Average Rating: 3.82 Rating Variance: 0.45 Objectivity Score: 63% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicDream Theater OctavariumFrank Zappa The Yellow SharkFrank Zappa Hot RatsFrank Zappa Joe's GarageHerbie Hancock Head HuntersJaco Pastorius Jaco PastoriusMudvayne L.D. 50Opeth Blackwater ParkPrimus Frizzle FryRage Against the Machine Rage Against the MachineRodrigo y Gabriela Rodrigo y GabrielaSymphony X Paradise LostThe Beatles Abbey RoadTool LateralusVictor Wooten A Show of Hands4.5 superbAdagio UnderworldAlcest Écailles De LuneBetween the Buried and Me The Anatomy OfBetween the Buried and Me ColorsCanvas Solaris Cortical Tectonics Dave Martone CleanMartone has got all the taste of Steve Vai, none of the campy, overwrought arrogance of Joe Satriani, some languid and beautiful Eric Johnson moments,and just enough of the weird of Buckethead without cloning any of those aforementioned gurus of shred. All the tracks on the album exhibit a strong knowledge of style, form, a specific and unique music vision, and enough compositional presence of mind to know that form, structure and progression in a song are more important than unrestrained instrumental dick-offery that tends to be the downfall of solo guitarists. That being said, the man can play the shit out of his instrument, and his solos have just enough psychotic, diminished ridiculous curbed by a good knowledge of harmony. In the end, probably one of my favorite virtuoso releases on the guitar in a long time.Esperanza Spalding EsperanzaFrank Zappa Jazz From HellFrank Zappa Zappa In New YorkFrank Zappa Imaginary DiseasesFrank Zappa London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. IIFrank Zappa The Grand WazooGorguts Colored SandsGorillaz Demon DaysHerbie Hancock ThrustJohn Petrucci Suspended AnimationmiRthkon VehicleMr. Bungle Mr. BungleOpeth DamnationOpeth Ghost ReveriesPeriphery Periphery (Instrumental)Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank PlanetRam-Zet IntraSonata Arctica Winterheart's GuildSymphony X The Divine Wings of TragedyThe Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandTool ÆnimaYes The Yes Album4.0 excellentAgalloch The MantleAltar of Plagues Teethed Glory and InjuryAmerican Head Charge The War Of ArtBaroness Red AlbumBe'lakor The Frail TideBetween the Buried and Me AlaskaBorknagar The Olden DomainBuckethead ColmaCanvas Solaris Penumbra DiffuseCult of Luna SalvationCynic Traced in AirCynic FocusDamascus HeightsDeafheaven SunbatherDream Theater Black Clouds and Silver LiningsDream Theater Images And WordsEric Johnson Ah Via MusicomFrank Zappa You Are What You IsIntricacies in lyrics accompanied by fantastic instrumental work and layers like a giant chocolate cake. One of Zappa's best and most cohesive works.Frank Zappa London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. 1Frank Zappa Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of PreventionFrank Zappa ApostropheGordian Knot Gordian KnotGordian Knot EmergentGorguts ObscuraGreen Carnation The Quiet OffspringGustav Holst The Planets, Op. 32Into Eternity Buried in OblivionJohn Petrucci An Evening With John Petrucci & Jordan RudessJohn Zorn O'oKitezh AntitheistLes Claypool Of Whales And WoeLiturgy AesthethicaMarriages KitsuneMr. Bungle CaliforniaMr. Bungle Disco VolantePat Metheny Day TripPeriphery Periphery II: This Time It's PersonalPorcupine Tree In AbsentiaPrimus Tales from the PunchbowlPrimus Hallucino-Genetics (DVD)Primus Pork SodaPrimus Animals Should Not Try To Act Like PeopleQuo Vadis Defiant ImaginationRed Sparowes Every Red Heart Shines Toward The Red...Revocation Existence Is FutileScale the Summit The MigrationScale the Summit Carving Desert CanyonsShining (NOR) BlackjazzSikTh Death of a Dead DaySteve Vai Passion and WarfareSublime 40 Oz. to FreedomSunn O))) Black OneAs my first step into the extreme drone metal genre I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. There were moments that had me literally paralyzed, being overwhelmed by the noises. Although I was not expecting it to happen with this group, that moment where music stops everything and drags you into it is rare, and Sunn O))) did the job well.Symphony X The OdysseyThe Beatles RevolverThe Black Dahlia Murder NocturnalThe Dillinger Escape Plan Miss MachineThe New Tony Williams Lifetime Believe ItThe Ocean PrecambrianTool 10,000 DaysTrivium In WavesWardruna Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga3.5 greatAdagio Sanctus IgnisAdagio DominateAdele 21Behold... The Arctopus Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg SummoningBehold... The Arctopus SkullgridIt's really easy to give a phenomenal rating when the skill of the musician's is fucking mindblowing. However, it takes more than being a technician to be a really good musician. BtA has got some absolutely wonderful moments that show their penchant for both, but in the end, the album's failing (in my opinion) is probably what is objectively it's greatest achievement. If anything, the album is a giant question mark in the face of people who believe that there must be discernable logic to make music good. I like that. But this isn't an album that I pull out all the time because I love. Just every once in a while to feel completely perplexed.Blood Red Throne Blood Red ThroneBorknagar OriginCanvas Solaris The Atomized DreamCormorant MetazoaDaft Punk Musique Vol. 1 (1993-2005)Deafheaven Roads To JudahDry Kill Logic The Darker Side Of NonsenseEric Dolphy Out to Lunch!Frank Zappa Sheik YerboutiMy first Zappa album. Not as technically or musically interesting as other works, but I appreciate the humor, and songs like Broken Hearts are for Assholes and City of Tiny Lights have a lot of fantastic moments.Frank Zappa Waka/JawakaFrank Zappa Tinsel Town RebellionGod Forbid IV: Constitution of TreasonInto Eternity Dead or DreamingInto Eternity The Scattering of AshesKvelertak KvelertakMeshuggah obZenMetallica Master Of PuppetsNaglfar SheolNechochwen Azimuths To the OtherworldOpeth Still LifeOpeth OrchidPorcupine Tree DeadwingPowerglove Saturday Morning ApocalypsePrimus Suck on ThisPrimus Sailing the Seas of CheeseProtest the Hero KeziaRam-Zet NeutralizedRed Sparowes The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein...Sonata Arctica Reckoning NightSpiral Architect A Sceptic's UniverseStanley Clarke The Toys of MenStanley Clarke School DaysStolen Babies There Be Squabbles AheadI liked the album, though with members of STGM I kind of expected something a little more interesting. All in all, I'll probably go back to Diablo Swing Orchestra for a sound like this one. Though singer Dominique Persi does have a nice vocal range and technique, and the band is real tight. A lot of good moments, definitely worth a second listen. Not enough to stick in my head and bring me back most likely.The Black Mages Darkness And StarlightThe Black Mages The Skies AboveThe Black Mages The Black MagesThe Dillinger Escape Plan One of Us Is the KillerTiamat WildhoneyTool UndertowTool OpiateYes Fragile3.0 goodAmenra Mass I: Prayer I - VIAna Kefr Volume 1Between the Buried and Me The Silent CircusBetween the Buried and Me The Great MisdirectDimension EgoOverall I really enjoyed it, and it's consistently surprising throughout. A good introduction to a band I'll definitely be listening to in the future, with the hopes that they'll really come into their own at some point.Frigoris WindLes Claypool Highball with the devilOverall a real fun album. Les's side projects tend to be a little thin in their arrangement, but I like the way this was recorded, and there are a few gems, "Rain" and "The Awakening", as well as the all-Claypool "Running the Gauntlet being a few of those.rMetallica Kill 'Em AllProbably my favorite next to Master of Puppets, but I'm just not that into thrash, and definitely not a huge fan of Metallica. That being said, I do like this album quite a bit, particularly for Anesthesia/Pulling Teeth.Obsidian Tongue A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of TimePrimus The Brown AlbumPrimus Miscellaneous DebrisPrimus They Can't All Be ZingersSublime Robbin' the HoodI used to think this album was fucking tits. But that's because I always listened to it on Mushrooms, and everything's tits on boomers. But the album lacks a lot of cohesion, uses a bunch of rehashed material, pits it up against some hilarious soliloquies from a crazy drunk dude, and some really great songs on top of it all. For me, it's a classic, but not because it's a great album. In the end it's just a really good one.The Beatles 1The Black Dahlia Murder DeflorateThe Contortionist ExoplanetMost of the time I was nodding in approval. Though this djenty wave of deathcore is all starting to sound really similar, and though Contortionist breaks the mold a few times with this album, in general it just kind of sits beneath the kind of interesting riffage and material that bands like Periphery and Misery Signals are doing. There is very little going on here that sets them apart from this whole movement in metal right now. Still, there is enough, and this album is pretty damn good.Victor Wooten Soul CircusVictor Wooten Palmystery2.5 averageCellador Honor ForthNot bad, but it's some pretty run-of-the-mill power metal. Nothing that really stands out to me as unique in it's own right beside that fact that they were the guys who wrote it.Envinity Sweet Painful RealityThe arrangements are nice, skills and musical concepts are pretty good too. Production isn't completely awful, though maybe there are some mixing things that could have been different to reflect their sound better. Overall, everything is kind of flat. For one thing, if a band is going too write the same song over and over again, they should probably make each iteration of it a little shorter. It all sounds the same, has no dynamic variance, no real rhythmic interest, some good harmony though there's a tendency to rehash both harmonic and melodic concepts. The whole endeavor is Okay at best, I think. Decent vocalist, though he should try and sound less like a Maynard/Daniel Gildenlow chimera. Also, the whispering thing doesn't work. Scream or turn up the volume, or better yet, listen to some Frigoris to hear it when it's successful.Frank Zappa Thing-FishGlamour of the Kill The SummoningInto Eternity The Incurable TragedyLes Claypool Of Fungi and FoeHe's done better, and his arrangements are thinner than ever. In a lot of ways, the cello isn't unnecessary, it just gets in the way.Tiamat Sumerian CryTrivium Shogun1.5 very poorDarkthrone PlaguewielderNothing about this album was satisfying. They didn't build on anything. It seems like they didn't feel like they had spent enough time being amateurs and took a minute to show the world what it would have been like if they didn't stand a chance at widespread recognition of their sound. "Look, this is what it would have sounded like if we'd lost a High School battle of the bands!" Sad.Metallica St. Anger
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