Rahan's latest series of polls showed that we here at the almighty Opeth forum feel that the best three albums are MAYH, SL and BP. These are, respectively, Opeth's 3rd, 4th and 5th albums.
So I got to thinking (I know, bad idea...) and I figure a lot of bands need a few albums to a) mature musically, b) establish band members and c) find their "sound". For Opeth, this would be Orchid and Morningrise.
Now, don't get me wrong, these are both great albums. But they are missing something. The word that comes to mind for me is cohesion? Whatever it is, these albums sound less confident then the big three. Plus, they were young and constantly changing members, so it was hard for them to find their sound.
So, anyway, this post is about looking at other bands' 3-4-5 albums (not counting EP's or live albums) and making comments on them. I'm not saying these are the best albums from each band (but in several cases, like Opeth's, they are) I'm just looking to make general comparisons.
By the way, before I get to my list, I was originally going to do this as a poll, but then I realized that I would be forcing you to pick from bands that I like. This way, hopefully, I can learn about bands I've never heard of before.
So, without further ado: the list.
MY FAVORITES:
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast / Piece of Mind / Powerslave
-- Fucking great. After Beast, they finally got the perfect line-up (thank GOD Bruce and Adrian came back). I know a lot of people like Killers or the debut album better, but these three are fantastic in their own right. Beast is one of the top 5 metal albums of all-time, Mind has some duds, but overall is strong. And Powerslave especially shows the maturity in songwriting.
Slayer - Reign in Blood / South of Heaven / Seasons in the Abyss
-- Amazing. Speed metal at its finest. Reign is also one of the top 5 metal albums of all time, and maybe the greatest in the speed metal genre. Again, I love Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits, but they are not as tight as these three. Heaven and Seasons are two of my favorites, and show Slayer maturing in their songwriting and playing.
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality / Volume 4 / Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
-- Classic. Again, most of their overplayed songs are on Black Sabbath and Paranoid, but these three albums boast a lot of classics too. After Sabotage, though, Black Sabbath should have been in a plane crash because they've given us nothing worthwhile since (sorry to disappoint all those Ronnie James Dio fans out there...)
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains / Arise / Chaos AD
-- Less popular, but one of my favorites. I love Remains and Arise. Chaos AD is a bit weird becuase they were getting into tribal music, but still, it is a fantastic record. This band went straight downhill the minute Max left the band.
Metallica - Master of Puppets / And Justice for All / Metallica
-- Oh crap, they made the list. Obviously Puppets and Justice are carrying the weight here. And, compared to the shit they've been shoveling at us since the mid-nineties, the Black Album really isn't that bad. Still, I wonder where they'd be now if Cliff hadn't died in '86.
Megadeth - So Far, So Good... So What! / Rust In Peace / Countdown to Extinction
-- Probably should be on the Honorable Mention list, but I think I spent most of 8th grade listening to Rust In Peace, so it has a place in my heart. Countdown was Megadeth's Black Album and since then, I haven't been listening much.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Anthrax - Spreading the Disease / Among the Living / State of Euphoria
Testament - Practice What You Preach / Souls of Black / The Ritual
Overkill - Under the Influence / The Years of Decay / Horrorscope
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime / Empire / Promised Land (one of my favorite albums)
NON-METAL HONORABLE MENTION
Rush - Caress of Steel / 2112 / A Farewell to Kings
Led Zeppelin - III / IV / Houses of the Holy
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Anyway, that's my list. Comment if you like, but please add your own favorites too. If I think of any others I'll add them.
By the way, if you got the Pythagorean reference (3-4-5), good for you! You posess a high school education and actually paid attention in math class.
So I got to thinking (I know, bad idea...) and I figure a lot of bands need a few albums to a) mature musically, b) establish band members and c) find their "sound". For Opeth, this would be Orchid and Morningrise.
Now, don't get me wrong, these are both great albums. But they are missing something. The word that comes to mind for me is cohesion? Whatever it is, these albums sound less confident then the big three. Plus, they were young and constantly changing members, so it was hard for them to find their sound.
So, anyway, this post is about looking at other bands' 3-4-5 albums (not counting EP's or live albums) and making comments on them. I'm not saying these are the best albums from each band (but in several cases, like Opeth's, they are) I'm just looking to make general comparisons.
By the way, before I get to my list, I was originally going to do this as a poll, but then I realized that I would be forcing you to pick from bands that I like. This way, hopefully, I can learn about bands I've never heard of before.
So, without further ado: the list.
MY FAVORITES:
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast / Piece of Mind / Powerslave
-- Fucking great. After Beast, they finally got the perfect line-up (thank GOD Bruce and Adrian came back). I know a lot of people like Killers or the debut album better, but these three are fantastic in their own right. Beast is one of the top 5 metal albums of all-time, Mind has some duds, but overall is strong. And Powerslave especially shows the maturity in songwriting.
Slayer - Reign in Blood / South of Heaven / Seasons in the Abyss
-- Amazing. Speed metal at its finest. Reign is also one of the top 5 metal albums of all time, and maybe the greatest in the speed metal genre. Again, I love Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits, but they are not as tight as these three. Heaven and Seasons are two of my favorites, and show Slayer maturing in their songwriting and playing.
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality / Volume 4 / Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
-- Classic. Again, most of their overplayed songs are on Black Sabbath and Paranoid, but these three albums boast a lot of classics too. After Sabotage, though, Black Sabbath should have been in a plane crash because they've given us nothing worthwhile since (sorry to disappoint all those Ronnie James Dio fans out there...)
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains / Arise / Chaos AD
-- Less popular, but one of my favorites. I love Remains and Arise. Chaos AD is a bit weird becuase they were getting into tribal music, but still, it is a fantastic record. This band went straight downhill the minute Max left the band.
Metallica - Master of Puppets / And Justice for All / Metallica
-- Oh crap, they made the list. Obviously Puppets and Justice are carrying the weight here. And, compared to the shit they've been shoveling at us since the mid-nineties, the Black Album really isn't that bad. Still, I wonder where they'd be now if Cliff hadn't died in '86.
Megadeth - So Far, So Good... So What! / Rust In Peace / Countdown to Extinction
-- Probably should be on the Honorable Mention list, but I think I spent most of 8th grade listening to Rust In Peace, so it has a place in my heart. Countdown was Megadeth's Black Album and since then, I haven't been listening much.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Anthrax - Spreading the Disease / Among the Living / State of Euphoria
Testament - Practice What You Preach / Souls of Black / The Ritual
Overkill - Under the Influence / The Years of Decay / Horrorscope
Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime / Empire / Promised Land (one of my favorite albums)
NON-METAL HONORABLE MENTION
Rush - Caress of Steel / 2112 / A Farewell to Kings
Led Zeppelin - III / IV / Houses of the Holy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyway, that's my list. Comment if you like, but please add your own favorites too. If I think of any others I'll add them.
By the way, if you got the Pythagorean reference (3-4-5), good for you! You posess a high school education and actually paid attention in math class.
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