GREATEST METAL ALBUM CUP - Winner: Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son!
- Thread starter LooseCannon
- Start date
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
Sigh No More is one of Gamma Ray’s weakest albums, IMO. I’m not a fan of Ralph Scheepers’ voice, and the more depressing music and lyrics are out of step with most of the band’s work. The recording itself is also a bit raw and clunky. I generally prefer the later versions of these songs with Kai Hansen on vocals on Blast From The Past and the Skeletons albums. That said, even weak Gamma Ray is still pretty damned good, and there’s a lot to like in most of these tracks, from the dense structures of “Changes” and “Dream Healer” to the straight-ahead rock of “Rich & Famous” and “One With The World” to the excellent album closer “The Spirit”. The Pretty Maids album is also pretty good, but it’s a bit synthier and cheesier, and I’m not a fan of their vocalist either. In the end I think the Gamma Ray album has more punch and staying power. Score another point for @Forostar . Winner: Gamma Ray
I really like the music on this Amorphis album, and while the extreme vocals are unfortunate, they’re more toward the tolerable “whispery Cookie Monster” end of the scale, and they’re not too high in the mix, so I can stomach them. The occasional clean vocals are also nice to hear. And then we have Rhapsody again. As I’ve said before, I really love Luca Turilli but I really dislike Fabio Lione. I also feel like the synth orchestration on this album is really low rent, and the overall songwriting just isn’t as good here as it is on most of his solo work (in particular Prophet Of The Last Eclipse, which I nominated for this game and which appears later in this very league). I’m a little surprised by my choice, but I’m going to go with @Forostar ‘s album here. Winner: Amorphis
Not particularly thrilled with either of the albums in round 3. The Black Sabbath album is fine, but nothing inspiring. The songwriting here generally doesn’t do it for me, though there are some nice passages and solos. The Angra album is also a bit power-metal-by-numbers in places, and has some wimpy Angra-isms to it, but it also has some inspired moments and strong guitar playing. On the whole I think I find Rebirth to be a bit more interesting. But don’t be sad, @Forostar , cos 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. Winner: Angra
The extreme vocals on the Omnium Gatherum album are of the more aggressive Cookie Monster variety and more present in the mix, so I really can’t deal with them. Yeah, there are some clean vox too, but the glass gargling just pollutes everything and I can’t get past it. I really didn’t like this Savatage album very much, but I would listen to it again in a heartbeat vs. listening to “COOOOOOOKIIIIIIIIIIIIESSSSSS!!!!!“ being bellowed into my ear repeatedly. If nothing else, the GMAC has very clearly defined where my brain draws the line on extreme vocals. Winner: Savatage
I really like the music on this Amorphis album, and while the extreme vocals are unfortunate, they’re more toward the tolerable “whispery Cookie Monster” end of the scale, and they’re not too high in the mix, so I can stomach them. The occasional clean vocals are also nice to hear. And then we have Rhapsody again. As I’ve said before, I really love Luca Turilli but I really dislike Fabio Lione. I also feel like the synth orchestration on this album is really low rent, and the overall songwriting just isn’t as good here as it is on most of his solo work (in particular Prophet Of The Last Eclipse, which I nominated for this game and which appears later in this very league). I’m a little surprised by my choice, but I’m going to go with @Forostar ‘s album here. Winner: Amorphis
Not particularly thrilled with either of the albums in round 3. The Black Sabbath album is fine, but nothing inspiring. The songwriting here generally doesn’t do it for me, though there are some nice passages and solos. The Angra album is also a bit power-metal-by-numbers in places, and has some wimpy Angra-isms to it, but it also has some inspired moments and strong guitar playing. On the whole I think I find Rebirth to be a bit more interesting. But don’t be sad, @Forostar , cos 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. Winner: Angra
The extreme vocals on the Omnium Gatherum album are of the more aggressive Cookie Monster variety and more present in the mix, so I really can’t deal with them. Yeah, there are some clean vox too, but the glass gargling just pollutes everything and I can’t get past it. I really didn’t like this Savatage album very much, but I would listen to it again in a heartbeat vs. listening to “COOOOOOOKIIIIIIIIIIIIESSSSSS!!!!!“ being bellowed into my ear repeatedly. If nothing else, the GMAC has very clearly defined where my brain draws the line on extreme vocals. Winner: Savatage
Jer
'Til Tomorrow
Yeah, looks like 3 of my nominees are in the next league. I’ll need to think about the example songs a bit more...
Yeah, some classics, some underrated albums, and some weird stuff. I'm excited for it!
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Gamma Ray - never heard of these before I started posting on metal forums. The name is so stupid that I never felt inclined to check them out. Guitar sound is good, this has a bit about it, wiki tells me the guy from Helloween formed them, sounds like it might be more up my alley than the couple of Helloween albums I'm aware of.
Pretty Maids - opinion given before
Gamma Ray with the win
Amorphis - A bit of Skyclad off this, same melodies and guitar sound, vocals finish any interest I had which is a shame, as otherwise it's not bad at all
Rhapsody - opinion given before
Amorphis with the win
Black Sabbath - Iommi's playing is great both the riff and solo, Cozy Powell is one of my favourite drummers, vocals technically proficient but not doing it for me
Angra - opinion given before
Black Sabbath with the win
Omnium Gatherum - never heard of them, rubbish
Savatage - opinion given before
Savatage with the win
Pretty Maids - opinion given before
Gamma Ray with the win
Amorphis - A bit of Skyclad off this, same melodies and guitar sound, vocals finish any interest I had which is a shame, as otherwise it's not bad at all
Rhapsody - opinion given before
Amorphis with the win
Black Sabbath - Iommi's playing is great both the riff and solo, Cozy Powell is one of my favourite drummers, vocals technically proficient but not doing it for me
Angra - opinion given before
Black Sabbath with the win
Omnium Gatherum - never heard of them, rubbish
Savatage - opinion given before
Savatage with the win
MindRuler
Ancient Mariner
The irony: A band with a former Helloween member vs. a band with a Helloween song as album title. I absolutely love the sound of this Pretty Maids album. Great vocals and synths.
I never liked Fabio Leone´s voice, Rhapsody as a whole is also too bombastic for my taste. Amorphis brings lots of atmosphere, brilliant artwork too.
Angra is very good but I have to vote for Black Sabbath here.
And the last one was very easy: Gutter Ballet is an awesome Savatage album.
I never liked Fabio Leone´s voice, Rhapsody as a whole is also too bombastic for my taste. Amorphis brings lots of atmosphere, brilliant artwork too.
Angra is very good but I have to vote for Black Sabbath here.
And the last one was very easy: Gutter Ballet is an awesome Savatage album.
karljant
Ancient Mariner
Some really great stuff on this league. However... Pink Floyd? In a metal game? Come on... are you kidding me? Wish You Were Here is simply my PF favorite album and one of my favorite records of all time but if I can personally accept nominations for bands such as Nirvana (which has a strong Black Sabbath influence) or Zeppelin (brought some traits into heavy metal such as some heavy fast tunes and high pitch vocals, inspiring namely big metal bands like Priest and Mercyful Fate) the inclusion of Wish You Were Here on this game seems too far fetched.
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
I agree that Wish You Were Here as a "greatest metal album" would be ridiculous, but so would be Nirvana.
However I'm more disconcerted by the choice of the title track to represent the album - the most sappy, overplayed, hipsters-listening-to-the-old-music's favourite (see Lords of Dogtown) ballad they ever done. But it might help to get them some votes, sure.
However I'm more disconcerted by the choice of the title track to represent the album - the most sappy, overplayed, hipsters-listening-to-the-old-music's favourite (see Lords of Dogtown) ballad they ever done. But it might help to get them some votes, sure.
Midnight
The Ever-Present "It"
Finally, someone who shares my views on that song.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Yikes I did not realize Tyr would be on so soon! I'll still hand over some vid links for future use @LooseCannon in case it survives.
karljant
Ancient Mariner
Already gave my opinion on Pretty Maids. Sigh No More is an interesting album. After a really good debut in Heading For Tomorrow the band's sophomore is yet another display of fine Power Metal by Mr. Hansen and when things are done by its inventors chances they get well done sky rocket. Fast tracks such as Rich And Famous, As Time Goes By or Start Running give continuity to the work the German composer left undone in Helloween. There's a galloping mini epic in Dream Healer while some other songs have a more groovy slow paced Changes featuring a smart Priest easter egg on the chorus amplified by the once more great performance of Ralph Scheepers. So yeah... Gamma Ray is an easy pick here.
Also gave my opinion before on how I love Rhapsody played with the speakers off. As for Tales From A Thousand Lakes this is indeed an interesting album. First and foremost if there's an archetype of "cookie monster" growling in metal this is it. Nevertheless this record is way more than that and even in the vocal department Kyyria's Ville Tuomi amazing voice brings the contrast this kind of approach needs. So what's this album all about? Simply put a Folk/ Melodic Death Metal concept album heavily leaned into Finnish folklore imagery and sound legacy. And man do this guys pull some great tunes here although i must stress how great Drowned Maid, The Castaway and In The Beginning sound. So there you go... although I always thought this album was a tad bit overrated back in the 90's no one can deny its importance on following heavier Folk Metal acts. And even if it wasn't the case, when you're running against Rhapsody you don't need much to win. Amorphis gets my vote.
Rebirth is an ok album by Angra as I stated before but I think its run has ended. Not that TYR is a monster of an album that towers in comparison with the Brazilians' record. Far from it. As matter of fact this is easily the least achieved of the late 80's revivalism by the grandfathers of metal with Tony Martin as a singer. But nonetheless it is still a really solid and tight as nails album, reinforcing the quality seal of its two predecessors (The Eternal Idol and The Headless Cross). Furthermore Iommi and company (and by company there's the inclusion of the great Cozy Powel) maintained the overall ambiance of those records: heavy and epic tunes underlined by a strong keyboard layer like the opener Anno Mundi, Jerusalem or Valhalla while the band also presents us their blueprint doomier side in The Sabbath Stones. So there you go... a cool album that I enjoy quite a bit more than Rebirth, making Black Sabbath come out on top as far as I'm concerned.
The last clash is an odd one. On one hand Savatage play respectable Heavy Metal that somehow does little for me. On the other Omnium Gatherum show some great ideas while building ambiance and even song structure but then spoil the whole cook by dropping too much ingredients in what they're cooking. So, since I believe Savatage will take this one I'll give my charity vote to Omnium Gatherum.
Also gave my opinion before on how I love Rhapsody played with the speakers off. As for Tales From A Thousand Lakes this is indeed an interesting album. First and foremost if there's an archetype of "cookie monster" growling in metal this is it. Nevertheless this record is way more than that and even in the vocal department Kyyria's Ville Tuomi amazing voice brings the contrast this kind of approach needs. So what's this album all about? Simply put a Folk/ Melodic Death Metal concept album heavily leaned into Finnish folklore imagery and sound legacy. And man do this guys pull some great tunes here although i must stress how great Drowned Maid, The Castaway and In The Beginning sound. So there you go... although I always thought this album was a tad bit overrated back in the 90's no one can deny its importance on following heavier Folk Metal acts. And even if it wasn't the case, when you're running against Rhapsody you don't need much to win. Amorphis gets my vote.
Rebirth is an ok album by Angra as I stated before but I think its run has ended. Not that TYR is a monster of an album that towers in comparison with the Brazilians' record. Far from it. As matter of fact this is easily the least achieved of the late 80's revivalism by the grandfathers of metal with Tony Martin as a singer. But nonetheless it is still a really solid and tight as nails album, reinforcing the quality seal of its two predecessors (The Eternal Idol and The Headless Cross). Furthermore Iommi and company (and by company there's the inclusion of the great Cozy Powel) maintained the overall ambiance of those records: heavy and epic tunes underlined by a strong keyboard layer like the opener Anno Mundi, Jerusalem or Valhalla while the band also presents us their blueprint doomier side in The Sabbath Stones. So there you go... a cool album that I enjoy quite a bit more than Rebirth, making Black Sabbath come out on top as far as I'm concerned.
The last clash is an odd one. On one hand Savatage play respectable Heavy Metal that somehow does little for me. On the other Omnium Gatherum show some great ideas while building ambiance and even song structure but then spoil the whole cook by dropping too much ingredients in what they're cooking. So, since I believe Savatage will take this one I'll give my charity vote to Omnium Gatherum.
karljant
Ancient Mariner
There's not a single second of music that isn't simply pure genius on that album no matter what genre and how many times it is played. Let me repeat: NOT A SINGLE SECOND!
That's exactly my take. And if it's paired against the Rhapsody's of the world it's going to hurt...
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Because of the title track this is not my favourite Pink Floyd album.
Well weird stuff happens in the Cup, what do you want me to tell you. Someone from the neighbouring Prog Rock league reclassified in the Metal league and nobody pays attention to the Shropshire Premier League so stuff just happens.
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
Agreed 100%. A song that is very unrepresentative of the album, or the band in general. It's a nice tune, but I never understood why it was such a highly regarded one.
As always, if nobody sends me a video in advance, I just pick the most popular one on Spotify/Youtube.