Worst Metal Albums of All Time

DallasBlack wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

DeathCult wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Cognitive Dissonance wrote:

Brave New World is a really good album. I can see how some people might not care for it, because it's more rock than metal.

It also has tracks that are now classics that can easily stand beside the classic 80's tracks - The Wicker Man and Blood Brothers.

Ghost of the Navigator as well, that album is great.

Yep!!!!! Seeing Wicker Man followed by Ghost was epic last year!!!!!!

Agreed on all points!

I also love Dream Of Mirrors and Out Of The Silent Planet.

There is not a bad song on the album!!!!!!

DallasBlack wrote:

Iron Maiden-Fear Of The Dark: Never understood the hate for this one as it is great and highly underrated. It was my first Maiden album and started an almost 20 year love afffair with the band.

Ok, so I looked up the tracklistings for both NPFTD and FOD seeing it's been so long since I've heard either, and subsequently realized I actually had the two of them a little confused since they sound so similar, and all the tracks I liked, save for 1, were actually on FOD. I took both cassettes out to the garage and listened to them, and well No Prayer still sucks out loud pretty good, that one should be on a worst album list. FOD on the other hand, IS a good album. It suffers from some filler (From Here To Eternity ) and a couple boring compositions, but it's a good improvement. Being this was your first Maiden album DB, I can see why you would like it so much. For me personally, my first Maiden record was Killers, so after following them through all those great records and then hearing something like this, it was a major let down initally.

Quote :

Kryst the Conquerer - Deliver Us From Evil. Jerry Only's and Doyle's post-Misfits Christian-Metal band that never took off. I wonder why? Some might appreciate that Jeff Scott Soto sang on it, and Misfits nerds might enjoy the trivia aspect. But the whole thing is cornball and pretty cringe inducing.

In a moment of collector madness I almost bought this recently. Crazy what it sells for. And it only has like five songs on it. That may have been what stopped me. But if anyone wants a copy, Amoeba in LA has one in the Misfits section (and it appears to not be a boot). Might be doing me a favor by picking it up so I can avoid a future temptation to buy it. I'm a Misfits nerd and Jeff Scott Soto fan.

DeathCult wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

Iron Maiden-Fear Of The Dark: Never understood the hate for this one as it is great and highly underrated. It was my first Maiden album and started an almost 20 year love afffair with the band.

Ok, so I looked up the tracklistings for both NPFTD and FOD seeing it's been so long since I've heard either, and subsequently realized I actually had the two of them a little confused since they sound so similar, and all the tracks I liked, save for 1, were actually on FOD. I took both cassettes out to the garage and listened to them, and well No Prayer still sucks out loud pretty good, that one should be on a worst album list. FOD on the other hand, IS a good album. It suffers from some filler (From Here To Eternity ) and a couple boring compositions, but it's a good improvement. Being this was your first Maiden album DB, I can see why you would like it so much. For me personally, my first Maiden record was Killers, so after following them through all those great records and then hearing something like this, it was a major let down initally.

I remember NPFTD being a let down after the excellent 7th son and Fear as "back on track" record.

Then we had the Blaze albums...... Someone mention the "leftover" tracks fro Virtual XI. Those songs written but not record where Dream Of Mirrors, The Mercenary and The Nomad - interesting, since those tracks are bette than anything on XI. Plus, I can't think of anyone who would want to hear Blaze singing those tracks. Just thinking about Blaze singing Dream Of Mirrors makes me throw up a little in my mouth....

DeathCult wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

Iron Maiden-Fear Of The Dark: Never understood the hate for this one as it is great and highly underrated. It was my first Maiden album and started an almost 20 year love afffair with the band.

Ok, so I looked up the tracklistings for both NPFTD and FOD seeing it's been so long since I've heard either, and subsequently realized I actually had the two of them a little confused since they sound so similar, and all the tracks I liked, save for 1, were actually on FOD. I took both cassettes out to the garage and listened to them, and well No Prayer still sucks out loud pretty good, that one should be on a worst album list. FOD on the other hand, IS a good album. It suffers from some filler (From Here To Eternity ) and a couple boring compositions, but it's a good improvement. Being this was your first Maiden album DB, I can see why you would like it so much. For me personally, my first Maiden record was Killers, so after following them through all those great records and then hearing something like this, it was a major let down initally.

Yeah, previously being a Maiden virgin allowed me to enjoy that album more than long-time fans. Especially if your first was Killers which is #3 in my ratings of Iron Maiden albums (Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son are #1 & #2 respectively-Fear Of The Dark is #4).

tohostudios wrote:

arachnoplasma wrote:

Vexer6 wrote:

... the vocalist sounds like a cross between Axl Rose and Mark Slaughter ...

Ah, maybe that's why it grates on my nerves.

Hey, one man's trash is another's treasure...

OK this has nothing to do with the subject of this thread but I have to ask arachnoplasma something. Is your avatar the infamous rat/spider thing from Angry Red Planet?

That it is ,Toho, that it is ! And if I'm not mistaken the dude who designed that thing (whose name I do not know off the top of my head) was Moe Howard's son-in-law !

As for me,the only really bad Maiden albums are the ones without Bruce. I even really enjoy No Prayer and Fear Of The Dark. Both have some really good tunes on them.

007 wrote:

As for me,the only really bad Maiden albums are the ones without Bruce. I even really enjoy No Prayer and Fear Of The Dark. Both have some really good tunes on them.

I always felt if you took the best tracks for Prayer and Fear with Fear production, you would have one hell of a great album!!!!!

I like the Blaze albums as well as both "No Prayer For The Dying" and "Fear Of The Dark" There isn't really a Maiden album I would call awful(though A Matter Of Life And Death was kind of a letdown)

Vexer6 wrote:

I like the Blaze albums as well as both "No Prayer For The Dying" and "Fear Of The Dark" There isn't really a Maiden album I would call awful

Same here, the only one couldn't really get into was the last one. Still not awful but to me the weakest Maiden album.

thejokeriv wrote:

007 wrote:

As for me,the only really bad Maiden albums are the ones without Bruce. I even really enjoy No Prayer and Fear Of The Dark. Both have some really good tunes on them.

I always felt if you took the best tracks for Prayer and Fear with Fear production, you would have one hell of a great album!!!!!

I really enjoy BNW, Dance of Death and The Final Frontier. A Matter of Life and Death is ok but doesnt measure up to the others. Dance of Death has some really great material on it, even though the cover is terrible.

007 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

arachnoplasma wrote:

Vexer6 wrote:

... the vocalist sounds like a cross between Axl Rose and Mark Slaughter ...

Ah, maybe that's why it grates on my nerves.

Hey, one man's trash is another's treasure...

OK this has nothing to do with the subject of this thread but I have to ask arachnoplasma something. Is your avatar the infamous rat/spider thing from Angry Red Planet?

That it is ,Toho, that it is ! And if I'm not mistaken the dude who designed that thing (whose name I do not know off the top of my head) was Moe Howard's son-in-law !

Yep, yep... Good eyes, fellas. It's a classic.

thejokeriv wrote:

arachnoplasma wrote:

What song did Roy Z write for Brave New World? Because I've never heard of that, somehow. Some of those songs were leftovers from the Blaze Bayley era.

Either way, I have to disagree. Jugulator had a few ok ideas, but I can't stand Demolition. Fear of the Dark is hit or miss with some good / great songs and some lousy songs, but I like it better than No Prayer for the Dying (Maiden's worst in my opinion) at least. And I love Brave New World.

Roy Z didn't. ToB doesn't know what he is talking about!!!!!!!

So sayth the # 1 Maiden fan on HoM!!!!!!!

Thanks for clearing that up, I panicked when I thought my Maiden trivia was failing me.

I can see why some wouldn't like Brave New World, I guess. But I think it's a modern classic. A few albums are obviously greater / lesser than others, but there really aren't any Maiden albums I think outright "suck." Even No Prayer for the Dying (my least favorite), I still don't actually hate or anything, and I even enjoy the Blaze era too (although I didn't at the time, it grew on me much later). Haters gonna hate.

jstate wrote:

Quote :

Kryst the Conquerer - Deliver Us From Evil. Jerry Only's and Doyle's post-Misfits Christian-Metal band that never took off. I wonder why? Some might appreciate that Jeff Scott Soto sang on it, and Misfits nerds might enjoy the trivia aspect. But the whole thing is cornball and pretty cringe inducing.

In a moment of collector madness I almost bought this recently. Crazy what it sells for. And it only has like five songs on it. That may have been what stopped me. But if anyone wants a copy, Amoeba in LA has one in the Misfits section (and it appears to not be a boot). Might be doing me a favor by picking it up so I can avoid a future temptation to buy it. I'm a Misfits nerd and Jeff Scott Soto fan.

They only officially released one EP, but the unreleased full-length album with about ten songs or so has since leaked onto the Internet. Might try poking around the MisfitsCentral forums for that. It's something to hear for the trivia aspect if you're a die-hard fan who also collects stuff by all the various related bands and a fan of the later incarnation of the Misfits, but nothing that justifies paying the bazillion and one dollars that most sellers are asking for in my opinion.

I like No Prayer for the Dying a lot more than Fear of the Dark.

Maybe because it was my first Maiden album... I just seem to like the songs more. I also like Bruce's Tattooed Millionaire record as well. They both are more rock than metal, but still very memorable to me.

No Prayer's (Tailgunner and Holy Smoke) are great Maiden songs.

I don't think there are any bad albums with Bruce, but my least favorite is easily "No Prayer"!

metalinmyveins wrote:

I don't think there are any bad albums with Bruce, but my least favorite is easily "No Prayer"!

Bingo!!!!!!

Even the Blaze albums have good songs.... I didn't get it until I heard Bruce showed the world how to properly sing the Blaze years tracks. "When Two Worlds Collide" is a track I would love to hear Bruce give it justice!

No Prayer has some great tracks, the production is just piss poor - those tracks sound much better live.

thejokeriv wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

I don't think there are any bad albums with Bruce, but my least favorite is easily "No Prayer"!

Bingo!!!!!!

Even the Blaze albums have good songs.... I didn't get it until I heard Bruce showed the world how to properly sing the Blaze years tracks. "When Two Worlds Collide" is a track I would love to hear Bruce give it justice!

No Prayer has some great tracks, the production is just piss poor - those tracks sound much better live.

I don't mind the "X Factor" as a whole, but I think much of that has to do with when this album came out. In my opinion, 1995 was the biggest piss poor year for music in the 90's, so even an Iron Maiden album without Bruce was music to my ears. "Virtual XI" isn't terrible, but it wasn't as good as the previous album. The writing was obviously on the wall, they needed Bruce back among the ranks, and thank God he came back. Had he not, could Iron Maiden have survived much longer? When Two Worlds Collide is probably my second favorite song next to that of The Clansman. The only other two tracks that I like on that album are Futureal and Lightning Strikes Twice.

metalinmyveins wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

I don't think there are any bad albums with Bruce, but my least favorite is easily "No Prayer"!

Bingo!!!!!!

Even the Blaze albums have good songs.... I didn't get it until I heard Bruce showed the world how to properly sing the Blaze years tracks. "When Two Worlds Collide" is a track I would love to hear Bruce give it justice!

No Prayer has some great tracks, the production is just piss poor - those tracks sound much better live.

I don't mind the "X Factor" as a whole, but I think much of that has to do with when this album came out. In my opinion, 1995 was the biggest piss poor year for music in the 90's, so even an Iron Maiden album without Bruce was music to my ears. "Virtual XI" isn't terrible, but it wasn't as good as the previous album. The writing was obviously on the wall, they needed Bruce back among the ranks, and thank God he came back. Had he not, could Iron Maiden have survived much longer? When Two Worlds Collide is probably my second favorite song next to that of The Clansman. The only other two tracks that I like on that album are Futureal and Lightning Strikes Twice.

Maiden would have been done - that is why they fired Blaze before they reunited with Bruce and Adrian. I don't think Maiden would be as big now if Adrian didn't come back too. He originally was just coming back to help get the band back on top, but stayed. Glad he did as he has written so many great songs since the reunion.

I talked to one of the inside circle when I was in the UK and he told me that this will be the line up until they call it a day - they won't add Lauren Harris' guitarist if someone leaves. O yeah, he's already working for Priest - lol!!!! Sad thing is the next album may very well be the last - they only have plans for History tour next year then new album and new album tour. After that, the band doesn't know.

Metallica's St. Anger is the worst metal album of all time. Especially considering their past success and status as the "metal band of note." I question the sanity of anyone that likes this pile of crap.

I think the X-Factor is a dark, brooding and most of all, misunderstood masterpiece. It wasn't meant to be a continuation of 80's Iron Maiden. It's a whole different band with a different sound. I love it. The feel of it all, the seriousness (ie. the promo shots), the sound, the clanking bass, Blaze, the fact they weren't popular anymore... the Edge of Darkness is one of the best Maiden tracks ever, and it's a really consistent album. Fortunes of War, Look for the Truth and the Aftermath is the (un)holy trinity of dark, misanthropic Blaze Maiden for me. And 2 Am really resonates with me, and the solos on the Unbeliever.... actually, on this album, only maybe Lord of the Flies is a track I don't like.

Obviously it's a case of who likes what. "People who hate this record have smurf poo taste in music!" <-- not true at all, because a lot of fans expected something else. And a lot of fans just don't respond well to Blaze Maiden. This doesn't mean I'm wrong either. I may have smurf poo taste in music, but I can actually enjoy this album. That's one for me!

A lot of my love for the album also has to do with fond memories - it was the first Maiden album I bought new, right when it came out. I was born in 1980, so I was 15 at the time. I played the smurf poo out of this record. There are times when I get tired and it gets tedious to hear the same songs I've heard so many times and know all the lyrics to. But, give it a break and after a few months it's like a long lost friend I didn't realise I missed so much... and a heavy metal masterpiece.

And you know what? The fact the general public doesn't like it, makes it even BETTER! It's like a Maiden album just for myself to enjoy

Unfortunately, this doesn't change the fact that the follow-up, Virtual XI is ACTUALLY less than stellar....

Lari wrote:

I think the X-Factor is a dark, brooding and most of all, misunderstood masterpiece. It wasn't meant to be a continuation of 80's Iron Maiden. It's a whole different band with a different sound. I love it.

...

I expect lots of booing, but whatever, The X Factor is one of my favorite Maiden albums. I didn't care for it right from the start and I thought it was merely OK when it came out, but it grew on me after I stopped trying to compare it to earlier albums. I agree with your assessment totally. I love the darkness of it and it's an album that's gotten me through some tough times, some of the lyrics and music really resonate with me. In retrospect, it was a big step up after No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark and the album they should've made after Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Give it a heavier production, put Bruce on vocals, I think fans would've reacted very differently.

And Virtual XI isn't nearly as terrible as it's made out to be. Ok, "The Angel and the Gambler" is pretty bad and really sinks the album right from the start, but skip over it and the rest is ok. "Futureal" and "The Clansman" are both fine, and I like "The Educated Fool" a lot too. Most of the remaining tracks are at least decent or listenable. It's far from a classic, but it has its moments.

Witchfinder wrote:

Metallica's St. Anger is the worst metal album of all time. Especially considering their past success and status as the "metal band of note." I question the sanity of anyone that likes this pile of crap.

You know, I don't think I've ever been able to make it through that entire album in one sitting. Not even while drinking. I make it through about four songs and I have to switch it off, I just can't take anymore. I always prefer to listen to an album in its entirety before judging it but, ugh, that one has me beat.

Even though they are friends of mine from way back.......The Eika Records release by Fast Forward is the WORST metal abum ever. It's eve worse than Contagious and Holy Rite.

arachnoplasma wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

Metallica's St. Anger is the worst metal album of all time. Especially considering their past success and status as the "metal band of note." I question the sanity of anyone that likes this pile of crap.

You know, I don't think I've ever been able to make it through that entire album in one sitting. Not even while drinking. I make it through about four songs and I have to switch it off, I just can't take anymore. I always prefer to listen to an album in its entirety before judging it but, ugh, that one has me beat.

It is really bad but i have heard worse.

thejokeriv wrote:

DallasBlack wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

DeathCult wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Cognitive Dissonance wrote:

Brave New World is a really good album. I can see how some people might not care for it, because it's more rock than metal.

It also has tracks that are now classics that can easily stand beside the classic 80's tracks - The Wicker Man and Blood Brothers.

Ghost of the Navigator as well, that album is great.

Yep!!!!! Seeing Wicker Man followed by Ghost was epic last year!!!!!!

Agreed on all points!

I also love Dream Of Mirrors and Out Of The Silent Planet.

There is not a bad song on the album!!!!!!

"The Thin Line" is my favourite off the record. Probably in my top three favourite Maiden songs of all time.