Albums that defined a band.

[Alex]

Bands come and bands go, but what album by a band defined them and showed that they had talent. Some bands have released one good album and several mediocre ones, others have released lots of good albums, but which one defined them???

For me Appetite For Destruction defined Guns n Roses. They had the chemistry which made the music flow they had well written songs and every members presence was felt (Rose's vocals, Slash's guitar Duff's bass, Adlers' drums and Izzy's rhythm guitar. After that the chemistry started to disappear as Axl Rose argued with members and some of the members left, the band decided to release lots of covers on the later albums. (covers are good but not an entire album full) When Chinese Democracy came out it sounded like a load of medocrity as Axl Rose tried to recreate that chemistry he had with the original members with a load of new guys and it didn't work

 

[IrishCanadian25]

GREAT thread idea. I like this.

Pearl Jam - Ten. Every album that Pearl Jam ever did since this one was compared in some way to Ten, and always unfavorably. Sadly, Pearl Jam set their own bar so high, the remainder of their careers was just a steady "near miss" during which they produced some amazing music.

U2 - Joshua Tree. They've had other amazing albums (Achtung, Baby!) but still, Joshua Tree was definitive. With or Without You. Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for. Bullet the Blue Sky.

Live - Throwing Copper. That's right X, eat me. Throwing Copper is one of my picks for top 3 albums of the 90's, and this was Live's definitive opus. Brilliant band, brilliant writing, tremendous execution. From "I, Alone" to "Shit Towne" to "Pillar of Davidson" and "White, Discussion" the album touched on so many topics.

Green Day - Dookie. Again, some of their other work has been great, but top to bottom Dookie (along side my next pick) signaled a main-stream return to prominence for Punk Rock.

Offspring - Smash. See above.

 

[NSL]

I'll stick to my favorite bands for this thread, so it may not necessarily be the greatest bands, or the greatest albums.

Godsmack ~ Godsmack - They released their self-titled album after touring Massachusetts' bars and taverns, and it catapulted them to stardom. This album set the stage for their sound, made their statement that they were going to be flat-out rock 'n' roll, and it never changed after that.

All That Remains ~ This Darkened Heart - It may not be their best album, but it was the album that defined them, and showed the direction the band was going. Phil started using cleaner vocals, the production values went way up, and their fan base really started to grow here.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

Dream Theater - Metropolis pt.2:Scenes From A Memory
This is the album that changed everything in the progressive metal world, and even branced out to all other sub-genres of prog. The widely recognized "masterpiece" of progressive music, it is by far Dream Theater's greatest statement. Not many albums have even come close to touching the greatness of this record.

You have to check it out if you have yet to hear it

 

[The Dewbliners]

Damn it all, IC!!! You stole my favorite band, in the form of Pearl Jam.

Anyhow, my picks are probably rather predictable.

1. The Paperdoll EP- Kittie- This is pretty much their signature sound. Loud, angry, and (proverbial) Balls to the wall. Being their first big record, at least in my area, it's been a little difficult for them to follow up. Can't get much more defined than that.

2. Lie to Me-Jonny Lang- This was his debut solo record, and boy did he deliver on it. He gave us a new standard on blues music. So much so, Eric freakin' Clapton called him the best blues guitarist of the modern era. Songs like the title track, written and recorded at the tender age of 15, had so much soul people stood up and took notice.

3. Forgiven, Not Forgotten-The Corrs- This record has everything you could want from them. They gave us traditional instrumentals (Lough Erin Shore, Haste to the Wedding), ballads (Forgiven, Not Forgotten) and even a couple of pop style songs. I would say that they still perform this recordings live at concerts, but alas, they don't tour/record as a band anymore. Still, their most well known album, save the abortion known as In Blue, and this was 13 years ago. That speaks volumes.

Honorable Mention to:

You and Me and The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy- You can't get much bigger than the band that single handedly kicked off the neo-swing movement. Forget the BSO, never mind CPD, the Daddy were responsible, with both this album, and their contributions to the Swingers OST.

 

[ImAStupidCuntWhoCantFollowRules]

Chinese Democracy is actually a defining album. It showed Guns N' Roses doesn't need Slash to sound good. And OP, Axl was nowhere near trying to duplicate the chemistry the AFD lineup had. The new lineup have their own chemistry.

Ten by Pearl Jam is another good one, mainly because all their other albums sucked.

War by U2: It's the beginning of the popular Bono protest songs and the band are starting to write better songs.

 

[Jonnie Walker]

Slipknot-Volume 3:The subliminal verses. The first two Slipknot albums, I felt, were great, the first one I think is a classic. This album was a pretty good album, but it changed Slipknot. If you were to tell me after those first two albums that Slipknot would turn into slow-song wannabe scary *****es in their late 30's, I'd have you admitted to a mental hospital. But it happened (fucking StoneSour).This turned Slipknot into what they are today.
Red Hot Chili Peppers-Blood Sugar Sex Magik. This album made the Chili Peppers into the band they are now. A little bit of the old sound, but mostly slower songs like Under the Bridge, I could have lied, and Breaking the girl. These songs led to albums like Californication, By the way, and Stadium Arcadium.(I refuse to mention One Hot Minute,or that awful Rollercoaster of love cover.)
Rage Against the Machine- Evil Empire. Their sound was more developed for this album. In the first album they were very rap sounding, and heavier. In this album, which I consider to be their best, they sounded more professional and not like a bunch of pissed off kids in their early 20's.
System of a Down-Toxicity. They lost their heavier sound, and introduced a little bit of a softer side with Daron singing more often. This led to Hypnotize and Mesmerize.
Now, you may be wondering, "Is this really what a guy named Tekkno Jonnie listens to?" Well to be quite honest. I don't really listen to Techno. Like at all. And my name's not Jonnie, or John.