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One hit wonders in metal


Requiem

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Sometimes bands have ok careers based around one great album, while the rest of their releases never truly live up to that moment of brilliance. 

I'm really interested in hearing people's choices for bands who, at some stage of their career, put out a near classic album, that stood like a diamond in the rough when you look at their whole catalogue. Of course this is all subjective, but that's why we're here, right? 

Here are three I want to nominate in the dark/melodic doom end of things (not for any particular reason - they're just the ones I thought of):

I'm going to nominate Novembre from Italy. I actually really like all of their six or seven albums to one degree or another, but their 2001 album 'Novembrine Waltz' is a good 100% better than their next best release. In fact, 'Novembrine Waltz' is one of my all time favourite albums and it's sad that they've not been able to get close to it again. It's not their first album either, but sits right in the middle of their output, which is curious. 

Another band is Funeral with their 'From These Wounds' album. I just can't get over how much of a classic album this is, but check out other Funeral albums at your peril. They're big let downs. 

A third band is the less known Foreshadowing from Italy. They put out a fantastic debut in 'Days of Nothing' then very mundane albums subsequently. 

Anyone else have an example of this? The more contentious the better. 

 

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The most unfortunate examples to me are Demilich, Weakling, and Lykathea Aflame, they each put out one brilliant album and then basically stopped. Among bands I've put on recently, Funebre, Vacant Coffin, Dripping, Dead Blue Sky, Ripping Corpse, and Okazaki Fragments also had solid debuts and then went nowhere.

There are a few bands out there who only have one album I like: Paradise Lost (Gothic), Sentenced (North From Here), Diabolique (The Black Flower), Convulse (World Without God), Sanctuary (Refuge Denied, though I'll give their second album another chance), Naglfar (Vittra), Sarcofago (INRI)... Hmm, let me think about it some more.

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2 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

The most unfortunate examples to me are Demilich, Weakling, and Lykathea Aflame, they each put out one brilliant album and then basically stopped. Among bands I've put on recently, Funebre, Vacant Coffin, Dripping, Dead Blue Sky, Ripping Corpse, and Okazaki Fragments also had solid debuts and then went nowhere.

There are a few bands out there who only have one album I like: Paradise Lost (Gothic), Sentenced (North From Here), Diabolique (The Black Flower), Convulse (World Without God), Sanctuary (Refuge Denied, though I'll give their second album another chance), Naglfar (Vittra), Sarcofago (INRI)... Hmm, let me think about it some more.

Cool post.

I'm wracking my brains trying to think of other examples, but I used all my best material early. If only we had other members on this forum. 

You really nominate 'North From Here' as the best Sentenced album? Ok, fair enough. They really only played in that style for a couple of albums so I can see how this could happen. 

 

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3 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

"North From Here" rules, I was massively annoyed by what they became. I'm sure BAN would have some good additions to make here. Far more numerous are the bands that should have hung it up after their third or fourth album. (I guess I'm using that as a figure of speech, bands should do what they want... I suppose...)

Bands can definitely do what they want, but we don't have to like it hahaha. 

And yeah, maybe I should have broadened the topic of this post to 'bands that were good but lost it' type of thing. 

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Phantom! They got it right with "Cyberchrist" (a third rate "Painkiller", which is still a major achievement if you ask me), but what came before was subpar.

Black Widow! Not exactly metal (okay, not at all), but their debut, "Sacrifice", completely overshadows their 3 subsequent records.

...and most of the hair metal bands that did not make it beyond one major label release! Like Hericane Alice, Heavens Edge and Hardline (hair bands sorta fancied H and W as first letter of their band name).

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Off the top of my head:

 

Hammerfall: 'Glory to the Brave' - stands head & shoulders ( and cheese) above everything they've done since. This was such a cool debut and then dunno they just went stale. 

 

Tribulation "The Horror:" Yeah this is the shit right here - just listen to 'Crypt of Thanatophilla' and tell me you're not thinking Carcass' Necroticism ..?? Follow up was ok with a noticeable move in the cleaned up, melodic death direction and then the most recent album 'The Children of the Night' just abhorrent. What the fuck happened?

 

Fight: "War of Words" Halford on vocals, Steel Panther's Sachel on guitar & Scott Travis on drums. Riffs galore. OK....so they only released 2 albums but the debut was razor sharp - Into the Gun, Nailed to the Pit, Contortion, Kill It, Vicious - Rob Halford was pissed. The follow up was terrible groove metal..just yuk.

 

Cinderella: The debut 'Night Songs' fucken smokes - owes more to AC/DC no frills hard rock than hair metal but damn somehow it grasps both simultaneously and turns out a massive winner. They then went into a weird blues inspired direction and never again got close to this.  

 

Warrior: "Fighting for the Earth". There's a trend emerging here - great debuts from bands who then went to water. The title track here is the equal to 'Queen of the Ryche' for best Power Metal song ever. This album is a glorious reminder of mid 80s US power metal right up there with Queensryche's debut EP & LP; Malice's first couple and of course a little bit of Vicious Rumours. The following 3 albums (over the next 30 years I might add!) are all average at best (although 2001's "Code of Life" at least had Rob Rock on vocals and kicked some degree of butt). The pipes of the mighty Parramore McCarty - wow.

 

Bullet For My Valentine: "The Poison" . Am I risking all credibility even mentioning these guys? Forget what they became - has anyone actually heard this debut? This was good. What they then became is not.

 

 

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10 hours ago, True Belief said:

 

 

 

 

Cinderella: The debut 'Night Songs' fucken smokes - owes more to AC/DC no frills hard rock than hair metal but damn somehow it grasps both simultaneously and turns out a massive winner. They then went into a weird blues inspired direction and never again got close to this.  

 

 

Warrior: "Fighting for the Earth". There's a trend emerging here - great debuts from bands who then went to water. The title track here is the equal to 'Queen of the Ryche' for best Power Metal song ever. This album is a glorious reminder of mid 80s US power metal right up there with Queensryche's debut EP & LP; Malice's first couple and of course a little bit of Vicious Rumours. The following 3 albums (over the next 30 years I might add!) are all average at best (although 2001's "Code of Life" at least had Rob Rock on vocals and kicked some degree of butt). The pipes of the mighty Parramore McCarty - wow.

 

 

Bullet For My Valentine: "The Poison" . Am I risking all credibility even mentioning these guys? Forget what they became - has anyone actually heard this debut? This was good. What they then became is not.

 

 

 

"Night Songs" is absolutely one hell of a debut album, but I am a major fan of their subsequent three records... My favourite Cinderella track is without doubt the opener of the follow up ("Falling Apart at the Seams"). As a whole record I'd say that "Heartbreak Station" is their most accomplished achievement. It's so rootsy and honest... They had the balls to put out a full-on throw back to the days of Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart fronted Faces. "Still Climbing" is also great! A rather darkish record compared to the previous efforts, but a steamer nonetheless.

Man, that Warrior record you mentioned... THAT rocks! Is like the perfect cross between Quiet Riot and Savatage! The bass player went on to play with Lou Gramm (love his project with Vivian Campbell, Shadow King). The singer, Parramore McCarty, sung on Steve Stevens' solo LP (Atomic Playboys) and did a fairly good job. One track off that record appears in a Jim Carrey movie ("The Power of Suggestion" is the track... it currently escapes me if the movie was Ace Ventura or The Mask). "Fighting for the Earth" rocks from start to end. US POWER METAL rules, man! FACE TO FACE TO FACE TO FACE... EYE TO EYE!

Bullet for my Valentine... never heard a note, but I am pretty sure I wouldn't approve eheheh

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A round of drinks for all the entertainment in this thread. 

Regarding Cinderella, I haven't really heard much of 'Night Songs' but I really love the follow-up 'Long Cold Winter'. Just great songs and it's a pity that they have such a silly name because I think in the long run it did them a disservice once trends shifted. 

I was watching concerts of Rock am Ring on youtube earlier and clicked on Bullet for my Valentine just to see what they were actually like. A lot heavier than I thought and I can see why the kids would like it. Not my thing at all though. This is what it's like to feel old I think. A whole wave of heavy music arrived and I look down on it and find it strange and weird. 

Shape of Despair: Three pretty good - but honestly a little boring - funeral doom albums, with one majestic masterpiece in 'Angels of Distress'. I know you're all going to defend the band and everyone will say that 'Shades Of' is a masterpiece, but when was the last time you actually sat through the damn thing? It's a real chore. 'Angels of Distress' is an amazing release that is light years ahead of even 'Monotony Fields' which could, quite frankly, do with a little less monotony. 

 

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A round of drinks for all the entertainment in this thread. 

Regarding Cinderella, I haven't really heard much of 'Night Songs' but I really love the follow-up 'Long Cold Winter'. Just great songs and it's a pity that they have such a silly name because I think in the long run it did them a disservice once trends shifted. 

I was watching concerts of Rock am Ring on youtube earlier and clicked on Bullet for my Valentine just to see what they were actually like. A lot heavier than I thought and I can see why the kids would like it. Not my thing at all though. This is what it's like to feel old I think. A whole wave of heavy music arrived and I look down on it and find it strange and weird. 

Shape of Despair: Three pretty good - but honestly a little boring - funeral doom albums, with one majestic masterpiece in 'Angels of Distress'. I know you're all going to defend the band and everyone will say that 'Shades Of' is a masterpiece, but when was the last time you actually sat through the damn thing? It's a real chore. 'Angels of Distress' is an amazing release that is light years ahead of even 'Monotony Fields' which could, quite frankly, do with a little less monotony. 

 

 

The other compounding factor regarding the Cinderella debut is the cover - they look like drag queens. The music inside is rocken. Much heavier than Long Cold Winter et al.

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you guys are in thing of shock because what I found on vh1 according to them queensryche is a one hit wonder in metal with silent lucidity reaching no 9 in chants  i also founds bands on vh1.com they are also one hit wonders  in metal autograph la guns green jelly faster pussycat  kix all songs reach top 30 in the billboard charts  

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4 hours ago, deathstorm said:

you guys are in thing of shock because what I found on vh1 according to them queensryche is a one hit wonder in metal with silent lucidity reaching no 9 in chants  i also founds bands on vh1.com they are also one hit wonders  in metal autograph la guns green jelly faster pussycat  kix all songs reach top 30 in the billboard charts  

Yeah I fucking love those songs but VH1 is wrong! Those are STAPLE bands in hard rock/heavy metal. They were ONE HIT WONDERS pop-wise! 

I have all three albums by Autograph (first press CD's from the 80's). They all sold decently well (as far as heavy metal goes), but unfortunately their career was descending. Not in quality (the third LP by Autograph is actually their best), but in terms of sales.

Faster Pussycat did shows alongside Guns N Roses and was featured in the "Decline of Western Civilization pt II" documentary alongside Ozzy, Poison, Alice Cooper, Lizzy Borden, MEGADETH etc. They had some sort of hit with "Poison Ivy" and "House of Pain" off their second LP, "Wake me When it's Over", but they had 3 records out on a major label (Elektra) before disbanding the first time.

LA Guns is definitely the biggest of the above, having hit platinum with at least their second record ("Cocked and Loaded") and possibly gold with the first (ST) and the third (Hollywood Vampires). Sure, "The Ballad of Jayne" was big on the radio, pretty much around the same time that Poison were ruling the airwaves with another sappy semi acoustic ballad, "Every rose has its thorn", but LA Guns were definitely a major band. A coupla notches below Guns N Roses, but still way above Faster Pussycat.

Same with KIX. They hit it big with the ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes", but that was on their fourth record! And all three records before were also released on major label (Atlantic). As was the fifth ("Hot Wire"). With KIX, "Midnite Dynamite", "Blow My Fuse" and "Hot WIre" were ALL solid efforts. The first and the second LP were actually pretty lame, though. But the first was produced by none other than... TOM ALLOM! The dude who engineered the first Black Sabbath records and went on to produce Judas Priest from "Unleashed in the East" up until "Ram it Down".

Again... all of the above bands might have been one hit wonders for the Billboard Pop Charts, but if you put them into context, they stayed around for quite a while a had a healthy loyal following all along! I belong to that crowd... Savatage would ask what happens "when the crowds are gone?". Well, the occasional listener crowd came and went, but hair metal aficionados keep the flame alive! See events like "Rocklahoma". To quote Kip Winger: "YOU AIN'T GONNA SEE A GRUNGELAHOMA ANYTIME SOON"! :D

 

Last AND least... I have absolutely no clue who the fuck Green Jelly is! I'll wikipedia them, but with a name like that I expect some alternative stuff.

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On 2017-5-7 at 8:33 PM, Reaper said:

Type O Negative - White Slavery is so deep

 

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'White Slavery' is a great song, but do you really think Type O are a one hit wonder? I'd rate 'Bloody Kisses' and 'October Rust as 10/10 classics and 'World Coming Down' is also genuinely good. That's three great albums = many hit wonder. 

6 hours ago, BlutAusNerd said:

 

Remind me what Poison has to do with metal....

 

Isn't metal just about having nothin' but a good time? 

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