|
User
Reviews 18
Approval 80%
Soundoffs 2
News Articles 5
Band Edits + Tags 5
Album Edits 4
Album Ratings 359
Objectivity 76%
Last Active 06-27-08 10:07 pm
Joined 10-21-07
Review Comments 452
| The Best Albums Of 2007
Is it possible for music to be legitimate in 2007? With a tanking music industry, is it really possible? Among the likes of Soulja Boy and Thnks Fr Th Mmrs?
Yes.
This is the Best 25 of 2007, MoonlightBleeding edition. | | 1 |  | Nine Inch Nails
Year Zero
Cold, electronic, and relentlessly brutal, Year Zero is Trent Reznor's answer to The Wall, minus all that strange British chanting choirs and stuff. Reznor paints a picture of a dark, dystopian 2022 where poisoned water infiltrates the water, and an all-powerful government corrupts the world. But not only is the storyline fantastic, tracks like Survivalism, The Great Destroyer, and In This Twilight are unbalanced, eerie, and obsessively paranoid tracks which stand among Reznor's best, making Year Zero a truly refined, almost perfect work of industrial art. | | 2 |  | Radiohead
In Rainbows
There's not much else that can be said about In Rainbows besides the fantastic marketing scheme which effectively brought Radiohead back to the masses. But not only was the marketing scheme a true success and a shot in the foot of the record company, the music was wholefully enjoyable, lush, and very, very dark. It's the most straightfoward rock they've created since OK Computer, but adds a bare, minimalist structure and lush soundscapes. It's a wonderfully made, produced, and 'epic' album that manages to be everything Radiohead promised. | | 3 |  | Between the Buried and Me
Colors
Who exactly does BtBaM aim to be? The next Opeth? Well, they're on the way with the magnificent Colors, a Progressive Death Metal assault on eardrums and standard music as a whole. Surprisingly melodic, and very developed, it's a near-perfect death metal album that perfects on a genre began by Opeth. | | 4 |  | Chevelle
Vena Sera
Chevelle has always had the uncanny ability to rock hard and be surprisingly melodic, while being dangerously close to Tool imitators. But Vena Sera well-develops their alternative metal/melodic metal attack, and makes their least-accessible attempt yet while still sticking to their metal roots. It's harsh, aggressive, and Loeffler screams. A lot. But Chevelle adds a fresh, melodic style on tracks like I Get It and showcases some originality on tracks like Well Enough Alone. Vena Sera has become Chevelle's masterpiece, and for all the right reasons. | | 5 |  | Megadeth
United Abominations
Something about Megadeth has always attracted me-Mustaine's ecletic, powerful vocal style is a charge for the heart, and their insane speed makes you want to punch random people in the streets. But with the Thrash Metal genre waining (mostly because of the god-awful St. Anger), Megadeth re-asserts themselves in a receding genre with pure adrenaline-charged, aggressive thrash metal that rocks as hard as Countdown to Extinction or Rust in Peace. | | 6 |  | Porcupine Tree
Fear of a Blank Planet
Porcupine Tree have-for most of their career, treaded lightly on being a modern-day heavy version of Pink Floyd. The Sky Moves Sideways sounded a lot like Shine On You Crazy Diamond, In Absentia's radical dynamics bordered The Wall, and Deadwing's atmospheric approach was eerily alike to Dark Side of the Moon. But Fear of a Blank Planet sets Porcupine Tree apart, as they craft an overly Progressive Metal album that has dark undertones, an eerie acoustic side, loud and thrashing solos, and a concept to rival legendary dystopian storylines. The post-rock influences of Anesthetize are also a welcome addition to PT's influx of influences, and crafts a brief (for PT standards) but potent attack that grows PT's fanbase by leaps and bounds. | | 7 |  | Thrice
The Alchemy Index: Vols. I and II...
If you might have told me this post-hardcore/metal band who released The Illusion of Safety would release a revolutionary Experimental Rock album, I'd laugh you out of my house. But it happened. Thrice experiments to the fullest, taking their hardcore roots to the extreme while adding synth to their mix in the Radiohead-influenced Water disc. Thrice releases an album that may be considered one of the greatest of all time here with Alchemy, and releases an album shot directly from Left Field. A great pick-up, easily and a masterpiece of rock. | | 8 |  | Alter Bridge
Blackbird
When Alter Bridge's debut album was released, the band was no more than a self-indulgent replica of Creed with no future. But with Blackbird, the band borders Alternative Metal with a gritty style and a perfectly executed title track that possibly might be one of the best tracks of all time. The riffs are excellent, the vocals are powerful, and the tempos are fantastic. Alter Bridge tries to escape the shadow of Creed, and in the process releases an album to rival the best of 2007. | | 9 |  | Neurosis
Given to the Rising
Neurosis leaves the melodic ambience of past albums far behind them, in favor for the disturbing, dark Post-Metal/Sludge of older albums. Given to the Rising is a dark, edgy, and blunt Post-Metal revolutionary album that brings Neurosis back to here and now, back with the Tribal-influenced drum work and the sludgy guitars successfully, and making one of the best Post-Metal albums since Leviathan. | | 10 |  | Dillinger Escape Plan
Ire Works
How fast can you push grind while being a definite Progressive Metal band? Very far, especially if you're Dillinger Escape Plan. This isn't the Math-Metal of Calculating Infinity, this is flat-out speeding grindcore that mixes thousands of genres of music into one tight, over-produced work of excellence even with Pennie's absence. Ire Works is the most difficult release in DEP's catalogue, it's a challenging, 'grower' album that showcases a band in dilemma who still knows how to innovate. | | 11 |  | Smashing Pumpkins
Zeitgeist (Re-Release)
When SP went back to the studio to record a new album, I had mixed reactions. Happy to welcome the Pumpkins back, I challenged myself in a way-I wanted them to come back, but I didn't want Zeitgeist to tarnish SP's name. I figured they would go back to rock to get their fans back, and that's exactly what they did with an album that was a fresh surprise for me. The original was a 'grower' that I enjoyed, but the Re-Release added three tracks that I can't stop listening to and proves that SP can rock hard and experiment to their fullest, proving SP is the band that doesn't die and consistently releases solid material. | | 12 |  | Ulver
Shadows of the Sun
Sort of like Opeth's venture into melodic, softer rock, Ulver does the same with better results. One of their non-metal releases, it's a soothing, synth-carried Ulver album that atmospherically drives the album and showcases some of the best vocal performances heard on record. It's a subtle advance in excellence for Ulver, and one of my favorite albums of the genre. It's addicting, inspiring, and gripping in a way that captures you and doesn't let you go. | | 13 |  | Coheed and Cambria
Good Apollo...No World for Tomorrow
Coheed and Cambria continously revolutionizes their sound, either by the way of Claudio's vocal performances variation, or the increasing Progressive side to their always fantastic guitar work. Coheed and Cambria ventures into their most melodic venture in years, but it's every bit as hard to decode and challenging to understand as it's always been. No World for Tomorrow is a fantastic release that is definitely one of my favorite releases of 2007. They tone down the Prog style, and make it more melodic and enjoyable. | | 14 |  | Exodus
The Atrocity Exhibition...Exhibit A
Exodus is a definite Thrash Metal album that is pure adrenaline and is aggressive, going for the jugular. I expected something good from Exodus, just not a return-to-form of excellence like Atrocity. Definitely one of the best of 2007, and a truly fantastic album for any metal fans. | | 15 |  | The Fall of Troy
Manipulator
Yet another 'grower', Manipulator is a change-in-pace for Troy, as it's much slower and toned-down in speed and sound than Doppelganger, but still has that odd charm Troy has always had. Their speeds are still there, but it's a more poppy approach to Post-Hardcore and successfully changes their sound for the slower and the better. Not every album can be as fast and crazed as Doppelganger, now can it? | | 16 |  | Minus the Bear
Planet of Ice | | 17 |  | Dinosaur Jr
Beyond | | 18 |  | The Pax Cecilia
Blessed are the Bonds | | 19 |  | Primordial
To the Nameless Dead | | 20 |  | Arcade Fire
Neon Bible | | 21 |  | Against Me!
New Wave | | 22 |  | Jimmy Eat World
Chase This Light | | 23 |  | Streetlight Manifesto
Somewhere in the Between | | 24 |  | Ghastly City Sleep
Ghastly City Sleep | | 25 |  | Sixx:A.M.
Heroin Diaries Soundtrack | |
Metalikane
12.29.07 | BTBAM are completely different than Opeth. | Yazz_Flute
12.29.07 | I dont consider BTBAM and Opeth alike, at all really. Despite the fact that they write generally longer songs and have progressive influences, there are no similarities I see. I love both, however. | Thor
12.29.07 | The only thing that BTBAM and Opeth have in common is that they're both oh so awesome. | SynGates
12.29.07 | Opeth are much more awesome, though.
19 and 23 deserve to be a bit higher, but otherwise not a bad list. Check out A Wilhelm Scream's new album if you haven't already. | jrowa001
12.29.07 | you might want to rethink #1 | joshuatree
12.29.07 | you might want to rethink the whole list | Confessed2005
12.29.07 | Some good stuff on here. I agree with a fair few albums. | MoonlightBleeding
12.29.07 | No, I don't want to rethink the whole list. These albums are great, and the Best of 2007.
At least in my opinion.
End of discussion. | industrialjunkie92
02.09.08 | How can you hate Year Zero. Definently the best album of 2007. Definently number one :) | BattleOfSerenity
02.24.08 | Gotta say this is actually an Incredible list!
Kudos to you sir, kudos. | Ouch
05.09.08 | May I disagree with your NIN fanboyism, other than that a great list. |
|
