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The North Borders - Bonobo
It may not be a "unicorn" per se, but it's often forgotten since it came out in 2020 and they weren't able to tour the album. Coldplay's Everyday Life is an art piece to me.
Honorable mentions:
Black Pumas - Black Pumas Watsky - x Infinity The Avett Brothers - Mignonette Parker Barrow - Jukebox Gypsies Childish Gambino - Because the Internet Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium The Black Keys - Brothers
Absent Moon by Chuck Salamone
LITERALLY EVERYTHING HORSE THE BAND HAS EVER DONE!
Seriously, one of the most under appreciated bands of all time. A Million Exploding Suns is a fucking masterpiece.
Extol's "Burial". Very smooth sounding record considering its bordering on Technical Death Metal.
Decapitated's "Nihility". I don't know if drums have ever sounded more violent, tonally.
Suffocation's "Pierced From Within". Unique in that IMO that level of brutality and density has still never been matched.
Ulver's "Nattens Madrigal". Bees in a tin can.
Literally anything by Ad Nauseum.
Man, I could go on and on about this. So many metal records have one of a kind production.
Ulver's "Nattens Madrigal". Bees in a tin can.
Hilarious and accurate. And that one acoustic passage that makes you think "hey maybe there will be more like this".
At least they gave us Kveldssanger to scratch that itch. 😆
Hell yeah. And Bergtatt, "ahh, just right".
A beautifully written and produced record for sure.
Not only are none of those unicorn albums if you randomly select timestamps in most of them, you can't tell you even jumped. I used to love this kind of music, but you've failed the assignment. The question was not to solicit albums you like.
Entombed - Left Hand Path is an example where it helped redefine a genre, and nothing before or since has sounded like it (because they innovated the 'buzz saw' guitar sound).
Pierced From Within didn't define the sound of Brutal Death Metal?
Nattens Madrigal didn't innovate for Raw Black Metal?
There's not a single record that sounds like Nihility does, nor does anything sound like Burial both in production and composition.
This question is asking for subjective answers. There's no such thing as failure as you so kindly put it, only difference of opinion.
Your suggestion that LHP is somehow more appropriate of a response ignores the fact that it did the exact same thing for Swedish DM as Suffocation did for BDM.
The crux of my question was "unicorn".
So if I can listen to 100 random metal tracks and they all sound derivative, it misses the point. Reach for albums that actually are unique in your suggestions.
I used to be a serious metal fan, so I'm no hater, but let's be real.
I researched and listened to much of what was suggested in the comment, it all sounds exactly the same as every other death/speed/thrash/grind that's been done to death aha. At least with LHP there's a sound that can never be created again due to the unique equipment they borrowed, and their special configuration thereof. I don't even think LHP qualifies as an answer to my own thread but at least there was effort in that suggestion, and I'd put money down that you can't reference another album that sounds like it, where I can post 100 for every in the parent comment.
Metal folks ITT seem to be profoundly missing the point of my post.
There are some greats listed here (Ween, Jarre, FSOL, Lovage, Aphex, Shpongle, Air, etc.)
However my pick is Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn The only thing similar to this is his own album Incantations a few years later, but there just isnt anything like it from start to finish.
If you want a positively singular album, check out Oldfield's Amarok. It's a unique experience, start to finish, and the story behind it is great.
Death metal band takes death metal and flips it on its head. I forget the exact phrasing from an interview with the frontman Luc Lemay, but he said they wanted to make their instruments speak in a new way. It's highly experimental and maybe tough to digest even for death metal fans, but it's undeniably unique and brilliant.
So great. Coloured sands as well
Laurie Anderson Strange Angels I don’t know why but that album hits me so hard. It’s like nothing else I like but I’ve been know to listen to it on loop for hours on end.
One that comes to mind is Hella - Hold Your Horse Is
There have been 'Math Rock' bands before and since but these guys were on another level IMO, especially the drummer.
I would also say anything by Melt Banana.
possibly Speak for Yourself by Imogen Heap but I'm not sure
KLF - Chill Out
Astounding album. Nothing quite like it.
I'm really relieved that this thread isn't just filled with a bunch of hiphop from the last 10 years that is not actually unique at all, which is 100% what I was expecting.
Edit: this is a really fucking good thread
The melding of the audio and visual on a high art concept album is just chefs kiss. Everything she does is just genuine Christ she's on Twitch now and just a blast to watch. Genuine creative people are amazing to watch.
Gustav holst - the planets
Makaveili - the don killuminati the 7 day theory
Madlib - beat konducta vol 5-6 in india
Scientist - rids the world of the evil curse of the vampires .
There are many more artists that come to mind with unique sounds but that have more than one album with that sound.
Literally anything by madlib
Dubstep has entered the chat - two standouts for me:
The One - Ganja White Night Tesseract - Subtronics
No one out there is able to emulate their sounds, they really sound unique!
Just a few old ones...
Art of Noise - The Best Of .. but all are good
Yellow - Pocket Universe .. but also The Essential
Moloko - ?
Kosheen - Kokopelli (I think)
Aleks and the Drummer — May a Lightning Bolt Caress You
It no longer seems to be easily streamable anywhere online, but it's an absolutely insane EP. You needs to listen to it either on good headphones or in surround sound, and that's a fraction of the live experience. When those thunderous drums roll in and the electric organ starts wailing... shivers.
Little Man by Little Dragon
Didn't see that accordion coming.
Fingathing and The Big Red Nebula Band by Fingathing. Kind of a big beat/instrumental hiphop thing, the band already has a fairly unique sound but it stands out even in their output.