Now you just need their first two albums and Kings of Metal. That last is probably my fav Manowar album. It's where they jumped the shark and became the victim of their own ludicrousness. The self-aggrandizement, the dodgy spoken word bit that goes on for too long, the none-more-cheesy ballads. It's where they went off the deep end, but they did it so right that it's glorious. It's their quintessential album. They had a copy of it at the local record store forever, but back then I hadn't realized just how much I loved them so I never got it. And when I finally went back it was gone. Gone. And Manowar is ****ing hard to track down outside of the internet since they don't have a distribution deal in America.

Yeah, Kings of Metal is excellent, quality cheese. Haven't heard their second album, though.

Artist: Jawbreaker
Album: Bivouac
Year: 1992

Before listening:

Alright, so I'm continuing where I left off, with Jawbreaker's sophomore album (the CD version, of course). Hearing Unfun got me eager to check these guys out further, and that fits well because I don't think any other second wave emo was released during 1990-1992, thus I'm following the chronological order.

After listening:

I think this is a little less raw and speedy than the debut. I say “think”, because the tracks from the Chesterfield King EP are scattered across the tracklisting making it harder to tell what the album was originally supposed to sound like. I wish they did it the same way as with Unfun, placing the bonus tracks at the very end *sigh*. Anyway, maybe I'll grow on this album, but I think I prefer Unfun.

Artist: Cap'n Jazz
Album: Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over
Year: 1993

Before listening:

I was unsure of whether I should follow the chronological order completely or just keep going with Jawbreaker, maybe squeezing Jets to Brazil in there too, but then I decided to just move on as intended, to the year of 1993. Apparently Cap'n Jazz, Boy's Life, Christie Front Drive and a couple of other bands released some EPs before this (and of course there's Diary, but I already know and praise that one), but those are only minor releases and thus I wouldn't classify them as "essential albums". This one, however, is as essential as it gets, from what I've understood.

After listening:

The lyrics seem a bit nonsensical at moments, but from all the vocal intensity I'm sure they mean something to the guys in the band. Frankly, this is not for me. Sure, it must have been hugely influential, and it perfectly represents what "real emo" is and should be, but damn, if this album was a cake, and the "spirit of true emo" was sugar, then they used a bit too much sugar. Though the first three tracks all have their spots in my emo playlist, I'll mostly leave the rest alone. Expressive noise and actual melody should have a fine balance. For me, the popcore of Jawbreaker's debut is just perfect.

Into Glory Ride is probably their greatest musical achievement. Aside from the opener they basically took the heavier, more epic sound of "Battle Hymns" and "Dark Avenger" from the debut and expanded on it. It's to Bathory's Hammerheart what Conan the Barbarian is to Lord of the Rings. It's low rent and cheesy, but it's just about the only Manowar album that can almost be taken seriously. This right here is probably the best song to represent that album...

Is that seriously the title of one album??? I thought you were looking at a discography!

Now there I must check you. Totally agree, superb album, BUT come on! "Gates of Valhalla" man! "Gates of Valhalla"!!!! Oh, and "Revelation (Death's Angel)" ....

With the exception of "Hatred" that whole album is solid. But I'd take "Secret of Steel" over those any day. Not to mention "March for Revenge". And "Gloves of Steel" is the most epic ode to metal of all time.

They also have an EP named Sometimes If You Stand Further Away From Something, It Does Not Seem As Big. Sometimes You Can Stand So Close to Something You Can Not Tell What You Are Looking At.

Gee, listening to albums is a hard thing. First, you'll have to find the album on your preferred medium, in my case Spotify. Then you'll have to brace yourself for sitting still doing nothing but listen for up to about an hour. Then you'll need to get comfortable, maybe get a glass of water and a snack. If the lyrics are important in the type of music in question, you may want to find a lyric sheet to pay attention to, especially if you're not an experienced English listener (as is the case with me). Then you'll have to do the actual listening. JEEZ, I hate music.

In case you didn't understand just by reading it, I'll just clear up that the previous paragraph was sarcastic. Of course I don't hate music, I'm a member at Musicbanter. Anyhow, I think that concentrating on nothing but music for an extended period of time can get a bit tiring. Therefore, I need some motivation. Social listening, like album clubs, is great motivation. I'm part of two and a half album clubs, and I love it. The first one is the emo club, the second is a club I started with some IRL friends, and the third, the half one, is a project I started with one other friend. Take notice of the two last ones I mentioned, because chances are they will affect my future journal entries greatly. In the second one we listen to an album every week, and if it catches my interest, I'll write about it. Then there's the last one:

We wanted to focus on metal, as it is a genre we're both slowly getting into; my friend is stuck in power metal, and I haven't heard much except for the classic, essential albums. Therefore we started a kind of “pack” system. In each pack there will be seven albums, one from each of these subgenres: black, death, fusion (prog, groove, goth, nu etc.), glam, heavy, power and thrash metal. After we're both done listening to all of the seven albums, we will choose new ones, making a new pack. At the end of the year we'll see how many packs we have listened to.

Pack one:

Venom – Black Metal
Death – Scream Bloody Gore
Pantera – Far Beyond Driven
Mötley Crüe – Too Fast for Love
Van Halen – S/T
Helloween – Time of the Oath
Metallica – Ride the Lightning


As you can see, we're pushing the definitions a bit, but hey, we're not trying to box ourselves in either. I probably won't review all of these albums, but expect... many.