Update: I have been listening to some music and stuff. The band that recentlyt stole my little heart is Ulcerate. They are amazing. Favorite death metal band? maybe ever? yes. Love their 2009 album Everything Is Fire. Also their 2011 album and their 2020 albums are fucking great too. I may do a deep dive post of their whole discography. They are on my shortlist of artists/bands to do a full discography listen. Mastodon is on that list, as is Elliott Smith, and Dire Straits, and.... well since thinking this may be un those are the 4 that came to mind. All had small yet rich discographies.
I have been really really digging a slew of genres and sounds that all are kind of gnarly. Been listening to lots of grindcore and Powerviolence and Crust punk/anarcho punk and d beat and noise rock stuff and sludge metal and especially love when sludge metal is incorporated into those genres and (in the case of the aforementioned Ulcerate) combined with Death Metal or really anything. Sludge is just fun to me. Maybe its the genre's sound or maybe its that I think its the best genre name ever and the word "Sludge" is just so great and ugly and fitting.
Okay, so I dropped the metal Gods (Sab, Priest, Maiden) deep dives. Which is stupid and I am going back. I may not do their entire 17-19 album discogs because these bands each have storied first 8 to 14 and then even they show that they cannot overcome time and its ability to pull down great hard rock bands. Solo artists seem more able to push off the gravity and keep making badass music for decades and decades. But at least I will complete the first idk 8 or 9 or 10 albums by these giants.
I also do want to come back to that FAR too big project I started with those 10 (!!!) 90s artists. That one was a bit (a lot) too much to really stick to. But man there are some really really cool artists there that I have not lost the fire to explore (PJ, Neurosis, Morbid Angel, Death, Fugazi, Unwound, Autechre, Aphex, Jesus Lizard, and Stereolab... least interested in Stereolab and I don't know why, just not really my vibe ever. But I know they are creative geniuses.)
Anyway, without further ado, here is the next entry in the Legends of Metal Discog Deep Dive Project!
It should be noted that I will be (attempting to) make these write ups shorter. This is because if I am not moved by an album or if an album doesn't organically inspire many ideas or thoughts or enthusiasm, what results is me just stuffing filler into a write up and giving each album equal time inorganically. This tendency to try to make each write up somewhat equal in length and effort also tends to personally make me want to drop these games. This makes absolutely no difference to you who read this, but makes me less lilely to do these little games/projects/deep dives and they are, at the end of the day, for my own enjoyment mostly and its a way to force me relatively gently to explore many albums and much music I have been meaning to for years but never did. Now I wanna take a second to recognize how despicably ugly and unending that last sentence was! Wow.
Anyway, now about this album... I think its pretty good.
I am starting to come to the conclusion that Sabbath just isn't really, basically, my cup of tea. This is a classic and considered one of their 5 star albums. And I just don't hear it. It feels to me to be a damn fine hard rock album. It sounds like its better written and more beautifully crafted overall than a lot of their earlier stuff. But it also sounds a little de-fanged. It just doesn't hit me on a heavy elemental level like even Master of Reality. It doesn't sound rough and gloriously unrefined like their self titled debut. It doesn't sound as iconic and almost mystically miraculous as Paranoid (some of that aura or most of it probably just comes from the 50+ years of hype... still there is something there that I feel when I listen to paranoid that no other sabbath album has thus far. And no Maiden or Priest either). And it doesn't have the nostalgia connected to it that Vol 4. has nor arte the best songs here (as solid as they are) as great as the highlights of Vol 4 (or the debut or Paranoid or even MoR).
First 2 songs, title track and A National Acrobat, are very cool and beautifully written hard rock classics for good reason. The Ozzy vocals are still annoying and for some reason I'm starting to feel that his excellent vocals that I loved on Sabbath's 1970 albums was a fluke. The anthemic vibe of his vocals just annoys me. I prefer weird and sinister Ozzy vocals not whatever weak sauce shit that is featured on this album, much of MoR and some of Vol 4. Anyway, I'm focusing on the negative.
The hilariously titled Fluff is their most beautiful and most consequential instrumental to this point.
And the hits keep coming... Sabbra Cadabra is cool (and this is a rare post 1970 Ozzy vocal that is actually really cool) and so is Killing Yourself to Live, and Spiral Architect is cool too. Who Are You is not my jam and I think is pretty weak. As is Looking for Today. And really I take it back about Spiral Architect, listening to it now and its not all that.
So, I started listening to this and actually finished it back in september when I was last working on this project and the fact that I was so underwhelmed by this album made me hesitant to con tinue the deep dive. The hesitance turned to forgetting it and now here we are 6 weeks later. Listening today, hoping maybe that some time away would make me like the album more, I was still underwhelmed and not blown away (but I was enjoying it more than last time admittedly.). Not a huge fan, but I recognize its a qualioty hard rock album. Only gets 3 emojis... 😈😈🤬 (2 twisted 1 evil.) The thing is I am not in the groove with how I was rating these back in september. I suspect that some of these ratings will seem quite wonky and weird and extremely low (or high) compared to when Ijwas churning these posts out before. Maybe not. Maybe I am more consistent internally than I think. We shall see.
I vibe with Judas Priest more than the other 2. That may be clear based off the first 4 posts in the 3 band deep dive project. A silly or non-classic Judas album is more likely to be enjoyed by me than a similarly considered Sabbath or Maiden. I just want to come right out and say I have a definite preference and bias toward Judas Priest. With that said let's get into this 5th LP by these British Metal legends, Killing Machine (or Hell Bent for Leather as it is titled in Apple music... i am sure there is a very well known reason for this but I don't have the inclination to research it... i'm lazy.).
Okay, with that said, I do think this is a noticeable step down in quality for the all powerful Priest. This album is a concerning indication of where they were going musically. The songs are broader, poppier, more anthemic and "catchy" than ever. The riffs and sound is less biting and soulful than in the previous 4 albums. This is clear to me. Now, for some this is the best shit. There is nothing wrong with catchy, bombastic big anthemic hard rock metal songs. But to me, and to my tastes, I prefer the darkness and beauty and soul of Sad Wings over this. I prefer the biting, relentless and almost menacing power of Stained Class over this. Hell I may even prefer the debut in its cool, simple, swaggering hard rock over this.
The first 2 songs it should be said are classic and brilliant. They have a grit and a ferocity that I love to hear in Priest. For some reason though after that, we are feasted with some of the sappiest - nay THE sappiest - Priest songs to the point. Back to back to back we are hit with weirdly charming but pretty fucking simplistic anthems or somewhat poppy hard rock with Evening Star thenHell Bent for Leather (pretty sure that is the answer to my earlier riddle... this was a hit and they named the album after the hit poppy anthem when it got printed in the US... that is my unresearched guess and theory anyway) and then finally the weirdly stripped down and corny as fuck Take On The World.
From there the band and album steers clear of the awesome vibes of the first 2 classic tracks here and instead serve up half a dozen or so rockers that don't blow my mind (outside of the undeniably beautiful power ballad Before The Dawn. I have a massive soft spot for quiet Judas Priest songs with those gorgeous if over the top Halford soaring vocals... hearts). The original title track Killing Mschine is cool and biting. But yeah anyway, that is my thoughts on the songs.
The thing though that I realized or thought as I listened to this album... it was fun and it was really good! Even on the silliest or most obviously mersh songs there is a certain slithery, mercurial, ...something that Judas Priest has. The band by 1979 when this was released just had a certain dynamic coolness, the drummer and the twin guitar attack of Downing and Tipton was just TOO good. Even given their most simple hard rock radio tracks they always found a way to make it groove and make it move and make it feel alive and fun. Idk. This again may just be my bias in favor of Priest showing. I just like the sound of Halford and the rest of the band so much.
With that said... this is a 3 emoji affair which could have been lower in any other hands. If Sabbath had made this album it would be bad. This though is 😈😈😈 (3 twisted, so just about as close to 4 as can be achieved without crossing over.)
ah yes and now for the most heralded of this set and the longest of these 3 and the most iconic of the three.... POWERSLAVE. I have heard this album a few times over the years. But I never gave it much TLC and close listening. So, anyway, I'm pushing play now and I'll come back and write the next paragraph after giving a listen or 2 to this classic. Be right back.
Okay, so yeah this is still good. I wrote something up about this on the Canon Edition of the You Must Listen To The Album Below You game in the Games forum some months back. There I was quite impressed. With this listen and with more familiarity I can say this has grown on me even more.
What can I say? The band is composed of studs all the way across the line up. By this point they have all played together for a couple years and so that already very tight sound which has been a hallmark really of all their albums even the early ones, is somehow chiseled to an even more tight sound. The bass playing is legendary and the production does it many favors by accentuating the incredible bass work, the twin guitars are pristine, the melodies and the songcraft is absuird and beautiful and soaring, the vocals are technically incredible even if not my personal favorite style, and the drumming is fully formed and better than ever. Unlike the previous 2 albums by Maiden, there is absolutely no corny or bad song here. They are consistently ripping and fast and intense and layered and just feel like a galloping heard of warriors charging down upon your ears. And yes the first 2 songs are all time masterpieces and almost impossibly busy (in a good way) while the epic closing track is as good as any Maiden song ever (still think personally Hallowed Be Thy Name has not been topped and I may never hear a Maiden track I like more than that).
Downsides? Well as already mentioned, I still have not found much love in my heart for Dickinson's style of singing. What was once eye-roll induicing annoyance has slowly become a general feeling of "meh". Its impressive how much range and power he has. I just don't like the sounds that he so articulately and powerfully expels.
Another slight critique is the songs do have a certain consistency to a fault. They mostly feature that patented Maiden Gallop, that rhythm guitar and druim onslaught which is amazing in small doses but after half a dozen songs with a similar sound I admit I started to have trouble majorly differentiating them. Still, the melodies, the harmonies, the absolutely perfect production that makes every instrument clear and punchy, the urgency of the tracks makes even the most similar and familiar of them still sound fucking fantastic. As a 51 minute old school heavy metal epic, this album is just about as good as I can imagine it being. Thus it gets 5 emojis and a very good score... the best Maiden yet I am thinking... 😈😈😈🤬🤬 (3 twisted 2 evil. very nice and easily the best album of these 3).
-------------------------
Summary: Okay, and so Maiden dominates this round. And whats more they have 2 more classics coming up for their 6th and 7th albums. Priest and Sabbath in this round possibly gave me their worst albums yet of the first 5. Judas Priest will be serving up British Steel next and I remember thinking that album sucked. It's been over a decade so maybe its grown on me. And Sabotage is the next Sabbath and I remember liking that one quite a bit a few months back when I listened to it.
I'll be back "soon" with the 6th LP in Sabbath's and Priest's and Maiden's discogs. Namely, Sabotage and British Steel and Somewhere In Time! _________________ -Ryan
There is nothing wrong with catchy, bombastic big anthemic hard rock metal songs. But to me, and to my tastes, I prefer the darkness and beauty and soul of Sad Wings over this. I prefer the biting, relentless and almost menacing power of Stained Class over this. Hell I may even prefer the debut in its cool, simple, swaggering hard rock over this.
Preach, brother! I'll listen to these three albums at some point this week and give my ratings. Powerslave is probably my favorite of the three. Love all three, but definitely NOT Priest's or Sabbath's best works from what my beer soaked brain recalls. More after I re-listen.
This album RULES!!! And still shows many avenues that Metal should explore further. Especially stuff like "Who Are You?" Sabbath is honestly the gift that keeps giving. I've been listening to a TON of 80s doom metal over the last year, and this shit is right up there with anything I've heard. Every single song is amazing and distinct in its own way.
Easily a classic. There is really is nothing else quite like it. Even in Sabbath's Discog.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is often forgotten for some reason. Every time there's a Black Sabbath discussion, the first 4 are mentioned. Please stop that heresy, it's as good as any of the first 4 😁 Even Sabotage is just a slightly worse version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, it definitely deserves a lot of attention (and I'm sure Merc will do a review of that one soon).
Powerslave yeah, it's the best, but after all the years listening to it I still can't get over the fact that you have several filler songs on an absolutely classic album with multiple all time great songs. Also, and this is strictly personal, I don't think 2 Minutes to Midnight is THAT great of a song. I've overplayed it I think. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
There is nothing wrong with catchy, bombastic big anthemic hard rock metal songs. But to me, and to my tastes, I prefer the darkness and beauty and soul of Sad Wings over this. I prefer the biting, relentless and almost menacing power of Stained Class over this. Hell I may even prefer the debut in its cool, simple, swaggering hard rock over this.
Preach, brother! I'll listen to these three albums at some point this week and give my ratings. Powerslave is probably my favorite of the three. Love all three, but definitely NOT Priest's or Sabbath's best works from what my beer soaked brain recalls. More after I re-listen.
Nice. Yeah, I agree. Weirdly, considering my preconceptions and knee-jerk rankings of these 3 artists before starting this slow project, Iron Maikden may have the most consistent start (to my ears). I don't think I've given any of their albums 3 emojis. I'm much more of a Priest guy personally.
This album RULES!!! And still shows many avenues that Metal should explore further. Especially stuff like "Who Are You?" Sabbath is honestly the gift that keeps giving. I've been listening to a TON of 80s doom metal over the last year, and this shit is right up there with anything I've heard. Every single song is amazing and distinct in its own way.
Easily a classic. There is really is nothing else quite like it. Even in Sabbath's Discog.
😈😈😈😈 :evil:
Ooooh I am being called out! Just kidding. I respect those who love this album. I remember reading some Guitar magazine as a kid and I forget which nu metal band in an interview was talking about Sabbath.... but the main take away from that part of the interview was that this guitarist really LOVED Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath the most and kind of worshipped at the feet of this album. I respect that. Personally, again, I am starting to think that maybe Sabbath just stylistically or sonically isn't as much my absolute jam as they are for many others. I mean if you look at music websites like this and RYM and otehrs, Sabbath has become such a utterly revered band to the highest degree. For example, and this is really a silly metric to base this on but it's somewhat indicative, if you look at the Rateyourmusic pages for these 3 bands you will find that Maiden in many ways DWARFES Judas Priest in terms of how many Ratings on the classic albums there are. This surprised me because I thought they were comparable in popularity. But what is even more surprising is that Sabbath in turn DWARFES Maiden. Sab are just absolutely legends, massively influential and to this day their first 6 albums and 2 with Dio are absolutely iconic. I have not yet had that EUREKA moment on what makes these guys so cool. While I do recognize that they are a very influential and consistent and high quality metal and hard rock band, I have yet to feel almost in awe of their peak greatness like I have felt or would feel about King Crimson or even Led Zeppelin (maybe not Zeppelin anymore, but there was a phase where I kind of thought they weren't humans but demigods.)
I've gone on too long!
LedZep wrote:
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is often forgotten for some reason. Every time there's a Black Sabbath discussion, the first 4 are mentioned. Please stop that heresy, it's as good as any of the first 4 😁 Even Sabotage is just a slightly worse version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, it definitely deserves a lot of attention (and I'm sure Merc will do a review of that one soon).
Powerslave yeah, it's the best, but after all the years listening to it I still can't get over the fact that you have several filler songs on an absolutely classic album with multiple all time great songs. Also, and this is strictly personal, I don't think 2 Minutes to Midnight is THAT great of a song. I've overplayed it I think.
Oooh love the spicy takes. I think that the first 3 Sabbath albums do indeed suck up a HUGE majority of the attention. Understandably. Vol 4 and SBS and Sabotage come in as the next tier of talked about album followed by Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules in the third tier then everything else. I remember I used to perceive that Vol 4 never got enough attention (my favorite until very recently... I'm starting to think nostalgia clouded my mind and that I may be starting to go the Normie route of Paranoid being their greatest, but we shall see.) But yes I can see where you are coming from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is given much much MUCH less attention than Paranoid, Master of Reality and the debut at the very least.
And yes Powerslave is the best of these 3 I think (obviously... I mean that is what I wrote.). The thing is.... I think its almost perfect, I couldn't ask for a better distillation of what makes old school heavy metal grandiosity and power than Powerslave, and yet, by virtue of its aesthetics and style I am far from thinking its a favorite of mine. I think its just as a genre not my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth (you get the point) Choice! just not my usual jam. The same can be said for other genre-defining masterpieces in genres and styles that just generally aren't my jam. I think Untrue by Burial is fucking perfect... but dubstep and UK Garage or whatever the genre and style it lives in isn't my thing. Every once in awhile an album is SO good So transcendent that it becomes an isolated all time favorite of mine within a musical realm that I have almost no other interest in. Trying to think of an example... okay, here's one... Kind of Blue. Not a big fan of Modal Jazz or various forms of jazz and Bop of 1959 and suirrounding years, BUT that album is so absudly perfect and great that it is on my shortlist of maybe 10 albums that I could see as the greatest of all time any given day.
Anyway, I agree 2 Minutes to Midnight isn't the best song ever or in contention, I think the thing that makes it iconic is the absurd POWER and force and clarity of the riff and the whole band. That also is what gives Powerslave in general an advantage over Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and to some degree the most recent Priest: it's production is absolutely hardhitting and way WAY more modern and crisp and loud and badass than those albums despite the fact that it was *only* 11 years later than the Sabbath album and 6 years later than the Priest album. Really, in terms of studio technology, that is a life time. Still it sounds better and more punchy by far.
While I don't agree that there is filler, I agree that in my listens there are songs that seem like repeats of that classic Maiden sound. So.... yeah maybe that would be called "filler". lol. I am not sure what else you would call it. Even the most fillery and redundant riffs and tracks all have a relentless POP and OOMPH which is cool. _________________ -Ryan
So, I have the following un-done and incomplete projects for this diary:
-Sabbath-Priest-Maiden Deep dive project
-1990s 10 artist listening thing (with autechre, PJ Harvey, Jesus Lizard, Neurosis, Death, Mobid Angel, Unwound, Stereolab, Aphex Twin, Fugazi etc etc)
-that singer/songwriter album tournament from a solid year to 14 months ago.
I'm up to album 6 of 18 or 19 for the sabbath maiden priest thing. Probably will arbitrarily cut it off at album 12 and the last of the classic albums by them (painkiller/Brave New world I believe are slated for same post and those are the last interesting ones to me anyway).
Only did one MASSIVE post for the 1990s artists thing. Kinda burnt myself out with that. still, doing that post ad all that listening introduced me to or reminded me of no less than 3(!) all time favorites that now have a place on my overall chart where they maybe wouldn't be if not for reminding myself of them, including 2 in my overall top 10. (Those 3 albums being To Bring You My Love, Through Silver In Blood, and Leprosy). So even though I dropped it fast and may never return, it was a beneficial little project.
The singer/songwriter thing is dead and I will probably never finish it. Although I discovered Joe Henry's Scar through that,and finally clicked with Newsom's Ys through that, and I discovered some great Sandy Denny music because of that, etc etc... so I am glad I did it. _________________ -Ryan
Part of me wants to do a little year deep dive. That kind of project is less set and more fun as a result. I want to do the year I consider the greatest. I believe it is 1969, I have the most listening for 1969 than any other year outside of 2021 (which dwarfes every other 2 years combined). Recently did a massive chart up date - see new chart please and give thoughts:
...AND I discovered that a NEW CONTENDER has emerged for my favorite year in history. 1988! 1-9-8-8-! With no less than 6 albums on my overall chart being from 1988. Perhaps this is recency bias, but year for the longest time it was 1977 with the most albums, then 1969 kicked its ass and 1994 and 1995 were on theior heels, and NOW 1988 has risen as the new super power. Kind of want top do a bit of refreshing and listening to a year, but can't decide which.
Here are the choices I have it narrowed down to, if you could comment and give me your thoughts:
1969 - (honestly I have played this to death, 1968 not as much, 1970-1971 similarly massively explored) incredibly deep year, but... nothing too extreme in the metal or rock area by today's standards.
1977 -(stands alone, 1978 is cool but 1977 will be main) my punk love makes me mention this as there are so many 1977 punk classics and also stuff from other musical areas as well.
1988 - (kind of stands alone, 1987 is intriguing) Grindcore, Death Metal, thrash, early sludge as well as great indie rock and the earliest hip hop classics, oh my.
1994 - (1995 is maybe a nice alternative) pound for pound maybe the most interesting and varied year in contention with the glory days of indie slacker lo fi rock and hip hop and post hardcore and other cool stuff.
2000 -(may consider 2001) want to throw this in as its stacked and there are some recently discovered (for me) gems also very varied.
2010 -(also maybe 2012) This has so many all time favorites for me in it (Tallest Man On Earth, Kanye etc) as well as many albums that would be good to revisit after giving them a solid decade to breathe (cosmogramma, etc)
Now the idea of this deep dive would be 1. to newly listen to favorites, top 10 to 20-30 albums of the year in my eyes that I haven't hjeard in awhile and see if they rise or fall in my opinion after some time. As well the idea is to finally listen to a dozen or so albums that I have been meaning to check out for, in some cases, years or decades and flesh out the chart.
Anyway, I am leaning 1988, but if you could rank these in terms of interest or quality from your perspective, that would be helpful. Maybe I will have a new obsession and change my mind based off your thoughts. _________________ -Ryan
Making a note to myself to elaborate, but my first reaction would be
1994 >> 2000 > 1988 > 2010 >>> 1969 >>>>>> 1977 _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
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