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

Test for Echo is really underrated imo, but the ones that came out after it are honestly some of their best albums.
 
Jer said:
Don’t worry, this is a treatable disorder. Exposure therapy is most effective. Maybe try starting with “Marathon” and listening through from there?


A lot of people seem to like Signals a lot, but I think it’s overrated. “Subdivisions” is killer and “The Analog Kid” is great, but then it wanders off into merely OK/good territory.

For synthy Rush, Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows are the sweet spots.


Don’t worry about Test For Echo, but the others are all worth your time to some degree, especially Vapor Trails and Presto. I posted my thoughts on the Rush discography a while back.
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Middletown Dreams is my fav!
 
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Forostar said:
Middletown Dreams is my fav!
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This song eluded me for years. It’s a fan favorite and some people call it the best Rush song. I never really understood the hype. Until this summer at least. Idk what changed but suddenly I heard the song and got the hype. Great stuff.
 
Be’lakor is far more interesting than a weak DT album.

The Source is far better than an average Rush effort.

Motherfucking Bolt Thrower I guess.

John Bush.
 
Midnight said:
You might like it, but I am not going to listen to the original version of Vapor Trails. It sounds like it was recorded inside a garbage can.
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I think you’re confusing it with St. Anger.

But yes, it has some recording and mastering issues. The remix has its own issues, like emphasizing different parts of the vocal harmonies, which is jarring if you’re used to the original. It also lowers the guitars in the mix, which I thought was a bummer.

There’s apparently a high bitrate remaster of the original mix available on some premium digital audio sites that eliminates the clipping and opens up the dynamic range a bit, and some have said it’s the best version of the album. I’ll have to check it out sometime.
 
Jer said:
I think you’re confusing it with St. Anger.
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I listen to music with headphones, so maybe that's the issue? St. Anger actually sounds fine - it's just one snare that's the problem (oh, and hard-panned guitars). In Vapor Trails, Peart's entire drum kit sounds like that.
 
Vapor Trails is St Anger level of bad production. The remix isn’t much better though. And the songs aren’t really that good, so I’m not too concerned about a good sounding version.
 
Wow, the guitar work and songwriting on this Be’Lakor album are excellent. I love it, and it’s consistently great all the way through. So why did they have to carpet bomb it with this glass gargling extreme vocal bullshit? Such a shame. At least the growly garbage is turned down in the mix, and for whatever reason this guy’s sandpapered vocal cords are toward the less annoying end of the spectrum for me; so maybe I can get over the hump with this one after a few listens and let it join the incredibly storied ranks of extreme metal albums I can actually enjoy listening to. The music and songwriting are so good on this that even with the extreme vocal penalty it can easily clobber an uneven Dream Theater album. Sorry, @The Dissident, but @Saapanael ’s nominee is the superior one here. Winner: Be’Lakor

This next one is easy — the best album by one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time, up against something that’s strong, but not stellar. Sorry, @Lampwick 43, but your album just walked in front of a Mack truck. (Also, own-nominee bias, of course.) Winner: Rush

This third match-up is the toughest one for me because I’m not thrilled with either of my choices. This Devin Townsend album is artsy and quirky as expected, and covers a lot of sonic ground. Unfortunately it also devolves into carnival music in a number of places (a recurring trait in his work, apparently, which I’m not fond of), and I don’t find it that enjoyable to listen to, even if I can appreciate the artistry of it. Then we have Motherfucking Bolt Thrower, serving up a pretty enjoyable slab of heavy metal with unfortunately terrible vocals on top. I appreciate the Devin Townsend album more on an artistic level, but forced to choose between these two I think I’d rather listen to Bolt Thrower. Sorry Shmoshlikipod, but @Dityn DJ James ’s choice ekes out the win here. Winner: Motherfucking Bolt Thrower

Here’s another Atlantean Kodex album, and this time the production is particularly garage bandish, but the guitars have some oomph and the songs are more memorable. The singing is a bit thin, and the lyrics are on-the-nose and cringey with periodically bad phrasing, but overall this seems a bit stronger than their other album in the GMAC, even if the sound is more raw. Not great, but pretty OK. Meanwhile, we have zzzzzzzzzzz ... *snort* ... wait, what was I listening to? Oh, right, it’s Sound Of White Noise. With only a couple of exceptions, the songs on this album are almost completely unmemorable, with lazy songwriting and boring vocal lines. As I’ve said before, I’d have to flip a coin to decide between listening to this album or taking a nap. With that in mind, the choice is a pretty easy one. Sorry @MrKnickerbocker, but LoosePerun’s nominee is at least 70% less coma-inducing than your own. Winner: Atlantean Kodex
 
Be'Lakor is really good, and the growls are in the range I consider tolerable, whereas Systematic Chaos isn't exactly great, even if you love Dream Theater. Which I do not.
Rush bias.
Motherfucking Bolt Thrower bias.
Atlantean Kodex (own nomination) bias.
 
DT for the comeback
Ayreon to dwindle down the Rush albums
Deconstruction, because it's one of the best albums ever??? Hello????
Atlantean Kodex to avenge Sabbat and because I l loved their other album.
 
Juular is a lot less crazy than the music video makes it seem.

Also, are my headphones/ears failing, or is a lot of Deconstruction panned towards the right channel?
 
I finished listening to Deconstruction!

Shmoolikipod said:
It is for sure one of the tamer ones, maybe even the tamest. The longer songs are what really gives the album the "crazy" reputation!
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True - in comparison to those, Juular is practically an extreme metal pop song.

Shmoolikipod said:
I never noticed anything, FWIW. Listen to something else to check
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It's definitely my ears. My left ear's congested because it's cold outside, and yes, 18°C is cold.
 
Midnight said:
Juular is a lot less crazy than the music video makes it seem.

Also, are my headphones/ears failing, or is a lot of Deconstruction panned towards the right channel?
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I misread the first as Jugular and the second as a Demolition and I spent good three minutes frantically scrolling up and down the thread to find out how come both Ripper-era Priest albums got nominated in the cup.
 
Shmoolikipod said:
Nice! I hope you liked it even a fraction of how much I do :)
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I liked it enough to vote for it!

I thought the standout songs were The Mighty Masturbator (Pandemic kicking in nearly gave me a heart attack) and Deconstruction. Praise The Lowered is also a nice piece of metal lo-fi.

What albums could I try next?
 
JudasMyGuide said:
I misread the first as Jugular and the second as a Demolition and I spent good three minutes frantically scrolling up and down the thread to find out how come both Ripper-era Priest albums got nominated in the cup.
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I mean, with some of the crap that got in it wouldn't be far fetched... :rolleyes:
Also fun fact, Jugular was actually supposed to be the name of the song!
 
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