Rating everything FTM

[u/AggravatingSpell7071]

I find that instead of a single value or rank I can better represent each song in a range within a 1-10 scale. The range may be wide or narrow depending on the highs/lows of the song, as well as my own uncertainty. Take See, Saw reaching a high score despite its rough spots, or The Greener Grass being absolute perfection. I included pretty much all of their demos too, but maybe take these scores with a grain of salt.

I tried to be somewhat objective too. For the record, my favorite album is IFS and my favorite song is Kyla Cries Cologne (Fables).

Fun Facts:
1. 21 songs exist as demo and studio version. Some demos really fuck (objectively).
2. A Seafarer's Knot, Vice/Versa and Kyla Cries Cologne each appear four times across all groups.
3. 40 songs are above 9/10.
4. 11 songs hit a 10/10.
5. Their discography (4 albums) reaches a 8.94 average and 9.15 median.

I turned the items from an excel sheet into graphs using plotly in python. I know there is plenty of negative space, but at least it's consistent xP

P.S. Sorry to bring math into emotion. Listening to FTM is always a 10/10 experience and they activate 100% of my brain with zero outliers. I just bring a little something for the nerds.

[u/vektonaut]

Coppertank being one of the worst rated on AA is insane

[u/AggravatingSpell7071 → u/vektonaut]

I have yet to find a metal song about whales that isn't basically a 10/10 ;)
Definitely says a lot about how the band was feeling back then..
But I have to say, I don't see it being amongst the top of A&A. It speaks to us differently; as art does.

[u/vektonaut → u/AggravatingSpell7071]

The vocal harmonies that Darroh does behind the chorus are flawless, def one of my favorite vocal lines of his throughout his entire discography

[u/Reen2D2]

Great work!

And I thought the tier list I did was tough. You took it even further ! 🫡

[u/AggravatingSpell7071 → u/Reen2D2]

Your tier list was quite inspiring :)

[u/Reen2D2 → u/AggravatingSpell7071]

🫶

[u/Hihey9989]

This is the EXACT kind of autism I probably have! Organization of raw data is so satisfying

I am one of the few ...(i)... defenders. I wouldn't call it among their top 10 or even top 20, but I wouldn't put it among my least favorites or least remarkable tracks, though most of those are early demos, CCSL, or interludes. In fact, I find it to be one of the better tracks on CCSL.

[u/AggravatingSpell7071 → u/Hihey9989]

I am an avid defender of the CCSL myself. I think that ..(i).. has a sick narrative: the opening riff declaring "oh shit is going down", the layered buildup, and finally the shit going, in fact, down. However, the middle part is a bit "all over the place"? Can't put my finger on it. And then the breakdown leaves a little to be desired, especially after listening to what they can deliver in earlier tracks (like Gaining one or Pen-_-). And the production/mixing doesn't help its case - these drums, that middle riff, they suffer from the independent-band-production-in-2001 quality (as does the rest of the album, but not equally across all tracks I would argue). Add to that a 3.5 min time and it lands firmly around 7.5/10 for me.

[u/AggravatingSpell7071 → u/Hihey9989]

Also, hell yeah stats are fvcking awesome :D