Hook us all up with some new tunes!!

[sl2lover]

Two complete albums from start to finish that I can't put down are:

Iced Earth-Horror Show
The Haunted-The Haunted

[Bert]

Discipline is a real musical landmark. Nothing else sounds even similar to what they did. And it features some of the most unique and inventive bass and stick playing by Tony Levin who is IMO the most original sounding bassist ever. Also Bill Bruford's drumming is another thing on this album that people worship, some of the craziest off beats ever. And of course gentelmen Belew and Fripp created some ridiculously off the wall guitar textures. This is a real musicians album!

Hell yeah, this is also one of my all time favorites. Wasn't sure it was "obscure" enough for the thread. If you haven't heard it, it's a must listen.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Hum-Downward is Heavenward
Shiner-Lula Divinia
Minus the Bear-Planet of Ice, Menos el Oso

good call on russian circles earlier dude

[Freyr]

Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale

Released 1997, been in my cd rotation ever since I picked it up in 2000. This album always ends up being put on. Garm's vocals are hauntingly beautiful... I actually tracked down such awesome bands as Borknagar from listening to this album.

Ad Astra and Alone are probably the most riveting, for me anyway. Nothing in the English language beats Edgar Allen Poe, let alone Poe with an advent-garde backdrop.

[missionguitars1]

Great idea, zeegs.

UFO is well known, I know. But I will mention an album by them anyway. One I have listened to countless of times. One that will never fade.
On the surface, it sounds like old man, crap heavy rock. But somehow, this is one of the albums that is forever stored in my head as a pure genious, quality heavy rock monster album. Thanks to Mogg & Schenker.

UFO: STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT (live, 1979)

Yep, still listen to this at least once a month - have been for 25 years! :ROTF: Schenker's on fire, and this album is the sole reason I give him more excuses for his f-ups, no matter how bad...

On the theme of Old Man's Music , my two solid, can't-miss, beginning to end, gotta-have discs are Thin Lizzy's "Black Rose" (well, ANY Thin Lizzy fits here!) and Angel Witch's self-titled debut album (NWOBHM at it's finest)...

[horns666]

Discipline is a real musical landmark. Nothing else sounds even similar to what they did. And it features some of the most unique and inventive bass and stick playing by Tony Levin who is IMO the most original sounding bassist ever. Also Bill Bruford's drumming is another thing on this album that people worship, some of the craziest off beats ever. And of course gentelmen Belew and Fripp created some ridiculously off the wall guitar textures. This is a real musicians album!

That's what I think!!!

Thanks for elaborating my exact fuggin' thoughts brother E..I love you!

[Argos]

Ulver - Blood Inside

Amazing experimental music. I imagine it's much like anal sex--painful at first, but eventually you just might like it.

[Endrik]

Peter Gabriel - So



It came out in 1986 and is the best album from Peter songwriting wise. It has sold about 10 million copies and has some very well known tunes on it.
Out of all the albums wich were made in the 80's this has absolutely the best production I've heard. The vibe is fantastic, the way how the songs are crafted and arranged is phenomenal. The sound is very rich, the mix is very panoramic. The instrumentation is incredible, there's shit loads of tracks of a lot of different instruments and some of them are pretty exotical.
The production/engineering team was so good, it's ridiculous: Daniel Lanois, David Bottrill, David Stallbaumer, Kevin Killen and Peter himself.
The songs are absolutely fantastic, some are very emotional. The album has many different elements from pop, new wave, art and progressive rock, world music, funk etc.
Peter provides great and unique vocals wich sometimes are very haunting.
There's also a couple of great quest singers on the album, like Kate Bush, Youssou N'Dour and Laurie Anderson.
David Rhodes provided some pretty cool guitar textures.
There's very cool and unique drumming by Manu Katche, Jerry Marotta and Stewart Copeland.
And then there's the amazing Tony Levin of course. This is the best example how to play for the song and sound unique at the same time. The basslines are very powerfull, groovy and melodic with amazing sound.
This is the first time bass was played with drum sticks. It was Peter's idea, Jerry was slapping the strings with sticks and Tony did the fretting. Later Tony's tech made the sticks so they could be attached to fingers wich are now are called Funk Fingers. It is Tony's trademark and it produces a very cool tone.

I have listened to it a couple of hundred times and I still keep listening to it. I will never get tired of it because it is so amazing. There's no weak moments at all.

[Rsmacker]

Ulver - Blood Inside

Amazing experimental music. I imagine it's much like anal sex--painful at first, but eventually you just might like it.

You imagine right baby, now, what the hell is this music you are talking about?

(Erm, you get "Blood Inside" if you go too fast and furiously. I imagine.)

[skorb]

I Mother Earth - Dig



The first album from this fantastic Canadian cult band.
The sound and the production is fantastic, it was produced by Mike Clink who did Guns'n'Roses - Appetite For Destruction and Megadeth - Rust In Peace among many other things. Eddie Van Halen loaned his guitars for this album's sessions.
It's hard to describe the style. It's hard rock with heavy funk, latin and psychedelic elements. It's very groove oriented, the rhythms are just amazing. There's a lot of latin percussion on the album. Off course there's a lot of hooks and great guitar riffs too. The guitar work is very interesting. The guitar player (Jagori Tanna) is one of the very few who is incredible on guitar and bass both. The bass lines are some of the best ever, a lot of slapping and other cool shit. They have a lot of jam moments. Overall the album sounds very powerfull yet very psychedelic and melodic.
I've never heard anything similar to this album.
I can say it influenced Tool a lot. The members of Rush became huge fans and appeared on the later IME albums.

holy shit!!! how did I miss this one? they're fucking incredible.
I just listened to Rain Will Fall on YouTube about 15 times, what a kickass song.
is the whole first album like that? I checked but it's not on iTunes.

[Phantom Hawk]

Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory ...... for me its one of the best metal albums ever !


Quiet Room - Introspect ....... killer semi-prog metal .


Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian ... their last cd with John Arch and when they were still kinda thrashy. Frank Aresti played Jacksons then

[Endrik]

holy shit!!! how did I miss this one? they're fucking incredible.
I just listened to Rain Will Fall on YouTube about 15 times, what a kickass song.
is the whole first album like that? I checked but it's not on iTunes.

the whole album is SICK!!! there's many tunes wich are energetic like Rain Will Fall but there's some other stuff too wich makes the whole thing sound very dynamical

[MortenP]

I'd have to go with Primus' "Pork soda"..I crank this cd from time to time, and it rocks all the way through! It's not what I usually listen to, it's very different in a fresh kinda way..

[zeegler]

the whole album is SICK!!! there's many tunes wich are energetic like Rain Will Fall but there's some other stuff too wich makes the whole thing sound very dynamical

The sad thing is, the singer got too big for his boots, and went solo. His solo work is all shit. The new singer isn't bad, but not as good, and the band doesn't do the same kind of stuff any more. Their newer material is boring mainstream crap for the most part.

[skorb]

The sad thing is, the singer got too big for his boots, and went solo. His solo work is all shit. The new singer isn't bad, but not as good, and the band doesn't do the same kind of stuff any more. Their newer material is boring mainstream crap for the most part.

yeah I kind of got the impression that Dig is really it from them, after that they changed up to try to sell records and the inevitable occurred. it is sad. only b/c the stuff off Dig sounds so big and new and dynamic. they were in the zone for that one.

thanks for this thread, good ideas all around.