#13: MASTODON – BLOOD MOUNTAIN
Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 5:00pm by Anso DF
We recently polled a wide array of musicians, managers, publicists, label reps, and writers from within the world of metal to find out what they thought the 21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century So Far have been. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2009. Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album worth 21 points, their #2 album worth 20 points, and so on and so forth. The ballots are now in and we’ll be counting down one album a day until we reach #1. Today we present the #13 album, coming in with a total of 138 points…
Mastodon, Blood Mountain (Warner Bros., 2006)
Troy Sanders — Bass, Vocals
Brent Hinds — Guitars, Vocals
Bill Kelliher — Guitars
Brann Dailor — Drums
Produced by Matt Bayles and Mastodon
I guess dudes were nervous about Mastodon’s third album, Blood Mountain, ‘cuz it was the quartet’s first for Warner Bros Records. Which is kinda goofy since all the greatest, most epic-est concept albums are major label affairs. And beardy production aside, Blood Mountain fits right in among those records, and not a moment too soon. It sounds to me like two Sepultura cover bands on opposite sides of a basement, one (inexplicably) playing Voivod’s Nothingface and the other Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (for some reason). It has the former’s freakishly dynamic riffs and exoticism, the latter’s epic arc and devastating instrumental passages. All three albums share a pervasive and baldly cinematic sense of time passing; Blood Mountain shoots from a canon (“The Wolf Is Loose”) and ends 50 minutes/several days later with a mournful closing credits sequence (“Pendulous Skin”). By that point, our hero (whom we all visualize as guitarist/singer Brent Hinds, right?) has been swallowed by the mountain or encased in ice or raped by a tree. The listener has been through only slightly less.
Musically, Blood Mountain captures a expressive, fluent Mastodon, a single lurching unit able to conjure the sensation of withstanding a landslide or addressing a cycloptic and clairvoyant Bigfoot. This is done using an arsenal which counts three distinct and expressive singers and at least one virtuosic guitarist. It helps too that Matt Bayles’ naturalistic production gets an upgrade courtesy of a twinkling, crunching mix by Rich Costey (best mix ever on Cave In’s Antenna). Above all, Blood Mountain is a document that proves its authors care about good shit; no riff lazily waddles in toneless chromatics nor does any beat aimlessly plod. I sound like my old English teacher here, but I can’t be alone in finding this album amazingly rich: There’s a repeated tightening and relaxing of the fist; guitars and voices climb and descend; Rhythms consistently imply that footing is perilously uncertain.
I like that Mastodon likes grave, addictive concept albums like the rest of us nerds, as demonstrated by nods to labelmates The Mars Volta (whose Cedric Baxter-Birney [sorry] adds guest vocals to the titanic “Siberian Divide”); and Genesis, who set the bar for paranoid, claustrophobic story-albums with The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (whose “The Colony of Slippermen” is referenced in BM’s “The Colony of Birchmen”). I also like that the band plans to make a film version their next album, Crack The Skye; I’d really like that too provided it were as awesome as Beowulf 3D on the mega-screen with Blood Mountain pounding on my headphones. Tip: Listen to side B twice.
-ADF
Download Blood Mountain from Amazon or iTunes!
THE LIST SO FAR:
#14 – System of a Down, Toxicity
#15 – Nachtmystium, Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1
#16 – Machine Head, The Blackening
#18 – Lamb of God, New American Gospel
#20 – Shadows Fall, The War Within
#21 – Slipknot, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
THE PANEL OF VOTERS
Chris Adler, Lamb of God
Dan And, Bison B.C.
Ben Apatoff, Apatoff for Destruction/Metal Injection
Jason Bittner, Shadows Fall
Tim Brennan, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Freddy Cai, Painkiller Magazine
Ian Christe, Bazillion Points
Reverend David J. Ciancio, Yeah! Management
Betsey Cichoracki, Relapse Records
Paul Conroy, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
J. Costa, Thy Will Be Done
Dallas Coyle, ex-God Forbid/Coyle Media
Doc Coyle, God Forbid
CT, Rwake
Anso DF, MetalSucks/Hipsters Out of Metal!
Vince Edwards, Metal Blade Records
Charles Elliott, Abysmal Dawn/Nuclear Blast Records
Brian Fair, Shadows Fall
Leo Ferrante, Warner Music Group
D.X. Ferris, author 33 1/3: Reign in Blood/Freelance Journalist
Mike Gitter, Roadrunner Records
Nick Green, Decibel
Matt Grenier, August Burns Red
Anthony Guzzardo, Earache Records
Kevin Hufnagel, Dysrhythmia
Mark Hunter, Chimaira
Steve Joh, Century Media
EJ Johantgen, Prosthetic Records
Kim Kelly, Metal Injection/Hails & Horns/Freelance Journalist
Josh “The J” Key, Psychostick
Jason Lekberg, Epic Records
Eyal Levi, Daath
Bob Lugowe, Relapse Records
Matt McChesney, The Autumn Offering
Jake McReynolds, Psychostick
Marc Meltzer, The Syndicate
Josh Middleton, Sylosis
Matt Moore, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder
Vince Neilstein, MetalSucks
Sammy O’Hagar, MetalSucks
Anton OyVey, MetalSucks/Bacon Jew
Rob Pasbani, Metal Injection
Alex Preiss, Psychostick
Carlos Ramirez, NoiseCreep/Universal Music Group
Brian Rocha, Fresno Media USA
Jeremy Rosen, Roadrunner Records
Axl Rosenberg, MetalSucks
Satan Rosenbloom, MetalSucks/Cerebral Metalhead
David Bee Roth, MetalSucks
Jason Rudolph, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Amy Sciarretto, Roadrunner Records/NoiseCreep
Carl Severson, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Gary Suarez, MetalSucks/No Yoko No/Brainwashed
Geoff Summers, The End Records/Crustcake
Bram Teitelman, The Syndicate/Metal Insider
Alisha Turull, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Christopher R. Weingarten, 1000TimesYes/Freelance Journalist
No surprise seeing this album here. Not my cup of tea, but certainly not as bad of a choice as the other albums so far.
Nice pick. Should it have been higher….?
Waiting for Crack The Skye to show up now. Mastodon will dominate.
You’re right on that
CtS is their only album that should be on this list IMO, but BM is ok. I can see CtS getting top 7 or so.
ctf is their best one, only one i actualy like. but mastodon is soo over ratted
Fully agreed.
Agree…overated deluxe.. Dont belong anywhere near the top 21.. Not even top 200
Blasphemy!
Fully disagree.
defintly hugely over rated band…I love em…BUt way to over rated……10/4 on that
I’m gonna have to be a douche and ask you to put your money where your mouth is and explain exactly why you think Mastodon are overrated. Not why you don’t like them, but why they’re overrated. Saying you don’t like something is very different than saying it’s overrated. If you say it’s not your cup of tea, there’s no reason to defend that because it’s clearly an opinion. But saying it’s overrated is insinuating that it’s a fact. So why exactly, do you feel Mastodon are overrated? What elements of their music do you feel are undeserving of the praise they receive?
Lamb of God is going to dominate with Ashes, Sacrament, and Palaces.
Sacrament? ehhh… Palaces and Ashes are their best albums but I think Wrath is twice as good as Sacrament.
wrath?
if sacrament is on here then the list will mean nothing to me. its already not that great of a list with the exception of nachtysisum(if thats how you spell it) if there is no necrophagist the list would mean nothing at all. honestly, animositys animal should be on here for sure, and behemoths demigod. if not, this list will be bullshit!!
(i do agree that mastadon is a little over rated as well, but i still like them)
My opinion: Wrath is the best thing that Lamb Of God have ever put out. Just sayin’.
gonna have to say no on that one. Palaces is the best they’ve got. From the opening gallop like guitar on “Ruin” all the way through to the epic breakdown and Randy’s demonic “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” this album is by far their best. I mean “11th Hour” and “Blood Junkie” for fucks sake
Mastodon’s worst album, and certainly not worthy of a top 21, but a good solid album. Much better then most on the list so far.
Agreed. Remission should be higher. I’m wondering if Crack the Skye will end up being number 1?
Credits to Anso DF as well, probably the best write-up so far.
I could not agree more. I was thinking the same thing.
great write up
agreed on all accounts…well written.
Yep. Well done Mr Anso DF, better than recent write ups.
Agreed, but I have to add a few corrections:
* Cedric Bixler-Zavala
* ” Maiden’s [insert any Maiden album that is NOT the worst of the Dickinson-era]“
*Guess you’re not old enough to have seen “Family Ties” to get the joke.
so your saying 7th son isn’t better than Fear of the Dark? or No Prayer for the Dying? can i have some of your crack-cocaine?
Worst album??? THIS IS MASDTODON’S BEST ALBUM WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GUYS SMOKING?
Should have been higher on the list.
I lost faith in this band after blood mountain, thought it was really boring. cts firmly put me into place though:)
I completely agree… dunno what everyone else is smoking
Hehehehehehehe
You said “higher”
Hehehehehe
while it is a sick album, i have to say Crack the Skye is batter in my opinion. The overall story seems better and seems like it was pieced together perfectly. but i also am a big prog-ish fan, and The Dark Side of the Moon has always been on heavy rotation for me since i first heard it. Blood Mountain is an awesome album, but i personally think that Crackethe Skye edges it out.
** TYPO ** !!
” System of a Down, Toxicity (American, 2001) ”
y’al left teh Sub_headline in!! WTF
NOW GIVE ME A PRIZE
love it —where is Leviathon and Crack the skye gonna place??—-#8 & #1–me thinks
great album
the first album i really love so far.
if an album this good by a band this big is #13 what could possibly lay ahead?
definitely not suffo :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
I saw the rest of the list, some finalists include
Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory
Avenged Sevenfold – City Of Evil
Mudvayne – Lost And Found
Korn – Take A Look In The Mirror
In Flames – Soundtrack To Your Escape
System Of A Down – Mezmerize
Phil Collins – Face Value
Seriously.
(This post only applies if you have actually seen the rest of the list as you claim you have)
+1 for Hybrid Theory, City Of Evil, and Lost And Found.
-10000 for you for ruining the surprise of the fucking list.
Holy shit, kill yourself.
seconded
fucking seriously, the phil collins didn’t tip you off?
lol Dudes, I figured it was a joke, thus the disclaimer. Just a weak attempt at being funny on my part. Chill out hoes.
haha well I got it, dude…
THIS LIST SUCKS! METAL SUCKS SUCKS
lol you’re an idiot
seriously
O lol’d
Fucking awesome.
Good choice. Unfortunately not a choice that will cause as much entertaining rage as SOAD or Slipknot though.
No genre arguments from me today.
thank fuck for that.
leviathan was much better in my opinion!!
+1!
yeh it was better……better than a steaming turd freshly squeezed from a dogs ass
I can listen to this album all the way through without skipping a single song.
Great concept album.
Yes same here, along with CtS, all the songs or none.
please don’t let crack the skye be number 1. please please please.
Crack the Skye will come 2nd to Blackwater Park and ahead of Cynic’s Traced in Air and I will never look down on this list again.
I agree with Blackwater Park and Traced in Air… they need to be on this list.
blackwater park? come on guys, this is an american list.
if they did soad, they just might go for tool too.
10,000 days is gonna be number one…eventho everyone says its not a metal album…
it’s defintly one of the best albums ever written…maybe lateralus as well
if Anema was in the 00’s
it’d be number one X1000’s
traced in air….not metal.
Watershed will be higher than blackwater park and traced in air will be top 10
Watershed probably wont even be on the list it should be blackwater park and ghost reveries
It’s progressive metal, and fucking phenomenal.
neither is system of a down, but i wouldnt bitch if cynic was on the list, traced in air was a great album. end of story.
Honestly, I don’t think a band is metal just for using distortion, but any band whose riffs can mostly be described using the syllables “DUN” or “FLECCCH” is metal, whether you like it or not.
Multiple Mastodon albums is about the same as putting the first four Metallica albums on a list of best metal albums of the 80s. It’s hard to disagree, but at the same time it’s hard to justify, in lieu of all the other metal albums released, that Mastodon deserves multiple entries.
It makes the list look like even more of a popularity contest.
Well… technically, it *is* a popularity contest.
Yeah, but that’s unfortunate because it means many deserving albums will be left off the list. I understand people vote their tastes, but there are albums I’ll admit are really good that I don’t like. Just voting for a band’s albums because the band is well-regarded and semi-popular defeats the purpose of a list like this.
That being said, Mastodon deserves to be on the list, once, for Remission. Anything else is just feting a decided beauty.
Who says they’re being voted upon due to being well-regarded and/or semi-popular? Maybe, just maybe, all of the voters listed above really *did* vote their consciences/tastes, and the list turned out to be comprised largely of popular-ish albums/artists anyway. That might help explain how/why those artists/albums got popular in the first place.
Voting for things simply due to their relative obscurity or undergroundedness just for the sake of proving one’s mettle (!) is what defeats the purpose of a list like this.
Yes, the multiple albums thing has completely turned this into a popularity contest, but considering the others so far, it was just a popularity contest from the beginning.
And none of Metallica’s first four albums deserves to be on any best of list. They’re all really boring and watered down thrash.
I have to disagree a bit, because Kill ‘Em All should make just about any list of greatest metal albums of the 80s list. While it might not have aged as well as some other headbangers, it definitely captures the raw power and visceral punch of thrash metal.
Of the four, I can tolerate KeA the most (it’s certainly the most thrashy), but it’s still not worthy of being on any best-of list of the 80s. Even for thrash, bands such as Megadeth, Overkill, Sadus, Testament, and others created much better albums that caputured the essence of the genre. Plus, the late 80s had the start of death metal, so albums such as Altars of Madness and Seven Churches would have to be there. All of that, plus the one or two Iron Maiden albums that would be more than enough for a best-of list. All of those are leagues ahead of anything Metallica ever made.
you deserve to be face-raped by a rabid monkey, you canadian retard….
More name calling. You’re definitely quite the intellect, I see.
That’s unfortunate because for the rest of your life as a metal fan you’ll have to see some them on most every “best of” list.
Just find it funny you find 80s Metallica so shitty and Load to be your favorite. Not that I dislike that album or anything…in fact its a good hard rock record. Just not an album I would assume an individual with such strong views as yours (juding from your many, MANY posts) would enjoy.
Don’t get me wrong, Load certainly has flaws. Quite a few. But relative to the utterly boring 80s albums, it’s one of Metallica’s best. It’s exactly as you said–a good hard rock record.
Obviously you are more than entitled to your opinions (no matter how much I disagree, haha), but to say that they are “utterly boring” albums is a view I would doubt is held by even a quarter of metal fans. Sure lots of people dislike the band for various reasons but I have to assume that the overall impact of those first four albums on the world of heavy metal more than justifies their placement on all time best of lists. Also, I feel that if you, like I, were not involved in the ’scene’ when these albums came out its hard to say that they didn’t capture the ‘esscence’ of the thrash or general metal movements of the 80s. We have the benefit of looking back and seeing how second wave bands like Testament interpreted first wave thrash metal and made it their own. Pretty sure if you heard Kill in 83 or Puppets in ‘86 you’d have been floored. Fuck, I still think they rip. But I’m biased as I’m a big fan of Metallica.
I’m also biased, but Plumber’s argument is dead on. I couldn’t say it any better myself.
You, sir, are an idiot.
How exactly am I an idiot? KeA was immature thrash at best. RtL was a snoozefest until the last track. MoP was utterly boring, and the riffs were much worse, with the exception of Leper Messiah and Disposable Heroes. AJFA is about as boring as the new Gojira (i.e., incredibly boring). And the funny part is that it’s not even the sterile riffs that kill it–it’s Lars’ pathetically unoriginal and slow drumming. Replace him with a capable drummer, and those albums move at a faster pace, the riffs sound better, there would be more variety, and Metallica would have been better overall.
I hate to say it, but seeing as you’re in the minority on this one, you’re pretty much wrong. Metallica’s first four albums are great because they move beyond simple thrash metal and into a different realm of metal altogether. And Lars may not be the best drummer ever, but he’s certainly capable enough on those albums that he doesn’t ruin them at all.
You have your opinion, and you’re certainly entitled to it… but in this case your opinion sucks.
Immature thrash because they were inventing a genre? Of course it could be called immature but it was a vital part of the movement in its early stages. Any early thrash could be labelled the same. And they grew leaps and bounds by the next record. Backing up your opinion is one thing, but when you are so clearly wrong its laughable. This shit is historic (its influence is proven)…in metal history Metallica is easily top 5 all time in influence upon the genre. You are grossly underestimating the value and worht of those first 4 albums.
Once again, I ask all the haters to put their money where their mouth is. What is your list of the top 21 metal albums of the 21st century? After all the bitching I’d love to see someone just fucking deliver. It should be very revealing.
Sourdeez, look in the Machine Head thread and you’ll see the list of 21 I posted.
Metallica did not invent thrash. Overkill was playing thrash since 1980, way before Metallica. But I will say that Metallica matured on RtL. Unfortunately, that mean that everything slowed down, and that felt like boring thrash. Really, the instrumental is the only good song on the album (and admittedly, it’s very good). Exactly how am I wrong? You can listen to other 80s thrash to prove my point (and I was nice enough to list some earlier). That music is faster, more creative, and more aggressive overall.
Also: Influence =/= good. Influence = popular.
There’s a reason that most/all influences a band lists are popular ones. It doesn’t make them bad, but it certainly doesn’t mean that they’re good.
ZILTOID’S TOP 21 ALBUMS OF THIS CENTURY! And I’m including everything released to this day, because there’s one released this April that’ll be here:
Kamelot – The Black Halo
Arcturus – The Sham Mirrors
Impaled – Mondo Medicale
Meshuggah – Nothing
Symphony X – The Odyssey
Devin Townsend – Accelerated Evolution
Tyr – Eric the Red
Mercenary – 11 Dreams
Strapping Young Lad – Alien
Mercenary – The Hours that Remain
Cynic – Traced in Air
Theocracy – Mirror of Souls
Anubis Gate – Andromeda Unchained
Vortech – Posthumanism
Primordial – To The Nameless Dead
Amon Amarth – With Oden on Our Side
Dark Tranquillity – Fiction
Suidakra – Emprise to Avalon
Windir – 1184
Augury – Concealed
Ne Obliviscaris – The Aurora Veil
I guess that’s a decent list off the top of my head (and I’m not ranking them). I would add Ulver’s “Blood Inside,” since it’s a fantastic album, but it’s not one of Ulver’s metal albums. There’s a lot of different sounds in there, and they’re all excellent metal albums. But this list also shows that past decades were much better for metal, with some of the older veterans releasing not-top-21 material this century.
Nice, another Mastadon. That means that Crack the Skye must be high. Long live the Flying V playing Yeti
i think all the mastodon sucks fights have been fought on remission. and i imagine troy doing all the vocals, as well as being the adventurer, just because he looks cooler
“Alive or just breathing” should be 1st.
It’s a good album, but not #1, and i can totally see the panel voting End of Heartache or Daylight Dies ahead of it.
that would be really, really sad if that happens
not First..but higher than any Mastodon garbage thats for sure
Don’t really like them. Cool for those that do though.
Now this should be on here! Great choice! I am still suprised by the lack of any European/Canadian bands on here. I guess all of these guys are major fans of US metal. I hope to see at least 1 Enslaved, Opeth, and Meshuggah record on the rest of the list. The next 12 hopefully include:
Opeth – Blackwater Park
Enslaved – Isa
Meshuggah – Nothing/Catch 33
Converge – Jane Doe
Isis – Oceanic
Killswitch Engage – Alive or Just Breathing
In Flames – Clayman
The Red Chord – Fused Together In Revolving Doors
You forgot Colors by Between the buried and me.
Yeah, that’s a pretty good list. I still havn’t checked out “colors”, but I’ve heard nothing but great things about it.
At the risk of sending someone into a pointless “that’s not metal” diatribe, I really think Big Business “here comes the waterworks” should see a place on this list…I don’t think it’ll happen, but that truly is one of the best albums of the last 9 years.
no its not forgotten, it’s just not good.
my list of hopefulls
Baroness – first or second
bloodbath – fathomless mastery
Absu – Absu
Opeth – Blackwater Park, ghost reveries
Cynic – Traced in Air
“but I’ve heard nothing but great things about it….”
Until now.
Don’t listen to him, colors is a great album. One between the buried and me album will be on this list for sure.
and The Way of All Flesh
From Mars to Sirius>Way of all flesh – just couldnt get into that record like I did Mars, maybe it lacked the surprise element mars did, I was EXPECTING to be blown away by flesh and it just didnt happen
I agree i like Mars better. Flesh was good but not AS good.
I personally prefer The Way Of All Flesh… I can’t really explain why, but I liked the songs better.
Terra Incognita>From Mars> Way of All Flesh.
Havent heard their other one yet
nice, every mastodon album is gonna be on this list, as they all should.
yeh as they all should…not.. NOT ONE OF EM deserves even top 200 status…Most overated band in history of metal.
Seconded!
I think that CtS should be on the list, maybe top 10…but two albums already seems a bit overkill.
Plenty of other bands out there to claim the most overrated title though, I don’t know why you’d hate them so much…
Not nearly as overrated as Slayer, or Dream Theater, or Metallica, or a million other bands who get fellated every day by fans and media alike. I would love to see Mike Portnoy or Dave Lombardo or even Gene Hoglan attempt to play a single song from Remission. I would laugh my ass off, because although they’re all standouts and quite talented, I can guarantee neither of them are capable of pulling off a drum performance like Brann Dailor. I would laugh my ass off watching Portnoy try to play Workhorse or Mother Puncher without spending a month rehearsing it nonstop. My point is that they’re great drummers and can learn that shit after a long time of practicing it, but Brann comes up with that shit OFF THE BAT which is incredibly impressive and disqualifies them from being “overrated”. Controversial opinion, I know, but I wish someone could actually set this challenge up in real life.
I’d actually kinda like to see that too, I love DT, and Mike Portnoy is my favorite drummer, but I can’t really argue your point man, Brann is very very unique and I would hate to be the drummer in a Mastodon cover band lol.
Without a doubt Leviathan & CTS will be in the top 10. I’m not a Mastodon fan, but I do recognize the importance of their work, and respect their musical ability. I do hope Cynic makes it in the top 10 too.
Good choice. Personally, I liked this album more than Crack The Skye, which just didn’t pull me in like Blood Mountain or even Leviathan, but I’m sure that Crack The Skye will be on the list. And it looks like they’re allowing multiple albums from a single artist. I better see a whole mess of Opeth albums at the top of this list.
two Mastodon Album’s already? You know Crack the Skye on this motherfucker…..probably in the top 5. I can already feel the hatarade coming. I am predicting +300 comments on this post for sure.
I’m all for Mastodon being on the list, I think they’re an excellent and important band, but I would have left this one out. I don’t think putting all four of their studio albums on here is fair to a lot of the other bands, and this one is their weakest IMO. A great album means a great whole album, not just an album with great moments. To me, a whole album is only great if you can put it on from beginning to end repeatedly and not skip a single track. I would definitely say that about Remission and Crack The Skye, but this one and Leviathan definitely had a few tracks worth skipping, and the song order just didn’t really flow for me. Great album=never a dull moment. Blood Mountain=a few dull moments. Just being critical, if this is your favorite Mastodon album, awesome, still kicks ass.
well, this list was made by multiple people. So, it could have played out where no one put all four Mastodon albums on their individual lists, the albums accumulated enough points for all four to be on it . ..
How is it “not fair” to other bands to put multiple albums by one artist on a “best of” list? Do we need to give everyone a trophy so they don’t get their feelings hurt?
I’d be very surprised if none of the voters on this list collaborated with the other voters. I seriously doubt every individual voter turned in a confidential, individual ballot without consulting anyone else who voted. I suspect that quite a few voters collaborated to make sure certain albums got a certain number of votes. But once again, this is just a hunch, I’m not asserting that this was the case. I just have my doubts that all of the diverse voters on this panel would have given Hatebreed or Slipknot enough points to make the list without some kind of tomfoolery or interference. If there was none of this, Axl and/or Vince, please set the record straight.
I’m sick of all this underground metal. Where’s the Nickleback?
Don’t worry its coming.
we can only hope
I like your pants around your feet.
I enjoy being the cameraman
Why didn’t they just call it the 18 best albums of the 21st century and 4 Mastadon albums. Still waiting for Strapping Young Lad to make an appearence.
Because 18 plus 4 equals 22 not 21
haha told! (Havent said that in 9n years)
Alien maybe, SYL definitely not (although I enjoy it, it’s nothing new for Devin), and absolutely not The New Black. City was undeniably a masterpiece, but it was released in 97.
their 3rd best album… Leviathan will be top 5 or bricks will be shat
1. God Forbid: Empire of the Gun
2. God Forbid: IV: Constitution of Treason
3. God Forbid: Gone Forever
4. All That Remains: The Fall of Ideals
5. Lamb of God: Wrath
6. Shadows Fall: The War Within
7. Soilwork: Stabbing the Drama
8. Between the Buried and Me: Colors
9. Killswitch Engage: The End of Heartache
10. Unearth: III: In The Eyes of Fire
11. Lamb of God: Ashes of the Wake
12. All That Remains: This Darkened Heart
13. As I Lay Dying: Shadows Are Security
14. Unearth: The Oncoming Storm
15. Killswitch Engage: Alive or Just Breathing
16. Protest The Hero: Fortress
17. Mastodon: Crack The Skye
18. System of a Down: Toxicity
19. Shadows Fall: The Art of Balance
20. As Blood Runs Black: Allegiance
typo I meant 1. God Forbid: Earthsblood. I just happened to have empire of the gun in my mind at the time.
21. God Forbid: Determination
woops, never mind… not a very good 21
that’s only 20… and not a very good 20 at that
That might just actually be worse than the MS list right now. It takes talent to fail that badly. Congrats!
Now that’s comedic relief! Very funny list.
thanks all! I came to entertain!
I’m here till Wednesday! remember to tip your waitress!
I agree with three of your choices…not a one of them are metalcore.
A) God Forbid are not “teh shit,” get over them…
B) AtR are overrated as all get out, totally getting carried by their lead guitarist.
C) Look outside of metalcore, you will be pleasantly surprised.
TAPROOT!
so since crack the skye is one of 2 albums to receive a metalsucks 5 whatever rating, it’s gotta be #1 or #2. that or all my faith in the man’s math is completely shattered.
the blackening got 5 horns.
phale’s right, but then MetalSucks must have screwed up, because they did say they’ve given five horns only twice.
it is a great fucking album.
Have you read the preface that has been INCLUDED WITH EVERY FUCKING ALBUM ON THE LIST? Metalsucks didn’t pick the albums. There is a panel of voters listed. Right here. On this page. See? Look up…a little higher…higher…THERE! See? Some of you are illiterate.
I wasn’t talking about the albums on this list.
i think its fair to say that the voting panel selected by the metalsucks staff has at least a little to do with having common tastes. a list compiled by europeans or canadians or nazis or girls would be ludicrously narrow-minded in some other way.
reading is for internet fagits
interenet queer-o-sexuals where?!?!?!?
we don’t talk to queer–o-sexuals on here!!!
think they will make the list? wigger slam is an up and coming sub-genre.
lol
If it were up to me, the top 12 would look something like this (in no particular order):
Cynic – Traced In Air
Ensiferum – Victory Songs
Enslaved – Vertebrae
Finntroll – Nattfodd
Lamb Of God – As The Palaces Burn
Metallica – Death Magnetic (yeah, I know, not a popular choice)
Opeth – Blackwater Park
Opeth – Ghost Reveries
Strapping Young Lad – The New Black (the album to really get me interested in SYL)
The Sword – Gods Of The Earth (hipster label be damned, I love this album)
Tool – Lateralus
Turisas – The Varangian Way
This is, of course, my 12 and forces me to leave out some great non-metal albums (Everything Clutch has released this decade, QOTSA’s Songs For The Deaf, Dog Fashion Disco’s Adultery) as well as some great newer albums (Gorod’s Process of A New Decline, Obscura’s Cosmogenesis). And I’m probably missing a few that I would put higher on the list.
Melvins – A Senile Animal
I actually have never listened to any Melvins… perhaps I should fix that.
Coady Willis is a fucking animal…
big business – here come the waterworks
thank you, fuckin right…that album kicks 7 different kinds of ass!
if you put death magnetic, than you must put megadeth for united abominations or system has failed, because DM and UA are on par IMO
The System Has Failed was one that I gave serious consideration to, and if I was going over 12 it probably would have been included. However, Death Magnetic was the first Metallica album in a long time to give me that excited, ‘holy shit’ feeling that I got when I first started listening to Metallica. (Coincidentally enough, I only ever really got that from the first five Metallica albums).
Even though it’s not metal, Songs For The Deaf is so excellent that it belongs on any list with the word “best” in it. Even shit like “Best Opera Records”. Don’t question the questionable logic, it’s just that good.
Hahaha… I can’t argue with that.
It’s nice to see Mastodon make the list twice out of top #21. Though I can’t imagine seeing CTS make the list as well, even though it’s a very solid album.
Crack the sky and leviathan are their best albums so i assume all 4 will be on here
my favorite mastodon album tied with CTS. Mastodon is critically overrated but still a very very good band. leviathan, based simply on the awards and critical reception, plus the nostalgia factor is probably number one. which sucks because the blackening is still better than all the others so far.
me thinks no buried inside will show
I think that is a shame as well, but it seems that spot may already be reserved for Panopticon…I’d like to see Intronaut as well, but probably not…
This is my favorite Mastodon album – I’m really digging CTS but I’ll wait a year before making any big proclamations – and it’s in my top 5 for this century. Good call here. Don’t really understand why a lot of people tend to think this is their weakest disc…that’s Leviathan for me, personally, though I’m still into it.
YES
Wait, what? Blood Mountain? Where’s Leviathan, Mastodon’s best album!?!?
This I can agree on.. awesome album!
Blood Mountain was good in that it didn’t suck ala the Black Album.
Remission & Leviathan are the only two Mastodon albums that should be on this list.
of course this list is pretty retarded as well.
Thats what happens when you poll cutting edge bands like Chimaira and God Forbid.
I have to say I own every album on the list so far aside from mastodon and nachtimstyjunk but just because I can, here is a list of my favorite albums of the decade in alphabetical order. Not going for most underground or brutal just plenty of different kinds of “metal” so feast on this
Arsis – A Celebration of Guilt
Black Dahlia Murder – Unhallowed
Bloodbath – Nightmares Made Flesh (Swano!!)
Cephalic Carnage – Anomalies
Coldworker – Rotting Paradise
Cradle of Filth – Midian
Deceased – Supernatural Addiction
Devildriver – The Fury of Our Maker’s Hand
Doomriders – Black Thunder
Earth Crisis – Slither
God Forbid – Determination
Hacksaw to the Throat – Wastelands
The Haunted – Made Me Do It
Killswitch Engage – Alive or Just Breathing
Machine Head – The Blackening
Misery Index – Discordia
Nasum – Shift
Shadows Fall – The Art of Balance
Soulfly – Prophecy
Skeletonwitch – Beyond the Permafrost
3 Inches of Blood – Fire Up the Blades
If it wasn’t 15 years old and stuck continuously playing in my cd player, At the Gates Slaughter of the Soul would be #1 no doubt best ever.
Slaughter of the Soul? The album that basically started metalcore? Not the much better “The Red in the Sky is Ours”? Ugh…
And your list is crap except for that Arsis album, and Hacksaw to the Throat. Throw away the rest.
OK…. 90’s metallica guy
I like Load as a nostalgia album, and because it has well written rock songs. Trust me, it’s better than the rest of their awful discography.
So let me get this straight… you’re ripping SOTS because it “started metalcore”, but you’re praising the album that helped create radio metal and totally detracted from everything that Kill Em All did for the genre? You need an enema.
Trust me, that’s merely your opinion.
Load is the WORST metallica album.. Followed by RELOAD then St.Anger.
You…Zilchode….Have rocks in your head
“Zilchode?” That might just be the dumbest and least creative thing I’ve read in my life.
Load did not start radio metal, since it wasn’t a metal album. I guess you could say that the black album started “radio metal,” since Enter Sandman and all of those other lame songs got overplayed to death. And Kill Em All did nothing for thrash. Go find some good thrash metal.
King Troll rides again.
Slaughter of the Soul started melodeath.
Of course, melodeath begat metalcore, so you could argue that it did start metalcore… but then again, In Flames and Soilwork probably played a bigger role in influencing metalcore.
I never got why so many people think this album is great. It puts me to sleep every time I try to listen to it. Not surprised its on here tho, it doesn’t get any trendier than Mastodon.
See, you totally deflated your own argument with that last sentence. Finding it boring is one thing; not liking it due to the fact that X number of other people like it (which is what you implied) is something else entirely.
You know what other bands are trendy?
Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Hendrix, GnR, Radiohead, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Beastie Boys, Rolling Stones, etc,etc, etc.
You know why? BECAUSE THEY WRITE/PLAY GOOD MUSIC THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ENJOY.
Popularity/trendiness does not automatically negate quality. Popularity is largely objective, while quality is largely subjective. What are you, 15? For fuck’s sake, stop being so concerned with how popular stuff is. How much more un-metal could you possibly get?
Thank you. The argument I usually hear is the whole “just because its not tr00″ shtick. No, that doesn’t have anything to do with it. The albums on this list are the heavy albums that will stand the test of time, like the bands you mentioned have. That’s why they’re on this list.
THIS.
Reading comprehension isn’t your thing I take it.
Perhaps you should reread what I wrote. I stated why I personally didn’t like it, then said I wasn’t surprised it was on the list due to the fact everyone and their mother seems to love anything Mastodon does. I didn’t say I didn’t like it cause everyone else did. I didn’t even say it shouldn’t be on the list. Trendy means everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, which seems to be the thing with Mastodon these days. Hell, I even like Crack the Skye, i just find this album dull unlike the majority.
All of Mastodon’s fans like them for their music, not because they’re “cool” or “in” right now. Therefore, they are not “trendy”. They’re growing in popularity, because their music is interesting. That’s the only reason.
Very good album. Definitely better than everything else on this list.
First album that I listened from Mastodon, it introduced me to top-quality music and musicians. For that, I’ll be forever grateful.
Ziltoid is a douche, that’s all I have to say.
idiot Zl
More clever and creative insults!
I think this list was created to start arguments.
…..so I might as well join in, right? If Fear Factory’s “Digimortal” doesn’t make the list, everyone’s a rusty cocksnake.
Well, there is the lyrical genius of tracks such as “Back the Fuck Up.” So eloquent.
Digimortal should never, never, NEVER make this list:)
Seriously? Digimortal over Obsolete or Demanufacture? Egad.
Demanufacture wasn’t even made in the 00’s, it was made in, like, 1996, i think
Good point… Obsolete was ‘98, too, so I guess that they’re out. But Obsolete is the last decent Fear Factory album, in my opinion. After that everything went downhill rapidly.
Obsolete is glorified nu-metal. Archetype is at least decent. Everything else is turd.
Soul Of A New Machine is the only Fear Factory album worth a shit IMO. At least that album has riffs and not just chugging machinery bullshit.
I assume all of Mastodon’s albums will make this list. I had thought if any of them didn’t make it, it would be this one. I really like all Mastodon’s albums but for some reason the overall reaction to this record compared to all their others led me to believe this was the one most likely to be overlooked. nice to see it here but while Mastodon is one of the most highly regarded bands of their generation it would have been nice to see a little more variety on the list, oh well.
lol at the Beyonce ad on the sidebar.
THB
Such a great record…what a great progression from Leviathan.
Who wrote this one?
Anso DF, read the fine print of the title.
i would not be surprised if every mastodon album ended up on this list
either of the remaining two at the number one spot
I don’t think one band should get more than one album on this list.
You’re a commie
lol I just laughed my ass off. Nicely done.
LMFAO the writer totally acknowledged that a Sepultura cover band would have no reason to perform Iron Maiden and VoiVod records. why can’t more writers be funny and insightful like this. so fun to read.
Well, this means that Blood Mountain has a decent shot at getting #1. CtS deserves to be on the list, too.
Huh?
are there really people who have heard this album but don’t liike it??? it’s intoxicating!!!!!!!
Yes, they are known as ‘people with good taste in music’.
do you write for Leno or something?
Seriously guys….Mastodon? Are you fucking kidding me? God.
Still hoping for Fortress, Colors, and The Way of All Flesh here.
Fortress yes, TWoaF hell yes…
Colors…not so much. Great music but the vocals kill any chance BtBaM has of being a legitimately solid contender. I saw them live once and I have to saw that as soon as he opened his mouth, I died a bit inside…and I do like me my metal vox.
The Way of All Flesh might just be the most boring album of this decade. Horrible tripe.
You may be the biggest troll on here… but you’re more effective and intelligent than ‘ihateyou’, so at least there’s that.
‘ihateyou’ is an idiot. Insulting people without substantiation is a dumb thing that juveniles do. But I am completely serious about the Gojira album. The first song sounded cool for a few minutes, then I just didn’t care anymore. The album has no good riffs whatsoever and relies entirely on mindless chugging. The vocals are passionless, the drums are too loud in the mix considering how bland they are, and bass is a non-factor. Drag that out over 60 minutes, and yes, you have a very boring album.
See, I thought it was a pretty good album. It took a few listens to grow on me, beyond ‘A Sight To See’ (which I love for some reason), but it really did grow on me. Maybe it’s just that it’s fairly unconventional, maybe it’s something else entirely, but I found that I rather enjoy it.
Please no Sacrament Please no Sacrament Please no Sacrament.
Yeah, that’s Lamb of God’s weakest album. Not to say I didn’t like it, and it has a couple of really good songs, but the rest are definitely better.
no, thats METALS weakest album
Awesome, a second Mastodon album, and it’s one of the weaker ones.
Worst top 21 ever
Ok, ok, good choice. We better get Gojira From Mars to Sirius in this list.
Terra Incognita as well
Bolt Thrower – “Those Once Loyal”
This album is all 21 of the best albums of this century. Just write the name 21 times in a row.
Dude. Yes.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
needs moar slipknot.
But father, I just don’t understand. Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd has singers who could sing!
This would be a top 5er for me, but I’m glad it’s here.
I love mastodon, probably one of my all time favourtie bands, I’m just hoping we dont see to many repeats on the list. Though i guess Mastodon just cant help being awesome, they were just born that way.
How much green does one have to smoke in order for Mastodon to be interesting? I must be stopping, like, fifteen b.t.’s too soon, because I really don’t see how M-don is all that great. I’ve heard all of their albums, and only felt that Blood Mountain was worth buying. That said, I don’t feel it deserves to be this high on the list.
Can someone please enlighten me as to why everyone LOVES Mastodon so much? Seriously, I just don’t get it.
Although I don’t like them, I can see their appeal. They’re a heavy band that got mainstream success by being signed, yet have also not really compromised their sound. Sure their not nearly as heavy today as they used to be, but they’ve made up for that in progressiveness. For a mainstream metal band, they’ve done an excellent job of keeping old fans loyal, while also making music easy enough for new fans to get into.
The riffs are quirky and original, the bassist actually plays his own audible melodies sometimes even employing counterpoint with the guitar, the drumming is obscenely good, and the songwriting and album structures are excellent. None of their songs are repetitive, especially on Remission, and each song is crammed full of rhythmic twists and turns, but not too many twists and turns like a lot of overly technical bands. The lyrical concepts are, just like the guitar riffs, quirky and completely fit the atmosphere of the music. They have broad appeal because if you look at their first and last albums (which I think are their best), Remission is easy for metalheads to get into because of its volatile, massive-beast riffage and incendiary drumming, but challenging for others, while Crack The Skye is easy for others to get into but really forces a metalhead to be open to new ideas. I think it’s great that such an interesting, unique band with real personality have managed to break into the mainstream and still do whatever the fuck they want. Watching the DVD that came with Crack The Skye gave me even greater respect for this band. They were well aware of all the attention on them, yet they still went into the rehearsal room and the studio with a mentality of “we are fucking MUSICIANS, and we have all of these insane ideas, and we are going to experiment and create exactly the record we want to make”. So from someone who’s loved them since Remission came out, that’s why we love Mastodon.
even though im happy that Mastodon showed up already twice on the list… im starting to worry that my favorite two albums of theirs wont show up…where are Leviathan and Crack the skye??? And if Leviathen does show up it better be a high number becasue that shit destroys!!!
This was my soundtrack to and from work in Summer 07. This brings back so many memories of when I was…. a janitor. Still, it brings back memories!