Biggest Non-Disappointment?

Not expecting much and it turns out pretty cool?

I have a few.  But the one that came to mind as the bizarro thread to Biggest Disappointment would be:


Extreme - Saudades de Rock


Actually really enjoy almost all of this album.

The first one I thought of was Bon Jovi "Lost Highway"

I've always utterly loathed Bon Jovi so when I read/heard so many reviews bitching about this album being a "country" album I had to check it out.  Lo and behold it's actually a pretty good Southern rock-ish album that I ended up buying.  It's still the only Bon Jovi album I own and probably always will be.

Judas Priest - Firepower

I've found something to like about all of the post reunion albums but I wasn't expecting that!

Angel Witch - As Above So Below

I only really dug the debut until this one but they nailed it.

Celtic Frost - Monotheist

A band that I thought had run dry 15 years previous return with a masterpiece.

Accept - Blood of the Nations
When this came out I didn't know what to expect and it blew my mind

Timo Tolkki's Avalon - The Land of New Hope

I did not have high expectations, but it was and is an awesome record. It's metal, it's catchy, it has Russell Allen, Rob Rock etc doing lead vocals. Really surprised me how much I liked it.

Then came the 2nd Avalon album, and I bought it with high expecations, and it sucked terribly.

Lurideath wrote:

Accept - Blood of the Nations
When this came out I didn't know what to expect and it blew my mind

I agree. This is the best album of the band's reunion. Not a bad track on this one. Still a regular spinner.

Only one that comes to mind right now is Megadeths Dystopia. After Super Collider I really thought they were done putting out good music. Not only was I wrong, but they put out their best album since Rust in Peace IMO.

There are quite a few albums that have blown me away upon first listen:
Brave New World
Good to Be Bad
Blood of the Nations
A Different Kind of Truth

But, even though these are from some long time faves, they were all reunion/ comeback releases, so I wasn't totally sure what to expect. In keeping with this category, this one tops the charts for the Sentinel:



I really "did not" know what to expect. After the disappointments of the two albums with Ripper, and Halford's industrial sounding "Two" album, hopes and expectations were pretty low. I rememner hearing 'Revolution' on local rock radio and I was stoked to say the least. By the time 'Demonizer" was over, I was convinced it was the best album I had ever heard. Ha ha. Obviously, they have been on a roll since.

Another I would add would be this:



Unlike the others I listed above, these guys were not an all time fave, even though I knew "of" them since the '80's, I dismissed them as they didn't fit the mold of Hair Metal back then. I am glad I went back and gave them a second chance as this album (and their sophomore offering, "Damned Nation") is terrific. I am glad I got over my first impression of the band (given their name and look) as I stumbled onto a couple of hidden gems.

Megadeth - The System has Failed
Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution
Exodus - Tempo of the Damned
Cynic - Humanoid (song)

(aka comeback albums)

First one that comes to mind is Fire and Gasoline (1989) by former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

When I found the CD cheap at a flea market five or six years ago, I had never heard a note off of it but I picked it up anyway, strictly on Steve's rep and cuz I saw Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy's names in the credits.

Took it home, not expecting much from it to be honest, and lo and behold that album blew my doors off! It's been a perennial favorite ever since.

Halford - Resurrection. I didn't know what to expect after the 2wo debacle, but this album blew me away. Admittedly, at least four of the tracks leaked onto Napster a couple of months before the release date so I had an Idea that the album was going to be good.

Fat Freddy wrote:

First one that comes to mind is Fire and Gasoline (1989) by former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

When I found the CD cheap at a flea market five or six years ago, I had never heard a note off of it but I picked it up anyway, strictly on Steve's rep and cuz I saw Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy's names in the credits.

Took it home, not expecting much from it to be honest, and lo and behold that album blew my doors off! It's been a perennial favorite ever since.

Nice! Thinking out of the box, Fredo.

Fat Freddy wrote:

First one that comes to mind is Fire and Gasoline (1989) by former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

When I found the CD cheap at a flea market five or six years ago, I had never heard a note off of it but I picked it up anyway, strictly on Steve's rep and cuz I saw Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy's names in the credits.

Took it home, not expecting much from it to be honest, and lo and behold that album blew my doors off! It's been a perennial favorite ever since.

Fire & Gasoline is a scorcher fer sure. Great album. However, if you happen to come across Mr. Jones' first solo album, Mercy, take it immediately and smash it with a hammer, then burn the shards. Gather the ashes and bury them deep. That album blows harder than a Kardashian. Over-produced 80's synth rock.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Fire & Gasoline is a scorcher fer sure. Great album. However, if you happen to come across Mr. Jones' first solo album, Mercy, take it immediately and smash it with a hammer, then burn the shards. Gather the ashes and bury them deep. That album blows harder than a Kardashian. Over-produced 80's synth rock.

Oh yeah, a while after I discovered F&G I checked out Mercy on YouTube to see if it would be worth tracking down... and bleah, it was definitely not my thang.

The first one that comes to mind is L.A Guns The Missing Peace. Some of the other 80s bands have regrouped and put out less than stellar material(i.e. shitty) but Guns did it right. Great album!

Theocracy: As the World Bleeds. I had only heard one song from this album (and only a couple of songs from the band itself), so i bought it pretty much blind, and was shocked at just how consistently good it is. They're probably my favorite power metal band now.