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

Saxon are well-known enough to be considered as a big band, but not by the standards of Iron Maiden and Metallica of course. As this tournament is running like the FA Cup we could consider a Saxon album losing at this stage as a giant killing. Since I can't be bothered listening to any of the songs at the moment I'll just vote for the bands I've heard of or prefer: Destruction, Saxon, Edguy and Savatage.
 
Black Wizard said:
Damn. :facepalm:
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The Flash said:
When I was first getting into Iron Maiden and checking out similar major bands of the same era, Saxon was one of the first that I came across. I thought they were a giant band like Maiden were.

Then I found out.
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I think it is a byproduct of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal hype.
The movement gets a lot of attention, but really other than Maiden, who made a lasting impact? Maybe I’m forgetting someone obvious, but other than Def Leppard, who abandoned metal, who else had a lasting impact?
Saxon gets mentioned all the time almost by default, because they lasted.
 
mckindog said:
I think it is a byproduct of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal hype.
The movement gets a lot of attention, but really other than Maiden, who made a lasting impact? Maybe I’m forgetting someone obvious, but other than Def Leppard, who abandoned metal, who else had a lasting impact?
Saxon gets mentioned all the time almost by default, because they lasted.
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I would argue Venom because they created a raw template that would be taken and altered to create black metal. And Diamond Head inspired some of the biggest of thrash’s bands, so I’d put them up there as well.
 
I didn't enjoy Devastation very much, I definitely liked Ecstatic Fear above them, but not particularly by much.
Call me a traditional metal elitist, but I enjoyed Saxon more than Baron Rojo.
Heavens Gate over Edguy in a battle of albums I mostly didn't find engaging.
Savatage. Deicide is atrocious.
 
Estatic Fear - Never heard of either of these bands. Listened to all of Somber Dance. Not my normal style but I quite liked it. Destruction irritated me, got 3 songs in.

Baron Rojo - Never listened to these guys before but 3 seconds in I knew they were better than Saxon. Saxon have some decent tunes but I find them a tad bland.

Edguy - got 4 songs in, some good parts but not massively engaging for me. First song was great. Didnt get a chance to listen to Heavens Gate and wont before the poll closes so Edguy win by default despite that awful name.

Savatage - Savatage rock, Deicide do not.
 
Ecstatic Fear eliminates Destruction from the Cup. They'll face Royal Hunt next time out.
Baron Rojo slips past Saxon. The NWOBHM stalwarts return in League 7.
Edguy defeats Heavens Gate. Heavens Gate returns in League 15.
Finally, Savatage brutalizes Deicide, eliminating the extreme metal band from the game. Savatage meets Alcest in League 16.
 
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HammerFall - Glory to the Brave (1997)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Rules 75
League 17 - Match 29vs.
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Burzum - Filosofem (1996)

How it got here
List entries: DigitalDreamDoor 84
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Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten (1991)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 78
League 17 - Match 30vs.
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Boohwal - II: Remember (1987)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 83
 
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Dark Angel - Darkness Descends (1986)

How it got here
List entries: Digitaldreamdoor 73
League 17 - Match 31vs.
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High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings (2005)

How it got here
List entries: Rolling Stone 84
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Morbid Angel - Covenant (1993)

How it got here
List entries: Rolling Stone 75
League 17 - Match 32vs.
Alcest-Souvenirs_d%27un_autre_monde.jpg

Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde (2007)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 85
 
My reaction to this Hammerfall album is about the same as the last one — nice riffing, good singing, dumb lyrics, and borderline plagiaristic inspiration from Gamma Ray. It’s enjoyable, but not really worthy of respect. Meanwhile the Burzum album, shockingly, is the first black metal album I’ve heard that makes any kind of sense to me. The vocals are distorted enough and low enough in the mix that they don’t grate. The low-fi distorted guitar and the simple, innocent synth tones work together to convey a consistent feeling. And slapping in a 25-minute-long ambient track toward the end was both hilarious and kind of brilliant. I’m not sure that I can say I fully enjoyed listening to Filosofem, but I can say that I respected it. Winner: Burzum

The vocalist for Suffocation sounds like he has the world’s worst case of the mumps, and while the music has a few cool moments here and there, most of it borders on noise. This Boohwal album has no business whatsoever being on a metal countdown, as its only connection to metal is a small handful of guitar solos, but it does have the advantage of consistently being music rather than noise. I look forward to voting it off the island in the future, but for now... Winner: Boohwal

The Dark Angel album sounds like throwing the debut albums of Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer into a blender, with all the good and bad things that implies. The production sucks, and it’s a bit cacophonous at times, but it’s still enjoyable. The High On Fire album has really shitty production with clipping drums and all the rest, which is kind of inexcusable for an album released this millennium. I’ll give them credit for carving out a more original sound, but I didn’t like the dissonant elements they brought in, or the saminess of the downtuned riffs. They had some nice clean moments, and the singer isn’t as bad as many other modern metal vocalists, but he’s still not good. This one’s close-ish, but I’m going to go with the one I enjoyed more. Winner: Dark Angel

This Morbid Angel album was better than the last one in the competition, but for me the ridiculous drums and vocals make it very hard to appreciate. I had never heard Alcest before, and I’m not sure they count as metal, but they have a very pleasant, melodious alt-rock sound with unusually mild vocals. This one’s an easy choice. Winner: Alcest
 
Jer said:
This Boohwal album has no business whatsoever being on a metal countdown
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I mean, I completely agree with you, but I decided early on not to edit this stuff out. Unlike some people who run games (@Night Prowler) I do not edit the lists given to me by either Google or Maidenfans. I will allow the Invisible Hand to decide.
 
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That Hammerfall video is the exact opposite of cool. But I kinda like the song, even if it is a power ballad. At least it's music, which is more than I can say for some of the things I've heard in this game. The Burzum selection had an intriguing start but never really took off.

I didn't make it five seconds into Suffocation before turning it off. Then I gave it another chance, which lasted about 15 seconds. Nope. The Koreans win by default, even though they don't sound even remotely metal. I'd probably vote for Barry Manilow over Suffocation.
 
Dark Angel vs High On Fire: Now we're talkin'! Dark Angel is fun old-school thrash and I like it. Not as sophisticated as what Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer were doing in 1986, but not bad at all. It would have won any other matchup this week, but High On Fire is totally badass. I need to get more deeply into them. I had assumed that they would be more sludgy stoner rock, both because of the name and because it features Matt Pike from Sleep, but this is high-energy stuff, and it out-thrashes the early thrash record. This is pretty great. I'm discovering that I like metal with a punk edge.

Morbid Angel vs. Alcest: It's a pretty safe bet that I'm not gonna like this kind of death metal, with the gutteral vocals that, yes, sound like Cookie Monster to me and a clicky drum sound that makes ...And Justice for All sound beefy. It would be nice if I did like this genre, because there is a LOT of that stuff out there. Alas, it's not for me. Alcest would have won by default, but it was a pleasant surprise in its own right. I had never even heard of this artist before, and I dig the sound, atmospheric but recognizing the importance of a melodic hook. Let's keep Alcest around for another matchup or two!
 
Night Prowler said:
Saxon = giants :lol:
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To go along with the football analogy Baron Rojo knocking out Wheels of Steel would be the equivalent of Harrogate Town knocking out Fulham.

Yeah, they aren't at the absolute top tier of metal, but they are a band who've managed a relatively successful career for over 40 years, and both wheels of steel and 747 Strangers in the Night off that album were top 20 UK singles at that time, with the album a top 5 only 1 place less than the first Maiden album. I doubt many on here had ever even heard Baron Rojo before this competition, I'd be surprised if there is even one person.
 
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