...

The goal isn't really to review all of the albums. Instead, I give a baseline for what I think of the album on a relative scale. If people care to comment I will gladly discuss any album with them.

Yeah. This is not a review thread. :) ;)

wright brothers 4ever bro

Ever been on a plane? Amazing stuff. Represent NC.

Trollheart: Its alright, I'll try one of their albums but overall not exactly blown away.

Meh, it's symphonic metal. You've heard one band, you've kind of heard them all really. (shrug)

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Artist: Filter

Country of Origin: United States

Album Title: Short Bus

Genre: Alternative Rock (Industrial)

Year of Release: 1995

Track Listing:

Hey Man Nice Shot: 7/10
Dose: 6/10
Under: 7/10
Spent: 6/10
Take Another: 7/10
Stuck In Here: 7/10
It's Over: 6/10
Gerbil: 6/10
White Like That: 6/10
Consider This: 6/10
So Cool: 6/10


Final Score: 6.4/10

Pros:
Decent song structure, Decent moments throughout

Cons:
Pretty meh on a lot of levels.

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/1iQvERlM75GnoUABxlk6nA

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Artist: Fleetwood Mac

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Album Title: Rumors

Genre: Rock (Soft Rock)

Year of Release: 1977

Track Listing:

Second Hand News: 8/10
Dreams: 8/10
Never Going Back Again: 7/10
Don't Stop: 9/10
Go Your Own Way: 9/10
Songbird: 8/10
The Chain: 9/10
You Make Loving Fun: 9/10
I Don't Want To Know: 8/10
Oh Daddy: 8/10
Gold Dust Woman: 9/10
Silver Springs (Reissue Track): 8/10

Final Score: 8.4/10

Pros:
Classic energy, catchy songwriting,

Cons:
Vocals can be hit or miss

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/3nuRoTy7gi52Z4C0negdw1

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Artist: Flying Colors

Country of Origin: United States

Album Title: Second Nature

Genre: Progressive Rock

Year of Release: 2014

Track Listing:

Open Up Your Eyes: 7/10
Mask Machine: 8/10
Bombs Away: 7/10
The Fury of My Love: 7/10
A Place In Your Love: 7/10
Lost Without You: 7/10
One Love Forever: 8/10
Peaceful Harbor: 7/10
Cosmic Symphony: 6/10


Final Score: 7.1/10

Pros:
Accessible songwriting, interesting arrangements

Cons:
Not a lot of real progressiveness.

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/36MGBPCkP85WUf708MSNxW

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(Note: This is the reissue art. Original art is NSFW)

Artist: Gates of Ishtar

Country of Origin: Sweden

Album Title: The Dawn of Flames

Genre: Death Metal (Melodic)

Year of Release: 1997

Track Listing:

Perpetual Dawn (The Arrival of Eternity - End My Pain): 8/10
Trail of Tears: 9/10
Forever Scarred: 8/10
Dreamfields: 8/10
Dawn of Flames: 9/10
Eternal Sin: 8/10
No Time: 8/10
The Embrace of Winter: 9/10

Final Score: 8.4/10

Pros:
Great songwriting, some sick melodies

Cons:
Mixing feels a little off

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/6MY6x2t67cM49FQl21hAMK

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Artist: Ghost

Country of Origin: Sweden

Album Title: Opus Eponymous

Genre: Hard Rock

Year of Release: 2010

Track Listing:

Deus Culpa: 8/10
Con Clavi Con Dio: 10/10
Ritual: 9/10
Elizabeth: 9/10
Stand by Him: 9/10
Satan Prayer: 9/10
Death Knell: 9/10
Prime Mover: 9/10
Genesis: 10/10

Final Score: 9.1/10

Pros:
Tight songwriting, nostalgic sound works well, solid composition

Cons:
Lyrics can be off putting

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/1iHku1Vt79EP65KBqcepzI

That **** sounds like dad metal.

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Artist: Ghost

Country of Origin: Sweden

Album Title: Infestissumum

Genre: Hard Rock

Year of Release: 2013

Track Listing:

Infestissumam: 8/10
Per Aspera Ad Inferi: 9/10
Secular Haze: 8/10
Jigolo Har Megiddo: 9/10
Ghuleh/Zombie Queen: 9/10
Year Zero: 9/10
Body and Blood: 7/10
Idolatrine: 8/10
Depth of Satan's Eyes: 6/10
Monstrance Clock: 8/10

Final Score: 8.1/10

Pros:
Solid songwriting, some interesting structures

Cons:
Lyrics are pretty bad on some tracks

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/32CbQps06lUasiux6N8tP3

It's not metal so.....

But if office worker dads started a metal band that's what it would be.

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Artist: Ghost

Country of Origin: Sweden

Album Title: Meliora

Genre: Hard Rock

Year of Release: 2015

Track Listing:

Spirit: 9/10
From the Pinnacle to the Pit: 9/10
Cirice: 9/10
Spoksonat/He Is: 8/10
Mummy Dust: 9/10
Majesty: 8/10
Devil Church/Absolution: 8/10
Deus in Absentia: 9/10

Final Score: 8.6/10

Pros:
Excellent songwriting, some excellent melodies, some great vocal delivery

Cons:
Lyrics are still the low point on these tracks.

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/74QTwjBLo1eLqpjL320rXX

So not a metal band?

You reminded me that I had Gates of Ishtar on my hard drive and I hadn't listening to them. They sound pretty sweet.

And speaking of melodic death metal, I love **** like Heartwork and Slaughter of the Soul, but before they started sucking In Flames were some of the most fun **** ever.

But you have to wonder if they even know they aren't?

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Artist: Gloryhammer

Country of Origin: Scotland

Album Title: Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards

Genre: Power Metal

Year of Release: 2015

Track Listing:

Rise of the Chaos Wizards: 8/10
Legend of the Astral Hammer: 7/10
Goblin King of The Darkstorm Galaxy: 7/10
The Hollywood Hootsman: 7/10
Victorious Eagle Warfare: 7/10
Questlords of Inverness Ride...: 8/10
Universe On Fire: 8/10
Heroes (Of Dundee): 6/10
Apocalypse 1992: 9/10

Final Score: 7.4/10

Pros:
Instrumentally proficient, ridiculous concept,

Cons:
Cringy lyrics, some overused ideas

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/3fpspMTkc6HAF9flYAiFJZ

Very true. The fanbase of this band is pretty bad. Also Tobias Forge, from what I've seen of the legal battle going on, is a ****. But the music to me is really enjoyable. They are not a metal band, but Tobias is ignorant to that fact.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/pr...h630-p-k-no-nu

Artist: Gorguts

Country of Origin: Canada

Album Title: Colored Sands

Genre: Death Metal (Technical)

Year of Release: 2013

Track Listing:

Le Toit Du Monde: 8/10
An Ocean of Wisdom: 8/10
Forgotten Arrows: 7/10
Colored Sands: 8/10
The Battle of Chambo: 6/10
Enemies of Compassion: 8/10
Ember's Voice: 8/10
Absconders: 8/10
Reduced to Silence: 7/10

Final Score: 7.6/10

Pros:
Interesting composition, good writing

Cons:
Feels "watered down"

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/1qhgbP27HYf4iCiLbquXys

Whenever I hear them I just wanna listen to this...

Firstly, I missed your first post about Melodic Death. My opinion on In flames is generally in line with everyone else. They suck after Clayman. But Colony and Whoracle are not amazing. I love The Jester's Race though. But that song is pretty sick.

Now onto the second one. Yes I get the reasons why people don't like the music. The Mercyful Fate and Blue Oyster Cult parallels are countless. But I enjoy them all (Ghost included).

Clayman was the first In Flames album I ever heard and it's still a big fav of mine. Definitely my fav In Flames album. I generally refer to it as heavy metal power pop.

What can I say I'd been listening to Mercyful fate for a decade by that point, so when I saw a training wheels version I just wanted to take a nap.

And I totally see where you are coming from.

so accurate.

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Artist: Hail Spirit Noir

Country of Origin: Greece

Album Title: Pneuma

Genre: Black Metal (Psychedelic/Progressive)

Year of Release: 2012

Track Listing:

Mountain of Horror: 10/10
Let Your Devil Come Inside: 8/10
Against the Curse, We Dream: 10/10
When All is Black: 9/10
Into the Gates of Time: 10/10
Haire Pneuma Skoteino: 9/10


Final Score: 9.2/10

Pros:
Killer instrumentation, Wicked and overall haunting feeling, Awesome lyrics and vocal delivery

Cons:
Some tracks do not resonate as much as others.

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/1P7WSBHVdc2s1aAaXgEdJB

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Artist: Havok

Country of Origin: United States

Album Title: Conformacide

Genre: Thrash Metal

Year of Release: 2017

Track Listing:

F.P.C.: 7/10
Hang 'Em High: 8/10
Dogmaniacle: 7/10
Intention to Decieve: 7/10
Ingsoc: 8/10
Masterplan: 7/10
Peace Is In Pieces: 6/10
Claiming Certainty: 7/10
Wake Up: 7/10
Circling the Drain: 7/10

Final Score: 7.1/10

Pros:
Some nice bass work, Some solid riffs, Dig the aggression

Cons:
It's really nothing new, the lyrics are god awful.

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/6GI3M1qTLgDNNcZCTzgWEQ

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Artist: Head Machine

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Album Title: Orgasm

Genre: Hard Rock (Psychedelic)

Year of Release: 1969

Track Listing:

Climax/You Tried to Take It All: 9/10
Make the Feeling Last: 7/10
You Must Come With Me: 9/10
The Girl Who Loved, the Girl Who Loved: 7/10
Orgasm: 9/10
The First Time: 7/10
Scattering Seeds: 9/10

Final Score: 8.1/10

Pros:
Classic sound, Dig the songwriting, vocals are good.

Cons:
Has a little bit of filler

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/5DO9yk7Ck5QTD07DKGCuu0

**** yes on Hail Spirit Noir. All three of their albums have been getting quite a bit of play in the last few months.

I have yet to dive into their most recent. The first two however are fantastic. Love the sound those guys put out.

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Artist: Helloween

Country of Origin: Germany

Album Title: Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1

Genre: Power Metal

Year of Release: 1987

Track Listing:

Initiation/I'm Alive: 8/10
A Little Time: 8/10
Twilight of the Gods: 9/10
A Tale That Wasn't Right: 8/10
Future World: 9/10
Halloween: 9/10
Follow the Sign: 8/10

Final Score: 8.4/10

Pros:
Some great melody, Solid production, theme is on point

Cons:
Some vocal passages come off pretty weak

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/2UHFdmz05GmEY0J0ZbuMBp

https://i0.wp.com/www.jakartabeat.ne...lbum_cover.jpg

Artist: High on Fire

Country of Origin: United States

Album Title: Snakes for the Divine

Genre: Sludge Metal (Stoner)

Year of Release: 2010

Track Listing:

Snakes for the Divine: 10/10
Frost Hammer: 9/10
Bastard Samurai: 10/10
Ghost Neck: 8/10
The Path: 9/10
Fire Flood and Plague: 8/10
How Dark We Pray: 10/10
Holy Flames of the Firespitter: 9/10

Final Score: 9.1/10

Pros:
Fantastic guitar work, killer vocal delivery

Cons:
the middle of the record lags behind ever so slightly in energy compared to the bookends

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/3qt1Ykf0kMEyBw4i9R8JFO

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Artist: Hollywood Undead

Country of Origin: United States

Album Title: Notes From the Underground

Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop (rap rock/horror core)

Year of Release: 2013

Track Listing:

Dead Bite: 3/10
From the Ground: 3/10
Another Way Out: 3/10
Lion: 3/10
We Are: 4/10
Pigskin: 1/10
Rain: 4/10
Kill Everyone: 3/10
Believe: 3/10
Up in Smoke: 3/10
Outside: 4/10
Medicine: 4/10
One More Bottle: 4/10
Delish: 3/10

Final Score: 3.2/10

Pros:
Some songs are kind of humorous (I guess), Some melodies are passable, I've heard worse

Cons:
Immature, boring, production is pretty bad (super compressed)

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/15lJDiNH3kFh7uY3E9TEqM

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Artist: In Flames

Country of Origin: Sweden

Album Title: The Jester Race

Genre: Death Metal (Melodic)

Year of Release: 1995

Track Listing:

Moonshield: 9/10
The Jester's Dance: 8/10
Artifacts of the Black Rain: 8/10
Graveland: 8/10
Lord Hypnos: 9/10
Dead Eternity: 8/10
The Jester Race: 8/10
December Flower: 8/10
Wayfaerer: 7/10
Dead God in Me: 8/10
Goliaths Disarm Their Davids (Bonus Track): 8/10
Gyroscope (Bonus Track): 7/10

Final Score: 8.1/10

Pros:
Killer Instrumentation, Grandiose style that does not feel over the top, Awesome lyrics and vocal delivery

Cons:
Production is kind of weak, instrumentals can be a damper on the album

Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/4xLwdPJXwzy4yDUR3DtYio

If you wanna listen to better horrorcore (didn't even know Hollywood Undead qualified) then check out old Esham. Horrorcore has a pretty shallow pool of worthwhile artists, and it took me a bit to be able to get into Esham, but he's pretty ****ing nice. He kinda maybe invented the genre to boot.

I'll put it on the list. Thanks for the rec. Horrorcore is far from my type of music, but this is not bad so I'll still give it a shot.