Joachim discovers "classic" and "important" hardrock and metal albums

[bal3x]

Ah, that’s why I knew the song already! I should have figured it out by myself.

[St. Gloede]

I'm still waiting for you to reach your first Heavy Psych album

[joachimt]

I'm still waiting for you to reach your first Heavy Psych album

Will take a while the pace I’m going now. BOC is the last B and then on with C. Also want to listen to some new stuff. Got over 160 albums on my to-listen-list.

[joachimt]

So I finished three albums by Blue Öyster Cult:
Secret Treaties (1974)
Fire of Unknown Origin (1981)
Imaginos (1988)

These three had a very different sound. The last one had a few songs similar to the second one (which I liked a lot less than the first one). The rest of the third one were songs aiming to make arena rock. To me, the different sounds of these three albums illustrate a band without a clear own identity. In 1981 they implemented the 80's sound with ugly synth. At the end of the decade they had changed to the next popular rock sound. I don't mind bands evolving, as long as they evolve in their own natural way and not following the next hit.

Nevertheless, Secret Treaties is a great album.

[joachimt]

Cirith Ungol - King Of The Dead

Judging by the cover, I expected power metal, maybe something in the direction of Rhapsody. But from 1984, maybe it would sound more like Judas Priest or maybe Manowar. But at least some up tempo, (highpitch?) clean powerfull vocals, guitar solos, etc...... Well, I was wrong. This is some very nice doom. Not too slow, but enough groove. I also like how the bass guitar is used for the melody, instead of being only a supporting instrument. Not very fond of the vocals though, but maybe I shouldn't have watched a live performance from 2018. The combination of the voice and the face was a bit ...... weird.
Then I read a bit about the album and it seemed this was actually a changing sound for them, coming from faster ...... power metal. Ah, I was right after all. Their sound evolved, but the artwork didn't match yet. In some songs, you can still hear some of the faster stuff.
The name is misleading too, btw. To me it sounds more like black metal.



Here's the live performance I mentioned. It all looks rather silly to me. I prefer the album without visuals.



But maybe it's because they are too old and I should have watched this performance instead:



Funny to see the lack of audience participation in 1984. They are completely standing still most of the time with an occasional fist in the air.

[flavo5000]

I'm a big metal fan (in addition to a ton of other kinds of music). Some I haven't seen mentioned:
Progressive Metal:
Neurosis (for albums I'd go with Times of Grace and maybe The Sun That Sets) - huge influence on bands like Mastodon, Gojira and Baroness
Swans (The Great Annihilator) - Swans is probably much stranger than most of the bands you're listening to, just FYI. they're probably a bigger influence on post-rock bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai than any specific metal
Opeth (Still Life, Blackwater Park)
Cynic (Focus)
King Crimson (had multiple influential incarnations. for albums, I'd start with In The Court of the Crimson King, Red and Discipline. those would give a good sample of their various incarnations)
Dream Theater
Fates Warning
Meshuggah

Given some of the ones you've already brought up you liked, it wouldn't surprise me if you're familiar with some or most of the above. But I thought I'd throw em out there anyway.

[joachimt]

Neurosis: Yeah, I should listen to them. I'll put them on my list.
Swans: I think I tried that a while ago. Not really my thing as far as I remember.
Opeth: Ever since the opening sounds of Blackwater Park, I was hooked. Also went along fine in their transition and still listening to everything they made since and own a total of 11 cd's by them (and got a few pre-BP-albums as well).
Cynic: Not familiar. I'll put it on the list.
King Crimson: Was a gap in my collection a few years back, but bal3x corrected that.
Dream Theater: Never heard of them.......

Spoiler

Just kidding.
DT was THE band that started me getting into metal. It happened by pure chance. I was 15 years old and only listening to the radio, but had developed a preference for louder music that got any mainstream attention (Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, ......). I had no idea how to go beyond that and I actually didn't know even heavier stuff than Sad But True existed (no internet back then). Following the Kurt Cobain look, I started letting my hair grow. Some guy a year above me noticed this and was interested in my musical preference (later on I learned he was actually interested in more of me, but that's another story). I didn't know him, but one day he simply walked towards me and threw an audiotape towards me. I had DT's When Dream and Day Unite on it. I was blown away by how different this was from all the music I knew. I talked to him a few days later and we became friends. Awake just came out, which I bought from my monthly salary delivering newspapers. The rest is history.

Fates Warning: I only got Awaken The Guardian, which I like, but is not in the same league for me as many other progalbums. I know how influential they've been for example on Dream Theater, but I always preferred the bands they influenced over FW itself.
Meshuggah: Yeah, of course. I've got several albums from Chaosphere up to The violent sleep of reason.

[joachimt]

It appears I already had Neurosis on my list: Time of Grace and Through Silver in Blood. I'll add The Sun That Sets.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Swans' no wave/industrial metal era is my favourite of theirs, but it's like they removed all the fun out of music lol (intentionally of course).

[flavo5000]

Swans' no wave/industrial metal era is my favourite of theirs, but it's like they removed all the fun out of music lol (intentionally of course).

Swans is a band that just listening to one of their albums really doesn't give a picture of whether you'd like them or not either. They've gone through so many different styles over the last several decades.

[flavo5000]

It appears I already had Neurosis on my list: Time of Grace and Through Silver in Blood. I'll add The Sun That Sets.

An interesting thing with Times of Grace especially, the members of Neurosis also have a separate band Tribes of Neurot that's much more experimental, more ambient doom, stuff like that. Anyway, they released the album Grace by Tribes of Neurot at the same time as Times of Grace and they're intended to be played at the same time layered together. There's a youtube clip of the two albums merged together. It sounds pretty awesome IMO.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Swans' no wave/industrial metal era is my favourite of theirs, but it's like they removed all the fun out of music lol (intentionally of course).

Swans is a band that just listening to one of their albums really doesn't give a picture of whether you'd like them or not either. They've gone through so many different styles over the last several decades.

Yea. I'm not into their post-hiatus music that much tbh it just sounds like them trying to be Glenn Branca.

[Torgo]

I'm a big metal fan (in addition to a ton of other kinds of music). Some I haven't seen mentioned:
Neurosis (for albums I'd go with Times of Grace and maybe The Sun That Sets) - huge influence on bands like Mastodon, Gojira and Baroness

Why yes of course ..

Third time wearing a bandshirt this year - doesn't happen as often for me anymore without going to concerts due to the overall situation, or, just going anywhere, at all

[joachimt]

Third time wearing a bandshirt this year - doesn't happen as often for me anymore without going to concerts due to the overall situation, or, just going anywhere, at all

I don't have a lot of bandshirts and -sweaters, but the ones I have I wear regularly. At the moment I've got two shirts from Ayreon, although one is a bit too old already. I've got one shirt from Haken and a hoodie from Leprous.


(cover is bigger on mine)

[bal3x]

Neurosis: Yeah, I should listen to them. I'll put them on my list.
Swans: I think I tried that a while ago. Not really my thing as far as I remember.
Opeth: Ever since the opening sounds of Blackwater Park, I was hooked. Also went along fine in their transition and still listening to everything they made since and own a total of 11 cd's by them (and got a few pre-BP-albums as well).
Cynic: Not familiar. I'll put it on the list.
King Crimson: Was a gap in my collection a few years back, but bal3x corrected that.
Dream Theater: Never heard of them.......

Spoiler

Just kidding.
DT was THE band that started me getting into metal. It happened by pure chance. I was 15 years old and only listening to the radio, but had developed a preference for louder music that got any mainstream attention (Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, ......). I had no idea how to go beyond that and I actually didn't know even heavier stuff than Sad But True existed (no internet back then). Following the Kurt Cobain look, I started letting my hair grow. Some guy a year above me noticed this and was interested in my musical preference (later on I learned he was actually interested in more of me, but that's another story). I didn't know him, but one day he simply walked towards me and threw an audiotape towards me. I had DT's When Dream and Day Unite on it. I was blown away by how different this was from all the music I knew. I talked to him a few days later and we became friends. Awake just came out, which I bought from my monthly salary delivering newspapers. The rest is history.

Fates Warning: I only got Awaken The Guardian, which I like, but is not in the same league for me as many other progalbums. I know how influential they've been for example on Dream Theater, but I always preferred the bands they influenced over FW itself.
Meshuggah: Yeah, of course. I've got several albums from Chaosphere up to The violent sleep of reason.

Opeth is top quality stuff, their ability to releases consistently high quality material is amazing.
Focus by Cynic is amazing, you should definitely prioritize.
Glad to help with King Crimson, usually that band does not need any introductions, of course it's not for everyone and some of their work is quite hard to get into.

[flavo5000]

Neurosis: Yeah, I should listen to them. I'll put them on my list.
Swans: I think I tried that a while ago. Not really my thing as far as I remember.
Opeth: Ever since the opening sounds of Blackwater Park, I was hooked. Also went along fine in their transition and still listening to everything they made since and own a total of 11 cd's by them (and got a few pre-BP-albums as well).
Cynic: Not familiar. I'll put it on the list.
King Crimson: Was a gap in my collection a few years back, but bal3x corrected that.
Dream Theater: Never heard of them.......

Spoiler

Just kidding.
DT was THE band that started me getting into metal. It happened by pure chance. I was 15 years old and only listening to the radio, but had developed a preference for louder music that got any mainstream attention (Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, ......). I had no idea how to go beyond that and I actually didn't know even heavier stuff than Sad But True existed (no internet back then). Following the Kurt Cobain look, I started letting my hair grow. Some guy a year above me noticed this and was interested in my musical preference (later on I learned he was actually interested in more of me, but that's another story). I didn't know him, but one day he simply walked towards me and threw an audiotape towards me. I had DT's When Dream and Day Unite on it. I was blown away by how different this was from all the music I knew. I talked to him a few days later and we became friends. Awake just came out, which I bought from my monthly salary delivering newspapers. The rest is history.

Fates Warning: I only got Awaken The Guardian, which I like, but is not in the same league for me as many other progalbums. I know how influential they've been for example on Dream Theater, but I always preferred the bands they influenced over FW itself.
Meshuggah: Yeah, of course. I've got several albums from Chaosphere up to The violent sleep of reason.

Opeth is top quality stuff, their ability to releases consistently high quality material is amazing.
Focus by Cynic is amazing, you should definitely prioritize.
Glad to help with King Crimson, usually that band does not need any introductions, of course it's not for everyone and some of their work is quite hard to get into.

I would think anyone who likes Atheist should definitely prioritize Cynic. It's not that they sound similar exactly but I see fans of one enjoying the other.

And yea, with King Crimson, there's definitely a learning curve to some of their stuff. I know some who just like their early more traditional prog rock stuff. When Adrian Belew joined they seemed to get both more and less commercial at the same time if such a thing is possible... Robert Fripp solo stuff is even more polarizing (but I personally think is pretty awesome for the most part).

[bal3x]

Neurosis: Yeah, I should listen to them. I'll put them on my list.
Swans: I think I tried that a while ago. Not really my thing as far as I remember.
Opeth: Ever since the opening sounds of Blackwater Park, I was hooked. Also went along fine in their transition and still listening to everything they made since and own a total of 11 cd's by them (and got a few pre-BP-albums as well).
Cynic: Not familiar. I'll put it on the list.
King Crimson: Was a gap in my collection a few years back, but bal3x corrected that.
Dream Theater: Never heard of them.......

Spoiler

Just kidding.
DT was THE band that started me getting into metal. It happened by pure chance. I was 15 years old and only listening to the radio, but had developed a preference for louder music that got any mainstream attention (Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, ......). I had no idea how to go beyond that and I actually didn't know even heavier stuff than Sad But True existed (no internet back then). Following the Kurt Cobain look, I started letting my hair grow. Some guy a year above me noticed this and was interested in my musical preference (later on I learned he was actually interested in more of me, but that's another story). I didn't know him, but one day he simply walked towards me and threw an audiotape towards me. I had DT's When Dream and Day Unite on it. I was blown away by how different this was from all the music I knew. I talked to him a few days later and we became friends. Awake just came out, which I bought from my monthly salary delivering newspapers. The rest is history.

Fates Warning: I only got Awaken The Guardian, which I like, but is not in the same league for me as many other progalbums. I know how influential they've been for example on Dream Theater, but I always preferred the bands they influenced over FW itself.
Meshuggah: Yeah, of course. I've got several albums from Chaosphere up to The violent sleep of reason.

Opeth is top quality stuff, their ability to releases consistently high quality material is amazing.
Focus by Cynic is amazing, you should definitely prioritize.
Glad to help with King Crimson, usually that band does not need any introductions, of course it's not for everyone and some of their work is quite hard to get into.

I would think anyone who likes Atheist should definitely prioritize Cynic. It's not that they sound similar exactly but I see fans of one enjoying the other.

And yea, with King Crimson, there's definitely a learning curve to some of their stuff. I know some who just like their early more traditional prog rock stuff. When Adrian Belew joined they seemed to get both more and less commercial at the same time if such a thing is possible... Robert Fripp solo stuff is even more polarizing (but I personally think is pretty awesome for the most part).

Yeah! I do prefer early Crimson for sure Fripp is sometimes hit & miss heh, but certainly quite interesting to check out as well.

[joachimt]

Going back to A for one album, because this happened to get on my path.

Agent Steel - Skeptics Apocalypse

I'm 12 min into the album and the songs are already blending together. I can't tell one from the other. But it's okay. This is exactly what I expected this to be and it's actually fun when I'm in the mood for stuff like this. No need to write a thorough review on this.

[joachimt]

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

Damn, this is brutal. I prefer technical death metal over old school death metal and this is pretty awesome. I don't know why I never listened to this before.
I do wonder if he's actually singing lyrics.......

Btw, the intro sample is something I knew from Dimensions, by a band called Believer. Never knew the sample was from The Exorcist.
Anyone familiar with Believer?

[Pretentious Hipster]

That Cryptopsy album is proof that even the most brutal music has melodies.

[Torgo]

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

Damn, this is brutal. I prefer technical death metal over old school death metal and this is pretty awesome. I don't know why I never listened to this before.
I do wonder if he's actually singing lyrics.......

Btw, the intro sample is something I knew from Dimensions, by a band called Believer. Never knew the sample was from The Exorcist.
Anyone familiar with Believer?

Oh yisss.
I have a broken drumstick and tour poster (2005 - still/again with Lord Worm) signed by the almighty Flo Mounier!
Although drum-wise, which really is what I'm going for with a band like Cryptopsy, I even prefer said 2005 album. But NSV is rightfully the classic.

[joachimt]

Cynic - Focus

I listened to this twice. Nice stuff. I must admit thought that I strongly prefer Atheïst over Cynic. I thought Atheïst was more ...well... focused and coherent. Focus might have focused some more to get to the point quicker now and then, especially in the slower mood-segments.

[joachimt]

Danzig - Danzig

Alright. Not bad. I just don't really get much out of this. I won't listen more to this.

[joachimt]

Dark Tranquility - Haven
AND
Dark Tranquility - The Gallery

Listened twice to both albums. At first I wasn't really impressed by Haven, but on a second try I liked it a lot better. There's a lot going on. Needs a few listens. I prefer The Gallery so far.

[joachimt]

That guitar starting at 3:35 and going on for about a minute really hurts my ears.

[Knaldskalle]

That guitar starting at 3:35 and going on for about a minute really hurts my ears.

Dis better?

[joachimt]

A lot better indeed.

[joachimt]

I listened to the rest of Lightning to the Nations as well. It has some nice songs, but it really would have benefited from better execution, better production and a better singer as Metallica has proven.

[Torgo]

btw joachim, not a classic (yet? .. !) but there's a new AAL in the pipeline and it's not in 4/4!

[joachimt]

Death - Individual Thought Patterns

No surprise I liked this one. Of course I know Death. Got several albums. I love Symbolic. Just didn't know this one yet.

[joachimt]

Def Leppard - Pyromania
Really not my thing. Boring stuff.

Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Very mixed feelings about these two. Blaze is really good. It is dark, it is a bit doom, but also some faster bits. A lot of variation. Even though the sound quality is not what I prefer, I can take it in this case, because the songs are good and the sound actually adds something extra to the songs.
But I can't say the same about Hunger. I hardly managed to listen to it completely. So many songs went on and on with the same annoying banging on the drums without any purpose. I really hated that album.
I've often heard Darkthrone has made a lot of different albums in their career, but it doesn't happen often to me that my opinion about a band differs this much from one album to the ohter.

[Torgo]

joachim, to freshen up your journey through classic metal, I'd like to throw in a very recent release and hear your opinion on the guitar tuning. I've dug through a lot of mathcore in my life, but the sound is quite something.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Definitely one of the highlights of the year

[joachimt]

I’ll get back to this. Just woke up and my wife lays beside me still asleep. I don’t think she’ll appreciate mathcore right now.

[joachimt]

That's some fucked up shit, Torgo. I actually kinda dig it. That guitar sound is something different alright. I wonder if I'll get through an album of 50 minutes though. I'm an album guy myself and listening to this for almost an hour is quite exhausting, I guess. On the other hand, yesterday I was forced to attend an opera of 50 minutes and I managed to get through that as well and I think I'll have more fun with Oxidized. Can't wait to see the faces of my wife and kids if I'll play this in the kitchen during breakfast, so I think I'll get this album.

[Torgo]

Thanks for the feedback, glad you got something out of it.

[joachimt]

Destruction - Infernal Overkill

Listened to this a week ago. Didn't leave a lasting impression. Not much wrong with it. Just not that special.

[Armoreska]

Cannibal Corpse
...is actually something I can listen to.

you win on this one, this isnt a statement I can make

[Armoreska]

I’ll get back to this. Just woke up and my wife lays beside me still asleep. I don’t think she’ll appreciate mathcore right now.

thanks for taking care of your wife, in that particular moment

[Armoreska]

Do you prefer this cover?

not a great cover but interesting

80's pop is among my least favorite periods for music.

but it's still the greatest objectively