V. Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses debut album is a definitive classic and in my opinion the one album on this list that I think appeals to everyone in some way. This album is home to many of GNR's most famous tracks, like Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child O' Mine as well as a whole set of songs that while not as famous are still loved and quite good. One of my favorite things about this album is just the whole sound of it, every song sounds like they had fun recording it, and it really shows in the style of the music. This is in my opinion the definitive hard rock album. Another great thing about this album is the pristine sound quality, it sounds flawless, which makes the experience all the more better. I mean let's be honest, horrible sound quality will bring down great albums *cough*Death Magnetic*cough*. This also a great album to listen to in the car, it's a load of fun to throw on and listen to the whole thing. My favorite tracks are probably Mr. Brownstone, Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child O' Mine and Paradise City. IV. Project Chaos - OCRemix
I doubt you expected this to appear. For those who do not know, OCRemix is a wonderful sight where various musicians compose remixes/renditions of all sorts of video game music. Every so often a bunch of them get together and do a whole game's soundtrack. My favorite of theirs is the rendition of Sonic 3 & Knuckles' OST. This album covers just about every genre, there's straight up metal, jazz, piano, electronica and a whole mix of things, resulting in one of the most varied albums I've ever heard. They basically took the awesome OST of S3&K and maid it better. Considering that many of the tracks were maid with contributions from Michael Jackson himself (with some melodies and beats actually appearing in some of his later works) it's no surprise they already had some amazing music to work with. There's also a myriad of mood changes, from upbeat to solemn piano passages to fast paced metal tracks. Some of my favorites tracks are Beneath The Ashes, Walk on Water, Heat Blur, and The Doomsday. Honestly there isn't a bad song on this album, go listen to it while you read the rest of this blog.III. Train of Thought - Dream Theater
Coming in third place is my personal favorite Dream Theater album as well as their heaviest. This albums is both defiant and self-reflective, and very tragic. Leading in from their previous album, As I Am is basically a song that says "I am who I am, whether you accept me or not", This Dying Soul is the second of a series of song's about the drummer's rise over alcoholism, Endless Sacriface seems to be a nod to Metallica's ballads and is about the hard life of touring with a band and how it can separate one from their family, Honor Thy Father is a big "Fuck you" to a seemingly terrible step-father, Vacant is a really solemn look at a child who's fallen terribly ill, Stream of Consciousness is a rather upbeat instrumental that shows off the band's impressive musicianship, and the closing track In The Name of God is about religious extremism. Needless to say this album covers a lot of heavy things, so know that this album shows a band pouring its heart and soul into their music, and is an album with real staying power. My favorite tracks are This Dying Soul and Stream of Consciousness.II. Watershed - Opeth
This one will be brief as I reviewed it in my last blog post. Watershed is another album that covers many moods and subjects but at the same time it always bears a certain eerie and gloomy feel to it, making it a truly haunting record. In here you will find both advanced musical abilities as well as the best sounding record I've ever heard. Listening to this with good speakers or headphones will rock your world. This was a tough choice, but it comes out on top as my favorite Opeth album.I. ...And Justice For All - Metallica
Here it is, my favorite album of all time, Metallica at their best. This album is both chilling and awe-inspiring, every track in this album is damn near perfect in my eyes. First we have Blackened, the wicked fast opener that tells of Earth after it is destroyed in a nuclear apocalypse, leaving nothing but blackened remains. Next is the title track, which tells of the injustice in society, as well as in some interpretations being about the late bassist of the band, Cliff Burton, who had died before the album came out. The third track, Eye of The Beholder, is about civil liberties being taken away, and while at first didn't like it eventually grew on my and is pretty catchy to. One is in my opinion the greatest song of all time and is probably the darkest song I'll ever hear. It is about a soldier who loses all his limbs and senses after stepping on a landmine and how he is forced to live inside his half dead body in a hospital as he's kept alive on life support, waiting to die. Needless to say this song is chilling, and the music video is downright scary. The machine gun part towards the end is definitely the most powerful moments on the whole album. The Shortest Straw is a really fast paced thrasher that retains the progressive feel of the rest of the album. Harvester of Sorrow is to me the weak point in the album, while it is a great song, I feel it doesn't stay well after many listens, but it still remains a solid track. The Frayed Ends of Sanity is a really underplayed song about a man losing his mind, it's got some really unique riffs in there. As for the last two tracks, the album takes a really personal turn. To Live is To Die is the most beautiful Metallica song and is a tribute to the late Cliff Burton, and it includes a poem written by him, read by the singer near the end of the song. The final track, Dyer's Eve is about the singer's relationship with his parents, which from what you hear, was not very good to put it lightly, this song is really sad and tragic and also the fastest track on the album. It also contains my favorite Metallica guitar solo. With all that, ...And Justice For All takes its place as my favorite album of all time.Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more updates, until next time, Clocks and Maids~ <3
