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

Simon says Tom waits and so he does, he rips no angels, he isn't petty, he's a warrior*. * Und Fischer.
 
Diesel 11 said:
If you were taking about Mercyful Fate - well, it's one of the biggest albums of the 'first wave of black metal', which is a bullshit moniker but you get the idea. And there's a reason it's all the way up here in the final 16 to hit the game.
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I was talkin about that, indeed. And aye, I was referring to more mainstream acknowledgment.
 
Mob Rules may not be as strong as Heaven and Hell, but The Sign of the Southern Cross and Falling Off the Edge of the World are two of the catchiest things Dio has ever recorded in my book. Priest is Priest - they're usually solid, but as good as Halford is, I could never compare his shrieks to someone with the warmth of Dio's voice. I also prefer the music of Dio Sabbath, which is a completely different style than Ozzy Sabbath.

I've never understood the love for In Flames. To me, if you've heard one song you've heard them all, and I can't stand those screamy "blargh" vocals. I much prefer a deeper, Tyrannosaur-like growl in my death metal, which Mikael Akerfeldt masterfully delivers on what I consider to be one of the greatest metal albums of all time. In Flames sounds shallow in comparison to Opeth.

Rainbow, easily. I have nothing against Alter Bridge, but there's simply no comparison here. The last two tracks are classics, and the rest of the album ain't too shabby, either. Also it's Dio, who shits gold.

I went with Priest here because despite the odd cool riff, I just can't take Mercyful Fate seriously. But as this game goes on, I'll definitely be weeding the Priest out of my votes. They just don't stack up to a lot of these bands to me.

Diesel 11 said:
I mean, come the fuck on. The Jester Race is good and all, but Blackwater Park's title track is the greatest thing in all eight of these albums. It transcends death metal. It's probably the greatest death metal song ever written. So many shades over those twelve minutes, and I swear to god the vocals are a HUGE part of why it's so good. If you had Bruce Dickinson singing it you wouldn't get the darkness and the complexity Opeth are trying to bring across. They throw in heavy-as-fuck riffs, and then complement them with acoustic passages that allow the listener to gain more than you'd expect. And like, the lyrics are incredible too. It's got one of the best endings I can think of to any song:
​
"We have all lost it now​
Catching the flakes of dismay​
Born the travesty of man​
Regular pulse midst pandemonium​
You're plucked to the mass​
Parched with thirst for the wicked​
Sick liaisons raised this monumental mark​
The sun sets forever over Blackwater Park..."​

Chills man. This song alone would be enough to secure the album's victory, but every other song on here is almost of the same quality as well. Seriously, easy vote.
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So much truth. I don't have anything against In Flames (other than the screamy vomit vocals and same-y sounding songs and lack of progressiveness), but they're about as deep as a puddle in comparison to Opeth. Blackwater Park left a monumental mark on the ever-popular genre of Swedish progressive death/folk metal.

Blackwater Park is also my favorite Opeth song.
 
I re-listened to Blackwater Park, the song, because I had read such glowing reviews but I never, in 12 mins, got the pay off I was expecting. I appreciate the soundscape and I get that if you were into this stuff then you would be on another plane but it just leaves me cold. Not for me. Or Nopeth, as they say. Has anybody used that before, Nopeth? Feels like they should have.
Anyway, I heard a tune off Heritage a couple of years ago, I loved it, loved the album and went on an Opeth binge. It didnt click. Except maybe a really early album, Orchid, maybe? But it was Autumn. Perfect time for it. But no, never enjoyed them since, despite trying. I have a soft spot for them, even though I dont dig them, if that makes sense.
 
Hahaha Nopeth! But it is seriously possible that one can like early Opeth and liking later albums less. Very different works.

But this is less funny Niall: It's not Stained Glass. It's Stained Class. :D
 
Forostar said:
Hahaha Nopeth! But it is seriously possible that one can like early Opeth and liking later albums less. Very different works.

But this is less funny Niall: It's not Stained Glass. It's Stained Class. :D
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It was originally going to be titled Stained Glass though, but Tipton insisted on Stained Class (this is paraphrased from KK's book). He was right, it sounded a lot better.
 
Detective Beauregard said:
I don't have anything against In Flames (other than the screamy vomit vocals and same-y sounding songs and lack of progressiveness), but they're about as deep as a puddle in comparison to Opeth. Blackwater Park left a monumental mark on the ever-popular genre of Swedish progressive death/folk metal.
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The Jester Race is considered as one of the classics in the Swedish melodic death metal (or Gothenburg style) genre, (at least) once a much bigger genre than Swedish progressive death/folk metal. I mean, does a (Swedish) progressive death/folk metal scene even exist?

Opeth has become a bigger act than In Flames these days (they still co headlined in 2014) and Blackwater Park sales certainly went well, because of some of their more commercial (softer) appealing albums later on. Opeth are big and they heavily mix seventies prog/folk rock with a big or small quantity of (death) metal, depending on the album, but they do not front some new subgenre. And if there is one, it is less successful or inspiring than the Gothenburg scene which made much more impact.
 
Usually I'm not trying to such a genre dick, but isn't that something called technical death metal (an OLD subsubgenre)?

There is progressive metal, there is progressive rock, there is folk, there is folk rock, there is technical death metal.

Opeth have made some metal albums with grunts. Not sure if that should be called progressive death metal.
 
Correct. It is old. You're ending up going there from prog death metal. A new name for something that already was.
 
Genres are mostly semantics anyway, but progressive death metal usually has lush soundscapes and varying song structures (like Opeth) whereas technical death metal usually has lots and lots of high energy playing (think ludicrously fast guitar riffing all synced up with double bass). I don’t listen to anything that most would call technical death metal, but that’s my (very) basic understanding of the difference.
 
Man, the first matchup hurts. Mob Rules is a great album, underrated across the genres and I'm very happy it made the journey to the Premiership. But as I noted above, Stained Class is one of my favourite albums of all time, up there with Nightfall Over Middle-Earth, Powerslave, and yes, Heaven & Hell. With the second Dio Sabbath effort falling below that level by just a shade...Judas Priest.

Stockholm vs. Gothenburg. I prefer people from the west coast. In Flames.

Congratulations to Alter Bridge on making it to the Premiership, and while it had a tough matchup, there's really only one or two Premiership albums that I think Blackbird has a chance against. Hell of a run. Rainbow.

Mercyful Fate. This album is tons of fun.
 
Any metal genres with the name "progressive" raise a smile when I see them. When the original prog bands were around in the 70's you could certainly call them progressive for their times. But I feel drawing influence from material 20, 30 and 40 years old as the "progressive" metal bands are doing is anything but progressive. I'm not having a go at any of the bands or the material, I just think the name is funny.
 
Forostar said:
I mean, does a (Swedish) progressive death/folk metal scene even exist?
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It was an attempt at humor.
Forostar said:
Opeth have made some metal albums with grunts. Not sure if that should be called progressive death metal.
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Well they’re just progressive rock now, but back in the day their music was progressive death metal. Their songs average 10 minutes, they rarely repeat sections, they change dynamics regularly, and they had death metal vocals. What else would you call them?
srfc said:
Any metal genres with the name "progressive" raise a smile when I see them. When the original prog bands were around in the 70's you could certainly call them progressive for their times. But I feel drawing influence from material 20, 30 and 40 years old as the "progressive" metal bands are doing is anything but progressive. I'm not having a go at any of the bands or the material, I just think the name is funny.
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I think the term “progressive” has come to mean long songs, odd meters, key changes, etc. I’m not sure it really means “innovative” anymore.
Niall Kielt said:
I re-listened to Blackwater Park, the song, because I had read such glowing reviews but I never, in 12 mins, got the pay off I was expecting. I appreciate the soundscape and I get that if you were into this stuff then you would be on another plane but it just leaves me cold. Not for me. Or Nopeth, as they say. Has anybody used that before, Nopeth? Feels like they should have.
Anyway, I heard a tune off Heritage a couple of years ago, I loved it, loved the album and went on an Opeth binge. It didnt click. Except maybe a really early album, Orchid, maybe? But it was Autumn. Perfect time for it. But no, never enjoyed them since, despite trying. I have a soft spot for them, even though I dont dig them, if that makes sense.
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Totally understandable. It took me years to get into Opeth, and then they just clicked. Interesting that Heritage caught your ear. Many fans consider it to be their weakest album.

Also, Opeth + autumn = win. There’s something about their music that meshes so well with dying trees, the smell of burning leaves, campfires, and a good scotch.
 
I don’t know about the first match. Halford’s voice on Stained Class has always sounded a bit thin and dry to my ears, and my second favourite song on the album is a cover. Mob Rules sounds more powerful in comparison and Dio’s voice fuller, but Stained Class is still a little closer to my heart because JP has been with me much longer than Sabbath.
 
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