Sunday, January 07, 2018

Thoughts Without Words: Trifecta albums

Remember when I used to blog? Anyway, it has been awhile.

So I was thinking the other day about bands that released 3 albums in a row that are just "all killer, no filler". And as I thought about it more, I realized that making 3 great albums in a row is very hard. This post will look at some of my favorite bands and see if they every had a trifecta.


Metallica: definitely. I would say they hit 4 in a row. Their 1st 4 albums are all classics. But if you were to narrow it down to 3 I would say Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and And Justice for All. 

Megadeth: Yes. They actually could lay claim that their first 5 albums are all classics. But I would also go with their 2nd half albums, The World Needs a Hero, The System has Failed, and United Abominations. 

Trivium: Nope. This hurts cause I love Trivium. Their debut and Ascendancy are good, but The Crusade ruins that run. Shogun and In Waves started it up again, only to be stopped by Vengeance Falls. And their last two albums aren't the beginning of a trifecta run either.

Shadows Fall: Yep. Of One Blood, The Art of Balance & The War Within. In fact, if not for Threads of Life, Shadows Fall could have had the perfect run.

Killswitch Engage: Nope. Alive or Just Breathing & End of Heartache are classics. As Daylight Dies kills that one though. ADD doesn't bring anything new to the game so to speak. And the songs, just don't compare. They almost did it again with Killswitch Engage II & Disarm the Descent, but Incarnate was just above average.

All That Remains:  Nope. Their debut & The Fall of Ideals are classics. Their sophomore album is just blah. Sounds too much like KsE. Overcome is ok, but For We are Many is the beginning of the end of this band.

Into Eternity: Nope. Buried in Oblivion and Scattering of Ashes are solid, but Incurable Tragedy is too short and Dead or Dreaming suffers from some poor production.

In Flames: Yes. Whoracle, Colony, and Clayman are classics in Swedish Death Metal. Come Clarity & Sounds of a Playground Fading are great as well, but unfortunately that middle album A Sense of Purpose is just mediocre.

Nevermore: Yes. Like Shadows Fall, they come close to running the table. Their debut is un-listenable to me. But Politics of Ecstasy through This Godless Endeavor are all great examples of modern thrash metal.


Those are basically most of the bands I listen to and you can see only 5 really have done it. If I went to rock I would say Aerosmith and Guns N Roses.