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

Zep -- easy choice, that album is both far more enjoyable and far more important.
Sabbath -- I'm surprised to see this album on the list, perhaps @Forostar nominated it to just be different. It's no better than Sabbath's 12th-best record, but it's still better than Death Angel. Tony Martin's singing is just a wee bit too earnest for my preference, but he does have a good voice, and Iommi busts out some good deep-track riffs on this one.
Virgin Steel continues its deep run, in part due to favorable matchups.
Don't love what Sepultura spawned with this record, and the vocals/lyrics made me laugh (probably not the intended effect), but I'm just not a big fan of Helloween, apparently, and Roots was pretty original and groundbreaking in its day, so I give it the edge.
 
Led Zeppelin to annoy @Night Prowler.
I'll pick Sabbath over Riot, but it's close.
Virgin Steele over Death Angel easily.
Sepultura is really okay, Helloween is so crap. I don't like Sepultura much but over a 4th rate Helloween album, sure.
 
There's something about Zeppelin's sound that I just don't like. The rhythm in the Rage song went in all directions, but it was quite ok otherwise.

Black Sabbath sounded 80s in a bad way here. So did Riot, but less so.

Death Angel song had a bit odd structure in my opinion. Virgin Steele was more to my taste, although a bit too power-metally for me to listen at home.

Sepultura left me speechless, I don't think this is for me. Helloween has been the band I've liked best on this Cup so far (out of the bands I have properly listened to for the first time), and the opinion holds. The song had really nice melodies.
 
Rage would beat Physical Graffiti and Led Zeppelin I, but this is a real masterpiece.

Riot sound a lot more passionate than Sabbath, I don't know. They're both pretty similar honestly. I can't believe how one sided this one is...

Act III is immensely good, but it will take a very special album to beat Virgin Steele.

Last match is the hardest, 7 Sinners is a subpar piece and Roots is a strange abomination, wtf is a Ratamahatta??? It's like that Korn album but the vocalist isn't about to burst into tears. Very strange. I feel though that there's more to discover here, and maybe I could warm up to this record. It sounds like I've heard everything there is to 7 Sinners.
 
This one looks like a tough round for the survivors of previous leagues, a few minnow runs about to end.
 
The first two pairings are all over so I won't bother pitching in.

'A Room With A View' is a strange song. I didn't expect a ballad with an acoustic intro from Thrash veterans Death Angel. I don't think they played this when they opened for Testament in March. Surprisingly 'Great Sword of Flame' is a better Thrash song than the Death Angel song and a better song in general than that soppy nonsense, so the Virgin Steele album gets my vote. This song is better than the other one or two songs I'd listened to from Virgin Steele earlier in this tournament.

'Roots' vs '7 Sinners' is a weak pairing. As Helloween albums go, '7 Sinners' is pretty decent. It doesn't reach the heights of the Seven Keys albums or the predecessor the excellent 'Gambling With The Devil', but it's far from Helloween's worst album. That accolade goes to the next in their discography, the appalling 'Straight Out Of Hell'. Everything Sepultura did before 'Roots' is good quality and, at times, seminal Thrash Metal. 'Beneath the Remains', for example, is one of my favourite albums ever and I've nominated it for this tournament. However, 'Roots' is a really shitty album which attempts to draw Sepultura into Nu Metal by copying Korn. It took Sepultura a decade to recover musically from this and the exit of both Cavalera brothers. By the time they'd returned to making Thrash they'd largely been forgotten about. There are a couple of highlights on 'Roots', namely 'Roots Bloody Roots' and 'Ratamahatta', but the rest is a pile of shit.

I'm voting for '7 Sinners' without any enthusiasm, and it's getting knocked out comfortably anyway. 'Roots' was certainly a much successful and impactful album, but it's not a good album by any measure and I wish it had never happened.
 
Led Zeppelin denies Rage a 4th consecutive victory, ousting them from the GMAC. Next for Zep: Avenged Sevenfold.
A strong victory for Black Sabbath over Riot, stronger than I thought for the underappreciated thrashers. That's it for Riot, and Sabbath next sees Pink Floyd.
It tightened up near the end, but Virgin Steele moves on past Death Angel's only album in the game. Bloodbound awaits.
And finally, Sepultura ends the minnow run of Helloween. They'll be back in League 11.
 
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Gamma Ray - Sigh No More (1991)

How it got here
List entries: n/a
Maidenfans Nominators: @Forostar
League 14 - Match 17vs.
Pretty_Maids_Future_World.jpg

Pretty Maids - Future World (1987)

How it got here
List entries: Metalstorm 63
Previous Rounds:
League 16: Defeated Trivium - Ascendancy 12-11.
League 15: Defeated Neurosis - Times of Grace 9-7.
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TalesFromTheThousandLakes.jpg

Amorphis - Tales From the Thousand Lakes (1994)

How it got here
List entries: n/a
Maidenfans Nominators: @Forostar
League 14 - Match 18vs.
Rhapsody_symphony_of_the_enchanted_lands.jpg

Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands (1998)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 87
Previous Rounds:
League 17: Defeated Ministry - Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs 15-5.
League 16: Defeated Life of Agony - River Runs Red 13-8.
League 15: Defeated Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I 9-7.
 
SabbathTyr.jpg

Black Sabbath - Tyr (1990)

How it got here
List entries: n/a
Maidenfans Nominators: @Forostar
League 14 - Match 19vs.
Angra_-_Rebirth_%282001%29.jpg

Angra - Rebirth (2001)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 79
Previous Rounds:
League 17: Defeated Twisted Sister - Under the Blade 12-9.
League 16: Defeated Gorgoroth - Pentagram 13-9.
League 15: Defeated Van Halen - Women and Children First 9-7.
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Omnium_Gatherum_-_New_World_Shadows.jpg

Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadow (2011)

How it got here
List entries: Metal Kingdom 19
Maidenfans Nominators: n/a
League 15 - Match 20vs.
Gutterballlet.jpg

Savatage - Gutter Ballet (1989)

How it got here
List entries: Metalstorm 33
League 15: Defeated Buckethead - Pepper’s Ghost 9-8.
 
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