Classic Albums (Music)

I haven't thought about Helmet for a long while, but was recently listening to the Lamb of God covers album, which had an (average) In the Meantime cover. Which made me want to give this a thrash.

Solid all the way though with a good mix of soft and snarling. Followed up by another couple of good albums before they split up for the rest of the 90s.

Deadendfollies classic album review

*...I’m sure a lot of you didn’t know or had forgotten about Meantime. It’s one of these records that left a blueprint on an entire era, but that was more appreciated by other musicians than it was by audiences. At least from a legacy standpoint. Others came after Helmet and performed more commercial variations on their sound, which eventually lead way to Korn and nu metal. But Meantime will live forever in the hearts of guitar music enthusiasts for its crushing riffs and explosive, never ending anger. *

I don't tend to delve into Machine Head too much, but after picking up a copy of The Blackening the other week I pulled this one out of the collection.

Great album with a lot of punch that doesnt outstay its welcome - definitely sounds like a 90s release but that isn't detrimental in any way.

From the Kerrang retrospective

As has been said (many times), it was, and is, a remarkable work. Opening with the now legendary Davidian, which took its inspiration from the Waco Siege of '93 that left 71 people dead after the FBI stormed the compound of the Branch Davidians religious sect, it took the heaviest elements of thrash, groove metal, punk rock, and even industrial metal, and added a very short fuse, with truly explosive results. Tackling everything from religious corruption – Death Church – to the LA riots of 1992 – Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies – and personal demons – The Rage To Overcome, it had an air of barely suppressed violence throughout that made off-the-leash songs like Blood For Blood and Block seem all the more ferocious.

Literally pulled this one out of the collection today. This has to be the most singular chillout album in the collection. Good to come back to on the odd occasion.

Via Stereogum

Air were more thoughtful and tasteful and better, and Moon Safari still has the pure, woozy beauty that entranced so many of us 20 years ago. And yet it sounds hopelessly tied to its moment — an nostalgic object fated to become an object of nostalgia itself.

This is a short, punchy live album by the band Ministry containing only 6 live tracks, but there's a ton of energy in the performances.

I haven't seen the video that goes with in by all accounts it looks cheesy as hell. The music is pretty poppy and catchy not aggressive and changes pace, throughout - starting with the faster The Missing before slowing down for the classic So What.

Very much a product of its time. I'm not a ministry fan and haven't heard any of their albums so not able to say where it fits in their discography, but for me I can put this on when in the mood and enjoy the hell out of it.

From the prongs.org review

Overall, this was a live release, so all songs sound like they were remade, and again, the tracks sound like they stick true to mostly guitars and drums. The versions here are way more aggressive to their album versions and is possibly the most exciting and most intense Ministry release. Without a doubt, this is a must have for any Ministry fan, or someone who wants that "rock-feel" in a live release. All in all, very deadly.

Not quite sure what to class the album as in terms of genre. It's no longer drone along the lines of Earth2 but is still very slow tempo music that is quite happy to take its time. A good album to throw on and be transported somewhere else, and my favourite of the Earth albums I've heard so far.

Bandcamp Link

From the lastrites review

Bees Made Honey is a suitable soundtrack for anything that involves road-tripping into open spaces and big skies, and it’s clear proof that Earth plans to continue challenging the borders they’re largely responsible for building, which is a great, great thing.

Of the Sunn O))) albums I've managed to hear this is the one where I think they expand their sound in an interesting direction, will all four tracks being thoroughly engaging.

Monoliths & Dimensions on Bandcamp

Via Drowned In Sound

It pains me to even have to say this but this isn’t going to be for everyone. For the internet-damaged and terminally short of attention to the myopically conservative, to those who choose music merely as a lifestyle accessory, this album will upset, confuse or bore. For anyone interested in music that works both as art and an intensely new exciting experience - this is easily the best album that has come out this year.

A lost classic, as far as I'm concerned. A sweet, stripped back, and intensely melancholy album. "But we were just fourteen..."

The first Steven Wilson produced album is my pick for the classic Opeth album, expanding the template set on Still Life.

From Angrymetalguy

Blackwater Park, however, is so silky smooth. It glides from one moment, one idea, to the next like quicksilver, without ever sacrificing the heaviness that made Oldpeth so special. Åkerfeldt’s vocals feel more polished than ever, with both his reedy cleans and death metal roars bursting with power and emotion, while the riffs and leads laid down by him and Peter Lindgren, together with the huge bass performance from Martin Mendez, gives the whole record a gorgeous, rich texture.

High energy teen punk album, that set the template for 90s punk-rock. Tricky album to recommend this one, as sonically it hasnt aged and sounds great and songs are really catchy but some of the lyrics havent aged well at all.

To the bands credit, they dont perform'songs I'm not a punk with the original lyrics.

This review on punknews pretty much sums up my thoughts.

I first got this album when I was 16 and absolutely loved it. It’s a fast and furious mix between pop-punk and hardcore that’s just dripping with teenage angst and which set the blueprint for a lot of bands to come. Blink-182 have basically spent their first fie albums trying to recreate Milo Goes to College.

But as I listen to it now in my 30’s I start to realize that this is one of the most offensive albums I’ve ever heard, and not in a Sex Pistols sense of challenging the morals of the powerful, but in a Ricky Gervais way of punching down on a lot of marginalized groups. Besides “I’m Not a Loser” being wildly homophobic, “Catalina” is one of the most misogynistic punk songs ever written, “Kabuki Girl” is shockingly racist, “Hope” is basically a proto-incel anthem, and “Bikeage” is unnecessarily mean and slut-shaming towards the song’s subject.

But it remains one of my all-time favorite albums, and of course I have to remind myself that it was written by a bunch of teenagers in 1982 who probably don’t feel the same way about a lot of things today in 2019 as they did back in 1982.

As much as I love the first four, and could have posted Danzig I, this is both my fave Danzig Album and my pick for the Classic Album.

Equal parts gothic / doom-laden and muscular.

Pitchfork Review

Gods marks the moment when Danzig transcended his punk origins and staked out a deeper place in the modern music canon, patching together the influences of Dixon, Orbison, and Howlin’ Wolf into something grand. It’s a record about confronting your inner strength, testing if it’s enough to endure heartbreak and uncontrollable lust; it’s about feeling that God is failing you, and wanting the power of a god all the same.

Just a great sophomore record. Smooth, challenging, and a total vibe. He was on one making this album. Grooves galore.

One of the most scorching live records ever, Live And Dangerous captures Thin Lizzy just crushing it. The cover of "Rosalie" is the hidden gem imo. Whole record kicks your teeth in, and I love every second.

This is one of those albums with an interesting history. The band deciding to release an album with single one-hour track, a departure from their previous album Holy Mountain which contained a series of shorter individual songs.

Of course their new record label didnt know what to do with it. From Wikipedia

Within a few weeks of signing with London, the A&R member who was negotiating with Sleep had been transferred and replaced. After sending the finished album to London Records, the label told Sleep that they were not going to release the album in its current format... ...Sleep refused to have the album released in any edited form which led to a deadlock between London and the band. The members of Sleep have mixed feelings whether the album should have been released in general. Cisneros felt it should not have been released, while Pike was content with its release, saying "We did all the work so why leave it sitting around?"

• Al Cisneros stated that smoking cannabis was important to the song's creative process: "I was really dependent on the space I got into when I was using it, and some of the lyrics are about that...The line, 'Drop out of life [with bong in hand],' was kind of a creed at that point."[7] The song was originally known and performed live under the title "Dopesmoker". After their tour, the group began to be interested in a Middle Eastern desert theme which led to Sleep referring to the song as "Jerusalem" during later practice sessions.*

Review Excerpts via Pitchfork

*But Dopesmoker is an infinitely explorable listen, the kind of record that will goad your attention through miniscule rabbit holes whether or not you're as stoned as the people who made it. Hakius' pulse is the constant carrot, then, filling the spaces when the band aggresses, forcing them forward when they pull back. He is a reminder to continue toward Nazareth.

...And that's perhaps what remains most impressive about Dopesmoker, especially hearing it again for the first time through yet another reissue: It's an hour of adventure and momentum, where the lumber and the repetition somehow always push ahead.

...no matter how much pressure London placed on them to make something more commercial than personal, Sleep sound as if their very existence depends upon the successful exercise of this weed ritual. In a sense, it's safe to say it did. This record's influence on substance, style, and simple ambition within heavy metal has long outlived the band that made it.*

Pulled this out of the collection today - as much as the debut could also be considered a classic this is the one where they added the additional polish and released a great set of tracks from start to finish. This is arguably one of the album releases that sent 80s hair-metal to the grave.

From Audiooxide

Doolittle balances boisterous oddness with sweet and sugary pop tunes, making it not only their most intriguing record, but also the most accessible. It breathes beauty, mystery, and humour, and nothing else sounds quite like it. Inside each song lies at least one great moment, whether it’s an infectious guitar riff, a killer vocal hook, a captivating instrumental breakdown, or Black Francis concluding that, on the basis of people being 5 and the Devil being 6, God must be 7. The surrealistic nature of Francis’ lyrics is a vital part of that distinct Pixies sound, and it continues to be absurdly enjoyable: if he’s not contemplating biblical mythology, he’s singing about the whores in his head, or barking like a dog.

Of the three Massive Attack albums from the 90s this is the one I'd rank as the classic, pushing in a more menacing direction than the more upbeat and relaxed Blue Lines [1991] or Protection [1994]. Its strong throughout (Man Next Door, Group Four etc)

From Pitchfork

*.... But Massive Attack were the origin point of the trip-hop movement they and their peers were striving to escape the orbit of, and they nearly tore themselves to shreds in the process. Instead— or maybe as a result—they laid down their going-nova genre's definitive paranoia statement with Mezzanine.

..Originally set for a late ’97 release, Mezzanine got pushed back four months because Del Naja refused to stop reworking the tracks, tearing them apart and rebuilding them until they’re so polished they gleam. It sure sounds like the product of bloody-knuckled labor, all that empty-space reverb and melted-together multitrack vocals and oppressive low-end. (The first sound you hear on the album, that lead-jointed bassline on “Angel,” is to subwoofers what “Planet Earth” is to high-def television.) But it also groans with the burden of creative conflict, a working process that created rifts between Del Naja and Vowles, who left shortly after Mezzanine dropped following nearly 15 years of collaboration.*

Believe me when I tell you - life won’t break your heart, it’ll crush it

This is a great album for when you’re feeling down and out a need a little catharsis.

It’s also is very groovy and energetic in places. Andrew Weiss’ bass playing is a highlight.

Ripplemusic

*It’s not just the lyrical content that I’ve found amazing about this album. The End of Silence is jam packed with music that shreds any preconceived notion of what hardcore punk is all about. And, that’s probably because this is anything but a hardcore punk rock album! This album is hopped up rock n’ roll turned up to eleven, just so the notes are that much more distorted and that much more intense. *

Ace of Spades might be the best album they ever made but this one if a fave of mine. The time Brian Robertson was in the band may have been short but his influence on the recordings looks to have made for a great record (two solos in one song!?)

It was always interesting to hear Lemmy remind people in live recordings that this was the one that everyone hated and nobody bought, but I like to think that by doing that and playing the longs live he was secretly stoked with the reevaluation.

Re-added due to prev deletion

Most would say Blues for The Red Sun is the best, but I think this their third album is rock solid all the way through.

Didnt get to see them in their initial run', but was able to catch Kyuss Lives! and Unida / Brant Bjork solo gigs over the years.

A recommendation engine brought me back to this album an genre that I hadn’t heard in years since drum and bass at a time that the style was in the public eye partly due to this album.

It doesn’t feel like a strict adherent to the dnb aformula that you might find on other releases but feels dated to a period of time anyway. The next album moved away from the quieter style here to be something a bit more brash and cheesy and while I think the latter has grown on me more than this, this is the classic release.

Size released a revised much shorten verson in 2008 new forms2 which reworks the songs found here.

There are a number of great albums in the Ween discography but this one is the classic, wrapping Gene and Dean Weens eclectic style in a nautically themed album.

A lot more polished, but no less fun than previous albums like God Ween Satan or Pure Guava.

To this day, Ween continues to be one of the bands that exists on their own level- comparisons can be made, but the usually all fall short. The band defies genre simply because they embrace all genres and willfully craft outside any prescribed boundaries. This concept didn’t begin for the band on The Mollusk, but it was where this concept was brought to maturity and magnificence. - punknews.org

You could argue that the debut record is the classic (opening with Sailing on!] or rock for light, but the set of demo recordings from 1979 is a great collection of tunes. Recorded at inner ear (from the wikpedia article)

Inner Ear then consisted of Zientara's basement, outfitted with a 4-track TEAC quarter-inch tape deck and a small drum booth set up to one side.[3] Dr. Know, Jenifer, and Hudson set up in the basement space.[3] Since it lacked an isolation booth, H.R. ran his vocal mic out to the back yard and performed there

I don't have the liner notes in front of me but I believe its the son of the studio owner talking to the singer outside at the start of regulator.

Americansongwriter It’s a breathless, often exhilarating, always intense ride with the 16 cuts barely breaking a half hour. All but one is under three minutes with a handful under two.

You could probably pick the debut Nowhere as the better album, but this one is my pick.

From the rerelease review by Brooklynvegan - Going Blank Again was the sound of utter confidence backed up by great songs, creative arrangements, muscular playing and production that makes everything shine. You feel it from the first song, "Leave Them All Behind," a towering statement of intent that mixed shoegaze guitar heroics with one of their best-ever basslines, constant crushing drum fills, elements of dance music, and organ cribbed from The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." It thrills across all eight minutes, and is one of the great album-openers -- and set-openers -- of all time.

In the early 90s, where grunge and eurodance were all the rage, the Finnish psychedelic rock band Kingston Wall really stood out with its sound. The sound was considered retro at the time, and it drew from 60s-70s psychedelic rock, hard rock, prog and Middle Eastern music. This album really showed a more refined sound compared to their debut album and allowed their diverse influences to really shine.

Sadly Kingston Wall dissolved some time after the release of their Tri-Logy album in 1994. The band's frontman Petri Walli left for India. Shortly after his return, on June 28th 1995, he jumped to his death from the tower of Töölö church in central Helsinki. Rest in Peace.

As told by AllMusic:

II was the album where Kingston Wall most successfully merged their hard rock, progressive, psychedelic, and Middle Eastern sounds. Much of this owes to the bandmembers' instrumental interplay, which is given freer rein and allowed to stretch out more than on their other two albums. Ranging from the soaring guitar (acoustic and electric) and violin piece "Istwan" to the Zeppelin-esque blues of "And It's All Happening" and "Shine on Me," to the high octane jamming of "Palekastro," the stylistic palette is varied. Unfortunately, this variation also accounts for the one downright bad song, "Love Tonight" (think "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"-era Rod Stewart or bad Scorpions). On the other hand, Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" is actually a somewhat successful merging of disco and hard rock. The reissue bonus disc is composed of "Between the Trees" and "She's So Fine," originally from the "We Cannot Move" single, plus a live track, "Can't Get Through."

A classic that sounds great 50 years on. There’s no search and destroy on here but it’s a raw muscular album all the way through.