|
|
Post by Taliesin on May 5, 2014 1:30:12 GMT -6
I thought it might be cool to have a thread where we post our favourite album covers. I love collecting CDs of my favourite musical artists because they often put a lot of thought into the overall packaging. I hope as downloading music becomes more prevalent that CDs (and vinyl for that matter) don't become obsolete. So, yeah, post away, guys. Let's really appreciate the best album cover art that's out there, eh? I'll start with Amorphis. They're a Finnish heavy metal band that I only just recently discovered. I love their music of course, but I have to say their album covers are also amazing. Have a looksee... Tuonela (1999)  Eclipse (2006)  Silent Waters (2007)  Skyforger (2009)  Magic and Mayhem (2010)  The Beginning of Times (2011)  Circle (2013)  |
|
|
|
Post by Crouton on May 5, 2014 5:05:03 GMT -6
Those are all awesome covers. One that instantly comes to mind for me is this one by The Church.  When I was young I used to have a t-shirt of this actually that I got from one of their gigs. |
|
|
|
Post by Taliesin on May 5, 2014 6:45:39 GMT -6
Very cool cover there. I Googled some of their other album covers, and I think that's their best one. I had no idea they were from Australia! Billy Bragg is another singer I've liked listening to through the years, and a lot of his album covers tend to use quite strong iconography. It's because of this that they stand out as much as they do. Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy (1983)  Talking with the Taxman about Poetry (1986)  Don't Try This at Home (1991)  |
|
|
|
Post by Taliesin on May 6, 2014 17:35:27 GMT -6
I like me a bit of Johnny Cash, and some of his album covers were absolutely amazing. A mix of simple yet bold typeface and straightforward imagery often yielded some memorable looking covers. Orange Blossom Special (1965) has to be one of the coolest names for an album I've ever come across. It also has a cool cover. It's my intention to one day own this album!  He also did two live prison albums one after the other. There's At Folsom Prison (1968)  And At San Quentin (1969)  And then the double album reissue which is called, yup you guessed it, At Folsom Prison/At San Quentin (2009)  Unchained (1996)  American III: Solitary Man (2000)  American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)  But this last one gets me the most. There's just something about it. I mean, look at that weathered hand! And the book too! It's called My Mother's Hymn Book (2004)  |
|
|
|
Post by Midnattblod on May 8, 2014 1:17:39 GMT -6
this is both the same album but the one on top is the standard cover and the one below is the special edition cover, (which is the one I own).   the band is Battlelore. they are a Finnish folk metal band whose lyrics are inspired by Tolkien's work. |
|
|
|
Post by Taliesin on May 8, 2014 6:32:48 GMT -6
I'm loving those covers, Midnattblod. I've been listening to some of the band's songs on YouTube, and they're very much to my liking. Excellent taste there my friend. |
|
|
|
Post by sjfaerlind on May 8, 2014 8:13:58 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by Midnattblod on May 8, 2014 13:32:17 GMT -6
I'm loving those covers, Midnattblod. I've been listening to some of the band's songs on YouTube, and they're very much to my liking. Excellent taste there my friend. yea a buddy of mine got me into them when I was a senior at High School. I had given him my Zune and asked him to put all the Folk Metal he had onto it and this was one of the bands he had. There are a few more that I will probably post later if I can but yea. |
|
|
|
Post by Liv the Librarian on May 8, 2014 19:06:16 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliesin on May 8, 2014 19:30:33 GMT -6
Here are some of my faves of Amethystium:    Very cool covers there, sjfaerlind. And another band to start listening to if I like 'em. First Liv the Librarian with Okkervil River, then Midnattblod with Battlelore, and now you with Amethystium. Man, I love the people on this forum! yea a buddy of mine got me into them when I was a senior at High School. I had given him my Zune and asked him to put all the Folk Metal he had onto it and this was one of the bands he had. There are a few more that I will probably post later if I can but yea. Please do. I'll be very interested to check them out. Oh, and Liv? I have I Am Very Far so far. Which of Okkervil River's albums would you recommend next? |
|
|
|
Post by Midnattblod on May 10, 2014 0:04:46 GMT -6
 this is probably one of my favorite album covers ever and probably my favorite cd by this band. |
|
|
|
Post by Liv the Librarian on May 10, 2014 1:48:09 GMT -6
Oh, and Liv? I have I Am Very Far so far. Which of Okkervil River's albums would you recommend next? because it's their best album without a doubt. I love that album and I don't know where I would be in my life had I not stumbled upon it when I did. I'm actually going to listen to it right now before I go to sleep. It's raw and beautiful and bone-chilling. Will Sheff really shows us his genius with this album and nothing they release will ever top it. Good luck wanting to listen to anything else for a while  I have a feeling it's going to reach you in some of the ways it reached me. For Real and Black are my two most listened to songs on this album. This is one of their few albums that doesn't have a single song I will skip on it. After that, here is the order in which I would listen, and it's not the order that I preference them either, just the best way to discover them, in my opinion: Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See: it's their first official full album and the precursor to Black Sheep Boy. It's fantastic and beautiful, and incredibly folk-rock. Banjos and mandolins everywhere. Westfall is on that album, and it's the song that got me into the band, and if the instrumentals were right, I'd say it belongs on Black Sheep Boy. Red, Happy Hearts, and Okkervil River Song have all made me cry. Dead Dog is a fan favourite. Stand Ins: This album man, it's just fantastic. It's their fifth album. Lost Coastlines was my personal anthem for the longest time. Though, I will admit that Blue Tulip and Pop Lie don't really seem to fit with the rest of the album. The entire album though, is basically just about people who don't matter anymore, or never did, and the journey that they go on in life. Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979 is my favourite song on the album because it's perfect. Stage Names: Their fourth album and you can just tell they aren't going anywhere ever lol. Unless It's Kicks is one of my all time favourite Okkervil River songs ever. I mean, you can get lost in it, it's just amazing. John Allyn Smith Sails is also great. It's funny in a way at some parts, but in a macabre way. You'll notice at this point that Okkervil River has knack for writing about sad things life to wonderfully cheery tunes. The Silver Gymnasium: This is their latest album. I love it because it's so retro. They step almost entirely away from the darkness that was in their first few albums, but still existed in I Am Very Far, and you can just feel the catharsis that Will Sheff underwent somewhere in his life. I suggest it second to last because you need to understand the band on an emotional level before you get to the end. Will Sheff says my name in Walking Without Frankie and the moment I heard that, my life was complete lol. I texted almost everyone I knew about and no one cared, but that didn't matter because WILL SHEFF SAYS MY NAME. This album makes you feel nostalgic because from what Will Sheff has written about it, that's basically what it's about. Down the River of Golden Dreams: This is their worst album, in my honest opinion. It's still good, but I hardly ever listen to it (and often forget about it). Will Sheff seems to have tried to transition into something he wasn't ready for yet. It's the second album and you can tell that he was trying to be ready for the darkness that is Black Sheep Boy, but just couldn't find it. I do have a few Okkervil River fans that love this album though, so maybe you'll love it too. I mean, hey, it's still Will Sheff (I want to make love to his voice lol). I suggest it last not because it's my least favourite, but because it doesn't really flow with the transition of discovery/emotion/the band as well as the other albums do. Though, I do like a lot of the songs on the album, just something about the album as a whole rubs me the wrong way and I haven't listened to it in a couple of years. Also, if you could give me your review of I Am Very Far, I'd be really interested to hear it. I don't think I know anyone who started with that album yet, and I'm glad that you did and that you liked them enough to ask for the next album you should get. I Am Very Far is flawless, except for that We Need a Myth song, can't stand it... it's down there with Blue Tulip for me lol), and The Rise. Something about those two songs just doesn't flow with the rest of the album for me. *cough* Anyway, sorry for the wall of text but I'm extremely passionate about Okkervil River. And sorry that it's sort of rambly... I'm really tired -.- |
|
|
|
Post by Taliesin on May 10, 2014 8:24:04 GMT -6
Liv the Librarian, I would be very happy to give you a review of I Am Very Far because I was blown away by it. Will Sheff has a vocal style that makes me sit up and take notice, and not too many singers have made me do that. The last time I remember being that blown away was when I heard David Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand for the first time, so that hopefully gives you an indication of how much I like Will. I'm going to listen to the album a few more times from Monday though (while I'm drawing) because I've only listened to it a mere eight times so far. Trust me, that's not a lot for something I'm absolutely mad about. If I love something, I will listen to it until the CD player dies or the CD melts. I'm a little bit obsessive that way. When I heard Wovenhand's Mosaic for the first time, it literally did not leave my player for the next six weeks. I'm that insane. When I write the review, I might start another thread for it. Maybe one for album reviews in general? I don't know. I haven't decided yet. Anyway, I'm glad you introduced me to them. I'm always glad when I get to become more acquainted with the everything that an exciting new band has done (well, new to me)!
|
|
|
|
Post by Liv the Librarian on May 10, 2014 8:29:26 GMT -6
I could make an album review sub-section. That might be a lot of fun for those of us who are really passionate about the music we listen to.
I can't wait to see your artwork when you are listening to Black Sheep Boy, you have got to make a point to show me some of it. It will definitely have an influence.
|
|
|
|
Post by Taliesin on May 10, 2014 8:51:31 GMT -6
Well, I'll be working on my webcomic, so I'm not sure what kind of effect it will have yet. It might be more in the story than in the visuals, but who knows? Ha ha! It'll be nice to have some great new music to work to though, so I'm looking forward to that. You should definitely start that album review section because I have a few albums I'd love to share my impressions of with you guys. Music has been a huge part of my life for the last 25 years, and many of my favourite songs often came along during my darkest times. They've comforted me in ways that nothing else ever could have. I'm so grateful to the artists that dared to pour their souls out when they created this stuff. I don't know where I would be now if it hadn't been for them. Which brings to mind Virgin Black. Their final album was called Requiem: Fortissimo, and it was pure doom metal from start to finish. Talk about an emotional gut punch! I was heading into a real crisis of faith that would last the next four years, and end up with me finally leaving Christianity behind. This album was at the beginning of all of that, and it vividly articulated the kind of spiritual upheaval I was going through. It put into words all the garbage I couldn't. Also, that cover. God. It really got me.  |
|
I have a feeling it's going to reach you in some of the ways it reached me. For Real and Black are my two most listened to songs on this album. This is one of their few albums that doesn't have a single song I will skip on it.