Author Topic: Best of the Best  (Read 10362 times)

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Offline IronCretin

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Best of the Best
« on: April 17, 2007, 07:14:47 am »
Hmmm, thought it might be kinda cool for everyone to state their favorite band members for each category:
Guitarist, Bassist, Vocalist, Drummer, Favorite Composer/Songwriter annnnd 'Misc', just for anything that doesn't fit into the other categories.
Rules:
1. Only pick ONE person for each category.
2. These are not necessarily the most TECHNICAL, just your favorites
3. Only ONE member of any band may be represented in each post (just so everyone doesn't go, I LOVE EVERY MEMBER OF THERION), this is to encourage others to listen to your music, and gain a deeper appreciation for other bands, so if you pick Therion's vocalist as your favorite vocalist, you can't pick Therion's members for best drummer, bassist, etc.
4. TRY and list a specific example of the selected musicians talent.  ie. The solo at 1:30 of *track*
5.  That's it.  .  .  Here are my picks:

Bassist:  John DeFarfalla: Formerly of Opeth, played for Orchid and Morningrise.  I just love his technique, his character and how he underlies the music.  I'm not sure how he's set his bass, but it really has this groove-vibe to it.  Take, for example, around the 1:04 mark on Under the Weeping Moon, he gets this Bwow. . . Or 6:41 of In Mist She Was Standing (Fzzzeohh-bum bum bum bum bum) which then goes into this heart-beat pulse at around 7:16, frickin' awesome.  Finally, from Advent, at the 9:33 mark he goes into this kinda bass solo, kinda like an arpeggio. . . pretty cool.  There are other areas, but those are the ones that, to me, stick out.  It's just pretty awesome. . . and pretty dominant at times, one of the reasons Mikael asked him to leave Opeth (he wanted the bass to be more prominant).  Honorable mentions: Geezer Butler. . . Highlights: Check out Hand of Doom. . . frickin' awesome!

Guitarist:  Well, this is actually a real challenge for me. . . I was GOING to pick Adrian Smith (see below) but I think I'll have to go with Tom Morello (formerly from Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine), simply for the two soloes: Original Fire at 2:27. . . Waoooo Wickey wickey WAOOOO wickey wicky. . . you get the idea, LoL, and Like a Stone at 2:54. . . wow. . . frickin' emotional.  Honorable Mentions: Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden.  Check out the Stranger in a Strange Land solo starting around 3:18.  Also check out his work on Phantom of the Opera, Children of the Damned, Lonliness of the Long Distance runner. . . I better stop there, LoL.  I really do like his work, which is most apparent on the Somewhere in Time. . . awesome guitarist.  Nothing flash, just good playing, nice compositions. Also, Jack White from The White Stripes (check out Ball and Bisquit and Astro, great riffs).  Oh, and who could forget Dimebag Darrell. . . wow. . . Cemetary Gates. . . one of the most emotional guitar pieces ever.   

Drummer: Ooooo, I SO want to pick Martin Lopez from Opeth. . . BUT, unfortunately, I already picked an Opeth member (CURSE YOUR RULES CREEEEETIIIIN). . . I guess I'm going to have to go with Bill Ward from Black Sabbath.  Literally THE only drummer, EVER, to make me rewind to hear a fill, and that fill (more of a solo really) is in Rat Salad from 1:15 to 2:07.  Also, the transition from Jack the Stripper to Fairies Wear Boots: 4:00 to 4:13 (or so).  Honorable mentions: Kai Hahto in Wintersun.  Check out ALL of Winter Madness. . . pretty cool stuff.  Also listen to Rotten Sounds Western Cancer.  Oh, and of course, Martin Lopez gets an honorable mention.  Watch the Lamentations Dvd by Opeth to see him in action. . . Wow, awesome.  Manages to get TRUE feeling out of his drums.

Vocalist:  Now THIS is the hardest category.  I've decided to go with Chris Cornell (formerly from Soundgarden and Audioslave) for his work on Rusty Cage, Outshined, Gun, Uncovered, Like a Stone, Moth, Sound of a Gun, and Broken City.  I suppose this is KIND of cheating, but Audioslave is now defunct, and I like his work from Soundgarden too. . . I mean, this guy has an awesomely gritty voice, but can make it smooth as silk at times.  Truly what I'd like to be as a vocalist.  Honorables:  Bruce Dickinson. . . he's called the air raid siren for a reason!  Listen to Run to the Hills, Hallowed be thy Name, Children of the Damned, Stranger in a Strange Land, the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.  Also, Serj Tankian from System of a Down.  Listen to Streamline (WoW! The guitar also SCREAMS in this track), Violent Pornography, Sugar, Suggestions, Toxicity, Aerials. . . frickin' awesome.

Composers/Songwriters:  Jari Maenpaa-  Not only did he WRITE everything on the original Wintersun album, he also PERFORMED everything but the drums.  WoW.  I mean, everything about his work OOZES with atmosphere.  It sounds EXACTLY like the title suggests, a wintersun.  He captures an ice cold/astral feel in all of his songs, yet they all have a distinct feel to them.  DEFINATELY an awesome piece of art.  Check out the entire album, Wintersun.  Honorable Mentions:  Dio, for his work with Dio and Rainbow.  The lyrics of Stargazer are INCREDIBLE.  Same goes for Holy Diver, and Don't Talk to Strangers. . . and Shame on the Night.  SO good.  Also, Mikael Akerdfeldt. . . for every album he's ever made.  Every member of Iron Maiden (except Nicko. . . who co-wrote on one song. . . which was pretty lacklustre).  ANNNND Johnny Cash. . . Wow.  He can take ANY song and make it his own. . . could, R.i.P.

Misc:  Ummmmm. . . Claudio Sanchez (from Coheed and Cambria), for making a concept span over 4 albums (and counting!). . . and most of it is pretty good. . .

I guess that's it.  I hope this was interesting to all those that read it. . . Hopefully some others will post and we can all appreciate the awesomeness of these artists. . .

~The (Spent WAYYYYY Too Much Time Writing This) Cretin~




Offline Ortelius

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2007, 02:40:46 pm »
Best of the best ay?  Ok.

Bassist - Steve Digiorgio - Sadus, Death, Control Denied and too many others too mention - Talents - fretless bass wonder - has a lovely solo run on the track "Echoes of Forever" off 'Vision of Misery' at 4:40-4:55 or so.  He just adds so much more colour to whatever he's playing on.

Guitarist - Tommy T. Baron - Coroner - I'm no guitarist, so when my friend fell off the couch when I played "Serpent Moves" off 'Grin', I thought that was proof enough. 

Vocalist - Bruce Dickinson - Iron Maiden - really like the solo stuff where he seems to be able to stretch a little more and do so more mellow stuff, more 'seasoned' shall we say - like the vocals on "Navigate the Seas of the Sun" off 'Tyranny of Souls'

Drummer - Nick Menza from Megadeth for some strange reason... possibly 'coz I listened to "Rust in Peace" the other day - no solos, as such, but I likes the production, really punchy and in-your-face

Songwriter - Martin Walkyier of Sabbat fame - the lyrics to "Dreamweaver" are just magical, the man's gift for bringing together ideas from Brian Bate's book "The Way of Wyrd" with heavy metal to unleash what IMHO is one of the best concept record's ever:-

ADVENT OF INSANITY 2:27
(Music: Sneap/Lyrics: Walkyier)

Cello Player: Jan Tilman Schade

A sea breeze whispers softly
it's song echoes through your mind,
leaves you thinking of tomorrow
and the life you left behind.
Come turn your head to face the
wind that fills enchanted sails,
and drives you to your destiny
as silent sirens wail. -

A sad lament for travellers
held in the hands of fate,
your future stands upon the prow -
your past drowns in the wake.
What chance is here for sanity
when madness takes the helm,
and steers you on a downward
spiral to his lonely realm?

Watch the night-sky-seagulls fly
and in the heavens play.
Yet even angels stoop and still
pick nothing up they say.
There are things far more sinister
that haunt the midnight air,
the sirens serenade a warning
telling you:-

"Beware - the waves upon the water
are like ripples in your mind,
and the shadows cast by nature
show the future you may find.
As rivers flow because they know
that they must join the sea -
thus you will be carried on to
meet your destiny."

Miscellaneous - well an artist, if I'm going to have a supergroup I need an album cover - and only Les Edwards will do - he did the cover used for Metallica's "Jump in the Fire" ep - he's done better than that, though.

There's my two bob's worth...

Offline IronCretin

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2007, 03:24:07 am »
Wow, those lyrics are REALLY similar to Talse of Brave Ulysees, by Cream. . .

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Offline Sirius13

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2007, 05:34:35 pm »
Guitarist - Tommy T. Baron - Coroner - I'm no guitarist, so when my friend fell off the couch when I played "Serpent Moves" off 'Grin', I thought that was proof enough. 
Excellent, excellent, superb, choice Ortelius!  The best guitarist in the history of the entire existence of anything EVER, and coincidentally also the best guitarist in the history of the pre-history of anything ever.
...er, I agree.  Can you tell?  :ninja:
For the benefit of others, his real name:  Tommy Vetterli.  Coroner were WAY ahead of their time.

Obviously it goes without saying (so I'll say it anyway) that the butler/ward/dio mentions from Mr Cretin are absolutely wholeheartedly endorsed by me. 


Anyway, here are some choices from me (apologies in advance for breaking the rules set out in the original post!):
Guitar - Vetterli, as already mentioned.  And of course Mr Iommi for a whole host of entirely other reasons, mainly involving the entire creation of the concept of metal.  And Jussi Maijala (Spiritus Mortis) for taking that whole concept of metal and applying groove in a way that no others can - a masterful raw abilty/talent.

Bass - Teemu Maijala, from Spiritus Mortis.  I am generally not over-fussed with bass, as long as it's there doing it's job, but the debut SM album actually made my jaw drop in appreciation.  Masterful craft.  I'd also have to break the rules here, and re-mention Sabbath & Coroner members:  Geezer Butler, and Ron Broder.  Butler because... well just because.  And Broder for his versatility and added vocals.

Vocals - Mob Rules album is vocal perfection, so I have to say Dio as top.  Vesa Lampi from Spiritus Mortis is an absolutely unique talent.  Powerful and engaging, a fantastic story teller.

Drums - Bill Ward.  Pure natural ability.

Lyricist - Markus Edelmann (Coroner drummer).  Superbly poetic dark lyrics open to lots of personal interpretations.  Geezer Butler for the early Sabbath material.


Overall there are loads of great talents and great musicians out there, but for me there are only three bands that are eternally burned into my conscious as being totally essential and un-matchable and utterly irreplacable:  Sabbath, Coroner, and Spiritus Mortis.  Each of these contain not just one master, but a combination of masters that blend to create truly unique genius work.  Honourable mention to Testament (Skolnik/Peterson/Billy combo) and Rob Cavestany for his guitars/vocals in The Organisation and guitars in Death Angel).

EDIT:  er... and Judas Priest, obviously!
« Last Edit: April 18, 2007, 05:36:20 pm by Sirius13 »
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Offline Ortelius

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2007, 01:10:05 am »
Salutations to the Death Cult Lodge!  All Hail Coroner!   :bow:

A band that constantly evolved, expanded their musical palette, etc, etc, - puts paid to the idea that metal is somehow juvenile or trivial - a mature artform I say!

Why didn't they get more coverage / acclaim?  Seems only now people are really considering their worth...



Offline Nighthawk

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2007, 12:22:27 pm »
I'm still thinking about the bassist(s), so I'll add that later.


Drums:: Neal Peart, without a doubt. This man's uncanny ability to grow musically is the stuff of legends, not to mention the scope of his drumset. Limelight shows a bit of what he can do, both musically and lyrically, although whatever you can find of his music will do just nicely.


Guitarist: The hardest choice I ever had to make. Basically, two guitarists come to mind – David Gilmour and Stevie Ray Vaughan. So, if I had my way with 'em, I'd have them *both* playing. Besides, I'd need *at least* two guitars in my überband. Why David? Well, Bob, now that you ask, I find his emotional style of guitar playing compelling, to say the least, orgasmic, to be more precise, and just plain mind-blowing at times. Best example of this man's unquestionable skill is the last solo in Comfortably Numb, the one that ebbs and flows throughout the last 4-5 minutes (I am, of course, referring to the PULSE version of Comfortably Numb), a solo that stands as the best example of a heavenly sound and what a solo should be for me. Why Stevie? This man took Hendrix places where he's never been. True, that might be exaggerating it a bit, but I oh so love the man – listen to Lenny or Tin Pan Alley if you want to hear a bit of the man's sound. Also, his cover of Little Wing is considered by many to be even better than Hendrix's original.

Or! The other two guitarists I adore with all my groupie heart, Mike Oldfield and Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser, could just as easily step in. Mike's distinct sound and musical expertise (as heard on Tubular Bells, Five Miles Out and, of course, Moonlight Shadow) captured the aforementioned groupie heart with ease, and as for Buck, well… Buck. Need I say more? I guess I do. Listen to Then came the last days of May to get a feeling of what the man is capable of – or, if you just want a quick fix, the last Astronomy solo or the solo in (Don't Fear) The Reaper will do.

So, my choice for guitarist(s) would be David Gilmour, Donald Roeser, Mike Oldfield and Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's a cryin' shame the last one's deceased.

Vocals – Serj Tankian. The one thing I *need* to hear when listening to a band (especially its singer), is emotion. I don't really care about their level of technical proficiency – they can be the lameasest band of nitwits or the greatest technicians the world has ever known, but if I don't feel that special something something, I don't much care for their work. Bearing that in mind, Serj is one of those artists I just can't help but admire. Profoundly disturbed vocals. My first choice was, actually, Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian and Demons & Wizards fame), but when I took into consideration what kind of band this would be, sound wise, Serj appeared to be the best solution.

Mats Leven and/or Snowy Shaw come to mind as well, mainly because they blew me away live :) But no, Serj it is.



Hansi, Mats and Snowy can provide the backup vocals. Now *that* I'd like to hear.

Songwriter [or, rather, Lyricist] – Oooh, tough one. Lyrics are *immensely* important in the world of mine, so more than one artists springs to mind. I've already used Neal Peart, so I won't even mention him.



Whoops.

Paul Simon is an obvious choice. Roger Waters is the runner-up or, rather, the other guy writing the lyrics for my superband (the name of which could only be CrapCity Prepelitza Blues Band, even if they didn't play blues).

Composer – I decided to add a new category, because under Songwriter I had poets. Here, I have Musical Bunnies. Composing the pieces, together with the rest of the band and concentrating on the orchestral background elements, would be Christofer Johnsson and Ludwing van Beethoven. Now, I'm not sure Chris and Ludie would hit it off, considering that all of Chris' complaints would fall on deaf ears, but to hear them perform something together… aaah, the stuff of dreams. They actually would hit it off, because I'm of the conviction that the Fifth Symphony didn't have electric guitars just because of technological issues. Incorporate into, say the Ninth intricate solos by the four mentioned guitarists, on top of a Simon/Waters contemplative poem held together by peartean drums and a choir consisting of the singers I've mentioned…

I've changed my mind. The name of the band would be Orgasm.
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Offline IronCretin

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2007, 02:08:50 pm »
I just have one question. . . who's Bob. . . and why did he ask such a stupid question??

LoL.

Seriously though. . . Gilmour's pretty awesome. . . I guess. . . LoL.  My bro is a MASSIVE fan of Vaughn. . . I seem to have some strange obsession with Serj. . . I am hoping he will be the surrogate for my love child. . . preferably with him. 

When I make a band (which I will. . . and which will be AWESOME). . . I'm gonna name it Pilate. . . unless that's taken. . . IT'S MINE ALLLLLL MIIIIIIINE!

~THE (Pontius) CRETIN~

Offline Sirius13

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2007, 04:18:35 pm »
Salutations to the Death Cult Lodge!  All Hail Coroner!   :bow:

A band that constantly evolved, expanded their musical palette, etc, etc, - puts paid to the idea that metal is somehow juvenile or trivial - a mature artform I say!

Why didn't they get more coverage / acclaim?  Seems only now people are really considering their worth...
All hail the DCL! (I still have a DCL t-shirt!  :lol:)
The band just got no support from Noise Records, who were far too busy expanding their endless list of bands to actually bother supporting any of them.  The band just became disillusioned with the whole industry and split.  Tragic!  :(
And I also believe that Coroner were genuinely so far ahead of their time that many people just couldn't take it all in.  :biggrin:
...not us though, obviously!  :wink2:
I've heard many bands from Noise complain of lack of support from that label.  Deathrow spring to mind, too.

Anyway, your assessment is spot on.  True art!
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Offline Sirius13

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2007, 11:24:13 pm »
Early Manowar too for good old-fashioned Metal entertainment!  :biggrin:

Metal Daze is one of my all-time favourite feel good tracks, typical of them when they're on form.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2007, 11:28:20 pm by Sirius13 »
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Offline comandante

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #9 on: July 27, 2007, 08:41:22 am »
vocals - Garm (arcturus, ulver) and Fabio Leone (Rhapsody)
guitars - Victor Smolsky(Rage, Pesnyari, Kipelov) and Luka Turilli (Rhapsody)
bass - DiGiorgio (Sadus, Death, Dragonlord, Testament), Steve Harris (IM) and Vitaliy Dubinin (Aria)
Drums - Masvidal (Morbid angel) and Von Blomberg (Mayhem, Arcturus, Dimmu borgir)
keys - guy from arcturus :unsure:forget his name

Offline VladH

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Re: Best of the Best
« Reply #10 on: July 27, 2007, 11:50:09 am »
My Metal select team...

Drums - Dave Lombardo (ex-Testament, Grip Inc., Fantômas, Slayer, Apocalyptica, Voodoocult)
Vocals - Dan Swanö (Another Life, Bloodbath (Swe), Brejn Dedd, Darkcide (Swe), Demiurg (Swe), Diabolical Masquerade, Edge of Sanity, Godsend (Nor), Incision (Swe), Infestdead, Karaboudjan, Katatonia (Swe), Maceration, Masticate, Nightingale, Odyssey (Swe), Overflash, Pan.Thy.Monium, Ribspreader, Route Nine, Steel (Swe), Total Terror, Unicorn (Swe), Sorskogen)
Bass - Andreas Wallan Wahl (Therion, Serpent)
Guitar - Ihsahn (Emperor, Zyklon-B (Nor), Peccatum, Thou Shalt Suffer, Wongraven, Ildjarn, Embryonic, Hardingrock)
Keys - Steinar Sverd Johnsen  (Arcturus, Covenant (Nor), Mortem (Nor), Satyricon)
The Longships are coming...