Defend an album that get ripped on a lot...

I stole this idea from the CMR. List an album or two that generally gets ripped on by fans that you like and tell us what you like about it. My post is lifted from the CMR.

candlemass wrote:

Mortification - The Silver Cord is Severed

Took a while for this one to grow on me, but I quite enjoy it now. It just didn't fit the mold of a Mort lp for most folks, but it's a solid release.

Grimmo wrote:

Mortification's Triumph of Mercy, Silver Cord is Severed and Hammer of God.

I LOVE Mortification - Hammer of God. I think it's an incredible album from Morty and one that gets spun often. "Metal Crusade", "Martyrs" and "In the Woods" are some of the band's best songs IMO.

Iron Maiden - The X Factor
Like many other fans, I detested this CD when it first came out. Blaze was no Bruce Dickinson and they album just didn't gallop along like a Maiden album is suppose to. "The X-Factor" was responsible for the birth of a new Iron Maiden; a more dark and melodic Maiden. Once past the fact that Blaze is different than Bruce, I really began to enjoy this disc. Not every song is great, but the songs that are good Blaze shines in. The first four cuts on this disc, along with the epic "The Unbeliever" are the best tracks. The first single, "Man on the Edge" is one of the best songs on the disc and certainly the most commercially accessible. The opener, "Sign of the Cross" has the longest guitar solo in Maiden history clocking in at 5 minutes 36 seconds. This is a really melodic epic number.

Celtic Frost - Cold Lake
No Celtic Frost fan alive in '88 would admit to liking this album. After all, there was the pink backlighting, the band had poofed their hair and was obviously being sponsored by Aqua Net. However, this really isn't a bad album at all. It's more commercial and hooky than the band's earlier, darker stuff, and this wasn't what Warrior had promised as their next album. However, it's a good, melodic, heavy metal album. This is no Poison or Warrant! It's actually pretty dark and twisted sounding IMO.

Slayer - Diablous in Musica

a lot of people (including some so called Slayer diehards) hated this album with a passion, some even going so far as to label it nu-metal. this is of course totally inaccurate & completely silly. this was just Slayer doing what Slayer did before & slowing things down a bit (much like they did on South of Heaven). only this time they changed the tuning & added a little more groove to their sound. it's still as well written, well played, agressive & hateful as anything they've ever released & it still totally sounds like Slayer.

did it sound a bit different when compared to their previous catalog? sure, but it's not the mainstream release that so many thrash "experts" were claiming it to be.

mc666 wrote:

Slayer - Diablous in Musica

a lot of people (including some so called Slayer diehards) hated this album with a passion, some even going so far as to label it nu-metal. this is of course totally inaccurate & completely silly. this was just Slayer doing what Slayer did before & slowing things down a bit (much like they did on South of Heaven). only this time they changed the tuning & added a little more groove to their sound. it's still as well written, well played, agressive & hateful as anything they've ever released & it still totally sounds like Slayer.

did it sound a bit different when compared to their previous catalog? sure, but it's not the mainstream release that so many thrash "experts" were claiming it to be.

Nice. I have yet to hear this Slayer album. So many CDs, so little money.

Judas Priest - Turbo

I like this album. It's catchy and melodic plus sports a ZZ Top influence.

Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

When i first heard the song Bat Country I thought to myself wow these guys have really changed since Waking the Fallens almost metalcore sound. I then heard the song Beast and the Harlot and I loved it. There are some amazing songs on City of Evil regardless if you dont like the singer or not. The musicianship for one is astonishing for guys barely in there 20's. Songs like MIA and Sidewinder show that these guys really know how to write good music. I like Shadows raspy voice a lot and they really rely on melody which really takes all the attention off his voice.






amazing outro

mc666 wrote:

Slayer - Diablous in Musica

a lot of people (including some so called Slayer diehards) hated this album with a passion, some even going so far as to label it nu-metal. this is of course totally inaccurate & completely silly. this was just Slayer doing what Slayer did before & slowing things down a bit (much like they did on South of Heaven). only this time they changed the tuning & added a little more groove to their sound. it's still as well written, well played, agressive & hateful as anything they've ever released & it still totally sounds like Slayer.

did it sound a bit different when compared to their previous catalog? sure, but it's not the mainstream release that so many thrash "experts" were claiming it to be.

Along with SoH its the only Slayer album I can really enjoy. When Slayer plays fast all the songs really blend and sound so similar to me. When they slow it down and add groove they really shined.

Exodus-Force of Habit

I know alot of people dont really care for this album but there are some great tunes on here.Of course this album incorporates more groove to their sound but the intensity is still there.Songs like Architect of Pain,Thorn in my Side,Force of Habit,are all great IMO.All in all its a catchy album that keeps me spinning it over and over again.

mc666 wrote:

Slayer - Diablous in Musica

a lot of people (including some so called Slayer diehards) hated this album with a passion, some even going so far as to label it nu-metal. this is of course totally inaccurate & completely silly. this was just Slayer doing what Slayer did before & slowing things down a bit (much like they did on South of Heaven). only this time they changed the tuning & added a little more groove to their sound. it's still as well written, well played, agressive & hateful as anything they've ever released & it still totally sounds like Slayer.

did it sound a bit different when compared to their previous catalog? sure, but it's not the mainstream release that so many thrash "experts" were claiming it to be.

Completely agree, it's one of my favorite Slayer albums...makes a nice companion album with South of Heaven actually.

On a production note, it's nice to hear Tom's bass recorded this well, instead of burying the bass in the mix they allow it some space out front.

Genesis-Calling All Stations

I think this album was ripped apart unfairly, IMO was huge improvement over their last two studio albums, 'Invisible Touch' and 'We Can't Dance'. The songs were somewhat darker and the lyrics were more down to earth, lyrics that still dealt with relationships but in more adult grown manner.

Ray Wilson sounds nothing like Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel, and hisvoice sounds like a lived in voice, world weary life experienced voice with somewhat bluesy overtones. Songs like 'Not About Us' which talks of fear of commitment and relationship gone bad, that sometimes it is not about just the two people involved, 'Congo' the first single was a great intro and title track and plodding track that maybe the heavist track Genesis ever recorded.

This was a transition album for Genesis, introducing a new voice and new direction while tipping a hat to the past, a band in search of a new identity sort of speak, it is too bad they made only one album with Ray Wilson and that commerical failure of this release made them call it a day. I think it was good introduction to what I felt was going to be third lease on life for this band not its swan song.

Jugulator - very underated album. Gets slated alot. I love this album. One of my top 5 Priest albums.

INVADERS wrote:

Jugulator - very underated album. Gets slated alot. I love this album. One of my top 5 Priest albums.

Cathedral Spires and Bullet Train are worth the price of admission on this one. I'd love to hear those two songs resurrected with Halford singing them.

Catherdral - Supernatural Birth Machine

This was my first introduction to the band, so it's always gonna have some nostolgic value to me, but from opinions I've gathered 'round here and some reviews I've read, it's not a fan favorote and I don't understand why. Maybe because they were moving away from their dommier stuff and becoming more stoner/rerto sounding?

Anthrax - State of Euphoria

Another one that holds nostolgic value to me, this cd (along with a few others) was part of the soundtrack to my Senior Week back in '89. But for reasons I don't fully get, this one doen's seem to get much respect in the Anthrax catalog. I guess following Among the Living, this one had pretty lofty expectations, but I don't think there's a bad song on there. It was just as thrashy and still retained that 'thrax sense of humor. So what if the biggest single off of it was a cover (Antisocial). I'm sure to most folks, myself included, not many were familair with the original version anyway, so it fit in just fine with the rest of the tunes.

thrasher73 wrote:

Exodus-Force of Habit

I know alot of people dont really care for this album but there are some great tunes on here.Of course this album incorporates more groove to their sound but the intensity is still there.Songs like Architect of Pain,Thorn in my Side,Force of Habit,are all great IMO.All in all its a catchy album that keeps me spinning it over and over again.

I like that album. It's actually one of my favorites by them and it has killer guitar playing, check the solo on Good Day To Die.

W.A.S.P. - K.F.D. - Arguably the band's darkest offering, this is one of my favorite W.A.S.P. albums. I think Blackie did the "industrial" thing VERY well. In fact, I hate that style of music, but Blackie turned into something that appealed to me and made this album even heavier than the "normal" W.A.SP. sound could have created.

Waiting for someone to defend St Anger...

Troublezone wrote:

Waiting for someone to defend St Anger...

Goochie will.

SpectreFate wrote:

W.A.S.P. - K.F.D. - Arguably the band's darkest offering, this is one of my favorite W.A.S.P. albums. I think Blackie did the "industrial" thing VERY well. In fact, I hate that style of music, but Blackie turned into something that appealed to me and made this album even heavier than the "normal" W.A.SP. sound could have created.

K.F.D. is a finger lickin good album.

SpectreFate wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Waiting for someone to defend St Anger...

Goochie will.

You are correct sir.

SpectreFate wrote:

W.A.S.P. - K.F.D. - Arguably the band's darkest offering, this is one of my favorite W.A.S.P. albums. I think Blackie did the "industrial" thing VERY well. In fact, I hate that style of music, but Blackie turned into something that appealed to me and made this album even heavier than the "normal" W.A.SP. sound could have created.

This one is a recent purchase for me and while I do like it, I think it could have been just as fine of an album without all of the industrial stuff. Considdering what WASP was doing in the past, this seemed like a trend-hopping move that in my opinion was unnecessary. I'm basing this on hearing songs from this album performed on Double Live Assassins and they sound just as good without the sampling and electronic poop. As it stands though, I do like this album even if it's still sorta new to me. Time will tell how well it holds up in a few years.

Judas Priest - Ram It Down

I have always loved this album. From the opening scream of the title track to Ken and Glen's twin axe attack on Heavy Metal, and up through Rocker and Hard as Iron, the whole first side just rocks to me. The epic, Blood Red Skies, is just awesome to my ears and I even like the cover of Jonny B. Goode. Maybe it's that I am just a Priest die hard, but I truly love this album. A lot of critics forget that much of this album was already done and was supposed to be the other album (along with Turbo) in a double album. Ram is obviously a tad heavier than Turbo though. Peace.

Metallica - Death Magnetic

Once Dead - Visions Of Hell



On both of these production and drum sounds get hammered. I love the production and drum sound on both of these.

I also like the vocals on Once Dead. It's Thrash, which really has no standard vocals.

Vengeance Rising - Destruction Comes - Sure it is a Roger Martinez solo project! Sure, it's a bit one dimensional! But it is leaps and bounds better than Human Sacrifice, IMO.
I think I also like it so much because if you read the lyrics, Roger is starting to crack. His world was crumbling and he was trying his hardest to maintain his faith. I thought he was most human on this album, and I still, to this day, look up to ol' Rog.

Good call on VR - Destruction Comes!

the sentinel wrote:

Judas Priest - Ram It Down

I have always loved this album. From the opening scream of the title track to Ken and Glen's twin axe attack on Heavy Metal, and up through Rocker and Hard as Iron, the whole first side just rocks to me. The epic, Blood Red Skies, is just awesome to my ears and I even like the cover of Jonny B. Goode. Maybe it's that I am just a Priest die hard, but I truly love this album. A lot of critics forget that much of this album was already done and was supposed to be the other album (along with Turbo) in a double album. Ram is obviously a tad heavier than Turbo though. Peace.

I am in total agreement with you, love the album, an album that was unfairly bashed.

Whitesnake - Slip of the tongue
I see a lot of fans hating this album. Most saying that Steve Vai ruined it, no blues, no feeling bla bla bla....
I think it`s a great album, lots of killer songs and great playing.
In my top 5 Whitesnake albums.