Good list however... seeing Eminem, Kanye West and Justin Timberlake here is em, you know... weird. Leprous new album isn't really that good to me. Avatarium, Obscure Sphinx and Steven Wilson should be higher. Thats just my opinion.

Written by Hex_Omega on 06.01.2014 at 15:02

Good list however... seeing Eminem, Kanye West and Justin Timberlake here is em, you know... weird. Leprous new album isn't really that good to me. Avatarium, Obscure Sphinx and Steven Wilson should be higher. Thats just my opinion.

Yeah, I can understand how seeing those guys here would make one uneasy at first glance. Eminem was someone I was constantly questioning when making this list (it was either going to be him or an art-pop album by Darkside, but the hilariously stupid humour got me in the end) but I do really feel that Kanye and Timberlake released some quality stuff this year, despite their radio-sensibilities. I'd actually be tempted to call Timberlake's album the best mainstream-name album of the 2000s so far.

Obscure Sphinx is definitely up on the list a little bit more since I wrote it (as I'd only recently discovered it while in the process) but I feel that Avatarium just didn't do enough to push themselves past the normality of their genre. Steven Wilson... yeah, that album was just rather underwhelming for me. I know people have been praising it to the skies and all, but I'm just not feeling it like they are. It's definitely a good album, just nothing special for me.

A peculiar list, tbh. But a good one, and as for Steven Wilson, imo he's good but far from being perfect. Definitely gonna check out whatever I've missed.

Written by Monolithic on 06.01.2014 at 15:27

A peculiar list, tbh. But a good one, and as for Steven Wilson, imo he's good but far from being perfect. Definitely gonna check out whatever I've missed.

Sure thing. I didn't write this list up for MetalStorm initially, so there's a much more varied approach than what I would normally have taken. If you want to check out some of the stuff, check out the link at the top of the list to my more detailed original version of this list, where I included some of my personal favourites from each album, as well as describing why I liked them in a little more detail.

Run The Jewels? Wow, someone knows what's up

Written by Auntie Sahar on 06.01.2014 at 16:38

Run The Jewels? Wow, someone knows what's up

I've made sure to keep my eyes open this year!

Written by Lethrokai on 06.01.2014 at 16:53

Written by Auntie Sahar on 06.01.2014 at 16:38

Run The Jewels? Wow, someone knows what's up

I've made sure to keep my eyes open this year!

I believe they have another album in the works, possibly this year, just because of all the hype and demand now since the debut. Check here.

Written by Auntie Sahar on 06.01.2014 at 17:22

Written by Lethrokai on 06.01.2014 at 16:53

Written by Auntie Sahar on 06.01.2014 at 16:38

Run The Jewels? Wow, someone knows what's up

I've made sure to keep my eyes open this year!

I believe they have another album in the works, possibly this year, just because of all the hype and demand now since the debut. Check here.

Sounds good!
Only thing that worries me is that it's more due to fan demand than anything else. Here's hoping it's just as good as the debut!

Have to agree with Hex_Omega. I'm not saying you can't have hiphop/pop stuff in your list, but for most MS'ers it isn't interesting at all... and let's face it, MS is about metal and rock, after all.

Out of curiousity, which Ayreon album is your favourite? For me ItEC remains his best, then THE and 01011001. TToE is at the 4th place for me, as I find it too proggy and not spacey enough, not to mention it has quite a few extremely annoying parts (The Visitation being the worst, probably) which keep me from enjoying it completely.

Written by Erik M. on 06.01.2014 at 17:57

Have to agree with Hex_Omega. I'm not saying you can't have hiphop/pop stuff in your list, but for most MS'ers it isn't interesting at all... and let's face it, MS is about metal and rock, after all.

Out of curiousity, which Ayreon album is your favourite? For me ItEC remains his best, then THE and 01011001. TToE is at the 4th place for me, as I find it too proggy and not spacey enough, not to mention it has quite a few extremely annoying parts (The Visitation being the worst, probably) which keep me from enjoying it completely.

Yeah, I can understand that. Like I said in the introduction, I put the list out on dA first and foremost, then just moved it to MetalStorm. Besides, even if the idea of other genres may not be interesting for a lot of MS'ers, metal still is the most prevalent thing on this list. Also, anyone who goes around looking for a way to get a bit more variety in what they listen to can try things out from here.

For me, THE is my personal favourite (not a very original choice, I know... but I came to that conclusion before even realising popular it was, so I like to think it was a natural decision.) That's then followed up by TToE, as I really enjoyed that proggy vibe, and as a keyboardist myself REALLY loved the use of synths in the album. ItEC comes up in third, with 01011001 coming fourth. I was not expecting TToE to be better, or even as good, as ItEC... especially when I saw the initial line-up. But it really did blow me away.

Nice list, happy to see Leprous and Haken on the top, this was a good year for prog !

And that : " Black Sabbath meets Jethro Tull with female vox "
I have to check it !!

Written by Schnabeltier 24 on 06.01.2014 at 23:52

Nice list, happy to see Leprous and Haken on the top, this was a good year for prog !

And that : " Black Sabbath meets Jethro Tull with female vox "
I have to check it !!

Definitely a good year for prog... and quite a damn good year for music in general too!

And yes, you do have to check that out. ^^

Written by Lethrokai on 06.01.2014 at 18:33

Yeah, I can understand that. Like I said in the introduction, I put the list out on dA first and foremost, then just moved it to MetalStorm. Besides, even if the idea of other genres may not be interesting for a lot of MS'ers, metal still is the most prevalent thing on this list. Also, anyone who goes around looking for a way to get a bit more variety in what they listen to can try things out from here.

Ah, I guess that's understandable.

Quote:

For me, THE is my personal favourite (not a very original choice, I know... but I came to that conclusion before even realising popular it was, so I like to think it was a natural decision.) That's then followed up by TToE, as I really enjoyed that proggy vibe, and as a keyboardist myself REALLY loved the use of synths in the album. ItEC comes up in third, with 01011001 coming fourth. I was not expecting TToE to be better, or even as good, as ItEC... especially when I saw the initial line-up. But it really did blow me away.

THE is indeed easily the favourite of most Ayreon fans. Btw, we have the same top 4 but in a different order (which you can also see in my best to worst list, if you're interested).

Written by Erik M. on 08.01.2014 at 22:00


THE is indeed easily the favourite of most Ayreon fans. Btw, we have the same top 4 but in a different order (which you can also see in my best to worst list, if you're interested).

Well, those 4 do tend to stand out quite a bit among the rest of the discography. They just have that little x-factor to them, you know?
Also, I checked out your list a while back actually. Possibly would have swapped The Final Experiment and Flight Of The Migrator, but other than that, the rest of our lists seem to match up.

What the hell is about Eminem?
And I would place Ayreon on the first place... Well.. nothing to comment..

Written by Lord Dimitriy on 10.01.2014 at 12:54

What the hell is about Eminem?
And I would place Ayreon on the first place... Well.. nothing to comment..

This year I made a decision that I was really going to start checking all over the place for good albums. Hip-hop, electronic, avant-garde, all that jazz. Eminem's album was a surprise in that it treads a fine line between hilarity and maturity. There are quite a few songs that really aren't worth the listen, but at the same time there are some tracks that are seriously impressive. Most people see these guys as simple radio faces, but if you look past all that, you can actually find some damn good stuff.

As for Ayreon, I was actually planning to put it in first place originally. However, as I was re-listening to these albums to make this list, Coal really blew me away... I'd forgotten about Coal a little as time passed by, but making this list reminded me about just how special it was. Ayreon was a damn close second though.

Written by Lethrokai on 10.01.2014 at 14:03

Written by Lord Dimitriy on 10.01.2014 at 12:54

What the hell is about Eminem?
And I would place Ayreon on the first place... Well.. nothing to comment..

This year I made a decision that I was really going to start checking all over the place for good albums. Hip-hop, electronic, avant-garde, all that jazz. Eminem's album was a surprise in that it treads a fine line between hilarity and maturity. There are quite a few songs that really aren't worth the listen, but at the same time there are some tracks that are seriously impressive. Most people see these guys as simple radio faces, but if you look past all that, you can actually find some damn good stuff.

As for Ayreon, I was actually planning to put it in first place originally. However, as I was re-listening to these albums to make this list, Coal really blew me away... I'd forgotten about Coal a little as time passed by, but making this list reminded me about just how special it was. Ayreon was a damn close second though.

Thanks for reply! It is always nice to get a positive answer even for my not so polite message) Of course it is a matter of taste and being a rock and metal devoted person maybe I will miss some interesting staff from other genres after being prejudiced especially against hip-hop) That is why I'm eliminating my question about Eminem.
But I totally agree with jazz! Damn, it's a magnificent style! It's influence can be heard in such music monsters as Dream Theater, King Crimson, Jethro Tull... What am I speaking about? Almost all progressive rock/metal bands have inherited jazz influences.

Oh... I have listened to Coal for about 8-10 times... Only emptiness... I'm in the know that this band and this album have received great reviews and notes.. And for Ayreon I've just expressed my opinion.. Nothing personal)

Thank you for accurate reply!)

Written by Lord Dimitriy on 10.01.2014 at 14:35


Thanks for reply! It is always nice to get a positive answer even for my not so polite message) Of course it is a matter of taste and being a rock and metal devoted person maybe I will miss some interesting staff from other genres after being prejudiced especially against hip-hop) That is why I'm eliminating my question about Eminem.
But I totally agree with jazz! Damn, it's a magnificent style! It's influence can be heard in such music monsters as Dream Theater, King Crimson, Jethro Tull... What am I speaking about? Almost all progressive rock/metal bands have inherited jazz influences.

Oh... I have listened to Coal for about 8-10 times... Only emptiness... I'm in the know that this band and this album have received great reviews and notes.. And for Ayreon I've just expressed my opinion.. Nothing personal)

Thank you for accurate reply!)

Eh, a year ago I was also someone who only really listened to rock and metal. It's just a matter of personal taste, and how far you want to explore the rest of the musical spectrum. A few months back, I took up the viewpoint that "if a genre exists, it's been done beautifully at some point, just as it's been done horribly at some point." Then I decided to start checking out music from everywhere I could find. Eminem's album caught me off-guard, especially with songs like Love Game. That song is cynical but hilarious at the same time, with great mixing of backing music. It also has one of my favourite final verses I've heard in a rap song.

Ayreon was definitely an incredible album!

Written by Lethrokai on 10.01.2014 at 15:16

Eh, a year ago I was also someone who only really listened to rock and metal. It's just a matter of personal taste, and how far you want to explore the rest of the musical spectrum. A few months back, I took up the viewpoint that "if a genre exists, it's been done beautifully at some point, just as it's been done horribly at some point." Then I decided to start checking out music from everywhere I could find. Eminem's album caught me off-guard, especially with songs like Love Game. That song is cynical but hilarious at the same time, with great mixing of backing music. It also has one of my favourite final verses I've heard in a rap song.

Ayreon was definitely an incredible album!

Yeah, I've got your idea... I've tried to listen to some other genres.. But very soon I refused this idea, as a lot of styles can't be described as music.. I mean that there are no real musical instruments playing. In the majority of the cases there are programming, computer mixing.. All these remain me some abstract not alive sounds.
And as for exploration.. Progressive rock/metal is endless source of innovative ideas and masterpieces it will take somebody a really long time to get acquainted with many bands, as all of them have got their unique style and way of expression!

Written by Lord Dimitriy on 10.01.2014 at 15:57


Yeah, I've got your idea... I've tried to listen to some other genres.. But very soon I refused this idea, as a lot of styles can't be described as music.. I mean that there are no real musical instruments playing. In the majority of the cases there are programming, computer mixing.. All these remain me some abstract not alive sounds.
And as for exploration.. Progressive rock/metal is endless source of innovative ideas and masterpieces it will take somebody a really long time to get acquainted with many bands, as all of them have got their unique style and way of expression!

I don't think I'd ever go as far as not to call it music just because it's electronic. In fact, I'd say that it opens us up to even more innovation, as we can finally create music that couldn't be created before due to physical limitations. Even in metal, a lot of bands are incorporating a more electronic influence (both in execution and final production). Even though there are some elements of this new wave in music that I don't like (drum triggers... fucking hate that shit) I still tend to keep my eye out, because you can really be surprised what people can do with their imaginations.

Cool to see someone else here who's taste strays away from metal. I'll have a looksee at some of these.

Actually Alter Bridge - Fortress was a good album i like that