GMD Poll: Top Ten Albums Of 1988

[crimsonfloyd]

I like the addition of the total points.

 

[no country for old wainds]

I counted Adramelch's votes and it came out to 91 points. Did you mess up or did I?

i think you've counted rms' vote as unordered but he's clarified in the past that all his un-numbered lists are ordered.

you're right that i've fucked up though, funnily enough - i was just posting about it. turns out i somehow counted all of grumbles' votes twice ahahaha, i guess this was bound to happen eventually. it affects nothing i've posted so far except number 8, so i'm just gonna delete that post and carry on from there. apologies all!

 

[-CC-]

at HBB's Vio-lence story

 

[no country for old wainds]

8) "Them" by King Diamond
It is time for tea, it is time again!

"Good Christ y'all are gay. King Diamond is great. I love almost everything they/he's done. Melissa, Abigail, The Eye, and Them are some of my absolute favorite albums. Guitar work is nuts, Andy LaRoque is a god damned beast. Kings vocals are the tits. And Mickey Dee behind the kit was just awe worthy. So fun." - @divine_torture

"As I sit here and listen to Welcome To My Nightmare, I realize King Diamond himself was listening to this back in the day. Listen to Steven and The Awakening and compare it to some of the stuff found on Them. It's eerily similar." - @Krow

Chosen by:
Krow (#1)
RedinTheSky (#1)
zerostatic (#2)
Elric of Melniboné (#2)
Talos of Atmora (#3)
Atomic Tide (#4)
Funerary_Doom (#4)
Anom@nder Rake (#4)
Serjeant Grumbles (#5)
alex76 (#9)
zabu of nΩd (#10)
H.P. Lovecraft (N/A)
Manic Ferocity (N/A)

TOTAL: 87 POINTS

 

[no country for old wainds]

7) South of Heaven by Slayer
Death is fucking you insane!

"I used to think South of Heaven and Seasons were mediocre, but the more I listen to them the more I appreciate some the subtleties in their songwriting." - @HamburgerBoy

"Songs like Ghosts of War, Silent Scream, Read Between the Lies and Mandatory Suicide are some of their darkest, least cheesy and most accomplished. It's the album where they didn't have to prove how fast they could go anymore and instead focus on dynamics. It's also the album that Kerry King had the least to do with, which is definitely a good thing." - @Satanstoenail

"I think the vocals on South of Heaven are perfect for what they're doing. It really puts the emphasis on the lyrics. It's more like spoken poetry set to the soundtrack to Hell. And considering how intense and vivid the lyrics are I enjoy being able to take in each line." - @crimsonfloyd

"I fucking love South of Heaven and you can all get fucked." - @Satanstoenail

Chosen by:
Satanstoenail (#1)
zerostatic (#1)
Slammed (#1)
-CyanideChrist- (#2)
alex76 (#2)
Sirjack (#4)
The Ozzman (#5)
crimsonfloyd (#5)
zabu of nΩd (#6)
Funerary_Doom (#6)
TechnicalBarbarity (#7)
Serjeant Grumbles (#7)
I-TEND-TO-DIE (#8)

TOTAL: 88 points

 

[no country for old wainds]

6) Dimension Hatröss by Voivod
Creeping in your double mind, there's nothing they can't find...

"The most under rated album by them is 'Dimension Hatross' it was FAR FAR beyond it's time in 1988. And really, still pushes the boundary of metal." - @Blade

"ANUS can be pretty cool at very small times, like when Prozak praises Dimension Fucking Hatross." - @Jean-Pierre

"I didnt say those bands werent innovative i meant just not to the same degree Voivod were. All of the big four bands ran out of steam much faster while Voivod continued to evolve. I mean to me Hell Awaits isnt that unique for 1985 since you had bands like Bathory with The Return and Possessed with The seven churches. You also had demo bands making more evil and extreme music at the time. I think it was the standard evolution. That said in 1988 what metal albums sounded anything like Dimension Hatross?" - @MrTagoMago

Chosen by:
Talos of Atmora (#1)
Atomic Tide (#1)
Anom@nder Rake (#1)
Vegard Pompey (#2)
CASSETTEISGOD (#2)
ClichéUserName (#4)
Burkhard (#5)
Krow (#6)
Satanstoenail (#6)
Elric of Melniboné (#7)
RedinTheSky (#8)
no country for old wainds (#8)
-CyanideChrist- (#9)
EspaDa (#9)
I-TEND-TO-DIE (#10)
H.P. Lovecraft (N/A)

TOTAL: 91.5 POINTS

 

[no country for old wainds]

c+ping that made the formatting weird in ways i cannot fathom or be bothered to change sry. actually the formatting's been uneven throughout this countdown. this is officially a bad countdown.

 

[no country for old wainds]

5) Punishment for Decadence by Coroner
In many years from now, someone will find my ship...
Someone will see my body in it, and see the smile on my face...

"tbh the first two Coroner albums are overrated. Some great songs, but it mostly blends together, especially Vetterli's solos which were mostly mediocre at that point. His creative growth the following year(s) was amazing. Still my favorite thrash band, though." - @HamburgerBoy

"You're so annoying and this is why I rarely even read your posts. Also so many of your opinions suck." - @skeptik

Chosen by:
Talos of Atmora (#2)
Satanstoenail (#2)
alex76 (#3)
I-TEND-TO-DIE (#3)
TechnicalBarbarity (#4)
zerostatic (#4)
Elric of Melniboné (#4)
Slayed Necros (#5)
Sirjack (#6)
Mort Divine (#7)
CASSETTEISGOD (#7)
RedinTheSky (#7)
Vilden (#9)
Burkhard (#10)
Manic Ferocity (N/A)
Phylactery (N/A)

TOTAL: 92 POINTS

 

[Baroque]

"tbh the first two Coroner albums are overrated. Some great songs, but it mostly blends together, especially Vetterli's solos which were mostly mediocre at that point. His creative growth the following year(s) was amazing." - @HamburgerBoy

Gotta agree with HBB on this one. They're an important tech thrash band, but I only go back and listen to these albums when someone starts overhyping them again.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

nothing overhyped about one of the greatest thrash albums of all time.

 

[no country for old wainds]

4) Irae Melanox by Adramelch
These are not odes to the prince of material, just remembrances of ages swayed by the fear...

"Crusades-obsessed bleak and lo-fi Italian power metal, reminiscent of Awaken the Guardian sans the occasional mid-tempo plod." - @HamburgerBoy

"Best album ever. Wish I could like Fates Warning this much." - @Vegard Pompey

Chosen by:
HamburgerBoy (#1)
Vegard Pompey (#1)
no country for old wainds (#1)
EspaDa (#2)
rms (#3)
Slayed Necros (#3)
Vilden (#3)
zabu of nΩd (#4)
Funerary_Doom (#5)
Talos of Atmora (#5)
crimsonfloyd (#6)
RedinTheSky (#10)
Phylactery (N/A)

TOTAL: 93.5 POINTS

 

[no country for old wainds]

hbb sure is getting a lot of airtime this round

 

[Vegard Pompey]

Well that placed much higher than I expected.

 

[no country for old wainds]

if zabu hadn't made that last minute edit, it would've finished 8th. that's how close this was.

 

[Baroque]

So AJFA and Leprosy in the top 3? Sweet.

 

[no country for old wainds]

You should've used the opening line of the title track as the quote though. That line sums up everything that album is about imo.

but i did use that??

 

[Vegard Pompey]

but i did use that??

Who are you talking to?

 

[no country for old wainds]

i edited in your preferred lyric as the quote and was pretending it was there all along, which only works if you actually notice.

 

[no country for old wainds]

3) Blood Fire Death by Bathory
The elder among the men looked deep into the fire and spoke loud with pride: "Tomorrow is a fine day to die!"

"i just love that stirring, deliberate, earthy sound quorthon started to peddle in with this album's bookends and subsequent releases, even at times when the songwriting is dubious. it bridges mid-'80s epic trad and '90s BM, embodying the best qualities of both." - @no country for old wainds

"better than any Norwegian black metal album." - @MrTagoMago

Chosen by:
Vilden (#1)
Anom@nder Rake (#2)
Serjeant Grumbles (#2)
Funerary_Doom (#2)
zabu of nΩd (#3)
Mort Divine (#4)
CASSETTEISGOD (#4)
ClichéUserName (#5)
Vegard Pompey (#5)
Slayed Necros (#6)
-CyanideChrist- (#8)
crimsonfloyd (#8)
Atomic Tide (#9)
H.P. Lovecraft (N/A)
Manic Ferocity (N/A)
Phylactery (N/A)

TOTAL: 100.5 POINTS

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Only one album that I've voted for has so far made the list, and if it remains that way I still can't complain at all, this year is fucking stacked with great stuff. The more I think about it I have to wonder if 1984 really is better.

I actually had a dream this morning where Sean Killian was singing solo over piped-in instrumental Vio-lence tracks to a crowd of headbanging pirates in the storage area of a ship, oddly lit with flashing pink disco-worthy lights, with freight and stuff flying everywhere and crushing people.