Aug 15, 2024 Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Oh boy. I was really hyped to listen to this album. For the most part all of the non-rap picks in this group have been great (I've actually revisited Americana quite a bit). and... this album is f---ing amazing. Prior to this I had only listened to IM because "2 Minutes to Midnight" was on the Vice City soundtrack. Ik this is unrelated to the music, but the cover is awesome. I listened to this record a few times (it goes crazy while weightlifting) and everything just kinda... fit together perfectly. My favorite would definitely either be "Can I Be With Madness" or "The Clairvoyant" but I enjoyed every song on here. Bruce Dickinson's vocals are great but d---, the RIFFS. Dave Murray and Adrian Smith absolutely killed it. The energy kinda reminded me of Dio-era Black Sabbath which is great since Heaven and h--- is one of my favorite metal albums of all time. Considering that @Wreckless said that this is the culmination of their creative peak, I'll definitely check out the albums leading up to this one. I've heard that Number of the Beast is another good one so that'll probably be my next listen. Favorites: Can I Play With Madness, The Prophecy, The Clairvoyant Rating: 9/10
Aug 15, 2024 I enjoyed that tbh. I still haven’t listened to the deluxe though lmao. I’ve been listening to his song “Hate Me” with Yachty a lot more lol
Aug 15, 2024 Glad you enjoyed the album! Number of the Beast is one of their most iconic releases and I’m sure you’ll love it. Maiden's more recent work is also fantastic. After Seventh Son, they went through a rough period in the 90s, but they made a very strong comeback in 2000 with Brave New World and have since released other impactful albums like A Matter of Life and Death. Can I Play with Madness always seems to get a love/hate with Maiden fans. I'm on the same boat as Justin with that song.
Aug 16, 2024 Ice Cube - Laugh Now, Cry Later Little late, but anyways; I forgot how great of a producer Lil Jon is. Its easy to remember his screams but dude made some bangers. I really like Cube's energy, he has that agressive delivery without it getting annoying like Eminem in his Recovery days. The album switches up lay back songs like Growin Up, Gotta Lotta That & Doin What It Pose 2 Do w absolute bangers like Go to Church. WC really is a nice addition to the album and Snoopy delivers as always. GTC is one of my favorite collabs of all time tbh. The great thing about this album is you can listen and vibe to it front to back, but also listen to every one of them (aside from skits ofc) on shuffle because they all f---ing slap! Fav songs; Go to church, stop snitching, spitting pollaseeds, chrome and paint... but really almost all of them lol 8/10 @AOTWClub
Aug 16, 2024 Laugh Now, Cry Later Hadn't listened to this in legit like 15 years and I have to say...a lot of this did not hold up for me lol. Some albums you can listen to and pinpoint exactly when they're released without knowing their release date (Illmatic for an easy example), which isn't inherently a bad thing...but this feels dated rather than simply "of the time," if that makes sense (I'd use Recovery for an easy example of an album that feels super dated). Look to some of the best albums that came out in 2006 (h--- Hath No Fury, Fishscale, Food & Liquor...h--- even Snoop's uneven but solid Blue Carpet Treatment) and you'll find they don't instantly date themselves like this album does. I forgot how awful s--- like "Smoke Some Weed" is lmao. I've never been thaaaaaat into post-90s ice cube to begin with tho (but I'm excited to hear what insane conspiracy theories he talks about if he ever makes another album). Don't get me wrong, there's some great songs on here like Why We Thugs, Go to Church, Doin What It Posed 2 Do, etc...but it wears out its welcome pretty fast and the dated sound of it makes it something I'm not eager to go back to as an album. I'd rather just listen to Gangsta Gangsta 21 times in a row to remember how good he used to be 4/10 @AOTWClub
Aug 16, 2024 @AOTWClub @icecube Laugh Now, Cry Later has scored a 6.5 overall, reviews for the album were all over the map. One of the lower rated albums but still a solid album choice
Aug 16, 2024 @AOTWClub Out of all the classic Heavy Metal bands Iron Maiden are the ones that I've listened to the least, hopping in on a later more conceptual record was an interesting starting point but I appreciate Wreck for picking it. I feel like a lot of bands in this era when they were scrambling for ideas for new records went into this weird fantastical slightly corny (not an insult) medieval sounding concept albums, but they're usually also enjoyable and this isn't an exception. Most of the other reviews on this brought up the lyrics and concept so I'll go a different route and that that I really enjoyed the instrumentation and how over the top the vocal performance was, I also loved how cohesive all the songs were, it felt like one journey instead of one long song which could be tiring if you don't walk that tightrope well. I also feel like I'd enjoy some of their heavier works but as @Wreckless said it's a good starting point for people not as invested in the genre. The commitment to large scale long songs is something I enjoy which doesn't really happen anymore due to how streaming works unfortunately. The riffs and drum work are my favorite part of the record in particular and I look forward to hearing more! Favorite Songs: Moonchild, Infinite Dreams, The Evil That Men Do, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Least Favorites: N/A I have been super busy so I wish I got more time with this one but I'm definitely keeping the album saved cause I know it's gonna grow on me even more than it already did. I hate doing s-----y decimal placements but I felt like this was the right score so feel free to round up or down to a 7 or 7.5 @Justin Trudeau lol RATING: 7.3/10
Aug 16, 2024 I know my score won’t be counted since I’m late but I will still submit my review tonight/early tomorrow! Haven’t had the time this week at all to sit and take the album in. Excited to hear the whole project since it brought in surprisingly mixed opinions
Aug 16, 2024 My next pick is locked but don't give me any ideas cause a few bands immediately popped into my mind as soon as you said that
Aug 18, 2024 @AOTWClub @Yeez can make his pick today for next weeks Album Only 5 reviews in for Iron Maiden, starting to think the Death of Slim Shady was also the Death of album of the Week Club. I'll tally up Iron Maiden this week on Tuesday or Wednesday
Aug 18, 2024 We got a festival over here this weekend so glad I got the ice cube album in! @Wreckless I will try to listen to this anyway later if you deleted your grudge!
Aug 18, 2024 Maybe the album is too old. left out and forgotten like the elderly, so old school it might as well be in a museum.
