Dance Of Death: Best album of 2003

[MRBEAST]

im surprised ya got as close as ya did

 

[Profanity]

You were once the board master of IM and we got close, i'm bound to remember your name.

 

[Profanity]

What's so funny about that suggestion?

 

[ironmaiden1990]

that rules

 

[Sydo]

2003 sucked for metal. I can't even name 5 albums that I'd regard as better than average.

 

[John Silver]

I don't recall 1995-2004 as being a great time for metal. Its either gay power metal, pretentious prog metal or one of the extreme underground genres. Real metal is hard to find anymore.

 

[SoundMaster]

I don't recall 1995-2004 as being a great time for metal. Its either gay power metal, pretentious prog metal or one of the extreme underground genres. Real metal is hard to find anymore.

So-called 'traditional' metal suffered during this time, but an entire new genre was born in the mid - 90s which rivals anything metal's ever done: heavy melancholy. The bands focus more on emotion than on masturbatory soloing; they lack the cheese that, sadly, infects most other metal genres; etc. Good stuff.

And these bands aren't part of the extreme underground....although some WERE before learning to play & write and morphing over to heavy melancholy.
You should check out bands such as Anathema, Amorphis, Katatonia, My Dying Bride, the Gathering, the Tea Party, Sentenced, Paradise Lost.

The 90s may have been one of the most creative decades for heavy music.


My fav "metal" eras:

1) Undoubtedly, the early-mid 70s. Zeppelin, Purple, Sabbath, Dio-era Rainbow. In my view, metal's shining moment! And 'borderline' metal bands were kicking our asses, too.....Floyd, King Crimson, etc.

2) late 70s - early 80s. The time when Priest rose to prominence, Scorpions were actually making great music (just prior to their 'hair era'), Maiden burst onto the scence, Sabbath's Dio era (IMO, their best), Motorhead began kicking ass, Ozzy/Randy Rhodes days, etc. The beginnings of thrash (debuts by Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, Exouds...all classics). Great stuff, all.

3) 1995-2000. The birth and the most creative days for the heavy melancholy genre. Heck, Steve Harris absolutely loved My Dying Bride's 1995 masterpiece, 'The Angel and the Dark River' so much, that he personally contacted the group's management offering them to opening slot on Maiden's 1995 "X Factour".

4) 1990-1995. The Grunge era. In my view, grunge is but a subset of metal. Heck, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden are clearly all-out metal. Although this was really a short-lived era, the music was outstanding. Gone was the cheese, back was the emotion in the music....and that's what it's all about.
Too bad the major bands died out so quickly. But, thankfully, the genre helped hammer the final nail into the coffin of late 80s cheese-pop metal.

5) 1985-1990. The 'light' years of mainstream metal. Hair/pop metal basically ruined the genre. The cheese was piled high.....but so was the money that came rolling in. And as we all know, metal stalwarts such as Scorpions and Judas Priest (Turbo, anyone?) followed suit and jumped on the cheese/hair metal bandwagon. And the quality of music suffered.

Metal's popularity in the late 80s was, ultimately, it's own suicide. Too many awful bands were signed; too many of the really good bands began writing cheese/fluff/crap seeking radio/MTV ariplay. And the music suffered for it.

Thank godlessness that grunge hammered the final nail into the coffin!

 

[John Silver]

I'm familiar with Amorphis, Gathering and various other bands but I think they're light years away from the likes of Sabbath, Maiden or any of the greats. I'm not a fan of Anathema. I've been meaning to check My dying bride for some time, I'll do so asap. I also agree that some of the grunge was close to metal, like AIC and Soundgarden's first two albums.

 

[SoundMaster]

I'm familiar with Amorphis, Gathering and various other bands but I think they're light years away from the likes of Sabbath, Maiden or any of the greats.

I agree, completelly.

The greats are called "Great" for just that reason!

In my view, the sextuplet of Zep/Sab/Purple/Rainbow/Priest/Maiden
are the truest, and best, incarnation of metal/rock/heavy music, etc.

Untouchable, really.

 

[John Silver]

No doubts about that.

Just wondering.. how do you rate the post Dio, Rainbow albums? I've never heard anything on those apart from what's on the very best album.

 

[SoundMaster]

No doubts about that.

Just wondering.. how do you rate the post Dio, Rainbow albums? I've never heard anything on those apart from what's on the very best album.

I actually do not own any of those, and have only heard the tunes from the Best Of.

I'm thinking of looking into one or two, but based on what's on the Best Of, I'm not expecting too much.

Still, anything with Blackmore's got to be good!

 

[Nightwing]

Bent out of Shape is reasonably good.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

Yes

 

[Profanity]

Yes to what?

 

[anonymousnick2001]

What Nightwing said.

 

[Profanity]

Destruction - All Hell Breaks Loose was from 2003 wasn't it?