some established acts that = mediocrity in 2008

[Felixrox]

Wow,I figured this thread would be a storm of opinion! Alot of stuff here I agree with AND disagree with, but the 2 that totally confuse me are the negatives on Testament & Death Angel.
Man, both of those albums absolutely kill. There aint a bad song on Formation of Damnation & IMO the Killing Season is even better than The Art of Dying, which took quite a beating years ago.
Anyhow, Metallica is quite decent, JP's new one is a damn good album, no matter how long it is. (yup i said it, i love Nostradamus).
Opeth have released their most progressive & mellowest (excepting Damnation) they've ever done. Not really what i was looking for, but just like JP, if you listen to it with open ears & an open mind & take it for what it is, solid albumds.
I'm not sure i can bring myself to even listen to new AC/DC.......

 

[Wyvern]

IMO the Killing Season is even better than The Art of Dying, which took quite a beating years ago.

Yeah I never understod why TAOD took such a rap when it's IMO one of the best comebacks in history, but I like it much more that KS. Not that this last album is bad, because it's not but I definitively like more TAOD.

 

[wdiv]

Can't speak to the Evergrey, but I think the Opeth and the Iced Earth are two of the year's best.

The Opeth album has some good moments, but overall feels unfocused, trying too hard to be "proggy" & doesn't really nail the harsh / mellow dynamic that;s defined their sound historically. (Note - I really like the Damnation album, so I'm not merely flaming them for having some songs w/out the growl).
I've already vented on the IE album on other threads, so won't go thru that again. I'm not saying that they're bad albums, but I found them disappointing since they didn't meet my expectations.