Apocalypse Now
by benpaco

I'll likely revisit this and start doing more in depth analysis at some point.

1 album per artist so as to avoid this all being Swans and Muse.

Please message me or comment here with any more ideas you may have.

[Other note: Cellardoor gave me a great playlist of songs that I'll have to check out in context of the album to see if the whole album is apocalyptic or just that individual track. Other recs are also being listened to, albeit slowly]
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Buy album United States
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This album deals with the religious ideas of apocalypse throughout, though it is perhaps especially clear in "Rainbow Signs". The sheer number of references to apocalypse here is actually the reason that I've decided to refrain from listing lyrical references on albums thus far for the chart, but the ideas here range from the idea that God has died, references to Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, nuclear holocaust, concentration camps, etc. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
96
Rank in 2015:
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Buy album United States
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This album's dark tones would be enough to arguably qualify this as an "apocalyptic" work, but perhaps the real confirmation comes when seeing its use in 28 Days Later. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
1997
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,543
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Comments:
3. (=)
Buy album United States
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There are the more obvious references to apocalypse here - the name of the album and cover of Bellamy standing in the rapture probably being the most noticeable - but there is more to this album than just what appears at a surface level. Track titles paint the picture of doom while the lyrics highlight apocalypse and thought of God. The religious undertones here are just that - more serving as a theological discussion on the nature of God than mewithoutYou's commentary of religion and the apocalypse, but this discussion still adds something to the lyrics. Underneath the religious references, there's an urgency to the album, which may be explained by it's inspiration - the beginning of the Iraq war. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
2003
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,967
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Buy album United States
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There's a scoff-able quality to this album. Less subtle than The Soft Bulletin, less complex than Clouds Taste Metalic, less a mature questioning of God or even a serious view of apocalypse than most other similar albums, and yet what you get is an intriguing project. The overall happy dream pop album's lyrics have a markedly odd contrast of childlike wonder, fantasy, and doom. My interpretation of this album is that it's a child watching the apocalypse unfold as robots begin to take over, and Yoshimi herself representing God or some other power that he thinks will stop them.

It's important to note that Wayne Coyne and the guys from West Wing are making a musical out of this, the premise of which will not be apocalyptic in a literal sense, rather focusing on Yoshimi dying of cancer while a boyfriend is transported into a world where Yoshimi is a warrior fighting these robots that represent her disease. Even if this is the case, one can view the alternate world as an illusion of apocalypse.
[First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,774
Rank in 2002:
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Overall Rank:
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Buy album United States
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Another odd album in contrast to some others. The synthpunk/synthpop blend of styles leads one to tune out the discord beneath and some of the lyrics (remember, this is the guy who made "Cars" - banality with an underlying stress and paranoia is kind of his thing). The album describes a variety of sci-fi apocalypses, even discussing alien invasion. However, the most overarching theme is the loss of differentiation between humans and robots/technology, leading to a largely robotic world. You know how Ghost in the Shell was The Matrix 4 years before The Matrix? This is Ghost in the Shell 16 years before Ghost in the Shell. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,059
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Buy album United States
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For some time, this album was interpreted as "the end" of Blink-182. Or as "the end" of a relationship. In reality, the band has clarified that it is about "the end" - not just an end, but *the* end, the apocalypse. Similar to my interpretation of Yoshimi, it's about a child watching the apocalypse and what all happens. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
182
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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The only apocalyptic rap album I know of (if others want to point out others that would be cool thanks), discussing a technological take over. Thank you to DBZ. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
361
Rank in 2002:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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DBZ described this as "The divine Apocalypse", and while the sparse orchestral album could be interpreted as that, I'll take the more literal meaning as stated on the cover - a "Threnody [song of mourning] to the Victims of Hiroshima". This is a work about nuclear apocalypse as frightening and chaotic as it ought to be to cover a topic so frightening and chaotic. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
176
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Buy album United States
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As craola put it best, "I suppose it depends on which interpretation of the album you prescribe to." Some quick googling later, I've discovered that this album has been interpreted to be about everything from split-personality to a child moving homes to Judgment Day. I can see certain merits to the arguments of each, so I'm including it here for at the very least the time being. [First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,443
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Overall Rank:
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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An album I'm not a particular fan of musically, but which is an interesting project in terms of apocalypticism. I'm going to go ahead and quote Gowi here for this as I would never have picked up on this without him pointing it out:

"The names of the album's songs are based on the following science-fiction films or television shows:

"Down the Rabbit Hole" - Introductory Song/The Matrix (In allusion to Alice in Wonderland)
"Digital Rain" - The Matrix
"Earth That Was" - Firefly / Serenity
"Victim of the Modern Age" - A Clockwork Orange
"Human See, Human Do" - Planet of the Apes
"24 Hours" - Escape from New York
"Cassandra Complex" - 12 Monkeys
"It's Alive, She's Alive, We're Alive" - Children of Men
"It All Ends Here" - Blade Runner
"As the Crow Dies" - The Road
"Two Plus Two Equals Five" - Nineteen Eighty-Four
"Lastday" - Logan's Run
"Closer to the Stars" - Gattaca "
[First added to this chart: 09/16/2015]
Year of Release:
2010
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12
Rank in 2010:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 12. Page 1 of 2
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Apocalypse Now composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 0 0%
1960s 0 0%
1970s 2 17%
1980s 0 0%
1990s 3 25%
2000s 4 33%
2010s 3 25%
2020s 0 0%
Country Albums %


United States 5 42%
United Kingdom 4 33%
Netherlands 1 8%
Mixed Nationality 1 8%
Canada 1 8%
Compilation? Albums %
No 11 92%
Yes 1 8%

Apocalypse Now chart changes

TitleSourceTypePublishedCountry
Top 12 Music Albums of 2002 koner12002 year chart2015
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (& Related) Discography Ranked Xxnu99etxXCustom chart2023
Top 12 Greatest Music AlbumsMark9753Overall chart2016Unknown
Top 11 Music Albums of 1991vmp1991 year chart2014
Top 12 Greatest Music Albumsraf62Overall chart2014Unknown
Top 11 Music Albums of 1997masonfuchs1997 year chart2015
Top 11 Music Albums of 2002masonfuchs2002 year chart2015
Top 11 Greatest Music AlbumsZchayOverall chart2013Unknown
Top 11 Music Albums of 2003KinkyAfro2003 year chart2013
Top 11 Music Albums of 1991 cartoken1991 year chart2012

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