The Top 10 Albums Poorly Received By Critics
Critical reviews can be helpful when looking for new bands to check out, giving you a gauge on what has been poorly or positively received, however often times they are judgments leveled down by elitist taste-makers that create a hivemind mentality among listeners. I agree that reviews are just opinions and everyone is entitled to their own. The problem is that many people pass judgement and take on these opinions as their own without even giving artists a chance. While there are literally hundreds of examples of fantastic albums receiving poor critical acclaim, here are 10 of the most egregious reviews. Worth noting, this is not in order of purely the best but rather a combination of how much hate the album received in correlation to how good it is.
1. Attila - Chaos - Attila is easily one of the most hated and critically panned metal bands of all-time. Somehow after all this time there's still many people who don't understand that their over-the-top lyrics are tongue-in-cheek. Behind the bad boy gimmick portrayed by the group lies excellent musicianship and fun catchy anthems. Chaos along with Rage are the bands finest work and despite harsh critically backlash are two fantastic metalcore albums filled with memorable tracks.
2. I Set My Friends On Fire - You Can't Spell Laughter Without Slaughter - It is somewhat understandable why this album was so poorly viewed by critics, auto-tune, a Souljaboy cover, comical lyrics. However, this was was an extremely original album, mixing choruses that sound like they could be attached to pop hits with grindy chaotic metalcore. This album was meant to be fun and the band did not take themselves too seriously, something lost on many critics.
3. Emmure - Slave To The Game - Too Often critics let personal opinions of artists get in the way of their reviews. Perhaps never has there been a stronger case for this than "Slave To The Game" from Emmure. In actuality, Emmure has never put out a sub-par release in my opinion. The band has been berated by the most popular metal sites since day one resulting in a divisive legacy for the band.
4. Korn - Take A Look In The Mirror - While Korn's early records were very positively received, by 2003 their acclaim had ceased and many had begun to look at the band as corny, no pun intended. If you take the time to listen to this album however you'll find some of Korn's nastiest riffs and heaviest songs they've ever made. "Take A Look In The Mirror" is truly some of the best material the nu-metal icons have ever made.
5. Attack Attack! - This Means War -This bands reputation precedes them, starting with a viral music video, they quickly became one of the most hated bands of all-time for their over-the-top mannerisms and auto-tuned clean vocals. By 2012 the band had greatly shifted into a much more mature and quite frankly fantastic metalcore band. This album is somewhat of a predecessor to the debut Beartooth album. Sadly their reputation was already so low at this time that not many gave the record a fair chance.
6. Asking Alexandria - From Death To Destiny - Never has a band been hurt by their name and preconceived notions about the scene they're from than Asking Alexandria. This objectively a top tier metal album but no professional were ever going to be willing to give them an unbiased listen and judgement. This album is a prime example of why you should listen to everything for your self.
7. Suicide Silence - The Cleansing - The only reason this record isn't higher is because views of it have started to gradually change in recent years. At the time of its release "The Cleansing" was met with near unanimous negativity from critics. Now however it is begging to be seen as the groundbreaking landmark record it is. This album launched the deathcore scene into popularity.
8. Motionless In White - Disguise - Most of the hate Motionless In White receives now is purely based on people not accepting the band has been progressing their sound and moving away from their old style. While not all reviews of "Disguise" were negative, a large segment of people complained about the group moving further away from metalcore. In reality it is one of the finest works the band has ever created.
9. Bullet For My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire - Another band that was negatively effected by their name and the scene they came from. Bullet For The Valentine came into the metal scene at a time that metalcore was starting to reach a mainstream audience causing much backlash from elitist reviewers. "Scream Aim Fire" is filled with thrashy metalcore bangers and catchy chantable choruses.
10. Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare - Arguably the best record on this list, it is only placed hear because some publications gave it very favorable reviews. A7X have been given endless amounts of hate for nearly their entire careers, none of which they deserve. If you take the time to go through the Avenged Sevenfold discography you'll find it's loaded with classics and excellently written masterpieces.
