On the production thread there, South of Heaven came up in the discussion..
I think it terms of imagery, feeling, resonance and power, it has to be one of the greatest album titles ever. I remember getting it on tape as a chiseler and reading the title..'South of Heaven', saying it in a dramatic way, letting it roll around in my head. 'Slayer, South of Heaven'..you almost didn't need to play the tape to be impressed. Later on reading Steinbeck's East of Eden, another title I love, added another dimension to the title, them being from California etc. although I have no clue if they were impacted by that at all.
I remember thinking 'what's south of heaven?' on the drive home in my parents' car and my answer was earth, here, and then when the music started, jesus...ok so they're saying that this music is the soundtrack to everyday life, to my life, and in many ways it became a soundtrack to my life...mind blown at 15 or whatever age I was haha!
Any other album titles that come to mind, or that capture the essence of everything the music and band are about on that release?
Blessed are the Sick
Is South of heaven not a reference to hell?
Probably..I interpreted it differently
Just listening to the song, I think it's talking about society. 'Chaos rampant in an age of distrust'..sounds more real world than religious to me.
I always interpreted it as society's relentless march towards a hell-like state, on and on...
Unquestionable Presence always resonated with me. It has a boldness and weight to it, as a pairing of words, which rules out any ambiguity. The music remains a bold statement, too, made all the more incredible by how stoned they were.
Could go on so I'll keep it to three. Metal album titles tend to have an easy time sounding cool, in all honesty.
A Blaze in the Northern Sky - Just a perfect album title to introduce the Norwegian wave of black metal to the wider world. And what a cover. Proper "What is this shit?" stuff if you were flicking through a record rack.
Powerslave - Power sounds cool, slave sounds cool, combine them together for a badass compound word that contradicts itself and somehow describes the albums relentless pace and glory.
Antichrist Superstar - It's fucking brilliant. Just totally iconic, and representative of the de facto Satanic Panic of the 1990s that Manson transformed himself into. Those first three or four albums are still mustard, and he'll forever be an interesting performer and personality to me, still, even though he's essentially slowly dying live on stage now.
Three beauts there and Juggz nail on the head.on South of Heaven
I agree with the interpretation that SoH is a "hell on earth" type of affair.
For me, I think one album that always sticks out is Napalm Death's From Enslavement to Obliteration. The concept is far more frightening than a thousand horror films and the music sounds like the end of the world.
And for an album as genre-defining as Destroy Erase Improve I always thought the title felt appropriate.
Appetite for Destruction.
Just a badass, catchy title, but totally fits the sleaziness of the content. All of the glam bands at the time looked like One Direction in comparison.
Somewhere In Time
Was iust going to write Somewhere in Time myself...what a title to capture the entire mood and sound on that album. It's like a sci-fi journey through history, literature, time and space..genius. There's a transcendental, timeless feel to the artwork, subjects and lyrics covered on the album captured perfectly by the album title.
Quote from: ldj on February 25, 2020, 04:02:57 PM
Appetite for Destruction.
Just a badass, catchy title, but totally fits the sleaziness of the content. All of the glam bands at the time looked like One Direction in comparison.
Ufff this could be coming in at number 1..doesn't get much better
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
Back when we all thought that Mustaine was the king of socially aware commentary. How times have changed with him yet the album title is possibly more relevant now than it was back then!
For Those About To Rock
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Led_Zeppelin_%28untitled%29.jpg)
Maybe a little tangential, but for Teitanblood to call the second lp simply 'Death' was a brave move. Bare with me here, while many of their peers are looking for grammatically questionable Latin or something evil and spooky sounding they have gone for the plain unadorned truth. This, death, is the inspiration the feeling that should be paramount to this type of music. Death is the main inspiration, metal is just the form of expression.
To crown it all, once you have been battered by hearing that album, you know the title couldn't be anything else.
Even though I don't like the album, Severed Survival is a great, visceral sounding title. Same with Mental Funeral and Turn Loose The Swans (in terms of not liking the albums).
Think Araya said South Of Heaven was about "hell on earth" and was a move to more realistic lyric writing.
They also stopped trying to break the land speed riff record after Reign In Blood.
The early Megadeth titles were class. Very easy imagine the words being spat out by Mustaine.
The Angel and the Dark River. Draconian Times are great and iconic titles.
The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is a lovely title. Monotony Fields is very unlovely one, both being bang on the money for the music.
I always thought Dusk and her Embrace was one of the best album titles I'd heard. A perfect union of evil, darkness, romance and grandeur. An epic title.
Dani Filth is obviously a prime wally, but Dusk and Her Embrace is a classic as it nails everything, title included.
Dead Heart in a Dead World, perfectly summed up a lot of the despairing lyrics and mood of that album
Stormcrowfleet. That unusual compound word perfectly sums up everything about the album- gloomy obscurity mixed with epicness. A perfect title for a perfect album. Perfect artwork too, that I still haven't deciphered. Is it a bird in flight turned on its side? A sense of mystery imbued into every element of the album and captured in the title.
Drawing Down the Moon. Another perfect fit. With the alien sounding music and the simple and genius artwork, which still stands out as being completely original within the realms of black metal to this day, the title wraps the whole experience up in a perfect little package.
Magical album title that alright
Quote from: Ducky on February 25, 2020, 06:36:31 PM
Dani Filth is obviously a prime wally, but Dusk and Her Embrace is a classic as it nails everything, title included.
I've never gotten that impression from him. Seems he's mainly guilty of just getting himself out there quite a bit, which attracts ire.
Love Cradles album titles. I've always admired how Filth combined dense lyrical and thematic concepts with the hard to come by notion that dressing up as a vampire and signing about evil isn't necessarily something one should take entirely seriously.
Album/line up consistency has been their killer of course. Dusk, Midian and Cruelty and the Beast are all bangers though.
Blues for the Red Sun
Perfectly describes Kyuss.
Damnation Scythes of Invincible Abomination... It's just great, simple as that! Multisyllabic madness from the Geneinator!
Roman Acupuncture is a clever one. Not the band's intention of course, but it gave me a giggle when I first heard it.
666 Goats Carry My Chariot by Bütcher and We Are Death... Fukk You!! by Sadistik Exekution for just how cool those are.
I mean fukken say those out loud they're amazing.
On a more serious note (in a sense), Will Of The Gods Is A Great One by Scald and The Western Front by Sacriphyx just for how they perfectly describe the content of the album and sort of give a feel of the album before listening. Great albums too.
Use your Illusion another great title.
Soundgarden had some excellent album titles. Superunknown probably the standout.
In the Court of the Crimson King. Majestic and infernal sounding, combined with the cover artwork of the anguished face, perfect.
There are so many, but I agree with "A blaze in the northern sky", followed by Graveland's demo "In the glare of burning churches". There could be no better names for what was about to go on at that time.
Lately Bolzer's "Roman Acupuncture" is the perfect blend of catchy, imaginative, and witty title for me.
On a less compromised level, Grand Belial's Key "On a mule rides the swindler" really amused my younger self. Love their satyrical titles and covers...
I'd second Dead Heart in a Dead World and add Dreaming Neon Black for the same reason - captures the wierd melancholy of those albums
the upcoming Carcass release "Torn Arteries" has to be in there.... :abbath:
Always thought Cryptopsys' None So Vile was a pretty great description of the aural filth that album contained.
Suffocation - Souls to Deny.....no real reason, just think it sounds great!
The Accüsed - More Fun Than An Open Casket Funeral :laugh:
Live Evil
The Black Album.
Not that the album itself is that great, but Deicide's In Torment, In Hell always struck me as a cool album title.
Spreading the disease catchy one :-X