Unique Sounding Albums

[UpperDecker]

This thread will probably fail miserably but oh well. What albums have a very unique sound to them? One's ive picked out are Between The Buried And Me - Alaska and Devin Townsend Band - Synchestra.

[Poofy 666]

Corrupted - Llenandose de Gusanos

scariest...music...ever...

[^Dream~Theater^]

Atheist - Elements

[Cocaine]

Ulver - Blood Inside

Seriously. Listen to it.

[Txus]

Ayreon - The Human Equation

[Aakon_Keetreh]

Nortt - any of his cds

[Futuro]

Gordian Knot- Gordian Knot

[Flynn]

Cynic ~ Focus.

[^Dream~Theater^]

Gordian Knot- Gordian Knot
the Knot is so unique, I havent ever found anything close to them.

[I'm Charming]

Arcturus- Sideshow Symphonies

I can't think of anything out there that sounds like that.

[Futuro]

the Knot is so unique, I havent ever found anything close to them.
Yeah there music is great. I only have Gordiank Knot (Cd) I have some of Emergent downloaded, But as soon as I see it in a store I will buy it.

[repcak]

Ulver - Kveldssanger (an amazing album!)
Burzum - Det Som En Gang Var (even i like this, although i don't like Black Metal... but this album is just amazing!)

[Knifeboy]

Det Som En Gang Var, is an absolutely amazing album

Dredg - El Cielo
Dredg - Leitmotif
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
Porcupine Tree - Signify
The Mars Volta - De-loused in the comatorium

[Sleepy]

Agalloch - The Mantle and Pale Folklore. Both are amazing, and implement the best use of upright acoustic bass and accordian I have ever heard. Oh yeah, and a clave; gotta love the clave.

Kalmah - The Black Waltz Not terribly unique compared to everything else, but it made me pull an inverse of an old TV cliche - "I can't believe it's Kalmah!"

Warblade - A Crisis in the Gray Space A kind of weird black/melo-death offshoot that never ceases to surprise me. I have a review on Sputnik, so you may want to search it.

Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory There is no way you cannot love Dream Theater. And, there is no way you cannot love this album. It is stellar.

Elvenking - The Winter Wake You cannot deny that Elvenking's prevalent and superb violin work is not unique. Also, this is the only Power/Folk band that I've heard that stays true to its genre while not being overtly corny even once.

3 Inches of Blood - Advance and Vanquish Hahaha, Power-core. I'd never thought I'd hear it, but needless to say, a very, very fun band. Lots of Heavy Metal influence there as well.

The Arcade Fire - Not metal, but is it so bad to expand your boundaries? These guys are an odd, experimental rock band from Canada. If you just want a taste, I'd recommend scanning YouTube for a video of them playing Neighborhood #2 (Laika) live. I love this band, and I am the kind of person who rarely ventures out from the great, cold embrace of metal.

[Drunken Viking]

Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2:Scenes from a Memory
Avenged Sevenfold -City Of Evil

[Neoteric]

Atheist - Elements
Seconded.

[paranoid923]

Aghora - S/T The combination of Jazz, Indian, Metal, and a bit of Classical put together with the beautiful vocals is just awesome.

Unexpect - We Invaders ... Just listen to the album. It really can't be described.

[robo2448]

The Band. They were just amazing and I can honestly say that I have never heard anything that sounds exactly like it. A completely unique mixture of country, folk, rock, blues, soul... they just mixed all types of music together and came up with a truly original and instantly recognizable sound. I know I'm doing a terrible job of describing their sound, but you really have to hear their music to understand what I'm rambling about. It also helped that all 5 members played multiple instruments.

[niobium]

There is no way you cannot love Dream Theater.
This is not true.

cLOUDDEAD - cLOUDDEAD
Any Mr. Bungle
Ulver - Perdition City

[Apocalyptic Raids]

Megadeth - Rust In Peace

[niobium]

The Residents - The Commercial Album

[Sleeper]

Anything by Sigur Ros.

[NymphetamineX]

Opeth - Damnation

[SugarCoatedSour]

Allan Holdsworth-Metal Fatigue
Return To Forever - All of their major albums
Al DiMeola - Elegant Gypsy, Land Of the Midnight Sun
Mahavishnu Orchestra - All the major stuff
Cynic - Focus (as previously mentioned, but cannot be understated)
Mr. Bungle - Mr. Bungle, Disco Volante
Cypress Hill - First album
Bjork - Debut
Cryptopsy - None So Vile
King Crimson - Court of the Crimson King
The list goes on...

[YDload]

Well, do you mean albums that were unique for their time, or ones that still have no imitators? Because I'd imagine something like Black Sabbath's S/T was revolutionary in the late 60s, but now their sound has been co-opted by so many different bands.

Anyway, Mr. Bungle's albums certainly fit the bill. All three are distinct from each other, as well as anything else.

[comptonassrobert]

Incubus-S.C.I.E.N.C.E

That album is just so goddamned funky yet still heavy at times. I love it.

[Poofy 666]

Unexpect - We Invaders ... Just listen to the album. It really can't be described.
I love that band :)

[Ghoul Hunter]

Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
Any Opeth

[uberphreak]

Opeth - Damnation

Hells yeah, I love that album to death.

Also,

Ephel Duath - The Painter's Pallete

This band has an amazingly unique sound... they describe their own genre on their official website as "Progressive symphonic jazz-metal," and I totally agree with that classification... can't fathom it? Classic jazz elements with death metal elements... each song on the album is written to represent a certain color, hence the album name. It's a really unique and well qritten album and it may be an acquired taste for some, but it's pretty awesome.

[jcs497]

Carnival In Coal


just look up "avant garde"....originality is in the definition.

[naboo]

Emperor - Prometheus
Enslaved - Pretty much any of their later stuff

[sonicst0rm]

the vintersorg stuff is pretty unique. love the clean vocals mixed with the electronicy/symphonic-black metal style

[GenuineImitation]

Jimmi Hendrix's "Are you Experienced?" was pretty unique for its time.

A more modern sounding album thats unique is Spiral Architect's "A Sceptic's Universe". Its very technical metal with elements of Jazz thown in the mix.

[Sleeper]

Incubus-S.C.I.E.N.C.E

That album is just so goddamned funky yet still heavy at times. I love it.
It's really amazing, it has Funk, Rock, and some Jazz elements too.

[PIGS(1 different one)]

Anything by Boards of Canada sounds pretty unique to me.

[Reywas]

Orphaned Land - Mabool
Shpongle - Nothing Lasts But Nothing Is Lost
Massive Attack - Mezzanine

[Chu]

Incubus-S.C.I.E.N.C.E

That album is just so goddamned funky yet still heavy at times. I love it.
I love S.C.I.E.N.C.E, I'm not fully in the know with Incubus though, I think Make Yourself sort of follows the trend of Heavy/Funk, but it also broadens to more soft songs (Which are equally as good sometimes), if there are any other albums (By any bands, although I would prefer Incubus), that have even the slightest mix of Heavy and Funk, I would be very interested :D

[Alessandro]

Frances The Mute by The Mars Volta, ranging from jazz and salsa, to funk and hard rock, simply amazing!

[penelope weird hands]

Any Primus.
Early Mr. Bungle.
Bjork - Medulla
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral, The Fragile
Opeth - Still Life
Radiohead - OK Computer
The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
All of The Frogs.
The Mercury Program - A Data Learned Language
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band
All Aphex Twin.
All Squarepusher.

I make my selection not because they are really that groundbreaking musically(apart from a few), but because they had something unique in their music for me to keep coming back and listening to these albums over, and over, and over again.

[Shadius]

I'm thinking anything by the Mars Volta, or Opeth. Ænima and Lateralus by Tool, also, and OK Computer by Radiohead.

[deadinholywood]

Aphex Twin, there is nothing out there that sounds close to him
Juno Reactor- World music + trance + classical guitar, amazing stuff

I would have to agree with many of the other suggestions, however, (i know i will get flamed to high hell for this comment... but..) Opeth as good as they are and as much as i like and respect them i dont really think that they're that unique.

[Incense and Peppermints]

Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual
Meh, thats all I can think of for now.

[Phototropic]

Isis - Panopticon
Devendra Banhart - Debut
QOTSA - Self-titled

[Werny]

You all ought to be skullraped for not mentioning Obscura by Gorguts. It's like a jazz quartet playing death metal, and it has the bonus of having the most bizarre, alien atmosphere you can think of. Sweet Silence and Nostalgia sound like nothing else out there.

[sean2332]

Between The Buried And Me - Alaska
Enslaved - Isa
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Strapping Young Lad - Alien

[Iron Bars]

Isis - Panopticon

I was thinking of Oceanic. For me that sounds more uniq because of the flowing style and the organic feel of it.

[Prince of Darkness]

Patton's Solo albums...fk'd up stuff...
Mr bungle
Fantomas
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
Dream Theater - SFAM
Tool - Lateralus

[i am the robots]

How about Overcast - Apocolypse Upon Us

In 1997 that was original, too bad the bands the members started (Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Transient, and Seemless) ended up playing kinda similarly, with the exception of Seemless, and then getting ripped off.

[filter]

Lurker of Chalice by Lurker of Chalice

[Nepenthe]

Haggard - Awakening The Centuries

[Txus]

Haggard - Awakening The Centuries
Quoted for total tr00th, the song In A FullMoon Procession is so beautiful. :)

[metalswimmer]

meshuggha-chaosphere

[pigonthewing82]

Frank Zappa - We're only in it for the Money hes just a unique guy

I think a lot of elements in Jimi Hendrix's album Axis: Bold as Love are unique, even to Hendrix's style of playing. That album and especially the tital track are just mind blowing.