Stairway to Hell: The 100 Best Heavy Metal Albums of the '90s (pt. 2)!

btw, i'll just take a second of all y'all's time to say that Terminal Drive is grate imo!

rofl at this list

Yeah, I really kinda Lollapaloozed out, didn't I?

Voting for Ubu.

Or Terminal Drive, I mean (one of three compilations of Cleveland art-punk up there, if anybody's counting.)

Anyway, the only thing I can say in my defense (and it's not much) is that metal must've gotten really shitty for me to get so darn alt-rocky.

its not what i expected the list to look like. Bill will explode!

chuck im sure if you were to pick 100 90s metal albums now the list would be totally different

I'm still hearing 90s stuff I missed at the time in all genres so im sure you will be the same.

Saturation by Urge Overkill is my fave of those albums listed but I think Voivod might walk this poll.

eh, the most alt-rocky stuff comes later on in the book, i'd say.

Voivod? really?

xp Yeah, I would pick TWO Gillette albums now! (Okay, not really. Her second album, as good as it was, consiserably lowered the loud-guitar quotient. Actually, kinda wishing now I would've voted for her though.)

Oh. My. God.

Abstain.

Never heard of Black Train Jack, La Derecha, Young Canadians, D.A.D.

So Terminal Drive was a single-disc release of the last disc of the Ubu box? Or...?

Went with Local H although I much prefer the follow-up.

xp Well, not "single-disc release," exactly, since I'm pretty sure it was never actually commercially released that way. I think I called it a "promo cassette," which is how I own it.

You don't like Angel Rat, Ioannis?

I like it but I might not vote since it's actually the only album on this list I've heard in its entirety!

Local H

offspring obv.

tbh anyone unsure on how to vote should probably just vote for the Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments.

i have heard 0 of these

That "Cleveland...So Much to Answer For" is great. It's a double cd that came with CLE magazine.

rare and live Pagans, Rockets, Gem, Cobra Verde, Laughner, Dead Boys, Death of Samantha etc. One of my favorite things.

Weezer

Saturation

Saturation. Just a great hard rock album.

You don't like Angel Rat, Ioannis?

haven't heard it yet, actually--tho i have liked just about everything Voivod released prior to it (so i should probably remedy that situation by getting a hold of the damn thing, i suppose). was just expressing surprise that pfunk assumes it'll win really--i'm betting on Saturation myself.

...d'oh.

haha i'm tossing up between voting for weezer, urge overkill, and noir desir.

i think weezer has the best album, but i like the idea of voting for one of the other two. i must say though, i prefer 'tostaky' and '666.667 club' to the noir desir record mentioned here, and probably like 'exit the dragon' even more than 'saturation'.

I nearly went with Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments but then I remembered what Those Were Different Times was.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Ioanis the reason I thought Voivod would walk it was because it was probably the only actual metal album on the list. But now it seems urge overkill and weezer might win it

i prefer 'tostaky' and '666.667 club' to the noir desir record mentioned here

My favorite Noir Desir album by far is Des Visages Des Figures from 2001, long after this book came out (and not long before singer Bertrand Cantat beat his actress girlfriend to death with his bare hands), but it probably wouldn't have been metal enough for the book anyway. (Hey, I have my standards, really.) Have never heard 666.667 Club. Used to have Tostaky, and liked the "Teen Spirit" rip "Ici Paris" a lot, but never got into the rest of it, though maybe I would if I heard it now. Remember it (well, okay, I actually kept notes) as being louder and more pigfucker-sludgy, with Stooge/Leather Nun imitations ("One Trip One Noise"), Scratch Acid funk attempts ("Tostaky"), 6-minute industrial-metal drones ("7 Minutes"!?), ridiculous tributes to the Doors' version of "Alabama Song" ("Sober Song"), plus plenty of cabaret crap. All of which makes it sound pretty darn intersting, I admit. Probably shouldn't have got rid of my copy.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i was almost right

i did predict the top 3

ha, next one will be a guaranteed blowout (Chuck will love it...not!). ;?)

des visages des figures is definitely the most focused and accomplished noir desir record from my end too. has a uniformity of tone and atmosphere that the others lack, which makes for a more compelling, well-rounded listen. also, the louder and more consciously dramatic moments are sparse and kept in check and all the more poignant for it. case in point is the nervy 'lost', which contains a rare moment of catharsis on an otherwise moodily restrained record. i also love 'bouquet de nerfs' and that gentle, probing guitar line that is as affecting as it is austere.

666.667 club is vaguely experimental and sprawling, but with a bit of an unsure premise. a lot of the tracks have some interesting, dynamic dimensions to them that are ultimately derailed by a lack of genuine ambition and direction. some of the more straightforward rock numbers are great, however - 'un jour en france' is a driving rocker with a cutting social commentary on the condition of france that is hands down my favourite ND track. it has a fantastic accompanying video too.

I would have gone with Angel Rat based on this list, which is ironic because at the time, Angel Rat was synonymous for me with "bad 90s alterna-metal". It's aged really well though, and the Angel Rat demos I got from the band are really sweet too. I still like Outer Limits and Phobos better for 90s 'Vod though.

Has there been a Voivod poll?

i'll leave it for nate to do