Hear Me Out: TEN BEST Modern Rock/Metal Threepeats

Given enough time, I'm sure I can come up with a pretty extensive list of what I consider to be "great" records. Over my many years of listening, a whole host of albums have earned this distinction from me and, if you've spent any amount of time reading this site's reviews over the past three years and change, you already know how freely I hand out 8s and 9s around here. That being said, though, I think it can be safely assumed that making a great record isn't easy by any stretch. Many bands, even some highly successful ones, have built dedicated followings and massive popularity without releasing even one album I would consider great, while the majority of my favourite bands have managed periodic greatness but aren't exactly renowned for sustaining it.

What I've learned in compiling this list is that, as difficult as it is to make a great record, it's even harder to do it twice in a row. This list dares to go one step further, into the very short list of bands that have delivered three great (IMO of course) records in a row. I was surprised at how many bands came oh so close to three in a row only to have a lackluster record take them out of contention, and just as surprised at how few bands were left standing in the end.

Here they are. The few. The proud. My choices for the ten best back-to-back-to-back runs in modern rock and metal history:


10 CLUTCH
Blast Tyrant • Robot Hive/Exodus • From Beale Street To Oblivion (2004-2007)

People often consider Clutch as one of hard rock's most dependably sturdy album makers. They're not wrong, and if this were a list of the least likely to disappoint bands they would be much higher up. As it stands, the only reason Clutch sits at the 10 spot is due to the almost-not-great status of the middle record; Robot Hive/Exodus just feels inferior stacked up next to what came immediately before and after because those records are the two best in a long and storied career. Give Robot Hive/Exodus another spin, though, and you'll find its songs aren't as big a step down from Blast Tyrant after all.


9 NIRVANA
Bleach • Nevermind • In Utero (1989-1993)

No one will deny Nevermind's impact on modern rock, nor should they (insistence of overplay, however, is acceptable). That said, there are plenty of people who will happily cite Bleach or In Utero as their personal favourite (I'm an In Utero guy myself), and that speaks to the quality of all three of Nirvana's original studio records. What I find really striking about this trio of albums is that they're all great for different reasons; the scrappy, hungry and confident debut, the refined and energetic world-conquering second effort, and the bottom-heavy and confrontational swan song all have distinctly different personalities but a common thread of greatness running through them.


8 NINE INCH NAILS
Pretty Hate Machine • The Downward Spiral • The Fragile (1989-1999)

It may not feel like these three albums all came in a row, considering all the EPs, one-off singles and soundtrack appearances that litter NIN's first decade, but that is how long it took for three Nine Inch Nails LPs to come into the world. Don't let the longer gestation period (or the admission that The Fragile is perilously close to slipping just a bit below the quality threshold) detract from the indelible mark Trent Reznor left on music with these recordings.


7 METALLICA
Master of Puppets • And Justice For All • Metallica (1986-1991)

Is this blasphemy? Is that what I'm doing here by including the "black album" instead of Ride the Lightning? So let it be written, so let it be done (and thanks for not making the cut and giving me that quote, Creeping Death). Look, the fact of the matter is I chose between the decent-to-good formative record and the album single-handedly responsible for bringing heavy metal to the mainstream and ensuring its survival for decades to come. Wasn't so difficult, really. Just to be sure, though, we all agree on Master and Justice, correct?


6 MASTODON
Leviathan • Blood Mountain • Crack the Skye (2004-2009)

Think what you will of Mastodon's more recent forays into hit making territory, but crafting a dynamic and pummeling concept record like Leviathan and then proceeding to outdo it not once but twice is a feat most bands can only dream of. After the dizzying display of creativity put forth on Crack the Skye, it's no wonder they scaled it all back; they probably knew they were operating at peak efficiency and dared not risk a meltdown.


5 WILCO
Summerteeth • Yankee Hotel Foxtrot • A Ghost is Born (1999-2004)

Often considered one of America's most revered alt/indie bands now, Wilco was once just an upstart alt/country group who started really messing around with their sound on the stark and vibrant Summerteeth. Their experimental streak would soon get them dropped from their major label deal in a move now regarded as one of the most laughable rejections in the history of labels, as Warner would later end up distributing the very album they rejected after public reaction to the leaked Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was so rabid. Before venturing into softer, safer, less drug-induced endeavours, A Ghost is Born capped off one of the wildest and most satisfying transformations a band has undertaken in the modern age.


4 PEARL JAM
Ten • Vs. • Vitalogy (1991-1994)

Go ahead, call me biased; Pearl Jam is my favourite band, but I'm not too blind (deaf, I guess) I admit they've made a couple of subpar records. Their first three, however, are not those records. We all know that Ten turned them into superstars, but it was the scathing reaction to said fame on Vs. that really made me pay attention. By the time they were gleefully putting fairweather fans to the test with their difficult and brazenly experimental Vitalogy album (an album with both some of their most enduring and most bizarre songs), I was ride or die.


3 THE TRAGICALLY HIP
Road Apples • Fully Completely • Day for Night (1989-1994)

While Wilco transformed from alt-country to avant garde indie rock and Pearl Jam from unwitting stadium rockers to hook-wary mad scientists, The Tragically Hip made the jump from smoky bars to museums over the course of this three album run. Road Apples took their rootsy Canadiana sound as far as they were willing to go with it, Fully Completely introduced a heightened sense of purpose and poetry, and Day for Night was the culmination of it all. To play these three records consecutively is to hear the sound of a band finding its true voice.


2 RADIOHEAD
The Bends • OK Computer • Kid A (1995-2000)

By now, I think we're all sensing the pattern; three records that take a band through growing pains and commercial triumph and into artistic discovery; that's true of nearly all of these examples, and it's most clear in the case of Radiohead. The Bends is their big pop moment, chock full of hit singles and mid-90s angst (not all of which has aged particularly well), OK Computer their stressed out and paranoid glimpse into a chaotic future, and Kid A the brash and stubbornly defiant response to that chaos, the post-fame freak out that OK Computer might have been had it not made them more famous than The Bends.


1 TOOL
Undertow • Ænima • Lateralus (1993-2000)

Though they run the risk of becoming footnotes among new generations of music lovers, perhaps it's worth noting that there's a very good reason Tool still have the power to sell out huge shows in 2017 without having released a note of new music in 4088 days (but who's counting?). Part of it is admittedly the mind-blowing visual component of their concerts, but much of it has to do with their first three albums. Undertow was very well received upon its release, and is certainly great, but it seems almost quaint next to the growing scope they showcased on Ænima and Lateralus. Not just improvements, these records were quantum leaps ahead in terms of ambition and quality of the songs. Put them together, and you've got a testament to Tool's godly stature in hard rock.


What do you think? Did I drop the ball? Do you want to pull for that one not-so-great record and get one of your favourites recognized? What timesuck should I pull myself into next?