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

I see what you're saying Karljant, I have very, very strong opinions about Bathory and they're essentially the sole reason I'm so invested in extreme metal. The band was a huge stepping stone for me. Those first 6 albums + Requiem/Blood On Ice/Nordland 1 & 2 all still floor me whenever I listen to them

And the argument could be made that the Bathory debut was every bit as influential as The Return...... (My favorite) and Blood Fire Death, but I think that is unnecessary. The Bathory debut is pure class and sounds about 4 years ahead of it's time. Those guys in Scandinavia didn't even begin matching what the hell it was Quorthon was doing until 1992/93.
 
Last edited:
Yup... Bathory was waaaaaaaaaay ahead of its time. IMO 99,999999% approximately of the second wave of Black metal is a complete rip off of Bathory's The Return... and Under The Sign. I'm more of a Blood Fire Death/ Hammerheart guy. Mostly Blood Fire Death... it was the album that introduced me to the band and the inception of pomp and melody in their sound while still retaining every inch of heaviness and aggression all bathed in Viking mythology... so unique. But albums like The Return, Blood On Ice and Twilight are also amazing. Also like their debut and Under The Sign but not as much as the ones above.
 
Last edited:
Blood Fire Death is certainly in a league of its own. Love everything on there save for maybe Holocaust.

"MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL, I'M THE FASTEST OF THEM ALL"
 
The hate for Bathory here makes me sick.
I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. It turns out I had judged Bathory wrong, because when I listened to the song again on my headphones, the sound was clear and I could hear the music properly. (I don't know why my computer loudspeakers sometimes distort the sound so. Does with Megadeth sometimes, too.) I might well have voted for Bathory, because the song was all right (except the singing style). But I vote based on which one I like better, instead of which one is better quality, so my vote goes to Bodom because they are groovier and more melodic.
 
I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. It turns out I had judged Bathory wrong, because when I listened to the song again on my headphones, the sound was clear and I could hear the music properly. (I don't know why my computer loudspeakers sometimes distort the sound so. Does with Megadeth sometimes, too.) I might well have voted for Bathory, because the song was all right (except the singing style). But I vote based on which one I like better, instead of which one is better quality, so my vote goes to Bodom because they are groovier and more melodic.
Yeah no worries, as Karljant and Black Wizard have pointed out I was overreacting and just caught up in the moment. I have a lot of respect for Bathory, but I also want to recognize that not everyone has my taste and I need to stop attacking others for their tastes
 
Yeah no worries, as Karljant and Black Wizard have pointed out I was overreacting and just caught up in the moment. I have a lot of respect for Bathory, but I also want to recognize that not everyone has my taste and I need to stop attacking others for their tastes
In Cups like these, I guess there are casualties when very good albums get eaten if they end up against some popular but less important band. I'm happy I listened to the Bathory song again, because now I know what it actually sounds like. If the band had wanted to sound like they did on my computer loudspeakers, I doubt it had ever become very legendary. :bigsmile:
 
I like the Heaven's Gate and Spritual Beggars tracks better than anything else this round, too bad one has to be eliminated and others advance. They are pretty different, one is a traditional metal band, the other is more a blues-based hard rock band. I vote for SB because there will be a bunch of similar, and better, traditional/power metal bands to come (I am guessing), so SB is at least more unique. And they are still my favorite discovery of this game. Plus, the cover.

There is only one album here that genuinely deserves to be called a classic, and that's Bathory. It helped pioneer a genre, albeit one I don't love, so I'm voting for it. CoB have advanced far enough; not a fan.

The other groups can go away, I don't like any of them.
 
Persefone continues to worm it’s way into my good graces with its brand of interesting modern heavy prog before losing me with the demonic vocals sections. Dark Tranquility has an interesting cold, futuristic feel and a much better groove than some of the modern metal we”ve seen in this game. Vocals again an issue for me and the musical bedrock deserves a better melody. I’m going with DT largely because I’m open to hearing more of them and I think I’ve heard what I need to from Persefone.
 
Spiritual Beggars continues to be one of the game’s revelations. The hard rock grooves and vocals are much more in my wheelhouse than the post-1990 darker, faster metal tropes that have featured so much in this game. The pre-1990 classic metal tropes of Heavens Gate are a different story. This sounds like power metal before time Neutered the genre. Like this one too even if it is tad by-the-numbers and seems To take its cheese a slice too seriously. Beggars.
 
I don’t really think Bewitched has a heckuvalot going on beyond an unself-conscious love for NWOBHM sounds, but it works for me. It’s fun. Aspid has some pretty solid thrash riffing and I mostly liked it. It was pretty good, but it wasn’t as much fun as the competition. Bewitched wins.
 
Back
Top