~~~ 15 YEARS OF ILM POLL!!! ~~~ (Metal & Heavy Rock [+ related sub-genres] Edition) RESULTS & DISCUSSION THREAD

Hand-wringing aside, I more or less concluded that there were a bunch of heavy progressive bands doing similar things with much better chops.

they didn't have tim greene though

I still remember all the Tim Greene fanboys down the front at the 13th Note when I saw The Fucking Champs (Touring with Trans AM). It was like the second coming for them.

I've never even heard The Fucking Champs but I do remember one of their albums, IV I think, getting talked up a lot by some of the writers in Metal Maniacs that I tended to pay more attn to, like (iirc) Jeff Wagner, Chris Black, and Marty Rytkonen.

Dont think they were ever written about in the UK press

14 Cobalt - Gin 3731.666667 Points, 20 Votes, One #1
http://i65.tinypic.com/t85bh0.jpg
https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/gin
https://youtu.be/BZHyYPSkB5o

This one's enjoyable.

After listening to praise for a long time I thought I'd like Gin more than I did. I feel like it has some kind of importance in the grand scheme of things even if it hasn't kept my attention.

the new album is great

13 Agalloch - The Mantle 3763.833333 Points, 19 Votes
http://i67.tinypic.com/av53pg.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/2lx6oEjQ9CxIYDZP6EkcaL
spotify:album:2lx6oEjQ9CxIYDZP6EkcaL

hmmm

I really have no idea why people prefer this to Grain or Marrow, sounds like p ordinary folk metal to me

ashes was my best guess for #1 so we're still on track

Oh shit I figured that must have already placed

I'm not that much of a seasonal listener but The Mantle is one that really works best in the dead of winter

I think The Mantle is the highest rated one on RYM but they do love their folky black metal over there

12 Ghost - Meliora 3828.282946 Points, 21 Votes, One #1
http://i64.tinypic.com/2dhb4sj.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/2uaQ1K2eSqaWeVQRXeuGdN
spotify:album:2uaQ1K2eSqaWeVQRXeuGdN

I think I The Mantle higher than Ashes but they're pretty close in my mind.

Alright! This is way too high, but I don't care.

I totally get why Ghost scores high, they're very universally likeable.

So anyone got a handle on the top 10 yet?

Yeah, I wonder if it's the image that puts of general ilm? Because im pretty sure a lot of them would like the songs if they heard them

*off

Ghost is fun but without depth. I am cool with people liking them but it's really superficial stuff imo

Top twenty needs its pop-metal

Not sure if ILM is the right audience, but they certainly have the potential to become an arena-filling band like a Rammstein or Foo Fighters.

Ghost is fun but without depth. I am cool with people liking them but it's really superficial stuff imo

I was surprised to read the high-minded origins of Meliora's lyrics (eg "He Is" being inspired by Selim Lemouchi of The Devil's Blood's suicide).

I like Meliora and Opus Eponymous about equally, but I also feel like a lot came together for Ghost on Meliora, like they'd grown into their popularity or shed any remaining timidity. It seemed like they achieved the confluence of music, image, videos, and live show that they'd been reaching for.

This album is adorable. I completely forgot to vote for it (would have been low on my ballot), but it's almost impossible to dislike. It feels almost as though the specific chord sequences are actually designed to release endorphins.

11 Converge - Jane Doe 3860.166667 Points, 17 Votes, TWO #1's
http://i65.tinypic.com/wqsluc.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/2gtM4m6sglJDrX3toJWZO6
spotify:album:2gtM4m6sglJDrX3toJWZO6

Ghost is fun but without depth. I am cool with people liking them but it's really superficial stuff imo

I struggle with arguments about depth in music, I think it's a tricky thing to get a handle on. It's like when people say 'style over substance', I'm never sure where one ends and the other begins. I think it's something in the... erm, ear of the beholder.

Glad that You Fail Me topped this one.

Unless uh it didn't, I just checked and it came fifth when we polled the albums lol

http://i66.tinypic.com/2rnzjhd.jpg

10 Isis - Celestial 4140 Points, 21 Votes, One #1
http://i67.tinypic.com/29c71pf.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/2IB9qbao2WOvFsxqwqcp6B
spotify:album:2IB9qbao2WOvFsxqwqcp6B

OMG there's going to be THREE Ises

Unless this is a joke

Have we had Panopticon yet? (Isis, I mean - don't think Kentucky is going to place, as much as I love it.)

this is the first Isis to show up

It's the Isis album I go back to the least, so I think it's a bit high but whatever it's a good album.

wait y'all really go to bat for celestial

Title track is nice

i guess panopticon is gonna be top ten too but i really fuckin hate that record

wut

oceanic is the boring one fyi

oceanic is great but panopticon felt and still feels to me like a really dull version of oceanic

and celestial feels like a less good neurosis record

oceanic is the boring one fyi

wild

You're both wrong fwiw

Damn, this is gonna be a fuckton of Isis huh

You're both wrong fwiw

are they all boring