Rate the last album you've heard

[TylerDurden99]

http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/105/cover_5631419102008.jpg

It opens with one of prog's greatest tunes in Roundabout, but after that, it only remains sporadically interesting, with Cans And Brahms and Mood For A Day being the only other songs that come remotely close to matching Roundabout's greatness.

3

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/Bryan_Adams_-_Reckless.jpg

Cheese and predictability do pop up, but I have always liked Adam's classic pop-rock sheen and his admirable energy.

3.5

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Police-album-synchronicity.jpg

Side one's most interesting songs are the ones not written by Sting, but side two is where the magic - and the hit singles - appear.

3

[Mr Minio]

Perfume - Dream Fighter - rating_4

http://www.djamaya.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/dream_fighter_regular.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf4b2jEEN8k

Up there with Elektronik Supersonik at the peak of music singles.

[Slappydavis]

The new Sleater-Kinney, No Cities To Love, popped up (http://www.npr.org/2015/01/11/376085344/first-listen-sleater-kinney-no-cities-to-love), and it's really quite good.

http://cdn.stereogum.com/files/2015/01/SleaterKinney_NoCitiesToLove_cover-608x608.jpg

After a decade long gap between albums, I thought there'd be a lot of fluff, but it comes in at just barely over half an hour. One of their catchiest albums, it's very fun, but very much a SK release. Production is a bit off on a couple tracks (Surface Envy) and it sounds a bit tinny. Hope I'm able to catch them on tour.

4

[Miss Vicky]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=19599&stc=1&d=1421904651

Tusk (Fleetwood Mac, 1979)

5

[Swan]

http://www.partisanrecords.com/wp-content/themes/partisan/t.php?src=http://www.partisanrecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SYLVAN_ESSO-self_titled-900x900.jpg&w=309&h=309

Amazing/10

[matt72582]

Endless River (2014)

Pink Floyd is my favorite, and I had doubts about this album. It's not new, it's leftover stuff from 1994, "The Division Bell" (which I didn't like, and Momentary Lapse which had horrible production on top of it)..

Without Roger Waters, they did the best they could, instrumentals, and the only song with lyrics is the worst song. This is definitely Rick Wright's album.

[donniedarko]

Yes- Fragile
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Fragile.jpg
4

[matt72582]

Yes- Fragile
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Fragile.jpg
rating_4



"Fragile... Must be Italian.."

[Devostator]

1989 and no, not ashamed to admit it. it wasn't actually bad

[linespalsy]

Last 3.

Fatlip - The Loneliest Punk 3 - first listen. Maybe the album as a whole will grow on me. There's a cameo by Shock "Humpty Hump" G (in character) and there's this going for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48LLdLbAiQg

Iggy Pop - Lust For Life 3.5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLhN__oEHaw

Michael Nyman & Damon Albarn - Ravenous 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThNgSjogMHU

[foster]

interstellar by hans zimmerman

good but awfully sentimental and understated.
haven't seen the film

[mark f]

Viet Cong by Viet Cong 3.5
Entertaining and thoughtful riff-o-rama from the Canadian band's debut is heavily inspired by early Wire's use of rhythm guitars, a strong rhythm section and occasional freaky keyboards, although it's in no way a slavish copycat.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3ez0daDsx_I

[jiraffejustin]

You notice a Joy Division influence, mark?

[mark f]

Sure, there are a few of those late '70s/early '80s bands like Joy Division they resemble, and the singer sounds like feiiow Canadian Spencer Krug on a few tracks, but they mostly sound true to themselves.

[Mr Minio]

I give it 3

I wanted more!

[TylerDurden99]

Listened to these two reputed classics recently:


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Elvis_Presley_LPM-1254_Album_Cover.jpg


It gets points for it's influence and impact, but it's hardly a consistent or an exciting listen. There are a few good songs, but they're surrounded by instantly forgettable filler.


2.5




http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/42/Beatles_-_Abbey_Road.jpg


This is probably my favourite Beatles album yet. The medley that covers the second side is home to flashes of genius, but it's the album's first seven songs that sold me. In particular, "Oh Darling" and Harrison's two contributions "Something" and especially "Here Comes The Sun" (which currently stands as my favourite Beatles track) are the highlights.


4

[Mr Minio]

Death Grips - Fashion Week (2015)

http://cdn.stereogum.com/files/2015/01/dg-fashionweek.jpg

Sua Yoo - rating_5
Death Grips - rating_2_5

(Weighted) average - rating_3

[linespalsy]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/Let%27s_Get_Ready.jpg

Mystikal - Let's Get Ready 3.5

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Niceandsmooth.jpg

Nice and Smooth - Nice and Smooth 3.5+

[Sedai]

Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41NPSX7FSQL.jpg

4

[jiraffejustin]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/RunTheJewelsRTJ2.jpg

Run the Jewels 2

5

El-P is music's MVP through the first half of this decade. His output: production on Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music, his Cancer 4 Cure, and of course the two Run the Jewels albums alongside Mike.

[Swan]

First time listening to it, JJ?

:D

[jiraffejustin]

First time listening to it, JJ?

:D

First time today ;)

[mistique]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn01.mishkanyc.com/sites/default/files/uploads/2009/07/Desire-II.jpg

Desire - II (2009)

rating_2_5

I used to listen a lot to the songs 'Under your spell' and 'Don't Call'. This is the first time I've listened to the whole album, and I don't feel like I've been missing out on anything.

[jiraffejustin]

https://pp.vk.me/c425523/v425523182/54b5/wicz62O0UFY.jpg

Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)

at least 4.5

[jiraffejustin]

https://light-in-the-attic.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/release_image/10306/image/MCR906_DigablePlanets_BlowoutComb325.jpg
Digable Planets - Blowout Comb

At least 4.5


Yeah, I like it a lot. I think both Digable albums could reach those 5 popcorns. (Feels weird to give music popcorn scores)

[jiraffejustin]

https://twomatthews.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/deltron3030.jpg?w=584

Deltron 3030

4.5

this rap stuff is pretty dope.

[jiraffejustin]

http://s4.pacn.ws/640/gy/Atliens_305419.1.jpg?nkqemz

OutKast - ATLiens

5

[kkl10]

Charles Mingus

Mingus Ah Um rating_5

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady rating_5

Let My Children Hear Music rating_5

Epitaph rating_5

Alice Coltrane

World Galaxy rating_5

Universal Consciousness rating_5

Matmos

The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast rating_4_5

Lucy

Wordplay For Working Bees rating_4

Scott Walker

Scott 3 rating_4_5

----------------------------

And many others that I can't remember right now...

[Mr Minio]

Make sure to listen Journey in Satchidananda if you haven't already. :cool:

Ptah, the El Daoud, Transcendence and Divine Songs are pretty interesting, too.

[kkl10]

Glad someone else shares some of my tastes. :cool: Mingus and Alice are my latest obsessions. I'll be checking out much more stuff.

[Mr Minio]

Go for Blues & Roots, too.

[donniedarko]

Two great ones that I've been listening to a ton these past few months

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/RunTheJewelsRTJ2.jpg
Run The Jewels 2- 4.5

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2a/2014ForestHillsDrive.jpg
Forrest Hills Drive-5

[jiraffejustin]

Rep for RTJ.

I've never been able to get into J.Cole.

[The Sci-Fi Slob]

Rep for RTJ.
Come on now gentlemen, let's leave the texting language to our phones.

[Iroquois]

Come on now gentlemen, let's leave the texting language to our phones.

Let's leave the condescending assumptions about other people's usage of abbreviations to somewhere that isn't this website.

[jiraffejustin]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7f2AXLIUAEBw3N.jpg

I forgot this existed. Yeah, Run the Jewels inspired some Marvel covers.

Anyway

http://www.incorrecto.mx/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Run-the-Jewels.jpg

Run the Jewels

5

I am wearing this shirt right now:

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0068/7752/products/chain-snatch-front_1024x1024.jpg?v=1417813328

[matt72582]

John Lennon - Walls and Bridges - 9/10
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/Walls_And_Bridges.png

[donniedarko]

I've never been able to get into J.Cole.

I felt that way before this album. The only song I ever got into before was, Let Nas Down. And I quickly got bored of it. This was way above anything he's released before though.

[donniedarko]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Led_Zeppelin_-_Led_Zeppelin_IV.jpg
Led Zeppelin IV-4

[Cole416]

RTJ 2 5
2014FHD 5
TPAB 4
Acid Rap 5
Camp 3
IYRTITL 2.5
I Am Just a Rapper 4.5
I Am Just a Rapper 2 3.5

[jiraffejustin]

I felt that way before this album. The only song I ever got into before was, Let Nas Down. And I quickly got bored of it. This was way above anything he's released before though.

I don't guess I've ever heard any tracks from the new album, so I can't really judge it. I might give it a shot soon.

[Guaporense]

Symphony X Paradise Lost 7/10
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/Paradise_Lost_by_Symphony_X_album_cover_art.jpg

Kamelot Silverthorn 8/10
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/Silverthorn_cover.jpg

Kamelot is the best American band of all time!

[Swan]

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/Hildur_Guethnadottir_ndash_Without_Sinking_zpsbzdjrqai.jpg

5

[mark f]

4.5
http://www.thestranger.com/imager/b/slideshow/15397857/f603/1354134428-music-never-click.jpeg

[Guaporense]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwcrQnmMVuY

5

This is the best band I discovered over the past 5-6 years or so. OMG, how could I spend so long time without listening to this? All my other fav. bands I discovered before I turned 22. This feels great, again, to discover such inspiring music again for a long time.

[donniedarko]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/Long-live-asap.jpg
4+

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/ASAP_Ferg_Trap_Lord.jpg

3.5

[earlsmoviepicks]

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams
Awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ey_IUNiVZQ

[linespalsy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRXtO3AYcFI

The Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers and Queers 4.5
The Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon 4.5
Y.M.O. - Naughty Boys 4
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall 4
The Fall - Sub-lingual Tablet 3.5
Electric Light Orchestra - Discovery 3.5

[Cole416]

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - 5

Quite possibly the GOAT Kanye album.

[meatwadsprite]

There's a Riot Goin On

http://jivetimerecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Sly_and_the_Family_Stone-Theres_A_Riot_Going_On_b.jpg

So different from anything I've heard.

5



The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam

http://cdn2.pitchfork.com/albums/22019/homepage_large.fa076f40.jpg

As a Thundercat fan this is a pretty disappointing release. It's only about 13 minutes long and half of that is filler.

3

[Mr Minio]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5qwsSZ_98M

rating_5

Took me only 4 years to find the masterpiece of music.

Superior to Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff. Pretty much anything.

[Derek Vinyard]

Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare (album)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/Avenged_Sevenfold_-_Nightmare.png
4.5

[mark f]

Minio, are you Guap?

[Swan]

Listened to this masterpiece again today. It's been a while. Still one of my faves.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/M.I.A._-_Arular_zps67nglcnn.png

[MovieMeditation]

Frank Ocean - channel ORANGE 4.5

[Mr Minio]

I'm trying to revisit some albums I love and rerate them accordingly. Also checking out some awesome stuff.

I might make a top album list, but I don't think anybody here would be interested.

[Swan]

Master of Puppets - Metallica

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/6cb73fb2dde7cf59b996612e5e509e5ff3cdbd9b_zpsryixfube.jpg

Relisten to what was, at a time, my favorite album ever. I bore this into my brain to the point where it never left. I'm finding as I make my own music their influence is incredibly apparent, it seems they have been beaten into my subconscious. I only really care about Metallica's first three albums (and to a lesser extend, AJFA), but man, what three albums they are. Master of Puppets, to me, is the greatest metal album ever produced. A work of genius.

5

[TylerDurden99]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Queen_Sheer_Heart_Attack.png


3.5


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4d/Queen_A_Night_At_The_Opera.png


4

[Iroquois]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/No_Cities_to_Love_cover.jpg

Sleater-Kinney - No Cities to Love

Not exactly The Woods, but then again what is?

4

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZekDE3MqL.jpg

Darren Hayes - The Tension and the Spark

I was really big on Savage Garden when I was a teen and have recently rediscovered my love of them. (Yes, I love them and I don't care who knows it. :p ) This is the former lead singer's second solo album, which is aptly named. It's sexy, funny, and his voice is amazing. I think I'll only love it more with time.

Favorite Tracks:
Pop!Ular (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=psT28-j8atg&spfreload=10)
I Like the Way (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g31HFMwA-Tw&spfreload=10)
Sense of Humor (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R4tY7RsjguU&spfreload=10)
ETA: I'm hooked on this one now: Unlovable (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=En77yKCfVzk&spfreload=10)

Rating: 4+

[Miss Vicky]

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/LindseyBuckingham-GoInsane_zps5wkq4u7d.jpg

Lindsey Buckingham - Go Insane

Anybody who has participated in a song tournament with me or who knows anything at all about my taste in music knows that I am obsessed with Lindsey Buckingham. Anyway, I decided to recommend this album to Swan last night and ended up listening to it myself for the first time in a long time (I've listened to the individual songs on it fairly often, but not to the album as a whole in the intended order).

This album has a distinctly 1980s sound to it, but it's also very experimental, with strange noises, unconventional textures, and incredible guitar work. Buckingham has long been an artist whose talent is often either dismissed because of his association with Fleetwood Mac or simply overlooked in favor of a certain more famous ex-lover. But I think this album reveals him to be the true artist that he is.

Favorite Tracks:
D.W. Suite (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1SAsNNq3piA&spfreload=10)
Loving Cup (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RTijmQNw3HA&spfreload=10)
Go Insane (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=usz4eji8cDM&spfreload=10)

5

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61KK1wMQBiL._SX522_.jpg

Darren Hayes - Spin

I decided to dig this out of my cd collection and dust it off. This is Hayes's first solo album, from 2002. I bought it when it was first released, listened to it once or twice, and then pretty much ignored it for 13 years.

I'm a little baffled as to why. It's not as strong as his work with Savage Garden (it's also not as strong as its follow up, The Tension and the Spark), but there's some really excellent pop music here. Thematically, there's nothing new or original. The album is full of songs of love, lust, heartache, and obsession, but Hayes's voice - which is in turns soaring, sultry, and effervescent - and gift for catchy lyrics and catchier hooks make his music a treat to listen to for fans of pop music.

Overall, a solid debut.

Favorite Tracks:
Strange Relationship (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Col15AJMUpM&spfreload=10)
Creepin' Up On You (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rLPgyuZDvuI&spfreload=10)
Crush (1980 Me) (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCDbUAuUOE&spfreload=10)

3.5+

[Miss Vicky]

http://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics/outofthecradlecover.jpg

Lindsey Buckingham - Out of the Cradle

Released in 1992, this is Buckingham’s third solo album and the first to be released after his departure from Fleetwood Mac in the late 1980s. This is a much different solo Buckingham than the one we hear on his first two solo outings. Stepping away from the rather pop sound of Law and Order and the experimental nature of Go Insane, this is a more straight ahead rock album.

Thematically, the album is as its title suggests: a testament to Buckingham as an individual. Buckingham sings of sorrow and regret, hope, loneliness and alienation, and anger, interspersed with gorgeous instrumental and spoken introductions. His feelings are sometimes expressed in delicate guitar touches, richly layered sounds, and moody atmosphere, and other times with a growling riff and sneering vocals. But what probably distinguishes this album from his previous solo efforts is its more mature tone and centered theme.

Overall it’s a beautiful work of art and a fantastic showcase for his many talents – production (with help from Richard Dashut, who also co-produced several of Fleetwood Mac’s albums, including Rumours), guitar, vocals, and songwriting (with much help from Dashut here as well). It’s also widely regarded as his best solo album, but damned if I’m not more of a sucker for the playful weirdness of Go Insane.

Favorite Tracks:
Street of Dreams (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UUo_xttG2VI&spfreload=10)
This is the Time (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5ABzitO5trE&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNr4gFaCh4xw958Uyq8ci66c&index=6&spfreload=10) (with instrumental introduction)
Surrender the Rain (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IIiPXSW4x0k&spfreload=10) (with spoken introduction)

4.5+

[Derek Vinyard]

Billy Talent - Dead Silence
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2a/Dead_Silence_album_cover_by_Billy_Talent.png
- One of the best album of the decade in my opinion and Billy Talent is a canadian band from my childhood. I see them twice in show and they are awesome. Highly Recommended.
4.5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU5e8yVjbkA

[TylerDurden99]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Don_Henley_-_The_End_of_the_Innocence.jpg


3

[TylerDurden99]

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0000/616/MI0000616967.jpg?partner=allrovi.com


2.5

[Miss Vicky]

:(

[Guaporense]

Master of Puppets - Metallica

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/6cb73fb2dde7cf59b996612e5e509e5ff3cdbd9b_zpsryixfube.jpg

Relisten to what was, at a time, my favorite album ever. I bore this into my brain to the point where it never left. I'm finding as I make my own music their influence is incredibly apparent, it seems they have been beaten into my subconscious. I only really care about Metallica's first three albums (and to a lesser extend, AJFA), but man, what three albums they are. Master of Puppets, to me, is the greatest metal album ever produced. A work of genius.

5

Its pretty good. But it is a tad repetitive and artisticaly arid and it is not among Metallica's best albums. Some metal critics even consider this album to be a terrible affront to metal:

Where it all started to go wrong. - 63%
hells_unicorn, September 23rd, 2006

In recent years, after the plunge of this band into being a complete caricature of what is wrong with music today, everyone began to wonder what went wrong, why did this band turn into a walking satire. I myself had my own theories about it as I penned reviews for the substandard Load albums and began a rather painful listening session of “St. Anger”. I happened upon some rather scathing reviews of this album as being the death of metal/a corruption in the fabric that resulted in the death of thrash. On top of this, I’ve read some rather nostalgic, yet somewhat apologetic and weak defenses of this album.

As some may have gleaned, I am a guitar player who is currently co-fronting a power metal band with some symphonic influences, but what is not mentioned there is that my first introduction into heavy metal was in the realm of thrash, particularly MegaDeth’s “Peace Sells” album. I was 13 years old at the time and I was just starting to learn guitar with Nirvana as my primary influence, but my brother was liquidating his own stock of old audio cassettes and I ended up with a mountain of 80s metal albums, the two main ones were Metallica’s “And Justice for All” and MegaDeth’s “Peace Sells”. The latter received the most attention from me, although the former was very well received. Fairly soon after, Kurt Cobain shot himself, I realized that his music was an artistic dead-end and I began learning how to actually play my instrument.

I had never thought of reviewing this album because truth be told, I have not listened to it in years. I bought this album in 1994 because everyone in my high school guitar class told me it was Metallica’s masterpiece, so I went to the store and picked it up on CD. "Kill Em’ All", "Ride The Lightning", and "And Justice For All" all receive regular play in my stereo, and occasionally I do listen to the self-titled album. But for some reason, though I didn’t chalk it up to not liking the album at the time, I just had other things to listen to, so I just didn't see it as that important musically. On an intuition, I picked it up again and after listening to this album 10 times through, over a course of 4 days during some long commutes, I figured out where the dissent I had encountered was coming from.

One of the things I did during these listening sessions was re-learn all of the lead riffs and the solos, which are not all that technically or musically intricate actually. Kirk Hammet’s best solos on this album are the ones on “Disposable Heroes” and “Battery”, and they are good primarily because they are geared towards what Kirk has always been good at, venting anger through fast and repetitive pentatonic licks and scale runs. His more melodic solos on “Sanitarium” are extremely anti-climactic, as was the case with his lead work on “To Live Is To Die”, and sound more forced than anything else. All of the rest of his material is highly forgettable, because they are too long winded and localized to one spot. Kirk’s solos are best when split up into smaller doses and spread out through out the song in short bursts. When they are long-winded and done over a constantly repeated drone, it sounds like some shred kid doing basic pentatonic calisthenics rather than something musical. It is also important to note that this album is where Kirk is beginning to use the wah pedal as a crutch rather than an effect to complement some of his solos, and the result is his current overuse of it.

The main riffs of these songs are highly memorable, too memorable in fact, and this is where an accusation is raised about this album being a bunch of fluff and fodder for public consumption stems from. One of the reasons for this is that the riffs are played over and over ad nauseum. This can be readily observed in the intros to “Battery”, the title track, “The Thing That Should Not Be”, “Sanitarium”, as well as the main riffs of “Leper Messiah” and “Damage Inc.” There are a good number of differing riffs and parts in each track, but all of them are repeated far too much and not developed at all. The "Black Album" at least attempted to vary the rhythm riffs, here there is absolutely no attempt being made. Back during the war in Afghanistan it was rumored that the Allied military was using Metallica’s music to extract information from prisoners, I wouldn’t be surprised if they used some of this album, because parts of it turn into sheer torture on the ears during repeated listens, to the point of it becoming musical propaganda. It screams “these are great riffs, and you will hear them over and over until you agree with me!!!”.

The intros of all the mainstream friendly songs, minus perhaps “Orion”, are all geared towards one purpose, hiding the true nature of what Metallica is, a thrash band. None of the intros in the more thrashing songs that have them are brought back, making it sound like your listening to 2 completely different songs. There is something to be said for the idea that these intros are meant to suck in non-metal fans and boost album sales, but there is a deeper musical emotion at work than the pretense of greed, and that is shame. It is not a question of having soft intros to loud songs, many great bands do this effectively and “Fight Fire with Fire” is an example of Metallica doing it right, but it’s a matter of having intros for the sake of having them, with no other purpose than to act as window dressing to make what comes after not seem as heavy, as aggressive, as ****ing metal.

Metallica has truly taken the road of self-parody, and this is readily observable in the structure of these songs. A good analogy, if anyone here is a novel buff, is the practice in architecture of setting up ornamentation and figurehead statues to hide the actual structure itself in Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”. The result is the articulation of shame over the goodness of your work, and ultimately the death of the art save the individuals whom rebel against the trend. This is exactly what happened in the early 90s in Metal, and the result was the worst possible band taking over the reins of heavy music, Nirvana. If you haven’t read “The Fountainhead”, I recommend reading it because it explains exactly how not only in architecture, but in every art it is guilt over your own greatness that destroys it.

I’m going to personally take a moment to single out “The Thing That Should Not Be” because quite frankly this is one of the worst attempts to re-capture the slower doom sound of Sabbath that I’ve ever heard. The intro riff is gloomy and dark sounding enough, but the rest of the song is so slow, over-long, redundant and boring that you almost want to yank the CD out of the player and crush it inside your own fist. If it wasn’t for the fact that this album has the old punch sound in the guitar that Metallica used to exhibit regularly, this song would almost sound like a slightly more organized version of “The Outlaw Torn”.

The lyrics of this album are a perfect reflection of the propaganda like nature of the musical structure, be it the tired "just say no to drugs" theme in the title track, the weak willed words against televangelism in “Leper Messiah”, the collectivist spirit of “Sanitarium”, or the cliché post 60s anti-war rehash of “Disposable Heroes”. But the important aspect of these songs is not the politics, but the underlying principle that causes one to take up these various pet causes and to turn your music into a slave of established and self-contradictory political ideologies, and that is the desire to have your music seem important for the sake of being important to others. Music is an art that is independent of the listener, the listener is drawn to it because of it’s nature, not because it panders to what the listeners may or may not agree with. This is where the line is drawn between true art and propaganda disguised as art, and the lion’s share of this album is the latter, not the former which could describe the works before this.

If there is any saving grace to this album, it is the things that I did not mention. Despite being overlong and essentially being an idea stolen from Dave Mustaine’s past work in Metallica, “Disposable Heroes” is a decent song and can be extracted from the rest of the mediocrity on this album. “Orion” is actually a good instrumental and highlights the strength of Cliff Burton’s post-Sabbath influence on the band, one that was sadly lost after his death. “Damage Inc.“ is a good song, even though the structure is thrown off a bit by the intro. And if you ignore the redundant and flat sounding acoustic intro to “Battery”, you have a song very similar to “Blackened”, but if you can’t do this, just listening to the opening track to “And Justice for All” will suffice.

As far as what the socio-cultural impact of this album was on the greater metal scene, I would like to add a few things as to how this album succeeded in doing what it did, and why it’s impact was delayed. In 1986 thrash was still alive and kicking. Nuclear Assault had just hit the scene, Anthrax would be poised to release a set of decent albums, and MegaDeth was still pumping out classic albums. As far as the death of thrash goes, MegaDeth’s “Peace Sells” was the primary delay in it’s demise. As far as the death of the entire metal movement in the early 90s, this was caused in part by the acceptance of this corrupt form of thrash by most of the metal faithful, but it was helped by a lot of other circumstances, and also delayed by some stellar releases.

Judas Priest had probably their least heavy release in 1986, but in 1988 their classic speed and shred based “Ram it Down” provided a NWOBHM alternative to the disease that was slowly festering in the Thrash scene, and this was followed by the even more fast and fierce “Painkiller”. Also, Iron Maiden released their greatest album in “Somewhere in Time” the same year as this album was released, and followed it up by an ingenious concept album in “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”. Unfortunately, the self-destruction of these bands due to conflicts between the front men and the others left a vacuum to be filled by the first person with an ounce of angst in him, and that is how we ended up with Kurt Cobain, who basically filled a complete artistic vacuum with a nihilistic/anarchistic punk rock sound that was so self-parodying, even compared to this album, that it’s seemingly premature demise was inevitable.

Also note, Yngwie was still cranking out classics even after the death of metal in America and keeping others outside the states interested, despite being labeled as has been and being ridiculed by these closeted sausage hounds in the 90s thrash scene. If anything, Yngwie has as much of a brief against this album as all in the Thrash community, because his image and style of playing was what came under direct assault in the early 90s as a result of it. The darker metal that was influenced by Merciful Fate and others pioneering the occult side of metal were always underground, and they did well to survive this disease and are still going with their integrity intact.

No my friends, Metallica did not kill metal with this album, but they made it so sick and decrepit that it had to disappear in order to heal from the wounds inflicted on it by this virus. What this album did to metal, however, is not the reason for the low score. The reason is that this is a sub-standard and mediocre release that came from a band that was far more capable than this, and the only danger threatened by it is accepting it as being better than what it actually is. I personally am not interested in dwelling upon the past of metal, I am more interested in it’s future, and it does not lie with this album, nothing great is influenced by anything mediocre. To those of you aspiring metal bands out there who want to do something great, steer clear of this release. I had a long talk with all the members of my band and we have all agreed that this album is one that will not impact our music in any way, shape or form.


Though I think it's excessive in his criticism, I would agree it is not that great album. But it is pretty good and memorable, if a bit arid (for me): it is not as heavy as Slayer and not as melodic as Helloween, hence, not at the finest metal can do.

[Swan]

Sorry Guap, you may have helped me appreciate Slayer, but there's nothing you can do to make me think Master of Puppets isn't the greatest metal album ever. :D

Maybe it's because it was my introduction to heavy metal as an 11 year old, but I still feel like it is the pinnacle of metal, at least from what I've heard, and I don't see my opinion changing. You might say Slayer is heavier (I'd say rawer, not heavier), you might say Helloween is more melodic (still haven't listened to them), but to me Metallica was great at composition. Their riffs and melodies are truly memorable and have been ingrained in my head. I could probably play Master of Puppets, the song (if not the whole album) from start to finish just in my head. That's how much I listened to it back then. The title song was the first song I learned entirely on guitar. I had a poster of the album at that age. Skunk smell reminds me of Metallica because there was a month during that time I was really into them that our house had been skunked.

Suffice it to say, it's a very important album to me, and I feel because it was my introduction to heavy metal I base my opinion of all metal on my appreciation of that album.

:)

[Guaporense]

@ Swan, well I would think that my tastes are so affected by circumstances. The first metal album I heard I didn't really care much about. Though even when I was very young I assumed that I would like metal without anything about it but I liked the raw aggression of the guitar riffs. It was only about 6-7 years of metal that I had a favorite album to emerge. And today I am not interested in listening to it anymore because I got burned out after 10,000 listens.

[Swan]

@ Swan, well I would think that my tastes are so affected by circumstances. The first metal album I heard I didn't really care much about. Though even when I was very young I assumed that I would like metal without anything about it but I liked the raw aggression of the guitar riffs. It was only about 6-7 years of metal that I had a favorite album to emerge. And today I am not interested in listening to it anymore because I got burned out after 10,000 listens.

Everyone is different, I think. Master of Puppets, like I said, was my real introduction to the genre and it blew me away. And it's held up to this day. After having heard it more times than I can count, I still enjoy it. Certainly not opposed to finding a metal album I prefer though, and if that album comes along I'll embrace it with open arms because it will mean I'm becoming more knowledgable of the genre, among other things.

[Guaporense]

@Swan, the second metal album I heard blew me away. But today if is not remotely my favorite metal album, it is not even in my top 100 metal albums and it took several years of intensive metal listening for me to find albums that today would make my top 10. Though most of my favorites are several years old now, mostly because I am less hardcore about metal now, also because I already know all the major bands and their whole discographies. Since I have very conservative tastes it is very hard for a small band to surpass my good old Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

Some stuff I have been listening recently:

Dark Tranquility - Raven (2000)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Haven_album_cover.jpg

Its one of those modern melodic death metal album. I have mixed feelings about it. In some ways it is pretty great (incorporating some really cool melodies and riff work) in others it sounds like modern pop rock and not like metal is supposed to sound. Though even despite these issues it is a good album that has a certain atmosphere about it that makes me want to experience it again. I also need to delve more into the gnre to get myself educated into Gothenburg metal.

[Guaporense]

Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle Earth (1998)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/NFoME.jpg

Power metal is perhaps the most popular genre of metal over the past 20 years with the decline of thrash and classic metal and the fact that Black and Death are not very accessible to casual metal fans. And Nightfall on Middle Earth is one of the most popular albums of one of the most popular bands of the genre. And one of the most popular albums of metal made in the past 20 years. It is indeed a great album, that conveys a sense of grandeur and sublimity in a way that very few power metal albums do. Its essentially a opera of rock. One of the finest products of popular music ever made. The hair in my arms was standing up at several moments in the albu, something incredible and extremely hard to find in metal/music/art. Truly powerful sublime art. Its got first place in the metal archives power metal albums for a reason indeed. Though I listened to music like it for a million times before I could fully appreciate it. Its much more artistically sophisticated than typical generic power metal (a la DragonForce).

[Guaporense]

Slayer - Hell Awaits (1985)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/SlayerHellAwaits.jpg

Continuing with my listening of classics which i havent listened in years, I decided to revisit Slayer's classic Hell Awaits. That's an "hell" of an album. Indeed one of the greatest monuments of thrash metal. It is an incredible album that features some of the most powerful atmosphere in metal while being extremely heavy and aggressive without losing any artistic complexity. If features Slayer's most sophisticated work and was their album which I had the greatest "difficulty" in mastering. It is thrash metal in its purest, most purified form almost devoid of melodic elements of Judas Priest and firmly rooted into the realm of extreme metal. Slayer is one of the founding bands of extreme metal and perhaps the single most influential and few of their album compare in influence to Hell Awaits, few bands manage to produce the sound of pure evil as present here. One of my favorite elements are the longer "epic" songs like Crypts of Eternity. Those songs are amazing.

Hellowen - Keeper of the Seven Keys (1987)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/Keeper_of_the_Seven_Keys_Part_1.jpg

AndI revisited yet another old favorite. I remember when I had just passed my university entrance exams and managed to get started in my academic career when I was 18 I was listening to this album is my really poor MP3 player. It still remains one of the finest metal albums of all time. It is not as epic and grandiose as Nightfall in Middle Earth but it contains more elements of 80s mainstream heavy metal such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Being a bridge between heavy metal and Power Metal and the first proper power metal album of all time it still remains a masterpiece of the genre. One incredible thing about Helloween here is that it is simultaneously heavier than Maiden and happier than J Pop. While metal is usually associated by people who don't listen much of it as being negative in its lyrical themes and atmosphere some of it is extremely happy: a song such as Future World represents metal, no music, in its happiest possible state.

[Guaporense]

Iron Maiden - Seventh son of Seventh Son (1988)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Iron_Maiden_-_Seventh_Son_Of_A_Seventh_Son.jpg

And yet, revisiting another old favorite. In a way Iron Maiden are the grandfathers of power metal with their highly emotional music, as much as Judas Priest are grandfathers of speed metal and thrash metal and Black Sabbath are grandfathers of doom metal. But Iron Maiden's style is firmly contained into classical heavy metal. In this brilliant concept album Iron Maiden redefined their own sound, being simultaneously very different from any earlier or later album they released and still firmly sounding like Maiden. One of the most impressive elements of this album is how well the album flows, like water. Its a very pleasant listening experience and still maintains a level of artistic sophistication that Maiden had not reached before nor since. It just perfect, absolutely perfect album. One of the finest achievements of Maiden, hence, of metal, hence, of music and therefore of art itself. A must listen for any serious fan of music.

[Miss Vicky]

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0000/616/MI0000616967.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

Lindsey Buckingham - Law and Order

Released in 1981, this is Lindsey Buckingham’s first official solo album (though one could argue that the 9 songs he contributed to Fleetwood Mac's 1979 album Tusk were his real solo debut).

Much of the playful weirdness we will later hear in Go Insane is also present on this album, but that sense of sonic exploration is absent or at least muted. Law and Order has a much lighter, more pop sensibility than any of Buckingham's later solo releases (and produced a top ten hit, "Trouble (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z28xYWTa0-c&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNrprBIqbS4Ph3ZuGMpsjKmR&spfreload=10)") and stands out with its bizarre vocals and lyrics on several songs.

It's clear that Buckingham was having a lot of fun stretching his wings in the studio, but there isn't quite a cohesive sound or theme to the album (at least not that I can identify). Still this is an enjoyable listen for an established fan like me, but perhaps not the best place to start for someone unfamiliar with his work.

Favorite Tracks:
Johnny Stew (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nd7L4xd6caI&spfreload=10)
It Was I (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=53UIKxuAiEI&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNrprBIqbS4Ph3ZuGMpsjKmR&spfreload=10)
Shadow of the West (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SOjmePFQ8Lo&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNrprBIqbS4Ph3ZuGMpsjKmR&index=7)

4-

[Guaporense]

Sanctuary - The Year the Sun Died (2014)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/Sanctuarytheyearthesundiedcd.jpg

I have a theory on why American heavy metal is mostly dead while Continental European, specially German/Scandinavian metal is alive and well. It's because most American metal bands that formed the scene in the 1980's were mostly basing their music on youthful aggression while European metal bands were also focused on more sophisticated melodies as well as youthful aggression. As metal bands turned over 30 years old, their hormone levels went down and therefore their natural instinct for aggressive/violent music declined as well. While European metal evolved into more sophisticated melodic territory, such as Blind Guardian which was very similar to Bay Area thrash metal in the late 1980's became a rock symphony by the late 1990's, American metal just collapsed: Slayer pretty much ended after 1990, with very few stuff made since worth listening while the band is creatively dead and survives on playing their 1980's songs live. There are many such zombie bands these days, in fact, with the increase popularity of heavy metal in the last 15 years some old bands reformed into "zombie" bands, making way worse albums than their classic ones while the members turn over 60 years old.

One of such zombie bands is Sanctuary. Their last album is pretty much straight mediocre groove metal. It's fun for a metal head because it has heavy riffs. But that's it, it has almost nothing of artistic significance, to make it's music more interesting and provide a rich atmosphere. It's just arid, artistically poor music.

[Guaporense]

Powerwolf - Lupus Dei (2007)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Lupus_Dei_Cover_.jpg

Powerwolf is perhaps one of the most generic metal bands of all time. And that is obviously great because my taste in music is: the closer the music sounds to generic heavy metal, the better! The farther away from generic heavy metal, the worst. And of course, instead of engaging in conscious parody of heavy metal a great generic heavy metal band must believe with all their passion that their music is new and creative! And Powerwolf is such a band, playing music in 2007 that could have been released 25 years earlier and not sound out of place besides the modern production and still play as if it were a brand new style of music and hence sound genuine and not just a parody of metal.

Though this album is not as good as their next album, Bible of the Beast, which is a beast of an album. ;) Still this album is a good 40 minutes of headbanging fun.

[Guaporense]

Running Wild - Gates to Purgatory (1984)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/1984-Gates_To_Purgatory.jpg

How, about, instead of listening to generic sounding 1980's metal made in the 2000's listen to actual super generic sounding 1980's metal? :D

One heavy metal critic in Metal Archives once claimed that this album represented the all time peak of classical heavy metal. According to him (or, though extremely unlikely, her) no Black Sabbath, Judas Priest or Iron Maiden album attains the artistic heights of Gates to Purgatory. While I would regard his claim to be overstated I agree with him that Gates to Purgatory is one of the purest distilations of heavy metal ever attempted. This album is so much metal that is makes the average Metallica or Iron Maiden album sounds like J-Pop. It's so much, much, much HEAVY ****ING METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just look at the song titles:

"Victim of States Power" – 3:36
"Black Demon" – 4:25
"Preacher" – 4:22
"Soldiers of Hell" – 3:23
"Diabolic Force" – 4:58
"Adrian S.O.S." – 2:49
"Genghis Khan" – 4:11
"Prisoner of Our Time" – 5:22

AWESOME!

Indeed among the purest distillation of metal that I had the privilege of listening to. Essential, among Running Wild's best albums. By the way, the band's name derives from a Judas Priest song from 1978, as it is said, Stained Class (1978) gave birth to dozens of German speed metal bands alone all named after songs of the album.

[Guaporense]

HO-KAGO-TEA-TIME - self titled parts 1 and 2 (2009-2010)
http://www.animeflac.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/K-ON-Gekichuuka-Album-HO-KAGO-TEA-TIME.jpg

The K-On! franchise build around the anime series of the same name developed into a major multi-media project. Since the series is heavily based on music they released several albums and singles of the songs played by the high school light music club band's Ho-Kago-Tea-Time as well as the teacher's former high school band, Death Devil, which is supposed to be an Iron Maiden parody band:

I listened to 3 albums of the franchise, including 2 which topped the Japanese charts in first place. :eek: Considering I am a big fan of this incredible animated comedy series I became curious and listened to all the albums. The J-pop band is incredibly cute sounding music, the vocals sound just like squirrels and it's overwhelmingly cute. After 3 hours of cuteness barrage I felt like I had just eaten 3 pounds of pure sugar with a spoon. While some claim that power metal tastes like sugar these people obviously never listened to stuff like this. It's really hardcore, kinda like a new form of extreme music. Instead of being skull crushing heavy like Slayer, it crushes you with overwhelming cuteness.

Death Devil - Love (2010)

http://www.jpopasia.com/img/album-covers/3/39842-andltahrefhttpwwwjpo-mfrh.jpg

Also the school teacher's former band, Death Devil, is pretty much mediocre speed metal. Because it's not music made with genuine passion but as a self conscious parody of speed metal it is lacking in the freshness and dignity of speed metal.

[Guaporense]

Eluveitie - Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion (2009)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Eluveitie_Album_Cover_Evocation.jpg

I am not the world biggest folk metal fan. While I now have a folk metal band among my favorite music acts of all time most folk metal I have listened to suffers from a severe problem: it is too much folk and to little metal! :sick: This is an example, 90% of the album is folk and about 10% is supposed to be melodic death metal but it sounds more like emo-rock than actual metal. It doesn't make me band my head! WTF! This ain't my go'ol metal!

Still the folk parts of the album are very good indeed. Very powerful atmospheric folk music. Still that's not quite the genre I love, which is Heavy Metal. :sick:

[Miss Vicky]

Something tells me these aren't actually the last albums you listened to, Guap. :rolleyes:

Also it might be helpful if you, oh I don't know, actually rate the albums like the thread title says.

[Iroquois]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/Manic_Street_Preachers-The_Holy_Bible_album_cover.jpg

Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible

My frame-of-reference review would sum this album up as "if Gang of Four was a Britpop band" given its mixture of political screeds and heavily neurotic introspection, though here the latter is less about romantic quandaries like on Entertainment! and more about other troubling subjects such as eating disorders and self-harm. There are plenty of good hooks on the first half of the album and the guitar solo that closes out "Archives of Pain" is probably my favourite part of the album, but I can't help but feel like it starts to lose momentum after "4st 7lbs". Still, a generally solid piece of alt-rock.

4

[Guaporense]

Bathory - Hammerheart (1990)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Hammerheart.jpg

One of the greatest and most influential metal bands of all time is Bathory, a black/viking metal band. It started out as a pionner black metal band, being one of the first bands whose sound can be characterized as proper scandinavian black metal. It's so respected among metal heads that even Dragonforce's guitarrist was wearing a Bathory shirt when I attended their (rather lame) concert. Later on Bathory's sound evolved into a version of viking metal. Though it's hard to define viking metal it's easy to distinguish viking metal when I hear it, even Black Sabbath had a viking metal album in their discography.

Hammerheart is not only a viking metal album, it is a masterpiece of viking metal. As one of the albums of the period when Bathory's sound shifted from the pure evil and aggression of black metal into a more melodic/sophisticated music it can be regarded as Bathory's first album to not be inside the black metal genre (the last one is a mix black metal and viking metal) and to be an album fully into the viking metal genre. Perhaps the first of such albums. Incredibly epic, this album projects an atmosphere of grandeur that even perhaps an classic epic album such as Nightfall on Middle Earth fails to match. The riffs are heavy as hell, the atmosphere is dense, the passion is focused and uncompromising and the music is as powerful as it gets. It is a masterpiece of heavy metal.

[Guaporense]

Sanctuary - Refugee Denied (1987)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/Sanc_refdenied.jpg

One classic of 1980's metal. It's power metal in the American style: classical heavy metal played faster and harder. While power metal in the European style is heavy metal with extreme emotional content. Though the two are essentially the same: heavy metal is rock played with great emotional intensity and hence power metal in the European sense IS heavy metal played "harder, faster and heavier", in that sense. Thus the two concepts kinda of merge, specially regarding bands like Iron Savior or even Blind Guardian, which is much heavier and aggressive than typical classical heavy metal bands.

Still, unlike the band's 2014 offering, Refugee denied is actually pretty good album. It's not artistically accomplished, however, unlike, for instance, a rather German album of rather similar style: Gates to Purgatory, pure uncompromising heavy metal.

[Iroquois]

No way are you listening to all these albums and posting about them this quickly, Guap. You might as well set up your own thread at the rate you're going.

[Guaporense]

Sarcofago - I.N.R.I. (1988)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Sarcofago-Inri-front.png

Highly influential Brazilian extreme metal album. Like the swedish band Bathory, Sarcofago's early work was a major influence in shaping Norwegian black metal into what it became in the 1990's. This album in particular was conceived as an attempt to forge the most aggressive music conceivable. Indeed, at the time of it's release it was among the heaviest music albums on Earth.

It's all around excellent as well and very accessible and addictive music as well. While being extreme metal, bordering on black metal, it's still retains the charm of speed metal and is at it's core a speed metal album. Given that there is no genre of metal that I cherish more than speed metal I feel in love with this masterpiece on a first listen and still love it at the last listen. It's a masterpiece of metal.

So among the metal albums I listened recently seven would be masterpieces.

[Guaporense]

No way are you listening to all these albums and posting about them this quickly, Guap. You might as well set up your own thread at the rate you're going.

Sorry. I decided to post all albums I listened on the past week in a single login on the forum. :D This is the "album tab" thread, isn't it?

This is the last one I will post in this login :D:

Sodom - Persecution Mania (1987)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/SodomPersecutionmania.jpg

Extremely heavy and uncompromising, Sodom's early albums are perhaps among the purest distillations of extreme thrash metal. It sounds like very generic thrash in a way and the guitar tone is also what I conceived as the characteristic of thrash metal (specially Agent Orange and to a lesser extend the albums the band released just before and after Agent Orange).

As I am listening to this album at this very moment I notice the similarities between this album and Running Wild's Gates to Purgatory. With Persecution Mania sounding basically as a thrasier version of the latter album. Both are extreme heavy uncompromising examples of heavy metal of the highest caliber and both are essential in the collection of every self respecting person into heavy metal. One is more "classical" sounding and one is "trashy", but their similarities might stem from the fact they are both German heavy metal albums. Anyway, while I love this album I still regard Sodom as rather inferior to Kreator as a band, Kreator is the pinnacle of German thrash metal in my opinion as being a band like Slayer: artistically rich besides being extremely heavy.

[donniedarko]

Schoolboy Q, Oxymoron- 2.5
Collared Greens, Studio, and Hell of a Night are the only ones worth listening too.

Drake, Take Care- 4
Such a chill album, really feeling Drake lately.

A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders- 3.5
Pretty cool conceptually, have to listen to again.

[Miss Vicky]

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/61dc7d68c602fcc16c13e665ae0ad8d1118d9a61.jpg

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Southern Accents (1985)
(If you know me at all, you knew Petty had to show up at some point)

Given this album’s title, you’d expect this to be a celebration of the roots of the band, and two thirds of the album is just that – stories that paint a vivid picture of the culture from which Petty and company emerged. And the remaining third of the album? Disco beats, synthesizers and an electric sitar that sort of come out of left field thanks to the collaboration of Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics).

The result should be a multiple personality mess and it probably is. The first half of the album in particular is a bit of roller coaster. We start out with “Rebels,” a song with a pretty clear message in keeping with the theme the album’s title suggests, then dive down the rabbit hole with two of Stewart’s contributions, “It Ain’t Nothin’ To Me” and “Don’t Come Around Here No More” (the album’s biggest hit). Following these energizing highs, we find ourselves in the heartbreaking and beautiful title track, a song about loss and hardship. After this devastating punch in the gut, we’re given no time to recover or adjust and are hit with another joltingly upbeat Dave Stewart track. Then we emerge into the amusing groove of “Spike” and after that it’s pretty much smooth sailing and more familiar territory with “Dogs On the Run” and “Mary’s New Car”. The album closes with the bittersweet “Best of Everything” and we’re treated to a gorgeous horn section that should seem a little out of place, but suits the song beautifully.

Southern Accents should be a disjointed disaster. It shouldn’t work , but – however inexplicable it seems - it does work. I’ve been a fan of Tom Petty for 26 years. I’ve listened to every one of his albums. This one is absolutely my favorite.

Favorite Tracks:
Southern Accents (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oTPe1Gna0-I&list=PLeQzal6lQL5A-VQY4OEjYuIV45yx-OSys&index=4&spfreload=10)
Don't Come Around Here No More (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JvF9vpqx8&index=3&list=PLeQzal6lQL5A-VQY4OEjYuIV45yx-OSys&spfreload=10)
Spike (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EoZRSSf3AIE&list=PLeQzal6lQL5A-VQY4OEjYuIV45yx-OSys&index=6&spfreload=10)
The Best of Everything (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b-hJrHxJE1E&list=PLeQzal6lQL5A-VQY4OEjYuIV45yx-OSys&index=9&spfreload=10)

Rating: 5

[jiraffejustin]

Drake, Take Care- 4
Such a chill album, really feeling Drake lately.


You listen to his Meek Mills diss songs? Back to Back surprised me, it's actually pretty good. I never thought Drake would win a rap beef.

[donniedarko]

Ya I've been lightly following the beef. I like Charged up even more than back to back

[Guaporense]

Fates Warning - Night on Broken (1984)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Night_on_brocken.jpg

Despite it's horrible cover art (WTF is that?), this is a very impressive first album by the great American progressive metal band Fates Warning. Some say that progressive metal was in fact invented by Fates Warning in the mid 1980's, with albums characterized by songs that are substantially longer and feature more complex structures than common metal songs. Despite being the band's first album it already features some elements of progressive metal though still closer to classical heavy metal than the band's later albums (like the one they would release next year). A great album indeed, specially the last song Soldier Boy.

[Guaporense]

Fates Warning - The Spectre Within (1985)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/The_spectre_within_%28Fates_Warning_album_-_cover_art%29.jpg

Fates Warning reached much higher heights in their second album compared to their first. This is true progressive metal, it's a masterpiece of the genre if also perhaps one of the first progressive metal albums ever made and indeed one of the best. While there are some elements of Fates Warning that do not allow me to say it's among my favorite bands: the songs don't "flow" as well as in Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. Though the compositions are great, the production is great as well (for 1985, the guitar tone is about as thick as I like) it is still not as great as some other masterpieces of metal for me, for some reason. Even though everything is supposed to be right and perfect, what many regard as one of the all time pinnacles of metal, it's pretty great but for me there is still another higher level of greatness in metal music than achieved by this album. Oh well, maybe it's because the vocalist is not that great. :sick:

[Guaporense]

Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian (1986)

http://www.metalblade.com/us/covers/FatesWarning-AwakentheGuardianEx.jpg

One of those albums that I appreciate the most the more I listen to it. In my opinion superior to The Spectre Within though many would disagree:

Absolute masterpiece, trancends music. - 100%

Peter31095Metalhead, November 5th, 2009

John Arch. Those words alone show how amazing this album is. One of the most unique and incredible singers I have ever heard. Sure, he is somewhat annoying at first, he resembles Bruce Dickinson and everything else people say about him is probably true. However, no one can do what he does. I'm not really sure what is it that he does, but he does it, and it sounds amazing. But of course, a singer isn't the only thing that says if an album is good or not. Don’t worry though, because "The Spectre Within" is a masterpiece of power/prog metal. Most people prefer "Awaken The Guardian", and while I love that album too, this is their crowning achievement, in my opinion. Here they started to show some hints of prog influence on their sound, but overall it still is US power metal. There is also a thrash influence on the riffs, but more on that later. I still remember the day I bought this album. I had never heard anything from FW before, and I don’t have the habit of buying CD’s without downloading it and getting my conclusions first. But I trusted MA (more precisely, UltraBoris) reviews and bought it without knowing what to expect. Getting home, I go to my room and put it on my CD player. I press play. The music starts and I think “Yeah, pretty good music”. The vocals enter and I think “OMG, who is this idiot raping my ears?” No kidding, that is what I thought at first listen. It has been said on the previous reviews and I agree wholeheartedly: this album is an acquired taste. Is not something you’ll listen once and think “What a masterpiece!” No, it takes time. Time not only to understand the music itself, but mostly to get used to John Arch’s vocals. Sometimes it will take just a few repeated listens, others it will require much more patience. But in the end, it is worth it.

Indeed. The vocalist is pretty "weird" but the songs themselves are amazing, both here and on The Spectre Within. I have been listening to these two albums for 9 years now and it took several years until I appreciated this album as much as I do now. While my best experience with The Spectre Within was indeed today an hour ago. But I still prefer this album, which is more clearly progressive than The Spectre Within, the songs appear to flow more naturally in my ears. A true masterpiece of atmospheric progressive heavy metal. Indeed, perhaps my favorite progressive metal album of all time.

[Guaporense]

Eluveitie - Everything Remains (As It Never Was) (2010)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/Everything_Remains_As_It_Never_Was.jpg

Pretty good this one. I liked it far more than the 2009 album. I guess it's because I am acquiring a taste for the band but it is also perhaps because this album was more metal oriented: the heavy songs actually sound heavy and the melodic death metal approach tastes more like melodic death metal and less like emo-rock (which is a problem Gothenburg metal tends to fall in). A good listen and a good band overall, folk metal rules! Well, it's powerful atmospheric music. The album cover is also a good reflection of the contents within.

[Guaporense]

Eluveitie - Spirit (2006)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Eluveitiespirit.jpg

Like most recent metal bands, the first album the band makes is usually the best. And also, it's their heaviest among the ones I have listened so far. It's folk metal, but primarily metal and hence my favorite of the band, so far, since I started listening to them yesterday. :D Great folk metal all around, possibly my top folk metal album not made by Ensiferum or Wintersun.

[Guaporense]

Wintersun - self titled (2004)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/Wintersun.jpg

Incredible epic metal. This is as epic as it gets, oh well, maybe not as Bathory might be even more epic sounding at some points. Still this is as epic as music TRIES to sound like. It's amazing how much conscious effort these guys made into trying to make their music sound epic: in an interview one of the band-members said the band's genre was something like "Majestic Epic Symphonic Power Death Metal" or something like that. Anyway, while I don't think this band's album is a complete success it is still very close to being a masterpiece IMO.

[jrs]

I haven't listened to a physical CD in about 6 years. My music is all digital and/or on on a flash drive. The only CD I listened to lately is my nephew's Spongebob and Veggietales ones. lol

[donniedarko]

I don't really feel like changing the radio in my car to one with an aux, especially if I total it like I did my last one, so I have a few rap CDs :cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjy_7haflaM

[Miss Vicky]

I still buy CDs sometimes, especially if they're from an artist I've loved for years.
It's also sometimes cheaper to buy a physical copy than it is to buy a digital one.

[TylerDurden99]

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0003/501/MI0003501116.jpg?partner=allrovi.com


2.5

[Guaporense]

Kow Otani - Haibane Renmei's Hanenome (2002)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMKya-9samc

Incredibly rich in emotional texture. It's great minimalist music and one of the reasons why I love Haibane Renmei so much as to place it first in my list of favorite works of media (film or TV combined). It's also very atmospheric, one of the qualities that characterize most of my favorite music. Also, in Haibane Renmei Hanenone's case the constant use of violins adds to it's emotional power. For me violins are one of the most moving musical instruments, I love the "finesse" of their sound.

[Miss Vicky]

http://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics/lbundertheskin.jpg

Lindsey Buckingham - Under the Skin (2006)

In the years following of Out of the Cradle, rumors spread and songs were leaked and traded as fans eagerly awaited Lindsey Buckingham’s next solo release. We expected Gift of Screws, the working title we’d heard about since the 90s. And from the promise of those leaked tracks, we expected loud, brazen, wailing guitar.

But what Buckingham delivered in 2006 was something entirely different. It was soft, delicate and contemplative. And how could it not be? In those 14 years, Buckingham had fallen in love, married and fathered three children. He had also reconciled with the other members of Fleetwood Mac. He was a different man than the one who had raged about the “Piggy in the middle” who had “just got it wrong.”

He also was no longer singing about chasing dreams. Instead he was expressing his joy at his newfound life, while lamenting the realities of responsibility and trying to find a balance between his needs as an artist and the needs of his family. And these conflicted emotions manifested themselves into some of the most raw and honest songs of his career, complimented beautifully with delicate and complex guitar playing. Though not every song here is a Buckingham original. Two cover songs – The Rolling Stones’ “I Am Waiting and Donovan’s “To Try For the Sun” – blend seamlessly with the others.

Under the Skin was not at all what fans had expected and I suppose some were disappointed with the result. But in my estimation it is a high point of his career and a superb showcase not only for Lindsey Buckingham the guitarist, but for Lindsey Buckingham the songwriter. In any case, fans would get their long awaited Gift of Screws two years later, but to me the real treasure lies here.

Favorite Tracks:
Castaway Dreams (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1a68IsGSsS4&index=7&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoCv085Bp6VafEGRhLzsHY_&spfreload=10)
Someone’s Gotta Change Your Mind (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf0caNEx6TE&index=10&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoCv085Bp6VafEGRhLzsHY_&spfreload=10)
Not Too Late (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h7IOTrbCir0&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoCv085Bp6VafEGRhLzsHY_&index=1&spfreload=10)

5

[Guaporense]

Eleuveitie - Slania (2008)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Slania.jpg

Great album. Out of the four Eleuveitie albums I have listened to so far this has been the best. Indeed, it's very popular album: "Slania has received very positive reviews from both critics and the fanbase.

In a highly positive review, Vera of Lords Of Metal gave the album 94/100 and said that "with "Slania" Eluveitie will promote [themselves] from the second tier to the top of the pagan metal scene!"

Chad Bowar of AllMusic gave the album 4/5 and said "A lot of hooks, plenty of punch, and the unique instruments make Slania an excellent folk metal CD"

Scott Alisogu of Blabbermouth.net gave the album 8/10 and said "As a matter of fact, there is nothing here that warrants any kind of negative criticism"

The album brought Eluveitie in to the mainstream of Folk Metal and they remain to this day as one of the most popular folk metal bands, largely due to the help of the very popular song "Inis Mona" which has over 18,600,000 views on YouTube and is played at all of their concerts."

Whoa, mainstream folk metal! Awesome band overall, my opinion of them has changed greatly over the past 3 days. :D

[Guaporense]

Accept - Stalingrad (2012)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/pt/7/7a/Stalingrad.jpeg

Well, after several albums of folk/atmospheric music I felt like i needed a recharge of good old German heavy metal. And what German heavy metal band is more iconic than Accept? This is perhaps their finest album in the last 25 years, considering the rest of their "recent" albums have been pretty mediocre. It's heavy metal, the most iconic and generic form of it I can imagine.

[TylerDurden99]

Eagles (1972) - The Eagles 3
Desperado (1973) - The Eagles 2.5
Sticky Fingers (1971) - Rolling Stones 3

[Guaporense]

Eluveitie - Helvetios (2012)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/Eluveitie_Helvetios.jpg

And I have finished up all of Eluveitie discography, well, all that I have of them. Great band overall, specially their first two albums which are among the best folk metal albums I ever heard (though I haven't heard that many).This one, however, it weaker. The band apparently shifted direction after Slania (2008) into more folky territory, away from heavy metal and even the heavy songs sound less like metal and more like pop-rock (:p), well it's still metal but not of the "wanna bang my head until my neck breaks" type of metal. :D Unlike Slania, which is true metal of the finest caliber.

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Vgzy4FKCL.jpg

Darren Hayes - Secret Codes and Battleships (2011)
(Standard U.S. Version)

Lyrically and thematically, this is a more mature album than either Spin or The Tension and the Spark. It is an album about the wonders and the difficulties of relationships. It has a softer sound overall and a much more hopeful tone than either of the other two albums I've heard. No longer is he singing about sex and obsession, reveling in nostalgia, or poking fun at celebrity. And I have to say I'm a tiny bit disappointed by that.

That said, this is still a strong album and a wonderful showcase for Hayes's breathtaking vocal range and considerable talents as a lyricist. I honestly can't point to a single truly weak point in the album and I can see it becoming a favorite with time. Also I'm completely obsessed with "Black Out the Sun." I downloaded the song from iTunes a few days before purchasing the album and have listened to it probably 30 times already.

A little note about the album: There are two versions and I did not realize this until I'd already bought it. The standard version I'm rating here contains 12 songs. The import/deluxe version (which I will also be purchasing) features 5 additional songs and live versions of two of the songs from the standard release.

Favorite Tracks:
Black Out the Sun (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=09XKnXX5Ue0&spfreload=10)
Bloodstained Heart (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tXduhtnApz8&spfreload=10)
Roses (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JApAJ_iRIYo&index=9&list=PLIwcL56XJbF829K6e3nPzfM8EpwBqNXG2&spfreload=10)

4+

[Swan]

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/The_Band_album_coverart_zpsgluexa1k.jpg

The Band (The Band, 1969)

Not really a review, and it's an album I've heard before, so decided not to review it in my thread but just post it here (mainly just because I want to give it a shout-out). This album was always there, since my dad is a fan, but I never gave it a proper listen until earlier this year. It has since become a favorite. Absolutely incredible album. I think my favorite thing about it is that every musician in the band is so good at their respective instrument. Levon Helm has an incredible voice and smoothness on the drums, Garth Hudson (perhaps my favorite member) can rock on the organ, but neither of those two steal the spotlight. A lot of bands have members that are not nearly as good as others in the same band, you know? But with The Band, they were all equals, and were all fantastic. This album is no doubt one of my favorite "roots rock" album - rock influenced by folk, blues and country - if not my absolute favorite (I'd have to think about it, but it's definitely right up there). Stunning.

5

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61O5OO0ksqL.jpg

Stabbing Westward - Wither, Blister, Burn + Peel (1996)

Time to step away from upbeat pop for a moment and revisit a long time favorite album.

I don't know enough about music to know which genre(s) Stabbing Westward occupy but I've often heard the word "industrial" used to describe them. What I do know is that this album hit when I was 15 years old and it couldn't have been more perfect for my emotional (and rather hormonal) state of the time. It's loud, angry music about darkness and obsession. As soon as I heard the single "Shame" (with it's oft misheard lyric - the line is "How can I exist without you?" not "How can I have sex without you?" for the record) I was hooked and had to get my hands on the CD.

Nearly 20 years later, I still have a lot of anger and obsessive tendencies (shocking, I know) and I love it just as much now as I did then. That "industrial" descriptor seems pretty accurate to their sound, but on this album at least there's still enough of an organic element (for lack of a better phrase) in the instrumentation and vocals to appeal to my (admittedly a little narrow) musical taste.

Favorite Tracks:
Sleep (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E-jmjpVMDA0&index=9&list=PL5yq5ROI3WPYcfk60uBJZHixwrN8QPAIO&spfreload=10)
Shame (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CsxaoXHe9Xc&spfreload=10)
What Do I Have To Do? (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VNsVpL8TDLA&index=3&list=PL5yq5ROI3WPYcfk60uBJZHixwrN8QPAIO&spfreload=10)

5

[Guaporense]

Sibelius - Symphonies number 1 & 4

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Jean_sibelius-2.jpg

I like classical music but so far I have been unable to truly love it in the same way I love metal, maybe because it doesn't make me bang my head until my neck hurts. Oh well, this is very, very pompous music, it's very characteristic of the romantic period, at least sound very much like something influenced by uncle Beetho, my fav. classical composer. in fact, it's almost as pompous as Wintersun self titled debut album but it's much more complex in it's melodies. While it is true heavy metal is perhaps the most sophisticated genre of rock music it still doesn't compare with classical music in terms of complexity of composition, at least regarding the vast majority of metal bands. Which is one of the reasons for listening to Sibelius. Though I prefer other romantic style 19th century composers like Schubert and Wagner.

One rival of Sibelius was said to be Mahler, who was his contemporary, composing at the end of the 19th century and early 20th, but both composer's styles are completely different. Mahler was substantially more aggressive while Sibelius tries to be more elegant.

[Guaporense]

Opeth - Deliverance (2002)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b3/Opeth_-_Deliverance.jpg

Well, it has been many years since I last listened to any Opeth. So, how do I feel about revising it? Well, it's progressive rock. It's not as complex as Sibelius, for instance, but it's substantially more sophisticated than typical music on the radio. It is popular music that attempts to be more serious than our typical rock band. Obviously (to me), it has little to none actual heavy metal content: it lacks the genuine driving visceral aggression that characterizes heavy metal, although it borrows from death metal some of it's aesthetic elements: blast beats, heavily distorted down tuned guitars and growled vocals. Since it uses metal aesthetic elements for non-metal music, hardcore metalheads get really angry at this band which explains the low ratings in metal archives reviews. Anyway, I personally think it's a good progressive rock album, like a good Dream Theater album. But its true that I also felt some hatred by their use of superficial metal aesthetics without it's subjacent meaning (i.e. "down on your knees!"). Also the ending left me really scared. :D

[DrSpengler]

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/2014/list/kiss-top-10-albums-ranked-20140325/134748/_original/1035x1035-20140320-kiss5-x1800-1395347685.jpg
rating_5

[TylerDurden99]

Listened to these ones today:


On The Border - The Eagles (1974) rating_3_5
One Of These Nights - The Eagles (1975) rating_2_5
Hotel California - The Eagles (1976) rating_3
The Long Run - The Eagles (1979) rating_2_5
Building The Perfect Beast - Don Henley (1984) rating_4

[Guaporense]

Running Wild - Branded and Exiled (1985)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/eb/1985-Branded_And_Exiled.jpg

After listening to Opeth's pseudo-metal left me with a desire to listen to some real authentic pure heavy metal. So I popped up Running Wild's 1980's speed metal classic Branded and Exiled. It is not as raw, proud and aggressive heavy metal as Gates to Purgatory (which is the most metal a metal album can be), but it does the job of sounding like true heavy metal enough to satisfy me. Although it is perhaps Running Wild's weakest 1980's album, it is still very good straightforward heavy metal before the band shifted gears to become an epic pirate metal band. :D

[Guaporense]

I might make a top album list, but I don't think anybody here would be interested.

I would like to see your top albums list.

[Guaporense]

Krisiun - Southern Storm (2008)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Krisiun_-_Southern_Storm.jpg

Brazil is the third largest heavy metal country, (according to the number of bands in metal archives). Despite this fact and despite being a Brazilian headbanger I only had 4 Brazilian albums on my top 100 list I made about a year ago. :mad: Time to correct that by listening to some Brazilian metal, this time metal made in my home region of Rio Grande do Sul by listening to some metal a band from then town of Ijuí:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/RioGrandedoSul_Municip_Ijui.svg/250px-RioGrandedoSul_Municip_Ijui.svg.png

Anyway, what's the music they do? Death Metal, no, not progressive death metal, not melodic death metal, not folk melodic death metal, no. It's DEATH METAL. The REAL deal. There are a lot of bands that have the death metal label attached to them and most of them are not really that heavy and brutal to be real death metal. This is real death metal: an album full of onslaught. Extreme brutality. It's the heaviest music? Not quite, I struggled greatly to understand heaviness and I don't think that just playing faster and with more distortion and atonality makes it heavier.

For example, this album is pretty much at the top notch in terms of pure sonic assault. But in terms of genuine heaviness I wouldn't think it's heavier than Darkness Descends and Pleasure to Kill, albums from 1986 without modern production and without blast beats or guttural vocals.

[Guaporense]

Kreator - Pleasure to Kill (1986)

https://invisiblesandwichtm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/kreator-pleasure-to-kill-f.jpg

Perhaps the heaviest music ever recorded (IMO). It's pure hatred synthesized into less than 40 minutes of music. The sonic textures that it displays reminds me of the views of gore and slaughter and the album's cover is the perfect reflection of the music within. One of my top favorite albums ever and an artistic achievement of thrash metal. Superior to anything Slayer, Dark Angel, Vio-Lence, Destruction, Sodom among other thrash bands ever recorded IMO. If you want to understand metal, listening to this masterpiece is a must. It's so great because of the rich melodies underneath the aggression, that give this album a certain personality that is lacking is most extreme metal albums. A characteristic shared with Slayer's best albums.

Kreator is the greatest thrash, no, extreme metal band of all time and this, my friends, is their greatest achievement. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant piece of music.

[Guaporense]

Franz Schubert - Symphony number 4

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Franz_Schubert_by_Wilhelm_August_Rieder_1875.jpg

I like Schubert way more than Sibelius. Yesterday I listened to Sibelius accidentally actually because I was searching for a classical composer whose name begin with an S. Schubert's music is brilliant. And it's never boring! Sibelius tries to be too formal and harmonious that his songs start to get to light and subtle for me between the heavy parts. While Schubert is more constant heaviness, specially in number 4, full of "violin & violoncello riffs". Almost as good as Pleasure to Kill.

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41EAoIxsCcL._SX355_.jpg

Lindsey Buckingham - Gift of Screws (2008)

Two years after Under the Skin, the long awaited Gift of Screws was finally released. But first came the upbeat and almost pop single, “Did You Miss Me.” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GA9UhB-BYc4&index=3&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoH6HJ-Oe2HfH_3EuxkO6dA) I got a little worried. I liked the song, but where was the harder sound promised by those leaked tracks?

As it turned out, Gift of Screws – like its predecessor – would not quite deliver on that promise. Unlike Under the Skin though, Gift of Screws was a mixed bag of rockers and softer, more contemplative songs and the overall sound is a little reminiscent of Out of the Cradle.

But despite not quite living up to expectations, the album was anything but a disappointment. There are plenty of raucous, foot stomping tracks here. The opening song, “Great Day” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=55cUAASXncM&index=1&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoH6HJ-Oe2HfH_3EuxkO6dA) (which gives co-writing credits to Buckingham’s then ten year old son, William), the two leaked tracks “Wait for You” and “The Right Place to Fade,” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Xjm-6HjHQ&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoH6HJ-Oe2HfH_3EuxkO6dA&index=7) and the wonderfully messy title track (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aMamMcyQgPk&index=8&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoH6HJ-Oe2HfH_3EuxkO6dA) all get the heart pumping.

And yet, the softer songs of the record are the ones that really draw me in. While Out of the Cradle spoke of hope, Gift of Screws speaks of disillusionment, particularly with the recording industry. In one song, he laments that “In my younger days, I was mistaken for a whore. I guess you can say I lived in shame” and in another “they heard 15 seconds and that was enough. The idea was new but the business was rough.” The message is very clear.

It’s among these softer songs that the album’s true standout appears, “Time Precious Time.” This, without any doubt, is not only the highlight of the album but indeed, a highlight of his career. More than any other song he’s recorded, this is to my mind the ultimate showcase of his abilities as a guitarist. It is simply stunning. If the rest of the album had proven to be mediocre, I'd feel obliged to give it at least a 4 out of 5 for this song alone, but of course there's no mediocrity here.

Favorite Tracks
Time Precious Time (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VGGiZuVA0qI&index=2&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoH6HJ-Oe2HfH_3EuxkO6dA)
Bel Air Rain (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DGRFRj4RGFU&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoH6HJ-Oe2HfH_3EuxkO6dA&index=6)
Wait For You (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-WBCZqQcf5s&index=4&list=PLYu4K8Ij_HNoH6HJ-Oe2HfH_3EuxkO6dA)

4.5+

[TylerDurden99]

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0002/438/MI0002438609.jpg?partner=allrovi.com


3.5


http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0000/913/MI0000913272.jpg?partner=allrovi.com


3

[Guaporense]

Franz Schubert - Symphony number 5

http://assets9.classicfm.com/2012/37/young-schubert-1347455176-view-1.jpg

This one was weaker than number 4. I think it's main problem was the lack of violin/cello riffage which made it lighter and thus worse. Still it's highly memorable. I forget instantly the symphonies of most other classical composers but Schubert is memorable indeed. All his symphonic work is top notch (yep, the only classical music I usually listen to are symphonies, I am more of a symphony fan rather than a classical fan).

[Guaporense]

Franz Schubert - Symphony number 6

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Franz_Schubert_c1827.jpg

Schubert's music is so rich, it's incredible. Specially this one, among his symphonies this one is one of my top favorites. It's fluid, interesting, it's never boring (a problem many classical composers suffer from). Schubert was a genius and his music is very "modern" in a sense, it's very heavy, intense and aggressive.

[Guaporense]

Equilibrium - Turis Fratyr (2005)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Turis_Fratyr.jpg

This piece of German Epic Symphonic Black Folk Viking Metal is in one word, AMAZING. German music, from Beethoven and Schubert up to Helloween always dominated and will continue to dominate.music in general. Maybe there exists in the subconscious of German metal bands the strong sense of theatricality of classical German composers? Like they say that manga artists have inherited the art style of classical Japanese painting in their subconscious.

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71wa-MvvGXL._SY355_.jpg

We Are Smug (2009, rereleased with bonus track "Riot" in 2013)

This was apparently a Darren Hayes secret side project that was initially given away to fans. It's still pop music, but has a much more experimental quality and has a pretty drastically different sound to any of his solo or Savage Garden recordings. He doesn't do all of the lead vocals (3 of the 11 tracks, "Look What We've Started," "Words That I Can't Say" and "Fire It Up" are sung by Robert Conley), but does most of the vocals on this bizarre release.

But if I didn't know that this was Hayes before I listened to it, I would never have guessed it was him - at least not on most of these tracks. His falsetto reaches insanely high notes in some places - to the point where he actually sounds like a woman, particularly in "Hot Tub Blues" - and in others reaches a depth I've never heard on any other recording he's done.

Overall this is a fun record and an enjoyable listen and I can see potential for it to grow on me, but it's a little bit of a jarring experience the first time round.

Favorite Tracks
Hot Tub Blues (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5EAEbG1J_fY)
Good Dress (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=to9NCMkih_I)
On the Radio (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M14tfr1bQA8)

3.5+

[jiraffejustin]

Miss Vicky, do you always listen to albums this frequently? Or are you just now sharing your thoughts with the rest of us?

[Miss Vicky]

Miss Vicky, do you always listen to albums this frequently? Or are you just now sharing your thoughts with the rest of us?

No, I don't. Actually for the last few years I've rarely listened to albums at all, just songs on shuffle on my iPod. Recently, I got the urge to revisit Savage Garden and after exploring on YouTube, I discovered that Darren Hayes had a whole mess of solo stuff that I had no idea even existed. So I bought them all.

In the meantime, Swan started his album review thread and I suggested that he give a Lindsey Buckingham solo album a try. Which of course gave me the urge to revisit his solo work - album by album - as well.

I still have one more Buckingham solo album to revisit and one more Hayes solo album that hasn't arrived in the mail yet. We'll see if this album listening trend continues after that.

[jiraffejustin]

No, I don't. Actually for the last few years I've rarely listened to albums at all, just songs on shuffle on my iPod. Recently, I got the urge to revisit Savage Garden and after exploring on YouTube, I discovered that Darren Hayes had a whole mess of solo stuff that I had no idea even existed. So I bought them all.

In the meantime, Swan started his album review thread and I suggested that he give a Lindsey Buckingham solo album a try. Which of course gave me the urge to revisit his solo work - album by album - as well.

I still have one more Buckingham solo album to revisit and one more Hayes solo album that hasn't arrived in the mail yet. We'll see if this album listening trend continues after that.

Hopefully it does, it's always nice seeing another side of people on here. :up:

[Guaporense]

Equilibrium - Sagas (2008)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/9/4/6/194697.jpg

Sagas is an amazing album. It's a more developed and refined sound if compared to Turis Fratyr. Both albums are in the same style, of majestic sounding heavy metal embracing influences from folk, power and black metal. It's basically my favorite type of music ever: if one could read my brain and reverse engineer the type of music that I would love the most, it would be this band and I discovered them yesterday. :D

[Guaporense]

Hopefully it does, it's always nice seeing another side of people on here. :up:

Like my hardcore metal head side?

[jiraffejustin]

Like my hardcore metal head side?

Your classical side is the one I prefer :p

More Schubert please. :D

[Guaporense]

While I have been listening to classical for over a decade I actually don't know that much about the field if compared to metal. So I plan to listen to a lot of more classical music in the near future.

[Iroquois]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Bjork_-_Homogenic_album_cover.jpg

Björk - Homogenic

Still haven't decided whether or not I prefer this to Post, but it's very close. Pretty much every track has a hook buried in there that stands out in a good way.

4.5

[jiraffejustin]

Lead Belly and the Golden Gate Quartet - "The Midnight Special" and Other Southern Prison Songs

http://i.imgur.com/kIBKOKX.jpg

5

Lead Belly plus the Golden Gate Quartet equals damn son.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4qSVLlzxnw

[Miss Vicky]

http://www.angelfire.com/music6/walteregan/MoFoPics/buckinghamnicks.jpg

Buckingham Nicks (1973)

This is pre-Fleetwood Mac Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Listening to this album, it's easy to see how much influence the duo would have on the sound of Fleetwood Mac, with Lindsey Buckingham's already established signature guitar style featuring prominently, though with slightly different sound.

The album is very heavy on acoustic guitar (and features two instrumental guitar pieces, "Django" (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QdTDvV3tBqA) and a Buckingham original called "Stephanie" (https://myoutube.com/watch?v=mt_u6LOIt9E)), owing much to the influence of folk music on Buckingham's finger picking style. Which isn't really out of the ordinary for him, but what is different here is in the electric parts. Back in those days, he was using a Fender Stratocaster, which produces a much thinner sound than the Rick Turner guitars he relies on today. The result, however, is just as impressive as anything he plays now. Actually it was so impressive that the song "Frozen Love" was the catalyst to Mick Fleetwood offering Buckingham a place in the band (Fleetwood heard the song on a fateful trip to Sound City, where the album was recorded).

The folk influence is very prominent in the vocals as well, with lots of lush harmonies. And I suppose at this point I should say something about the other half of the duo, Stevie Nicks. In recent years, her songwriting and, most especially, her voice have gone to *****. But on this record she was young and fresh and her voice sounds lovely. She hadn't yet developed her witchy/gypsy/chiffon cloaked/BS persona and the album is better for it, with lyrically straight ahead songs about love and heartache.

Of the ten songs, Nicks gets songwriting credit on five, but sings only four of those (the fifth song being "Crystal" (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3jpOp7u9Rok) which was sung by Buckingham and was later re-recorded, again with him on vocal duty, for the 1975 self-titled Fleetwood Mac album). They're lovely songs but - biased as my opinion may be - it's Buckingham's contributions on guitar that elevate them to great, much like on Fleetwood Mac's recordings.

Side Note: This album was a commercial failure and has long been out of print. Despite decades of begging and pleading from their fans, there is no official re-release in sight. So to experience this you must turn to YouTube, second hand vinyl on eBay, or illegal downloads and pirated discs.

Favorite Tracks
Frozen Love (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b--TvO1Rv_Y)
Without A Leg to Stand On (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm3tDnhMwig)
Lola (My Love) (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FtxNiJkAm0U)

5

[Guaporense]

Krisiun - Ageless Venomous (2001)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1d/Krisiun_ageless_venomous.jpg

Weaker than their 2008 album or the 2003 album. Still good straightforward death metal, it's a lot of noise, guttural vocals and some subtle melody underneath the brutality. Also contained some memorable instrumental songs, including one that was acoustic. :eek: Overall, a good record.

Krisiun - Works of Carnage (2003)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-saVxwhEqjxM/VR7SOT4P3xI/AAAAAAAAA1M/OdgBWHfBQkI/s1600/Folder.jpg

That's really great death metal, though it's perhaps I am mastering this band's style and so I am able to appreciate each album more and more. Though it's hard to describe it using different words than Ageless Venomous: it's brutal, extremely brutal, standard "pure" death metal. However I had a better appreciation of the melodic structure underneath this album.

Both albums have terrible CGI covers though. Hand drawn cover arts are so much better.

[Guaporense]

Equilibrium - Rekreatur (2010)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/7/1/1/271170.jpg?5035

Now quickly growing into one of my favorite bands, Equilibrium boasts an incredible combination of symphonic music, with black metal vocals, blast beats, heavy distortion and riffs, but songs constructed like power metal. Folk/viking metal is such an incredible genre, since it combines extreme heaviness with complex melodies and epic atmosphere.

All hail Equilibrium!
http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/data/imagedata/band-header/equilibrium.bandheader_940x300.jpg?x=940

Though I notice the band basically imploded after 2010 and their current formation is pretty different from the one who recorded these 3 classic albums.

[Gatsby]

http://i.imgur.com/fMCv3Gx.jpg

Under the Skin (Lindsay Buckingham, 2006)

Favorite tracks;

1. Under the Skin
2. Down on Rodeo

Recommended by the one and only Miss Vicky. It's the typical kind of music she likes, and I expected it. What caught my surprise is how good Buckingham's voice is. I love Fleetwood Mac, but Buckingham not even a Top 3 reason.

In this single album, he goes from being raspy to clear and sharp to having a bit of folk tone. That diversity is what I really enjoy when listening to an artist's album. It felt as if three people were part of the vocals, which is rare considering that modern music focuses on a single trait of an artists, whether it's singing like a spoiled brat for Justin Beiber or singing/rapping like an absolute slut for Nicki Minaj.

One complaint though - kind of disappointing to see the only instrument used was a single acoustic guitar. I think I heard a few bass lines in some of the song but I doubt it. This is because my favorite type of music (not even genre) are ones where the drum gives the signal, the guitar roars out and the bass in a relaxed manner, chugs on.

Buckingham's songs are good to listen while aboard a drain or on a walk in the woods, but they're just nice songs with a bit of spices here and there. Overall excellent, but not out-of-the-park material.

[Miss Vicky]

Well that felt lukewarm. :laugh:

Were you expecting drums on a Lindsey Buckingham solo album?

[Gatsby]

Well that felt lukewarm. :laugh:

Were you expecting drums on a Lindsey Buckingham solo album?
No, I'm just saying your taste/preference in music is different from mine.

Oh and I forgot, rating; 4+

[Miss Vicky]

No, I'm just saying your taste/preference in music is different from mine.

But you're a drummer, right?

I can't say I've ever paid much attention to that particular instrument. Sorry.
I'm all about guitar and vocals (also banjo. I love banjo).

On that note, I'm really happy that you were impressed with his singing. I adore his voice.

[Gatsby]

I can't say I've ever paid much attention to that particular instrument. Sorry.
I'm all about guitar and vocals (also banjo. I love banjo).
Oh well, I'm used to people not caring about the drums. Actually that's why I chose to learn how to play the drums instead of a guitar, because I thought the former was underrated. Which reminds me, I'm planning on taking guitar lessons soon.

Banjos? Hell yeah. Every newborn child should be issued a puppy dog and a banjo upon birth.

On that note, I'm really happy that you were impressed with his singing. I adore his voice.
No problemo. :)

[Miss Vicky]

Oh well, I'm used to people not caring about the drums. Actually that's why I chose to learn how to play the drums instead of a guitar, because I thought the former was underrated.

Well there are definitely songs that wouldn't be great without drums (Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" and Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" leap to mind), but if I had to make a list of favorite drummers, I'd be stumped.

Which reminds me, I'm planning on taking guitar lessons soon.

:up:

Banjos? Hell yeah.

Yes, banjo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKnfGqYOdrw

:D

[Camo]

Haahahahahaha, that yeah, Hahhahahahahahahahahahahahahha

[Miss Vicky]

Haahahahahaha, that yeah, Hahhahahahahahahahahahahahahha

GO TO BED. Crazy.

[Gatsby]

Haahahahahaha, that yeah, Hahhahahahahahahahahahahahahha
Can't you be a bit less obscure when posting?

[Miss Vicky]

Can't you be a bit less obscure when posting?

By "obscure" you mean drunk, right?

[Gatsby]

Bingo.

[Guaporense]

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/2014/list/kiss-top-10-albums-ranked-20140325/134748/_original/1035x1035-20140320-kiss5-x1800-1395347685.jpg
rating_5

I plan to listen to this whole band's discography soon. :D

[Guaporense]

Equilibrium - Erdentempel (2014)

http://shop.napalmrecords.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/500x500/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/2/0/20167.jpg

Sung entirely in German, so I couldn't understand anything from the lyrics. :D But it appears that they were talking about epic viking stuff. At least that was the feel I got from listening to this album. The band's formation changed significantly from their third album and so did their sound. However, it was still essentially the same type of music: black metal elements used to make some epic folk/viking melodic metal. Basically, what I would understand to be modern heavy metal would be albums such as this. Incorporating several artistic strands and yet producing something relatively new and unique. Very good album like all of Equilibrium's, though my favorite of their albums still is their first one!

[Guaporense]

Mendelssohn - Symphonies number 1 through 3

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Mendelssohn_Bartholdy.jpg

Yep, marathoned 3 symphonies of the musician today. Overall, pretty good, not as boring as Sibelius but also not as inspiring and rich as Schubert, though that might be because I have listened to Schubert way more to appreciate his work more. Although I might think that Schubert's style is particularly suited for me, it's much more theatrical and "heavy", while being possessed by rather visceral aggression if compared to most other symphonic works. These symphonies are more calm and controlled. Still beautiful, like the works of any great classical composer, but not quite the type that strongly resonates with me. Though it might require more listening before I can arrive at definitive conclusions.

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RfY-xIX4L.jpg

Lindsey Buckingham - Seeds We Sow (2011, CD version)

This is Buckingham's most recent solo release and I have to say I have some mixed feelings about it. The guitar work is stellar and the songs are all solid, but the overall sound just seems a little thin and I like a fuller, richer sound than this offers.

Perhaps that bias has something to do with the fact that my introduction to these songs was not the CD itself, but rather a one off concert performance that he gave in Beverly Hills about five months prior to the album's release (this performance was later released on DVD and CD as Songs From the Small Machine - Live in L.A.). As much as I love Buckingham's studio releases, his live performances have always been really rich and dynamic. If you ever get a chance to see him in concert, I urge you to go. I'm still kicking myself for not seeing him on his One Man Show solo tour (after seeing him in concert three times with Fleetwood Mac and five times solo, I couldn't justify the expense).

The overall sound of this album is probably more akin to Under the Skin than Gift of Screws, but has a few rockers thrown in to mix it up a little. And like Under the Skin, it features a Rolling Stones cover, this time "She Smiled Sweetly," but unlike that other album, there's nothing truly remarkable here. As a long established fan I can't help but love it anyway, but I definitely don't think it's his best work and not the place that any newcomer should start.

Side Note: There are three different versions of this album. The standard CD release has 11 tracks. The Amazon MP3 download version has 13 tracks (the bonus tracks are alternate versions of "End of Time" and "Seeds We Sow") and the iTunes version features 12 tracks, including the exclusive track "Sleeping Around the Corner" which I absolutely love).


Favorite Songs
One Take (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qrRsYf784f0)
End of Time (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4lYEJuoWmZo)
Stars Are Crazy (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9m2xW6M-hrU)

4.5-

[Gatsby]

I know you posted on Gideon's thread the first time. :p

[Miss Vicky]

I know you posted on Gideon's thread the first time. :p

Shut up.
I'm not drunk. Just an idiot when I'm sober.

[Gatsby]

Did you get rep from me already? I don't want to double dip you, or should I?

[Miss Vicky]

You're not showing up in my tracker, Gats.

Anyway, Seeds We Sow is the last of the Buckingham solo albums and I'm still waiting on that last Darren Hayes album, so now I don't know what to listen to and review. Maybe I'll do some Zevon next.

[Guaporense]

Helloween - Master of the Rings (1994)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/8/4/8/848.jpg?4805

Happier than the happiest hippie rock, more sugary than J-pop, more extreme than Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, such is the post-Kai Hansen Helloween. I am into this album for 9 years now, it never ceases to cheer me up. It fills me with the expectations of achieving greatness in life, and my heart with hope for a great future. :eek: Really lifts my humor up, indeed, in perhaps Helloween's second lightest Deris' album.

[Guaporense]

Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror (2015)

http://assets.blabbermouth.net.s3.amazonaws.com/media/blindguardianbeyondearbook_638.jpg

Their newest album, Blind Guardian's is being a bit overambitious and pretentious here. Songs are all 10 minute symphonic pieces with layered choirs all over the place in this album which might be classified as "symphonic progressive power metal". Anyway, they even copied down a Helloween's song title Twilight of the Gods, the original 1987 Helloween song is far superior though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd0MGxtfC3k

Now that's great music. The Blind Guardian song, despite being enormously overproduced and pretentiously epic, cannot match a classic such as this with it's perfectly executed playing without the use of any digital studio processing technology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep1B_aIFPDE

Also there is the Bathory song of the same title:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_w72-AsoGQ

Anyway, it's a good album, but not on the level of previous Blind Guardian classics.

[Guaporense]

Arch Enemy - Black Earth (1996)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e9/Arch_Enemy_-_Black_Earth.jpg

Arch Enemy - Stigmata (1998)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c4/StigmataAlbum.jpg

Getting to know the sound of this melodic death metal band. The quality of the output is already quite varied. The first album was pretty mediocre stuff, the sort of run of the mill low quality melodic death metal you can expect from newbies. However, the second album is pretty great in fact, a good example of melodic death metal done right. It is real metal, not just pseudo death metal noise with some melodic guitar playing high notes above it but actual riffs integrated into the compositions! A good band that I ignored for a long time (ca. 10 years I knew about then and never got around any of their albums).

[Mr Minio]

Beware! One album more with the same vocalist and there's a change in vocals section. Angela Gossow kicks in! Their newest has Agonist singer. That purple hair lady. :P

[Guaporense]

Arch Enemy - Burning Bridges (1999)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/Arch_Enemy_-_Burning_Bridges.jpg

Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin (2001)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/WagesOfSinCover.jpg

Now the albums started to get worse. I liked Burning Bridges a lot, though Wages of Sin was pretty boring. Interesting though it has a female vocalist that does the growling style of vocals. Overall though this band is not exceptional. Decent but forgettable melodic death metal.

[Guaporense]

Bathory - Twilight of the Gods (1991)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/7/6/0/760.jpg?4733

While listening to the Blind Guardian song of the same name I decided to listen again to this Bathory album. It had been such a long time since I had listened to this Bathory album. It is indeed one of the weakest of their albums, at least of compared to the masterpieces that just came before. The last song is really awful, it's not even metal in any way shape or form. :eek:

[Swan]

My friend loves Arch Enemy, Guap. I don't know what I think of them. I think their hit "Nemesis" is a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's cheesy as cheesypuffs.

[Guaporense]

Pretty much, they are quite "cheesy" though I am not entirely sure of the meaning of that, I think their music is pretty good, not great, unlike Equilibrium, Eluveitie, or Slayer.

The best album I have listened in the past 24 hours has been Master of the Rings. :sick: It shows how significant band Helloween are.

[False Writer]

Mendelssohn - Symphonies number 1 through 3

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Mendelssohn_Bartholdy.jpg

Yep, marathoned 3 symphonies of the musician today. Overall, pretty good, not as boring as Sibelius but also not as inspiring and rich as Schubert, though that might be because I have listened to Schubert way more to appreciate his work more. Although I might think that Schubert's style is particularly suited for me, it's much more theatrical and "heavy", while being possessed by rather visceral aggression if compared to most other symphonic works. These symphonies are more calm and controlled. Still beautiful, like the works of any great classical composer, but not quite the type that strongly resonates with me. Though it might require more listening before I can arrive at definitive conclusions.

I actually listened to a piece by him last night. I was impressed, very elegant and put me in a peaceful mood.

[Guaporense]

Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (2006)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/Ashes_Against_the_Grain.jpg

Really bland stuff. I am not sure if I could even call this metal in fact. It's just, too, well, "light" in the sense of being underneath the music, which is not riff driven instead it is just background elevator music, relaxing music. Well, that's murican metal for you. I will be honest and I don't think most current murican "metal" is metal. Real metal is mostly European, mainly in Germany and Scandinavia. There were great american bands in the 1980's like Fates Warning, but today its sad.

[Mr Minio]

I love how you care more about an album being metal or not (using your own definition of metal as well) more than anything.

[Guaporense]

It is supposed to be a metal album! It is just guitar distortion + elevator music. I never complained that Schubert wasn't metal. :p

Why do you think it is my definition of metal? Metal purists know what metal is though people who are not metal purists might not quite understand why something is metal and the rest is not. Basically there is a difference between true aggression and the pretension of aggression.

[Mr Minio]

Who said it is supposed to be a metal album? People on any music site who define what genre is an album? I don't think many artists/bands really care, if they play metal, or not, or how you define metal. And who said that metal = agression? :) Looks like your definition of metal is very thin.

[Guaporense]

Who said it is supposed to be a metal album? People on any music site who define what genre is an album?

Well I expected something that I didn't get. It's from a top albums list at metal_storm though. Best, most trustworthy site though is metal_archives. :) That one is really great, people really understand metal there.

I don't think many artists/bands really care, if they play metal, or not, or how you define metal.

Judas Priest does. Rob Halford personally does. Ensiferum does. Kai Hansen does. People who like metal of course seek metal so they use a word called metal.

Of course, Metallica doesn't care, in particular, though that's more recently as in the 1980's they really cared about what they did. As their first album was supposedly titled "metal up your ass" but the recording company didn't allow it.

[Mr Minio]

Who cares what genre is the music as long as it's good?

[Guaporense]

Iron Savior - Iron Savior (1997)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/5/0/1/1501.jpg

This album has been sort of a precious memory for me. It incorporates many of my favorite aesthetic concepts from science fiction to metal and has been a favorite of mine for a decade now. It's labelled as a "power metal" album but in fact, it's power metal in it's old sense, meaning traditional heavy metal played with the speed and aggression of thrash metal. Or in other words, it is a speed metal album. And one hell of a great album in that sense: lot's of great heavy riffs, outer space sounding guitar melodies and a pumping visceral sound. Basically an updated version of traditional heavy metal for the end of the 20th century. And that is among the greatest things a band can accomplish. Being their first it is also their best album, their later efforts have been relatively mediocre and lacked the transcendental atmosphere of Iron Savior's self titled debut.

[Guaporense]

Falkenbach - ..En their medh ríki fara... (1996)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/18/EnTheirMedhRikiFaraCover.png

Falkenbach - ...Magni blandinn ok megintiri... (1998)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b6/MagniBlandinnokMegintiriCover.png

Falkenbach - Ok nefna tysvar Ty (2003)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/OkNefnaTysvarTyCover.png

Falkenbach - Heralding – The Fireblade (2005)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/HeraldingCover.png

And here comes the German Bathory. Their albums have indeed a very "bathory'ish" sound to then and that is great in fact. A combination of folk metal, viking metal and black metal. In some ways similar to Equilibrium but only in some ways, in most ways it is way closes to 1990's Bathory. They are pretty good, though none of them are as good as Hammerheart, that Bathory masterpiece will forever exist unsurpassed as a monument to epic blackish heavy metal.

[Miss Vicky]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bSPkkpGaL.jpg

Darren Hayes – This Delicate Thing We’ve Made (2007)

So in the past couple of weeks I’ve become absolutely obsessed with Darren Hayes (he’s currently doing a hilarious podcast - with a straight friend of his - called The He Said, He Said Show and I highly recommend it if you're a fan of vulgar humor). I’ve listened to all of his other solo albums several times and I’d bump all of my previous ratings up by at least half a popcorn box each. I’d also probably call We Are Smug my favorite overall. I’m in love with that weird ass album now.

But all this time I’ve been waiting for this to arrive – his double album. 25 tracks. Double the songs should mean double the awesome, right? Sadly, that’s not the case here. His voice sounds great (when it’s not being drowned out by way too heavy electronic beats and beeps), but his trademark catchy hooks and soaring vocals are virtually non-existent. There’s weirdness, but for the most part it’s not the fun sort of weirdness like We Are Smug. It’s just strange and alienating. There are softer songs, too, but there just doesn't seem to be anything special about any of them. Nothing here really stands out or strikes a chord with me.

Perhaps with time this will grow on me, but right now it’s a pretty big disappointment. All of his other albums had at least a couple of instant favorites. But here I’m struggling to even point to a single track that I feel more than apathy about, nevermind the 3-4 favorites per album I’ve posted in all my previous reviews. Ultimately I decided on the weirdest track of the album, not because I think it’s actually really good but because it’s the one point in the album when I didn’t feel the urge to press stop.

Favorite Track:
Bombs Up In My Face (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F-8aIG5tD3c)

Rating: (A generous) 3-

[Guaporense]

Mendelssohn - Symphonies number 4 & 5

http://www.nndb.com/people/266/000092987/felix-mendelssohn-3.jpg

I had a quite different experience from these two symphonies if compared to the first three ones. While I found these to be heavier/more active than the first symphonies, more in the tradition of Schubert as well: very dramatic music. But that might be just my ears getting used to his particular symphonic style. Nice composer overall.

[Guaporense]

Grave Digger - Return of the Reaper (2014)

http://assets.blabbermouth.net.s3.amazonaws.com/media/gravediggerreturnofthereapercd.jpg

Now, that's a great album. It has heavy riffs, has guitar solos all over the place, has the highly aggressive vocal performance. It's a generic heavy metal album to the core, even more than Accept's last album, in fact. as if they were still trying to make a new Painkiller (1990). Though that album is impossible to top, being honest.

But it's a nice straight heavy metal album in this age of "folk death black melodic power progressive garbage". :sick:

[Guaporense]

Schubert - Symphony number 8

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Franz_Schubert_by_Wilhelm_August_Rieder.jpeg

I don't have his symphony number 7, for some reason. And this symphony is starting to get boring as I have listened to it many times (either directly or in movies and other media which used them as soundtrack). Still it enormously powerful and still fairly accessible piece of classical music. Awesome artistic realization overall.

[Sane]

I've been going through a process of re-assessing pretty much every album I've ever owned. Mostly been fun ... except for Adam & the Ants Very Best Of :( Haven't got to things like Bros and Pseudo Echo yet so we'll see how that goes ...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cc/Born_Dead.jpg
Born Dead - Body Count (1994)
I've never been exactly sure who Ice T's target market is but it always seems like he probably appeals most to white teenagers - not that that's a bad thing (I was a white teenager once) and it actually worked well on Body Count's debut album but this one is just more of the same basic guitar riffs and lyrics to make fourteen year olds giggle because he says "dick".

Overall it's very mediocre and highlights what has always been Ice T's biggest problem - trying to offend rather than write good songs. What saves it is that there aren't really any stand out bad tracks (aside from Hey Joe) - just lots of ordinary ones.

Highlight: Probably the title track as it's really the only song that might be called "good" on the whole album - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X-kwNNLmhd8

Lowlight: Definitely this awful cover of Hendrix's Hey Joe - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZKkCH5jrSM

2.5

[Guaporense]

Schubert -Symphony number 9

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FRKOMxOzL.jpg

Dividing my post of Schubert's symphonies. Why? Because I decided to talk more about number 9. Also, I found out on wikipedia why I don't have his number 7: because it doesn't exist in finished form. Anyway, the number 9, is a really great symphony, tied with numbrer 6 for my favorite Schubert symphony. It's very heavy, indeed, heavier than anything besides real metal (i.e. way heavier than Opeth's stuff and that cr*ppy shoegaze metal American album I listened too a couple of days ago), it shows that it is possible to make serious music still complex and interesting at the same time. Almost had a ear orgasm listening to this.

[Guaporense]

Hisaishi - Spirited Away OST (2001)

http://i43.tinypic.com/2i6dzcp.jpg

A near perfect combination of melody, minimalism, romantic style, Japanese style and emotion. It's very accessible but still very powerful and beautiful. One of Hisaishi's best film scores and indeed one of the greatest film scores of all time. One of the reasons why Miyazaki's films are so great are the awesome soundtracks they have. Very simple, beautiful and emotional music.

[Guaporense]

Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/2/3/123.jpg

Swedish doom metal masterpiece. Enough said, a true classic of the genre.

[Guaporense]

Candlemass - Nightfall (1987)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/2/4/124.jpg

Not as heavy as their debut but still a great doom metal album. Essential for anyone who is into heavy music.

[Guaporense]

Brahms - Symphonies number 1 & 3

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/JohannesBrahms.jpg

I first listened to Brahms yesterday. Considered one of the biggest classical composers of the 19th century, his compositions are pretty impressive indeed. Very dramatic and powerful music, like other romantic composers.

[Guaporense]

Brahms - Symphonies 2 & 4

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Johannes_Brahms_1853.jpg

I found this set of two symphonies to be slightly weaker than the symphonies before. Like the others, though it shares the same characteristics of Brahms music: passionate, "heavy" and dramatic music. Like Beethoven's and Schubert's.

[Guaporense]

Grave Digger - The Last Supper (2005)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/94/Grave_Digger_The_last_supper.jpg

Weaker heavy metal effort compared to their newest, 2014 album. Indeed their latest album is considered one of the best heavy metal albums of the year.

[Guaporense]

Grave Digger - Clash of the Gods (2012)

http://hoovi.at/wp-content/uploads/Grave-Digger-Clash-of-gods-cover-Deeflexx-HooVi-%C2%A9-Grave-Digger.jpg

Grave Digger is similar to Iron Savior in many ways. Both bands are basically modern heavy metal bands that still play like 1980's bands do but with modernize production. Both bands always sound pretty much the same across albums as well. Grave Digger, however, is a straight heavy metal band which plays one of the most pure and simple heavy metal styles, in fact, the compositions are quite simplistic indeed, but still good heavy metal. Specially this album, which was particularly inspired.

[Guaporense]

Black Sabbath - The Headless Cross (1989)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e9/Black-Sabbath-Headless-Cross.jpg

There exists a reason why some bands are more famous than others inside a genre: Black Sabbath, for instance, is a legendary band for a reason. Though the fact is that their most famous albums are not their best. While their first albums are important for establishing the band's sound and influence the later Black Sabbath albums are actually better IMO. Such as The Headless Cross, featuring amazing performances from the entire band, it's Black Sabbath at their mature form while showing influences from newer metal acts formed up to that point in time. One of my favorite albums by Black Sabbath and indeed one of the finest heavy metal albums of all time.

[Swan]

I've been liking Black Sabbath lately, I just love the dirty old-school guitar tone, but I only have their first two albums and greatest hits album. I'll have to check out some of their later work, if you think it's better.

[Mr Minio]

Though the fact is that their most famous albums are not their best. While their first albums are important for establishing the band's sound and influence the later Black Sabbath albums are actually better IMO :eek: Heretic!

[Guaporense]

Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose your Weapon (2015)

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0003/846/MI0003846066.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

So, decided to stop being a close minded metalhead. Let's try some new Neo Soul music and break into more mainstream sounds. So, I found it boring, weak, lacking in depth, passion and atmosphere. It's just too light! :sick: I tried this album because I liked the cover (looks quite like a metal cover), but the music inside is pretty weak.

[Guaporense]

:eek: Heretic!

Many tr00 metalheads actually think later Black Sabbath is better. Its one way of displaying elitism: among famous bands you always say the best stuff is their least famous stuff. Though my favorite Black Sabbath is indeed the period from 1987 to 1993. :D And my favorite album of their is Tyr, the Viking Metal Black Sabbath album. :D

[Guaporense]

I've been liking Black Sabbath lately, I just love the dirty old-school guitar tone, but I only have their first two albums and greatest hits album. I'll have to check out some of their later work, if you think it's better.

Like, Black Sabbath discography is on the whole essential listening to any metalhead. The band had great changes in style over the course of their 18 albums as well. IMO their best albums begin in 1980 with Heaven and Hell (1980). And from the 1970's Ozzy era my favorite albums of theirs are Master of Reality (1971) and Sabotage (1975). Besides these The Headless Cross (1989), Tyr (1990) and Dehumanizer (1992) constitute together my top 6 favorite Black Sabbath albums. Really great band overall.

The big 3 most influential metal bands of all time are (in this order): Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

[Mr Minio]

> decides to listen to something else than metal
> chooses contemporary r & b

dude, listen to john coltrane, or something

[Guaporense]

Black Sabbath - Tyr (1990)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/5/2/7/527.jpg

Yes, this is Black Sabbath's finest album. A magnificent album, full of depth, emotion and the final steps artistic developments of the super legendary Black Sabbath. After 20 years of continuous artistic evolution it all culminated in this album. It's Black Sabbath playing Viking metal before Viking metal was developed, still sounding like Black Sabbath, actually incorporating all it's developments over the past two decades and as a result creating their richest and most memorable album.

I had some personal history with this album. About 5 years ago during my crushing first year at the math PHD program I only did two things: study like crazy (80 hours a week) and relax like 1 hour per day listening to music like this. This album in particular, allowed me to survive that first year (yep, it's was really really HARD).

[Mr Minio]

11 hours of studying a day? Damn!

[Guaporense]

X Japan - Art of Life (1993)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/3/4/2/13421.jpg?3401

Called by some the most important rock band in Japanese history, X Japan is a progressive speed metal band! While I knew and heard then well over a decade ago it was a band that never really "captured" me as much as western heavy metal acts Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, etc. So today I decided to revisit one of their classics, the 29 minute long song Art of Life. It was the second longest metal song ever up to that point (there was a death metal song that was 36 minutes long).

It is indeed an incredible song, mixing a lot of elements together: piano, classical arrangements and speed metal. Though the vocal performance wasn't very good.

[Guaporense]

X Japan - Jeously (1991)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/3/4/2/13423.jpg?2746

Great traditional metal album from X Japan. X Japan is one of the world's greatest rock bands, however, they are mostly unknown outside of Japan. Well that applies to anything Japan makes: among westerners only "weaboos" know what's happening in Japan. :D Anyway, anybody who likes rock/metal should listen to some of X Japan. Even Japan's prime minister has claimed to be a fan of this band. :D

[Mr Minio]

Called by some the most important rock band in Japanese history

X Japan is one of the world's greatest rock bands, however, they are mostly unknown outside of Japan. Is it your own opinion, or do you take it from some statistics or reviews? I'm serious.

[Guaporense]

Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer (1992)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/5/2/9/529.jpg

One of Black Sabbath's finest albums. Though usually overlooked. It doesn't represent any artistic development compared to their earlier albums, however. Still a great album though, featuring the vocals of the greatest vocalist who ever lived. R.I.P

[TylerDurden99]

Went through most of Led Zeppelin's discography over the last week:


Led Zeppelin 3.5
Led Zeppelin II 3
Led Zeppelin III 3
Led Zeppelin IV 4
Houses Of The Holy 3.5
Physical Graffiti 3

[Guaporense]

Fates Warning - No Exit (1988)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Fates_Warning_No_Exit.jpg

The fourth album by progressive metal act Fates Warning. It's not as great as their second and third albums, which are timeless masterpieces, but it's a pretty good straight progressive heavy metal album. Contains a series of songs titled The Ivory Gate of Dreams which reaches an awesome level of awesomeness. :D

[Guaporense]

Kiss - Destroyer (1976)

http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/10677-destroyer.jpg

Honestly, that's a quite bland rock album. Rather superficial music, well, Helloween's vocalist is a big fan of the band but I personally see then as more of an evolutionary step into great music.

[Guaporense]

Judas Priest - Ram it Down (1988)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/7/3/0/2730.jpg?0438

An impressive mixed bag. Some amazing songs (Heavy Metal, Blood Red Skies, Ram it Down, Hard as Iron) are mixed in with some pretty bland ballads. Overall a strong album that reflects both the strengths and weaknesses of Judas Priest, still the greatest and perhaps most iconic heavy metal band of all time.

[Guaporense]

Helloween - The Time of the Oath (1996)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/8/5/1/851.jpg?5206

One of Helloween's finest albums with Deris, while not quite on the level of their eternal classics from the 1980's it still ranks among the best melodic heavy metal albums of the 1990's. Some songs are really epic though others are plain cheesy, it's inconsistency is similar to Judas Priest's Ram it Down when I think about it. Both are second tier albums in these monstrous bands discographies.

[Guaporense]

Fates Warning - Perfect Symmetry (1989)

http://www.metalblade.com/us/covers/FatesWarning-PerfectSymmetry.jpg

Sounding a bit mechanical here. Lacking the "feel" of their first 3 albums, which were characterized by great heavy metal vibes, this one however, feels like a Dream Theater album, which is not a good thing since Fates Warning is so much better than Dream Theater. :p

[Guaporense]

Fates Warning - Parallels (1991)

http://www.onemetal.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-post-thumbnail/JCmqgK.jpg

Fun party metal songs. Nothing very complex or heavy but just dam nice easy listening metal/hard rock songs. Perhaps Fates Warning least ambitious album.

[TylerDurden99]

Decided to fill in the blanks of The Beatles' discography over the past few days:


With The Beatles 2.5
A Hard Day's Night 3
Help! 3.5
Rubber Soul 3.5
Revolver 2.5
Sgt Peppers 3
The White Album 3.5
Let It Be 2.5


And here's my ranking of The Beatles' albums, from best to worst (in my opinion):


1. Abbey Road
2. The White Album
3. Rubber Soul
4. Help!
5. A Hard Day's Night
6. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
7. Please Please Me
8. Revolver
9. Let It Be
10. Beatles For Sale
11. With The Beatles

[Guaporense]

Epica - The Phantom Agony (2003)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Epica_-_The_Phantom_Agony.jpg

Found it surprisingly good. Nice integration of symphonic elements with metal, though the guitars were too low in the mix for me. :sick:

Epica - Consign to Oblivion (2005)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Epica_-_Consign_to_Oblivion.jpg

Still very good but I found it slightly weaker than the first album, well, the metal level was toned down anyway.

[TylerDurden99]

Crosby Stills & Nash (1969)

http://www.popspotsnyc.com/crosby_stills_nash/CSN_1969/Crosby_Stills_Diltz_1.jpg

I wanted to like this album a lot more, given that I already like a few of CSN's songs and their harmonies, but dear lord what a boring album. The opener "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is the standout and probably the only track I liked, the rest failed to capture me at all.

2

[Swan]

Do you like Deja Vu, Tyler?

[Guaporense]

Angel Dust - Bleed (1999)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/8/8/7/887.jpg?5338

Some nice German speed metal. Nothing truly miraculous here though but it's straight heavy metal and that's always great.

Angel Dust - Enlighten the Darkness (2000)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/8/9/0/890.jpg?5440

Really amazing speed metal. Far superior than the album they made just a year before. The spirit of heavy metal lives on in albums such as this.

Angel Dust - Border of Reality (1998)

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/5/5/7/155783.jpg?3057

The first album the band made after reforming is also very inspired, very traditional speed metal sounding, even more than the two latter albums.

Truly a great band that I just discovered. :D

[TylerDurden99]

Do you like Deja Vu, Tyler?

I've got it, but I haven't listened to it yet. I'll probably give it a go tonight.

[Swan]

Hope you like it. I was pretty much raised on that album.

[Mr Minio]

Guap's on fire lately! I only wish he'd listen to more genres!

[Guaporense]

@ Mr. Minio, I already explained, 90% of the music I listen to is metal, 10% is classical/orchestral. I am at this mix for the past 10 years so far. :eek:

Judas Priest - Jugulator (1997)

http://www.jugulator.net/jugulator-desktop4.jpg

Widely regarded as being among Judas Priest worst albums I found it very inspiring in fact. It's true that Judas Priest was heavily influenced by the current musical environment: when bands like Pantera and Machine Head dominated metal sales in the Anglophone world Judas Priest decided to modernize their sound: so they downtuned their guitars and had angsty vocals, though it is still classical heavy metal but done with a Pantera style sonic surface. I actually enjoyed it a lot, sounds like dumbass heavy metal but the songs are actually well composed.

Well I liked this song a lot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yps3qCbo0F0

[Guaporense]

Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Judaspainkiller.JPG

One of the greatest metal albums of all time. Though I have listened to it too many times now so I feel burn out of it. Still a miraculous masterpiece, almost perfect and only problem it has are the lyrics, but lyrics are not that important for me.

[Guaporense]

Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls (2014)

http://heartlandrecords.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/JUDAS-PRIEST-redeemer-of-souls-lp-1.jpg

Now, let's hear a little of Judas Priest latest album, after the band has completed 46 years, yep, 46 years of heavy metal (though it started as a hippie rock band:

http://homeofmetal.com/wp-content/uploads/pre/201201251340118463/201201251340118463.jpg

Anyway, like the previous two albums it featuring a metal monster on the cover (yes, Judas Priest is perhaps the most self consciously heavy metal band in the world, considering it's the second most influential after Black Sabbath and the first influential metal band to emerge that self identified as metal).

This album is not bad actually, it's overall pretty good heavy metal though it has some issues. The style is the same as Judas Priest been doing for over 30 years and this could have been released in 1984 instead of 2014 as if the 30 years in between didn't exist.

[TylerDurden99]

Crosby Stills Nash & Young - Deja Vu (1970)


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Crosby%2C_Stills%2C_Nash_%26_Young_-_Deja_Vu.jpg


Perhaps it's Neil Young's contributions that give it the edge, but this was definitely superior to CSN's debut... not by much, though. It's pleasant listening throughout, but I can barely remember a single song apart from the already well-known singles.


2.5

[Swan]

*Wrinkles nose at TylerDurden99*

[Sane]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Let_Me_Come_Over_%28Buffalo_Tom_album_-_cover_art%29.jpg
Let Me Come Over - Buffalo Tom (1992)
Buffalo Tom are one of those bands that I never heard of again after this album but now that I've looked them up they are still together and still releasing albums so I guess they have a decent fan base in the U.S. My musical tastes changed a bit after this period so maybe I just wasn't paying attention when they released later albums.

Basically I bought this thanks to some airplay on an alternative music station here in Australia when it was released. In some ways it is relatively standard Indie Rock but it has a couple of songs that I still absolutely love. Unfortunately a lot of the other songs feel a bit like filler but there is noting particularly bad here. Overall it's a decent album but its highs are enough to make me interested in the albums that were to follow. I might try to track a few of them down.

Highlights: Taillights Fade was the main song that made me buy this and I still think it's great:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sEjmJ1Ge00U
Listening to it again twenty years later this song, Mineral, is probably the best on the album:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5FDanYaOY8Q

3

[TylerDurden99]

The Who Sings My Generation (1965)


http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0001/672/MI0001672443.jpg?partner=allrovi.com


Solid debut from a band that I really should have gotten into a long time ago. The title track is still one of their best, and The Kids Are Alright and The Good's Gone keep the momentum going the whole way through, with the rest of the album being perfectly fine rock stuff.


3

[TylerDurden99]

The Who - A Quick One 3
Wire - Pink Flag 3
The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band 3.5
The Beatles - Abbey Road 4

[TylerDurden99]

The Who - Who's Next 3
Black Flag - Damaged 2.5
Eric Clapton - Slowhand 3
The Doors - The Doors 4

[Sane]

http://mantismusic.us/images/AC/8752.jpg
Mossy God - Mantissa (1992)
Mantissa are a great rock and roll story ... In a bad way. They were Australia's next big thing in the early 90s when they were known as Killing Time - they changed their name when this album was released due to a clash with an American band. Prior to the release of this they had a couple of EPs make the Australian charts and with this album they were expected to break in the U.S. All of this hype was well deserved because this is, quite simply, a great hard rock album. There are no filler tracks and quite a few of the songs are still great 23 years later.

Unfortunately it appears that pre-existing drug problems took their toll. After the release of this they toured America for nine months, came back home, made a second album that no-one bought, and promptly disappeared. The singer seemed to struggle with drug problems for about 15 years - he would always be spotted riding a bike around Melbourne but would never talk to anyone. The female bass player and another member of the band moved to northern New South Wales and are still there ... basically that's a euphemism that means they have been stoned for twenty years.

Apparently the singer did recover and returned to music about 10 years ago but hasn't had much success. The drummer is the only one still in the industry.

It's all quite sad because I still love this band and this is one of my favourite albums.

Highlights: There are quite a few but I'll just list a couple that have video clips. First, my favourite song - Mary Mary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7kONbAPzEs
Dream Alone - a song from an EP released before this album that was also included. Actually made it to number 30 on the Australian singles charts (song starts about 30 seconds in):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtIIVhgDUEA

It made me nostalgic listening to this album again after so many years. Good memories :)

4.5

[TylerDurden99]

Dark Side Of The Moon (Pink Floyd) 3
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) 3.5
Open Up And Say... Ahh! (Poison) 3.5
Magical Mystery Tour (The Beatles) 3
Paranoid (Black Sabbath) 3
Blizzard Of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne) 3
Foreigner (Foreigner) 2.5
Boy (U2) 3.5
The Joshua Tree (U2) 2.5

[TylerDurden99]

Marquee Moon (Television) 3.5
McCartney (Paul McCartney) 2.5
Let It Be (The Beatles) 3.5
Number Of The Beast (Iron Maiden) 2.5
More Songs About Buildings And Food (Talking Heads) 2.5
Ready Or Not (Lou Gramm) 3

[nat666195]

Now 91 6/10

[TylerDurden99]

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon) 3
Imagine (John Lennon) 3
Warren Zevon (Warren Zevon) 3.5
Ram (Paul & Linda McCartney) 2.5

[mojofilter]

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon) rating_3
Imagine (John Lennon) rating_3
[/rating]


TylerDurden, I'll have to disagree with you on those Lennon albums, buddy.


Plastic Ono Band is a solid 5 for me.
I'd give Imagine a 4

[TylerDurden99]

I definitely thought Imagine was the better of the two. Plastic Ono Band was fine, and I admired Lennon's lyrics, but Imagine is the one I can see being a favourite of mine in the future.

[mojofilter]

http://www.guitarworld.com/files/noel-gallagher's-high-flying-birds--chasing-yesterday.jpg
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Chasing Yesterday (2015)
Co-founder, chief songwriter, guitarist, and occasional lead singer of the 90's Britrock supergroup Oasis has been making beautiful music since departing from his former band in 2009. Even though the moniker 'High Flying Birds' sounds like a band, this is purely Noel's solo project. The first album, 2011's High Flying Birds, was magnificent. This follow-up is equally amazing. Tracks like the first single In The Heat Of The Moment, You Know We Can't Go Back, and Lock All The Doors (a song written in the 90's, intended as an Oasis song that did not come to fruition) show Noel hasn't lost the ability for writing hard-hitting powerhouse rock tunes. Other tracks like the second single The Ballad Of The Mighty I (which features Johnny Marr of The Smiths on guitar), The Right Stuff, and While The Song Remains The Same are what Noel is really good at; writing elusive tunes that will crawl under your skin and move you.

I highly recommend giving Chasing Yesterday a listen or two.

rating_4_5


TRACK PICK
You Know We Can't Go Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOveYAuDJvw

[TylerDurden99]

Destroyer (Kiss) 3.5
From Elvis In Memphis (Elvis Presley) 3
Help (The Beatles) 4
Revolver (The Beatles) 3.5

[Swan]

Some recent listens. All these will no doubt grow and become uber-favorites. I loved them. Especially Abyss and Ys.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/0837f6a8-d79b-40b6-88e6-b4d8cb491c93_zpsibho0q0k.jpg

3.5

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/e83aa7eb-a885-43b6-b15f-bf0fbe009a94_zpslrstvbf5.jpg

4+

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/d649fae2-f9a0-41d3-addb-d296c344d78f_zpsfvdfyan7.jpg

4+

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/bf03cb63-2296-4f16-8fb6-e2e1bd0c150e_zpsrxxilvbu.jpg

3.5

[Derek Vinyard]

Albums I heard recently...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/33/Fallideals.jpg
4.5

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/Avenged_Sevenfold_cover_2007.jpg
5

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/One_X.png
5

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/Bullet_For_My_Valentine_-_Scream%2C_Aim%2C_Fire.jpg
4

[Guaporense]

http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/0/10.jpg
5/5

http://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/dark-angel-darkness-descends.jpg
5/5

[Guaporense]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/Angra_templeofshadows.jpg
5/5
Great album.

[Derek Vinyard]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/64/MeteoraLP.jpg
5+

Top 3 album ever for me.

[AlexUltraViolent]

Van Halen : 5150

Might piss off some people, but i am a major Van Hagar fan and 5150 has so many great Van Halen tunes. Sammy Hagar still sings good, David Lee Roth sounds like garbage more than he did before Sammy.

[Swan]

Today, I fell in love with FKA Twigs.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/FKA_twigs_-_LP1_zpsienrjwdv.png

4.5

[cinemajack]

DS2 by Future [2015]
2.5

Jazz Daredevil by Jon Benjamin [2015]
3

[donniedarko]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f1/CagetheElephantTellMeImPretty.jpg
Cage the Elephant, Tell me i'm Pretty
While I'm not sure it has the same instant radio hits as their last two albums it's very well put together with no bad songs.

4

[AboveTheClouds]

http://www.thisisrevolution.com/content/uploads/apathy-the-curse-of-the-kennedys.jpg
Artist - Apathy
Album - Connecticut Casual
Genre - Hip Hop
Rating - 8/10

Apathy, a member of hip hop groups Demigodz and Army of the Pharaohs, as well as a prolific solo artist in his own right, is back with Connecticut Casual. The album has well crafted beats and production, and Apathy simply spits like a pro, this albums is basically a showcase for his Lyrical Wordsmith Geniusness ;)


https://gypsyontherocks.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/morningrise1.jpg
Band - Opeth
Album - Morningrise
Genre - Death Metal
Rating - 8.5/10

Hailing from Sweden, Opeth are Melodic Death metal, with elements of progressive and folk thrown in. Morningrise is their second effort and my personal favourite by them. The album features both clean and guttural vocals, this album is notable in that it is the final album in which they used this style of music. Their next album My Arms, Your Hearse, was a step in a more melodic and progressive direction, and that's where I left them.

[earlsmoviepicks]

Eat To the Beat -- Blondie
Insane drumming from Clem Burke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhNz3sEmjWA

[Guaporense]

And again and again:
http://planetmosh.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Virgin-Steele-Invictus-Artwork.jpg

5/5

[jiraffejustin]

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Gybeinfinity.jpg

I asked Swan what I should listen to, and this is what he chose for me. It's not like much of anything I've listened to. Post-rock isn't a genre that I've really explored to any sort of extent. Rating it wouldn't be easy for me, so I will take the easy cop-out of not giving it a popcorn score. I can say that I was very impressed, and really enjoyed it in the same way I enjoy classical music. This is the natural progression of classical music to me. Not only because it's instrumental music, but the movements were actually emotional and weren't there just to "sound cool." Not that there is anything wrong with music like that, but F-Sharp, A-Sharp, Infinity has more depth than the average piece. I look forward to hearing it again.

[Swan]

First albums I listened to on vinyl in full...

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/00ee4317-fbd6-4ea3-9a3f-42f5d596049e_zpssz5em1hg.jpg

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - 5
(Relisten)

A phenomenal album, one of the greatest of all-time, that still feels fresh despite having listened to many times before. Every track is golden. My favorite, if I had to pick, would probably be "Welcome to the Machine," but it's a hard choice.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn187/bdfolsom/88603b95-609a-454e-8810-22075d6af9a8_zpsd4fzh15r.jpg

MF Doom - Mm... Food - 4+
(First listen)

First listen so I'm cautious with my rating, which could improve over time. I've heard Doom's work on Madvillainy before, and this is just as good as that album, and maybe an even more cohesive work - one that flows together really nicely. Anyway, the guy has made two of the best hip-hop albums I've personally ever heard, though it's admittedly a genre I've yet to completely familiarize myself with.

[Iroquois]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Grimes_-_Art_Angels.png

Grimes - Art Angels

On a first listen, it definitely manages to match up to Visions, but there isn't quite anything on the same level as "Oblivion". Will see how well it holds up on repeat listens but for now I'd say it's pretty good.

4

[Derek Vinyard]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/All_That_Remains_Overcome_Album_Cover.jpg
4.5

- Overcome and The Fall Of Ideals are two of the best metalcore album of all-time and both album are masterpiece of music for me. I love All That Remains and for you people who like Screaming music like me, I highly recommend both albums.

[Mr Minio]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/All_That_Remains_Overcome_Album_Cover.jpg
rating_4_5
I have the original CD of this album. I bought it. I used to like this kind of music. Now I don't like it. I would've given the original CD to you if you lived in my city.