Leaderboard

Agree, I love hearing variety and expressiveness. Monotone vocals drag albums down.

At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul (album)

Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony (1987)

Too 'bro' indeed. Vocals didn't have the rhythmic drive of Archspire, of course - what does? I lost interest after a couple of tracks. Remember Archspire, GG? Remember fun? Has the required 'goat' in the bandname, but it's pretty one-dimensional.

NP: Goatkraft - Prophet of Eternal Damnation ▶︎ Goatkraft - Prophet of Eternal Damnation | Iron Bonehead Productions (bandcamp.com)

Slayer - Hell Awaits Sodom - 1982

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Make Noise Not War Vol. III FEIND - Moloch

Every time I see this album and their other classics come up I'm reminded that I really should do a deep dive on their whole catalogue, but then I remember the times I've tried before and just what a weird mess their discography is (with the obvious exception album that I'm pretty sure everyone's heard by now). Even more so I'd say than most of their peers like Camel or Hawkwind. I kind of dislike recommending compilations and 'best-of's because I feel like there really ought to be more outright uncontested in their greatness albums for such a formative force on the musical landscape. Ah well. NP: Night in Gales - The Black Stream ▶︎ The Black Stream | Night in Gales (bandcamp.com) Still going strong after all these years. I'd be very curious to hear their nineties material. May have to search that one since bandcamp seems to only have a few of their later albums. You kind of have to wonder how the members feel about the era in metal where melodeath and the Gothenburg sound was largely carving it's way through the scene via tape-trading. Since this album is apparently new from this year, I'd think they'd be in the camp of melodeath having left them rather than them leaving melodeath. It's kind of surprising how few and far between it's Gothenburgisms rear up. This album is very easy flowing with a greater emphasis on building it's melodies on a bed of tremolo choruses and sustaining their length with underpinned key changes than anything. It's a sustain over point sort of thing, but it works, and I'm glad I found them.