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

The first match is predictably a lose-lose proposition for the listener, but at least it’s a fair fight. The vocals on both albums are horrendous, of course; but the raspy, Gollumesque sound of Immortal is marginally less annoying than the mentally challenged Cookie Monster of Entombed. While both albums are a bit samey and take detours into cacophony at times, and both albums have some pretty good guitar moments, I find that the Immortal album has consistently more interesting guitar parts and more dynamic and fleshed out songwriting than its competitor. No apologies necessary, as I’m voting for Whootyn DJ Jaampanael’s choice here. Winner: Immortal

I already shared some thoughts on this Gamma Ray album, and to this day I think it’s one of the best power metal albums out there, both for what it does and for what it doesn’t do. It’s not as cheesy as a lot of power metal albums, it’s got a lot of finesse in its songwriting, and it doesn’t lapse into boring double kick drum blasts all the time. And I genuinely like Kai Hansen’s voice a lot here, even though he’s not a great singer. Great riffs and solos all over the place, great songwriting. All-time classic in my book. And then we have this mediocre Rainbow album, carrying a bag full of the skulls of far superior metal albums that have way more of a right to be standing here. I mean, seriously — Crimson Glory, Maximum Security, and especially Lupus Dei are all way better than this yawnfest. Even Headhunter and Audioslave are better. And yes, I obviously think that Forojer’s nominee Land Of The Free blows it away. The invisible hand must have a cramp or something. Winner: Gamma Ray

The third match is rough. Both albums are great, with only 1 or 2 weaker tracks a piece. Facelift is a more “important” album, but Firepower is also an important comeback for a classic band that managed to rediscover itself by taking inspiration from the power metal bands that had originally been inspired by them. I’d be happy with either of these records advancing — but sorry, Phravis Of The Dragarus, I get a little more visceral enjoyment out of Kollinata’s choice. Winner: Judas Priest

So-so Dream Theater is still miles better than an unmemorable Deep Purple album. Sorry, @matic22, but The Midissinael’s nominee takes this one. Winner: Dream Theater
 
Lo-fi black metal vs lo-fi death metal. Guess I’ll go with Entombed for the use of gutturals instead of shrieks and fewer blast beats.

Dio, always.

Firepower is an amazing album and easily my second favorite Priest record.

I don’t like BC&SL all that much as it is the worst of the bunch in terms of Portnoy being obnoxious, but I’ll still say that the non-Portnoy vocal parts in ANTR and the instrumentation on TCOT are better than anything on Burn (which is a solid album). DT
 
The other sample from Gamma Ray is a lot better than the track I listened to and would have had a better chance of winning the vote but I probably would have still went with Rainbow, as I'm a fan of Dio-era Rainbow anyway and generally much rather listen to 70's metal than Power Metal.
 
Knix that Immortal album is farrrrrrrrrrr from lofi. In fact the production on At the Heart of Winter is superbly done. Tragedies Blows At Horizon has two of the most hauntingly beautiful guitar passages I have ever heard. Seriously worth listen. Glad to see I'm in good metal company @Saapanael @Whooten
 
Who TF tied Pearl Jam and Blaze in the last minutes of the poll?! First, OK it's not metal but "Ten" is one of the greatest debut albums. Second, now we'll have to watch these two again instead of going into next league. Bad someone, bad!

From current pairings, I'm voting JP and DT, will listen to others later. And yes Black Clouds and Silver Linings isn't top 5 DT material but I'm defending that one wholeheartedly. I can't remember when was the last time an album took me through such an emotional rollercoaster: awe, cringe, boredom, laughter, respect - this one has it all.
 
Spambot said:
From current pairings, I'm voting JP and DT, will listen to others later. And yes Black Clouds and Silver Linings isn't top 5 DT material but I'm defending that one wholeheartedly. I can't remember when was the last time an album took me through such an emotional rollercoaster: awe, cringe, boredom, laughter, respect - this one has it all.
Click to expand...
Just the Count of Tuscany is a perfect example of the emotions you describe. That major whatever chord and subsequent melody may be the most beautiful thing Petrucci has ever written that wasn’t part of a solo.
 
Telegram mode.

Never liked Immortal (always sounded to me as Bathory recycled). Left Hand path is a classic. Entombed.

Rainbow's debut versus a decent Gamma Ray album? Gamma Ray.

As far as quality goes I think Firepower and Facelift are neck to neck. But since this is a metal game I'll go with Judas Priest.

I'm not a particular fan of Gillan-less Purple (although Burn is arguably the band's best record without the iconic singer). But this Dream Theater album is utterly dull. Deep Purple.
 
Both albums on the first match are pretty good. Left Hand Path was more interesting.

Gamma Ray started off pretty weak, but it got stronger towards the middle. Voting for it more because I'm tired of seeing this album here.

We Die Young was good, listened to Man in the Box and Sea of Sorrow too. Liked those less. Would have voted Firepower regardless because I freaking love that album, I think it competes with the better 80's Priest stuff!

Burn isn't very interesting. Love The Count of Tuscany and A Nightmare to Remember. Wither and A Rite of Passage are boring and uninteresting. The other 2 are middle of the road. Overall one of the weaker DT albums for sure, and I've actually only listened to it as an album once... Still, a lot of great stuff!
 
The battles between Gamma Ray & Rainbow and Dream Theater & Deep Purple are really close! Get more votes in! Votes!
 
I should elaborate...

With a few exceptions, the only "extreme" metal I enjoy is Opeth, so I respectfully pass on the first battle.

Gamma Ray does not have Dio, so that's a no-brainer for me.

While I certainly respect Alice in Chains, they're not really my thing. However, Firepower is easily my favorite Priest album. I like some of their other stuff, but there's literally no filler on Firepower and the strongest tracks are extraordinary.

Being a person who has never cared much for Deep Purple, this was easy. Despite being one of Dream Theater's weakest efforts (I'd say only the debut, Octavarium, and The Astonishing are worse), there isn't a song on BC&SL that I don't like. There's that kickass proggy opener, a solid rocker, an emotive ballad, Portnoy resisting the urge to grab a beer (it was great the first two times but for the fifth time not so much), a very emotive tune with some Rush vibes, and the lyrically laughable but musically epic closer. Now that I think about it, as a whole this album is probably better than Systematic Chaos, too. Both albums benefit from some neat Portnoy musical ideas but some not-so-neat Portnoy vocals and lyrics.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Just the Count of Tuscany is a perfect example of the emotions you describe. That major whatever chord and subsequent melody may be the most beautiful thing Petrucci has ever written that wasn’t part of a solo.
Click to expand...
Exactly the song I was thinking of but there's also so much going on that album.
First of all, A Nightmare to Remember. If couple of years ago, somebody played me these two parts:

Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony
I am endlessly falling, lost in this wonderful misery​
and
It's a miracle he lived, it's a blessing no one died
By the grace of God above, everyone survived​
I’d say they weren’t from the same band, let alone they were from the same song! I’ve watched Portnoy vinyl series on Youtube recently and he talked about BC&SL. He knows people dislike his vocals on opener and closer but he still stands behind it with that same excuse: “That part needed balls.” OK Mike, but does it have to be yours?

Whoever moaned about editing on The Red and The Black, never heard A Rite Of Passage. Even the official video is too long (and it’s 3 minutes shorter!!!). The song has an interesting intro, nice hook, good and simple chorus. What’s not to like? Oh, that R2-D2 solo later by Jordan, Petrucci’s doodling (I love the guy but he took it to far) and another couple repeats of the intro, hook and chorus.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, no matter how much hate I pick up for this. Dream Theater’s ballads doesn’t sound any different than the rest of the pop ballads played on mainstream radios. The same is with Wither.

Shattered Fortress just sounds like a forced medley. I know Portnoy said it became a chore but a little originality wouldn’t hurt. Especially since there are only 6 songs on this album and this one is composed from previous 5 songs. Skip.

Best of Times is so clichéd, but goddamn, it works! I don’t know why or how but listening to this one, you can almost see the thing Portnoy did when he was a kid, taste the melancholy and relieve that tragic moment. There’s probably a lot of things that people found annoying about this one, but I like it.

And then it comes – The Count of Tuscany. Listening to this song for the first time was my best musical experience from 2020. It was often mentioned as one of their better epics and I could see why.
First listen was like – Wow, this is a lot. There is some great stuff here but I didn’t caught it all.
2nd listen – Agh, yes Portnoy “sings” in some parts. But, dammit how melodic could Petrucci sound?!?! That middle part and chords (that @MrK talked about) are pure gold.
3rd listen – What is he actually afraid about again? *checks the lyrics* - ROTFL

No, seriously. I rolled on the floor laughing. I was polishing floors and my wife came upstairs to see what is happening. I couldn’t explain. At the moment, IDK why but I found it so fucking hilarious!!! With time, I found it more and less funny, as I found out a couple of facts.
First of all, I know a couple of people like that (The Count). People that are willing to pick up strangers on the street and show them the things he owns only so he could boost his ego. There is nothing malicious in that, although it can be tiresome. So every time that part came “Is this the way I die?” I was laughing hard. I mean, the guy was trying to impress somebody so much that the other guy almost shat his pants. And then I found out it actually happened to Petrucci and his guitar tech back in ’02 and for a brief period it was even more hilarious. But then I’ve read somewhere that their intention was to make it a bit corny and the “funny aspect” of it fade away. What remained it an awesome example of how one guitar player can create several worlds with his guitar within just one song.

So yeah, BC&SL FTW!
 
It's good to see people analysing Black Clouds. It's the album that made me love Dream Theater. The first song I discovered off of it was The Best of Times, and it was years before I started listening to them actively. I didn't know much about Petrucci then but goddamn that solo was magnificent. Also, the album artwork stuck with me for some reason. All the little elements on the cover tempted me to discover more about the band.

Fast-forward a few years, and I'm loving the hell out of this album. There was a period in high school when I was walking home listening to Black Clouds almost every day and there's a spot in A Nightmare to Remember where they used sounds of a car crash. I had to look over my shoulder many a time because the crash sounded like it was real. I think the first minute of Nightmare (and Black Clouds itself) is a rather magnificent introduction, from the lightning strike to the gloomy keys to the massive guitar riffs. The Count of Tuscany was one of my great musical loves. I considered it my favourite song for a while. I remember just being crazy about the song a couple of summers ago. Managing to more or less learn it on guitar was a proud achievement.

Some time along the way I discovered guitar (and other instruments) stems from the album and got addicted to listening to them. There is something about the sounds on this album. Perhaps the richest cleans, most soaring leads and tightest rhythm crunches Petrucci has ever had. Take the middle section of Count, for example. Petrucci has done his delay thing before but on no other DT album will you find a soundscape like that. I've loved the mix of Black Clouds since I first heard it.

Add all that together and you've got a magnificent milestone in the band's career. Over the years, my infatuation with some of these songs has diminished and I see the faults of this album more now. The songwriting simply isn't the most consistent and the songs tend to be overlong. Nevertheless, Black Clouds stands out from the rest because on its best days, it is more than a musical album, it is an adventure!
 
I'll be voting for all the challengers in this round.

But that means we have a tie. Is there a hero?
 
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