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therealvivs
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2010 4:26 pm
Posts: 566
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 2:04 am 
 

Emperor is one of my all time favorite metal bands.
With such limited discography, I know all their albums quite well, and honestly, it has been a good few years now since I've sat down with one of their records.
But after watching some of the recent drum cam vids Trym has been uploading lately, I decided to spin IX Equilibrium, my least favorite of theirs.

I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. Sure, much of it had to do with the trip down memory lane back to the 90's, but I genuinely enjoyed listening to the record back to back.
I still don't think it's their best, I still find some of those keys goofy and ill-placed and some of the songs just aren't on par with their best material. But Trym's drumming is fantastic, he's fast enough, varied and his drumming is just so tasty to my ears. I like the meaty guitars and how close they actually flirt with death metal in more than one aspect. It's arguably their heaviest album. The production is weird and sounds a bit messy but it didn't bother me that much. All in all, I really enjoy the time with this album.

What records that are considered the ugly ducklings in strong discographies do you believe are actually better than people think or that you personally just enjoy more than most folks?
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LithoJazzoSphere
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 3:02 am 
 

The first that comes to mind for me is Nevermore's The Obsidian Conspiracy. It had an impossibly high standard to follow of This Godless Endeavor and led to the breakup of the band shortly after. I have my own qualms with it, certainly. It probably could have been better if someone other than Wichers produced and let them continue with more epic songs rather than slanting it towards being an unofficial middle Warrel solo album. But it's still a fantastic album with many killer tracks, and if it had been from a brand new band it probably would have received rave reviews rather than virtually unanimous disappointment at the time.

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Twin_guitar_attack
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Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:27 am
Posts: 1649
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 4:08 am 
 

Acts of the Unspeakable is not just my favourite Autopsy album, it's my favourite death metal album.
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~Guest 1195014
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Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:18 pm
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 9:42 am 
 

Opeth - Morningrise. I have a huge sentiment for it, but despite the sometimes chaotic songwriting, it's just a really great album and the atmosphere is one of a kind.

Moonspell - The Butterfly Effect. It's hands down one of the weirdest albums ever made. But I liked it as a kid and rediscovered it recently, and if you let it pull you in, it's amazing. It has this weird, hard to describe atmosphere which is both creepy and strangely comforting.

But probably lesser known around here but the most obvious example for me is Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement. Absolute masterpiece of dark, hypnotic prog rock/metal, which is just criminally underrated (besides that one track they keep playing live all the time) and remains one of my favourite albums ever made. I don't think there's another album quite like it.

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Cosmic_Equilibrium
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:03 pm
Posts: 842
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:04 am 
 

Death By Wall of Text wrote:
Opeth - Morningrise. I have a huge sentiment for it, but despite the sometimes chaotic songwriting, it's just a really great album and the atmosphere is one of a kind.


Interesting, as about 20 years ago I remember Morningrise was considered THE Opeth album, and Black Rose Immortal was their finest song... nowadays everyone goes on about Blackwater Park etc.

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King_of_Arnor
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Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:35 pm
Posts: 777
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:06 am 
 

Megadeth - So Far, So Good... So What! - it's clearly a step down from Peace Sells, but its strongest tracks Mary Jane, In My Darkest Hour and Set the World Afire do measure up to Peace Sells' material. Just a shame it doesn't hit the mark every time.

Fates Warning - No Exit - I know I'll rouse the Arch fans with this one, but I think it's just a bit better than Spectre and Awaken. Very ambitious of them to do a 20 minute epic as they were settling into a vocalist change. It has a more aggressive edge to it too, almost a nod to thrash at times.
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:08 am 
 

Sabbath's Eternal Idol has grown on me a lot since I first heard it. Nice old school power metal; just the basics and that's all you need. Cross Purposes has some absolutely great stuff on it, too. And if you can consider Born Again a lesser work, it's a tremendous piece of fearless rock and roll and Ian Gillan makes it a true lethal killer of an album.
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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:15 am 
 

There are a lot of overlooked works which are actually amongst a band's best:

Dehumanizer is often considered to be one of the lesser Dio era albums, but it's the most savage and crushing Sabbath record post 1975. Blows away everything else they did after Mob Rules for sure, and holds its own with the Ozzy era classics too.

The Ripper Owens era is often derided as being lesser and not up to the Halford years, but the band really were at a performance high during this time and both 98 Live Meltdown and Live In London are great records where the band downtune nicely for a more brutal sound which really benefits songs like Metal Gods. Owens is astonishingly good and TBH outsings Halford. The studio work from the Ripper years is not as consistent but Jugulator is a nice reinvention of the Priest sound, incorporating Pantera influences, and Cathedral Spires is in the top 3 songs they've ever done.

The Bayley years are similarly looked down upon for Maiden, but Sign Of The Cross is the band's best song and The X Factor is a dark, brooding and cathartic masterpiece. VXI isn't as good but still has its moments.

Metallica's Load/ReLoad set was derided at the time of release, but the past 25 years have shown it in a much better light, especially given the paucity of good output from them since. The best songs off both those albums on one CD would be second only to Ride The Lightning in the Metallica catalogue.

Cathedral's Endtyme and VIIth Coming albums seem to get rather overlooked, particularly the latter which is a nicely diverse set of songs and has one of their best openers in Phoenix Rising. Endtyme is in their top 2 or 3 albums, a real return to form following a fallow patch post Carnival Bizarre. That said the albums from said patch are reasonably good still and Supernatural Birth Machine could potentially have been really good had the band not rushed it.

Megadeth's finest hour is Youthanasia, a record made by a man who could see the grave opening before him (Mustaine was injecting smack and his drug rehab mentor had relapsed and OD'd) and it packs a real emotional punch more than anything else in their catalogue. The debut album is often overlooked in favour of the records that came after it but it has a rabid ferocity that sets it apart and makes it much more of an interesting listen. Cryptic Writings and TWNAH are pretty decent albums too.


Last edited by Cosmic_Equilibrium on Fri May 07, 2021 8:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:20 am 
 

Empyreal wrote:
Sabbath's Eternal Idol has grown on me a lot since I first heard it. Nice old school power metal; just the basics and that's all you need. Cross Purposes has some absolutely great stuff on it, too. And if you can consider Born Again a lesser work, it's a tremendous piece of fearless rock and roll and Ian Gillan makes it a true lethal killer of an album.


Born Again is very underrated and works a lot better than most assume (Disturbing The Priest, title track) once one gets past the cover art and mix.

I honestly can't call any of the Martin era classic. At best it's OK with some very good songs here and there. Cross Purposes is pretty consistent and overlooked even compared to the other Martin era albums though.

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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:24 am 
 

Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
Empyreal wrote:
Sabbath's Eternal Idol has grown on me a lot since I first heard it. Nice old school power metal; just the basics and that's all you need. Cross Purposes has some absolutely great stuff on it, too. And if you can consider Born Again a lesser work, it's a tremendous piece of fearless rock and roll and Ian Gillan makes it a true lethal killer of an album.


Born Again is very underrated and works a lot better than most assume (Disturbing The Priest, title track) once one gets past the cover art and mix.

I honestly can't call any of the Martin era classic. At best it's OK with some very good songs here and there. Cross Purposes is pretty consistent and overlooked even compared to the other Martin era albums though.


Eh I like all the Martin albums save for the terrible Forbidden - maybe the worst Sabbath album ever. Headless Cross and Tyr are both first rate to me.

Personally I never liked Dehumanizer myself - the songs are catchy and well done but for some reason they just leave me cold, and I never feel like playing that one. I like all the other Dio Sabbath ones a lot better.
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Rico McPato
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Joined: Wed May 06, 2020 4:50 pm
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:41 am 
 

I really liked The X Factor when it came out. It was a brave album to make at the time, as it was a moody album that, while still clearly being Maiden, did not follow their classic sound, and didn't make an effort to sound modern either. It was really good album at the time, and over the years I've come to think it is a great album, and my favorite from them over the last 30 years, maybe on par with AMOLAD, which is the album's twin in terms of songwriting and mood.

I LOVE Master of the Rings by Helloween. While it is generally seen as a good comeback album, it is usuallly overlooked in favor of WOJ and the Keeper albums, and later Deris era records like Time of the Oath and Better than Raw. To me, Master of the Rings in one of their very best, slightly below Keeper I, and one of my favorite records of the early 90s. It is a super uplifting album, full of energy and fantastic melodies, and everytime I listen to it it puts me in a great mood. I bought it at the time of release as soon as I saw it, not knowing Helloween had a new one out, and was shocked to open the booklet and see they had a new singer. I loved the album from the first listen, and thought Deris was fantastic, eventhough he was so different from Kiske.

Divine Intervention. Dark, angry, sinister album. Great stuff, and criminally forgotten by the band for the rest of their career

While respected, Tales from the Twilight World is usually seen as a transition between the first 2 Blind Guardian records and their peak with the next 3 albums. I feel it is clearly their best, and one the very best power metal albums of all time. Lost in the Twilight Hall is a masterpiece.

The System has Failed. The best Megadeth album post Countdown.

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Ace_Rimmer
Metal freak

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:30 am
Posts: 4606
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:56 am 
 

Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
There are a lot of overlooked works which are actually amongst a band's best:

Dehumanizer is often considered to be one of the lesser Dio era albums, but it's the most savage and crushing Sabbath record post 1975. Blows away everything they did after Mob Rules for sure, and holds its own with the Ozzy era classics too.


Metallica's Load/ReLoad set was derided at the time of release, but the past 25 years have shown it in a much better light, especially given the paucity of good output from them since. The best songs off both those albums on one CD would be second only to Ride The Lightning in the Metallica catalogue.



Not quite on board with your other picks but I totally agree on Dehumanizer. A crushing slab of metal full of great tracks and riffs.

I love Load as it is, but you are right about that. Yeah its not thrash but fuck Load has some great songs on it and I think its exactly the record that Metallica, and Hetfield especially, needed to make then. I think another batch of songs about werewolves, Ktulu, nuclear war, or the "system" would have felt forced and fake.

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~Guest 1195014
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Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:18 pm
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:58 am 
 

Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
Death By Wall of Text wrote:
Opeth - Morningrise. I have a huge sentiment for it, but despite the sometimes chaotic songwriting, it's just a really great album and the atmosphere is one of a kind.


Interesting, as about 20 years ago I remember Morningrise was considered THE Opeth album, and Black Rose Immortal was their finest song... nowadays everyone goes on about Blackwater Park etc.

I didn't know about that, it always seemed kind of glossed over to me (other than the cool trivia of how massive Black Rose Immortal is). Orchid is appreciated as the debut, then MAYH and Still Life always got a lot of praise, and of course BWP was/is huge.

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HR90
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Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:57 pm
Posts: 143
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:03 am 
 

Cold Lake is a good album for me.
The songwriting of Tom is cheesy here, but I enjoy all the songs even are so simplistic are so catchy.

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Required Fields
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Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:32 pm
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:42 am 
 

In Search of Sanity is actually my favorite Onslaught album.
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CannibalCorpse
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Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:55 pm
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:49 am 
 

Required Fields wrote:
In Search of Sanity is actually my favorite Onslaught album.


It's in fact the only one I revisit regularly.
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lordcatfish
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Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
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Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 12:08 pm 
 

Feel like I've written about this recently, but I'll always go to bat for Green era Sepultura. From what I can tell, even if they too are a little overlooked, everything from Kairos onward tends to be viewed relatively favourably by those who've listened. The material before that, not so much. I do think Against is pretty poor, and the songwriting on A-Lex can be a bit iffy, but the three albums in between (+ Revolusongs)... solid stuff (especially Roorback and Dante XXI).
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Demon Fang
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Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:42 am
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 1:00 pm 
 

Rico McPato wrote:
I LOVE Master of the Rings by Helloween


DUDE SAME! After the two Kai-less Kiske albums, Master of the Rings comes across rather refreshingly. And, as much as I liked Better than Raw, Gambling with the Devil was the real deal honestly. They got increasingly stale over time since then, with My God-Given Right literally just existing and that's it.

Rico McPato wrote:
The System has Failed. The best Megadeth album post Countdown.


Something tells me I need to rethink my relationship with that album, since I've got Dystopia pegged for that position, followed by Youthanasia.

Other that that? Fucking Jugulator! Yeah yeah, some of it is weak, but between the titular song, "Death Row" and "Bullet Train", it proves that Ripper Owens absolutely had it where it counted. Not convinced? Oh okay, there is this little song called fucking "Cathedral Spires" like holy shit, just because like two songs were a little more 90s mainstream oriented and Rob Halford's not behind the mic, doesn't mean anything bad!

Sorry I've nothing more to add. Recognizing that Motorhead had terrific albums after Ace of Spades works here, I guess? Maybe my consideration for Inferno being as good as the inimitable Ace of Spades certainly does, as it's like a modern equivalent of that album.

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PeteGas
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Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 2:34 pm
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 1:16 pm 
 

LithoJazzoSphere wrote:
The first that comes to mind for me is Nevermore's The Obsidian Conspiracy. It had an impossibly high standard to follow of This Godless Endeavor and led to the breakup of the band shortly after. I have my own qualms with it, certainly. It probably could have been better if someone other than Wichers produced and let them continue with more epic songs rather than slanting it towards being an unofficial middle Warrel solo album. But it's still a fantastic album with many killer tracks, and if it had been from a brand new band it probably would have received rave reviews rather than virtually unanimous disappointment at the time.

I agree with this. Not their best but there are some fantastic songs on there

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Metal_On_The_Ascendant
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 2:43 pm 
 

Godflesh's oft-forgotten Songs of Love and Hate and Us and Them are brilliant albums that I've grown to love more and more. The subtle hip hop influences, I dig a lot and while they don't sound as titanic and threatening as that classic album everyone knows so well, they are respectable turns from the band's middle era. Or I'm just a raging fanboy.
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Gravetemplar
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 2:47 pm 
 

This is a weird topic for me because this isn't something that usually happens to me. I usually listen to all the stuff a band has and then form an opinion. Sometimes that opinion matches what most people and sometimes I appreciate "lesser" albums and think they are far better than what people say. For example, Neurosis' Given to the Rising is probably my second or third favourite Neurosis album and it's often dismissed as a "lesser" album. But my appreciation for Given to the Rising doesn't come from going back to "rediscover" it, I've thought it's a great album since the moment it came out. An exception to this would be Fires Within Fires which I initially liked but not loved and somehow one day it clicked.

I don't know, it's pretty arbitrary but my opinion on a band's body of work doesn't usually change. I think IX Equilibrium and Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise are the worst Emperor albums by a mile and I don't seem myself changing that opinion. Sometimes albums I like I end up loving but that doesn't happen to me with stuff I originally dismissed as being bad.

Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
Godflesh's oft-forgotten Songs of Love and Hate and Us and Them are brilliant albums that I've grown to love more and more. The subtle hip hop influences, I dig a lot and while they don't sound as titanic and threatening as that classic album everyone knows so well, they are respectable turns from the band's middle era. Or I'm just a raging fanboy.

Songs of Love and Hate "forgotten"? That's the Godflesh album everyone recommends after the iconic Streetcleaner. I had to double check in case it was just me but it's the second best rated Godflesh album on RYM along with Pure. https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/godflesh

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Metal_On_The_Ascendant
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 3:00 pm 
 

Oh snap, really? I always thought no one cared about that one as they did Pure as far as post-Streetcleaner Godflesh went. I'm happy now.

Edit: and you are so right about Given To The Rising. It was among the first I heard from Neurosis and I think it is fully awesome.
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Last edited by Metal_On_The_Ascendant on Fri May 07, 2021 3:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Gravetemplar
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 3:12 pm 
 

Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
Oh snap, really? I always thought no one cared about that one as they did Pure as far as post-Streetcleaner Godflesh went. I'm happy now.

Edit: and you are so right about Given To The Rising. It was among the first I heard from Neurosis and I think it is fully awesome.

Yeah, I'm not really into Godflesh (they are alright, I've seen them a couple of times and enjoyed it) but I've always been told the stuff to check was Streetcleaner (for obvious reasons) and then Songs of Love and Pure. Then maybe Us and Them and Selfless. To be fair most people I've known who are into Godflesh consider everything they've done up to Hymns to be great.

I started listening to Neurosis with The Eye of Every Storm, Times of Grace and Given to the Rising too. Times of Grace and Given to the Rising I consider them to be their best along with Through Silver and Enemy of the Sun.

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Firmament1
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 4:28 pm 
 

Massive fan of Voivod's Phobos. The E-Force era isn't a commonly discussed era of Voivod, but it's one of my personal favourites, short as it was. Phobos is insanely atmospheric and oppressive, and I really wish that Voivod took more influence from it in their later albums, and that there were more bands that did something in that style.

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ChildClownOutlet
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 5:50 pm 
 

I honestly think if they trimmed down some songs from The Glorious Burden and Framing Armageddon, the Ripper years of IE wouldn't be as poorly recieved. I've got no excuse for Plagues of Babylon and Crucible of Man, very dull albums.
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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:00 pm 
 

Demon Fang wrote:

Sorry I've nothing more to add. Recognizing that Motorhead had terrific albums after Ace of Spades works here, I guess? Maybe my consideration for Inferno being as good as the inimitable Ace of Spades certainly does, as it's like a modern equivalent of that album.


Good shout on Motorhead. Inferno is in their top 3 albums IMO and is heavier and more ferocious than any Metallica record post AJFA. That was the first tour I saw Motorhead on and it converted me to them.

I would also say that Another Perfect Day is one of their best - Motorhead meets Thin Lizzy guitar lines - and of their classic early records, I actually think Bomber might be the strongest and most interesting one.

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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:02 pm 
 

ChildClownOutlet wrote:
I honestly think if they trimmed down some songs from The Glorious Burden and Framing Armageddon, the Ripper years of IE wouldn't be as poorly recieved. I've got no excuse for Plagues of Babylon and Crucible of Man, very dull albums.


Owens was great in IE and Schaffer was a fool to ditch him. Schaffer has since proven himself to be an even bigger fool in many other interesting and diverse areas, but I'll still bat for The Glorious Burden which is musically very consistent and the Gettysburg Trilogy is a riveting and epic piece of music that totally works.

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MetalVermont
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:09 pm 
 

To Cosmic_Equilibrium: thanks for those comments on Priest, Maiden, Metallica, and Megadeth, I needed a great laugh. The Priest comment was probably the funniest. They have several albums with 5 or more songs better than Cathedral Spires.

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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:11 pm 
 

Some more:

The Battle Rages On is a pretty good and underrated Deep Purple album, and Live In Stuttgart from the tour for it is an excellent live document. Also the Mk IV era (Come Taste The Band) was actually pretty decent still despite no Gillan, Glover or Blackmore.

Saint Vitus's Mournful Cries album is not often mentioned compared to Born Too Late etc., but it's still a pretty good record.

Monument is Grand Magus's finest album by far.

Show No Mercy is probably my second favourite Slayer album after SOH as it's just fun, like Judas Priest on speed.

There are several Thin Lizzy albums which don't always get mentioned by the media et al but which are really worth getting. Thunder and Lightning is a great reinvention of the band's sound and Sykes on guitar is a revelation. Early Lizzy is often overlooked in favour of the classic twin guitar line up which is a shame as it has its own unique charms; Vagabonds Of The Western World is a very strong and diverse effort and in the band's top 5 for sure.


Last edited by Cosmic_Equilibrium on Fri May 07, 2021 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:14 pm 
 

MetalVermont wrote:
To Cosmic_Equilibrium: thanks for those comments on Priest, Maiden, Metallica, and Megadeth, I needed a great laugh. The Priest comment was probably the funniest. They have several albums with 5 or more songs better than Cathedral Spires.


I dunno. Cathedral Spires blows almost every Halford reunion era song away TBH. More importantly I don't think Priest's live prowess in the Owens era can be questioned - they were absolutely on it then in terms of stage performances and intensity in a way they hadn't been since the Defenders tour.

Each to their own on Megadeth, but for my money Youthanasia destroys Rust In Peace on every level - riffs, hooks, songwriting and emotional depth. Rust In Peace is two classic songs, two alright ones and a ton of boring filler with tinny production.

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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:20 pm 
 

Ace_Rimmer wrote:

I love Load as it is, but you are right about that. Yeah its not thrash but fuck Load has some great songs on it and I think its exactly the record that Metallica, and Hetfield especially, needed to make then. I think another batch of songs about werewolves, Ktulu, nuclear war, or the "system" would have felt forced and fake.


This is the main problem with Metallica post St. Anger IMO - they've felt like a band who are forcing themselves to make music the fans "want to hear" and it just doesn't sound natural for the most part. Honestly I think the most genuine thing Hetfield could do right now would be to make Load Part 3.

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Subrick
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:41 pm 
 

I've been championing Divine Intervention by Slayer for ages. It's been viewed typically as both a clear step down from Seasons in the Abyss and the album that started Slayer's decline in quality that continued for the rest of their career, but I've always enjoyed it for being a natural continuation of Seasons in the Abyss's "in between Reign in Blood and South of Heaven" sound, while also having a groovier approach to the overall package. The death metal-y instrumental break in the middle of "Fictional Reality" is an especially fantastic piece of music, in my opinion. I'd also put "Dittohead", the best song on the album, up against any 80s Slayer song and they'd match in quality.
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Slater922
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 8:52 pm 
 

Subrick wrote:
I've been championing Divine Intervention by Slayer for ages. It's been viewed typically as both a clear step down from Seasons in the Abyss and the album that started Slayer's decline in quality that continued for the rest of their career, but I've always enjoyed it for being a natural continuation of Seasons in the Abyss's "in between Reign in Blood and South of Heaven" sound, while also having a groovier approach to the overall package. The death metal-y instrumental break in the middle of "Fictional Reality" is an especially fantastic piece of music, in my opinion. I'd also put "Dittohead", the best song on the album, up against any 80s Slayer song and they'd match in quality.

Same here. I've actually been grooving DI lately, and my favorite tracks are "Killing Fields", "Serenity in Murder", and "213".
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Speed Metal Terror
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 9:51 pm 
 

Empyreal wrote:
Sabbath's Eternal Idol has grown on me a lot since I first heard it.


Is that really underappreciated by metalheads though or just radio types? If anything, I'd say Technical Ecstasy or Cross Purposes would fit the bill a bit better.
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des91
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 10:55 pm 
 

Absolutely loving the love for Divine Intervention in this thread! It’s my third favorite Slayer after RIB and SOH, and it’s just above Hell Awaits.

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MetlaNZ
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:18 pm 
 

Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
Each to their own on Megadeth, but for my money Youthanasia destroys Rust In Peace on every level - riffs, hooks, songwriting and emotional depth. Rust In Peace is two classic songs, two alright ones and a ton of boring filler with tinny production.

Rust In Peace beats the crap out of Youthansia (and most other albums out there). There's not a single dud amongst RIP, it fuckin rules, whereas Youthanasia is a wimpy pile shit compared to it. Emotional depth... good grief.

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LithoJazzoSphere
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PostPosted: Fri May 07, 2021 11:41 pm 
 

Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
Rust In Peace is two classic songs, two alright ones and a ton of boring filler with tinny production.


Which are the "boring filler"? "Take No Prisoners"? "Lucretia"? I surely hope not. Even if you mean "Five Magics" and "Poison Was the Cure", I cannot agree. And I shudder if it's one of the other four. The only filler is "Dawn Patrol", but that's less than two minutes. And I have to wonder if your copy is defective if you call it "tinny", I think it's easily their best-sounding album.

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lordcatfish
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PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 3:59 am 
 

Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
Ace_Rimmer wrote:

I love Load as it is, but you are right about that. Yeah its not thrash but fuck Load has some great songs on it and I think its exactly the record that Metallica, and Hetfield especially, needed to make then. I think another batch of songs about werewolves, Ktulu, nuclear war, or the "system" would have felt forced and fake.


This is the main problem with Metallica post St. Anger IMO - they've felt like a band who are forcing themselves to make music the fans "want to hear" and it just doesn't sound natural for the most part. Honestly I think the most genuine thing Hetfield could do right now would be to make Load Part 3.

I'd probably agree with this sentiment for Death Magnetic. Coming off the backlash to St. Anger, you had Rubin telling them to get in the mindset of Master of Puppets and a nod to the '80s album template. I don't think the songwriting approach (including an idea from every member in every song) helped with how natural the album sounds either.

Hardwired however, has always sounded very natural to me. I think there's a lot of very Load-esque grooves there, and the thrashy parts don't sound forced or out of place at all.

On another note, whilst I disagree about your thoughts on Rust in Peace, I'm 100% in agreement with you that Youthanasia is the better album. Cryptic Writings too.
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Last edited by lordcatfish on Sat May 08, 2021 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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HR90
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PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 4:28 am 
 

Required Fields wrote:
In Search of Sanity is actually my favorite Onslaught album.


I like Grim Reaper a lot, so it was easy to get into it.


des91 wrote:
Absolutely loving the love for Divine Intervention in this thread! It’s my third favorite Slayer after RIB and SOH, and it’s just above Hell Awaits.


This album is so good because Paul Bostaph's drumming was on point. Still sound so fresh.

Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
Each to their own on Megadeth, but for my money Youthanasia destroys Rust In Peace on every level - riffs, hooks, songwriting and emotional depth.


I can relate. Peace Sells is my favorite, but for me, Countdown to Extinction is above Rust in Peace. I like everything Megadeth has done.

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Cosmic_Equilibrium
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PostPosted: Sat May 08, 2021 7:05 am 
 

LithoJazzoSphere wrote:
Cosmic_Equilibrium wrote:
Rust In Peace is two classic songs, two alright ones and a ton of boring filler with tinny production.


Which are the "boring filler"? "Take No Prisoners"? "Lucretia"? I surely hope not. Even if you mean "Five Magics" and "Poison Was the Cure", I cannot agree. And I shudder if it's one of the other four. The only filler is "Dawn Patrol", but that's less than two minutes. And I have to wonder if your copy is defective if you call it "tinny", I think it's easily their best-sounding album.


I wrote this review some years ago, but I still stand by everything I said:

https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... ium/339629

My problem with Rust In Peace is that I got the album, played it through, loved the first two songs and then noticed that the middle of the album made next to no impression on me at all. I thought over time the rest of the record would grow on me. Nope, never has done.

Songwriting of course is a matter of personal taste, but not so with the production - the album really does not have a good mix job. The original mix has no bass to speak of. The remix is a bit better.

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