Jer
'Til Tomorrow
This Sodom album is chock full of good thrash tunes with terrible thrash vocals. Can’t argue with the riffage and soloing, but there’s not a lot of variation and the vocals do grate after a bit. The Annihilator album has slightly better vocals, comparable or better riffage and soloing, and a lot more musical range than the Sodom album. Sorry, @Dityn DJ James, your nominee was worthy, but @Perun ’s was a little bit better. Winner: Annihilator
This next one’s the toughest match of the round. Hadn’t heard this Enforcer album before, and it’s a really strong retro NWOBHM homage. The guitar work is consistently great, the songwriting is strong, and other than the somewhat whiny and accented vocals there aren’t many weaknesses here...other than the fact that the style is 100% derivative. There is no “Enforcer sound” to speak of, this is just a melange of other bands’ styles — but it is an excellently crafted ransom note. It’s up against a classic Satriani album whose songwriting is probably a little bit weaker overall, but has higher highs and more originality. I could probably go either way here, but I’m going to tip my hat to originality in the end. Sorry, Perunoftheicarus, but @MrKnickerbocker ’s choice ekes this one out. Winner: Joe Satriani
This Mastodon album was a surprise — it’s the first album of theirs that I actually enjoyed all the way through. I think it’s because they kept things more melodic and didn’t devolve as far into screamy stoner territory as they normally would. I like the rhythm guitar work and the mildly proggy approach. I’m not super thrilled with the singer, but he’s fine here. I’ll definitely listen to this one some more. It’s up against a solid Blind Guardian album that’s lasted far longer than it should have in this game, and one that built its streak on the carcass of my far superior nominee, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Marching Out, so I’ve been waiting for a reasonable opportunity to vote against it. Sorry, @Night Prowler, but your massive Communist-funded voter fraud scheme that stole my obvious landslide victory won’t be able to keep @Collin ’s nominee from making the GMAC great again! Winner: Mastodon
The last match-up is straightforward — Ten is a great record and Chinese Democracy is a joke. Sorry again, @Night Prowler, but Larianawick 43’s nominee just put your album in a Uighur concentration camp. Winner: Pearl Jam
This next one’s the toughest match of the round. Hadn’t heard this Enforcer album before, and it’s a really strong retro NWOBHM homage. The guitar work is consistently great, the songwriting is strong, and other than the somewhat whiny and accented vocals there aren’t many weaknesses here...other than the fact that the style is 100% derivative. There is no “Enforcer sound” to speak of, this is just a melange of other bands’ styles — but it is an excellently crafted ransom note. It’s up against a classic Satriani album whose songwriting is probably a little bit weaker overall, but has higher highs and more originality. I could probably go either way here, but I’m going to tip my hat to originality in the end. Sorry, Perunoftheicarus, but @MrKnickerbocker ’s choice ekes this one out. Winner: Joe Satriani
This Mastodon album was a surprise — it’s the first album of theirs that I actually enjoyed all the way through. I think it’s because they kept things more melodic and didn’t devolve as far into screamy stoner territory as they normally would. I like the rhythm guitar work and the mildly proggy approach. I’m not super thrilled with the singer, but he’s fine here. I’ll definitely listen to this one some more. It’s up against a solid Blind Guardian album that’s lasted far longer than it should have in this game, and one that built its streak on the carcass of my far superior nominee, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Marching Out, so I’ve been waiting for a reasonable opportunity to vote against it. Sorry, @Night Prowler, but your massive Communist-funded voter fraud scheme that stole my obvious landslide victory won’t be able to keep @Collin ’s nominee from making the GMAC great again! Winner: Mastodon
The last match-up is straightforward — Ten is a great record and Chinese Democracy is a joke. Sorry again, @Night Prowler, but Larianawick 43’s nominee just put your album in a Uighur concentration camp. Winner: Pearl Jam
