So I keep seeing people say "It took me x number of spins to get into that album." For me I usually know before the end of the second time through the album whether or not I like the album. There have been "growers" in the past, such as Unia by Sonata Arctica, but for the most part, its 3 spins or less, usually less. I was wondering what other people think about this. How many times does it usually take you to really know how you feel about an album. I personally sit down with an album and ive it consecutive listens. Do you listen to it x number of times in a row, or spread the listening out over the course of a week or a month? I'm intrested to hear what people have to say.

Depends of what , there many albums what I liked 6 years ago and dont like now, there many waht I ddint like 6 years ago and like now, but still depends of genre and feelings, usualy 3-5 listening in 2 week time(week is not enought to judege album)

I'd say 2nd listen is my average. If something is appalling and I know it won't "grow", I have no hesitation in even not giving it one full go through. Upper limit is 3 or 4 as an absolute outside possibility. If I think an album is just "okay" after 3 or 4 times around its' estimation is likely to never go up in my eyes.

Ergo, most of the "growing on me" happens between the first and second play.

There are exceptions, of course, often characterised by months or even years between the first couple of listens and then "getting it" a lot later (This happened to me with Burzum), but these are rare.

I do get the impression that some people play something to death sometimes, almost willing themselves to like the album. It is a tendency I don't personally have. If the musician/band needs a large amount of spins I think it's more than he's not getting his point across rather than the album being inherently "complex". There's a big area between catchy albums which lose their appeal and ones that need a ridiculous amount of plays, and I'm happy to inhabit that area :3

The best and most original albums usually take the longest to get into, it shows that there is something unfamiliar about the music. Unless, of course, you will never get into it because you don't like it. (It's been a few years for St. Anger.)

It depends, sometimes I get into an album immediately after listening, and sometimes it takes a while, sometimes I get into an album after listening to it the 2nd time after a month and stuff.

Written by Bad English on 23.01.2010 at 01:43

Depends of what , there many albums what I liked 6 years ago and dont like now, there many waht I ddint like 6 years ago and like now, but still depends of genre and feelings, usualy 3-5 listening in 2 week time(week is not enought to judege album)

I'm with Bad English, sometimes it depends on what I'm feeling then i'll get into an album. Like I didn't really like Mercyful Fate a year ago, but now I'm all over "Melissa" no pun intended

But with albums that my top bands release, it usually takes 1 or 2 spins, not consecutively though, i might listen to it once when i first get it, then later i'll come back to it and try it again.

I will usually know right off on first listen if i like an album.

however the more complex the album, the more enjoyment i might derive from subsequent listens.

on the other hand, a lot of albums i have liked right off have diminished severely after multiple listens. the easier and quicker it is to digest, the quicker it is to shit out, i guess.

IMO it depends on the band, when you like bands that are more... "dense", it's kinda harder to get into the albums with only one spin, for Example it took me at least three to get completely into Crack The Skye, because there are songs like "The Czar".

On the other hand there are simpler bands, easy listening bands, that in one spin you know if the album is good or suxk, like Entwine's Painstained. Spite the band isreally cool, this last album was really weak, and I knew it in the first listen.

Takes a few listens for the best stuff to grow, but usually can tell after 1-2 listens whether there are the right elements in the music for you to latch onto (all the neat stuff that you will grow to love once it becomes familiar)

Written by BitterCOld on 26.01.2010 at 01:52

I will usually know right off on first listen if i like an album.

however the more complex the album, the more enjoyment i might derive from subsequent listens.

on the other hand, a lot of albums i have liked right off have diminished severely after multiple listens. the easier and quicker it is to digest, the quicker it is to shit out, i guess.

lol well put

Nice topic (=
I normally know straight away, but just to make sure I normally give it three spins. Between these three spins is usually a week's worth of interval though could be two / three weeks as well, because with many music it depends whether you are in the right mood or not.

albums that i got into during second spin with long time interval between the first spin: SepticFlesh - Communion, To-Mera - Earthbound, Megadeth - Peace Sells

third spin or more: Madder Mortem - Eight Ways, Amorphis - Skyforger

Agreed, I like this topic. Anyways, I'd more or less agree with Bad English. I wouldn't judge an album before giving it at least 3-5 spins, over the course of probably 1-2 weeks.
And even then, you never know - somehow Mithotyn (Gathered Around the Oaken Table) didn't appeal that much until I'd had it almost a month, and now it's among my fave albums.
A lot of albums I can sort of get the impression that it's good and I'll like it on the first listen or 2, but the actual liking part doesn't metamorphize until a few listens later, once I start to become familiar with the melodies and whatnot. Verisakeet (Moonsorrow) immediately comes to mind.

To me it really depends on the quality of an album, but probably after like the fifth play, I'm really into it...

Bitter COld put it so well that I'll quote him, as it totally describes my reactions.

Written by BitterCOld on 26.01.2010 at 01:52

I will usually know right off on first listen if i like an album.

however the more complex the album, the more enjoyment i might derive from subsequent listens.

on the other hand, a lot of albums i have liked right off have diminished severely after multiple listens. the easier and quicker it is to digest, the quicker it is to shit out, i guess.

However there have been exceptions, stuff that I didn't like at one time, but re-discovered a few years later and really liked then.

Yeah, there is always that as well... some genres might take longer to acclimate to.

i am trying to think back to see if there is an album that i disliked at some point that i know really enjoy... within the context of a genre or style of music i enjoy.

i mean, i picked up MDB's "Turn Loose The Swans" back in 1994 and didn't really care for it - i like it now - but i think it was just the entire genre as a whole. (OK, I did dig Cathedral's faster paced shit back then, but not the glacial doom stuff).

but i cannot think of, say, an old thrash or DM album that i disliked (when listening to a lot of Thrash or DM) that i do like all of the sudden some 15-20 years later.

Written by BitterCOld on 28.01.2010 at 23:19



i am trying to think back to see if there is an album that i disliked at some point that i know really enjoy... within the context of a genre or style of music i enjoy.

Usually I know right off the mark if I will like the album or not.
But, there has been one album that I hated at first listen and now really enjoy... Celtic Frost - Monotheist.

It usually takes me a while, a by that I mean 3 to 4 spins to really be sure I like it/dislike it. The first listen is always a good experience though, because you have a feeling and then it is later confirmed or disregarded. But yes, I agree with the general opinion that the first listen can tell you a lot about the album and what's there, on a deeper level.

But I guess it is because I listen to a lot of progressive metal/music that I have learnt to take my time and really dig into the album. Sometimes, they're not worth it at all.

I can remember a few albums that really hooked me straight away, like the one I've been listening this whole week: Stone Circle - Myth, and it's a new band for me, so it's even more amazing.

Curiously enough, I hated Dream Theater when I started listening to their CDs, it took me a couple of months to realise I was crazy before. But it's funny how these things work out.

It takes me quite awhile to get into an album...the new BTBAM album is taking me awhile to get into...it is a very intense listen and I love it to pieces, but it takes awhile to take it all in...

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 28.01.2010 at 23:24

Written by BitterCOld on 28.01.2010 at 23:19



i am trying to think back to see if there is an album that i disliked at some point that i know really enjoy... within the context of a genre or style of music i enjoy.

Usually I know right off the mark if I will like the album or not.
But, there has been one album that I hated at first listen and now really enjoy... Celtic Frost - Monotheist.

That's funny, I also hated Monotheist at first and now I really like it

Usually the albums that takes me the longest to get into become my favourites. If i love something immediately its usually because it has an initial charm but nothing more. If i struggle through something i gradually become aware or underlying layers of awesomeness, hence i listen to the bands for a long long time.

Often takes a few months and a half dozen or more listens for me, even with albums that later become my favorites. Death Angel's "Act III", Fates Warning's "Awaken the Guardian", Arch Enemy's "Rise of the Tyrant" are some that I remember having initial difficulty with, and later were favorites.

Depends on what it is and what my expectations are. Instant likes: Rust in Peace, Reign in Blood. Of course I was, like, 11 and my family was still pretending to go to church and I heard about 0.02 milliseconds of "Holy Wars," and I'm like, "this is absolutely the most ass kicking thing in the universe. Ever. Period." Helps to be 11.

Now that I'm an old fart it does take at least 2-3 spins for most records, and on different systems. Some albums I'm "meh" about in the car are great at the gym, for example.

Let's take style by style, though, because I think that's important. Amon Amarth, "Surtur Rising," is a good album. I've always liked it, I liked it as soon as I heard it. The follow-up? Blech. Boring drivel, like Iron Maiden on steroids - rather just listen to maiden! I've heard it five or six times now, still blegh. La da dee dah, you're running through the hills with your shield because it's battle time. I'd rather listen to Surtur Rising because they did the exact same thing better on that record.

Same with Slayer. GHUA, I liked right away. World Painted Blood, instant classic. It's either shit or shinola, no growth possible or required. Repentless is okay, better than expected. Not a classic.

Borknagar, "Urd," was a masterwork. The first time I heard it I was not ready. The second time I heard it I was not ready. Seven or eight listens in, finally my brain started connecting the dots and a wall of dense heaviness with two guys singing over it came into crystal focus and I just about crashed my car during, "Frostrite." That was the first one to do it for me, then it was, "The Beauty of Dead Cities," and slowly the whole damn album.

The average album takes about 2.5 listens if it's gonna be a keeper.

It varies largely from album to album. Opeth for instance took me several months of actually trying, and suddenly it just clicked. Same with Mastodon, I could not seem to find the fuzz with the band for a long time and suddenly they turned out to be one of my favorites. So I would say that albums that takes the longest time to get, is usually the best ones for me. If I like something instantly, chances are that I will be bored of it fast.

For me, Falls Of Rauros- The Light That Dwells In Rotten Wood was an album i despised for at least 5 months. that was after about 1-2 full album listenings. somewhere around the 3rd listen i began to really enjoy it. I actually began to feel the music rather then just hear it and it is now one of my favorite black metal records ever. but in general, i know if i like an album after at least the second playthrough

Like Bitter I'm usually someone who knows right from the beginning if I like something of not. There were a few exceptions but that had rather to do with not appropriate listening conditions and sometimes weak mental state. Nowadays I know my taste so good that I can judge after first listen without problem.

It depends on number of factors : Genre, Band, Layers, Production etc . . .

But For me, the faster i like an album there is much more possibility that it will fall for me after several spins, and harder and slower i get to an album means that album is going to be one of my favorites.

Shower staff : least 2 focused listen , 3 or 4 unfocused listen, and usually falls after 5 or 6 listen.
Grower staff : least 3 focused listen , never on unfocused listen, usually takes 5-6 spins to reach full experience and never falls.

Some of the layered shits that took a lot of spins to get me but now they are some of my favorites: Mastodon-OMRTS (more than 5 spins), Opeth-Blackwater park(4), Cult of Luna- Salvation(4) and SATH(6), A forest of stars-BTSYCS(5), Agalloch-The mantle(5).

Also, for me first listen is always a test one, and i cant judge how much i'm going to like the album, but usually i will find if that album is Surely-NOT-my-cap-of-tea on first spin.

There are tons of metal album need more spin to get into.

But IMO Funeral Doom is hardest to describe for first listen, maybe need more than 5 spins. The rest are depend of quality.

One song and i'm recommending it on all the threads!

Na, it depends for me. Some albums take longer than others, I don't believe you can truly judge an album from only one listen, unless it is really terrible.

When i brought my tickets for Inquisition about 3 months before, I thought they were VERY average satanicy shite. But because I knew I was going to see them, I made myself listen to all there albums throughout the three or so months. I ended up really appreciating there music and quite liking them, also they had a great live performance that made me like them even more.

5 seconds. That is all.

Also, Inquisition is the best thing to exist since Vajayjays.

I'd say one to know if the album has the potential to be an album that I like. But really getting into it, 2 or 3 spins is enough usually.

Depends on the genre. For regular, riff based stuff, it only takes a song or less. For stuff like drone or dark ambient, it might take longer.