The little things that ruin albums

[challenge_everything]

It might be the vocals, the production, the drumming, the keyboards, whatever. What albums do you find frustrating because they are otherwise good except for being ruined by one factor?

For me:

Borknagar: Quintessence (the songwriting is great, the production is god awful)

In Flames: Reroute to Remain (not a great album but it would be OK if not the dodgy vocal effects and flat sounding riffs)

Necrophagist: The Onset of Putrefaction (cookiemoster vocals)

Cynic: Focus (It was the early 90s, maybe we should forgive them for getting overexcited about vocal manipulation)

At the Gates: Slaughter of the Soul (snare snare snare OK we're bored now)

Ephel Duath: The Painter's Palette (beautifully constructed heavy yet smooth jazz and they've got the most grating tuneless screamer doing vocals for fuck's sake!)

Solefald: Red for Fire/Black for Death (when you've got a bloke who can sing like Lars Nedland, what is the obsession with the cartoonish harsh vocals?)

Opeth: Ghost Reveries (the new keyboardist sucks end of story)

 

[DigToChina]

Arghoslent - Galloping Through the Battle Ruins = killed by production

Deathchain - Cult of the Dead... I don't know where to start with this one, I guess the biggest flaw would have to be vocals but the whole thing was butchered from start to finish. I blame the new vocalist :[

Hatesphere - Serpent Smiles and Killer Eyes has the WORST lyrics ever.

 

[The Ozzman]

Vital Remains - blast beat after blast beat after blast beat

Fucking annoying.

EDIT: Reroute to Remain is a great record.

 

[TehLeperAffinity]

Bathory - Drums and production

 

[byrne]

most of those albums would suck anyway, without the "little things" that seem to be annoying each of you ...

 

[zabu of nΩd]

All Ministry albums: the fucking retarded audio clips littering almost every song. God, I hate that shit.

 

[Solipsist]

Wicked Innocence- Omnipotence (a great album, but the grunts that constitute maybe around 90% of the vocals get quite annoying, although there is nothing wrong with the screeches and ominous clean vocals)

Windham Hell- South Facing Epitaph (speaking of audio clips, I can't stand the audio smaples used throughout this album, though I must say I really like the music presented here for sure)

 

[Chairman Kaga]

keyboards weren't loud enough for me in Wintersun.

 

[CAIRATH]

All Ministry albums: the fucking retarded audio clips littering almost every song. God, I hate that shit.

That's pretty much a trademark of industrial music. I'll agree that the most recent three albums where Al childishly manipulates G.W. Bush samples is kind of lame though. I wish he would give that whole topic a rest (though the most recent Ministry album is yet again claimed to be their last so I guess in a way he is giving it a rest).

 

[challenge_everything]

keyboards weren't loud enough for me in Wintersun.

That's part of the reason it's such a GREAT album. They enhance the atmosphere without dominating it.

 

[Perdition's Light]

That's pretty much a trademark of industrial music.

That's what I was going to say as well.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

That's pretty much a trademark of industrial music. I'll agree that the most recent three albums where Al childishly manipulates G.W. Bush samples is kind of lame though. I wish he would give that whole topic a rest (though the most recent Ministry album is yet again claimed to be their last so I guess in a way he is giving it a rest).

Hm... well, I actually enjoyed Revolting Cocks' Big Sexy Land, so I guess it just depends upon the kind of sampling. The George W. samples were definitely a turnoff, though - I can't stand politics in music.

 

[cookiecutter]

Immolation - Harnessing Ruin. The vocalist always does an exagerated "uh" at the end of every line and it pissed me off once I noticed it.

 

[Blue_Jay]

The hate toward God lyrics ruins the Deicide albums

The satanic lyrics ruins the DSO albums

Messy instrumentations, horrible sounding instrumentation, and horrible vocals practically ruins every Meshuggah album ever made

The too slow; boring instrumentation ruins the Void of Silence - Criteria 666 album.

Cadaveryne's first album is ruined cause idk, too technical and the instrumentation is so weak?

The two Burzum ambient albums are ruined due to bad production

Every King Diamond album is ruined due to boring and easy instrumentation, boring vocals, and dumb lyrics.

Wyrd - The Ghost Album and Wyrd - Kammen is ruined due to generic guitar tones

Every Suffocation album is ruined due to a same boring guitar tone that ponders on throughout the entire album.

I can't come up with much else, I'll repost here later when I remember more.

 

[cookiecutter]

I love the Suffocation guitar tone on Effigy and Pierced. The lack of it kind of ruined the two most recent full lengths for me.

 

[Blue_Jay]

I love the Suffocation guitar tone on Effigy and Pierced. The lack of it kind of ruined the two most recent full lengths for me.

Weird, I actually liked their last two albums more than the older ones, but I still can't get into Suffocation.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Hm, I hate threads like this because I know there are a ton and I can never remember them when I want to...FUCK!

I am just gonna put out there that badly placed/long/retarded samples ruin entire albums even if it is just like one song that has them...

 

[thisisaformicatable]

Immolation - Harnessing Ruin. The vocalist always does an exagerated "uh" at the end of every line and it pissed me off once I noticed it.

You must hate Martin Walkyier.

 

[Rabid Headbanger]

3 inches of blood is ruined by that shitty screamer.

 

[Chairman Kaga]

That's part of the reason it's such a GREAT album. They enhance the atmosphere without dominating it.

Yeah, it's still an amazing album for sure.