Is there such a thing as a band that hasn't made a bad album?

Across a band's career, provided they have more than one album, it's pretty likely they'll make work that doesn't stand up to the best they ever did, but still works in the grand scheme of things. Some bands go on too long and have duds right at the end; they don't count. What bands have never failed you?

I would say Sabbat (Japan), minus some of the unnecessary EPs, splits, and live albums with tons of repeated tracks and different versions of old songs. All their full lengths have been top notch, as is much of that aforementioned additional filler discography.

Another one I'd go with is Deceased, who have only gotten better with age, even with great roots in old school death metal.

I'd say Manilla Road too, but that would be my inner fanboy speaking. I personally don't think they've ever released a bad album, but I'll be the first to say that some of their works are weaker than others

King Diamond for me, he hasn't got a bad album in my opinion. The Graveyard is my least favourite album by him but I wouldn't call it bad. Yes, there's a couple of bad songs on that album but there are some truly great ones too. Definitely a slightly above average album. I guess I am a bit biased though seems as he's my favourite band.

Manilla Road - Don't care that Circus Maximus ain't 'true' MR. Don't care that the band started out more psych/space/prog-rock. It's all true Mark Shelton. And it's all bloody awesome.
Pain Of Salvation - I always see people call these guys emo, or a poor man's Faith No More (I get the vocals thing, but come on!). Fantastic band, and every album is a masterpiece. Yes, even Be, Scarsick and the two Road Salts. Dare I say it, their live recordings are perfect too.

Death and Emperor. Both bands made nothing but excellent records.

You, my friend, are what I call a good person. All of the bands you spoke about are awesome. Sabbat (Jap) rules. Deceased are eternal underdogs, and I'll be damned if I know why. They've only ever produced great music, and King Fowley is as capital a bloke as you could ask for.

And Manilla Road! People cry about Mark's nasally vocals, but Jesus Christ, what an incredible band. Nothing but quality from start to finish. And Mark's vocals rule!

Now, to add my own two cents, I'd say that Blind Guardian have consistently released good music. 'A Twist in the Myth' was a bit of a misstep, but even that was good, and everything else they've done has been amazing. I just wish that Thomen Stauch had remained with them.

Katatonia have also given us a wealth of music. Many people on this site seem to dismiss them after 'Dance of December Souls', but I think they've made some fantastic music since then, in all their eras. Truly an underrated band.

Motörhead comes immediately to mind, for even their worst records (say "Overnight Sensation" or "Snake Bite Love") are thoroughly worth a listen...

As stated elsewhere, Sodom never really made a bad album (couple of average ones, though... but about half of their discography is gold).

Bolt Thrower's output has overall been pretty good, but a couple of their records seem to have their detractors... but nothing really awful in there, imo.

Heaven Shall Burn never released a bad album, either (notwithstanding if you like metalcorish melodic death metal or not).

Up till 2010 I would also have named Blind Guardian as a band with a spotless track record, but then they released "At the Edge of Time", which was probably my biggest disappointment EVER regarding a metal record I was really looking forward to... so... yeah... that was an imense fuck up. Don't get why people were all over that unmemorable, boring piece of shit...

Darkthrone. Yep, I said it...

Oh, and one band that's not metal, but they've never let me down: Bad Religion.

Wtf? At The Edge Of Time is an amazing comeback after the semi-decent A Twist In The Myth.

No, it's an unmemorable, boring piece of shit. ATITM had at least 5 or 6 songs that were as excellent as anything they've done before that, but there's NOTHING on ATEOT that makes me want to listen to that album ever again.

Dismember! (Hate Campaign never happened.)

No, Hate Campaign does exist, and it kicks ass. Seriously, why the hate for it? "Patrol 17" and the title track are a couple of the best songs by the band.

The songs that I have heard on At the Edge of Time I quite enjoyed, those being Sacred Worlds, Ride into Obsession, A Voice in the Dark, and Wheel of Time.

Thank you! 'Hate Campaign' is fucking good, and so is 'At the Edge of Time'. Blind Guardian is my favorite band, and I definitely consider 'At the Edge of Time' a step above 'A Twist in the Myth', at the very least. In fact, my appreciation for 'At the Edge of Time' has only grown over time (heh).

Rotting Christ honestly seems like the definitive answer here. They never made a bad album, nor an album that wouldn't be a really solid/very good, ass-kicking record. Reviews are not always to be taken for granted, but still, seven (7) out of their 11 full lengths are rated at above 90% in here, with 3 others all at 80%+ and the latest having only one review to it. That's an absurdly good track record I'd say.

Obligatory Ningen-Isu mention. Not ONE bad album. I will vehemently defend their discography as one of the most solid I've ever heard. The only dip in quality was on their 2009 album I think, and honestly that was more the fault of the production job. And it closes with the most massive song! I love how "Shinen"'s main riff vaguely references Symptom of the Universe. Ningen-Isu have done Sabbath worship better and more interestingly than any band I know of, in addition to writing a wide variety of other styles. The album right after it came back thundering harder than ever anyway, so its not like it was the start of a decline.

The ones that come to mind right now are Emperor, Paysage d'Hiver, and Blut Aus Nord. All three bands have their more amazing releases, of course, but even the weakest among them are high-quality, interesting, worthwhile works. I'm not sure it's worth mentioning any bands that have fewer than three or four albums under their belts. I suppose I'd put Darkspace on the list as an extra. Evoken, Esoteric, Summoning, and Mournful Congregation almost make the cut as well, but are held back by just one or two releases each. Elysian Blaze also comes pretty damn close.

I really want to say Branikald and Forest, but that's only because I tend to forget the bad albums even exist.

I also really wish I could say Bolt Thrower, but I know in my heart of hearts that it's a lie.

There's not a single song on that thing that can compete with ANYTHING from any random chosen prior album (well, except maybe "Another Stranger Me"... never liked that one). There's not a single song that either sticked permanently to my mind or didn't sound weak and tired at best, downright annoying at worst. Some chorusses are baffling (the one from "Control the Divine" is a joke), "Valkyries" may very well be the blandest BG song of all time with nothing of interest happening, "Curse my Name" and "War of the Thrones" sound like lesser copies of stuff they did infinitely better before etc. blabla...

Which albums do you think weren't up to par... ?

I have issues with everything past The IVth Crusade. But I don't want this thread to turn into a Bolt Thrower argument (the eternal war), so best to let that suffice.

Type O Negative? People seem to rag on Life Is Killing Me, but for the life of me I can't understand why. It's pretty much a slightly more upbeat October Rust. I'd say it's on par with Bloody Kisses and Dead Again in the second tier of supreme godly Type O albums, with Slow Deep and Hard, October Rust, and World Coming Down occupying the top tier.

About the only way to guarantee it is to have a brilliant debut then disband, which doesn't happen too frequently. Here I was just thinking how much it sucks that Fatalist broke up after such a brilliant Nihilist-worshipping debut.

Incantation haven't made a bad album yet

Atheist? I hear a lot of hate for Jupiter, but I think it is a pretty rad album.

ill have to second Paysage d' Hiver and Type O Negative. Life Is Killing Me is their weakest, and even with that said, if i rated it it would still be probably a 75 which I still consider good. It has really great songs, just not up to par with what you'd find on October Rust, Bloody Kisses and the rest. Amon Amarth to me also has a good track record of consistently awesome albums. Surtur Rising and Fate of Norns to a lot of people are the step downs from the rest of their work, and though they're not their best, they are by no means bad and are still very enjoyable with the rest of their albums.

Seconding this.

Also I must mention The Lord Weird Slough Feg, as they have never once released even a subpar album. Sure, some people like to shit on Ape Uprising!, but it's also true that some people are stupid. Do those two groups overlap? Who knows~

Slough Feg. Half their albums are jaw-dropping amazing and the other half are solid 4-star rockin' metal albums, and none of em are even a little disappointing...well maybe Atavism, but even that one would be a damn good entry in many lesser bands' catalogues. They're just a stellar band.

And seriously guys, At the Edge of Time is pretty safe and bland. It's pretty much just Blind Guardian saying 'here, fans, we will give you exactly what you want.' No surprises at all, just a standard BG album.

I wholeheartedly throw my vote for Slough Feg here. They are extremely consistent and good. I also agree with Bolt Thrower, who have never really dropped much in quality. All their records are at least pretty solid death metal.

For black metal I'll say Grand Belial's Key and Inquisition, both of whom have been pretty damn consistent. I also say Countess, but again, that's my fanboyism kicking in, I'm sure plenty of people don't like all Countess albums.

Blind Guardian, well, this is more of a subjective thing, but I greatly prefer the first half of their career, primarily the first three records but all the way up to Nightfall. I liked when their albums had symphonic tinges, but not quite as much when they went full on symphonic. Still, I can't say they were ever BAD, like say, Cryptopsy or Metallica.

I'd have no problems with ATEOT if I'd consider it "standard"... but for me, that was a letdown of epic proportions.

At the Edge of Time was way too slick and safe for me. Everything is just far too precise and it has no vigor. Even Hansi's vocals sound meak, with none of that right on the edge of bursting into screaming intensity, instead it sounds like he sang very quiet, and very smoothly, and then they boosted the volume. It's easily my least favourite BG album, and as far as I'm concerned they also sucked on Night at the Opera, and barely scraped through on Nightfall.

As for some actual content, Esoteric for one. Subconscious is a weaker album than everything else, but it's still very good, just kinda dwarfed by the utter brilliance that makes up every single other thing they've done.

Staying in doom, Evoken are a safe bet, some albums are clearly lesser, like the new one, but they've never gone below great. Skepticism likewise has carved out a nice little niche for themselves and put out nothing but quality, although not a huge amount of music has come from them.

Avoiding doom things get a little tougher, most death metal bands kinda peak after a couple of albums, and can't keep it up for 3+ albums. Even bands which I find extremely consistent, like Incantation, Bolt Thrower and Vomitory, definitely have high points and a lot of lesser, but still really good material. I'm not sure if that's enough to really count here. In more modern styles, Anata has put out four outstanding albums with nothing mediocre slipping through, and it seems like they'll be doomed to red tape silence forever now, so I guess that means a flawless history for them, even though 4 albums isn't a huge feat.

In BM I really have to scrape around, Blut aus Nord is as close as I can get, but even then my opinion on Odinist swings between passable and dull at any given time, so sometimes I'd agree, and others I wouldn't. Can't really think of any other options for the genre though.

Edit: Oooh ooh ooh, a good one, RUNEMAGICK! A band which not only put out like a dozen album, but also successfully pulled of a major shift in style from death metal, to rocking out fun death doom, too deadly serious atmospheric death doom without dropping the ball once.

I'll have to join the Type O negative camp. Sure they don't have a discography as huge as Maiden or Motörhead but all their albums are so fucking excellent.

The I have to say Motörhead. Huge ass discography and while some albums are a bit weaker, they remains highly enjoyable.

Reverend Bizarre, have to mention them.

seconding inquisition which was mentioned few posts up. and surprised no one has mentioned Immolation at all. everything they have done is pure class in my eyes

I don't really like their mid period which got a bit too jerky and pulsey for me, but for the vast majority of people who loved that shit, I am surprised no one mentioned them earlier. They're one of the few death metal bands who have kept putting out different sounding stuff for a long time, and for most people they've never tripped up.

I'll mention Cathedral, there's some weaker albums but there's no turds at all. I like all their albums to a certain degree and their new one is amazing and I'm happy that they close their career in a good way.

I'm seconding Slough Feg of course, one of the best and most consistent heavy metal bands of all time, I simply can't see them fail.

Also, since I'm an Opeth apologist, I'll mention them. I was a bit disapointed by Heritage but it's still a very good album and much better than Storm Corrosion (a turd!)

Dissection. Reinkaos is a great album that understandably seems to get lost in the shadow of their first two records. Although it's a different style it's still incredibly well written.

No it isn't. It's bad even for melodeath.

It's bad in spite of being melodeath...

Moonsorrow!!

Agreed.

I feel I can say Deathspell Omega; despite their early releases being rather dull, I almost consider them to be the work of a different band. From SMRC on, they've not missed a beat. Plus all EP's of theirs have been fantastic.

I had often thought of how consistent Immortal had been with their albums, which seemed to just get better and better until the real disappointment of All Shall Fall... Which wasn't a bad album as such, just sub-par for Immortal and very dull.

I'd also nominate Drudkh (though their mid period folk album doesn't really get played much) and Sunn0)))- despite them never releasing an absolutely brilliant album, all their releases have been of a good standard that I can enjoy. Also, non-metal, but Lustmord...

Moonsorrow were a shoe in for this until their new one, It's probably the most disappointed I've ever been in an album. Slow, dreary, with absolutely no bombast and thrill, they even manage to take an awesome riff off the previous album and neuter it down to being cruddy, so underwhelming... I have nightmares about that album.

Which reminds me of another band which dropped it in that same year. Primordial. I wouldn't call anything bad, but the last album was pretty much saved by three songs, and sucks otherwise. I suppose the first two albums are pretty underwhelming too... ignore this one haha.

Intestine Baalism. 'Nuff said.