DISCLAIMER: this isn't proof read and I don't care if you spot mistakes. >_<
Also, I'm right, since I have the best musical taste ever. But if you do want to challenge me, recommend me something I haven't heard/missed this decade.
None of any of this is in any particular order.
Best albums from the 00s
In order to do this, I decided to write up a short list, and then a list of finalists, before the final 5:
Devin Townsend - Terria
Devin Townsend - Synchestra
Devin Townsend - Ziltoid The Omnicient
DragonForce - Ultra Beatdown
Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
Agalloch - The Mantle
Sylvan - Posthumous Silence
Shadow Gallery - Room V
Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever
Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Dream Theater - Live Scenes From New York
IQ - The Seventh House
God Is an Astronaut - God Is An Astronaut
This Will Destroy You - This Will Destroy You
Not a bad set, but the chosen ones must be:
Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
I chose this above their "magnum opus", The Mantle, for a number of reasons, but Ashes itself wasn't received well by the fans. The main reason for this was the lack of folk elements - there's still acoustic stuff, but not as much as before. It's heavier overall, which is brilliant. The album's dominated by more epic tracks, like an Opeth album.
Devin Townsend - Synchestra
Ah man, this album has everything. It's the most varied of all my choice, in all aspects. There's the soft acoustic brilliance of the opener, Let it Roll, to the quirky and brutal Hypergeek, proggy Triumph, doom metal styled Judgement, gloriously overdrived A Simple Lullaby, the oddly relaxing Sunset, and a great finale from Notes from Africa and Sunshine and Happiness. Brilliant. If there ever was a man to nail my musical taste, it would be this genius right here.
Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever
I can never neglect the good old fashioned symphonic rock bands such as Genesis or Yes. Transatlantic are brilliant because they're a super-group intent on bringing back that classic sound. Members of Marillion, Dream Theater, The Flower Kings and the one and only Neal Morse make an amazing sound together, crafting their music quickly but leaving it well refined. Their first album was good but this one really is great. The two epic which bookend the album - Duel With the Devil and Stranger in Your Soul - are up there with the immortal epics of the 70s, with the less brilliant Suite Charlotte Pike appealing particularly to Beatles fans. The album also features the awesome piano ballad Bridge Across Forever itself. I can't wait to see them live.
Shadow Gallery - Room V
Generic prog metal? Well, perhaps, but this album really is awesome. The second album in a series of 2 concept albums, Room V features everything it needs to succeed - amazing musicians (particularly the guitars, giving us amazing Encrypted), awesome vocals (RIP Baker), a cool story (cheesy as it may be, it's not quite Ayreon), intense riffs and mind blowing instrumental sections. I would go as far as saying this is better than anything Dream Theater has offered us this decade. Highlights include Torn, VowThe Archer of Ben Salem, and the utterly amazing Rain.
IQ - The Seventh House
I was surprised to see myself putting this down. Is it really that good? The Wrong Side of Wierd is a great opener. Erosion brings things down a little, but the is the title track is full of fantastic passages. IQ have always been "generic" prog, but that hasn't got in the way of it being awesome. The classic Supper's Ready finale deserves its place in this track. Zero Hour is awesome, building to a fantastic finale, and the almost perfect Guiding Light. This deserves to be here. It's definitely not the best one, but it's in the top 5.
So, top songs? I'll make this painless for you. Still no particular order:
The most beautiful song ever. If only all Post Rock was like this. The riff is amazing, drums are spot on, the intensity, the emotion... ah, they may have arrived late to the scene, but This Will have a long, long career ahead of them.
Mentioned above, this track really is a brilliant song. I'm no expert on black metal but I doubt, in my travels, that I'll find anything above this. Epic lyrics, brilliant riffs, crazy drumming...
Guiding Light
Also mentioned above, this is a piano ballad with a brilliant, indulgent, proggy instrumental section, strapped into the middle. Should it work? Maybe not, but if just flows together so well, particularity the ending, with a short but sweet, screeching guitar solo.
Stagnant
I could have equally chosen
Rain
EPIC WIN. Prog metal at its best.
My flesh and blood it's all that's left my heritage!
From life to death to dust so through the woods I search!
Complete disconnect!
Your shelter comes to cover meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...































