Jay's Favorite Albums of ALL Time : Part II

Here it is, ladies. You know the drill from the first post. If not, I suggest you read Part One first. These are not the top ten of the thirty-three, so I will not bother to put them in any particular order. And as before, no stupid comments like "I L3IK DEESTURBED DOODZ, LI3K WHY ARENT THEY HERE LOL??? MARYLYN MANSON IS TEH JEEZUS!", but feel free to make comments [positive OR negative, preferably with your logic]. I will do eleven items this time. Part three will feature the final twelve.


11) Megadeth- Peace Sells...But Who's buying?
Anyone who has the cahones to rival Metallica after being kicked out for drug abuse is a respectable man in my book, and Dave Mustaine did just that when he took on the task of fronting this monster of a thrash pioneer, Megadeth. No sophmore slump here; Peace Sells is one monster of a second realease that is a staple both of Megadeth's career, AND the genre of thrash metal. The palm- muted thrashy riffs are the focal point of this record, Dave Mustaine takes on the role of lead guitarist while singing, rather than rythym like James Hetfield of Metallica. I can just imagine Dave Mustaine listening to Metallica and going 'OOOOHHH Master of Puppets!', then rolling out with the sinister track about a serial murderer, 'Good Mourning/Black Friday'. He hacks down his victims like pieces of meat. At first I was dissapointed to see that there were only few tracks [8], but this is a worthy strategy. Some artists load em on, and some of these tracks tend to get neglected as a result. Every track here is good to go, I just pop it in and let it roll. It is important for any fan of metal to go back to the older days, and this is one of those records that should be payes attention to, among many others. And with all due respect, Metallica is a great band, but Megadeth dwarfs them.


12) Incubus- Morningview
Incubus has three full-length releases before this one, and you will hear many fans say that they miss the old days, when Incubus was heavier and had the edge. I, however, am not one of those people. There are a few pretty rockin' tunes here, but the edges have been smoothed, and they break away from thier alternative-metal roots into something more mellow and carefree. I guess it's hard to be edgey when you write and record an album right next the the ocean and beach. The track 'Wish You Were Here' was what got me hooked, and its hard to describe the emotions it pours into me, but it sure is good. It makes me feel like I'm just kickin' on the beach with a few of my good friends, not worrying about the daily stresses of life. What really makes this record different from the other works of Incubus is the mellower, quieter, and more slow-paced songs, like 'Echo','11 AM', and 'Are You In?". Each one of those have thier own unique qualities. Echo has a great flow, the music is very smooth, and Einziger, the guitar player, does a few slides in there that are so smooth, it sounds like his guitar doesn't even have any frets. Are You In is a very fun song that gives me mental images of just chilling with some friends at a party and just enjoying the company. The focal point of this song is DJ Kilmore's DJ work. My personal favorite track, however, is Aqueous Transmission, a very quiet and relaxing song, that sounds like it came straight from Japan, save the english vocal part. It makes me feel like im, as the singer Brandon says in the song 'Floating Down a River', in the quiet of the night.


13) System of a Down- The Self-Titled Debut
"Announce Your Anthems On the Cieling, We Dance, Annexed By Power. Casual Neckties Embrace, The Hungry Hunger Further, Images Rule Through The Media, Commercial Orwellianism, Producing Unvieled Icebergs, Running Transparent Electrical Cables, Curving String Ensembles, Witnessed By Hangings From Flagpoles of Souls Avenged By Dr. Clock. Fresh Paint, Naked Melting Figures Mixing the Revolution Against TV Sentencing, At the Hands of Brutal Men and Thier Military Business World. LET US INVESTIGATE THE REVOLT, DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM!" I have only the slightest idea what all this means, but I sure do think the boys in System are angry, and it shows in thier music and lyrics. They are EXTREMELY cynical, and they are clever in the lyrical writing department. This album packs some serious heavy punch, and is THE album to start with if you are becoming a SOAD fan. We've all heard Mezmerize/Hypnotize, but this record is in a different leaugue, nowhere near as strange, ten times as heavy, and twenty times as good. Sure, I love thier newer works, but this blows them off the shelf.


14) Shadows Fall- The Art of Balance
The boys in Shad Did some serious homework befire jumping into making thier third record. The shred is amazing, the technique blew me away. What really stands out is Brian Fair's vocals. His vocal style has completely changed, trading in the lower bellowing for the higher [but not high] style, a style that souds more like his natural voice. His voice is no longer typical, you can hear this and say 'Yeah- that must be shadows fall'. It is also much more melodic. Also, they threw in a cover of Pink Floyd's 'Welcome to the Machine', and Fair shows that he really can sing, trashing the 'its all screaming and wailing' stereotype. The subject as far has lyrics has changed, now dealing with battling inner demons and false desires to achieve physical and mental balance, thus the album title.


15) Gojira- From Mars to Sirius
France is full of snail-sucking pansies, but the exception proves the rule. This is an exception. These French metallers show that those Euro-queers can definately rock out, and still manage to eat copious amount of le cheese. I was blown away. The riffs that couple up with relentless blast beats and double bass sear into your skull, and the playing precision is scrotum-squeezing tight. The vocals have a range of styles, ranging from dirtier bellowing to all out sreaming to angry growls to clean vocals. These guys know thier metal, and they play it well. It's no wonder Randy Blythe of Lamb of God has been singing thier praises.



16)Lostprophets- Start Something
Same deal as thier debut- a really fun record that sticks. On this record, they went a little heavier on some songs, but also realeased the radio freindly 'Last Train Home', which was worn out by the time i got this, so thank God all the other tracks stand on thier own. If you want to know anything else, just read my review for The Fake Sound of Progress, but don't let that make you think these two are carbon copies.


17)Zao- The Funeral of God
Sorry to say it, but often I feel like Christian metal is a watered-down version of the real thing *cough Demon Hunter cough*, but this is not one of those records. This album is so dark and sinister, you'd think they were in league with bands like Gorgoroth [despite sound differences]. This album is so heavy, I needed a fork-lift to take it out of The Exchange. The drums are pummeling, the guitars, while not having much complexity, compensate for thier simplicity while still managing to be catchy and raw , and extremely heavy. Dan Weyandt's vocals are HUGE and so evil sounding, you'd never associate Christianity with this. But you know God gives this record a spin every day. He has every record they've put out AND every record they'll put out in the future.


18)AFI- Sing The Sorrow
When people become a fan of a certain band, they tend to buy new releases from this said band with preconcieved expectations. This is a bad idea. Bands change and progress, and AFI makes HUGE changes from record to record. When buying new releases from AFI, you need an open mind. I was very quick to embrace this record. It is very emotional, some idiots have been quick to label this record 'emo', but I don't care what it's called. You can call a turd a turkey sandwich, but it won't be edible, it is what it is, and this IS a great record. It has some very dark elements, but it also has some upeat energy layered underneath the despair. Davey Havoc's unique and really high-pitched vocal style is unforgettable, and he isn't afraid to make them the focal point of this record, despite the fact that many call him 'gay' because of it. I don't care if he's gay, straight, or has sex with trees. This record has hooks.


19)Underoath- Define The Great Line
Many many bands fall victim to the sophmore slump. They get together and have years to spend honing thier first songs before they are signed. When they get signed, they then have much less time to push out thier second record. Unfortunately, this can be said of Underoath. They're Only Chasing Safety was a great record, but mediocre at best. It was the first one from them I heard, andI liked it, but then I heard the changing of times, and was sad at the fact that a different path, one much less rockin', was taken on Theyre Only Chasing Safety. However, I was compelled to purchase this, mainly because it recieved acclaim from Micah, and also becasue it was only five bucks. I am not dissapointed. It is heavier than the sophmore album, and they experimented a little in some ares. There is certainly more angst, and though the riffs are not and never were very complex, they are sure to bust some strings. The downfall of the album is the fact that Aaron won't shut up and just play drums.


20)Shadows Fall- Fallout From The War
Shortly after the release of 'The War Within', and slightly before the release of thier upcoming record, 'Threads of Life', Shad decided to get together and release all the songs that never quite made the cut on thier previous works, as well as some cover songs, and a couple new tunes as well. This was a brilliant idea. It's always good to hear what almost never was, these songs are all definately very worthy of space on a CD. From the pounding and thick riffs of 'In Effigy', to the searing and desperate howls and riffs of 'Deadworld', this record, though a companion piece to The War Within, stands on it's own two feet, and delivers a very powerful punch. This was a great way to feed hungry Shadows Fall fans like myself while awaiting the arrival of 'Threads of Life' on April 20th.


21)As I Lay Dying- Frail Words Collapse
Remember how I said that Christian heavy music was fairly watered-down, but there were some exceptions? Heres another one. Man, these guys definately hit me hard when I gave this record it's first listen. The European influenced guitars, blazin-fast drums,and wide open vocals make this one METAL record, I don't care what the elitists have to say for it. This record is a real headbanger, and after learning to play 6 As I Lay dying songs, my love of this record only grew. Its hard not to scream along to track like 'The Beginning', of 'Forever'.