Top concept discs I can't live without......

[LarryD]

And I mean a complete story line - not a theme.

Ayreon / The Final Experiment
Dream Theater / Scenes from a Memory
Queensryche / Operation : Mindcrime
Shadow Gallery / Tyranny
King Diamond / THEM
Arena / The Visitor
IQ / Subterranea
Savatage / Streets
Beyond Twilight / The Devils Hall of Fame
Seventh Wonder / Mercy Falls
Symphony X / V

I could take these to an island and be happy .........

[introclaus]

And I mean a complete story line - not a theme.

Ayreon / The Final Experiment
Dream Theater / Scenes from a Memory
Queensryche / Operation : Mindcrime
Shadow Gallery / Tyranny
King Diamond / THEM
Arena / The Visitor
IQ / Subterranea
Savatage / Streets
Beyond Twilight / The Devils Hall of Fame
Seventh Wonder / Mercy Falls
Symphony X / V

I could take these to an island and be happy .........

I didn't realize that "V" is concept disc ... really?
I'd swap out "Them" with "Abigail".
Probably could live just fine w/o "Subterranea" and "The Visitor" (I still think the debut was the best of all Arena discs).
TDHoF was not a concept ... it was a loosely tied together theme, but that was all it was.

[John Frank]

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
Sabbat - Dreamweaver (Reflections of Our Yesterdays) (1989)
King Diamond - Abigail (1987)
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Zero Hour - The Towers of Avarice (2001)

[introclaus]

Hmmm that’s difficult as I can’t remember all of them off the top of my head - but here are a bunch of great ones … saying it’s albums I could not live without might be overstating it haha. I don’t think there’s any album in my collection I couldn’t live without lol - I’m not THAT materialistic

… any of the Voivod albums from Killing Technology through The Outer Limits +the latest three as well

Royal Hunt - Paradox
Rush - 2112
Eternity X - The Edge
WASP - Crimson Idol
Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane
King’s X - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
Blind Guardian - Nightfall
King Diamond - Abigail
Sabbat - Dreamweaver
Jag Panzer - Thane to the Throne
Edge of Sanity - Crimson 1 & 2
Grave Digger - Tunes of War
Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son…
Manticora - Hyperion
Persefone - Core
Ten - Babylon
Gary Hughes - Once and Future King
Ayreon - Universal Migrator 1 & 2
Protest the Hero - palimpsest
X Japan - Art of Life
Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade of Gray
Orphaned Land - Mabool
Virgin Steele - Invictus

And these I would grab from Larry’s list:
Dream Theater / Scenes from a Memory
Queensryche / Operation : Mindcrime
Shadow Gallery / Tyranny
Savatage / Streets
Seventh Wonder / Mercy Falls

[LarryD]

I didn't realize that "V" is concept disc ... really?
I'd swap out "Them" with "Abigail".
Probably could live just fine w/o "Subterranea" and "The Visitor" (I still think the debut was the best of all Arena discs).
TDHoF was not a concept ... it was a loosely tied together theme, but that was all it was.

V: The New Mythology Suite is the fifth studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X, released on October 10, 2000 through Inside Out Music.[2] It is a concept album dealing with the story of Atlantis, ancient Egyptian mythology, and astrology.[3]

[LarryD]

I didn't realize that "V" is concept disc ... really?
I'd swap out "Them" with "Abigail".
Probably could live just fine w/o "Subterranea" and "The Visitor" (I still think the debut was the best of all Arena discs).
TDHoF was not a concept ... it was a loosely tied together theme, but that was all it was.

The album itself is based on a quite interesting storyline, though I don't pay as much attention to it as I do to the beautiful compositions and Lande's vocals. The concept is about a man who uses a computer to hack into his own mind and explore the disconnected parts of his spirit. As he enters his mind, he is awfully shocked at what he faces. He begins to deal with the unwanted events in his life and gradually develops an attitude.

[introclaus]

I didn't realize that "V" is concept disc ... really?
I'd swap out "Them" with "Abigail".
Probably could live just fine w/o "Subterranea" and "The Visitor" (I still think the debut was the best of all Arena discs).
TDHoF was not a concept ... it was a loosely tied together theme, but that was all it was.

The album itself is based on a quite interesting storyline, though I don't pay as much attention to it as I do to the beautiful compositions and Lande's vocals. The concept is about a man who uses a computer to hack into his own mind and explore the disconnected parts of his spirit. As he enters his mind, he is awfully shocked at what he faces. He begins to deal with the unwanted events in his life and gradually develops an attitude.

Well … ehmmm … I was there when the lyrics were written and it’s stuff pulled together with only a very loose tie between songs. The concept if you will, is really more of an after thought. Some of the lyrics were just Jorn sitting in Finn’s apartment and humming along and then putting words together, whereas others were Finn’s ideas. Heck, one of the songs was written years before for the demo with slightly different lyrics.