lux

No no Fidia, you simply alluded to "extreme music," without specifying whether metal or non-metal... So I brought you the first truly extreme albums that came to mind, better than this one, plus one Gothic (which is perfectly on theme, considering these Anathema want to be gothic). Not only that, but Swans and Neurosis can fall into extreme metal, while undoubtedly having other influences in their music (industrial gothic hardcore for the former, industrial and post-hardcore for the latter). And to be honest, "anyone with a bit of critical sense" (as you say) recognizes that TDS by NIN is an absolute masterpiece of the 90s, whereas I honestly don’t see all these competent people who praise The Silent Enigma (aside from their fans, of course, or people who appreciate them for their own personal reasons). Obviously, I also have a basic knowledge of general metal, if that’s what you were doubting.

"I would like to express how much I can't stand those pathetic moralists who, to disagree with other opinions, throw around the usual phrases like: 'I would add that the seasons are no longer what they used to be and he who laughs last, laughs best...' ...but where does Andrea see the moralism? It's more of a damn good mockery, a statement meant to emphasize that (according to sickman_84) you think in clichés. More than moralism."

Let’s not kid ourselves, guys. Volunteers is an acid rock album, undoubtedly more visionary and original than Sticky Fingers, not stadium rock, come on! That said, I’m not saying that the Stones “suck,” but let’s scale them back a bit for what they truly were, beyond the fanaticism that surrounds their image.

"Anyway guys, really, enough with the comparisons to Californication! That album is unmatched, one of the most beautiful of recent history... you can't do better or similar, you understand?" I think sickman_84 was referring to this rather debatable statement.

and I always mess up writing gothic.

No, really, those who want to be alternative at all costs seem to be the Anathema. "The Silent Enigma" is an album of unparalleled baroque and theatrical heaviness. Certainly better than the subsequent albums, but personally, it wavers between a 5 and a 6, nothing more. "one of the best and most important albums in extreme music of all time".....Ah, strange, I thought it was, I don't know, The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails or Through Silver in Blood by Neurosis, or Children of God by Swans. Or the self-titled album by Suicide, why not. Not to mention the true gothic, that of Black Tape for a Blue Girl.

You talk about Queen as if they were Bon Jovi.

It doesn't take a genius to understand that the glam baroque approach of Queen was a means to achieve parody, not the end of their music. They appeared exaggerated and pompous to deny the very stereotypes they played, but anyone would understand that the pompousness so often criticized by detractors was a tool to laugh: A- at themselves B- at life C- at rock.

Wait a minute...sure, a track like "Run Run Run" might seem like the most dated of the bunch, but the rest of the album is in "3D" for crying out loud, it’s not simple "2D" rock for a little high. Heroin is a distant dream for the Stones, and even the simpler tracks (sunday morning, femme fatale) are interpreted with a style that Jagger and company have never had. You can feel the unhealthy fog of the suburbs with the VU, it’s AVANT-GARDE, not simple R'N'R. But have you listened to Cale's viola in Venus In Furs? Does the message from Reed's and Morrison's guitar seem similar to Richards'? It's not that the VU "make another kind of music," it’s still rock. What changes is the attitude, which is "progressive" in the Velvet, unlike the Stones who are at least "Christian Democrats." But even the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead and the early Floyd are better than the Stones, for example. Shall we talk about Sister Ray? Keep in mind that the Stones became a bit more original, coincidentally, just as they started to mimic some of the trendy psychedelia of the time (Their Satanic Majesties Request), which says it all.

They may have also influenced subsequent generations, but I meant an intrinsic quality of the record, which is what should matter. We need to step back from the commonplace notion of influence; I'm more interested in looking at the record especially in the here and now of the historical context in which it is released. Many irrelevant metal bands, for example, have engaged in proselytism, but their records are still mediocre. The Rolling Stones contributed to creating the stereotype of rock as we know it today, and in 2008, let’s face it, the Rolling Stones sound TERRIBLY old and obsolete. That doesn’t take away from the fact that they also made enjoyable records for the context in which they were born, but please, let’s not call them geniuses. In '67, the VU were already light-years ahead, not to mention Beefheart and others you know as well.