In my previous list I was critical of MS being flooded with negative comments. Now I've decided to vent about albums that I don't quite enjoy. Ah, the hypocrisy! But this one has a slight twist. I actually have these albums. Yes. I went to a record shop; parted ways with my hard earned cash and made a place for them in my collection. In most cases I went in knowing full well the critical reviews they received. But why? I am a completist. Bands love a fan like me as once I get into them I chase all their musical output; not just the acclaimed material. What's more I listen to the albums in chronological order in their entirety. So here are the top 10 albums I can't stand that I still own and listen to because...weirdness.

Created by:

Mark Ayoub | 26.04.2016

	1.	Korn - The Path Of Totality 2011. I didn't hear any previews of the album. I knew their previous record released in 2010 was a return to their signature style. So I assumed this quick follow up would deliver the same goods. I dived in completely unaware of the abomination that was going to hit me. It's not enough that nu metal is the most hated sub-metal genre apart from almost anything that ends in '-core' but Korn had to add the most hated form of 'music' by sober music lovers to their palette...dubstep. Also known as dudstep, drugstep, misstep and shitstep. The early 10's was a bit of a lull since this excruciating sound burst out of the UK. Almost every mainstream rock band added dubstep breakdowns to their songs in an attempt to cash in on the trend. Korn was metal's most well known victim; smothering their songs with drug induced electronica in collaboration with a number of faceless dubstep producers. Thankfully, the trend had passed and Korn abandoned the dubstep overtones on their follow-up album "The Paradigm Shift." But this album still exists and is only listened to at a background volume, reading a book or to scare off feral pigeons.
	2.	Limp Bizkit - Results May Vary 2003. I can't blame the MS staff for blacklisting this band (even though other nu metal bands are featured). Especially if this album is representative of their sound. I'm also bending my own criteria here as I didn't buy this record. I won it in a radio competition but never got rid of it. There is a big difference in the brain between someone in their late teens and mid-twenties. As a teen, I enjoyed the juvenile nature of the profane laden songs. But, several years on, when a guy in his mid thirties is releasing the same whingy stuff in a bland, uninspired and repetitive form its not relevant and kind of disheartening. Also remember this was the band's 3rd attempt at releasing an album after guitarist Wes Borland's first departure so imagine what the first 2 botched albums would have sounded like! Further debits go the awful cover of 'Behind Blue Eyes' and the misspelling of Pete Townshend's name in the credits. When the only praise comes from the slightly mellower sound and mass reduction in profanity then its clear the results don't vary. They all say faecal matter.
	3.	Slayer - Undisputed Attitude 1996. On this album, Slayer decided to put thrash metal aside and cover their favourite punk songs instead. The problem was they sped them all up for nothing but speed's sake with vocalist/bassist Tom Araya screaming more than singing with the vocals being way to high in the mix. Most negative press goes towards the nu metal tinged follow up "Diabolus In Musica" with guitarist Kerry King even referring to it as 'our Turbo' but for me Undisputed Attitude remains Slayer's most irritating release. Again, it's short length makes it easy to get through.
	4.	Discharge - Grave New World 1986. On this album the band abandoned hardcore punk to play the genre du jour - glam metal. That wouldn't be so bad if vocalist Cal Morris didn't change his vocals from his established abrasive tone to complete falsetto! When I first heard it I couldn't stop laughing. But since there's no variation from song to song it stops being funny and just becomes annoying. Thankfully at 30 mins in length the album is quick and easy to digest when going through the Discharge cannon.
	5.	Destruction - The Least Successful Human Cannonball 1998. Thrash Metal band trying to play other genres of metal in the 90's and failing cliché. No wonder the band refer to this time as the 'Neo Destruction' era. No problem experimenting with funk and groove metal but when Faith No More, Pantera and Sepultura were doing it a million times better they should have just stuck to their guns. A lesson they clearly learned 2 years later.
	6.	KISS - Carnival Of Souls - The Final Sessions 1997. This is a classic example of a band trying to keep up with the latest trends of the time. In this case it's Kiss trying to emulate grunge but with very mixed to poor results. The album was meant to be shelved in favour of the reunion of their original lineup but was quietly released to stop it's heavy bootlegging (Kiss fans are a lot like Elvis fans in that they'll get almost anything with their idol's name on it). Seven dollars in my record stores' bargain bin was the reason I got my copy. That's really cheap in Australia, believe me! It's easy to hear why the album was never seen as a career highpoint. Bland, unmemorable post grunge by a band desperate to stay relevant. Thankfully it's still better than anything from Nickelback. That alone makes it still listenable.
	7.	Guns N' Roses - "The Spaghetti Incident?" 1993. Released at the peak of their internal turmoil, this album was released as an attempt to tire the fans over. until the band could sort their shit out (didn't that work out well!) The result? A punk rock tribute album (with some Charles Manson thrown in to keep the dangerous image intact) that sounds as rushed as it was released.
	8.	Van Halen - Van Halen III 1998. What happens when a band replaces their singer at the peak of their career? What happens when a band replaces their longest serving singer with the guy who sang 'More Than Words'? This album! Sorry, cheap shot. It's not poor Gary Cherone's fault since he does sound remarkably like Sammy Hagar at times. It's because the songs lack any serious hooks and melodies to make them sound memorable coupled with the albums long length. The band may have deleted this album from their discography but I haven't deleted it from my collection. I wonder what Van Halen IV will sound like?
	9.	Diamond Head - Canterbury 1983. What? The band who gave us an album with 'more good riffs in one song than in the first four Sabbath LP's' released this? Are you sure this is Diamond Head? Yes, this is Diamond Head who were trying to prove they could expand their sound beyond metal. That would have been fine except the production was too refined to give it any decent pulse.
	10.	Black Sabbath - Forbidden 1995. Black Sabbath hadn't done a record with Ozzy for more than 15 years but they'd always managed to create some enduring music since then. This album is not enduring. The big let downs are its flat production, recycled riffs and unmemorable songs. Knowing the full reunion of the original lineup would proceed straight after tinges the listening experience with a historical factor. Had that not happened though it would have been a sad way to end a then 25 year recording career.