Average Rating: 3.65 Rating Variance: 0.37 Objectivity Score: 68% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicCynic Traced in AirBrilliant. You can forgive its short length thanks to the sheer amount of detail, the nigh-on perfect song writing, and the fantastic mixing. Devin Townsend TerriaMy personal favourite Devin Townsend album. It works so brilliantly as a single piece, the tracks are so well placed, and hence the mood throughout is truly captivating. A masterpiece.Rush Moving PicturesRush's best known album for a very good reason. Only Vital Signs is slightly less than awesome.Stars of the Lid And Their Refinement Of The DeclineAmbient tracks you can really get into. Truly beautiful, very long, wonderful detail. All the ambience you could ever need.The Mars Volta Frances the MuteCompared to Deloused, this is more epic and experimental. Harder to get into but even more rewarding. Probably their best material.4.5 superbAgalloch The MantleHailed as their best for many good reasons. I don't feel it's as consistent as, say, Ashes, but it creates a wonderful piece when you look at it all together. All of Agalloch's classic genres and influences can be found here.Agalloch Ashes Against the GrainHeavier than The Mantle and certainly less varied, but no less powerful. I'd say it was slighly better than The Mantle, on average, but both of them are brilliant.Agalloch Marrow of the SpiritMuch more experimental than the last albums. They've really gone for it this time, far heavier, more atmospheric, more extreme - and it's not disjointed or inconsistent. It all works together as a coheorent album. Brilliant. Might even be my favourite.Alcest Écailles De LuneAmia Venera Landscape The Long ProcessionArena Songs From the Lion's CagePossibly my favourite neo-prog out there. Solomon is an excellent epic, Jericho is brilliant, Valley is amazing. At the Drive-In Relationship of CommandBeardfish Sleeping in Traffic: Part TwoA great prog rock album - they don't make 'em like this anymore. Whilst you can't ignore the non "epics" (Into The Night/The Hunter is brilliant, South Of The Border is hilarious AND worthwhile, Cashflow is... meh), the epic, Sleeping In Traffic, is the most coherent thing they've done, despite its length. It's also brilliant.Burst Lazarus BirdTook me ages to get into but now I adore this album. Masses of energy and variation. Wish they hadn't split.Devin Townsend Ocean Machine: BiomechUp there with Terria. Mixed somewhat differently to the others, but it still works wonderfully as a suite. Some of the latter epics are awesome (Funeral, The Death).Devin Townsend Project DeconstructionOn first glance this album can completely baffle, and it's not a good place to start with Devin Townsend. This is one of the most dense albums I've ever heard, some tracks being especially whacky and insane - Masturbator and Decon, especially, but there are mellow tracks/plateaus which serve as respite to keep things varied. Quickly, I realized that the album is awesome and one of the best things he's ever unleashed, but I'm clearly a fanboy, not sure how non-fans will receive this.Dream Theater Images And WordsIt certainly is a classic. Very varied, brilliant sound, awesome songs. Not a weak one among them. Just that damn snare drum!Dream Theater Six Degrees of Inner TurbulenceThe first disc deserves more credit than it gets, and the second is just as good as it's said to be. My favourite DT album.Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a MemoryEpic album. Wonderful to listen straight through. I only really dislike Finally Free, but Beyond and Home are really brilliant. Perhaps it not the best starting place - it's not the easiest to get into - but that makes it more rewarding.Dream Theater Falling Into Infinity DemosHow it really should have been. Check out the back story, listen to this. The best ones are the tracks that got missed off the studio version - Raise, Where, The Way, and Speak are among my favourite DT songs.Dream Theater Live Scenes From New YorkIQ The Seventh HouseISIS PanopticonNot an Isis expert, but Panopticon feels like the atmosphere feel into place exactly right. All great songs.Marillion Script For A Jester's TearMarillion Misplaced ChildhoodFantastic neo prog album, works brilliantly as a concept album. Very coheorent, everything compliments everything else perfectly. Some really trumphant bits, especially Heart Of Lothian and Blind Curve.Opeth Still LifeTied with Blackwater Park for the best Opeth album. The Moor is brilliant. Serenity got me into Opeth. New fans should start with Blackwater Park, but if you like Opeth at all, this is the album to own.Opeth Blackwater ParkHaving seen this one live at the Royal Albert Hall, I can safely say this is one of their best. Possibly the most consistent, too.Rainbow RisingThe best Rainbow album. Featuring brilliant tracks Stargazer and Lights, but don't ignore side one either. Very consistent quality, hard rock as it should be.Rush A Farewell To KingsNot as consistent as some of the other albums, but Cygnus X-1 and Xanadu are absolute classics, with the latter being my favourite song ever.Rush Permanent WavesSome very very strong tracks on this one, but Moving Pictures just edges above it. Rush Rush In RioA very powerful live album with brilliant sound and a great setlist. The enthusiastic crowd ruins it for some, but that's just part of the experience. Some great obscure highlights like The Pass.Shadow Gallery Room VBrilliant album, far more consistent than Tyranny, and the latter tracks, Torn onwards, are all perfect prog metal songs.The Beatles LoveThis is how to do a compilation album. Fantastic to listen through. The Devin Townsend Band SynchestraNot quite on Terria's level, but this also has brilliant flow. It's even more varied and it's honestly got everything you could ever need from Devin in one album. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra 13 Blues for Thirteen MoonsReally powerful, awesome, music created by a band of people who really give 100% to every moment. Efrim's voice spans from soft to a confident wail and the backing vocals are fantastic. The guitar, violin and double bass create a very versatile sound. And if you're not captured by the emotional performances on Engine Broke Blues and BlindBlindBlind, you have no soul.Tool LateralusTook me ages to "get" this, but it was worth my time - fantastic album.4.0 excellentArena ContagionSee above. Great songwriting from Nolan, and the guitar is especially great on this album. Bass also gets through the mix occasionally (!).Bass Communion Ghosts on Magnetic TapeBrilliant, brooding, epic sound to this album. Very dark songs. This, II, and Molotov And Haze are the best Bass Communion albums.Between the Buried and Me AlaskaThe same stlye as their other recent albums. All very memorable tracks. TGM does it that bit better, though.Between the Buried and Me ColorsReally awesome album. It has its flaws - unless you listen right through, it doesn't have half the power, and it can be exhaustingly relentless. TGM feels like a slight upgrade to me, though. Ants is brilliant.Crippled Black Phoenix 200 Tons of Bad LuckIf Pink Floyd were to come onto the music scene today, it might sound something like this. Post blues is the best genre I can force it into but it's not that simple. Fantastic atmosphere, and it's refreshing to see they're not afraid to play a few guitar solos.Crippled Black Phoenix I, VigilanteIf Pink Floyd existed now, it would be this. But it's still very hard to describe. Not many tracks here and some are somewhat throw-away (Bostogne Blues, Burning Bridges) but the rest are very strong.Devin Townsend Project AddictedCynics - do not be scared by the world "pop" when it is thrown around this album. Any Devin Townsend fan should absorb this and love it.Devin Townsend Project GhostDragonForce Valley Of The DamnedYes, I am a Dragonforce fan. Laugh if you like, but I love this stuff. More varied than they say. The 2010 remix is a nice audio improvement too. DragonForce Ultra BeatdownMy favourite DF album (so far). The most varied. It won't convert non-fans/haters, but for fans this should be up there with Valley Of The Damned.Dream Theater A Change Of SeasonsA great epic. The covers are also very good, Zeppelin especially.Dream Theater Live at BudokanIf you just want DT, playing live, with no added frills - just a standard, powerful, live show with an awesome setlist, plenty of jamming, and an awesome encore, this is the one to get. It's a really close competition between these live albums.Dream Theater OctavariumUnderrated, often, but this is a great collection of varied songs which works great as a continuous piece. Dream Theater ScoreOne of DT's most distinguished live albums. Featuring 6DOIT, Octavarium, Another Won, and Raise The Knife are highlights. And the orchestra works very well. If you want a DT live album with real flair, look no further.Genesis FoxtrotGod Is an Astronaut God Is an AstronautThe strongest God Is An Astronaut album due to awesome mixing and really powerful songs. Only a few tracks are weaker.Hans Zimmer InceptionISIS In the Absence of TruthMarillion MarblesMarillion BraveMastodon Crack the SkyeI'm not a Mastodon expert but I loved this from the first listen. Heavy, proggy, diverse, and a brilliant concept album when listened straight through.Metallica Master Of PuppetsMaybe not quite deserving of all the praise it gets (I'm looking at you Leper Messiah), but nearly on par with Ride The Lightning in my books.Metallica Ride The LightningFor me, this is the most consistent Metallica album, with some awesome songs, including Creeping, Trapped, and Fade. It also captures the youthful vocal style brilliantly.Metallica Live Shit: Binge & PurgeAn awesome live album full of Metallica's greatest songs, recorded at their peak, to a mental audience.Mirror (JPN) On, Then, InLove this to bits. It's a little known Japanese band who do math rock in the mellow tappy tap tap acoustic vein. A great sound. In Radiobroadcast Junction also features gibberish vocals.Oceansize FramesExcellent album. Oceansize really nail what prog rock should sound like now, but the best parts would be the mood created by Savant and The Frame.Opeth Ghost ReveriesSome of Opeth's best song writing here. The first two tracks are easily favourites. I would say Harlequin and Atonement somewhat brings the quality down, but as one coheorent album, it's mighty.Porcupine Tree In AbsentiaGreat songs, Porcupine Tree at their prime. Trains, Collapse and Mastertape are my favourites.Porcupine Tree DeadwingDeadwing is practically equal to IA, but just beats it thanks to the more lengthy and hence more absorbing songs. However, Lazarus is pretty fail. Riverside Anno Domini High DefinitionSadly, this was only 44 minutes long. But this is as consistent as they've ever been. And experimental, really pushing their sound in places.Rosetta Wake/LiftA truly colossal album. Awesome guitar textures. Even the ambient track, Tenement Noise, is great.Rush 21122112 itself is awesome. One of their best. Sadly, besides Passage and Something, the rest of the tracks aren't so exciting.Rush Hold Your FireExcellent songs on this one. It is easiest to list the weaker songs - High Water and Open Secrets - because all the others are just so good.Rush CounterpartsA new and very pleasing direction. Very consistent quality throughout, all the tracks are very worthwhile. Rush Grace Under PressureMy first from the synth era, and like many of their other albums from the 80s, the tracks are very consistent and often downright awesome such as Between and Red Sector A.Rush Power WindowsProbably my favourite from the synth era, this one doesn't have any weak spots. All the tracks rule, couldn't possibly choose a favourite.Rush All The World's A StageA very raw, powerful live album with brilliant sound. By-Tor is absolutely brilliant on here.Rush Rush Replay X3Great collection of DVDs. However, for all intestive purposes, Grace Under Pressure and A Show Of Hands are, besides a few setlist differences, the same. But if you want to see them live, look no further.Rush Snakes & ArrowsA really great return. Brilliantly mixed and, as usual, very consistent quality.Rush Different StagesA good spread of live stuff. Highlights include 2112, Closer To The Heart, and the whole of the A Farewell To Kings tour show.Sigur Ros Takk...I love this album. It's their shortest, and easiest to digest, so it's a great starting point. Lost At Sea is my favourite.Stars of the Lid The Ballasted OrchestraSteven Wilson InsurgentesNot easy to get into. Steven makes this one nearly as atmospheric as Bass Communion, and it's a significant enough move away from Porcupine Tree to warrant a different title. Strapping Young Lad AlienAlien is a fantastic, balanced SYL album. From the shitstorm of Shitstorm to the tranquility of Two Weeks, and everything in between. It's also fairly short, so you don't get exhausted.The Dear Hunter Act I: The Lake South, the River NorthA bit too short, but the most consistent DH album. The Pimp And The Priest is a brilliant track title.The Dear Hunter Act II: The Meaning of, & All Things Regarding Ms. LeadingThe biggest DH album, which doesn't feel completely consistent, but is still brilliant. Red Hands is a classic. The Devin Townsend Band Accelerated EvolutionA more straight forward Devin Townsend album - but that's not to say the songs aren't powerful, diverse, and absorbing. Very worthwhile.The Mars Volta AmputechtureSome fantastic epics on here. Furious drumming, the usual crazy experimental sections (Meccaputecture, I'm looking at your saxaphone solo), wonderful lyrics - but sadly, 3 of the tracks (1, 5 and 8) are a bit meh. All the others, yes please.Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra Kollaps TradixionalesNever hits me like 13 Blues does, but the same atmosphere exists here. Effectively 4 epics, with the middle ones split up into small chunks (not unreasonably). One could say it gradually weakens as the album progresses, with There Is A Light being downright awesome and Rambler being so-so, but it's all worthwhile.This Will Destroy You Young MountainLess experimental than the S/T, or the newer stuff, but just as good. In terms of "standard" EitS esque music, this is top quality stuff.This Will Destroy You This Will Destroy YouNo, it's not the biggest step in a new direction for them, but it is really really good music. Three-legged and Rio are brilliant.This Will Destroy You Tunnel BlanketThey've now truly found their own niche instead of falling into someone else's. A mix of very powerful, dynamic drone doom epics and complex ambient interludes.Wintersun WintersunIf you are into remotely extreme metal, this is the album for you. Death, black, prog, melodic, power, and a bit of folk - it's all here in wonderfully consistent quality. Famous for a good reason. 3.5 great65daysofstatic The Fall of MathThis is the 65dos I really like. Unusual rhythms with great drumming/experimental sounds, plus a strong post rock vibe.AC/DC Black IceEntirely worthwhile and good music all round, but it still doesn't hit the nail on the head of being "diverse" in any sense. Arena Immortal?Making a change for Arena, Immortal? varies in quality but none can contest the excellence of Moviedrome.Arena Pepper's GhostOnly marginally worse than the previous few albums, but damn, there's awesome neo prog on here. Tantalus, Smoke and Mirrors, and The Shattered Room especially. The Eyes is the only weaker one.Chickenfoot ChickenfootCoheed and Cambria From Fear Through the Eyes of MadnessCoheed are a band who are "almost but not quite" for me. Yes, they are prog, with great guitarists and vocals, but half the time they're playing these pop inspired songs where which aren't *bad*, they're just a bit less engaging. So, here, The Suffering, Crossing The Frame, Lying Lies and others hold it back, but Welcome Home, Ten Speed, and The Writing Writer bring it up. The length and amount of filler pop degrades it but it's still a great album.Continuum (UK) Continuum IGreat ambient stuff. The last track is very interesting. Cynic Re-TracedI was wary of this album to begin with, like many, but knowing both these versions reveal a very different side to Cynic. Space isn't great, but Integral is, and King and Evolutionary are fantastic. Plus Between The Wheels, which is possibly one of their best.Dark Tranquillity FictionVery high quality tracks, espeically Terminus, Crown and Focus. Nothing genre smashing, but that's not what you should be here for.Dark Tranquillity We Are the VoidThe expected high standard from DT. I'd say it was on the same level as Fiction.David Gilmour On An IslandGreat atmosphere. Generally very mellow but there's a couple of tracks that have a good kick to them. And, of course, great guitar solos.Devin Townsend Project KiQuite a mixed album. For an acoustic album, there's surprising amounts of death metal. Whilst I like the sound, I'm not overboard about it, but some of the songs have great atmospheres - tense anger on Distruptr, or tranquility on Terminal. Essential for Devin fans.DragonForce Sonic FirestormThere are lots of strong tracks on this album waiting to blow the people who don't dismiss them away. Not as varied as Valley or Ultra.Dream Theater Train of ThoughtReally good songs on here, what brings it down is the lack of variation.Dream Theater Falling Into InfinityA great album. Not remotely pop, just shorter songs, and more of them, with two excellent epics in there. However, for the real experience, check out the demos, especially for the missing awesome tracks.Dream Theater AwakeYes, it's great music, but it's not their best album. Highlights are Voices, Scarred and Lifting - but Lie, Space and Caught all fall short of expectations. Sorry.Dream Theater Systematic ChaosSC is more varied than Train Of Thought, but sadly the tracks aren't as memorable. Ministry, however, is brilliant.Dream Theater Black Clouds and Silver LiningsIt doesn't feel much like a complete album to me - more like a collection of epics of average DT quality. That is, they are pretty damn good.Eaststrikewest WolvvesGreat album. Saw them support This Will Destroy You, and their performance was very accurate. A general trend of weaker material towards the end, but the first few are worth it.Eluvium Talk Amongst the TreesAll these tracks are very nice repeating drones. Taken and the last track, One, are really good. A nice place to start with Eluvium.Eluvium Static Nocturne50 minutes of relativey "heavy" drone. When I say heavy, I mean that on average, it's static based noise. This might scare new listeners off, but a real "drone head" will only be encouraged. There are about 3 different "musical" sections, where slow, rising melodies rise out of the background noise. They're sublime - the first one especially, which is based on a wonderful piano part. The whole thing is great for ignoring the world for a while, and the conistency here is a good thing. Don't start here, but if you're already into it, enjoy every moment.Explosions in the Sky Take Care, Take Care, Take CareNo big changes, more of the same, but the same is still good and I'm not bored of it yet. Genesis Nursery CrymeIQ The WakeIQ Dark MatterISIS Wavering RadiantIsis' last album. Ghost Key will give you a good idea - not far off from the old work, no big surprise, but the same great quality atmosphere and power you'd expect.Jesu ConquerorVery consistent stuff, potentially boring towards the end, but this is my favourite of his albums. Check Weightless.Jesu Opiate SunCATCHY Jesu material. More than usual. Somewhat trails off, but tracks 1 to 3 are beautiful, awesome songs. If you get 1 Jesu EP, let it be this one.John Petrucci Suspended AnimationVery memorable tracks here, not just a shred-fest with no point to it. There are often chorus parts which get repeated and get better every time. And it certainly *sounds* like John P; nowhere else does his signature sound shine through better. Marillion FugaziMarillion Happiness Is The Road, Volume 1: EssenceMarillion Happiness Is The Road, Volume 2: The HarMarillion Afraid Of SunlightMarillion AnoraknophobiaMeshuggah obZenAwesome riffs. That's about all I need to say about Meshuggah. Can't speak for the rest of their material but this is a good starting place.Metallica Kill 'Em AllNot fully into this yet, but I reckon it deserves much of the praise it gets. A great album.Metallica Death MagneticI really like this album. All consistently good tracks, great lengths, good variation. I'd happily let this stand alongside the old material.Nadja Radiance of ShadowsSoul crushing. An incredible album, very interesting music. But for a non-fan, you'll practically be eaten alive.Opeth OrchidOpeth MorningriseI don't think it's quite as good as Orchid but it's more of the same, high quality, early Opeth. Harder to get into, at the very least, but, Black Rose Immortal. Yes.Opeth DeliveranceLess varied - but that was the point. Still great songs. Deliverance especially.Opeth My Arms, Your HearseI'd say this was their hardest to get into. Still good material with great songs, possibly less consistent. The mix is somewhere between the first two and Blackwater (as you would expect).Opeth WatershedThis album feels a bit too short to me, and I feel the quality trails off. The first tracks are amoung their best, though.OSI BloodGood stuff. Gavin *shines*, the mellow tracks are especially good. Kevin's vocals are also really good. Porcupine Tree SignifyOn par with Moves Sideways in terms of the early albums. Darkmatter is the connoisseur's choice for best PT song :D Porcupine Tree The Sky Moves SidewaysThis album is great - very varied, rewarding on a full listen, great mix of ambient stuff and heavy prog. Check out the full version of Moonloop - both the 40 minute one and the 17. Porcupine Tree Nil Recurring4 great songs that should have been on FoaBP! Normal is the best PT track in recent years.Portico Quartet Knee Deep in the North SeaI'm no jazz expert but I can't help but find myself giddy with happiness when I listen to this. I'd only mark it down from being somewhat same-y, but of course, that's what they do and it certainly is wonderful.Protest the Hero FortressIt would be unfair to compare them to DEP, who are more experimental, raw and powerful, but this comes off as a very polished, well written, at times melodic and epic album. It works very well as a whole too.Riverside Second Life SyndromeThe individual tracks on here are better than any other Riverside album - but I don't feel it quite so well as one continuous piece. Possibly the intro/outro tracks spoil that for me. But the epics, oh yes.Riverside Rapid Eye MovementREM is probably the most varied of the earlier Riverside albums. It's got wonderful flow and structure, but I'd say the individual tracks on their own aren't as great as those on SLS.Rush Vapor TrailsLike Test For Echo, there's great stuff here but it's just not as consistent. However, I would say the highs were higher on this one, and there's fewer tracks which suck. I personally like the mix, too.Rush Caress Of SteelI love this album but it would be wrong to give it any higher. Yes, it is a bit of a failed experiment, half cooked, not-there-yet, but if you get into it it is still very rewarding.Rush RushHow it all began. You get the energy and agression right away, as well as their ludicrous skills, but the creativity hasn't truly arrived yet.Rush HemispheresLa Villa and The Trees are awesome songs. The epic is good, worthwhile, but sadly repetetive, but it is certainly loved by many other fans.Rush PrestoI'm always surprised that people don't like this more. The tracks are all very good, many of them are excellent. You could say it was too transitional, but that's half the interest.Rush R30: 30th Anniversary TourA great live album, with the expected high standard of performance. It loses points for being a bit too similar to the others, and whilst they play Xanadu, they don't play it right.Rush Snakes & Arrows LiveA fairly standard live album from these recent years. It pains me to say his voice isn't quite into it these days, but the new material is played very well indeed.Stars of the Lid The Tired Sounds of Stars of the LidA great album. Compared to And The Refinement, it's not as well mixed, tracks are not as well written, and less memorable. Still worthwhile.Sylvan Posthumous SilenceIf you excuse the excessive amount of piano you'll hear (there really is a lot), and the a-little-too-long length, this is a really compelling album with fantastic songs on it. Pane Of Truth and Answers To Life are highlights. Textures SilhouettesNot the spinny really really fast tech death metal, more like the well constructive song based tech death metal. Both types are good but fewer bands make technicality this accessible and varied. Reminds me of Accelerated Evolution (Devin Townsend) quite a bit. The Dear Hunter Act III: Life and DeathWeaker than the earlier two, but by no means bad. Great songs.The Dillinger Escape Plan Ire WorksThis album is a lot of fun. The shorter experiments in the middle (Sick On Sunday, When Acting Like A Wave/Particle) should not be ignored, but Milk Lizard gets all the praise it deserves. The Mars Volta The Bedlam in GoliathThe heaviest Mars Volta album out there, easily the hardest to get into. Also very long, sadly I don't get through a lot of listens. But still very interesting. Goliath is an awesome song.The Mars Volta OctahedronA very interesting album which covers all the bases that Mars Volta should whilst progressing onwards triumphantly. Eerie, too, with the synth seemingly continuing throughout all the tracks. The Police Reggatta de BlancGreat stuff - the lesser known tracks are worthwhile if you don't know them (you won't find Contact or Deathwish on compilations), but of course, Bring On The Night, Walking On The Moon, the title track and Message are all awesome.This Will Destroy You Moving on the Edges of ThingsPersonally, I really like this new sound they've got. This is only a teaser, though.Turisas Battle MetalTurisas have a great blend of varied folk metal without being too metal or too folk. Their second album is probably a better place to start but don't ignore this one.Turisas The Varangian WayThat bit more powerful than Battle Metal. Too short, maybe, but it works very well as a concept album. Great prog parts too.Watain Lawless DarknessWell recorded, powerful, intense, relentless. The tracks all have different identities and qualities. Check it.3.0 good65daysofstatic We Were Exploding AnywayPreviously I disliked this general sound but I like it a bit more now. Massive thumbs up for 65dos for marching off into such fresh territory.Agalloch The GreyThe Lodge (Dismantled) is a really awesome epic. But if you're not into noise, you can safely ignore the Odal "remix". Agalloch The WhiteA nice set of soft ambient folk songs. Not enough to distract my attention for long, but there's wonderful atmosphere here.Amon Amarth Twilight of the Thunder GodSame-y, but powerful. The Hero is probably my favourite AA track.Anathema Alternative 4Chroma Key Dead Air For RadiosDead Air does a lot more for me than You Go Now. Still, there's the occasional questionable track, but generally this is a lot more worthwhile.Coheed and Cambria Year of the Black RainbowGood song writing - less pop sound, more "metal", so it's more meaty on average. However, the guitars feel like they were at the bottom of the mixing priority so so much great playing is drowned out by the vocals (which, whilst as good as ever, should make some space). The Black Rainbow is a step in a wild direction for them, and Far works on every level.Devin Townsend InfinityNot a fan of the mix here. While some of the tracks are really good (War, Dynamics, Bad Devil), most are actually a bit so-so. Still worthwhile.Devin Townsend PhysicistThe heaviest solo album (so far). Kingdom, Material, and Planet Rain are interesting, but the rest are a little stagnant. Strapping does it better.DragonForce Inhuman RampageProbably my least favourite Dragonforce album. Awesome songs though. TtFatF is the weakest though. Yes. Try Body Breakdown.Eluvium When I Live by the Garden and the SeaA short set of fairly heavy, "harsh" drones, which end up being really beautiful. For a more meaty version of this, check out Silent Nocturne.Eluvium SimilesAmbient songs which are a lot more like songs. Not how I usually like it, but generally this is good.Eric Johnson Ah Via MusicomFeaturing the well known Cliffs of Dover and that track alone makes this worthwhile, but the tracks with vocals are also great, like Desert Rose, which balances the standard songwriting with great guitar playing. Other highlights are Trademark, Forty Mile Town, and High Landrons. Not all of that quality but if you enjoy any virtuosos, Eric should be one of them.Explorers Club Age of ImpactA fairly bad mix, but otherwise nice songs. It's clear that a lot of it is just space for the guests to show off, but most of the time that's no bad thing. Aloof prog - enjoy it.Lights Out Asia In The Days Of JupiterMarillion Clutching At StrawsMarillion Marillion.commaudlin of the Well Part the SecondThere's a general drop in quality as the album moves on, but the general sound is appealing and the strings are really good. Dig the solo on track two if nothing else.Metallica MetallicaDon't get me wrong, some awesome songs on here, but it doesn't stand so well as one album, and it's not consistent. Still very worthwhile. Wherever and Wolf are stand outs.Mogwai Hardcore Will Never Die, But You WillThe first Mogwai album I've truly gotten into. There are some outstanding tracks (Death Rays, Death Party), and some very meh tracks.Periphery PeripheryThis has got some bad reviews, and I admit I agree with a lot of it. However, generally, it doesn't seem to do very much wrong. Porcupine Tree The IncidentAch, this album disappointed me, after the awesome that was FoaBP. Don't get me wrong, it's good, it's just not up to the PT standard.Rush Fly By NightStill finding their feet, Rush create a somewhat aimless record. It kinda feels half like they were using material that didn't get on the first album, and half that they were pushing their new sound. However, By-Tor.Rush SignalsPersonally I feel this is over-rated in the Rush catalog. Not nearly consistent enough, but never the less, there are still classics on here, as is on every Rush album (New World Man, The Analog Kid and Digital Man).Rush Roll The BonesSome really great tracks here. The first 3 are great. But the quality drops off. Too transitional, not quite there with the powerful new-hard-rock sound.Rush Test For EchoThere are some really great songs here (Test For Echo, Virtuality, Resist), but there are also some very weak songs (Dog Years, Time And Motion, Half The World). Worthwhile but not vital.Rush A Show Of HandsGreat sound, but this era of their work doesn't lend itself to radically different live performances, so it can be somewhat ignored. Shadow Gallery TyrannyCompared to Room V (the sequel), these tracks are good but not as awesome and certainly more repetitive. The ending confuses me a little, too. But don't fret - good album.Stars of the Lid Avec LaudenumGood ambient drone stuff. Can't say much more, really. Refer to all the other SotL albums.Stars of the Lid Gravitational Pull vs the Desire for an Aquatic LiSunn O))) Monoliths and DimensionsNot the best place to start with Sun O))) (or with dark ambient in general), but this is powerful stuff.The Alan Parsons Project Turn of a Friendly CardA bunch of really cool rock songs, plus a great prog epic. Very well written, but perhaps underwhelming for some who have already heard a lot from these genres.2.5 averageAgalloch Pale FolkloreThis is before they got good. Dead Winter Days is a good track but the rest "pale" (hahaha) in comparison to their recent work.Chroma Key You Go NowThe first few tracks are worthwhile (in fact, really quite good), but the semi-ambient tracks with mindless audio samples don't work for me.Dream Theater When Dream And Day UniteSadly a bad mix lowers my appreciation for this album, and I'm not a fan of his vocals though. That said, the final track is good. Look for live versions of these songs on earlier live albums to hear them how they should be.Eluvium Travels In Constants Vol. 20A good drone epic, but it loses marks for being completely the same throughout. The wierd scraping noises kinda detract from the beauty, too.Eluvium The Motion Makes Me LastIkuinen Kaamos Fall of IconsOpeth, but bad. The band would do well to get some broader influence.IQ FrequencyA disappointing album. The vocals are only bad. The prog is very generic. The epic is excessively generic. Check out the earlier material.Metallica ReloadThis is simply "average" - not particularly good, but not bad. Sorry.Metallica LoadThis is simply "average" - not particularly good, but not bad. Rush FeedbackI guess this one would mean more to me if I knew the originals. Nothing wrong with these covers, they're excellent Rush re-makes, but it doesn't really do anything for me. Try the versions in R30 instead.Stars of the Lid Music For Nitrous OxideLive (Lid) feels very out of place and these tracks don't reach out to me like the other albums, but it still works as ambient music.The Dead Texan The Dead TexanOn average, this is a bit meandering and doesn't amount to very much, sadly. HOWEVER - one of my favourite ambient passages must be the end of A Chronicle Of Early Failures. Man that is captivating. Just wish the rest was...This Will Destroy You Field StudiesIt's probably good that these tracks are here - they can, fairly safely, be ignored.2.0 poorBass Communion Bass CommunionI'm not really a fan of this blend of beat driven, industrial stuff. Drugged II makes it somewhat worth it but it doesn't beat III.1.5 very poorMetallica St. AngerDo I really have to explain this? I think you get the picture.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
