Average Rating: 3.29 Rating Variance: 1.46 Objectivity Score: 83% (Well Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicAcid Bath When the Kite String PopsWhoah, where did this come from!? A freshman album from a band fresh out of the gator-infested swamps of Louisiana, WTKSP sets a musical standard of its own while making Acid Bath stand out for a unique sound that is entirely theirs to claim. Deriving from a mishmash of stoner, doom, and death metal sounds, the overall sound of this album, as Dax Riggs put it, is "death rock."Alice in Chains DirtAs a follow up to the excellent Facelift, Dirt stands out as one of the best Grunge albums ever released along with a touch of heavy/alternative metal. Sure the somewhat gross production could be noticed at times, but the rawness of Dirt and everything it does right (which is the whole album, instruments, vocals and lyrics included) easily earns it the perfect rating.Kamelot EpicaBuilds on everything Karma does right while polishing the sound up. Sometimes, the sound of the album may come off as overly polished similar to In Absentia by Porcupine Tree as compared to Stupid Dream, but that does absolutely no harm to the album's material in general.Rise Against Revolutions per MinuteBest hardcore punk album I have ever listened to. Sure there are the punk legends Black Flag, Minor Threat, and Bad Religion, but as a sophomore effort from a band that looks up to such legends, RPM stands out among the crowd of punk albums as the definitive sound for the grit and realness punk music has to offer.4.5 superbAcid Bath Paegan Terrorism TacticsHeavily experimental as compared to the masterpiece WTKSP. Overall, this experimental nature detracts from the standard Acid Bath set with their freshman effort, but damn is this album good in itself though.Kamelot KarmaThe album that set Kamelot sailing on a path of absolute success and musical mastery with the follow-ups Epica and the Black Halo. Karma is especially unique in that it is the album where Roy Khan really flexes his vocal chords to sing some of the best harmonies and vocals in general that symphonic power metal could ever offer.4.0 excellentJimmy Eat World FuturesEverything Clarity did right but with extreme touches of darkness and a mellow atmosphere. Futures is also blessed with containing Jimmy Eat World's best track to date: 23. Excellent.Kamelot The Black HaloA step back from Epica with overrated tracks and an overly safe approach. Great nonetheless. However, just not as spectacular...Rise Against The UnravelingBest hardcore punk freshman effort that era could have offered. Heavily underrated work that has RPM owe it everything.Soilwork Natural Born ChaosA worthy successor to APP with all of the grit, evil and harshness while beginning to flesh out Bjorn's clean vocals to make them the awesomeness that they are now.Soilwork The Living InfiniteSoilwork's best release to date (until topped by TRM). Best Melodic Death Metal album released in its decade. One of the best metal albums released at the time if not of all time.Soilwork The Ride MajesticTops TLI, but definitely not a masterpiece. However, the album is absolutely... majestic (pun intended).Spock's Beard SnowWhat a great way for Neal Morse to bounce from Spock's Beard. This album is extremely strong in its strong points, which are numerous (special shout-out to the mixing and mastering). The only flaw holding it back from an extremely high status is the fact that some tracks could be either shortened or absolutely removed from the album for it to avoid having DAS (double-album syndrome).3.5 greatJimmy Eat World ClarityPolish and grit combined. This album narrowly loses to Futures, but nonetheless carries the honors of setting Futures up for its fantastic base.Soilwork A Predator's PortraitAPP is Soilwork taking SBS and TCM and polishing their sounds up while having Bjorn flirt with clean vocals seriously for the first time. The result? The phenomenon that put Soilwork at the front of the melodic death metal society.Soilwork Live in the Heart of HelsinkiLike "eagle with fancy hat" said, Soilwork were definitely not known very well for the quality of their live performances aside from being energetic. This DVD, however, proves that they have matured as musicians whilst carrying the same live energy as they possessed before (saying plus more wouldn't be a stretch either). My biggest gripe regarding their live performances was the shabby and almost amateur guitar work. David Andersson and Sylvain Coudret have proven otherwise with this live performance. I love how they got the guitar tuning for Spectrum of Eternity right this time!rBjorn ups the bar even higher with his vocal versatility while Dirk and Sven remain perfect and Ola manages his bass well enough. Get this now if you haven't and behold a Soilwork that can definitely perform live.Spock's Beard Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless SleepNot as good as Snow, but pretty damn good in itself. Ted Leonard is an excellent replacement to Neal Morse. The music is excellent as always with Ryo Okumoto in particular displaying some of the best performance behind the wall of keys that you will hear in Progressive Rock. And as always with any Spock's Beard album, the mixing and mastering is absolutely fantastic.Wintersun WintersunJari bringing the chops. Solid, fool-proof, staple sounds for a melodic death/folk metal sound with some really nice creativity and unique elements thrown in the mix (i.e. "Death and the Healing" solo).3.0 goodDax Riggs We Sing of Only Blood or LoveA complete U-turn from what Dax accomplished as Acid Bath's vocalist. However, this U-turn doesn't lead to a path backwards in terms of talent, but to a completely different direction of music that only further showcases Dax's vocal range.Rise Against The Sufferer and the WitnessNot nearly as good as RPM, but still a solid Punk album that appeals to the mainstream crowd WITHOUT sacrificing its hardcore roots entirely. Also, Survive is my all time favorite RA song (and that coming from a die-hard RPM and The Unraveling fan).Soilwork The Panic BroadcastGood attempt at a recovery from the messes known as STD (the acronym for that unholy mess speaks for itself) and STAGD. This album has some really memorable tracks in the form of Epitome, Let This River Flow, The Akuma Afterglow, King of the Threshold, and Night Comes Clean and does a great job at setting up for the behemoth known as The Living Infinite. The thrashy sound surrounding the whole of the album is definitely welcome.Soilwork Beyond the InfiniteFor a compilation of tracks that didn't make the cut for TLI, the songs on this mini-album actually sound slightly different than TLI (hence why they didn't make the cut, but what also saves this from being a redundant listen). Although they sound like b-sides, the songs that comprise BTI have the ability to stand on there own legs to pull this mini-me through.Speaking to Stones Speaking to StonesHumble attempt at a modern progressive metal sound.2.5 averageRise Against The Black MarketI crossed my fingers for a hardcore sound but due to RA's fanbase, also set my mind to forgiving RA for any radio-friendly tracks that may be slipped in.... Came out only enjoying The Eco-Terrorist in Me and Methadone.Soilwork Figure Number FiveDefinitely feels rushed and a little *too* heavy on melodies while almost completely sacrificing the grit and speed of APP and NBC.1.5 very poorRise Against Appeal to ReasonRA's downfall begins here... Oh dear, this is a slap on the face to their previous works while only having Audience of One and Whereabouts Unknown as good tracks. Those two tracks alone would bump my rating by .5 points, but holy-moly the rest of the album is AIDS. The only reason it's at a 1.5 and not 1.0 is tracks like Audience of One and Whereabouts Unknown.Soilwork Stabbing the DramaNope. Probably slightly better than STAGD, but damn, this album has hardly any memorable moments.Wintersun The Forest SeasonsNo sense of direction, and the worst mastering you'll hear in a while.1.0 awfulRise Against EndgameAs expected, Appeal to Reason led to this mess. YUCK!Soilwork Sworn to a Great DivideSo you thought STD was bad? Oh no, this is worse. When I heard this album, I feared Soilwork were headed the In Flames route by getting more and more washed out with every release and claiming such BS to be "evolution." However, TPB began the rather quick route to the best Soilwork sound ever (TLI and then even better, TRM). This release by itself, however, is cancer. YUCK!The Haunted rEVOLVEr Trash juice in audible form. "rEVOLVEr" (emphasis on "evolve"), huh? Only evolution going on here is the kind that turned the T-Rex into a chicken.
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