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

Royal Hunt - another band I never heard of from the upper echelons of Metal Kingdom's chart, this sounds like "owner of a lonely heart" or "hold the line" or some such, just 15 years too late. It's quite enjoyable :lol: but I won't be rushing out to check out more stuff from them

Ecstatic Fear - took too long to start had to skip forward, then bogey voices so I turned it off, I gave my opinion before if anyone cares, I can't remember what I said then, but I heard enough to know Royal Hunt is getting the vote.

Crimson Glory - A band I've been meaning to delve into for years but never have, not sure I will bother though after this, it's ok, but it just sounds like bands I already listen to but not as good

Baron Rojo - I liked these when they beat Saxon, off to a good start with the bottleneck, chorus is a bit Purpley, the break is very Rory Gallagher, I didn't check the rest of the album after the last round but I will now.

Baron Rojo with the win.

Napalm Death - opinion given before

Edguy - that power metal double bass is just soul destoryingly generic.

Both shit, Edguy closer to what I listen to but to be honest it has no originality or merit so I'm not given them the vote, Napalm Death get the charity vote

Alcest - parts of it are ok musically, if you distilled the indie sections down into a three minute pop song a la She Sells Sanctuary and ditched the black metal vocals I could enjoy this

Savatage - opinion given before, starts off well, I like that late 80's chorus pedal tone a la the break in Breadfan or You Can't Bring me Down, vocals a bit high in the mix when it gets heavy diminishing the impact of the heaviness. Savatage are a band that I'd be happy enough with just a compilation or a decent live album, but there's more than enough here to take the win. Guitar playing excellent.

Savatage with the win
 
Black Wizard said:
Savatage
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Edge Of Thorns was the first Savatage album I heard, in another millennium.
I had no idea this was a new singer, I knew nothing about the Oliva brothers (R.I.P. Criss) or anything about the band at all. I still have a soft spot for it, Black Metal snob or not.
Funnily enough, yesterday I was at a party where lots of Savatage was played by the host, a serious Death fan otherwise.
Just goes to show good music is good music, I guess.
 
Magnus said:
Edge Of Thorns was the first Savatage album I heard, in another millennium.
I had no idea this was a new singer, I knew nothing about the Oliva brothers (R.I.P. Criss) or anything about the band at all. I still have a soft spot for it, Black Metal snob or not.
Funnily enough, yesterday I was at a party where lots of Savatage was played by the host, a serious Death fan otherwise.
Just goes to show good music is good music, I guess.
Click to expand...
Streets was my first Savatage album. It didn't grab me at first though.
 
Match 1: two good examples of generic and utterly forgettable in different flavors. Eeny, meeny miny, moe: Ecstatic Fear. Next.

Match 2: Barón Rojo's sophomore is a huge step regarding the band's debut. Although some of the material is a bit meh, there are some really aggressive and exciting late 70's/ early 80's metal stuff in here like Incommunicación, Resestiré or El Barón Vuela Sobre Inglaterra. Nevertheless Crimson Glory's debut is simply as good as Power/ Heavy Metal can get (Transcendence is even better - thus the name) . I mean... from the triumphal entrance of Valhalla to the desolation of Lost Reflection, passing through the mega speed of Mayday and even managing to pull an absolutely classy hard rock number with Queen Of The Masquerade, Midnight's (RIP) amazing voice spearheaded one of the most incredible and underrated bunch of musician/composers in 80's music. So... yeah, they get my vote.

Match 3: Ugh! Once again the agony of choice. On one hand Edguy. On the other the we have only Napalm Death classic album I can't simply stand. I dislike its production, Lee sounds horrible thanks to a crapload of mic cap, the majority of the songs lack the crust groove Scum had... a huge step back regarding the first album IMO. I mean... I like the sludge of Evolved As One and future renditions of showed some songs like Unchallenged Hate and Mentally Murdered had some potential. I never understood the appeal of FETO: overall lackluster grind songs with nearly unbearable production that almost compromises the few good tracks here. But since it goes against Edguy... I have no option but to give it my vote.

Match 4: Never was into Savatage really. After listening to a couple of songs still wasn't. Already gave my 2 cents praising Alcest's work and I think they more than deserve to go ahead.
 
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Hadn’t heard Royal Hunt before, but this album is an interesting mix of neoclassical power metal and AOR that I liked quite a bit. Something is a little off about the singer, but not enough to derail things. Meanwhile Ecstatic Fear is pretty solid folk metal with clean female vocals until those icky male black metal vocals kick in, which poisons the entire affair. Easy choice here. Winner: Royal Hunt

This Crimson Glory album sounds like someone split the difference between Warning-era Queensrÿche and early 80s Judas Priest, both in the songwriting and the vocals. It’s pretty good for what it is, but nothing particularly stands out as memorable or original. The Baron Rojo album is southern rock with some Latin spice, and I think it delivers a little more punch and authenticity. Winner: Baron Rojo

The Napalm Death album started off with a little promise, but after the opening track it quickly devolves into pure noise, sounding like some toddler banging on pots as hard and fast as he can while his elementary school buddy gargles into the microphone. Occasionally a riff or other tidbit rises above the cacophony, but it’s quickly submerged in garbage again before it can fully take hold. Meanwhile the Edguy album is pretty well crafted and well executed power metal. No contest here. Winner: Edguy

This Alcest album is pretty good atmospheric alt-metal until the black metal vocals kick in. These blackened vocals aren’t as bad as some others in the genre, but they’re still unpleasant when they show up. That said, a number of tracks are completely clean or vocal-free, so I’m guessing this is about as accessible as black metal gets. The Savatage album is pretty great U.S. power metal with strong writing and performances and only limited cheese. I really need to explore the Savatage discography some more, because this is good stuff. Winner: Savatage
 
I can't believe I helped A Sombre Dance get here. No way Eternal Devastation's production was actually bad enough. Three songs of this crap feels not like one Opeth song, but an entire fucking album! Uninteresting mess. Paradox is infinitely better. Great stuff, hopefully it can get far... All the moments of brilliance in A Sombre Dance together amount to maybe "The Awakening".

Third round: I didn't know if From Enslavement to Obliteration will be another Scum, I just don't know enough about this kind of music. It's not too different, but it sounded less gritty and was actually enjoyable.

I listened to Mandrake again and this time made it to "The Pharaoh", it's still a lot to digest but I can't say it's not very good, even if the songs are pretty predictable. The first two tracks are especially great. I'm going with it even though FETO was surprisingly good.
 
I'll pick Royal Hunt over Ecstatic Fear, I like what Royal Hunt has to offer more. Maybe I'd vote for Ecstatic Fear if Alcest wasn't in this round.
Crimson Glory is an easy win over Baron Rojo. The Baron is boring, Crimson Glory might not be special, but I enjoy what they have on offer.
Edguy over Napalm Death, I think. Not a fan of ND at all.
Alcest over Savatage. This was the hardest call for me, but honestly, it's more a pity vote for Alcest at this point. Sad!
 
Royal Hunt defeats Ecstatic Fear fairly easily. Ecstatic Fear has been eliminated, and Royal Hunt next faces Led Zeppelin.
Meanwhile, Crimson Glory crushes Baron Rojo, eliminating the Spanish rockers. They face Rainbow in the next league.
Edguy survives a challenge from Napalm Death, who are removed from the Cup. Next up: Celtic Frost.
Savatage easily beats away Alcest. Alcest returns in the next set of matchups, and Savatage draws W.A.S.P. in the next league.

Speaking of League 15, MATCHUPS ARE POSTED!
 
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