Of the three Massive Attack albums from the 90s this is the one I'd rank as the classic, pushing in a more menacing direction than the more upbeat and relaxed Blue Lines [1991] or Protection [1994]. Its strong throughout (Man Next Door, Group Four etc) From [Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22703-mezzanine/) *.... But Massive Attack were the origin point of the trip-hop movement they and their peers were striving to escape the orbit of, and they nearly tore themselves to shreds in the process. Instead— or maybe as a result—they laid down their going-nova genre's definitive paranoia statement with Mezzanine. ..Originally set for a late ’97 release, Mezzanine got pushed back four months because Del Naja refused to stop reworking the tracks, tearing them apart and rebuilding them until they’re so polished they gleam. It sure sounds like the product of bloody-knuckled labor, all that empty-space reverb and melted-together multitrack vocals and oppressive low-end. (The first sound you hear on the album, that lead-jointed bassline on “Angel,” is to subwoofers what “Planet Earth” is to high-def television.) But it also groans with the burden of creative conflict, a working process that created rifts between Del Naja and Vowles, who left shortly after Mezzanine dropped following nearly 15 years of collaboration.*

*Believe me when I tell you - life won’t break your heart, it’ll crush it* This is a great album for when you’re feeling down and out a need a little catharsis. It’s also is very groovy and energetic in places. Andrew Weiss’ bass playing is a highlight. [Ripplemusic](https://ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2009/04/rollins-band-end-of-silence.html) *It’s not just the lyrical content that I’ve found amazing about this album. The End of Silence is jam packed with music that shreds any preconceived notion of what hardcore punk is all about. And, that’s probably because this is anything but a hardcore punk rock album! This album is hopped up rock n’ roll turned up to eleven, just so the notes are that much more distorted and that much more intense. *

Ace of Spades might be the best album they ever made but this one if a fave of mine. The time Brian Robertson was in the band may have been short but his influence on the recordings looks to have made for a great record (two solos in one song!?) It was always interesting to hear Lemmy remind people in live recordings that this was the one that everyone hated and nobody bought, but I like to think that by doing that and playing the longs live he was secretly stoked with the reevaluation. *Re-added due to prev deletion*

Most would say Blues for The Red Sun is the best, but I think this their third album is rock solid all the way through. Didnt get to see them in their initial run', but was able to catch Kyuss Lives! and Unida / Brant Bjork solo gigs over the years.

A recommendation engine brought me back to this album an genre that I hadn’t heard in years since drum and bass at a time that the style was in the public eye partly due to this album. It doesn’t feel like a strict adherent to the dnb aformula that you might find on other releases but feels dated to a period of time anyway. The next album moved away from the quieter style here to be something a bit more brash and cheesy and while I think the latter has grown on me more than this, this is the classic release. Size released a revised much shorten verson in 2008 new forms2 which reworks the songs found here.

There are a number of great albums in the Ween discography but this one is the classic, wrapping Gene and Dean Weens eclectic style in a nautically themed album. A lot more polished, but no less fun than previous albums like God Ween Satan or Pure Guava. *To this day, Ween continues to be one of the bands that exists on their own level- comparisons can be made, but the usually all fall short. The band defies genre simply because they embrace all genres and willfully craft outside any prescribed boundaries. This concept didn’t begin for the band on The Mollusk, but it was where this concept was brought to maturity and magnificence.* - [punknews.org](https://www.punknews.org/review/15158/ween-the-mollusk)

You could argue that the debut record is the classic (opening with Sailing on!] or rock for light, but the set of demo recordings from 1979 is a great collection of tunes. Recorded at inner ear (from the wikpedia article) *Inner Ear then consisted of Zientara's basement, outfitted with a 4-track TEAC quarter-inch tape deck and a small drum booth set up to one side.[3] Dr. Know, Jenifer, and Hudson set up in the basement space.[3] Since it lacked an isolation booth, H.R. ran his vocal mic out to the back yard and performed there* I don't have the liner notes in front of me but I believe its the son of the studio owner talking to the singer outside at the start of regulator. [Americansongwriter](https://americansongwriter.com/bad-brains-black-dots-reissue/) *It’s a breathless, often exhilarating, always intense ride with the 16 cuts barely breaking a half hour. All but one is under three minutes with a handful under two.*

You could probably pick the debut Nowhere as the better album, but this one is my pick. From the rerelease review by Brooklynvegan - *Going Blank Again was the sound of utter confidence backed up by great songs, creative arrangements, muscular playing and production that makes everything shine. You feel it from the first song, "Leave Them All Behind," a towering statement of intent that mixed shoegaze guitar heroics with one of their best-ever basslines, constant crushing drum fills, elements of dance music, and organ cribbed from The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again." It thrills across all eight minutes, and is one of the great album-openers -- and set-openers -- of all time.*

In the early 90s, where grunge and eurodance were all the rage, the Finnish psychedelic rock band Kingston Wall really stood out with its sound. The sound was considered retro at the time, and it drew from 60s-70s psychedelic rock, hard rock, prog and Middle Eastern music. This album really showed a more refined sound compared to their debut album and allowed their diverse influences to really shine. Sadly Kingston Wall dissolved some time after the release of their Tri-Logy album in 1994. The band's frontman Petri Walli left for India. Shortly after his return, on June 28th 1995, he jumped to his death from the tower of Töölö church in central Helsinki. Rest in Peace. As told by [AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/ii-mw0001168867): > II was the album where Kingston Wall most successfully merged their hard rock, progressive, psychedelic, and Middle Eastern sounds. Much of this owes to the bandmembers' instrumental interplay, which is given freer rein and allowed to stretch out more than on their other two albums. Ranging from the soaring guitar (acoustic and electric) and violin piece "Istwan" to the Zeppelin-esque blues of "And It's All Happening" and "Shine on Me," to the high octane jamming of "Palekastro," the stylistic palette is varied. Unfortunately, this variation also accounts for the one downright bad song, "Love Tonight" (think "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"-era Rod Stewart or bad Scorpions). On the other hand, Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" is actually a somewhat successful merging of disco and hard rock. The reissue bonus disc is composed of "Between the Trees" and "She's So Fine," originally from the "We Cannot Move" single, plus a live track, "Can't Get Through."

A classic that sounds great 50 years on. There’s no search and destroy on here but it’s a raw muscular album all the way through.

Not a fan or have a great knowledge of 70s rock music or the bands, but this is a pretty kick ass debut album. Sonically is sound great with the story being it was recorded in Tom Schloz’s own basement with him playing most of the instruments. The vocalist is a great fit. * It’s a classic, landmark album, immaculately crafted and full of great songs: * - Loudersound.

Many fans of Electric Wizard who are more familiar with Dopethrone may have missed this album, Ramesses was formed after the break up of the original electric wizard lineup following Let Us Prey. This second album say them craft an excellent album full of british pulp/horror themes and samples. Review from[ Rocksound](https://www.rocksound.tv/reviews/read/ramesses-take-the-curse): *Their second full-length, ‘Take The Curse’ is as dark and claustrophobic as they come, bursting at the seams with massive sludge riffs and enjoyably camp soundbites from 70s horror flicks. *

As said by [AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/ire-works-mw0000750303): _Ire Works succeeds in many of the same ways that their previous album did, while branching out creatively. They continue to toy with technical metal, blistering hardcore, jazz breaks, and post-punk, but here they evolve again by adding more twists and turns with additional electronic elements. While the merging of too many styles in hardcore can make for a convoluted result (see Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled release), the added instruments and genre changeups enhance the result rather than acting as ornamental distractions._

On the fourth HoF album (and the first with new member Jeff Matz - who remains in the band to this day) was the moment I think when the classic HoF sound emerged. From pitchfork: *To the collection (and Jack's) credit, it ends up a deflating experience listening to 2005's Blessed Black Wings in tandem. At the time of the earlier album's release, it seemed like Joe Preston's bass and Steve Albini's production had given High on Fire their most monumental, thunderous sound to date, but weirdly, it's pretty limp in comparison. Musically, Blessed Black was punkier, and in restrospect, the songwriting just isn't as good.*

Haven't heard this album for a long time but gave it a thrash. Was their third release and their first of two for a major label. Great album - catchy, muscular all the way through. Decibel placed it in their hall of fame - *From the coiled thump of “Consume” and dissonant thrash ‘n’ pummel of “Insurrection” to the fist-raising title track anthem and what is almost certainly the catchiest song about castrating rapists, like, ever (“Desperate Fool”), Scratch the Surface is not merely a great record; it is a transcendent one by the standards of any and all subsets of extreme music, an assertion borne out by the fact that the 2006 Sick of It All tribute album Our Impact Will Be Felt features enthusiastic Scratch covers from such stalwart heavies as Sepultura and Napalm Death.*