What albums mark a sad moment in metal?

[alex76]

As in a total turning point for a popular band, such that things will never be the same, or the last album before the passing of a metal icon, or a last chance album to save a dissolving band, etc. What I don't mean is an album so bad its just sad that such a great band (fill in the blank) made it.

I'll start off with Live Evil from Black Sabbath. The end of an era with Dio, and really the end of Black Sabbath as we know it. Ian would come in and do a good job on Born Again, but there was really no going back for Black Sabbath. At the end, when "Fluff" comes on (melancholy in its own right), you really feel like the greatest chapter ever in modern music was being closed and gods themselves were being laid to rest.

 

[PrincessHades]

I would say that Black Sabbath's The End E.P marks a very sad point in metal. The way they are teasing fans with it as a ploy to make more money...

 

[EspaDa]

Bad Magic from Motorhead.

 

[Krow]

Bad Magic from Motorhead.

This. Makes it even better that it's a great album.

 

[CiG]

 

[J.]

Bathory's Nordland saga

 

[Satanstoenail]

The Black Album was the saddest moment I experienced. I sat at my television with my VHS video that I taped metal onto paused at the ready for the exclusive new Metallica video from their new album. It finally came on and I started recording Enter Sandman. By the end of the song I had died a little inside. Nothing would ever be the same.

 

[CiG]

Oh I read that wrong, I thought you meant "sad" in a different way.

 

[alex76]

What about Death - Live in L.A.? An album released simply to give Chuck enough revenue to help against his fight with cancer, a fight he eventually lost.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

The death of Terry Jones before the release of "Never Quite Dead"

 

[Omni]

The death of Terry Jones before the release of "Never Quite Dead"

Indeed. I remember reading that they finished the album, so I hope that it sees the light of day at some point. I think it would be a good way to close out Terry's legacy.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

Mines was a three punch combo with Load and Roots in '96, and Diablous in Musica in '98. Sad times.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

You were like 12 in 1996.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

13-14. So? Not that age has anything to do with what we're talking about here, but is that too young to be sad?

 

[Master_Yoda77]

Ah, so your b-day is early in the year? 12 is just a young age to actually get into metal and care about shit like that.

And yes, nobody should be sad at the age of 13.

 

[DarkGuitarLord]

Prepare yourselves...

The release of Metallica Load. Then to top that the release of St. Anger.

Truly two of the saddest moments in metal history.

 

[TechnicalBarbarity]

yea just turned 32 a few days ago. And 12 is not a young age to start getting into music, that started for me around 10. Anyway, even if i was 2 when those albums came out, still doesn't change the fact that they definitely marked a very sad time in metaldom.

I was confused as fuck when i listened to Roots for the first time and was legitimately saddened when i first heard Load ... and to this day i remember how exited me and my friend were on our walk back from the record store to get to his house and listen to it. Slayer in '98 was even more of a letdown.

 

[EspaDa]

Risk is actually much worse than Load & Reload.

 

[The Butt]

Honestly I hated Load up until very recently. Literally a few days ago it clicked, when I realized that if it were a Black Sabbath album (riff-wise it basically is) it'd be an amazing piece.

 

[requiem]

Cool thread.

For me it was Paradise Lost with 'One Second' in 1997. I was 17 years old at the time and I was obsessed by their previous album 'Draconian Times' which, if you haven't heard it, is practically the perfect gothic metal album from 1995. It had melody and structure, but the guitars were dark and pretty heavy, the drums were amazingly produced and it was close to perfect.

Then 'One Second' came out with its electronic elements, keyboard led melodies and a flat sort of computer drums sound (even if it actually wasn't) and even a 'modern' urban based cover booklet. Although it had ok moments I was really disappointed, and it famously signalled a 7 or 8 year experimental stage. Mercifully, they went metal again and now I can even put the rock/electronic albums on and tap my foot to them, safe in the knowledge that they regain their mojo and all ends well.

But MORE IMPORTANTLY THAN THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO GOTHIC/DARK METAL: (this paragraph is taken from a post I made in the Amorphis forum) -

All the bands copied Paradise Lost in the early 90s when they 'invented' gothic metal with the 'Gothic' album in 1991, and it all comes back to Paradise Lost again when they released 'One Second' in 1997. At that point virtually no bands on the Century Media, Spinefarm and Peaceville rosters were playing this 'mature' adult rock that stripped back the heaviness and theatrics and instead dealt with a more conservative, restrained sound and song structures, with electronic elements.

'One Second' comes out, then look what happened: Moonspell release 'Sin/Pecado' with its electronics and steady rock approach after the amazing gothic 'Irreligious', Theatre of Tragedy put out 'Musique' with its industrial beeps and squeaks, Amorphis release 'Tuonela' after 'Elegy' with all clear vocals and a restrained rock approach, My Dying Bride release the experimental '34.788%.... Complete', Tiamat release 'Skeleton Skeletron', Evereve become 'cyber' rock with clean vocals. It was like my little kingdom of atmospheric metal was falling to short haircuts and electronics.

Over and over again the major bands in the gothic/doom/dark end of metal strip things back and 'grow up' in the late 1990s after 'One Second'. And with the exception of Theatre of Tragedy, every single one of those bands are now back playing epic dark metal anthems!