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

Paradise Lost - I briefly had the album that opened with Ember's Fire back in the day but didn't get into it. This track isn't bad, I won't be rushing out to check out too much more afterwards but it's way more up my alley than 95% of stuff that's been in this game. It's like The Cult on Electric if they played Sabbath riffs instead of AC/DC.

Unleash the Archers - Sounds kind of like Blaze, chorus has a dreadful melody.

Paradise Lost with the win

Scorpions - Don't have this album, but familiar with a fair few of the tracks from World Wide Live, the riff to this sounds a bit like Skynyrd's Simple Man. This track isn't great

Motorhead - Opinion given before

Motorhead with the win

Wintersun - the music was ok until the clickety click double bass game in

Iced Earth - the intro sounds like a famous song that I can't recall and it's going to torture me all day trying to remember it. Vocal is rubbish, absolute ham, in fairness to him how could anyone sing those lyrics any other way, even Manowar possibly would wince about writing something like that.

Wintersun with the win

In Flames - The albums by these have been pretty good bar the vocals, however, I've seen them live a few times supporting acts I like, and they're a bit rubbish

Symphony X - not for me

In Flames with the win
 
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1st pair: This Paradise Lost song sounded kind of dragging, while Unleash the Archers was a bit more uptempo. Choose the latter.

2nd pair: Motorhead by deafault. Also does Scorpions still sell their early 80s albums with original covers?!

3rd pair: Here and there I've stumbled upon Wintersun but completely forgot what they're all about 'til I heard this song again. On the other hand I've listed to Iced Earth almost fanatically until Dystopia. Still can't get to Stu Block albums, but they're definitely better than Wintersun.

4th pair: What I've known from before: I don't like In Flames, probably never will. But I could like Symphony X, I've only listened to Iconoclast and Paradise Lost a couple of times. Latter with the win.
 
Draconian Times is, in my opinion, Paradise Lost's crowning achievement, and one of my all-time favourite albums. There is not a single weak song there and the album flows seamlessly from start to finish. While undoubtedly one of the more accessible for Paradise Lost, it also showcases what the band is all about - moody, but very melodic tracks, powerful lyrics, engulfing atmosphere. Absolutely love it!
 
Ariana said:
Draconian Times is, in my opinion, Paradise Lost's crowning achievement, and one of my all-time favourite albums. There is not a single weak song there and the album flows seamlessly from start to finish. While undoubtedly one of the more accessible for Paradise Lost, it also showcases what the band is all about - moody, but very melodic tracks, powerful lyrics, engulfing atmosphere. Absolutely love it!
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Not into too much gothic metal sounds but that album is awesome.
 
Ariana said:
Draconian Times is, in my opinion, Paradise Lost's crowning achievement
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Yup... In the way it definitively cemented the style PL presented in Icon (which could easily be here instead of Draconian... I only think Draconian is a bit more mature and features my favorite track from the band which is precisely Enchantment). Even though One Second is my favorite album by the band I would never nominate it for this game since I don't consider it to be a metal album. But the stretch from Shades Of God to One Second is ridiculously great.
Ariana said:
There is not a single weak song there and the album flows seamlessly from start to finish.
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Exactly! And that's one of Draconian's most victorious achievements: 12 tracks and not a single filler (well... Yearn For Change is a bit odd when compared to the others but even so a cool track). And they even left one of the best tracks from that era as a B' side in Fear, something the band has always done (Sweetness is another great example) and proves that Gregg is one hell of a composer.
Ariana said:
While undoubtedly one of the more accessible for Paradise Lost, it also showcases what the band is all about - moody, but very melodic tracks, powerful lyrics, engulfing atmosphere.
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Once again I absolutely agree. And while there are more accessible PL records (namely their Rock/ Electronic era and to a certain extent their self titled album), Draconian Times encapsulates precisely what the band not only is unique while doing so but is also the final touches of a style they single handed invented (with some inspiration from Celtic Frost and The Sisters Of Mercy/ Christian Death). Paradise Lost's Goth Metal blueprint is perhaps one of music's trademarks that other bands fail more blatantly while trying to emmulate.
 
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srfc said:
It's like The Cult on Electric if they played Sabbath riffs instead of AC/DC.
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Sabbath yes (but Sabbath is present in every metal genre). Electric definitively not. Love and Dreamtime yeah... a bit but even more than that you have Death Cult (the band prior to The Cult featuring Ian Astbury and Bill Duffy) presenting more similitudes in Greggs leads (before listening to metal he was much more into punk and gothic/ post punk). But the support upon which Paradise Lost built their definitive sound in Icon and Draconian Times is well known (and even recognized by the band): Celtic Frost's Into The Pandemonium, Candlemass' Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Christian Death's Only Theater Of Pain and The Sister's Of Mercy First And Last And Always.
 
Ariana said:
Draconian Times is, in my opinion, Paradise Lost's crowning achievement, and one of my all-time favourite albums. There is not a single weak song there and the album flows seamlessly from start to finish. While undoubtedly one of the more accessible for Paradise Lost, it also showcases what the band is all about - moody, but very melodic tracks, powerful lyrics, engulfing atmosphere. Absolutely love it!
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Not gonna lie, while I am obviously going to vote for my own nominee, I really, really enjoyed this album.
 
Awful choice to make in the first pair. Got to go with UTA, though. That's a belter of an album.
 
Perun said:
It's greatly underappreciated these days how heavy sounding early Scorpions were.
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I put them in a similar category as Def Leppard: they went very commercial and bland but early on rocked hard.
 
I actually like their more mainstream directions tbh. On Through The Night is kinda eh but Hysteria is big and fun. Same with the Scorpions.
 
Scorpions golden era is In Trance - Love At First Sting. In terms of a good run it begins with Fly To The Rainbow and ends with Crazy World, which is a nice long string of albums
 
It doesn't look good for Archers :( that makes me sad, but the PL album is pretty good and I hope some people have gotten exposed to it where they hadn't before.

I'd appreciate Archers votes, though.
 
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