Rate the last album you've heard

Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose your Weapon (2015)



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! I tried this album because I liked the cover (looks quite like a metal cover), but the music inside is pretty weak.

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. And my favorite album of their is Tyr, the Viking Metal Black Sabbath album.

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.

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

dude, listen to john coltrane, or something

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Black Sabbath - Tyr (1990)



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).

11 hours of studying a day? Damn!

X Japan - Art of Life (1993)



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.

X Japan - Jeously (1991)



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. 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.

Is it your own opinion, or do you take it from some statistics or reviews? I'm serious.

Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer (1992)



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

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


Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin IV
Houses Of The Holy
Physical Graffiti

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

Fates Warning - No Exit (1988)



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.

Kiss - Destroyer (1976)



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.

Judas Priest - Ram it Down (1988)



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.

Helloween - The Time of the Oath (1996)



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.

Fates Warning - Perfect Symmetry (1989)



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.

Fates Warning - Parallels (1991)



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.

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


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


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

Epica - The Phantom Agony (2003)



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

Epica - Consign to Oblivion (2005)



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

Crosby Stills & Nash (1969)



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.