Battle Of The Albums...

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Thraxhead1985

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This month's battle of the albums is for the coveted title of "ALBUM OF 2003...SO FAR!"...

Nominees are...

Anthrax...for their masterful return with "We've Come For You All"

and...

Metallica...for their raw,"highly criticized", and very heavy album, "St.Anger"

The catagories are as follows...

Quality - 10 Possible Points
Heaviness - 8 Possible Points
Member Performances - 10 Possible Points
Material - 8 Possible Points
Lyrics - 5 Possible Points

Let's go into it with "We've Come For You All"...

Quality - 10/10: Amazing production by Scrap 60, flawless, clean metal at it's best...
Heaviness - 7.8/8: Brutal album with some softer stadium anthems, part of it's strength...
Member Perform. - 10/10: Horns up to everyone for their work, especially Mr. Benante for being the best drummer on the planet!
Material - 7.8/8: Strong songs, amazing arrangments, nothing boring here!
Lyrics - 5/5: Insightful, brutal, these guys had something to prove and they did more than that!

OVERALL - 37/ 41 Points Possible

"St.Anger"

Quality - 7/10: This is the way they wanted the album, it hurts them here, but it adds more to the album, give it a "personal stamp" of fury...
Heaviness - 8/8: This album could wake the dead, no ballads, no fills, just plain old metal, almost too much metal!
Member Perform. - 10/10: A group effort, they sound like one working machine, chugging away...Lars Ulrich is the stand-out here, stumbling off his chair playing with speed, intensity, double-bass, and blast-beats! Just turn up the bass-drums, so we can hear the double-bass blast like machine guns!
Material - 7.6/10: A lot of the material feels rushed, almost like a jam session, but at the same time it feels completely fresh and rocking...
Lyrics - 4.9/5: Hetfield has been through a lot, which explains his lyrics to be confusing and sometimes too insightful...sometimes corny...Great all around though...a new person has been born through them...

OVERALL - 33/41 Points Possible

ANTHRAX IS THE WINNER BY DECISION!!!

Great albums by both bands, Anthrax pushed through with stronger material and quality...
 
I can break down St. Anger, IMO:
Quality 5/10, it's just not that great
Heaviness 5/8, at times it's awesome, then it turns to crap quality or it slows down too much.
Member Performances, 5/10, Lars's double bass is great, that snare sound is terrible. James actually, literally, starts whining on Invisible Kid about 5 minutes into it. This floored me and pissed me off to no end. It almost ruined the entire album for me.
Material, 5/8, Again awesome at times and absolutely atrocius way too often.
Lyrics, 4/5, Some of it is too simple and too lame sounding, but not all metal songs need to be deep for me to enjoy them.

WCFYA wins this category hands-down for me. It rates higher in all categories for me, although the entire album is not super-heavy. That's Ok though.

There may be some other albums that are really awesome. Overkill's is OK, but not as good as Anthrax. Others?? Hmmmm I will have to think about that.
 
We all know(especially here) that "We've come for you all" is one of the best metal albums(if not thee best) of the year!

2 be honest, I've yet to hear one track off "St. Anger" so I can't make a fair judgement. However, given some of the reviews on "St. Anger" I'm not holding my breath. Not that I'm not excited to hear it, but my guess is that it won't be as good as the new Anthrax album.

However, I plan on getting a copy of the new Metallica sometime soon and I'll be sure to give you all the typical AugDawg review soon.

More 2 come!

Cheerz!

AugDawg
 
St. Anger rulez IMO!

i don't care what others think about! a great record through and through, i listen to it on every day, in the car, at home, respect to Metallica!
 
WCFYA
quality 10/10
heaviness 7/8
member perform 10/10
material 8/8
lyrics 5/5

st.anger
quality 2/10
heaviness 3/8
member perform 6/10
material 1/8
haven't studied the lyrics much but james has always had pretty good lyrics. Let's say 4.5/5
 
Im just trying to figure out how anyone can compare the new thrax stuff to that pile of wank st shit stain :erk:

WCFYA= metal masterpeice!!!!


ST shit stain= we have just recorded something we no that all the dumb ass kid's into korn papa roach and limp dipshit will like cause that=$$$$$

I wonder what the next metallica album will sound like pop punk? that seems to be really kool at the moment!
 
Alright, using your scale:

Anthrax - WCFYA
Quality: Production-wise the album sounds pretty solid 9/10
Heaviness: A bit disappointing. Trying to appeal to the masses here, and it's their least heavy album to date. 4/8
Member Performances: John and Charlie are gods. Everyone else fits well. 9/10
Material: A couple strong tracks, a couple weak tracks, and a little filler. I expected more. 5/8
Lyrics: Overall, pretty good, but not much effort put it to Strap It On. 4.5/5
Overall total: 31.5/41

Metallica - St. Anger
Quality: Production? What production? I'm ashamed to think that Bob Rock is a Canadian. 3/10
Heaviness: It's heavier than previous outings, but still has those annoying interludes where James tries to sing, and much of the heaviness still has a commercial air to it. 7/8
Member Performances: Ugh. And to think I used to consider Lars the best in the business. James, quit trying to sing. And Kirk, where the hell are you? 3/10
Material: If this was a punk album with two minute songs, one riff repeated ad nauseum with no solo to break it up might fly. This is almost 80 minutes of what should be a 28-minute album. 2/8
Lyrics: Fran-tick-tick-tick--tick-tock? If these lyrics were supposed to make me break out laughing, then full marks. Sadly, I don't think that was the original intention. 1/5
Overall total: 16/41
 
mrthrax said:
hmmm,heaviness a bit dissaponiting,volume 8 is there softest record,can u please explain how volume 8 is heavier???:Smug:
Click to expand...
I guess it depends on what you think is heavy. To me, the only songs on Volume 8 that aren't heavy are Toast to the Extras and Pieces, both of which are still very cool tunes.

On the other hand, WCFYA has many tracks that sound like they were written with radio-play in mind, a concept that doesn't go well with "heavy". I've heard Motley Crue write "heavier" songs than Taking the Music Back or Cadillac Rock Box, and I don't consider Motley Crue to be heavy. I'm not saying they're bad songs, they're just not very heavy. Safe Home and Refuse aren't very heavy, and neither is Anyplace But Here. Even compare the throw-away songs, and I'll take 604 or Cupajoe over Crash anyday.

I've never said WCFYA is a bad album, it's just not my favorite Anthrax album. I think waiting 5 years for this album had one of two effects: (1) people were waiting so long for the album, that they were going to cream all over it no matter how it was, and are automatically infatuated with it, or (2) the longer the wait, the higher the expectations, leading to disappointment when it finally arrived. I'm in the second category. However, it hasn't grown on me with repeated listenings, unlike the other 3 Bush-era albums that kicked my ass from the start, and just kept getting better with each listen.

Maybe my opinion will change over time. Maybe yours will, too. I'd be interested to see what people on this board think about WCFYA five years from now when (hopefully) Anthrax has released a couple more albums. I'm betting everyone will be talking about how the "new" album is the shit, and will have largely forgotten about WCFYA, but who knows?
 
I actually consider Anyplace But Here as pretty heavy. But like you said, it depends on what is "heavy" for you.
 
nafnikufesin said:
I guess it depends on what you think is heavy. To me, the only songs on Volume 8 that aren't heavy are Toast to the Extras and Pieces, both of which are still very cool tunes.

On the other hand, WCFYA has many tracks that sound like they were written with radio-play in mind, a concept that doesn't go well with "heavy". I've heard Motley Crue write "heavier" songs than Taking the Music Back or Cadillac Rock Box, and I don't consider Motley Crue to be heavy. I'm not saying they're bad songs, they're just not very heavy. Safe Home and Refuse aren't very heavy, and neither is Anyplace But Here. Even compare the throw-away songs, and I'll take 604 or Cupajoe over Crash anyday.

I've never said WCFYA is a bad album, it's just not my favorite Anthrax album. I think waiting 5 years for this album had one of two effects: (1) people were waiting so long for the album, that they were going to cream all over it no matter how it was, and are automatically infatuated with it, or (2) the longer the wait, the higher the expectations, leading to disappointment when it finally arrived. I'm in the second category. However, it hasn't grown on me with repeated listenings, unlike the other 3 Bush-era albums that kicked my ass from the start, and just kept getting better with each listen.

Maybe my opinion will change over time. Maybe yours will, too. I'd be interested to see what people on this board think about WCFYA five years from now when (hopefully) Anthrax has released a couple more albums. I'm betting everyone will be talking about how the "new" album is the shit, and will have largely forgotten about WCFYA, but who knows?
Click to expand...


fair enough dude,heavy can mean many things,for me cadillac rock box is a great rock song but it has a heavy feel to it,i'll compare each song from volume 8 to wcfya,u should do the same,its intersting how people see things in a diff light but it would be a very boring would if everyone liked the same thing.
 
i wont include the intros and the 2 short songs from volume 8

crush / what doesnt die,2 great songs but what doesnt die is much much heavier and just destroys me with every listen,better songwriting,crush is too one dimensional.

catharsis / superhero,once again both good songs but as far as heavy goes superhero is a hands down winner.

inside out / refuse to be denied,well this one i will go with inside out,its the only song from volume 8 that coulda held up to wcfya record.

p & v / safe home,i put these on equal terms,both acdc tinged song that are heavy in there own right.

toast to the extras / anyplace but here,silly to compare these but anyplace but here is a much heavier song and i would rather a heavy anthrax tune than an anthrax country tune anytime.

born again idiot / nobody knows anyting,born again is quite heavy but there is no feeling in the song and it didnt hold up too long for me,nobody knows is pummeling and is still getting better with every listen.

killing box / strap it on,again 2 great songs but killing box didnt hold up too long for me,strap it on is heavier and has an incredible feel to it,lyrically musically...

harms way / black dahlia,harms way is good for what it is but fuck this is anthrax,there aint nothing wrong with there slower tunes but i prefer heavy over soft anytime,black dahlia is one of the most exteme songs they have ever written.

hog tied / cadillac,hog tied to me is just terrible,must have took them a minute to shit that song out,cadillac rock box is just a show stopper,pure class and very diff for anthrax but has a really great vibe to it.

alpha male / taking the music back,i would put these songs in a tie,i think taking the music back is very underrated and would be very intested at how heavy this tune would sound live.

stealing from a thief / think about an end,stealing is a great anthem but is pretty weak to me,think about an end is just so simple yet very very heavy.

i wil compare stealing from a thief also with wcfya both are very anthem type songs but wcfya is so much more aggresive

to sum it all up,volume 8 is a good album but just has too much filler for my liking and the songs dont really flow together whereas on wcfya the groove is there all the way through,even there more rock tunes just jump through the speakers and pummel me everytime i listen to it,i myself was very worried what anthrax were going to bring out next,i dont think i could have handled another album like volume 8 and obviously anthrax couldnt either,charlies drumming on this album was his most creative in years,john vocal performance had so much balls this time around,even scott has said that for this stage of there career they have never played heavier and are more hungry than ever.

wcfya is the most played cd from bush era for me,,i lost interst in volume after a month or so but there lastest is getting better and better with everylisten.

i would like to see a few more people compare these albums.
 
mrthrax said:
wcfya is the most played cd from bush era for me,,i lost interst in volume after a month or so but there lastest is getting better and better with everylisten.

i would like to see a few more people compare these albums.
Click to expand...
Just the opposite for me, but I guess differences of opinion are what make this world interesting, right?

Your approach is interesting, but in some ways, it's kind of unfair to match up track vs. track like that. For example, What Doesn't Die might fair better against something on the latter half of Volume 8, but Crush is one of my favorite Thrax tunes so What Doesn't Die loses out. I find it interesting that you said you prefer "heavy over soft any time", yet you don't clearly pick P&V over Safe Home, which is a pretty soft song IMO.

I guess if I were to compare them straight up as you did, my thoughts would go like this:

Crush vs. What Doesn't Die: Crush is one of my all-time favs. What Doesn't Die is a cool tune, but not something I find myself singing along to very much. As I said before, WDD would have one if it matched up with a track from the second half of Volume 8 instead, but not here.

Catharsis vs. Superhero: If Catharsis went up against almost any other song on WCFYA it would win, but Superhero (aka Inside Out, part two) is one of the strongest tracks on WCFYA and takes this one.

Inside Out vs. Refuse to Be Denied: No contest, Inside Out by a mile.

P&V vs. Safe Home: I think P&V is really underrated, and I think it's a great track...if it didn't come right after the even better Inside Out, it may have received more recognition. On the other hand, Safe Home is one of the few Thrax tunes I find myself wanting to skip. I just don't like it, and I'm a little disappointed they decided to release this one first.

Toast to the Extras vs. Anyplace But Here: I agree that these songs are so different that it's difficult to compare them. I like them both. Despite it's mellowness, I found Toast's lyrics really hit home with me, while I like the way that Anyplace builds up. I'll give a slight edge to Toast, as I find the chorus to Anyplace a little on the cheesey side.

Born Again Idiot vs. Nobody Knows Anything: Idiot is one of the weaker tunes on Volume 8, while Charlie's drumming on Nobody Knows absolutely slays.

Killing Box vs. Strap It On: No contest, Killing Box takes this one easy. Strap It On sounds like it was written in about ten seconds, and is pretty boring.

Harms Way vs. Black Dahlia: Black Dahlia is certainly very heavy, but it just doesn't grab me, and it also seems really out of place. Harm's Way may not be the strongest on Volume 8, but I do find myself humming it often.

Hog Tied vs. Cadillac Rock Box: This one is a toss-up between two of their weaker tracks.

Alpha Male vs. Taking the Music Back: This is like comparing Anthrax with Motley Crue. And Alpha Anthrax wins without a doubt.

Stealing From a Theif vs. Think About an End: Stealing is a great track, I love everything about it. Think About an End isn't bad, but it's kind of boring.

Pieces vs. WCFYA: I like Pieces, it's certainly a hidden track wirth waiting for (as opposed to the garbage at the end of WCFYA), but there's no contest here...WCFYA is an awesome tunes, and easily my favorite on the album.

I'll go a step further and compare the two short songs on each album with each other.

604 & cupajoe vs. Intro & Crash: 604 and Cupajoe are fun songs, kind of reminding me of the "fun" times with S.O.D. They add some humor to the album, which was one thing that I've always liked about Anthrax is their ability to show they can have fun, while still playing some killer music. Intro is a good intro to the album, but is unsatisfying how it ends and doesn't seem to blend well with What Doesn't Die. I think I'd have preferred if they'd turned the Intro into it's own song. Crash is a waste of space, a Pink Floyd reject that I'd skip if it wasn't mercifully as short as it is.

NFF's head-to-head score:
Volume 8: 9.5
WCFYA: 3.5
 
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