How many tracks do you think an avarage metal album should have?

[waif]

arright, I think the general consensus is that it doesn't matter how many tracks you have (Agoraphobic Nosebleed have an ep with 99 tracks and it's about 20:00), but that an album ought to be at least 40+ minutes.

 

[SouthernTrendkill]

I'm starting to think that I like albums to be shorter. But if pressed I'd much rather an album be too long rather than too short, because too short is just such a dissapointment when it happens. I'd say at least 35 minutes is necessary but I wouldn't mind if it tended to end there.

 

[LivingCadaver]

7 to 9 4-5 minutes each...

40-45 minutes is alright.

 

[sevag00]

8 to 10, each song being 5 minutes long.

 

[cookiecutter]

I'm going to say 10 on average

 

[rms]

Id say atleast 50minutes of playing time and track # doesnt really matter, but I guess 9+ is good

 

[Gold]

about 60 minutes of music should be needed

one of the things i hated when i was younger was buying non metal cds that were only 30ish minutes long, felt like such a rip off

 

[False Joe]

60 minutes is too long for me.

I prefer the 9-10 mark, with about 45-50 minutes of music.

 

[bugflythorn]

About 12 tracks depending

 

[IWP]

If I am going to spend money in order to fuel the band's coke and prostitute habit then I expect my money's worth.

Isn't it the record company and not the band that gets the money from the album sales anyway?

Anyway, now that most of you mentioned it, it is the length of the album that is more important. I think I prefer an album to be 35-40 minutes long. Though, it depends on the genre and the band. Some band are better than others at making longer songs. Though, I still think that having a 12-15 song album that has 2-4 filler songs is pretty pointless.

 

[waif]

Filler is annoying. More than 2 songs an album is unforgivable.

 

[General Zaroff]

Song length is something I pay more attention to.

I HATE when songs are longer than they need to be, although I can handle stuff like Ahab and Opeth.

Albums should contain usually around 5-10 IMO.

All depends on the song length though.

 

[waif]

If a song should be 20 minutes, it should be 20 minutes and not 5. If a song should be 5 minutes, it DEFINITELY shouldn't be 20. That would be what we call padding, which is just like filler but even worse because it also ruins the good songs.

 

[The Ozzman]

Vital Remains is notorious for that

 

[cookiecutter]

Man, Vital Remains are so utterly irrelevant

EDIT: To metal in general, not to this topic

 

[LivingCadaver]

60 minutes is too long for me.

I prefer the 9-10 mark, with about 45-50 minutes of music.

See that's exactly my though. I'd rather have concise record with good 40-50 minutes of music rather than have a longass record with some filler tracks. I like to listen to different bands in a day so if I can listen to 5-7 albums instead of 3-4 I'm happy..

 

[The Ozzman]

I think the length depends on the band and the previous material they've put out. I don't expect a doom metal album to be less than 45 minutes on average.

 

[Einherjar86]

I don't give a fuck. A good album is a good album, whether it's 40 minutes or 80 minutes. Unfortunately, perfect albums are very rare. Most albums that I own are composed of 70% good material, and the rest is either meh or bad (in my opinion). Perfect albums are really hard to come by. Some albums are particularly bad, but that's the risk you run when experimenting with new bands. Sometimes you WILL waste money on an album, that can't be avoided; but at least now you know not to buy that band again. It's all a testing ground. As John Wilmot said: "All experiments of interest are done at your own expense." So quit whining about record prices and take a fuckin' chance. If the record's bad, then don't buy anymore of that band. Length has little to do with a quality record; it's mostly content.

 

[seedofvengeance]

Are you striving for everyone to hate you? Seriously, it seems like a conscious effort you're delivering, and if it is... I applaud your efficiency, sir.

 

[waif]

Translation: I disagree with you but I am not man enough to say this so I rely on insults.

All right, that's it. Troll feeding time.

Depends upon the price. If I am getting charged $10, then I want at least 10 FULL songs. If I am getting charged $20, then I want at least 19 songs.

What I DO NOT WANT is to get charged $10-$20 for a CD of a whopping four or five songs just because the band felt lazy enough to screw over their fans.

Opeth - Morningrise - 66 minutes, 5 tracks
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Altered States of America - 20 minutes, 99 tracks

66 minutes is well over the average length of a metal album. 20 minutes is well under. Each of those 5 songs is the equivalent of 3 or more normal songs. Many of those 99 songs are under 10 seconds.
Also: why are you paying $20 for a cd? That's nuts. Ever heard of buying used?
Another point of illogic: so songs are all worth a dollar? Is a really good song worth more, maybe? What about crappy songs?

Note how I said I wanted FULL songs there, pal? I do not consider a song to be full unless it goes into at least three minutes (anything over 10 minutes is generally sleep music or a complete waste of time).

There we go, writing off anything over 10 minutes like you have a fucking clue what you're talking about. Talk to me after falling asleep to Unas, Slayer of the Gods by Nile or Entwined by Vengeance by Vital Remains

If I am going to spend money in order to fuel the band's coke and prostitute habit then I expect my money's worth. Otherwise I am content to just buy single songs from sites like Itunes, combine them with good songs from other bands, and make my own custom CDs and the band can just take it artistic vision and general laziness and go fuck itself.

How many metal bands have a coke and prostitute habit? This isn't 80's hair metal we're talking about here, by the way. If you didn't want to buy Motley Crue albums I'd understand. But you are not funding anyone's coke habit. You're helping them feed their children. That said, few bands are in this for money. The record companies take the lions share of profits.
Also, nobody is telling you to buy shitty albums. But arbitrarily determining that an album cannot be good unless it contains 10-12 3 minute plus songs is fucking stupid.