11. Ensiferum – Victory SongsAfter Jari Mäenpää booked recording time for Ensiferum and his side project Wintersun at the same time, he had to decide which band he was going to stay in. He chose Wintersun. Petri Lindroos (see icon) from Norther replaced him on lead guitar and vocals, and I must say there couldn’t have picked anyone more fitting. Although his growl is not nearly as intimidating as Jari’s and he doesn’t sing with clean vocals, his guitar and lyric and songwriting skills are definitely up to par. In fact, he seems to be more into paganism anyway, so I enjoy his work with Ensiferum slightly more. Jari even said himself that he had to get into a certain mood to want to write folk songs for Ensiferum. With Jari gone, it gave the founder of the band, Markus Toivonen, a chance to sing the clean vocals, and he’s got a great voice. He does all the vocals on their cover of Uriah Heep’s “Lady in Black”, which I think is even better than the original. Even with Jari gone, Ensiferum’s sound didn’t change much from their previous pagan folk metal work. Victory Songs has even more songs referencing the Kalevala, especially “One More Magic Potion”, the strongest song on the album and one of my all-time favorites. Other epic songs include “Victory Song”, “Wanderer”, “Raised by the Sword”, “The New Dawn”, “Ahti”, and even the valiant instrumental opener “Ad Victoriam”.
12. Eluveitie - SlaniaThis is the latest album from the Swiss Celtic folk metal band. Their lyrics are in the ancient Gaulish language and include growling male vocals and clean female vocals. Eluveitie use several unusual instruments for a metal band, such as hurdy gurdy, bagpipes, mandola, tin whistle, gaita, bodhràn, and Irish flute. Although the album contains a few shorter instrumentals, they are no less in quality than the longer songs. In fact, “Giamonios” is one of my favorite songs from the album.
Slania has more melodic death metal influence than their two previous releases, but still has plenty of Celtic folk and is their most cohesive album thus far.
13. Wintersun – WintersunThis is Jari’s aforementioned side project that turned into his main and only band, and his self-titled is the only thing released as of now. He did everything on this album: song composition, growling and clean vocals, creative and descriptively poetic lyrics in English, guitars, and keyboards. The only thing he didn’t do was the drum parts, which the incredibly talented Kai Hahto from Rotten Sound ended up recording. Although this album is as lovely as the Nordic winter night itself, it still packs the punch that is typical of melodic death metal, along with folk, power, and symphonic metal influences as well.
Wintersun is a very technical album with many layers. The shortest and most intense song is the opener (that also has an incredible sweep), followed by songs ranging from five to over ten minutes long. Every song is extremely carefully crafted, but a few that particularly stand out are the tragically beautiful “Death and the Healing” which has no growling vocals, the varied “Starchild”, and the last track on the album, “Sadness and Hate”. “Winter Madness” also has a very delicate and intricate solo like nothing I’ve heard before, which is one of the many reasons why Jari is my favorite shredder.
14. Children of Bodom – Follow the ReaperWith world-renowned guitar god Alexi Laiho, the equally talented Janne Warman on keyboards, Roope Latvala from the legendary ‘80s metal band Stone, and the lovely and gifted Henkka Blacksmith on bass and Jaska Raatikainen on drums respectively, it’s no wonder why this Finnish melodic death metal band is so big. As a classically trained musician, I can’t help but love their two neo-classical-styled albums
Hatebreeder and
Follow the Reaper. Janne’s speedy, twinkling, intricate keyboard licks rival Alexi’s harsh growling vocals and squealing, infectiously memorable riffs that eminate from his lovely custom-made ESP axe.
Follow the Reaper contains brutal power metal-laced hit after hit. The only song that could just barely be considered down-tempo is “Everytime I Die”, which is still worthy of plenty of headbanging and is my favorite track off the album. Every song is incredible, including their respectable cover of W.A.S.P.’s “Hellion”. Other “best of the best” songs include “Bodom After Midnight”, “Hate Me!”, “Northern Comfort”, and “Kissing the Shadows”, although you really can’t go wrong with anything off
Follow the Reaper. Just as great live as they are recorded (if not even better) this band is a must-see for any metal fan. I have also had the pleasure of partying with four out of the five guys, and must also say that they’re all wonderful (with the exception of Alexi which is not all that surprising).
15. Franz Ferdinand - Franz FerdinandThese four Scottish alternative indie rockers coming out of the garage rock/post-punk revival give me hope for modern alternative music. Unlike most of their American indie counterparts, this band is not the slightest bit boring or pretentious. I can never listen to this album without rhythmically stomping my foot along, especially to their single “Take Me Out”. Each song has its own infectious chorus, and although radio-friendly, still manages to keep artistic credit. In addition to Alex Kapranos’s witty lyrics, the entire band focuses on incorporating aspects of visual art as well. Their album art and their videos are clearly influenced by Russian avant-garde and constructivism and Dadaism. The band also has great style, and as someone who is really into fashion, I can appreciate their conscious effort to portray themselves in an attractive and modern way. There isn’t one weak song on their self-titled, and some of my favorites include “The Dark of the Matinée”, “Darts of Pleasure”, and the delightfully sexually ambiguous “Michael”.
16. Cocteau Twins – TreasureDark ‘80s alternative/post-punk/dream pop/shoegaze band on 4AD records with Elizabeth Fraser’s strong, airy, warbling, distinctive vocals sung in an unknown language, Robin Guthrie’s clean twinkling and contrasting droning electric and acoustic guitars, and Simon Raymonde’s throbbing basslines. This is the perfect music to listen to watching the snow fall or in the dark, late at night.
17. Siouxsie and the Banshees - Juju“Following the footsteps of a ragdoll dance we are entranced” indeed. This more guitar-based albums features John McGeoch’s fretwork and Budgie’s intricate percussion work. Siouxsie Sioux timelessly beautiful voice croons in “Arabian Nights” and contrastingly transitions into an urgent frenzy in “Head Cut”. Hypnotic post-punk influenced songs like “Spellbound”, “Into the Light”, and “Sin in My Heart” give a nod to the Banshee’s punk past while the even darker and slinkier “Halloween”, “Night Shift”, and “Voodoo Dolly” helped them earn their ‘80s goth cred along the ranks of bands like Bauhaus and Switchblade Symphony. Both Morrissey and Johnny Marr stated this is one of their favorite albums, which further proves its greatness.
18. The Clash – London CallingAs a fan of ‘70s punk, it’s no surprise that I love The Clash. What sets this band apart from the others is their intelligent political and socially-conscious lyrics. Their use of ska and reggae (“Rudie Can’t Fail”, “The Guns of Brixton”), jazz (“Jimmy Jazz”), Latin (“Spanish Bombs”), rockabilly (“Brand New Cadillac”) influences also adds to their unique sound. Needless to say the range in this album is quite incredible from the pessimistic “Lost in the Supermarket” to the pop radio-friendly “Train in Vain” to the brash punk-infused title track to several good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll songs such as “Clampdown”, “Koka Kola”, “Death or Glory”, and “I’m not Down”. Variety is the spice of life, and it proves to be true as
London Calling is considered one of the most important and influential albums in the history of rock music despite nicking the cover design from Elvis.
19. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Murder BalladsAs the title suggests,
Murder Ballads is an album of new and traditional murder ballads. The meanings behind each ballad are discussed
here. Nick’s deep, dark, rich vocals perfectly compliment the morbid nature of this album, as well as all their other Southern Gothic folk rock works. Mr. Cave is also quite well known for his way with words in his music and critically acclaimed novel, and he leaves out no details on this release.
Murder Ballads also features several equally talented musicians such as Kylie Minogue in the duet “Where the Wild Roses Grow” and PJ Harvey in “Henry Lee”, which is also a duet with Cave. The Bob Dylan cover “Death is not the End” also features Shane MacGowan of The Pogues on vocals as well as Kyle Minogue, PJ Harvey, and Anita Lane. Warren Ellis from The Dirty Three is also featured playing violin and accordion in “The Curse of Milhaven”. Nick’s skilled piano-playing is thoroughly featured in addition to Blixa Bargeld’s (also of Einstuerzende Neubauten fame) unconventional guitar work. Both are showcased in the nearly fifteen minute-long “O’Malley’s Bar”, which passes as a finely morose literary work all of its own.
20. Joy Division – CloserJust by looking at Peter Saville’s album art design, which features a black and white photograph of the Appiani family tomb, one can easily guess what awaits inside. This is Joy Division’s second and last album produced by Martin Hannett. It was released after Ian Curtis’s suicide.
Closer has a more developed sound than
Unknown Pleasures and uses more synthesizers and effects. Each song on the album contains Joy Division’s classic tribal, pounding drums and basslines, bleak synth, minimal post-punk guitar work, and Ian’s rich and emotion-filled baritone voice. The 2007 remaster includes a live recording from London University which in itself features many of the greatest songs such as “Dead Souls”, “A Means to an End”, “Twenty Four Hours”, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, and “Digital”.
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