because it has the energy and groove of Among The Living and already deals with the more delicate aspects (like racism, animosity, oppression, domestic abuses, exploitation, paranoia) and as a consequence rendering the compositions a bit darker and more complex (even featuring some prog aspects here and there) and more serious soundscape that the band would reinforce in their next album.
So Time kicks in and what a brutal track to initiate the whole thing. Charlie Benante is probably metal's most underrated drummer ever: the mere snare touch of this dude is an offer from the skies. And the way the band gives such a mechanizing pace to this track while delivering so much groove and hooks along the way is simply jaw dropping. Joey's voice continues to deliver while Ian's monster riffs along with Spitz exquisite playing complemented with the groove combo of Benante and Bello is a machine that seems to be even better oiled than before. Blood is the first of those really dark songs and that pre-chorusand bridge is something absolutely superb. Keep it In The Family and its anti racist manifest is a bit more old Anthrax driven and In My World is another dark introspective song that although bearing all the elements of songs like the cartoonish I Am The Law sounds serious as hell. Gridlock closes the first part of the record with some passages even recalling SOD's riffage fury at times. Intro To Reality opens the second half of the record and man this thing is great! A quasi prog metal track with lots of early Maiden licks on it that serves as an opener for the dire Belly Of The Beast, another example on how thrash metal bands were becoming more and more intricate in the late 80's/ early 90's. Got The Time is a really cool energetic Joe Jackson cover that somehow clears the air after a spree of dense tracks. H8Red and One Man's Stand are two of my favorite tracks from this album that tend to be forgotten and absolutely epitomize what Persistence Of Time is: intricate, infectious yet serious and hugely leaned on social political matters. man I love these two hidden gems. Discharge closes this great album with another violent dose of thrash metal this time more focused on heaviness and speed even if with a more dark and nihilistic feel to it.
The late 80's surely was a great time for Speed/ Thrash Metal acts (and to a certain extent kind of a swansong for some of them). It seems like a considerable amount of bands secretly gathered and came to terms it was time to stop singing about beer, mosh, satan and all that BS while playing at full speed to focus on more mature stuff and more intricate, heavy and creative compositions. Plus I believe 1990 was one of the strongest (if not the strongest) year regarding this paradigm shift in Thrash/ Speed and surely Anthrax gave a huge contribution with Persistence Of Time.
Devin's solo debut is also one hell of a work. especially if we take in account that during that same year this dude almost single handed composed the classic that is SYL's City. Dev was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and it started to show a bit, if one pays attention to the immense difference in style between the dream like soundscapes that make the majority of Ocean Machine and the saturating aggression of SYL. Basically this is a prog metal album since Townsend, as a good Canadian, always praised Rush.
Even so anything made by this dude brings new colors to your pallete and prog metal by mr. Towensend is something really unique. After a spoken words intro Seventh Wave's first chords reverb and unfold what this Ocean Machine is all about: larger than life riffs that come in deeply worked out layers, serving as a channel to express the most various emotions, not in a chaotic way SYL's roller coaster splatters them in your hear drums but rather in a strangely organized and yet echoing fashion. Also take in account this is a conceptual album which meaning I completely missed until earlier this year when Dev explained it in a podcast. It's the first of many self soul searching albums in which he tells the story of someone that daydreams on a dream like blueish world quite indifferent to the real world until in the end he comes to the conclusion that dream world is starting to become nothing but a prison he built for himself out of fear of others and comes to terms that he lost precious time living his real self with real people and relationships for a farse. when it comes to moods, Ocean Machine can be really varied within its concept. From the pomp of Seventh Wave, the lightness of Life, the oneiric Hide Nowhere to the intensity and disruption of Regulator, passing through the resentfullness and dellusion of Bastard and Funeral, Ocean Machine has every trait an amazing rock album should have. And wraps it all in the state of the art that is The Death Of Music, something so intense that if you don´t feel your soul bouncing to this thing you might as well don't have one.
Although not being my favourite Devin album this one's in my top 5 for sure and the fact this is the man's first record even makes it more impressive. This is a genius in the making, a singularity in a late 90's world of copycats. And while 10000 days is also a great record that at its best passages equals (and even tops) Ocean Machine, Devin Townsend's debut is way more solid and constant when it comes to its top notch quality.
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karljant
Ancient Mariner
Absolutely... I would pick Time (especially the Alive 2 version... with some mistakes but lots of energy):
I like the music better.
Magnus
Pica Serdica
Admittedly, a very bad pun on pick, peak, and crown.
karljant
Ancient Mariner
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
here’s the best versions of those Persistence of Time songs, in case anyone is undecided:
karljant
Ancient Mariner
You forgot Got The Time from Music Of Mass Destruction
. Well I don't agree... but John surely does a great job in almost every song in The Greater Of Two Evils. TBH the only old 'Thrax song I think he sounds kinda meh is I Am The Law. Other than that John does what any great singer does: a great twist on the vocal line without tarnishing the original mood of the song.
Two close matchups as we come into the final hours!