DIS vs DAT Thread - The Fallen Edition

Inspired by the new DIS vs DAT thing on Metal Academy, in turn inspired by that weekly feature on Utopia Records' Facebook page, I decided to turn this conversation-starting activity into a full thread instead of separate threads. Got a couple albums with the same genre and release year that you can't decide which has the greater edge? Share them here!

Let's start off with two of the greatest gothic doom classics released in 1996. Which one has the greater edge? Choose one and explain the reason!

Well, to be accurate, they're actually not from the same genre but I'll bite nonetheless as both records were huge influences on my life given that they were both instrumental in helping me overcome the worst emotional trauma of my life. There's very little between the two but I tend to slightly favour "October Rust" these days due to the sheer quantity of classic tracks.

Well one of the bigger genre differences is the vocals, mostly death growls in Brave Murder Day and all clean vocals in October Rust. But I chose them anyway because they’re both great Fallen recommendations that made me more interested in these two bands than I would’ve been a few years ago, all thanks to you Daniel. Anyway, even though they’re both excellent albums, I actually like Brave Murder Day slightly more because many of its tracks are some of the best doom classics with death growls, slightly darker/heavier atmosphere, and more serious lyrics, and also there aren’t any of the abrupt cuts and pointless interludes October Rust has. I’ll add in my vote along with yours, Daniel:

Brave Murder Day - 1

October Rust - 1

A tricky one for me, I really like both records, and it partly depends on what mood I'm in. I find Brave Murder Day is more for when I want something to sink into, something truly morose and dreary. October Rust is more "fun" (as fun as it can be given its style), and also delightfully sexy for a metal record...

Anywho, overall I give it to October Rust, but it's a close one.

Brave Murder Day - 1

October Rust - 2

Since this did not get updated for about 3 weeks, I declare October Rust the winner, two to one! So for part 2, let's take Type O Negative further into the tournament and make things a little more challenging. Welcome to part 2; same genre, different year, 1999! Which of the following gothic doom albums has the greater edge? Choose one and explain the reason!

I've got "World Coming Down" here. It was the bigger record for me personally. I love that Type O Negative elected to take the newly found commercial success they'd gained through the more accessible "October Rust" album & give it a firm middle finger up the back side with a much darker & doomier record.

Once again, even though they’re both great grade-A albums, I actually prefer The Light at the End of the World, same reasons as in the previous round: some of the best doom classics with death growls, slightly darker/heavier atmosphere, and more serious lyrics, and also there aren’t any of the abrupt cuts and bizarre interludes Type O Negative keep having in World Coming Down. And even though I like to do the “blasphemous” thing of speeding up My Dying Bride albums by 1.5x faster, The Light at the End of the World is still enjoyable, edited or not. I’ll add in my vote along with yours, Daniel:

World Coming Down - 1

The Light at the End of the World - 1

You play My Dying Bride at 1.5 speed? Please reconsider joining The Fallen! 

I do enjoy Type O Negative, but My Dying Bride are one of my favourite bands. The Light at the End of the World was their return to death doom after some years of experimentation, and while it wasn't the five star classic I was hoping for, it's still a great album with some truly monstrous tracks. It's My Dying Bride for me!

The Light at the End of the World - 2

World Coming Down - 1

You play My Dying Bride at 1.5 speed? Please reconsider joining The Fallen! 

Lol. I will still join The Fallen because my interest for gothic/death-doom (and a bit of sludge) is expanding, most other Fallen bands I listen to are slightly faster enough to keep the tempo unedited, and I'm still planning on getting it as my 4th clan using my Fallen Gothic Metal Clan Challenge strategy, which I'll start on Friday. Soon I'll do a final stat check on my Metal Evolution Band Challenge sometime within the next few days, so please keep an eye out for that!

Since this did not get updated for about 3 weeks, I declare The Light at the End of the World the winner, two to one! So for this initial final third part, let's take My Dying Bride further into the tournament, along with Katatonia, and make things a little more challenging. Welcome to the initial final part 3; same genre, different year, 1993! Which of the following death-doom albums has the greater edge? Choose one and explain the reason! If My Dying Bride wins, then it's the total winner of the tournament. If Katatonia wins, the tournament continues with another Fallen band. Albums are below, so please, vote away!

PS: If any of you wanna continue the DIS vs DAT tournament - The Horde Edition, here's the link: https://metal.academy/forum/10/thread/349

My Dying Bride win this one by an absolute mile for me personally. I've always found "Dance Of December Souls" to be heavily overrated while "Turn Loose The Swans" sits amongst the top few releases in the entire doom/death subgenre.

Both amazing death-doom albums, but I also think Dance of December Souls is overrated, only by a slight notch though. I think the black metal elements in that album are a little too much, at least for me. Turn Loose the Swans is definitely a slightly greater death-doom classic, despite sounding a bit too slow sometimes. Even though it looks My Dying Bride is about to win, I'll give it another couple weeks for other site members to have a chance. I'll add my vote along with yours, Daniel.

Turn Loose the Swans - 2

Dance of December Souls - 0

Turn Loose the Swans is an all time top 10 album for me, so yeah, My Dying Bride by a long, long way.

Turn Loose the Swans - 3

Dance of December Souls - 0

Hey hey! Look's who back for more DISing and DATing! Let's start off with two great sludge classics released in 2004. Which one has the greater edge? Choose one and explain the reason!

You're the only member that's rated "Fluxion" to date Andi so I wouldn't expect we'll see too many responses to this one. Perhaps stick to releases that most people know for these DIS vs DAT polls until our membership grows significantly larger.

They're both classic albums in their own right but "Panopticon" is an all-timer for me so it's gotta win here.

They are indeed sludge classics, but Mastodon has been within my knowledge the longest, not just in my playlist, but also when I heard a song from the Leviathan album, "Island" in a quick scene from the Pixar movie Monsters University that I watched when it first came out. Besides that, Leviathan is what I believe to be one of the most innovative albums in both progressive and sludge metal. So yeah, Mastodon for me! I'll add my vote along with yours, Daniel:

Leviathan - 1

Panopticon - 1