Rate the last album, you listened to.

Discuss any band that's not called Alter Bridge.
Post Reply
User avatar
anguyen92
Expert Comma Negotiator
Posts: 10359
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:31 pm
Location: California

Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by anguyen92 »

So, I saw this idea of a thread on another forum, and I think, why not bring it here? Pretty simple premise, rate the last album that you listened to, Studio or Live albums, and give a brief description or something about it. I'll start.

Image

Mayfield Four - Second Skin. 9/10.

It took me, a long, long, time for me to listen to this but I decided to give it a listen after watching/listening, the full show, to Myles at Bofest on youtube. My goodness, it is such a good album and I see why everyone gushes over songs like Mars Hotel, Eden, White Flag, and Summergirl. It was a peaceful time for Myles and this album reflects on that, before Mayfield Four broke up and Myles' tinnitus issues was at its peak. However, in the end, everything worked out well for Myles, except the fact that his solo album has yet to be released, but that is a different issue.
Last edited by anguyen92 on Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

Macca
Greg
Posts: 12041
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:07 am
Location: JOCK land

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Macca »

That Sea, The Gambler by Gregory Alan Isakov - 8/10

Can't be bothered with an in-depth review. Folk album, guy has some really pretty melodies and a nice voice. Makes for a nice chilled out listen.
AllC392Was wrote:How is Macca funny?
Image

Online
Dolo
Burn It Down
Posts: 2313
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:51 pm
Location: Lublin, Poland

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Dolo »

Riverside - Shrine of the New Generation Slaves

9/10

Such a phenomenal album by these guys, probably the best by them. If you are a fan of 70' rock mixed with a bit of progressive genre definitely check it out.
Check out my solo project Slight Isolationism:

Facebook
YouTube
Spotify
Bandcamp

Nick
Hardcore TABN'er
Posts: 884
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:19 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Nick »

Image
Kendrick Lamar's Good kid, m.A.A.d. city - Hip Hop/Rap - 10/10

(Disclaimer, I am both white and a novice rap listener so my perspective on the intricacies and conventions of the genre and the race relations in this album is naive)

This album is amazing, possibly my favorite of last year and one of my favorites of all time. It's a concept album about the rapper's life in modern day Compton, as opposed to albums like "Straight Outta Compton," which, while still having relevance, no longer correspond to a reality that has now passed in some ways and not in others, as this album reveals.

This is a concept album and Lamar uses that convention to some of the best ability I have ever experienced, and this is coming from someone that has listened extensively to progressive rock, a genre that, as far as I know, created the convention. It achieves that perfect mastery of making each song a singular experience but the album as a whole an experience that surpasses the sum of its parts.

The entire experience revolves around the duality in the title, a theme that stretches across everything, the idea of a good kid in a mad city. This essential contradiction is exposed throughout the album but is amazingly exhibited between the middle songs, "good kid" and "m.A.A.d. city" which describe the grindingly contradictory lifestyle someone in Compton must endure when a good kid must struggle through a mad city of gang violence, hyper masculinity, and immorality on both the sides of the citizens and the organizations that try to enforce them.

Most importantly, Lamar does not surrender to the temptation to cast himself as a purely good person against a purely evil city. While this is the essential duality, the total honesty exhibited throughout the album shows the corruption Compton and other poverty and crime ridden city dwellers must struggle with when living in such a place. He does not shy away from the various impulses he had when he was young, such as misogyny (in "Backseat Freestyle") and petty crime (in "The Art of Peer Pressure").

No, Lamar exhibits his own corruption with such brutal honesty that the entirety of the city and the people in it seem represented in this one album. His entire life is on display, most of the youth relegated to the first half and the adult realizations in the second, though he again refuses the ease of cloistering his immaturity to his youth and his maturity to his adulthood. Instead, he recognize the inherent messiness of growth and while charting progress, shows backtracks, missteps, and mistakes.

The lyrics do a phenomenal job of representing all this ambition with wordplay that is astoundingly deft, images that will continue to strike long after being heard, and stories that will charm or chill depending on the content. Amazingly, he manages to pack politics, race studies, gender relations, class struggles, and personal experiences all into a very listenable packages, mostly by exhibiting how these influences have been transfigured through his own life.

These fantastic stories, some of which compliment and contradict each other brilliantly, are supported by a bedrock of incredible music. The beats are nuanced and varied, supporting a wide variety of songs while smoothing a path of easy listenability.

I'd give it a 10/10. I could listen to it for hours and talk about it for much longer. One of the best pieces of music I have ever listened to.
Image
gbruin wrote:Everything Nick says is true. Even when he disagrees with me. Then it's extra true.

Nick
Hardcore TABN'er
Posts: 884
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:19 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Nick »

Image
Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid - ~8/10

This is more of a first impression than a review, but I had to talk about it. This album is so cool. It's some sort of awesome genre mix between R&B, Soul, Jazz, Funk, Pop, Folk, Prog, and Rock.

I don't know much of the details, but apparently this album compromises the second and third suites of a planned 4 part suite about an android falling in love in the future and doing who knows what else! I don't know, but it sounds phenomenally absurd and kick ass.

The music skits between all those genres and yet somehow retains a distinct fusion of all of them throughout. Monáe has an amazingly powerful voice too. She can change between all sorts of styles and really belt it when its called for it.

I'd recommend at least checking it out.
Image
gbruin wrote:Everything Nick says is true. Even when he disagrees with me. Then it's extra true.

MylesKennedyIsGod
White Knuckled
Posts: 290
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:04 am
Location: Waterloo, Iowa

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by MylesKennedyIsGod »

Black Out The Sun - Sevendust

Image



Rating: (This is tough for me--some songs I absolutely just fucking love...some songs are just so forgettable that its not even funny) 7/10

Black Out The Sun has spots of brilliance (and when I say brilliance, I mean classic Sevendust riffs that melt your face and beautiful melodies that remind you why they are one of the premier hard rock bands of the past 10-15 years). But then again, there are some songs that just leave you thinking, what the hell happened?

Track by Track:

1. Memory-A song that foreshadows the music to come. An instrumental that reeks of sorrow, anger, loss; sets the tempo for the rest of the album. 8/10
2. Faithless- I like this song. The intro pummels you and the chorus sheds light on an important theme- the loss of faith and the regaining of it. 8/10
3. Till Death- Might be my favorite song on the record. Morgan and LJ share vocals (well, Morgan's screams) on this track and the back and forth of the voices does wonders for this song. A song that sticks in your mind and one that can be interpreted in many ways (which I like a lot) 10/10
4. Mountain- I just don't get this song. At all. Very forgettable track. 4/10
5. Cold As War- An average 7D song for me. Like the chorus, the verses are 'eh' for me. 6/10
6. Black Out The Sun- Love, love, love this song. "Believe in fate if helps you through the day" --Something about that line just hits me. And the chorus...oh god, first time i heard it, I was in love. "Why did you black the sun?" Love the lyrics to this song. Great song about loss of a person who meant so much to you and with the semi-recent death of my grandfather, I can relate very well. 10/10
7. Nobody Wants It- Below average song for me here. Verses are alright, I guess but this song is brought down by a HORRIBLE chorus. I get what they were trying to do here, but it just doesn't work for me. 4/10
8. Dead Roses-Love the chorus. The melodies--oh my lord. Love Lajon's voice in this. 8/10
9. Decay- I really like this choice as the first single (I hope Till Death is the 2nd). Good lyrics, love the chorus, and the guitar work is amazing in this track. 9/10
10. Dark AM- Again, another average 7D song. I do think its one of the best choruses though. "Live until you die, just come alive" I really like that line. 7/10
11. Picture Perfect- Not bad, but forgettable. Its hit and miss. 5/10
12. Got a Feeling- Very emotional song that Clint leads. Expanding on the loss of his father which is touched on in 'Till Death' and 'Black Out The Sun', this song slows down the record (at a weird time, I might add...I would have liked to seen this at maybe the the 7 or 8 spot). Love the acoustic switch up though. 7.5/10
13. Murder Bar Love the speeding up of this song compared to Got a Feeling. Lyrics are good, chorus is decent. A forgettable album closer, however. 6/10
Image
Thanks DonHarry!

Andy92
You Waste Your Time
Posts: 14001
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:52 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Andy92 »

^I agree with a lot of that review except for Mountain. I love that track.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

User avatar
cointurtlemoose
Loyal Follower
Posts: 349
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:00 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by cointurtlemoose »

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - 8.5/10

(I rate things on a strict number scale, meaning 5/10 is strictly okay, neither good nor bad; so 8.5 is a very high mark)

Wonderful bleak and cerebral post-rock. 100% an album listen, not a list of songs. To me it's pretty flawless, the only reservation I had initially about it is that the first half of the album seems to lack a little bit of breathing room. But then again, maybe that's what makes the last half so lingering (in a good way).
Image

Macca
Greg
Posts: 12041
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:07 am
Location: JOCK land

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Macca »

Land of The Living - Matthew Perryman Jones...8.5/10

Love this album. Folky singer songwriter stuff, kinda folk rock at times. Some songs soar, some songs are stripped back. His voice is so good that it compliments them all though.
AllC392Was wrote:How is Macca funny?
Image

User avatar
Timotheus
Little Belgian Waffle
Posts: 16842
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:52 am
Location: Belgium シ
Contact:

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Timotheus »

cointurtlemoose wrote:cerebral
:shifty
Image
anguyen92 wrote:
Oh well. Deal with it.

User avatar
One Drew Remains
Slip To The Void
Posts: 4521
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:40 pm
Location: Mizzou

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by One Drew Remains »

The screaming in the verse of Till Death is Clint. He does alot of the low gutteral stuff.
Altered:
9/17/11, 5/02/14, 10/16/14, 10/08/16, 1/28/17, 5/13/17, 12/08/17, 10/14/19, 8/17/23

Nick
Hardcore TABN'er
Posts: 884
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:19 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Nick »

cointurtlemoose wrote:Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - 8.5/10

(I rate things on a strict number scale, meaning 5/10 is strictly okay, neither good nor bad; so 8.5 is a very high mark)

Wonderful bleak and cerebral post-rock. 100% an album listen, not a list of songs. To me it's pretty flawless, the only reservation I had initially about it is that the first half of the album seems to lack a little bit of breathing room. But then again, maybe that's what makes the last half so lingering (in a good way).
How does it compare to their other stuff? I have F#A#(infinity) and love it. I somewhat recently got Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antenna to Heaven and like it, but I haven't had enough time to fully absorb it. I probably won't pick up another one for a while, but how's it rank?
Image
gbruin wrote:Everything Nick says is true. Even when he disagrees with me. Then it's extra true.

User avatar
cointurtlemoose
Loyal Follower
Posts: 349
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:00 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by cointurtlemoose »

Macca wrote:Land of The Living - Matthew Perryman Jones...8.5/10

Love this album. Folky singer songwriter stuff, kinda folk rock at times. Some songs soar, some songs are stripped back. His voice is so good that it compliments them all though.
Macca that was one of my favorite albums I bought last year! Love his voice so much. Vid time:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/6vs54gnqKrE[/youtube]
Image

User avatar
cointurtlemoose
Loyal Follower
Posts: 349
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:00 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by cointurtlemoose »

Nick wrote:
cointurtlemoose wrote:Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! - 8.5/10

(I rate things on a strict number scale, meaning 5/10 is strictly okay, neither good nor bad; so 8.5 is a very high mark)

Wonderful bleak and cerebral post-rock. 100% an album listen, not a list of songs. To me it's pretty flawless, the only reservation I had initially about it is that the first half of the album seems to lack a little bit of breathing room. But then again, maybe that's what makes the last half so lingering (in a good way).
How does it compare to their other stuff? I have F#A#(infinity) and love it. I somewhat recently got Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antenna to Heaven and like it, but I haven't had enough time to fully absorb it. I probably won't pick up another one for a while, but how's it rank?
Ah can't help you there unfortunately, as I've never heard any of their other albums. But I intend to now after hearing this one. It's actually on youtube if you want to test it out!

[youtube]http://youtu.be/IEsdiiYkhT8[/youtube]
Image

User avatar
Fletch
Loyal Follower
Posts: 368
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:27 pm
Location: The Village - UK

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Fletch »

CTM :D :hug
Image

User avatar
cointurtlemoose
Loyal Follower
Posts: 349
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:00 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by cointurtlemoose »

Fleeetttccchhh! :D
Image

itaughttremonti
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 144
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 6:59 am

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by itaughttremonti »

Matthew perryman jones mention! Saw him love last year and got an autographed land of the living cd before it was released. Super cool guy and a great songwriter.
Image

Decay

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by Decay »

Stone Sour: House Of Gold & Bones Part 2

I don't have too much to say for this album. I listened to it yesterday and I was blown away with its sound, lyrics, etc. I knew HOGAB Part 2 was gonna impress me and I was gonna love it as much as the Part 1. Not many bands can make me cringe and air-drum or air-guitar after the first listen. And Stone Sour is one of those bands along with Alter Bridge and Avenged Sevenfold.

So, Stone Sour has made two masterpices, Part 1 and Part 2 are their best works, no doubt about that. I will be listening to those records for years to come.

HOGAB Part 1 and Part 2 10/10
#masterpiece #perfection

User avatar
cointurtlemoose
Loyal Follower
Posts: 349
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:00 pm

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by cointurtlemoose »

itaughttremonti wrote:Matthew perryman jones mention! Saw him love last year and got an autographed land of the living cd before it was released. Super cool guy and a great songwriter.
Totes jel.
Image

User avatar
anguyen92
Expert Comma Negotiator
Posts: 10359
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:31 pm
Location: California

Re: Rate the last album, you listened to.

Post by anguyen92 »

Ok, I do not know why I decided to tune into a live Metallica concert. I think I just wanted to hear some songs live from Death Magnetic.

Image

Metallica - Quebec Magnetic. 8/10.

This is a pretty solid concert. Great energy, played some of their greatest hits, played six or seven songs from Death Magnetic. They look really ridiculous when they were sporting horror masks during Seek and Destroy though.

Post Reply