Metal Reviews

It's survey time again! This time for the most over/underrated Metal albums ever. Here are a few of my own examples (note: They are NOT intended to spark debate, but feel free to disagree if you'd like).

Overrated:

Sepultura - Arise. Seriously, it may be one of the most forceful thrash metal albums ever, but the songs just lack any real sense of direction. It's as if the band just wrote their songs by stringing together a bunch of random riffs. And Max's growls leave a lot to be desired (they just don't sound natural). I hate to break it to some of you, but Chaos AD was Sepultura's best and most consistent album.

Slayer - God Hates Us All. I know a lot of metal fans despise this album, but when it was released, a lot of metal sites (including Metalreviews) gave it ridiculously high marks. Probably because it was a Slayer record, and pretty much anything the band does (as long as it's not a pop-country album) will be hyped to the sky. Forced anger, forced profanity, unoriginal guitar solos, and same-sounding songs result in possibly the most overrated album of the 2000's.

Metallica - The Black Album. 'Nuff said.

Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction. Really, this was Megadeth's answer to the Black Album. It's streamlined for radio play, not nearly as complex or technical as Peace Sells and Rust In Peace nor as instantly memorable as Youthanasia. And yet, some metal fans praise this album to the sky and yet trash everything the band released thereafter. Metal-Rules.com even cited it as #50 on their 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time list. I will NEVER understand this album's popularity.

Underrated:

Helloween - Better Than Raw. An energetic, catchy, and all around awesome power metal album that almost nobody talks about. Yes, the lyrics have a definite Christian influence, but even non-Christians should be able to enjoy the actual music.

Testament - The Ritual. This album really deserved more mainstream notice. It was catchier, heavier, and more original than The Black Album or Countdown To Extinction. Lots of classic songs like Electric Crown, As The Seasons Gray, and Return To Serenity. Yet, nobody ever talks about them.

Megadeth - Youthanasia. I've already mentioned this many times before. No need to mention it again.

Hmm, the only one I can think of is Symphony X's V. Mostly because of the review on this site and because most people like their earlier albums more. Personally I think V is the best one they've made.

Personally I think pretty much any well known band among metalheads is overrated as far as metal albums go. For underrated I think that Neurosis's Souls At Zero is overlooked as a primitive version of Through Silver in Blood or Times of Grace when its really something else entirely.

I agree with that, although I think it's because I'm young. I can learn to like older albums if I listen to them enough, but it takes a lot of work. Todays music is very evolved if you compare to music 10 or 20 years ago, I don't mean quality-wise. I bet metal was really groundbreaking back then, I wouldn't know though.

Oh yeah, which album should I start out with with Neurosis?

I tried Nile's In Their Darkened Shrines because it had gotten amazing reviews, I had it playing for 2 weeks but I just didn't get it. I'm not sure if it's overrated or if I'm just not getting it, there doesn't seem to be anything special about it.

That's actually my least favorite Nile album.

I personally think Burzum is overrated. Yeah, I get it and I like some of it but it just isn't as good as other early black metal bands which it is usually associated with (eg: Darkthrone, Emperor, Mayhem).

I think Nile are incredibly overrated because A] I don't like brutal death metal except for maybe 10 minutes of Suffocation once a month, B] I have no idea what makes them different from other brutal death metal band except for the Egyptian thing


I didn't just mean older bands, but just fairly well known metal bands. It seems like people hear a handful of bands and assume that they're the best at what they do when a lot of the time they aren't.

I have no idea what point I'm trying to make so I'll just shut up now

As for older metal I used to not be able to get into it at all, but now I think a lot of it kicks ass. I think one thing that is worth noting is most stuff recorded 1990 or earlier is about half as loud as most modern music so you really have to crank the volume

chaos ad isn't close to arise you're clueless

Overrated:

Dream fucking Theater - all of their albums, i dont get why so many people praise them as the best prog-metal band ever, ill take Pagan's Mind or Symphony X anyday over DT, and whats with all that Petrucci worship, sure the guy can play fast, but hes boring as hell, that liquid tension project of his is a snooze fest it takes more than speed to be great guitar player, face it dude youre never gonna be Steve Vai.

totally agree

Transilvanian Hunger- It's a step up from Under A Funeral Moon, but I'll take A Blaze In The Northern Sky over both of them. To do black metal songs with two or three riffs the whole way through you have to be very good indeed. There are times when it works (Title track, Skald Av Satans Sol) but a lot where it doesn't.

Underrated- Immortal- Blizzard Beasts

My favorite Immortal album, perhaps because it gets the job done in under half an hour, which is good for straight-to-the-point, balsting black metal.

Overated:
British Steel
Black Album
Countdown to Extinction

Underrated:
RIOT - THUNDERSTEEL - Seriously, this is Painkiller 3 years before the fact.
Maiden - Somwehre in Time - definitely their most overlooked work.

I second Burzum being overrated. I just don't get it I guess. I mean, I'm all for black metal (even the tr00 stuff), but I just can't see what is so special about Burzum.

I also think Grave Digger's Excalibur is overrated. I mean I like the whole German Power metal scene, but the only song I find enjoyable on this album is the song Excalibur.

Iced Earth, I still can't get into anything by them. That includes Demons and Wizards as well. I find both bands to be completley boring and simple (not saying you have to be SooP3R T3chNicklZ to be good).

As for underrated albums/artsists, I'd have to say Devin Townsend's Infinity. This was my first album I heard by Devy, and I still hold this as one of his best. I a would actually go as far as saying it is better than Terria and Ocean Machine.

And Better Than Raw gets my vote too. One of their better releases with Deris.

can i hear an amen?

Overrated:
Pretty much any Metallica
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (there are far better Maiden albums than this)
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (it's good, but Mob Rules is waaaaay better)

Underrated:
Blaze - Tenth Dimension
Danzig - I Luciferi
Bruce Dickinson - Skunkworks

Overrated:
Mortician
Anal Cunt
Underrated:
Brutality
Ripping Corpse
Grave
Benediction
and a shitload of old school death metal bands.

No way! I agree on your underrated list, though. A lot of the greatest bands of the early 90's death metal scene were just too good for mainstream success.

Just noticed I forgot to respond to this.

I'd start with either The Eye of Every Storm or Given to the Rising since those are their two best produced albums. The Eye of Every Storm has a lot more focus on atmospheres while Given to the Rising has more heavy riffing, although both are very slow and moody albums.



I think he was saying they were overrated :O

I wouldn't say they were overrated as noone seems to like them. Regardless, they're a band where you spend more time reading the song titles than listening to the music. They don't do much for my disdain for all "comedy" grind/death bands.