If I could pin point the exact age I was, when I first listened to the Electric Light Orchestra, I would be somewhere around 10 years old – the vintage 1970’s. I have been inhaling the music of ELO for my entire life, safe to say. It does not matter what Metal genre I am currently obsessed with, ELO always gets playing time on my turntable and/or CD players. The Electric Light Orchestra, in my opinion, is one of the original leaders of Progressive Rock. What exactly is it about ELO that gravitates me to their music? Since I can remember, even as a young kid, I always got the biggest kick out of any music that was louder, faster and heavier than what was being played on AM radio. (that is correct, I wrote – AM radio).
Is/was ELO faster, louder and heavier than AM radio music of the ’70’s? Some of ELO’s greatest songs are legendary AM radio hits. However, as with any Rock band out there, it always comes down to the deeper album cuts that separates the legendary bands from the plain average bands. There are dozens and probably more, of ELO songs that for me, are far better than the hits you would/currently here on FM radio. What I heard from ELO, all those years ago and still here today, is the bold and rich clarity of combining Traditional and Classical music with up tempo Rock and Roll. I cannot say enough in regards to the intellectual approach to musicianship ELO has stood for. Jeff Lynne, well, he is a musical genius, a musician, vocalist and song writer who has influenced quite a few prominent names in Rock. It is obvious and factual the influence Jeff Lynne has had on the career of Tom Petty. The Traveling Wilburys only solidifies my opinion of just how creative and influential Jeff Lynne was/is. Could any influential credit be given to ELO, for the evolution of the fabulous Finnish cello Metal band – Apocalyptica? This past year of 2008 has had Apocalyptica appear on the new Amon Amarth album – “Twighlight of the Thundergod,” so I am not alone in the world of Metal with my affection towards the cool sounds of cello’s or string arrangements! I do not know for fact, yet every time I listen to the great Dream Theater, I cannot help but here musical arrangements that are reflective of ELO. At times it is a choral arrangement, other times a guitar lead that blends in with tones from a keyboard or organ. I feel pretty confident in comparing Dream Theater to ELO, both bands are musically progressive and are not bashful about experimentation to create sounds and effects. For me, the true musical difference between Dream Theater and ELO is that Dream Theater packs the Metal muscle and overall Metal power brilliance.
The musical totality of ELO far reaches beyond the AM and later FM radio hits that made them so recognizable. ELO took string arrangements and horns to an entirely different level, not just combining these musical instruments with Rock and Roll, but doing so in a a manner in which was powerful, emotional and more often than not, just plain cool. The ELO album “Eldorado” distinguishes the pure emotional feel and sound that only became enhanced two fold from the use of Classical musical arrangements. The ELO album “A New World Record” eclipses any straight forward Rock album of the 1970’s, again through unconventional musical arrangements and structure, in turn creating the cool songs from ELO. I am not ashamed to admit that ELO is an all time favorite Rock band for me. Certainly, Metal and all of it’s genres are my true music love, still it is an exhilarating Rock music, listening experience for me any and every time I tune into ELO. After all of these years of enjoying music, ELO never fails to keep me grounded, while amazing my ears along the way.
So far, I have compiled 5 lists of Metal nominees for the greatest Metal album of all time. I never anticipated just how difficult a (dare I say task) it has been. It has been a fun task, affording me the opportunity to dig deeper into the years of Heavy Metal and all of the amazing genres of Metal that are out there. Will my decision make every Metal fan who reads the Metal Odyssey blog happy? I doubt that, for I am really embarking on a personal decision here, a decision not based on record sales, popularity or chart positions. Furthermore, as any fan of Metal music knows, your favorite band or bands are just that – your main bands. My goal here to decide on the greatest Metal album of all time is not to offend any fellow Metal fans in any way. I keep saying, this is a personal choice, yet, I am also looking forward to backing up and defending my decision! Some people might wonder or think, who cares what this guy thinks is the greatest Metal album of all time? My only response to anyone out there who thinks this is just a waste of time is – this endeavor only shows how much I actually embrace and love Metal music. Plus, researching and writing about the greatest Metal album of all time is light years more constructive and interesting for me, than to be chasing around crap stories about politics and crap stories about politicians second cousins and half sisters.
It is raining where I live this morning. The rain is coming down with quite the bad attitude too. This is the kind of rain where, you know, you dread just having to get your garbage container from the roadside; you know the drenching that is about to occur to your body and it is not requested either. Without complaining any further about inclement weather that no human or expert meteorologist can do to rectify it, here is a band that gets me through driving in the lousiest of lousy weather conditions – Rush. I thought about it this morning as I drove the family cab, yes, Rush just seems to straighten my focus and makes me feel like – who cares what the weather is like. It then hit me, Rush is always my first band of choice that I grab when I have to drive in snow, icy hell and tropical/evil thunderstorms. Not to worry, I always have Rush – “Snakes and Arrows” handy for sunny days, do not ask me why, for I correlate sunny, warm and beautiful days to this fine album. (?)
Queensryche has done it, done it very, very well too. “American Soldier” is a Progressive Metal achievement, in my Metal opinion. This is a concept album, that was written from the words spoken from those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. This release brings Queensryche back to where they belong, at the top of the Metal heap, reminding me of the “Operation Mindcrime” days. This is an album to really follow along to, with the lyrics that are inside the liner notes. Each song does lead itself into the next, both with it’s time line and lyrical content. 
Alas, I found a moment to just kick back, chill out and listen to a Metal CD that caught my eye. This Metal CD was filed in my collection, just waiting for it’s turn to be enjoyed by my hungry ears. Oh, the CD I am talking about? Dream Theater – “Systematic Chaos”. Try hard as I may, it is impossible for me to hear any chaos on this Dream Theater release, none. Instead, what I do hear, is what I will call Progressive perfection. Seriously, for me, the Progressive Metal music of Dream Theater is so accurate, structured, and created on the premise of musical integrity and musical knowledge. Honestly, I am schooled each and every time I give Dream Theater a listen. The musical dynamics that are occurring throughout “Systematic Chaos” makes me realize it may take quite a few more listens before I feel I have heard every key, lyric and note that mystically saturates this incredible album.
Here it is, list #5 in my soul searching quest to determine the greatest Metal album of all-time! I feel like I am nearing closure, the light is at the end of the Metal tunnel. Please feel free to chime in and throw at me any Metal album you have not seen on any of these lists thus far, that you feel is deemed worthy of nomination for the greatest Metal album ever. Why, for me to actually forget a legendary Metal masterpiece? Of course, I am only (Metalhead) human. Plus, the years of Metal have provided such a vast array of genres, so many cool and brilliant albums are out there. I will consider any Metal album suggestion that may come my way, despite my being a Heavy Metal expert – I am kidding of course, all you need to do is read my article on “experts”! Now without any more Metal delay, here goes another 10 nominations (in no particular order) for the greatest Metal album of all-time:
It was 1983 when I first heard Queensryche on the radio, I heard them on an FM station of course, on a radio show that aired on Saturday nights that was called “Metal Shop.” The very first song I ever heard from Queensryche was “Queen of the Reich,” I was hooked by this band ever since. Geoff Tate, in my opinion, has always had just as powerful and prolific vocals as any other singer in the history of Metal. Queensryche can and has fit right into a few different Metal genres, Heavy Metal, Metal and Progressive Metal. With their debut EP “Queensryche” released in 1983, I easily embraced this great Metal band and remembered telling anyone who would listen that this band was for real. Only 4 songs were on the “original” Queensryche EP, – “Queen of the Reich”, “Nightrider”, “Blinded” and “The Lady Wore Black”. These four songs paved the way of the Metal future for Queensryche, without a doubt, an important and historical Metal EP this is. 27 years of recording and touring, Queensryche proved to the world just how real they are! You can still buy this EP, it has since been re-released, (2003), with the addition of 10 bonus tracks. Now, that is far more tunes than the original 4 song, vinyl record I bought back in 1983!
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.