TheAccountant

The best Priest album since Screaming For Vengeance (IMO).

Last night: Orphaned Land - Mabool - The Story of the Three Sons of the Severn A real dud. With this I will give up on this band and one onto something else.

Totally agree - top 100 for me also.

Orphaned Land - Sahara Orphaned Land - El Norra Alila Ok, this is not German folk metal. Its Israeli metal. So how did I find this to try it? Well, I was listening to Scardust on Youtube (who I really like in spite of their occasional harsh vocals) and somebody mentioned this band in a comment. Now I am not a total idiot - I take anything mentioned on Youtube with more than a grain of salt. More like an entire block of salt. But I decided to give them a shot. So I watched 2 videos on youtube. The first was a music video of a song they did and the video was very interesting. Clearly a peace message. Decent song. More importantly, Hansi of Blind Guardian sang part of the song. I have not mentioned it, but I have been watching a lot of Blind Guardian concert footage recently on youtube and I just keep going "How did I miss this group?" Hansi could sing the German Yellow pages and I would likely enjoy listening to him do so. The second video was live concert footage from a show they did at the Wacken festival. Decent show but the highlight of it was that they had a belly dancer on stage with them. Having a belly dancer is guaranteed to raise my excitement and interest. My excitement and interest in the band. What did you think I was talking about? Well, yes that also... So that got me to try these 2 albums from this group. What did I think? Very mixed bag. Full of harsh, death metal growls. Just terrible vocals. In their concert footage there was not a lot of harsh vocals so perhaps they have improved over time. These were their earliest albums. The music was very interesting. Metal with a middle eastern / prog feel to it. So if you like death metal (which I hate) and middle eastern sounding music (which I like) you might enjoy this group. I may chance some more of this groups work in the hopes of finding some that does not have so many harsh vocals. But these albums I would never go back to. Pity, the music was enjoyable. But the vocals - no thanks.

Subway to Sally - Himmelfahrt More German folk metal. Its been a very interesting exploration of these bands.

Subway to Sally - Eisheilige Nacht: Back to Lindenpark More German folk metal. 28 songs worth. Interesting that a bunch of the songs were collaborations with other German bands I have been listening to (Feuerschwanz, Schandmaul, Saltatio Mortis) or other artists (inc. Patty Gurdy who I am most familiar with from her collaboration with the wonderful Scardust - you lucky dogs in Europe get Blind Guardian on your with Scardust opening for them this year). Their was also some dude who went by the handle Major Voice on a few of the songs. Appropriate handle - some serious pipes there. Good album. Really enjoying all this German folk metal I have been exploring.

Basically agree with this ranking as well. Another ok song but again, nothing I am wild about.

Not major heat from me. Its a decent song but nothing I am wild about. You have a number of songs ranked lower than it that I would rank above it and you clearly have some that are going to be ranked above it that I would rank lower than it but I don't have a huge problem with the overall ranking. It might be a bit higher for me but thats only because of the songs I would put below it. Basically I generally agree with you on this ranking. Note: I do know somebody who considers this to be her favorite Rush song - and she has been a Rush fan since her older brother took her, when she was 10 years old, to see Rush on the 2112 tour (lucky girl). To each their own I guess.

For me this is one of the better songs on this album. Not as good as Resist but still decent. I would rank it a bit higher but likely not in the top 100. Decent song on an album that was ok at best (by Rush's high standards it was a weak album)

I also agree - once a day is great. Gives me something to look forward to without getting buried in a bunch of posts. Thanks for asking.

Another song I would rank higher - in the top 100. Presto was an album I did not care for when it came out and it took many, many years before it clicked with me. Around 2010 it finally clicked with me and now I like everything on the album.

This one of the many songs on this album I enjoy. For me its a top 100 song. Have to respectfully differ with you on this one. Love this thread though. Was away for a few days so just getting caught up on the last few days posts now.

Not from me - its a top 100 Rush song for me (although barely in the top 100). Still, for a Rush song to be in their top 100 means its a good song.

Basically agree - nothing very special about this song. Its tolerable but thats about it. Keep this coming.

I would basically agree with you on this one. Other than Working Man (which I would rank at #11 amount Rush's songs) I don't think much of their first album. The album is greater than the sum of its parts though. One thing I have always admired about Rush was that they excelled at putting their albums together. Even if the individual songs on an album may not be have been among their elite work they always constructed their albums in such a way that the albums just flowed, one song into another. You sort of made my point when placing Rivendell - you thought that it was not a very good song but it was an excellent album track. I agree that its an excellent album track - placed on another album or even in a different place on FBN it might not work as well as it does. Placed where it is it works well. Of course I like it a fair amount but thats not really relevant to "Need Some Love"... What is relevant is that Rush's 1st album is a prime example of their genius at putting albums together. For me the individual song (other that Working Man) are not very good. But the album works very well. Not great - the underlying work is not all that special to my ears & none of the songs (other than Working Man) would rank in the top 100 for me. But decent - yes. This song is a prime example of what I am talking about. Not very good. But it fits into the album well. So basically, I agree (more or less) with you. Esp. after adjusting my list to reflect that VT would basically occupy the bottom of the list.

Based on the recommendation of my buddy I tried out some stuff that I would not normally have tried. As I have mentioned, he likes black, death and thrash metal (which I can't stand) so I knew this might not go well. But hey, I have suggested some stuff to him with mixed results - but at least he tried my recommendations. For example, I had suggested The Hu and he really liked them. I also suggested Rush and he tried MP - thought it was boring. No accounting for taste. Since he tried my recommendations I figured the least I could do was try some more of his. First up: Disillusion - Ayam He calls this Prog Metal. I am not certain what to call it but I could only get through 2 songs and bits and pieces of some others. Terrible album. Next up: Sylvaine - Nova Since this was black metal I doubted I would like it and boy was I correct. Got though about 2 songs again and bits of some others. Just another terrible album. Defiantly not to my taste with either album.

Finished up the las book I was working on ("They Called me a Lioness" - very interesting) and moved on. Now I am working on: How Civil Wars Start and How To Stop Them by Barbara Walter About 60 pages in and its an interesting read. Not a good as "How Democracies Die" by Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt (which was excellent). Not as good as "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them" by Jason Stanley (which was also excellent) but still very interesting. Together the 3 sort of make up a trilogy - even though it an unintentional trilogy and I had read the other 2 several years back.

I 100% agree thats its an excellent album track. It just fits perfectly with the album and where it is on the album. On another album it just would not work as well. So yes, on its own its ok. Or more than just ok. But not special. So I would have it much higher than you have it. It might crack the top 100 - barely.

Elegant Weapons - Horns for a Halo A friend of mine told me about his album. Said he was not impressed but wanted to make me aware of it. Our families have been long time friends. First his grandparents were friends with my parents (now in their 90's) when my folks lived on Long Island in the 1950's. His mom is 8 years older than me and was like a second sister to me growing up (my sister is 7 years older then me and his mom and my sister were good friends). After my parents moved to upstate NY in the early 60's his mom used to come up and spend summers with us., As they became adults his mom and my sister drifted apart and his mom first moved away and, after she married, her and her hubby moved to the upstate NY area near us. Since then his mom and dad became good friends with me and my folks and, even though I am a lot older than their kids, I became good friends with him (and to a lessor extent with his sister). Complicated but you can see their is a long term family friendship. Anyway, so my buddy told me about the album. His taste in music is much heavier then mine but we do compare notes. We both like Judas Priest and Nightwish a lot but otherwise the light end of what he likes is the extreme heavy end of what I will tolerate. For example, I dislike death, black and thrash metal but thats what he likes. So much so that he sings the harsh vocals with songs and does that so well that a band he knew wanted him as their singer. He turned that down so he could concentrate on finishing his masters in Molecular Biology. Yes, you read that right. Anyway, so my buddy mentioned this band to me so I figured I would check it out. The group has Ritchie Faulkner of Priest in it plus Scott Travis of Priest on the album. The band will tour but Scott Travis will not tour with the band. He is being replaced by the drummer from Accept. Other members of the band include somebody from Rainbow, somebody from Pantera and somebody from Uriah Heap. So its basically a super group. What did I think? Well, it was decent. "Blind Leading the Blind" was (IMO) the best song followed by "Lights Out", "White Horse" and "Downfall Rising". Thought the album got better as it went on - or perhaps I just got used to what they were doing. I am not wild about it but it was ok. Am I going to give it another listen? Perhaps some time.

Subway to Sally - Hey!! Back to the German rock on youtube.

I have no problem with this ranking. In fact, I would rank it lower. Its one of the many songs on VT that leave with me with a spitting headache. I think you rank it to high actually. Awesome thread - looking forward to more.

Interesting that you mentioned it was a follow up album. What makes it interesting was that I was working from home again and pulled more albums out of the moving box to listen to and first out was: Asia - Asia Like Alpha, Carl Palmer and Steve Howe get none of the song writing credit. Again, if they had been involved perhaps it would be a better album. It has the excellent "Heat of the Moment" plus "Only Time Will Tell" & "Sole Survivor" (both of which are good). Other the than that I found it to be better than Alpha but really nothing special. Sort of a better forgettable. Of Asia's songs I would say I like "Heat of the Moment" the most, followed closely by "Don't Cry" and "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes". After that its a reasonable drop off for me before you get "Only Time Will Tell" and then "Sole Survivor". Then its a fairly large drop off to the forgettable stuff. Even so, glad I pulled these out to listen to. Next out of the box: Toto - Toto This I must have bought used in the early 90's as it still has a price sticker of $1 on it. The album came out in 1978 and other than the excellent "Hold The Line" it sounds like it came out in the 1970's - and I don't mean that in a good way. Basically a real dud IMO. Next out of the box: The Moody Blue - Days of Future Passed Another used album (still has a sticker of of $3.99 on it) that I got in the early 90's. It has the classics "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin" on it. Beyond those 2, I enjoyed the rest of the album. Its a classic that has stood the test of time (IMO). Last out of the box: Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful Yes, its on vinyl and no, I obviously did not get this one in the early 90's (LOL). I bought it at the show when I saw them in NYC (along with Delain & Sabaton) on the opening night of the Endless Forms Most Beautiful tour. Its just a wonderful album. I esp. like "Elan", "My Walden" & "Edema Ruh". That being said, "Alpenglow", the title track, "Shudder Before The Beautiful" & "Weak Fantasy" are all enjoyable. Is it as good as say, Century Child? Not close. But its still wonderful.

Worked from home today so that gave me a chance to fire up the record player and listen to whatever I pulled out of the moving boxes. First out of the moving box was: Asia - Alpha Been a while since I had listened to this. Interesting to note that Carl Palmer and Steve Howe are not given song writing credit for any of the songs on this album. Might have been a better album if they had written some of the songs. It has the excellent "Don't Cry" and "The Smile has Left Your Eyes". Other than that, its sort of forgettable. I know a lot of folks here at TRF don't like this group because they were not prog enough and I get that. For me the rest of the album is not terrible. Just forgettable. Wish I had seen them live though. Back in 1983 I had the chance but did not have the $. Anyway, next out of the moving box: Billy Joel - Glass Houses This I clearly bought used in the early 90's as it has a price sticker of $1 on it. It has the excellent "You May Be Right" which is my 3rd favorite Billy Joel song, only surpassed by "Allentown" & "We Didn't Start The Fire". It also has "Its Still Rock and Roll To Me" which is enjoyable. Other than that though the album is worse than forgettable. Then again, I generally don't care for Billy Joel (with certain exceptions). Likely I only bought it used and would never have paid real $ for it. Any way, next out of the box: Steve Perry - Street Talk This has "Oh Sherrie" & "Foolish Heart" which are sort of ok. But basically it sort of stinks as an album. Its another one I bought used in the early 90's - still has a price sticker of $2.49 on it. Other than the 2 sort of ok songs it does nothing for me. May wind up selling it to a used record store at some point. Next up: Night Ranger - Dawn Patrol This has the excellent "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" on it. Beyond that, well, honestly, I had forgotten how good this album was. I enjoyed every song on it esp. the song I already mentioned. However "Sing Me Away" & "Eddie's Comin' Out Tonight" also really stood out. Much better album then I had remembered. Very enjoyable. Perhaps I should not be shocked - I got to see them in concert in the mid 2010's opening for Journey. At the time I was like "Night Ranger? How did they get on this tour? Do they have pictures of a concert promotor doing something with farm animals?" Somewhat to my surprise they were awesome live. Anyway, next out of the box: Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak The 2 highlights of this album (another one I bought used in the early 90's - the price sticker of $6 is still on it) are "The Boys are Back in Town" & the title track. The rest of the album is decent. Not as enjoyable as Night Ranger - not close. But still good. Next out of the box" The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers & Sisters Yet another one I bought used in the early 90's - the price sticker of $2.95 is still on it. Other than "Jessica" & "Ramblin Man" I found it to be rather forgettable. Then again, I am not a big Allman Brothers fan. I saw them in concert once and walked out. Boring. Last out of the box: Toto - Toto IV This has the excellent "Africa" & "Rosanna" but its otherwise a real dud for me. Working from home again tomorrow so I may try to pull more random stuff out of the moving box to listen to. Just hope the sky's clear. The impact of the forest fires in Canada is really strange - the light is very weird, the sun (to the extent I can see it) is a odd color and you can smell the sot in the air. I can tell the birds and insects are unsettled by it. I fell bad for anybody who is closer to the fires. Good luck to you if you are!!

For me it's better than 157 but nothing really special. Very rough guess? I would put it about 125.

Much higher for me - almost certainly in the top 100.