CDs that surprised you

[NeutralDrow]

I know I am such a rebel. Really I just like to have the hole Cd I usually like what I find and its rare for me to "hate" a cd.
I also had a similar experience with AWOLNATIONS CD

I don't mean it's weird to buy albums, it's weird these days to actually buy a physical CD when there's really no reason left to.

I like owning a physical copy. Even if I eventually rip the music for my mp3 player for portability, I feel more secure having something that's not purely digital, that doesn't rely on either my computer or someone else's servers to exist, and that sounds better and feels more continuous (especially since the band I like listening to often have connecting tracks, like Epica's "Burn to a Cinder" into "Tides of Time," or pretty much every Rhapsody of Fire opening). It also feels more satisfying to me being physically present to buy a CD, rather than ordering one. The greater effort expended in tracking the album down and buying it makes the end result all the sweeter.

Same with games and books, come to that. Maybe I'm just an indecisive Luddite at heart.

 

[piinyouri]

I know I am such a rebel. Really I just like to have the hole Cd I usually like what I find and its rare for me to "hate" a cd.
I also had a similar experience with AWOLNATIONS CD

I don't mean it's weird to buy albums, it's weird these days to actually buy a physical CD when there's really no reason left to.

I like owning a physical copy. Even if I eventually rip the music for my mp3 player for portability, I feel more secure having something that's not purely digital, that doesn't rely on either my computer or someone else's servers to exist, and that sounds better and feels more continuous (especially since the band I like listening to often have connecting tracks, like Epica's "Burn to a Cinder" into "Tides of Time," or pretty much every Rhapsody of Fire opening). It also feels more satisfying to me being physically present to buy a CD, rather than ordering one. The greater effort expended in tracking the album down and buying it makes the end result all the sweeter.

Same with games and books, come to that. Maybe I'm just an indecisive Luddite at heart.

I'm just a collector and materialist myself.
Gimme day album with all the cool inlays, the booklet, disc art, and any other goodies that may come with it.

 

[Tom_green_day]

What About Now by Bon Jovi. They're my favourite band, but every time I buy one of their albums I think 'Oh god, this is going to be the first bad album and put me off them forever' but they're always awesome.
Or Green Day's new Trilogy album thing? When I heard they were going to release 3 at the same time I thought it would be awful. Turns out Uno was alright, and Dos was actually pretty good. Tre was abysmal though.

 

[purf]

Last physical record I bought was the last Bon Iver. I actually went to a music store with the intent to buy my first ... CD! after I dunno 10 years. Ended up with a vinyl which came with a download coupon. And yeah, surprising - the amount of Phil "Kenny G" Collins soundalike: Beth/Rest. Even more surprising: I dig it.

Korn's Path of Totality surprised me.

In that grown men in their mid 40's actually went ahead and produced a terrible dubstep album in a desperate attempt to remain relevant.

Ohfuck. That's what I get for my curiosity. How do I unhear this now??!

 

[Teoes]

I think it has been years since a CD (or album, if you're being picky about this whole digital malarkey) has surprised me, but I guess that just means I've not pushed my own boundaries enough of late. Perhaps the most recent case was the latest Cynic album. I've probably not given it the chance and attention it needs but given the first two made me cream immediately, I found the thirds rather meh.

Korn's Path of Totality surprised me.

In that grown men in their mid 40's actually went ahead and produced a terrible dubstep album in a desperate attempt to remain relevant.

I'm morbidly fascinated by the notion of this, but am not sure I have sufficient mind-bleach to forget it again afterwards. The Wikipedia entry is hilarious; I love this quote: "To Korn?s credit, The Path Of Totality is its most radical reinvention to date. It?s also the worst slab of sludge it ever shat."

 

[jurnag12]

After having read an interview about it in Aardschok, I picked up Deconstruction by the Devin Townsend Project, reasoning that it sounded interesting and that anything by an artist that apparently manages to make an extreme metal and an acoustic new age album at same time and do it well (Both got good scores, at least) was worth a listen.
Got home, popped it in, drank in the slow opening and got my neck broken through sheer headbanging by the second half of the first song.

That's pretty much the feeling I've had with every album I've heard by the guy (Devin Townsend himself), because although their overall quality and style varies, they never stop being good. And the guy can do and play EVERYTHING.




Also, Black Clouds and Silver Linings by Dream Theater. Not a perfect album, but it was good enough to pull me through my fears of Dream Theater as overly long pretentious bullcrap (Admittedly, the first part of that insult is valid) and actually listen to their stuff. And much enjoyment was had.

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

Motionless in White's second album Infamous was a total disaster to me. They went from a unique, no matter how much the lead singer says they weren't, gothic metalcore band to a Marilyn Manson cover band. After listening to the masterpiece that was Creatures and I saw a second album was coming I bought it right away, didn't even listen to any of the tracks because I knew, at the time, they wouldn't let me down... I couldn't have been more wrong. I skipped half of the album, especially the title track. It would be bad for a Manson song, which pained me quite a bit. To kick me while I'm down the lead singer decided they will never return to the metalcore genre and "branch out" into new genres aka industrial metal *shutter.

Really disappointed me, taught me never to buy a band's second album just because the first was godlike. At least I can still jam to Creatures.

Infamous might be bad, but Burned At Both Ends and Puppets 2 are pretty good jams. Also, the chorus for The Divine Infection is catchy as fuck.

I liked that album. I thought Devil's night was the best song on there.

 

[404notfound]

The Alliance of the Kings by Ancient Bards, picked the album up after hearing one of their songs randomly and it is one of the best albums I ever heard, and probably the best debut album I've ever heard. Their second album Soulless Child is also pretty awesome and has Through My Veins on, their best song in my opinion.

 

[Dirge Eterna]

SOAD's first CD. I had seen them in concert at Ozzfest and hated them. Then I heard them recorded and it grew on me. Same with Machine Head I saw them open for Coal Chamber way back in the late 90's and I was like Meh.. then I heard some of Burn my eyes and I was like hmm let me give them a shot and now they are in my top rotation.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Spoiler: This CD totally surprised me.

I didn't particularly expect anything, but I definitely didn't expect the result.

 

[doggy go 7]

I randomly found a Kanye West CD (Late Registration) in my mum's collection (unopened, of course). Liking rap, I took it, and put it on. I really didn't know what to expect, because I hadn't actually listened to him much. It was really good, surprisingly so.

 

[bbchain]

I was really excited for Trapt's new album. I loved No Apologies and I knew from Someone In Control the kind of depth they were capable of, but Reborn was just kinda meh. Every time I listen to it I really try to like it but I just can't get into it like I could their other ones. The lyrical depth is missing and the variation of sound they usually have has plateaued.

On the other hand i recently got Kendrick Lamar's album thinking I wouldn't like much of it besides Swimming Pools and I ended up loving every song. Backseat Freestyle is my guilty pleasure and The Art of Peer Pressure is my favorite rap song to date.

 

[AnarchistFish]

Korn's Path of Totality surprised me.

In that grown men in their mid 40's actually went ahead and produced a terrible dubstep album in a desperate attempt to remain relevant.

What was even more hilarious was their comments around its release. About how Korn "invented dubstep". Add that to the fact that the album had barely any true dubstep in it.




OT: Most albums I love surprised me, because most of them are from genres I otherwise don't/didn't like. Burial - Untrue was one of my first dubstep releases and although I wasn't super into it it's now one of my favourite albums. Add The Weeknd's mixtape trilogy, as I don't listen to any other R&B and I'd heard one of his songs before and thought I didn't like it. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#, since I'd never listened to that kind of long, atmospheric post rock before. And Bon Iver, cos I didn't really listen to indie folk or whatever they are.

 

[Lilani]

Somebody once told me that because I liked Nightwish, I would like Dysrhythmia. So I bought their album Barriers and Passages, and rather than hearing beautiful melodies and elaborate scores, I got a bunch of disharmonious noise. Sorry if there are any Dysrhythmia fans out there, but seriously, how are they anything like Nightwish? The reason I like Nightwish is because while it is a bit chaotic at times, there's always a melody and every song has a distinct pace. I can handle a lack of harmony if there's at least a basic melody to tie it together, but the songs I listened to on that album lacked both.

As for a positive one, I'll definitely go with any Piano Guys album. I don't always catch their songs on YouTube, but I got one of their albums and I was surprised at how much love and care went into every song. If it was a straight adaptation of a pop song, they didn't just to through the motions and play it. They found the spirit of the song, or put a new spin on its spirit that I'd never thought of before. Like this adaptation of Love Story by Taylor Swift. If you didn't think that song was good or romantic, you will now. I promise.

 

[Chromatic Aberration]

Bad surprises:

* Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth: Very much a downer, after the glorious A Night at the Opera - except for Otherland there was really nothing that could compare to their previous two releases in terms of epicness and most of the rest just felt uninspired - especially "This Will Never End" which I consider to be probably their worst song up to date.

* Iced Earth - Something Wicked Part 1/2: Same as with BG but with a Glorious Burden and with the added irony that both albums are actually concept albums that wanted to portray a sci-fi storyline i.e. had the potential to be a lot cooler. Yet, First album has only a few epic moments and the second...barely any....Because of the boringness of those two albums I have not yet listened to their latest record.

Iconoclast by Symphony X.

After the monumental masterpiece that was Paradise Lost, I had crazy high hopes and expectations for the next album, and while Iconoclast wasn't really a bad album, it was a shadow of it's predecessor. Production was the same and they stuck with the heavier overall sound (which I enjoyed on both albums) but there seems to quite a bit of soul lacking on Iconoclast. The musicality of it was quite a bit simpler as well.

I fully agree with this one too - not a bad album, but never developed the kind of epic, overblown traction that made Paradise Lost so awesome.

Good Surprises:

* Ayreon: The Human Equation: First listened to it and my first reaction was wondering if I hadn't put in a musical cd instead of Ayreon. I knew Ayreon could be very sappy (bought 01011001 before and loved it except for those annoying vocal passages in the sixth extinction) - but this album really overdid it. Or so I thought. One day I thought - okay let's take some time to actually look up what the concept album is about, listen to the music while reading through the lyrics. And suddenly the music became awesome together with the story! Yeah its still sappy as fuck but holy mother is it cool and varied, too.

* Kayo Dot - Every Fucking Album!: On the danger that I sound like a broken record by now but Kayo Dot always manages to surprise me - their music is always unaccessible and each album sounds awfully different. Still, what begins as "Fuck! Is that strange and noisy - I don't know if that's still music" turns to "Holy Mother that's the most beautifully disturbing thing I heard in my entire life!" the moment I actually devote some time to listen to their stuff. And it's always like that.

* The Protomen - Act 2: Listened to Act 1 that I was hooked on pretty good on youtube and decided that I wanted to buy it. Incidentally that was about the time when their second album was released, so because I was going to pay for shipping anyway I decided to get their second album too. Little did I know that the second album would blow the first one out of the water in every way possible - so much, in fact, that it remains one of my favourites.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Motionless in White's second album Infamous was a total disaster to me. They went from a unique, no matter how much the lead singer says they weren't, gothic metalcore band to a Marilyn Manson cover band. After listening to the masterpiece that was Creatures and I saw a second album was coming I bought it right away, didn't even listen to any of the tracks because I knew, at the time, they wouldn't let me down... I couldn't have been more wrong. I skipped half of the album, especially the title track. It would be bad for a Manson song, which pained me quite a bit. To kick me while I'm down the lead singer decided they will never return to the metalcore genre and "branch out" into new genres aka industrial metal *shutter.

Really disappointed me, taught me never to buy a band's second album just because the first was godlike. At least I can still jam to Creatures.

Infamous might be bad, but Burned At Both Ends and Puppets 2 are pretty good jams. Also, the chorus for The Divine Infection is catchy as fuck.

I liked that album. I thought Devil's night was the best song on there.

I don't like that song due to the verses blatantly ripping off Psychosocial >.>

 

[DugMachine]

I also recently came across Little Dragon's self titled album and I gotta say I'm quite in love with it. A friend showed me "Twice" and I was really into it so I researched them on my own and they're quickly becoming one of my favorite bands the more I listen.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Stone Sour's House of Gold and Bones albums. I'd always sort of liked them, they were like Nickelback if Chad Kroeger could write a melody worth a damn, but they were a fairly average hard rock band raised up a bit by Corey Taylor's charisma. But those two albums are fucking... wow. Everything about the album, the lyrics, songwriting and technical ability are just leaps and bounds ahead of everything they've ever done, and it's so much bigger in scope as well. It's so smartly written, they've managed to make 23 songs ranging from quiet ballads to some heavy as fuck moments (Corey going almost black-metal on Gravesend) feel like a cohesive work and still have most of the songs work brilliantly on their own. And then there's the climax...

Spoiler

It harks back to different songs across the albums, it's such a triumphant end to a long, awesome journey.

 

[piinyouri]

Stone Sour's House of Gold and Bones albums. I'd always sort of liked them, they were like Nickelback if Chad Kroeger could write a melody worth a damn, but they were a fairly average hard rock band raised up a bit by Corey Taylor's charisma. But those two albums are fucking... wow. Everything about the album, the lyrics, songwriting and technical ability are just leaps and bounds ahead of everything they've ever done, and it's so much bigger in scope as well. It's so smartly written, they've managed to make 23 songs ranging from quiet ballads to some heavy as fuck moments (Corey going almost black-metal on Gravesend) feel like a cohesive work and still have most of the songs work brilliantly on their own. And then there's the climax...

Spoiler

It harks back to different songs across the albums, it's such a triumphant end to a long, awesome journey.

....Damn.
Add these albums to this threads topic for me.
After hearing Through Glass some years ago and being quite surprised by it, I ran out and bought the album. Never hearing Stone Sour before, or realizing it was Corey Taylor's other band (I used to be really REALLY out of the world culture loop)I pretty quickly grew to love it. Though after that is where I started digging into more obscure and extreme sections of metal music, so the sequential albums went ignored by me. I figured I'd grew out of them or just wouldn't enjoy them as much as CWeM.

Tired is excellent. Taylors still got that fire in his voice.