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ROCK AND ROLL! => All Them Other Guys => Topic started by: Charger on March 05, 2024, 06:31:43 AM
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So moving on with out "top" 10 lists!
Lets throw in a bit of curveball here thanks to Vyn and lets pick out albums with the best opener AND closer! So albums that kick things off with a bang and end with a blast!
And lets think of the opening songs not only as how good they are as a song but how well they work as an opener. That's a very important part.
I.E. Wheels Of Confusion, which is a great song but a horrible album opener which means Vol 4 could not make it to the list even though Under The Sun is a fantastic closer.
Also lets try to stay true to the album's original running orders and if there happens to be a bonus track at the end of the album that would not count.
I'll kick things off with a simple first choice.
HEAVEN AND HELL
Neon Knights kicks the album off with an absolute bang. This is the perfect way to start an album. A fast and furious opener that sets the tone and also can't really think of a better way to introduce a new singer to the band.
Lonely Is The Word has to be one of the best album closers of all time, the riff is incredible but the solo sections are suberb. This song is Tony Iommi at his absolute finest.
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Heaven & Hell is a great choice. I'll think deeper about it for the rest of my 10 but the first album that sprung to my mind is:
SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH
The title track kicks off the album with one of the greatest riffs ever imagined. It ends with another great piece of superior song writing with Spiral Architect.
I think I'll limit myself to no more than 2 albums by any one band/artist.
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I'm battling between Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and The Mob Rules for my second Sabbath pick personally...
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Machine Head from Deep Purple
Opens with Highway Star, closes with Space Truckin'.
Best opener, best closer, just try and convince me otherwise.
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For the Dio-era albums, I do have some question marks on the closers, as I like fast and heavy songs. I like both the closers from those albums, but I don't have them in my top ten for all albums. Love them both, but not for the closing songs.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, though, AMAZING opener and closer. AMAZING stuff in those 2 songs.
Vol. 4 is interesting because Wheels of Confusion is one of my favorite Sabbath songs of all time, but, I agree, as an opener it's an odd choice.
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Best opener, best closer, just try and convince me otherwise.
It's okay I suppose! :-X
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^^^
:ninja:
I was thinking about Machine Head too...hard to fault that for sure. Killer start and killer finish.
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Best opener, best closer, just try and convince me otherwise.
It's okay I suppose! :-X
I challenge you to a duel with pistols at sunrise. You may select the field of honor. :smug:
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Next one on the list would be
THE LAST IN LINE
The album kicks off with a monster that is We Rock. That riff is brilliant and the track is just as fast and furious as a good opener should be.
The closer is Egypt (The Chains Are On) which is epical in every way and as such works as a perfect closer.
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I may be alone with appreciating this choice.
The album is Marillion's - Clutching at Straws
The first song is called Hotel Hobbies... sadly it runs into the 2nd song so cuts off abruptly!
The last track is called The Last Straw. Great female vocal at the end.
These may not stand up outside the albums concept, but I love 'em!
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Reminds me of The Strawbs, in a very good way. I liked them both. Now I need to find my next nomination...
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I'm going today with Hell, Fire And Damnation by Saxon.
Opening song is also title track. Great heavy rocker with varied tempos, doesn't hurt that Brian Blessed does the spoken-word intro. Really grabbed me but good when I heard it and, well, here we are now, all of us Saxon fans in 2024. :smug:
Closing track is Super Charger. Fast, hard, and metal - great combo for a finish that just lights 'em all up!
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There were couple of albums that I considered like Hell, Fire And Damnation but I did not included them because the first track is a short instrumental and eventhough they can be good they are never THAT good. Opening track is NOT the title track but it is The Prophecy. ;)
My next choice is
NOLA by DOWN
Temptation's Wings is a hell of an opener, setting the tone right away and you'll know what to expect.
But Bury Me In Smoke is something majestical. That opening riff is hands down one of THE greatest riffs ever made! So damn simple yet so damn powerful! It's heavy, it's doomy, it's sludgy, it's pure perfection. Also that song just has to be one of the best album closers in history!
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I saw The Prophecy as part of the "opening track", just in 2 parts. Then again, I also listen to 40-minute albums that are just one song. I blame prog rock! :lol:
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I haven't actually heard anything from the new Saxon album....
Third choice, and I'm only including the videos where I doubt anyone has heard them before.
Iced Earth - Incorruptible
First Track - The Great Heathen Army
An interesting start to the album, not their greatest opener but right up there.
Last Track - Clear The Way (December 13th 1862)
Very much in the mould of The Gettysburg trilogy, it looks at a different battle in the American Civil War. This one doesn't have any orchestration but that's fine.
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Ok, been ridik busy, but here's my first:
Sad Wings of Destiny by Judas Priest.
Opens with Victim of Changes, a song that makes great use of Halford's entire vocal range and was an instant classic.
Closes with Island of Domination. It is just so representative of JP during this "pre-black leather" phase of their existence. This did not sound like music targeted at 15 year old boys.
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Island of Domination has never been among my favourites but honestly I haven't listened to it a whole lot either...
I don't have that IE album as I wasn't overly happy with Stu's vocals...to me he always came out as trying to be too much like Barlow and lacked identity of his own...but those two songs are very good indeed especially Clear The Way...man how good that would sound with Tim on the vocals!
I'm gonna go with the "other" Deep Purple album now...
IN ROCK
Starts with Speed King, probably the first speed metal song. The explosive intro that falls into that little lul just before the song kicks in is just pure brilliance!
And Closing with Hard Lovin' Man which again might be the very first song with a galloping riff! Such a monster of a song in every goddamn way!
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I'm spoiled for choice with Deep Purple albums, they're kings of openers and closers. But I'll stick to one per band. :) Thank you, Charger, for bringing more Purple into the discussion. :D
My next up:
BRIDGE OF SIGHS
Blasting away with "Day of the Eagle", closes with fast, bluesy, jammin' "Little Bit of Sympathy". There's plenty of beef between those two end slices, but those sure do have the tasty bark on them that is a sign of great BBQ.
Maybe I shouldn't write these when I'm hungry... :rofl:
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Next up: Metal Church's XI.
Mike Howe proved that Metal Church without Mike Howe was good, but with Mike Howe is great.
Reset kicks it off with a solid kick, not only a fitting opener for the album (well, double album on vinyl), but an awesome re-introduction to Mr. Howe's vocal ministrations within the upbeat electro-thunder of the rest of the band.
I'm not counting the bonus track on my copy as the last song, so Suffer Fools wraps it up like Mount Vesuvius blowing its top. Great song.
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^^
Great choice! I had forgotten that one from my considerations so thank you sir for bringing it up! Reset is one of the best ever album openers for sure!
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I don't have that IE album as I wasn't overly happy with Stu's vocals...to me he always came out as trying to be too much like Barlow and lacked identity of his own...but those two songs are very good indeed especially Clear The Way...man how good that would sound with Tim on the vocals!
I wasn't happy with Stu's vocals on Plagues of Babylon and Dystopia either, the odd song worked, but that was all. His vocals on Incorruptible are very different, more like a traditional hard rock singer. While the album isn't perfect, the 3 or 4 I don't like are not down to his singing. It's the best album since Framing Armageddon... and then JS acts like an idiot and we won't see anything more from them again! >:(
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BRIDGE OF SIGHS
Blasting away with "Day of the Eagle", closes with fast, bluesy, jammin' "Little Bit of Sympathy". There's plenty of beef between those two end slices, but those sure do have the tasty bark on them that is a sign of great BBQ.
Maybe I shouldn't write these when I'm hungry... :rofl:
Bridge of Sighs is a fantastic album, and I like BBQ as well. So...good pairing :)
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I don't have that IE album as I wasn't overly happy with Stu's vocals...to me he always came out as trying to be too much like Barlow and lacked identity of his own...but those two songs are very good indeed especially Clear The Way...man how good that would sound with Tim on the vocals!
I wasn't happy with Stu's vocals on Plagues of Babylon and Dystopia either, the odd song worked, but that was all. His vocals on Incorruptible are very different, more like a traditional hard rock singer. While the album isn't perfect, the 3 or 4 I don't like are not down to his singing. It's the best album since Framing Armageddon... and then JS acts like an idiot and we won't see anything more from them again! >:(
Yeah I was bit surprised how different his vocals sounded on those tracks... I think I might want to try this album out.
It's a real shame that Jon went bit crazy...always liked the band and Jon was a musical genius in his finest hours.
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My 4th choice...
Therapy? - Troublegum
First song is the short and punky "Knives"
The last track is the short and punky "Brainsaw"
The album is fantastic...
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My fifth choice is
MOTÖRIZER
Kicks things off with a monster of track that is Runaround Man. That is fast and furious and the shotgun style vocals are breathtaking. No wonder they never played that one live!
Ends with a live favourite and thumping rocker The Thousand Names Of God which surely is among their best ever tracks!
There were other Moröhead albums that could have easily been here. Overkill, Orgasmatron, Inferno just to name a few...but for some reason this combo to me hits the most!
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^^^
I still don't have that album! :(
My 5th choice...
Ozzy - Diary of a Madman
Generally I think the writing is much tighter on this album
The first Track is Over the Mountain and one of the great Ozzy songs regardless of the position it appears on the album.
The last track is Diary of a Madman, easily my favourite song from solo Ozzy.
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^^^
Another great choice! I was gonna include that but now I can choose something else! And I agree 100% with what you said.
Motörizer is something you should get! It's just a lovely album!
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My 4th choice...
Therapy? - Troublegum
That's the first I've heard of those guys. HOLY SHIT, that's excellent! Thanks for giving me a new rabbit hole to explore :)
Next up is Budgie's self-titled debut, opening with Guts and closing with Homicidal Suicide. Oddly, I have never liked the lyric delivery on Guts, but the damn groove is so infectious that it more than makes up for the singing. Which does start to pick up a bit. Anyway, Homicidal Suicide - woooo, guitar-o-rama. Closes the record out with another tight groove just like the opener.
Edited to add: I came here to post about Guts and Homicidal Suicide, then I stopped for a moment and listened to Therapy?. I should have waited until after I shared my thoughts about Budgie, because as good as Budgie is, they sound like a fart in the wind compared to Therapy?. Damn, lol.
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Therapy made a cover of Iron Man with Ozzy on the Nativity In Black tribute album but besides that I knew nothing about them.
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I've got 3 Therapy? albums, as well as Troublegum (1994) I have Infernal Love (1995) and Semi-Detached (1998). I found they went off the boil a bit and stopped buying their stuff and I've not heard any of their later releases. They released stuff before 1994 the best of which I believe is Nurse (1992)
Having a quick look I see they released a new album last year.
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My next offering is...
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/00/Straight_shooter.JPG/220px-Straight_shooter.JPG)
Opens up with the rousing "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" and ends with the heartfelt "Call on Me" that has a tenderness without being sappy or wimpy. I think the album itself is Bad Co's finest and it certainly showcases Paul Rogers' excellent vocals.
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My 6th choice
Time to go back to a more obscure popular beat combo
New Model Army - Impurity
Not renowned for having magnificent opening and closing songs on an album (they usually manage one or the other). This one manages it though...
It starts with Get Me Out, an up-tempo start to the album
And closes with Vanity, it has a funky vibe to it but doesn't lose its indie charm.
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My 6th is
BRUTAL PLANET
Kicks off with an absolutely beast of a song with the title track that is hands down Alice's best title track ever! That riff alone...wowza!
Finishes off with the absolutely brilliant Cold Machines.
This is ace ace combo right here!
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Brutal Planet is excellent!
As far as Therapy? goes, I binge-listened to a lot of their output and I find that I like their first 4, with the rest trailing off as time goes on. But those initial offerings are stellar!
Here's my next offering:
After Celtic Frost unleashed Emperor's Return on the world, those purveyors of death metal thought it fitting to shift gears, releasing a collection of songs that are encouraging and uplifting. Each track carrying a subliminal message such as, "You're special," and, "You're worth it and so loved".
No they didn't. To Mega Therion is a ground-pounding jackhammer to the crotch! I'm including Innocence and Wrath along with The Usurper as one opening track, although the former stands sufficient in its gloomy foreshadowing, the combination makes more sense to me, like Sabbath's E5150 and The Mob Rules. And it slams hard.
Necromantical Screams wraps the album up in fitting fashion, maintaining the energy and atmosphere.
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My 7th is
HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING
This was a bit of a battle between this and Streets... Unlike ZZZ I won't cheat and ignore intros so Wake Of Magellan can't be even in the consideration. ;)
But the opener here is something truly special in terms of 24 Hours Ago! Which is just a monster of a rocker and Jon's vocals on that are just incredible. And this does beat the title track of Streets quite a way!
The closer is fast short rocker in Devastation which is a bit of a hidden Savatage gem...here however Streets would have had the lead with Believe as that is my all time favourite ballad. Just a lovely song indeed...but Devastation is no slouch either by any means!
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My 7th choice... I was going to pick something else but then I remembered this one...
The Who - Who's Next
It starts with
Baba O'Reilly
... a fantastic way to start an album.
It ends with
Won't Get Fooled Again
... quite possibly my favourite Who song.
Their only No. 1 in the UK single or album.
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Oh yeah! That's a great choice! Heck of an opener and an epic closer! My favourite Who song for sure!
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As far as Therapy? goes, I binge-listened to a lot of their output and I find that I like their first 4, with the rest trailing off as time goes on. But those initial offerings are stellar!
I'll probably have to check out the first three now!!!
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I got Hall of the Mountain King a year or so back, and while I quite like it overall I'm no fan of 24 Hours Ago I'm afraid!
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Motorhead... Bomber
Two of my favorite Motorhead songs are the bookends on this album, Dead Men Tell No Tales and Bomber. So, yeah!
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I got Hall of the Mountain King a year or so back, and while I quite like it overall I'm no fan of 24 Hours Ago I'm afraid!
:kramer:
Now we're getting to the cream of the crop I think...
My pick # 8 is
POWERSLAVE
Kicks things off with Iron Maiden's best ever opening track ACES HIGH which has to be one of the best album openers of all time! Fast and furious and charges on with a purpose.
And closing off with Iron Maiden's best ever track and one of the best epic songs clocking over 10 minutes ever.
Sure pretty much everything in between is gold too but come on these two are in a class of their own! BRILLIANCE!
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^^^
Crap, I forgot about Powerslave!
Choice 8
Having decided to exclude albums with side long epics, I didn't have too much choice with my prog favourites. But I had an obvious choice with Fragile by Yes, it's not a perfect album overall but it starts and ends very well.
Opening track is Roundabout
I would usually go with a studio recording, but I like this live version from the 2017 R&R HoF show with Geddy Lee guesting on bass.
Musically complicated and diverse but brilliant.
The last track is Heart of the Sunrise
Starts heavy, changes to a gentler sounds and soars to great heights in its 11+ minutes.
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You all have been posting some great stuff - I'm onboard with all of it!
My next one is David Johansen's solo release from 1978, creatively titled "David Johansen".
It opens with Funky but Chic, a song about clothes ;)
It wraps up with the idiosyncratic Frenchette, a tender song about searching for love. Hey, let's just dance!
I'm not a big fan of the guy, but that record, at that time, hit the ball out of the park with its New York sardonic cheekiness, and those two songs by themselves earend him a notation in the history of rock.
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1978, a great year for that post-punk power pop where bands just cold dropped the prog schtick and got back to the basics.
A year for Utopia, in short:
Trapped kicks things off with a blast of fresh air, mixing a light lyric on the main verses with a heavy, crunchy chorus, bridge, and close-out. This one's a constant go-to for my playlists. Great opening salvo for any album, and it's on this one.
Then, lots of good rock follows, to end with the following:
This is blue-eyed soul, no question about it. Todd Rundgren's always had a soft spot for Philly Soul, and he does a great job of it when he interprets either a standard or his own compositions in that style. The whole song needs a good play-through, as different parts sneak in and out until you realize, holy crap, this just became a different song altogether! It's an uplifting, positive tune that puts out a good vibe in just a few minutes of play time.
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9th on the list is
RAINBOW RISING
The keyboard intro leading to Tarot Woman is suberb and it's great that it wasn't cut as a seperate track so it can be included here!
And ofcourse the closer is the epic A Light In The Black. Although it's not up there on the same level of awesomeness than Stargazer it's still one hell of a tune and a great way to close the album!
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I did wonder about Rainbow Rising, but I'd keep wishing that Stargazer was the last track!
9th Choice
Rush - Signals
One of their best half dozen or so albums, but the best when it comes to opening and closing tracks...
The opener is:
Subdivisions - Synth rock at its finest.
The closer is:
Countdown - in praise of NASA and its Shuttle programme, very atmospheric. When one of the shuttle's blew up just after launch, Tommy Vance played this as a mark of respect at the beginning of his Friday Night Rock Show... it was just perfect.
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Like KDC, I hesitated with Rainbow Rising, same wish that Stargazer was the closer.
Respect for Signals, even though it lives in the shadow of Moving Pictures.
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My album for today will be...
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/79/FreakOut%21.jpg/220px-FreakOut%21.jpg)
The first album of Freak Out. Opens with the driving beat of "Hungry Freaks, Daddy". Regardless of the cool stuff in between that and the last track, the last track is "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here", a kazoo-laden counterculture anthem that's just so damn much fun to sing along with.
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I too had the same hesitation to be honest but then I went on and listenet to A Light In The Black again and turned out it really is a pretty damn good track, just coming after Stargazer makes it weaker than it actually is.
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I too had the same hesitation to be honest but then I went on and listenet to A Light In The Black again and turned out it really is a pretty damn good track, just coming after Stargazer makes it weaker than it actually is.
You are right there - and if it was just Tarot Woman / Light in the Black as a maxi-single, we'd be totally fine with them being absolute monsters. :)
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For my final pick
SILICON MESSIAH
Kicks off with the insanely great riffage of Ghost In The Machine which gives a perfect beat to the album and you know what to expect.
Finishes off with probably Blaze's best ever track STARE AT THE SUN which is epic beyond belief. Blaze said that the band tried to shorten the song but it never worked so they left it as it was and what a blessing that was. A perfect song this one.
I'll put videos up for these ones
This is a fan made video but it is really really cool!
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My last choice... I'll post later as I want to double check I haven't missed a great one.
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Yea, as I walk thusly through the maelstrom of modern society, I shall hold my head high for I bear the good news of Metal Church's debut release!
Opening herewith the holy groove, Beyond the Black, while I don't think it is their strongest song, is a killer opener. It follows the Sabbath template from THEIR debut, and really sets the tone for the entire record.
As an aside, I think Black Sabbath is hands-down a massively impactful album opener, and would have chosen that record, except Warning, despite being subjected to the Sabbath treatment, still carries a whiff of late '60's jam-aesthetic. Which isn't to say it's a bad song, but not a great closing tune, and especially so in the context of the record it appears on.
The non-bonus track Highway Star ends the sermon. And it is an amazingly adept cover of Deep Purple's classic (already called out, I believe!). What makes it a great finisher for this particular attempt at heavy metal proselytization is the shift in gears (haha) from the heavy, to something that still carries a lot of weight but is upbeat and makes a joyful noise :) It adds a wink of sorts and lets the listener know that whereas the band are true evangelists, they don't take themselves -too- seriously.
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Ok, changed my choice for No. 10, good job I checked my collection!! I'll include my original selection with a bunch of other honourable mentions tomorrow!
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King - 1969
The Opening track is:
21st Century Schizoid Man
I'm not quite sure how to describe this, is it really early prog or proto metal, I dunno, all I know is it is a fantastic starter.
The closing track is:
The Court of the Crimson King
This one is very much a prog classic and was a Blue Print for much that would follow over the next 5 or 6 years.
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I'll throw in a couple of additional ones here.
PAINKILLER
Kicking things off with the fiercest song Priest has ever done and closing it out with One Shot At Glory which is great but not suberb!
ETERNAL IDOL
Starts with the masterful The Shining and ends with equally masterful title track. There are some so and so moments in between but goddamn does it start and end well!
PIECE OF MIND
The little drum intro that starts Where Eagles Dare is quite briliant. There's a funny story from Nicko that one of the first things Steve said to him was that he wants a drum intro to the song to start the album off and Nicko came up with this elaborate monster intro that lasted like a minute and then Steve just said yeah the first 5 seconds will do! :D
But the ending...To Tame A Land (or Dune as it should be known) is just a monster of a song. One of Maiden's best ones ever! Suberb track.
I really thought about Megadeth but eventhough they've had some incredible openers their closers have never been that good to be honest. So I couldn't include them.
I do think I probably missed a few but I am quite happy with my list.
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I meant to do my Honourable mentions but I've not had much time, maybe tomorrow!
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Ok a few albums I could have included...
Paranoid - War Pigs and Fairies Wear Boots are both in my 10 favourite Sabbath songs.
The Black Album by The Damned. I nearly included it but I would have been wrong!! I had forgotten that the CD version of the album is incomplete... The original 1980 double vinyl has a 4th side of live songs which don't appear on the subsequent CD release. Therefore, Wait For The Blackout is fine but Curtain Call is only the last track on the CD release!
I did mull over the idea of including Tyr but decided that while Anno Mundi and Heaven in Black are both nice they don't measure up to other albums like the aforementioned Paranoid and the album I did choose SBS.
I may add a couple more later.
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If I had to pick a Led Zeppelin album for this category, it would be Houses of the Holy.
WTFortyFive from Girlschool (released last year) is a right banger on the start and finish, gonna mention it here.
For a Rush album, I'd go with Caress of Steel - yes there's only one song on side 2, but there are several on side 1!
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Paranoid wouldn't work for me...as much as I like War Pigs it's not a great opener...Paranoid would have suited that job better eventhough it's a much worse song in itself.
Tyr on the otherhand yes. Anno Mundi is a fantastic opener eventhough it's not fast and furious it still works with the quiet intro leading up to a great riff.
Heaven In Black is not among my favourites but it is a good tune...had Sabbath Stones been the closer then oh yeah!
I could throw in another Alice Cooper album in Along Came A Spider. A great opener with Prologue/I Know Where You Live and a very strong epical closer in I Am The Spider / Epilogue. And everything inbetween happens to be pure gold too!