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The ten best... wait, make that twenty!May 07 '04 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Like my list? Good for you! Don't like it? Make your own list so I can have fun ridiculing it! (Nah just kidding, I wouldn't do that.... honestly!)
It's a "buy one, get one free" sale here in Sonic-land!! Yes, dear readers, you get two top ten lists for the price of one! (And a very reasonable price it is, too.) Don't you just love a bargain? Since I have been experiencing something of a musical renaissance during the last year and a half, and have discovered a lot of new bands that I love, I want to offer one list of my newer favorites. I will also offer a list of my older favorites. If I just made one list, my new-found favorites would probably dominate it, and then you wouldn't have any idea of what I liked years ago. And I know how much that would sadden you, so not to worry! I'm also throwing in some hard rock, as I don't care to attempt to draw an exact hard rock/metal dividing line. So for all you metal purists, deal with it. The albums I have reviewed have links in the title, so check out the results of my blood, sweat, and tears. Here we go..... HARD ROCK & METAL FAVORITES MORE THAN 5 YEARS OLD #10: Surveillance -- Triumph (1987) "searchin' for something / in a world that's dark and strange / just when you think you've found answers / that's when the questions change" These talented Canadian rockers never achieved the same fame as their countrymates Rush, but they should have. Their music varies from romantic ballads to hard-rocking anthems, and is extremely melodic and catchy. Exceptional tracks: Never Say Never, Headed For Nowhere, Carry On the Flame #9: Dirt -- Alice in Chains (1992) "what's my drug of choice? / well, what have you got? / I don't go broke / and I do it alot" This is, for me, the quintessential grunge album. It just sounds so dark and heavy and... well... grungy! Exceptional tracks: Them Bones, Down in a Hole, Would #8: Slave to the Grind -- Skid Row (1991) can't be king of the world / if you're slave to the grind Great kick-you-in-the-face hard rock, with some really beautiful, dark, morbid ballad-type songs. Exceptional tracks: Quicksand Jesus, In A Darkened Room, Wasted Time #7: The Ultimate Sin -- Ozzy Osbourne (1986) "tell your mama that you're gonna be late / but not to worry, we'll just be rockin' all night" Some of Ozzy's best songs are on this one, including my all-time fave "Shot in the Dark". Exceptional tracks: The Ultimate Sin, Lightning Strikes, Shot in the Dark #6: Lethal Heroes -- Pretty Maids (1990) "now you're a grown-up / a cool guy looking pretty / but the childhood had its mark upon your face" Strange name, but these Danes can really rock! Extremely catchy music with great melody and harmony and excellent musicianship. The songs focus on a variety of subjects, from relationship/interpersonal topics to war, pollution, and political matters; the songwriting is mature and very deep at times. Thought-provoking music that rocks hard! Exceptional tracks: Lethal Heroes, Don't Settle for Less, Over and Out #5: Live After Death -- Iron Maiden (1985) "you'll take my life but I'll take yours too / you fire your musket but I'll run you through" Somehow I always found Maiden's studio albums rather dry sounding, but their live stuff kicks a$$. I had a neighbor in college who played this every day (loud of course), and I guess it rubbed off on me. Exceptional tracks: The Trooper, The Flight of Icarus, Rime of the Ancient Mariner #4: Rust In Peace -- Megadeth (1990) "military intelligence / two words combined that can't make sense" Mustaine & Crew offer up a delicious thrash extravaganza with subjects like war, revenge, nuclear weapons, aliens, and wizards -- what's not to like? Exceptional tracks: Hangar 18, Lucretia, Tornado of Souls #3: Images and Words -- Dream Theater (1992) "once you're touched you stand alone / to face the bitter fight / once I reached for love / and now I reach for life" My introduction to progressive metal, and still a genre-defining classic. My first time hearing "Pull Me Under" was one of those moments, when you realize that music isn't dead and originality still exists. Exceptional tracks: Pull Me Under, Metropolis Part I, Learning to Live #2: Ride the Lightning -- Metallica (1984) "emptiness is filling me / to the point of agony / growing darkness taking dawn / I was me, but now he's gone" How could Metallica not be represented here (the old, the classic, the real Metallica)? This is their finest work, and still sounds ageless. "Fade to Black" is one of the most darkly beautiful songs ever created, and still gives me chills after all these years. Exceptional tracks: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Fade to Black, The Call of Ktulu #1: Operation Mindcrime -- Queensryche (1988) "we're an underground revolution working overtime" Don't pretend to be surprised; like it could have been anything else! This mind-blowing socio-political masterpiece has stood the test of time better than most music, and stands (IMO) as the best concept album ever made. Brilliant story, fantastic music, gripping vocals -- in a word, perfect! Exceptional tracks: Revolution Calling, Spreading the Disease, Suite Sister Mary OK, fast-forward to recent times...... HARD ROCK & METAL FAVORITES LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD #10: Path of the Angels -- Even Song (1999) that was the beginning / the fall of archaic heaven, the rise of mankind One of my favorite discoveries from that little corner of Europe called Hungary. Highly melodic gothic metal, male/female vocals. Very nice stuff. Exceptional tracks: Serpent, World Within, Evensong #9: Altum -- Silentium (2001) all is lost but pain / I thought it would be fading One of the many great bands from Finland. An elegant mixture of doom metal and classical music, again with male/female vocals. Exceptional songs: Revangelis, Blasphemer, Painless #8: Escapexstacy -- Poisonblack (2003) and I believe in one thing forevermore / to live is to love the pain Again from Finland, this smooth gothic metal is ravishingly beautiful, you can just get mesmerized and lost in it. And J.P. Leppaluoto's voice is simply amazing. Exceptional songs: Love Infernal, All Else Is Hollow, The Kiss of Death #7: Time of Despair -- Entwine (2003) in this time of despair / when all that you love is dead / it's my desireless game to be alive Finland scores again! Upbeat and depressing at the same time, and oh-so-melodic, this album is another gothic metal masterpiece. Exceptional tracks: Stream of Life, Nothing Left To Say, Learn To Let Go #6: Unleashed Memories -- Lacuna Coil (2001) I cannot fight against myself no more / self destruction that I predicted / not a long time ago The band and the album that renewed my interest in music, and led to me finding all the others on this list. A perfect marriage of melody and metal. Male/female vocals, from Italy. Exceptional tracks: When A Dead Man Walks, Purify, Cold Heritage #5: Decipher -- After Forever (2001) how can life be what you want it to be / find the emphasis in your own reality The influence of classical music on metal has never been more beautifully realized than it is here. Amazing music, with an amazing lady vocalist (and sometimes a male grunter, but not often). One of Holland's finest exports. Exceptional songs: Monolith of Doubt, Emphasis, Intrinsic #4: At Sixes and Sevens -- Sirenia (2002) come with me to seek the sun / inside Meridian / this time around we dance / we're chosen ones The brainchild of Norway's Morten Veland, Sirenia is a gothic/doom/death metal masterpiece with a rich layered sound: heavy guitar, violin, piano, a choir, soprano female vocals, male vocals of every variety, and probably other things I'm forgetting. Intense. Exceptional songs: Meridian, Sister Nightfall, Lethargica #3: Wishmaster -- Nightwish (2000) now let us lie / sad we lived, sad we die I'm thinking I need to move to Finland; what other country this small has so much fantastic music? Every Nightwish album is great, but this is my favorite, with hard pounding tracks like "She Is My Sin", sad ballads like "Two For Tragedy", and smooth rockers like "Deep Silent Complete". Tarja is in top form here, as is the whole band. Exceptional songs: The Kinslayer, Two For Tragedy, Dead Boy's Poem #2: The Last Bewitchment -- Penumbra (2002) but our love is eternal / it shines of a blinding light / it will continue to reign within me / after my death Now we get to the hard part, cause I can't really find words adequate to describe this album. Any description would pale beside the experience of actually hearing the music. The elements involved are similar to those I listed for Sirenia, but this is much classier, more artistic, more like a symphonic metal opera. It's both brutal and beautiful, with amazing melodies and musicianship. This type of music doesn't get any better than this; I just hope France turns out some more bands like this! Exceptional songs: every damn one of them, I won't choose! #1: In Search of Truth -- Evergrey (2001) screams for answers / lost beyond control / and I, I try to find the reason / but here I am, a hollow soul / here I am, I've been marked by the triangle Swedish musical genius Tom Englund and his crew deliver dark, melodic, progressive metal perfection. A concept album with an engaging story and an emotional intensity rarely heard in music. Read my review. Read any review you can find, they all rave about this album, and justifiably so. Exceptional tracks: the whole album! And there we have it. Thanks for reading!  |
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