WITCH HUNT!!!!!
GREATEST METAL ALBUM CUP - Winner: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!
- Thread starter LooseCannon
- Start date
Meshuggah - more like conventional music than short bursts of statement-making.
I'd be happy with with either Virgin Steele or HammerFall over some of the other albums in this round. HammerFall get my vote for an album that sounds like metal throughout, while Virgin Steele drift in and out of hard rock, IMO, which isn't my favourite thing.
I'm fine with Cradle of Filth, it's like Children of Bodom on helium. The BF sometimes puts them on. I can't get into White Zombie at all.
I remember Faith No More getting a fair amount of mainstream airplay in their time, they're very accessible and hooky. Aria have some good stuff in there, but this sounds very dated and lacks polish, despite being only two years older than FNM's album.
I'd be happy with with either Virgin Steele or HammerFall over some of the other albums in this round. HammerFall get my vote for an album that sounds like metal throughout, while Virgin Steele drift in and out of hard rock, IMO, which isn't my favourite thing.
I'm fine with Cradle of Filth, it's like Children of Bodom on helium. The BF sometimes puts them on. I can't get into White Zombie at all.
I remember Faith No More getting a fair amount of mainstream airplay in their time, they're very accessible and hooky. Aria have some good stuff in there, but this sounds very dated and lacks polish, despite being only two years older than FNM's album.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
Meshuggah vs. Pig Destroyer: I disliked them both. But if they are both going for “unpleasantly extreme,” then Pig Destroyer wins that contest, as it is more unpleasant and more extreme.
Cradle of Filth vs. Rob Zombie: Also disliked them both. I actually laughed when I heard Dani Filth’s vocals, they are ridiculous. Also laughed at Rob Zombie, but he gets my vote because I think there’s at least a chance that the laughs were intended.
Cradle of Filth vs. Rob Zombie: Also disliked them both. I actually laughed when I heard Dani Filth’s vocals, they are ridiculous. Also laughed at Rob Zombie, but he gets my vote because I think there’s at least a chance that the laughs were intended.
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
Virgin Steele vs. Hammerfall: I get what others see in VS, but something about it rubs me the wrong way. It’s like they are too earnest, trying too hard to make something epic, but ending up sounding cheesy. Hammerfall is by no means immune to the cheese, either, but as I listened to it I couldn’t help but think that, when I was in high school in the 80s, I would have been all over this. It gets my vote.
Faith No More v. Aria: There is no denying the creativity, quality and importance of what Faith No More did here with this record. It can rightly be considered a classic, though I never loved it quite like others have. I had literally never heard of Aria before this game, and it is entertaining. I give Aria the nod in the spirit of supporting the underdog and wanting it to stay in the game longer. Faith No More is like a reliable veteran who is never going to be my favorite player; Aria is the enticing new (to me) prospect. I’d rather draft the prospect.
Faith No More v. Aria: There is no denying the creativity, quality and importance of what Faith No More did here with this record. It can rightly be considered a classic, though I never loved it quite like others have. I had literally never heard of Aria before this game, and it is entertaining. I give Aria the nod in the spirit of supporting the underdog and wanting it to stay in the game longer. Faith No More is like a reliable veteran who is never going to be my favorite player; Aria is the enticing new (to me) prospect. I’d rather draft the prospect.
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KidInTheDark666
What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine too
This round feels like a step down from the previous two, but matchups 2 and 4 are still enjoyable. It's a tough choice between Virgin Steele and Hammerfall.
100%. The advantage of the format is that after a couple of leagues we should see at least one good album in each matchup as favourites will progress.
Polls close soon, get your votes in!
Pig Destroyer is terrible, and I don't love Meshuggah but they get the win by default here.
I like HammerFall. I like Virgin Steele. I'll pick Virgin Steele but I admit it might be because they're new to me, whereas HammerFall is familiar.
I can't even with Cradle of Filth. White Zombie but I'm not happy about it.
Aria over Faith No More. FNM isn't for me, Aria is a bad Xerox of my favourite.
Pig Destroyer is terrible, and I don't love Meshuggah but they get the win by default here.
I like HammerFall. I like Virgin Steele. I'll pick Virgin Steele but I admit it might be because they're new to me, whereas HammerFall is familiar.
I can't even with Cradle of Filth. White Zombie but I'm not happy about it.
Aria over Faith No More. FNM isn't for me, Aria is a bad Xerox of my favourite.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Are you closing it before the time written?
Nope. It closes when it closes.
I like off kilter rhythms as a rule, and songs with section shifts. I don’t like atonal yelling and lack of melody. Meshuggah gets respect points, but not enjoyment points.
Pig Destroyer is as terrible as the name suggests. Some people like rusty jackhammers inserted into their ears? Who knew? Meshuggah easy winner.
Pig Destroyer is as terrible as the name suggests. Some people like rusty jackhammers inserted into their ears? Who knew? Meshuggah easy winner.
Virgin Steel takes itself a little too seriously, but the music is interesting and the production - much grittier than the Disneyfied sounds of their peers - sets it apart from other power metal. I also like that it’s not full on at all times. These guys are pretty solid.
Hammerfall’s opening riff is straight out of a Saxon album. Not nearly as cheesy as a lot of power metal, but still cheesy. I like this too, but Im going with Steel because it’s a little less bright.
Hammerfall’s opening riff is straight out of a Saxon album. Not nearly as cheesy as a lot of power metal, but still cheesy. I like this too, but Im going with Steel because it’s a little less bright.
Shmoolikipod
Stranger to the Light
Out of the Meshuggah I know, DEI is my least favourite, I prefer the more polished later Meshuggah. Pig Destroyer was terrible.
Virgin Steele's album wasn't as great as the previous one, but after a few songs I got it. Hammerfall is more template power metal but they get the vote, it was good from start to finish.
I thought I'd hate Cradle of Filth with the high vocals, but I had to admit I love it. The musicality was great and I dig the very low vocals, and with the woman too it really sounds like a movie. White Zombie was a little samey at times but groovy af. My excuse for voting them is the vocals on Cradle of Filth.
In the last match I give it to FNM for originality mostly, but both were great.
Virgin Steele's album wasn't as great as the previous one, but after a few songs I got it. Hammerfall is more template power metal but they get the vote, it was good from start to finish.
I thought I'd hate Cradle of Filth with the high vocals, but I had to admit I love it. The musicality was great and I dig the very low vocals, and with the woman too it really sounds like a movie. White Zombie was a little samey at times but groovy af. My excuse for voting them is the vocals on Cradle of Filth.
In the last match I give it to FNM for originality mostly, but both were great.
Cradle of Filth is probably better than some of the similar acts we’ve seen in this game - the music is actually pretty interesting. The vocals made me laugh out loud, which is probably not the intent. Bad and silly are the two best adjectives that come to mind.
What’s nice about Zombie is the fact it actually has a groove, which has been kinda rare in this game. Unremarkable melodies, unremarkable composition.So much more listenable than the competition.
What’s nice about Zombie is the fact it actually has a groove, which has been kinda rare in this game. Unremarkable melodies, unremarkable composition.So much more listenable than the competition.
The sonics of the Faith No More song are so much more appealing than the silly evil barfing and cheesy pomp that characterizes the “dark” and “power” metal sounds that have been front and centre in this game. Never spent a lot of time with this band, but this is creative and musical - not sure how highly I’d rate it, but I feel comfortable saying it’s good.
My thoughts about Aria haven’t changed from the previous round. I love Maiden, therefore the blatant copying is going to work for me on a basic level. The vocalist however, is too much and the competition too original and skilled. Faith No More.
My thoughts about Aria haven’t changed from the previous round. I love Maiden, therefore the blatant copying is going to work for me on a basic level. The vocalist however, is too much and the competition too original and skilled. Faith No More.
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
Meshuggah
HammerFall
White Zombie
Faith No More
HammerFall
White Zombie
Faith No More
Meshuggah will move on past Pig Destroyer, who is eliminated from the GMAC. Meshuggah will next face Obituary.
Virgin Steele strikes again and defeats, in a close battle, HammerFall. The Swedish warriors will return in Match 29 of League 17, so not too far to go.
White Zombie beats Cradle of Filth in what is also a close battle. Cradle of Filth returns in the first matchup of League 5.
And finally, Faith No More defeats Aria, eliminating the Russian rockers. They'll next battle Testament.
Virgin Steele strikes again and defeats, in a close battle, HammerFall. The Swedish warriors will return in Match 29 of League 17, so not too far to go.
White Zombie beats Cradle of Filth in what is also a close battle. Cradle of Filth returns in the first matchup of League 5.
And finally, Faith No More defeats Aria, eliminating the Russian rockers. They'll next battle Testament.
|
Ecstatic Fear - A Sombre Dance (1999) How it got here List entries: Metal Kingdom 73 | |
| League 17 - Match 25 | vs. |
Destruction - Eternal Devastation (1986) How it got here List entries: Metal Kingdom 89 |
Baron Rojo - Volumen Brutal (1982) How it got here List entries: Metalstorm 75 | |
| League 17 - Match 26 | vs. |
Saxon - Wheels of Steel (1980) How it got here List entries: Metal Rules 92 |
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Heavens Gate - Livin’ in Hysteria (1991) How it got here List entries: Metalstorm 71 | |
| League 17 - Match 27 | vs. |
Edguy - Mandrake (2001) How it got here List entries: Metal Kingdom 88 |
Savatage - The Edge of Thorns (1993) How it got here List entries: Metalstorm 74 | |
| League 17 - Match 28 | vs. |
Deicide- Legion (1992) How it got here List entries: Metal Kingdom 90 |
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
Ecstatic Fear sounds like a reasonably good female-fronted folk metal band with classical elements who had some drunk black metal freak crash their recording session and vomit into the microphone off and on. It’s really like there’s two completely different things going on that happened to be captured on the same recording. Meanwhile, Destroyer is pretty solid low-rent thrash with bad vocals. Some cool guitar bits, but nothing to get too excited about. I don’t really like either of these choices, but I guess the annoying vocals pop up less in Ecstatic Fear than they do in Destroyer. Winner: Ecstatic Fear
Baron Rojo sounds like a harder version of 70s southern rock. Pretty good, but not great. Vocals were slightly awkward, probably because I listened to the English language version. The Saxon album has great energy and guitar work. The vocals are alright, the lyrics are kind of dumb, and the songwriting is a bit of a mixed bag, but there’s still quite a lot to like here. Winner: Saxon
This next match-up is the hardest one in this round. I hadn’t heard of Heavens Gate before this forum event, and their first entry in the game was pretty good, but Livin’ In Hysteria is significantly better. There’s a lot of Maiden & Priest worship going on here, but I also hear a lot of the early Ralph Scheepers era Gamma Ray in their sound, except with better singing. Sometimes they sound derivative, but other times they really do carve out their own sound, and I liked pretty much everything I heard. Then we have Edguy, Tobias Sammet’s previous musical vehicle. I remember there was a lot of buzz about Mandrake back in the day in power metal circles, but something about it never quite sat right with me. Listening to it now, Tobias sounds like the bastard child of Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate (and not entirely in a good way), and the music wears its Kiske-era Helloween influence on its sleeve. Some parts are quite good, and others don’t necessarily come together for me on the songwriting front. This is a better album than I remember it being, though. It’s a close one, but I think I preferred the sound of Heavens Gate overall. Winner: Heavens Gate
Hadn’t listened to most of this Savatage album before, and it’s a very pleasant surprise. Great singing, great guitar work, and mostly great songwriting. I will definitely come back to this one. The Deicide album is a short burst of decent thrash with predictably shitty vocals. No contest here. Winner: Savatage
(and all these years later I still have no idea WTF an “Edguy” is...)
Baron Rojo sounds like a harder version of 70s southern rock. Pretty good, but not great. Vocals were slightly awkward, probably because I listened to the English language version. The Saxon album has great energy and guitar work. The vocals are alright, the lyrics are kind of dumb, and the songwriting is a bit of a mixed bag, but there’s still quite a lot to like here. Winner: Saxon
This next match-up is the hardest one in this round. I hadn’t heard of Heavens Gate before this forum event, and their first entry in the game was pretty good, but Livin’ In Hysteria is significantly better. There’s a lot of Maiden & Priest worship going on here, but I also hear a lot of the early Ralph Scheepers era Gamma Ray in their sound, except with better singing. Sometimes they sound derivative, but other times they really do carve out their own sound, and I liked pretty much everything I heard. Then we have Edguy, Tobias Sammet’s previous musical vehicle. I remember there was a lot of buzz about Mandrake back in the day in power metal circles, but something about it never quite sat right with me. Listening to it now, Tobias sounds like the bastard child of Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate (and not entirely in a good way), and the music wears its Kiske-era Helloween influence on its sleeve. Some parts are quite good, and others don’t necessarily come together for me on the songwriting front. This is a better album than I remember it being, though. It’s a close one, but I think I preferred the sound of Heavens Gate overall. Winner: Heavens Gate
Hadn’t listened to most of this Savatage album before, and it’s a very pleasant surprise. Great singing, great guitar work, and mostly great songwriting. I will definitely come back to this one. The Deicide album is a short burst of decent thrash with predictably shitty vocals. No contest here. Winner: Savatage
(and all these years later I still have no idea WTF an “Edguy” is...)