Key

Pretty basic concept. I'm going to talk about / review (mini review maybe) 50 albums that I believe deserve at least one listen. These will be albums that I find to both be fantastic on it's own, and personal favorites that I enjoy even if the album itself isn't that great. I went back and forth between whether or not I wanted to just put this in my journal, but I did one of these in my journal already, and I've got my Devin Townsend review thing going on, just didn't want this to get in the way of that, so I decided to let this have it's own thread. It'll allow for keeping things nice and neat anyway.

I'll try to not post repeat albums that are featured in my journal already, since I do seem to have a habit of doing that, but I can't exactly promise anything. I'm also not going to list out the albums before I talk about them, because that's no fun, and I can't think of 50 right off the top of my head. I assure you that you should be able to find something you like in this thread, and if not, well, that's fine too.

Key

Let's start this off with an album that has both been on my mind recently, and in my ears throughout most of this week...


#1: Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake

inb4 "man, that's not even the heaviest Lamb of God album, you could've done so much better". I know very well, and agree in some cases that some earlier albums of LoG are much better in terms of how heavy they are and as overall albums, however, if I were to choose one album out of the discography that I find to be a personal favorite, this is the one I would turn to. Many reasons pretty much stem from the fact that the tracks on the album are both fantastic and ones I remember the most when getting further into LoG, "Now You've Got Something To Die For" being one of those tracks. On the other hand, I will also say that I don't think I gave this album a proper listen until pretty recently, especially since Sacrament was my real introduction to the band, and an album that I stuck to for a long time, so I wasn't really willing to branch out and give their other albums a listen, don't ask me why, that's just what happened. I do regret not giving this album proper listening when I first got into the band, because even though my overall impression of this band is that they are fantastic, I think I would have come to that conclusion a bit quicker than it did. Also want to mention that a lot of the tracks on this album, I have heard live multiple times, though I didn't realize it when I saw them perform them, which is obviously a shame. For the most part, this album will definitely remain to be a personal favorite and will always be an album I turn to if i'm craving something purely heavy and "disgusting". Feel free to tell me that I should listen to other albums instead, but that's where you'd look silly, since I do listen to their other albums when I'm in the mood, Ashes of the Wake just takes the first slot when I get into a LoG listening session. That will remain until I feel another one of their albums has surpassed this one, which probably won't happen, but it's always nice to hope, I guess.

Pet_Sounds

I have subscribed.

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Thelonious Monkey

Subscribed. I will be following.

Key

Thanks guys!

Key

#2: Trivium - Shogun

This album was sort of the same thing for me as Ashes of the Wake is, it's an album that I didn't get to as quickly as I should have, and once realizing how good it actually is, I was disappointed in myself for not giving it a listen sooner.

Trivium, to me, have been releasing pretty good albums, consistently. I am aware that could be up for debate, but I never really seem to see myself just turning off a Trivium album out of disgust or hate, it's usually because i'm just not in the mood. Shogun is definitely an album that should have gotten a listen from me much sooner than it did. I have a pretty good reason for it though. For whatever reason, I was under the impression that Shogun was along the lines of the St. Anger album for Trivium. You know, terrible and lacking in quality and anything captivating, and me being as young as I was, instead of listening to the album, I just listened to other people and decided the album isn't worth my time. Really wish I didn't do that, because it's one of my favorite Trivium albums to date, not entirely sure what i'd put below it, In Waves, maybe. Honestly, out of all their albums, I find that this one really showcases their knowledge of heavy guitar chords, technical guitar solos, and really shows a good understanding of what a typical Trivium album should sound like. It does run like In Waves does though, where it's a pretty long album, but none of the songs seem stale or overused, there's something new for each track until the end, and I really like that. A few standout tracks would include Down From The Sky, and the finale, Shogun. Also, if I hear anyone say that Matt sounds just like James Hetfield, in this album maybe, but i've seen Metallica and Trivium perform live, and in my opinion, neither of them sound anywhere alike, considering James Hetfield now sounds like someone chopped his balls off, nothing heavy or interesting about his voice, but that's besides the point. They may have some similarity, but I never understood the comparison.

Key

#3: The Binding of Isaac - Rebirth OST

Yes, i'm also going to be posting game / movie soundtracks that I think belong in this list, as they also get a pretty good listen from me from time to time.

Lately, or more specifically, this last year, there have been numerous indie games that have come out and made their way into the Steam store (and into my personal game library), and it's no surprise that most of them do successful, this one is no exception. I remember when the original Binding of Isaac was released, and although the gameplay is fantastic, what really got me into playing it repetitively is the soundtrack. The one i'm talking about in this post isn't the soundtrack. The original soundtrack was done by Danny Baranowsky, and he must've had to study the atmosphere of the game to a pin, because the soundtrack is just perfect, and this is one of those instances where when a remake is announced, I'm afraid the soundtrack will suffer, in this case, the soundtrack for Rebirth actually surpassed the original, and I thought that'd be a nearly impossible task to do, but I congratulate the makers of the soundtrack for succeeding. I honestly think it's great that more games are trying to focus on both how the game works in terms of gameplay and mechanics, as well as making sure the music that you hear while playing is enjoyable, and not just something that is going on in the background that will soon be forgotten. I mean, c'mon, it's a big deal when i'm playing a new game and one of the thoughts going through my head is "i really want to buy / support the makers of this soundtrack, which I did, and I don't regret it. It's worth the money. Definitely a hidden gem to some, but if you're into some fantastic orchestration / ambient-ish music without lyrics, this may be good for you. And hey, give the game a shot as well, you may lose a couple hours out of your day, but at least you get to experience a killer soundtrack along with it.

Trollheart

Excellent idea, Ki: I'll be watching and reading!

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#4: Kalmah - The Black Waltz

Looking for something just purely heavy and gross? Well this album is that. Kalmah is one of those bands where I had heard the name thrown around, and album titles thrown around, but never really took a proper listen. One night I decided it was time to finally get to listening to them, and before I knew it, I had listened to every album in one sitting. This album along with the rest are just pure heavy and pure groovy, and nothing in between. There are some technical metal elements of course, as well as some possible progressive metal elements. I don't know about the second part, but hell, all I gotta say is that if you're looking for heavy, this is the place to look. Perhaps i'm a bit biased and this album could be completely different than how i'm explaining it, but that's more from listening to a lot of progressive metal in my life, and there are a lot of things I hear from Kalmah that share similarities with other prog metal bands. Don't let that keep you away though, just focus on the metal aspect and you should get as much enjoyment out of this band as I do. Or you don't have to. It's your choice. I strongly recommend this album in particular because it really starts off strong, stays strong, and ends on a high note, which for heavy metal, is a rather difficult thing to accomplish, at least from what I notice, which of course is my personal opinion, maybe i'm wrong, I could very well be. And that album cover, doesn't that just scream metal? It's an old wizard looking guy with a beard and that just screams "this is a heavy album", which is honestly part of why I like the album a lot, if just for the album cover.

Key

#5: Paradise Lost - Symbol of Life

Paradise Lost, a band that I knew about, but didn't have a lot of knowledge or experience when it came to their albums. If I were posting about them a few years ago, the only thing I could tell you is that "No Celebration" is the best track on this album. A few years later, I decide to revisit the album, and that is no longer the case. Sure, "No Celebration" is a fantastic track, and one well known to me, but there are so many fantastic tracks on this album that it's hard to choose just one. I should say, that I am still not too familiar with their entire discography, though I have given a few other albums a fair listen, and I've enjoyed them. This album in particular just has the nostalgic factor with having the first track i've ever heard from them. Speaking of which, I remember having "No Celebration" on my myspace profile for god knows how long. It must've had to do with the atmospheric sound that it had, which seemed to be what I was really into back then. As a whole however, the album is just pure heavy and epic. From track to track, it remains to be consistent and well structured with just having in mind that they wanted to create a heavy album. They succeeded. I could listen to this album ten times, and still enjoy the hell out of it. If I were to choose one track to start with, I'd say "Erased" is one of the better tracks, but then again, if you asked me tomorrow, I would say that "Pray Nightfall" is the best on the album. Even if you asked me next week, my choice of favorite track would change, or perhaps it'd revert to my original choice. My point is, there's a track for anyone, and it's definitely an album you want to sit down and listen to as a whole.