Reunion albums: best and worst?

chewie wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Hits:  Dokken's Dysfunctional,

I forgot about that one. It is really good!

Nowadays I tend to reach for that one more often than their "classic" CDs when I'm in a Dokken mood.

Fat Freddy wrote:

chewie wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Hits:  Dokken's Dysfunctional,

I forgot about that one. It is really good!

Nowadays I tend to reach for that one more often than their "classic" CDs when I'm in a Dokken mood.

Really ? I think that one is pretty weak.

People criticized stuff like 'Back for the Attack' but most of the Dokken stuff I've heard is actually pretty solid, including that one. There are bands with worse catalogs, and worse comeback material from that era than Dokken.

Hadley wrote:

Im in the minority, but i LIKED Generation Swine. The weird industrial/electronic effects actually work in this case and make it sound unique, and Afraid is one of my favorite Crue songs.

I like Generation Swine as well. I have fond memories attached to that album, so it gets a pass from me. I don't mind the experimentation.

Kix's semi-recent reunion Rock Your Face Off is excellent. Don't think that one's been mentioned yet.

KISS' Psycho Circus is the turd in the punchbowl of reunion albums.

I will say this about Psycho Circus, the songs that were good (PC, I pledge Allegiance, Into the Void, Raise Your Glasses) were really good, but the bad songs (Within, You Wanted the Best, Journey of 1000 years) were REALLY bad. Of course, thats just my opinion, but it really should have just been an EP with the strongest songs.

muckie wrote:

People criticized stuff like 'Back for the Attack' ...

The song or the album?  Back For The Attack is an album that garnered a whole lot of praise both at the time or release and now.  Or maybe I am missing your point.

DakotaRogers wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Even though it's not the original lineup, but a new album after they reformed, Heathen's The Evolution of Chaos is a fantastic album!

This is, in my opinion, the greatest modern thrash metal album of all time. It's bewildering that it doesn't get more praise than it does.

I wish they'd get their asses back in the studio, because the wait for a follow-up is killing me.

I'd have to agree that it's criminally underrated and unheard. A powerful album.

Another thrash reunion worth mentioning is Mortal Sin. Psychology of Death is one of my favorite modern thrash albums--and by far their best album. It's far more brutal than, say, Face of Despair, and catchy while maintaining their technical side. And the solos are some of the better for the genre (thrash solos tend to bore me).

Witchfinder wrote:

muckie wrote:

People criticized stuff like 'Back for the Attack' ...

The song or the album?  Back For The Attack is an album that garnered a whole lot of praise both at the time or release and now.  Or maybe I am missing your point.

Yeah, I'm not getting this either. I was 17 at the time and pretty much can remember the album receiving good praise as well. Granted, the band was in utter turmoil around this time, but the album didn't suffer because of it.

Back for the Attack received criticism? Wasn't that kind of their peak, and also their most "metal" record?

Back for the Attack isn't necessarily above criticism--a couple of the songs are filler, album goes on for too long IMO--but they certainly went out with a bang with that album. Though I think Under Lock and Key to be their best (a FLAWLESS album), BftA is certainly deserving of accolades. I don't believe it received a terrible amount of negative word (unless you're talking about the douchebags at Rolling Stones F*ck them F*ck them F*ck those c*nt rippers).

corplhicks wrote:

Though I think Under Lock and Key to be their best (a FLAWLESS album),

hahahahahahahaha

Best
Exodus, tempo of the damped
Judas priest, angel of retribution
Megadeth, the system has failed
Artillery, back
Van halen, a different kind of truth

Worst
Heaven and hell, the devil you know
Iron maiden, brave new world
Anthrax, worship music
Cynic, traced in air

corplhicks wrote:

Though I think Under Lock and Key to be their best (a FLAWLESS album)

Oh come now. Name one bad or mediocre song on ULaK.

I thought people criticized BftA because it was supposedly 'too commercial'.

corplhicks wrote:

Oh come now. Name one bad or mediocre song on ULaK.

Slippin' Away
Will The Sun Rise ?


That said ,it's still a good listen but hardly flawless

I think Will The Sun Rise is one of the best songs on that album actually.  


Under Lock And Key was a lot more polished and commercial than Tooth And Nail but honestly I think it fits the sound of the band better.  

I don't really remember any backlash about Back For The Attack, but I wasn't listening to much mainstream metal by that point so I wasn't paying a lot of attention either.

007 wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Oh come now. Name one bad or mediocre song on ULaK.

Slippin' Away
Will The Sun Rise ?


That said ,it's still a good listen but hardly flawless

Yeah, "Slippin' Away" is pretty bad. I thought I hated "Will the Sun Rise" as much, but I just listened to it and it wasn't as bad as I thought I remembered it. It still would rank 9th favorite on the album, but Slippin Away would be a distant 10th.

I wouldn't say "Under Lock and Key" is flawless due to Jaded Heart, but it's my favorite Dokken album and cemented them as one of my all time favorite bands.

the sentinel wrote:

I wouldn't say "Under Lock and Key" is flawless due to Jaded Heart, but it's my favorite Dokken album and cemented them as one of my all time favorite bands.

Yeah, that song blows.

S.D. wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

I wouldn't say "Under Lock and Key" is flawless due to Jaded Heart, but it's my favorite Dokken album and cemented them as one of my all time favorite bands.

Yeah, that song blows.  

I think it's a pretty good song, though Back For the Attack if my favorite Dokken album.

the sentinel wrote:

I wouldn't say "Under Lock and Key" is flawless due to Jaded Heart, but it's my favorite Dokken album and cemented them as one of my all time favorite bands.

I'm listening to it right now and it's not my fave Dokken album (Tooth And Nail holds that distinction) but I do like it.

And I forgot about Jaded Heart. Weak song right there too.

Slippin' Away, Jaded Heart, and Will the Sun Rise (especially) are all terrific numbers to me. I still find myself humming Jaded Heart. A solid anthemic power ballad. But that's just me.

Tooth and Nail is solid but I find it a bit more primitive i.e. hollow mix, overly simple construction. Plus Bullets to Spare is the cheesiest they ever got haha. But damn if Alone Again isn't a perfect ballad.

Anyway, getting back on topic, Dysfunctional was a weird-ass record.

Will the new Metallica record be considered a reunion album?   The reunion part will be reintroducing them to a studio. Hell, it will have been 8 (Yes eight) years since their last record!

I just fired up Under Lock and Key.

I haven't listened to any Dokken albums (of which there are only 4 as far as I'm concerned) in a long time. Without any fresh listens, my choice for favorite would be Breaking the Chains. I'll probably listen to them all today though, unless I get bored and switch to something else. I feel like Back for the Attack was maybe my least favorite, though I did enjoy it still. Different style a bit, but Don Dokken's solo album from 1990 smoked as well. I didn't discover that until a few years ago. It's so good.

As for favorite reunion albums, I definitely agree with the Exodus Tempo of the Damned mention. I was so into that record when it came out. The anger of that album did more for mid-20s me than it does mid to late-30s me, but I will still attempt to bang my head whenever I hear "Shroud of Urine".

I'd also number Psycho Circus as a favorite. I really enjoy that album...there are certainly a few less than stellar tracks, as with most KISS albums. And usually those less than tunes have Demon vocals (there are maybe 5 songs in their catalog that I feel benefit from Simmons' voice).

I can't think of any that I flat-out hated. This would be more of a comeback record than a reunion, since it's not a band, but Lita Ford's Wicked Wonderland was very disappointing. I guess there were so many strong records coming out at that time from similar artists that I expected hers to rock pretty hard. It did not.

What I heard of Faith No More's Sol Invictus I was not that into...I probably didn't give it a proper chance. But maybe their style, or anti-style is just not my thing any more.