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

Well, I don't listen much to either band in the first match, but I guess "Reign in Blood" played a part, albeit minor, in the shaping of my music tastes, so my vote goes to Slayer.

"Seventh Son...." is Maiden's second best album overall, only behind "Powerslave". The debut, while an important one in the band's history, honestly isn't that good - probably my lowest ranked 80's album. Clear vote for Seventh Son.

Meh... Slayer again, for the same reasons listed above for the first match.

I absolutely love Dio with both Rainbow and Sabbath, but here's an unpopular opinion: his solo (or rather self-titled band's) albums aren't quite as good. Not even "Holy Diver", though it's definitely the best of the bunch. "Blizzard of Ozz", on the other hand, is the only Ozzy solo album that I think comes close to matching the quality of his albums (up until "Sabotage") with Sabbath. My vote goes to Ozzy.
 
Look, I'm not a huge Slayer fan, but Reign in Blood is exactly what I put on when I want to fucking thrash.
The Iron Maiden debut has Phantom of the Opera and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son doesn't, which means it is not as good as the self-titled.
I'm very ambivalent in the third pairing, so Accept I guess.
Dio over Ozzy always, and twice on Sundays.
 
Wholeheartedly think Blackout deserves to beat Reign in Blood. Keeping in line with what @mckindog said, just listening to that album makes me feel like a badass. It's such a mood lifter. All of a sudden I'm driving to the beach on a midsummer's day with a 6 pack of Blue Moon in the back seat. It's an awesome metal album, and I'm not even the biggest Scorpions fan!

Reign in Blood has some good tracks, Necrophobic, Altar of Sacrifice and Raining Blood gotta be in my Slayer top ten, but it lacks the cohesiveness of the preceding 2 albums. There's just not a good flow to the album. It's weird to say this but for a 29 minute album there's a bit of fat to cut from it. Lot of the songs sound the same and the middle section gets pretty boring. Just my 2 cents. The supreme extreme thrasher of 1986 was German born I'm afraid.
 
Reign in Blood has some good tracks, Necrophobic, Altar of Sacrifice and Raining Blood gotta be in my Slayer top ten, but it lacks the cohesiveness of the preceding 2 albums. There's just not a good flow to the album. It's weird to say this but for a 29 minute album there's a bit of fat to cut from it. Lot of the songs sound the same and the middle section gets pretty boring. Just my 2 cents. The supreme extreme thrasher of 1986 was German born I'm afraid.
Not going to lie I did not expect this take from you.
 
Slayer offs Blackout in a close-run fight.
Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son goes on over the self-titled.
Slayer finishes off Accept, again in a close match.
Ozzy Osbourne squeaks past Dio by just two votes to move on.

Round of 32 Matchups Set:
Slayer - Reign in Blood vs. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss vs. Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
 
And so we make it to the finals.

The Round of 32 will be run with two matches at a time, two days each.

After everything, here are the bands who made it to the finals!

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell, Master of Reality, Paranoid
Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth, Chemical Wedding
Dio - Holy Diver
Dream Theater - Images and Words
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. II
Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death, Brave New World, Powerslave, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Somewhere in Time
Judas Priest - British Steel, Defenders of the Faith, Painkiller, Sad Wings of Destiny, Screaming For Vengeance, Sin After Sin, Stained Class
Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying, Rust in Peace
Metallica - Master of Puppets, Metallica, Ride the Lightning
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
Scorpions - Love At First Sting
Slayer - Reign in Blood, Seasons in the Abyss

What are your thoughts on the top 32? Anything terribly surprising? Who are your favourites?
 
Megadeth_-_Peace_Sells..._But_Who%27s_Buying-.jpg

Megadeth - Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying (1986)

How it got here

List entries: Rolling Stone 8, Loudwire 9, Metal Rules 25, DigitalDreamDoor 23, Metal Kingdom 17
Maidenfans Nominators: @Dr Eddie’s Wingman, @matic22, @srfc, @Whooten
Previous Rounds:
League 1: Defeated Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction 19-17.
Round of 32 - Match 1vs.
Iron_Maiden_-_Powerslave.jpg

Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984)

How it got here

List entries: Rolling Stone 38, Loudwire 35, Metal Rules 6, Metalstorm 4, DigitalDreamDoor 11, Metal Kingdom 12
Maidenfans Nominators: @Collin, @Cornfed Hick, @Diesel 11, @Dityn DJ James, @Dr Eddie’s Wingman, @FTB, @Jer, @LooseCannon, @matic22, @Midnight, @Saapanael, @srfc, @The Dissident, @The Flash
Previous Rounds:
League 1: Defeated Deep Purple - Machine Head 35-1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce_Dickinson_-_Accident_of_Birth_Extended.jpg

Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth (1997)

How it got here

List entries: Metal Rules 61, Metalstorm 89
Maidenfans Nominators: @Ariana, @Diesel 11, @Dr Eddie’s Wingman, @Kalata, @KidInTheDark666, @LooseCannon, @Mosh
Previous Rounds:
League 2: Defeated Blind Guardian - Imaginations From the Other Side 20-13.
League 1: Defeated Motörhead - Ace of Spades 28-8.
Round of 32 - Match 2vs.
Metallica_-_Master_of_Puppets_cover.jpg

Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)

How it got here

List entries: Rolling Stone 2, Loudwire 2, Metal Rules 1, DigitalDreamDoor 2, Metal Kingdom 45
Maidenfans Nominators: @Ariana, @Cornfed Hick, @Diesel 11, @Dr Eddie’s Wingman, @FTB, @Jer, @matic22, @Midnight, @MrKnickerbocker, @phantomoftheicarus, @Poto, @srfc, @The Flash, @Travis The Dragon, @Whooten, @Yax
Previous Rounds:
League 1: Defeated Rush - Moving Pictures 29-7.
 
Tough draw for Megadeth. I’d vote for Peace Sells over many other records, but not over Iron Maiden’s second best record. Sorry, Woofmatsirc7.333, your nominee was worthy, but Dr Diesanaelyn DJ Jerfcollinfed Mickie’s DissiflashmaticannonFTBlingman‘s choice is a bit better. Winner: Iron Maiden

Oof, another rough one. Accident Of Birth is a great album that I would happily listen to over and over again, but Master Of Puppets is transcendent. The power, the epicness, the brutality of the thrash riffage contrasted with beautiful gentle sections make up a true metal masterpiece. Sorry, Dieser Kiddie’s MooseCalatianaman — I feel like a traitor, but I’ve gotta keep it real and go for Diesjer MrPhanterFTBornfeddie’s Hicktravis The Droopotaxianaflashmidsrfmaticman33‘s nominee here. Winner: Metallica

What are your thoughts on the top 32? Anything terribly surprising? Who are your favourites?
No major surprises. There’s more Sabbath and Priest here than there probably deserves to be. Keeper Pt. II shouldn’t have made it this far, and I don’t get the love for Slayer, either. I wish we would have eliminated all of the extreme bands by now, but at least the last one standing is one of the worthiest of its ilk. Many, many deserving albums were eliminated before their rightful time, though.

Also, as much as I wish Love At First Sting were still in the game as you indicated, it was beaten rather soundly by British Steel, so it’s no longer with us.
 
Also, as much as I wish Love At First Sting were still in the game as you indicated, it was beaten rather soundly by British Steel, so it’s no longer with us.
Is it? Hrm, then I have a wrong list somewhere. But it's 12 AM so fuck it.
 
I think you just swapped Love At First Sting in place of Rainbow’s Rising. The Google sheet looks correct, though.
Yeah, the master you guys don't have access to is wrong. How I hid Rising and not something else, I have no idea.
 
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