|
|
Silence! Catch The Sickness of the top 10 albums Sheila has Fallen forMay 11 '05 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Music
The Bottom Line Music keeps me sane.
Hmm. I'm not good at lists. I could spend hours upon hours, writing and re-writing them, and I usually never end up completely satisfied with the final result. So why do I find myself here, poring over my admittedly unnecessarily large CD collection, attempting to narrow my list of absolute favorite albums down to 10 albums? Good question. And the greatest questions go unanswered, don't they? Aren't ponderable imponderables simply grand? Sigh, I read my Philosophy textbook too much this semester, I do believe... Moving onward! [Disclaimer Rant Thing]: After ideas began fixating themselves into my already overcrowded mind, I had to laugh. I can't even begin to imagine all the eye-rolling and "WTF?"s I'm going to get for not including "OMG CLASSIC ALBUMS" on my list. So, what I'm really trying to say is, if you're going to take offense at the lack of [insert highly influential band name here] on my list, then kindly, don't even bother reading this. If I happen to favor more "recent" albums, it really should be no problem of yours. [/Disclaimer Rant Thing] --------------------------------------- 10. Blindside - Blindside On Blindside's 1997 debut album, it's clear to see that they had a long ways to go as far as lyrical abilities and -- dare I say -- even Christian Lindskog's vocals. But, you know what? I adore this CD. It's simple, but I love it. Their talent was so evident, and it's clear to see that they would become something even more excellent after some development and songwriting strengthening. Simon Grenehed always knew how to rock out on the guitar (the hyper sing-along "Superman" is pure evidence of that), and Tomas Naslund owns the universe with his bass work on the "contemplating-premarital-sex" rocker "Liberty". Blindside is a simple fun debut album from such an AMAZING band. 9. The Fundamental Elements of Southtown - P.O.D. P.O.D.'s major label debut album really caught the attention of millions of people, and for good reason. The best way I can describe TFEOS is 'happy aggression'. Former guitarist Marcos Curiel really shines on this disc [weep], coming up with unforgettable loud guitar riffs, all while Sonny Sandoval screams, growls, sings, and everything in between -- about overcoming adversity, and even *gasp* faith in God. While that causes several people to shy away, P.O.D.'s message isn't too in-your-face. However, their punchy choruses and slamming hooks won't be exiting your brain anytime soon. TFEOS is arguably P.O.D. at their -- I hate this word, but -- "heaviest" and most raw. Songs like "Lie Down" and "Southtown" are incredibly fun to shout along to, and it's easy to see why this album is a P.O.D. fan favorite. The energy is overwhelming. 8. Comalies - Lacuna Coil. E-N-E-R-G-Y radiates from this cute little sunflower-artworked disc. My favorite Italians really let it all out here, and everything just flows. Lacuna Coil's two vocalists, Cristina Scabbia and Andy Ferro mix and match lush, ethereal ballads ["Comalies", "The Ghost Woman and the Hunter"] with solid headbangers ["Swamped", "The Prophet Said"], and oh yeah, they throw in some flowy experimental stuff too ["Humane", "Daylight Dancer"] -- all while not a freaking thing goes wrong. Cristina's voice immediately seized my attention, and those guitars that sound like they're singing...oh, dear. Powerful stuff right there. Comalies blows me away: a truly empowering musical experience that epitomizes how to truly combine melody with a raw grit. 7. About A Burning Fire - Blindside. About A Burning Fire is kind of a touchy subject for me. Why's that, you ask? Because I hate admitting -- as a self-assessed Blindside fanatic -- that, well, I was freaked out by it at first. Freaked out? Huh? Why? Why? Because it's so freaking diverse. I'd have no problem readily saying that most rock music lovers will find at least one song that they love on this incredibly strong album. You see, Blindside decided to incorporate Swedish yodeling (yes...), techno beats, raw blistering screams, and even soothing coffee-shop-esque jazz stuff ... all on the same disc. It's just bizarre. I guess after the polished, if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it formula of their preceding release, the ABSOLUTELY STUNNING Silence, they decided to...experiment. Nothing wrong with that. I'll take it. Um, my personal favorite would have to be "Across Waters Again", vocalist Christian Lindskog's heartfelt ode to missing his wife dearly while touring overseas -- just to please his selfish little American fans like me. It's safe to say this is clearly Blindside's most well-thought-out album: the band said themselves that on this one, they took their time and focused on each individual song a whole lot more than they did at one point. It definitely shows. About A Burning Fire is a true gem that NO self-respecting rock music fan should pass up. 6. We Are Not Alone - Breaking Benjamin. About a year ago, I was desperately looking for a band I'd never heard before to sweep me off my feet. Yeah, I'm weird like that -- so music enchants me, what's your point? Anyway, my answer came in the Pennsylvania rock band Breaking Benjamin. Upon hearing their impossibly cool single "So Cold", I anxiously awaited to hear more of them... dun dun DUNNNN...so after seeing them in concert a few months later, I think I actually started jumping up and down. I got We Are Not Alone immediately and have barely put it down since. Seriously. You know an album rules when you find it extremely challenging to pick a favorite because they're all so freaking good [the hesitant, crunchy "Break My Fall" just might win though]. Ben Burnley's voice just gets me. Sure, many people find his, um, overpronunciations?, annoying. I love it. His voice ascends incredibly and is very well suited to some seriously hugely addictive choruses. 5. Believe - Disturbed. The success of Disturbed's first incredible record, The Sickness, left many anxious people holding their breaths to see if they would die out or come back stronger than ever. With the fizzy rock sounds of Believe, Disturbed definitely displayed songwriting growth and great maturity (I hate using that term describing albums, but for this particular CD, I feel compelled to). Believe finds David Draiman toning down his barks, grunts, and "wa-ka-ka-ka"s and simply unleashing his huge, powerful singing voice that has the ability to tide me over everytime. As with The Sickness, there are truly no bad songs here. High-energy mosh pit moments definitely leave their awesome imprints {a la "Rise" and my personal favorite, "Bound") but what came as the biggest surprise to many Disturbed lovers was the airy, overwhelmingly beautiful closing ballad -- yes, ballad -- "Darkness". I honestly struggle to see how anyone could listen to this album and deny David's huge vocal talent. 4. Fallen - Evanescence. After cynical nu-metal haters retched in disgust and very inaccurately labeled these Arkansas as "Linkin Park wanna-bes" based SOLELY on Paul McCoy's, well, Mike Shinoda-esque guest vocals on their first single [anyone else feel a "WTF" moment coming on?. . . .], it's safe to say Evanescence has taken the world by storm anyway. Fallen is a most whimsical array of sound; each song -- and there is truly not one song on here that isn't amazing -- is a completely new venture into something great. Amy Lee's resilient, emotional voice is the obvious highlight. Poignant lyrics galore, oh, yes. "Hello", the gorgeous piano ballad relating to the death of Amy's sister, has always been a standout to me; the hypnotic, beautiful "Haunted" is excellent too. I highly anticipate what this band comes up with next, as they have talent to spare. I could see myself listening to Fallen decades from now; it's arranged really well and is one of the most consistently impressive albums I've ever gotten the privilege to hear. 3. The Sickness - Disturbed. Best known for "the wa-ka-ka-ka thing" and slamming, infectious guitar riffs that allow no breathing human being to sit still, The Sickness is quite honestly some good stuff. An unbelievably strong consistency personifies this flawless album that I love more with each listen. David Draiman's voice is spectacular and absolutely hypnotic. The argument as to whether or not they're "true metal", "nu-metal", etc. etc. will probably never see the light of closure, but who cares about labels? Gah. At the end of the day, it's just good music. And Chicago's finest serves up quite an impressive heap of good music on this chunky debut: "The Game" provides a mesmerizing listen as David's vocals fluctuate in the most non-human ways ever over an entrancing arrangement of insane guitars; "Meaning Of Life", a sure fan favorite, shows David getting, well, quite blunt about what he wants and how he wants it [ahem]. Overlook the stereotypes, please. This album has rocked my world for ages, and my daily dosage of it is quite necessary for my emotional stability. Seriously. Okay, okay, not seriously, but I swear this junk is therapeutic and simply stunning. There. 2. Satellite - P.O.D. What a cathartic, joyous album that I will always look upon fondly. Obviously, a CD could be considered more special by someone who can really feel the power of the songs. P.O.D. carry an untouchable contagion with their music that I admire so much. Sure highlights include the ever-so-well-known 'happy anthem' known as "Alive", with Sonny Sandoval's voice ascending to chill-inducing wails during the amazing, crunchy chorus, the bitter "Anything Right" which features flawless guest vocals from Blindside's own Christian Lindskog... not to mention the empowering "The Messenjah", which always brings tears to my eyes. This is not only P.O.D.'s most diverse album to date, it is the one that displays them at the very top of their game. It's a shame that it is unfairly labeled by many people as their worst album simply because it has been their most successful. 1. Silence - Blindside. So earlier I was admiring my two copies of Silence: the one that I've worn to death over the years [siiiigh], and the autographed one that I had to purchase at the Blindside autograph signing. It seems like the one with the autographed case would be more precious and dear to my heart, right? I mean, it's a token from when I actually met my favorite band... That'd be the initial reaction. But ya know what? I seriously treasure my original copy more. The scratches from all the listening of that album amazes me. The point? Pshh, there is not one single flaw to be found on this album. From the mysterious opening notes of the gorgeous album opener "Caught a Glimpse" to the wistful midtempo "The Endings" to the breathtakingly emotional, delicate title track, these Swedes will have to work their skinny little selves extra-hard to ever top this true masterpiece. Silence's explosively passionate sound is so diverse; Christian Lindskog's soaring voice never ceases to completely amaze me. Yeah, perfection at its most perfect. End of story.  |
| Read all comments (13)|Write your own comment |
- Top 1000|
Ads by Google
|
by xxxxer
by starcollector
by kiwifella
![Revelation [Digipak] by Journey Reviews](http://di1.shopping.com/images/pi/73/9c/e0/2046466476-100x100-0-0.jpg?p=p14.f25deff9af73da41be87&a=2&c=1&l=8071320&t=120604164338&r=1)
